John 1, verse 19, John 1, verse 19, and if you would stand as we bring honor and reverence for the reading of Holy Scripture, as we come together on this Lord's Day morning to worship the one true and living God. John 1, verse 19, the Word of God reads as follows. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not a Jew. the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. So they said to him, who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know. Even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. Those things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. May God add blessing to the reading of his word. Now, if you would join me in prayer as we continue to worship. Heavenly Father, as we bow before your majestic throne on this Lord's Day with humility and gratitude, we approach you as our sovereign God with humility and worship. We gather here this morning for the primary purpose of worshiping you. And we gather this morning as a congregation to declare that you are worthy of praise, and you are worthy of prayers, and you are worthy of sermons, and you're worthy of this church's worship. And as we come before you, we do so with thanksgiving in our heart and with praise on our lips. We joyfully bow before you and boldly approach you because of your great mercy that has been lavished upon us through Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. As we gather this morning, we indeed declare as a church, as a family of faith, that we have been saved not because of works, not because of things that we have done in righteousness, but because of the divine mercy of our sovereign God. We have come by faith to embrace Jesus Christ and His finished work on our behalf. And as we gather on this Lord's Day morning, we are reminded this morning that the tomb of Jesus remains empty. That Jesus Christ, after being brutally executed on a Roman cross, publicly executed there, was bodily taken from that cross and buried. And on the third day was resurrected from the dead, proving the fact that Jesus Christ indeed is the son of the living God. And Jesus Christ is indeed the one who has authority in heaven and on earth to judge sinners and to forgive sinners. So we pray even now that you would bless our time together, that you would shape us as we worship, that this would not just be an exercise of religiosity as we come together and as we sing and pray and hear the public reading of scripture and the preaching of your word, but we pray that we would be participants. Participants in the joyful worship of our great God, as we adore you, as we praise you, because you indeed are a wonderful, awesome, sovereign God who sustains the entire universe and saves wretched sinners. We love you now. We ask all of this in Christ's name, amen. Good morning, let us join together as we sing, and let us respond to being called to worship as we have prayed and given thanks and praise to our great God. Let us now sing as we lift our hearts and voices together. Let's join in singing Christ is made the sure foundation, hymn number 355. Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone. Chosen the hollowed and precious, for my people the church is one. Holy Zion's held forever as her confidence alone. ♪ We call you God for the Lord of Hosts today ♪ ♪ Live across this loving kindness ♪ ♪ Hear your people as they pray ♪ ♪ And your fullness in addiction ♪ ♪ Shed within its waterways ♪ ♪ Holy bread ♪ O servants, what they ask of you today, follow their gaze. With a blessing to retain, And hereafter in your glory Evermore with you to reign. Law and honor to the Father, Law and honor to the Son, and honor to the spirit, ever free and ever one, one in might and one in glory while unending ages rise. Amen. Amen. Please remain standing if you are able and turn in your copy of God's Word to Psalm 139. Psalm 139 will serve as our Old Testament reading for this morning and we will read the chapter in its entirety. Psalm 139, the Holy Word of God there reads this way. O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them. If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. O that you would slay the wicked, O God. O men of blood, depart from me. They speak against you with malicious intent. Your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred. I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. This is the word of the living God. You may be seated at this time. And at this time, we do encourage you to take a few moments to quietly confess your sins where you are. And after those few moments, I will lead us in a prayer of corporate confession. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we love you, and Lord, it is our joy to gather here this morning on this Lord's Day to bring you worship. And Father, it's our joy even to bring you worship in response to the reading of this psalm, Lord, where we are reminded that you are sovereign, that you are the maker and the creator of all things, even of us, Lord, and as such, we owe you everything. And Father, even as David ended this psalm, Lord, we too also pray that you would lead us in the way everlasting, that we can trust and know that you are with us, that you preserve and keep us even when our lives seem full of darkness and seem to have no light in them at all, even when things are incredibly difficult and our circumstances do not seem favorable. Father, we affirm and testify also to what we read in this psalm that you are with your people. And therefore, you are to be worthy, that you are, Father, to be praised for the fact that you were always with your people. So, Father, we thank you for that. But, Lord, we also consider that in this psalm that David specifically prayed that men of blood would be driven far from him, for they hated you and they took your name in vain. And as such, they were worthy to be under your judgment. And Father, as we have taken a few moments now to evaluate our own lives, Lord, certainly we know that in the past week and in past weeks and months and years of our lives, Lord, we too have committed sins that rightfully would put us in the same path as those who deserve to be put under your judgment. Father, we are guilty of pride. We are guilty of idolatry. Perhaps even, Father, we are guilty also of taking your name in vain. We are guilty, Father, of unbelief. We are guilty, Father, of doing the very things that you tell us not to do. And Father, we are guilty of not doing the things that you tell us to do. And Father, as such, we know that we rightfully deserve only your wrath. But Father, in addition to this, Lord, we would also echo the prayer of David here in this psalm, Father, that you would reveal to us even the inward thoughts of our hearts. And Father, even reveal to us sin that we may not even be aware of. Not so, Father, that we would Dwell in our own sinfulness, Father, or that we would wallow in our own sin and shame. But, Father, that we would know them, that we would confess them to you and even confess them to one another, because we trust and know that you will forgive the sins of your people. And so Father, that's what led David to worship you in this psalm, to know that you would be with him, that you had preserved him. And Lord, we do trust and affirm that you will preserve your people. But Father, we also ask this morning that you would forgive us for each and every sin that we have committed coming into this Lord's Day worship. And Father, that we would ask for your forgiveness and confess these sins to you, not because we wonder whether you will forgive us, but Father, because we know that you will forgive us if indeed we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Father, would you please, Lord, as we know that you will in Christ, would you please forgive us of our many sins? Father, would you please continue to reveal our sins to us so that we can know them and confess them and repent from them and therefore be led, Father, by your everlasting guidance unto the image of your Son and the Lord Jesus Christ? And Father, as we become aware of these sins and as we confess them and as we repent from them, Lord, would you help us to find safe harbor and peace and rest in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, in his death and in his resurrection. Father, help us to cling to the cross, even in our forgiveness, that we might be known as those people who are forgiven and live in a godly way that brings you honor and glory because we have been forgiven. We love you, Father, and ask all of this in Christ's holy name. Amen. As we continue in this time of repentance, we have corporately, individually confessed our sins, now corporately confessed our sins and joined our hearts as Pastor Dylan has led us in a corporate prayer of confession. Let us now join our voices together as well as we pray and sing. And we look to the only one who is able to forgive us of our sins and to free us from the reign and the power of sin of our lives. Let's turn now to hymn number 115 and sing together, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts. Jesus, the joy of loving hearts, the heart of life, the life of man, from the best bliss that earth imparts, eternal fill Your truth unchanged has ever stood. You save all those that on you call. To them that seek you, you are good. To them that find you, all is well. We taste you, O thou living bread, and long to feast the heart you still. We drink of you still. Our hearts to quench, our souls to fill. Our restless spirits yearn for you, Where'er our changeful odds pass. Glad in your gracious smile we see, Blessed when our faith can hold you fast. O Jesus, ever with us stay. Make all our moments calm and bright. Chase the dark night of sin away. Amen. As we sing those words this morning, we are reminded of our need to turn once again to our Lord and Savior. We confess our sins not because That somehow earns us right standing before God. We confess our sins every Lord's Day, and indeed as we should every day, because it is a reminder to us that we must acknowledge our sin and that our salvation does not come by keeping the works of the law, but rather by hearing with faith and hearing the word of Christ. So we do just that now. If you will turn with me to the book of Colossians, chapter one. as we have our New Testament reading and our assurance of pardon, our gospel proclamation this morning. Colossians chapter one, beginning in verse 15, and as you find Colossians one, if you'll please stand with me if you're able, as we honor the reading of the word once again this morning. Colossians chapter one, verses 15 down through verse 23. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. and you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. This is the word of the Lord. And as we hear this word this morning, we are indeed reminded of the preeminence of Christ in all things. He was created, or he created, excuse me, all things were created in him, through him, for him, and for his glory. And as we come this morning, we are reminded that our entire salvation is based upon his person and completed work for us. And so this morning we come Again, not trying to count all the things we did right or even all the things that we did wrong throughout this last week, but we come by faith in the one who is preeminent. We come by faith in the one who has reconciled us to himself by his death, by his flesh going upon the cross, taking our sins, paying the penalty for our sins that we owed, and dying on the cross for those sins as he was obedient. And in being obedient, he did not stay dead, as we know. He was raised on the third day, proving that he indeed is God, and he indeed paid the penalty for our sins. So this morning, it is my joy, it is my privilege and pleasure this morning to remind all of you in this room, once again, that if you are trusting in the finished work of Christ and in his preeminence, and trusting in that alone this morning, not in your own works, you can be reminded and be assured this morning that in Christ, your sins are forgiven. Amen? Let us give thanks to God now, joyfully responding. Let us sing together hymn number 177, In Christ Alone. In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My comforter, my all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground his body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain, Then bursting forth and glorious day, Up from the grave he rose again. And as He stands in victory, Since birth has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine, Born with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt denied, Here in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cries to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No fire of hell, no steam of man can ever lock me from his hand. Amen. As we come together once again to continue in worship through the Word of God, if you would take your copy of God's Word and turn to Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter number nine. Our focus will be verses seven through nine as we continue our study through the gospel according to Luke. And as we continue to worship our one true and living God, giving attention now to the reading of holy scripture from the gospel according to Luke, Luke nine verse seven. Follow with me as I read aloud. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, John, I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. And this morning I'm preaching on this subject, who is this man? And you may be seated if you would pray with me at this time. Father, we love you and thank you and praise you for the privilege of worship, for the opportunity to gather here with brothers and sisters in Christ, to be able to come together for the very purpose of praising and magnifying the name of our great God. We ask your blessings on our time of worship through your word, through the preaching of the gospel. Oh God, we ask that you would build up and edify us in the faith, and as we often pray, if there happens to be one among us in this room who is sitting under the hearing and the proclamation and the preaching of the gospel, who is yet to be converted, we pray, oh God, that by your sovereign mercy and grace, that you would draw those individuals out of darkness, out of the stupor of their sin, and that you would call them to yourself, and that they would respond in faith, that they would respond joyfully, that they would be brought out of darkness, out from condemnation, into your marvelous light of the hope of the good news of Jesus Christ who saves sinners. We pray that even now through the preaching of the word that everyone in this room would not just be listeners, but participants actively engaged in the worship of our God. We ask all of this in Jesus name, amen. As we remember now, our study through the gospel according to Luke, we have been for a number of months, in fact, a couple of years now, working our way through the gospel according to Luke. And as we have been giving attention now to these verses, these passages before us, we have been able to be witnesses of great and extraordinary things in the life of Jesus, in his ministry, in his earthly ministry. But as we think about life in general, and as we think about the people that we know, it seems that everyone has an opinion about who Jesus actually is. In fact, there was a study that was conducted by the BBC some years back, and they interviewed leading historians and asked a simple question. Who is the most extraordinary figure, the most central figure of human history? In the top five, Jesus never even appeared on that list. It seems though that everyone has their own personal and private opinion about who Jesus is. In December of 2013, Time Magazine revealed that Jesus as the most significant figure of history. But it doesn't matter if it's politics or country music. Jesus is referenced in nearly every sphere of life. It was Kid Rock who referenced Jesus as the man from Galilee who served as a co-assistant with Hank Williams Jr. to lead him to the light. Justin Bieber has his version of Jesus Christ tattooed on his left shoulder. Cath, Kanye West, has his version of Jesus as the king. Dolly Parton has her version of Jesus. In fact, she speaks of Jesus in gravity in a song that she penned. In fact, everyone seems to have their own personal, private opinion about who Jesus is, but the real question is this. What does the Bible say about this man? Who is Jesus? And as Jesus is revealed on the pages of scripture, it would do us well to find out, to search the scriptures, and to see how God has revealed his son. What the Bible says about Jesus is crystal clear. Jesus is central. In fact, the most central question to our present life is found in this very text before us. Here's the greatest question that you could ask. The greatest question that could ever be answered is this, who is this man? Who is Jesus? The answer to this question is where all of eternity hinges. On this one question, we find the difference between heaven and hell, between blessing and curse, between salvation and condemnation. And it doesn't matter if you're a student. It doesn't matter if you're young, old, or middle-aged in this room today. It doesn't matter if you're wealthy or if you're poor. Whatever sphere of life you might be in, what era of life you might be in, what skin color you have does not matter. What matters is this, who is Jesus and what is your relationship to him? That is the central question of life. And so as we think about this question, who is this man? Herod wanted to know the question. He wanted this answered. But the interesting thing is, as we remember throughout our study of the gospel according to Luke, we have seen this question come up time and time and time again, have we not? If you go back to Luke chapter five, verse 21, after Jesus healed a paralyzed man that was brought to him on a bed, and because there were so many people in the room, in the house, they could not get in the door, so they went up onto the rooftop, they took apart the top of the roof, they let the man down on his bed in front of Jesus, and Jesus did something that was very Strange and extraordinary. Jesus forgave the man's sin. And then, because that caused a great stir among the religious elites of that day, then Jesus raised him up and he healed the man in their presence. Now, in that very text, we find this. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? There's the question. And on and on and on we go throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus in his preaching ministry. We see that people are consistently asking, who is this man? In Luke chapter seven, verse 20, the disciples of John the Baptist approached Jesus with a question from John the Baptist. Remember the question? Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? In other words, who are you? Are you the one that's been promised to us? If you go to the next chapter in Luke 8, verse 25, after Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and the sea obeyed Jesus, the disciples stood in awe and wonder in his presence. And they were afraid, the text says, and they marveled, saying to one another, who then is this that he commands even winds and water? And they obey him. It seems that all throughout Jesus's earthly ministry, the question was very much the same. Who is this one? Who is this figure? Who is this man? Who is this teacher? But it's strange that that the Jewish people, they could not come to grips with who Jesus was, with his identity, and it seems that the ruling authorities of Rome, they could not come to grips with who Jesus was either. But when Jesus came into the very presence of demons, they knew right off the bat who Jesus was. They knew exactly who Jesus is and what his identity was, and of course, they submitted themselves to him. In fear and trembling, they were in complete submission before him. So today, as I work through these verses here, just a few verses this morning from Luke chapter number nine, verses seven through nine, three verses, I want you to trace this central question, and I urge you to ask yourself this question, have you come to grips with who Jesus is, and what is your relationship to him, and have you yet to submit yourself to him fully, trusting in his work alone for salvation? The first thing that we see here in this passage is Herod's perplexity. If you'll give attention now to the passage before us, notice what it says in that passage. It talks about the fact that Herod was perplexed because he was hearing certain things about Jesus. He was hearing certain things about him. Now as we begin, we need to ask ourselves a question, who is this Herod? Because you know there are various different Herods in the Bible and it would do us well to understand the difference between Herod the Great and Herod Antipas or Herod the Tetrarch. And of course we need to know who these different Herods are. In the ancient world there was a dreadful man known as Herod the Great. He was a horrible man. He was feared. He was ruthless. He was a murderous individual. And yet when he died, he split up his land into different regions for different Herods, namely his three sons, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip, and Herod Agrippa. Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch. Again, that word Tetrarch in the passage before us literally means someone who is a governor. He is someone who is managing a specific region, and that region was, of course, given to him by his father. Now Herod Antipas had a brother named Philip. And this family, if you just looked up dysfunctional family in the ancient Roman encyclopedia, I am firmly convinced that this family would have been pictured as the central definition for what it means to be a dysfunctional family. They loved their sin. Herod the Great had many wives and children by all of these different women, and Herod Antipas married a woman who was the daughter of a king. Now this was strategic because he wanted to make sure that he had power, just like his father, he wanted to always guard whatever ounce of authority he might have. So it was a political move. But his brother Philip married the daughter of his half-brother. In other words, he married his niece. which was a horrible thing, and it gives a glimpse of the human depravity at play in this family's life. But at some point, we see that Herod Antipas, this Tetrarch that's mentioned here, he meets his brother Philip's wife, and they determine to spark a relationship. And of course, we know that this was a horrific relationship, that they planned to divorce their spouses, and that didn't work out well. It sparked all sorts of family feud and all sorts of turmoil. But you get the point. You have a man who is having an unbiblical, irreverent relationship with his brother's wife, and everyone knew about it. For those of you that are old enough to remember the President Bill Clinton and his relationship that he was having that was of course irreverent and immoral, you know what that looks like and you can just think in terms of the political sphere, everyone's talking about it, everyone's speaking of it and passing it from house to house and village to village and everyone knew what Herod was up to. But again, as you consider this man and his power and his immorality, the popularity of Jesus was increasing. In Luke chapter nine, verse seven, the first part, it says, now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that was happening. What was he hearing? Now the people had been hearing about Herod's relationship, his immorality, his sinful relationship, his adultery, but yet, Herod had been hearing about Jesus. He had been hearing about Jesus' miracles, his signs and his wonders. And keep in mind, you remember that every time Jesus would go into a different village or a different town, there were crowds that were flocking to Jesus. Because he would heal the sick and the diseased, he would cast out demons, he cleansed a person that was was smitten with leprosy. He healed a paralyzed man. He healed a man with a withered hand. He healed the demon-possessed man, and a legion of demons came from him. He raised Jairus' daughter. And again, you see, he calmed the raging storm. He spoke, and the wind and the waves obeyed him. Jesus made the lame to walk, the mute to speak, the deaf to hear again. And so as people would hear this, they would flock to Jesus with their family members and friends because they knew that if they could just get in the presence of Jesus, that it's quite possible that Jesus would perform a miracle and would restore them. Herod, this powerful man, was hearing about Jesus and all that he was doing, and the crowds would flock to Jesus. So, so powerful were these crowds and so passionate were these crowds that the Bible often uses the language in the gospel that they were pressing upon him, that he felt the pressure of all of these crowds. And so at one point it tells us that Jesus sent so much pressure that he got into a boat and let out into the water a bit to provide some space from shore so that he could address the great crowds because they were pressing on him. And so Herod was hearing about the popularity of Jesus. But then the text tells us that this Tetrarch, Herod, was perplexed. the perplexity of Herod. The word perplexed here, it means that there's some intensity here. It means to be greatly perplexed. In other words, Herod was at a loss. He couldn't figure out the identity of Jesus. because he was hearing all of these things, the miracles and the wonders and the signs and the authority. He was even daring to forgive people's sins. And there was all of this turmoil among the Jewish elites and the religious elites of the day. And so Herod was hearing all the reports. In fact, some were reporting to Herod that this man, Jesus, was none other than John the Baptist raised from the dead. Some were saying that he was Elijah who had appeared, that was hearkening back to the Old Testament prophecy from Malachi, that before the coming of the Messiah, before the coming of God's son, that there would be this one who would come in the spirit of Elijah. Of course, they were misreading that prophecy, applying it to Jesus, when in fact, that prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist. And the other account, the other possibility was that he was simply one of the prophets who had risen from the dead. Well, this list of options is very important. All three of them contain the office of prophet. You have John the Baptist, who is the last of the prophets, who hinges together the old and the new and points to Jesus Christ as the one who came not to abolish the law and the prophets, but the one who came to fulfill it as the prophet greater than Moses. You have Elijah, who was that great prophet. And then, of course, you have one of the prophets who could be Any of them, and many of them were powerful individuals. Now, the office of prophet is very important in the Old Testament. The office of prophet is someone who is raised up by God to speak his word to the people, and that person in that office, that man, is to be the representative of God to the people. He was to declare the word of God. Sometimes that word would be judgment. Sometimes that word would be blessing. Sometimes that word would be warning. Sometimes it would be curse. But nevertheless, it was always the message of God to the people for the glory of God. And Jesus himself embodied and fulfilled every important attribute of this office. and he was indeed the prophet greater than Moses. Jesus himself affirmed his prophetic role. If you remember back to Luke chapter four earlier in our study, in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, and he read a text that was given to him, Isaiah 60, verses one and two, and this is what the text said. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn. And then in the very next passage, he said, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And of course, we remember the outcome. They did not like the fact that this one Jesus is standing there saying he is the fulfillment of this prophecy. And so, as we continue to survey the gospel accounts, you find that the Samaritan woman recognized Jesus as what? A prophet. It was Herod here who's hearing these different possibilities, and all of them are connected to the office of the prophet. When Jesus taught and preached, he preached and taught as one who has authority, which was quite different than the way that the scribes were teaching, and they were astounded at his teaching, which was very much like the preaching of the prophets. And when Jesus later, you're gonna see this even in this chapter, When Jesus asked his disciples about his identity, they said the very same thing. This was the common word on the street. This was the rumor that was being spread about Jesus' identity, that he is either John the Baptist raised from the dead, Elijah who has appeared, or he is one of the prophets of old, perhaps even Jeremiah. And so, we have to remember the importance of this designation. From Deuteronomy 18, verse 15, Moses said, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. So let's consider the possibilities. Possibility number one is that when Herod said he wanted to know who this Jesus figure was, possibility number one was that he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Now you've gotta remember that John the Baptist was a blazing prophet. He was a powerful individual. He preached with the boldness of a lion and he was confrontational. He was a judgment preacher. He was not one of these guys that just got up and said, hey, gather around everyone, we're gonna have a fireside chat. Hey, if I could just get everyone's attention, if you would just gather closely, I wanna whisper to you in a kind voice. Hey, if you could come a bit closer, I want to tell you some funny stories and make you laugh and make sure that when you leave and head back home, you'll fill out the little comment card and it'll make you feel good as you go home. That's not the way that John the Baptist approached his ministry. He thundered the Word of God without apology. He preached the Word of God and made sure that people understood. He cut it straight. He stood flat-footed without apology, without blushing, and declared the message of God. And again we find in Mark chapter number 6 verse 18, for John had been saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. In other words, he would preach the gospel. He pointed out that Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist was the forerunner that would go before Christ, the King, and he would blaze this trail. But as people, in fact, scholars estimate hundreds of thousands of people came out to hear this man preach in the wilderness. He had strange attire, he ate strange food, he had a powerful message, he was unflinching, and then not only did he proclaim Christ, but then he said, oh yeah, and by the way, everyone needs to go back and spread far and wide that Herod should not have his brother's wife. Anyone wanna talk about what the Christian's role should be in the public sphere? You should actually be speaking to authorities this way. You should speak to governors. You should speak to politicians who represent you. You should make sure that they understand that they are held accountable to a greater throne and that their seat is given to them by God. So John the Baptist wasn't afraid. He was a no-nonsense preacher. But the interesting thing about this is that they confused the people in the street, the general community, the crowds that were coming and seeing and witnessing when they would start talking in the community, in the marketplace, who is this? Who is this figure? People started saying, I think he's John the Baptist raised from the dead, based on how he's preaching. And so that tells you a bit about Jesus' preaching. He was a no-nonsense preacher, Jesus was. Jesus was not a talker. He was not a politician. He was not a salesman. He was a powerful, prophetic preacher. That's why it is that they confused Jesus with John the Baptist. I mean, you just have to ask yourself an honest question. How many of you think that the general evangelical community is gonna confuse Stephen Lawson with Joel Osteen? What are the chances, right? It's not gonna happen, right? Well, Jesus preached this way. Jesus proclaimed the word of God powerfully. Martin Luther, once addressing a group of preachers in his day, he said it this way, quote, this is not the hour for sleeping and snoring. In other words, preachers need to stand up and preachers need to speak up. It is a sad day when you recognize and read articles in the church growth movement from years back that became so popular under the ministry of Rick Warren and other figures like him. this user-friendly, church-growth sort of movement that passed through evangelicalism, and it was a tsunami wave that passed over the Southern Baptist Convention. And people would say things when they were interviewed about their churches. They would say things like this. The sermons are relevant, upbeat, and best of all, they're short. You won't hear a lot of preaching about sin and damnation and hell fire. Preaching here doesn't sound like preaching. It's sophisticated, urbane, friendly talk. It breaks all the stereotypes. It's an interesting thing, is it not? Many of you have read books by J.I. Packer. J.I. Packer was a student in London in the 1940s, and he would go and listen to Martin Lloyd-Jones preach. And this is the way that he described the preaching of Martin Lloyd-Jones. He said that the preaching of Lloyd-Jones came to him with the force of an electric shock. This is what he said when he described Lloyd-Jones' preaching. And those of you that have read his books and read Lloyd-Jones, maybe even in the one that we read as a church on spiritual depression, this is what Packer said of Lloyd-Jones' preaching. He said he had never heard such preaching. Now, I don't know about you, but when I survey evangelicalism, or if I'm on vacation and I go to a church, sometimes I think that the reason that Packer, way back in the 1940s, would make a statement like that was because of the spiritual drought that was very much present in many churches. But I only just compared the 1940s to our present era, and I think it's far worse. I wonder how many churches today have even heard true preaching. True preaching should have people and should leave people with a profound sense of the majesty, the glory, and the sovereignty of God, and it should leave people with the weightiness of their own sin bearing upon them so that they would turn to Christ. Well, this is possibility number one. Who is this Jesus Herod wanted to know? And people said, some say that he's John the Baptist raised from the dead. Now, possibility number two was that he's Elijah the prophet. Again, based on an incorrect interpretation of Malachi 4, that there would come this one Elijah will be sent, the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Obviously, they were applying this to Jesus when they should not have been applying this to Jesus. But nevertheless, who was Elijah? Elijah was a bold prophet of old. Elijah was someone who preached with boldness and stood before the people and declared the message of God. He confronted the prophets of Baal. He confronted the sinful nation of Israel. Elijah was a blazing prophet. and yet people thought that maybe Jesus was Elijah. In fact, if you go back to the whole scene there where Elijah is confronting the prophets of Baal, when Elijah prays after the prophets of Baal were cutting themselves because they could not have their God answer them, then Elijah prays and Yahweh answered with a blaze of fire that encompassed and devoured the entire altar, and then after that, the prophets of Baal were on the run, and Elijah ran after them, seized them, and the Bible says that he slaughtered them. Does that sound like a milk toast softy to you? Well, this is possibility number two. Possibility number three, was that he was a prophet of old who had been raised from the dead, perhaps even Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jeremiah was a weeping prophet, but he wasn't a weak prophet. He was a faithful prophet who preached and thundered the word of God. And then of course you have other prophets, perhaps even maybe Samuel. Anybody studied Samuel lately? Do you remember what Samuel did before the king? Do you remember what happened to the king as he stood there? Do you remember what happened when Saul did not obey God completely? And they came back with the spoil and they were to devour and they were to cut off and they were to kill every single individual of the pagan enemies of God. And yet they came back with King Agag as a prisoner. And so the prophet Samuel confronted Saul and told him that his throne had been compromised. He was under the judgment of God. And then what did he do? The Bible tells us that Samuel, this prophet of old, that he hacked Agag to pieces in the presence of them all. It's powerful. And what you have here in this text is that people were saying that this is who Jesus might be. This is who Jesus might be. That he might be one of the prophets of old. You see, the prophet is, according to 1 Samuel 2, verse 27, is a man of God. The prophet according to Isaiah 42 verse 19 is the servant and messenger of the Lord. The prophet was to be a seer according to Isaiah chapter 30. The prophet was to be a man of the spirit or an inspired man. The prophet was to be a watchman for the people according to Ezekiel. So you get the point, is that when they're trying to figure out who Jesus is and everyone's talking in the marketplace and everyone's trying to size up Jesus and assess Jesus, this is the way that they looked at Jesus. This is the way that they came to the conclusion by listening to his preaching, looking at his authority, assessing his power. They were saying, surely he's John the Baptist raised from the dead. Surely he must be Elijah who has appeared or perhaps one of the prophets of old. John chapter number one, verses nine through 11, gives us that terrifying passage. It's a sobering passage. The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. Even the Jews who were awaiting their Messiah in the presence of Jesus's miracles, his signs, his wonders, all of these display, these magnificent displays of his glory, they still did not receive him. This is Herod's perplexity. He was at a loss. But then last of all, you see in verse number nine, you see Herod's fear. Herod said, John, I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. Herod's question. John, I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? In other words, who is this man? That's what Herod really wanted to know. Herod was motivated by fear. He did not want anyone to seize what little bit of power he had. what little bit of authority and power had been given to him by Herod the Great, what little bit of authority he had in this region as a governor. He didn't want anyone to seize or to take that authority from him, and so he was fearful. Keep in mind, John the Baptist wasn't afraid of Herod. So when he preached and thundered, it caught the attention of Herod and he arrested him. And you remember the story, of course, at a drunken party in his stupor. You remember what happened, that he actually had John the Baptist, this prophet, he had him beheaded. And yet, as he's asking this question, he's wanting to know who was or who is this man that the word is coming back that some say that he's John the Baptist. And here in Luke's account, it says, John, I beheaded, but who is this? about whom I hear such things. He was perplexed and confused and gripped by fear, but the interesting thing is, is if you go down to Matthew chapter 14 verse one, notice what Matthew's account says. It says this, at that time Herod the Tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus and he said to his servants, This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him. So Luke doesn't provide for us the commentary, but apparently after he asked the question and he received the word on the street, he came to the conclusion that this was indeed John the Baptist who was raised from the dead and it was his worst living nightmare. Why? Because he had beheaded him. And he was fearful that if John had been raised from the dead, certainly he was coming back for him. And so he felt that his throne, what little throne it might be, was threatened. But then we also see that Herod was seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons. He was seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons. The way this passage ends is quite interesting, is it not? It just simply says that he sought to see him. He sought to see him. Why did Herod seek to see Jesus? Well, he wanted to protect his authority. He wanted to protect his throne, yes. But he also, when he finally had the opportunity, As we're gonna see, as we're gonna come full circle, we're gonna go all the way down to the end of Luke's gospel, to chapter 23, and we're gonna get there. And by the way, don't ask me in the foyer, how many months is it gonna be until we get to Luke 23? I don't really know how long it's gonna be, but we will get there, Lord willing. And here's the point, is that in Luke chapter 23, when Jesus had been arrested and had been handed over to Pilate, and then of course, Pilate sends him off to Herod, we find this, commentary. When Herod saw Jesus, this is Luke 23 verse 8, he was very glad for he had long desired to see him. because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. There you have it. He's seeking Jesus for the wrong reason. He's not seeking Jesus because he wants to submit himself to Jesus. He's not seeking Jesus because he wants to have his sins forgiven by Jesus. He had certainly heard of the account of Jesus forgiving people's sins and the controversy that had erupted among the Jews, which is, by the way, why he was arrested in the first place. No, Herod wanted to see Jesus because he wanted to see Jesus do something miraculous. He wanted to see Jesus do a sign or a miracle. And by the way, so many quote-unquote evangelical churches today are filled with people who come because they want to see some sign done among them. They want to see something miraculous happen. They want to hear a fresh word from God, from somebody that'll speak up and share a prophecy or speak in tongues. in a revelatory manner because obviously the word of God on the pulpit is perhaps not even opened and that's not enough. And so people are bored with the word of God and so they're seeking some sort of miracle, some sign, give me something that's gonna really just cause me to go out and talk to my friends and tell them what I saw on Sunday. If you keep reading in Luke 23, the next verse, verse nine says, so he questioned him at some length, this is Herod, questioning Jesus, but he made no answer. Jesus did not even answer him, he just sat silent. The chief priests and the scribes stood by and they were doing what? They were blaspheming him, they were accusing him, they were deriding him, railing upon him. Notice verse 11, and Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. So here's Herod, you just gotta think about full circle. He wants to see Jesus. He's threatened by Jesus's authority and his power. And now when Jesus is standing there as a prisoner under his authority, what does he do? He questions him, Jesus doesn't answer him because Jesus did not cast the pearls before the swine. It infuriated him, so what does he do? He mocks him. He mocks him. He treated him with contempt. And then what did he do? He arrayed him in splendid clothing and then sent him back to Pilate. Was this splendid clothing something of respect or disrespect? It was disrespect, it was mocking him. Well, if you really are a king, then we need to dress you up like a king. Let's send you back as a king. Jesus did not answer him. Herod mocked him and scorned Jesus publicly. Herod was enjoying the moment where he realized, this one that I've been fearing is not going to take my throne after all. He had no clue. He had no clue. So just let me ask you a simple question this morning. As we look at this passage of scripture, and as we think about the word on the street, the rumor mill that was being spread in the marketplace about the identity of Jesus, and then Herod's own fascination with Jesus, and then his own opinion about who Jesus was, and then how he sought him for the wrong reason, just let me ask you a question. What is your opinion about Jesus? Where have you derived your opinion? and your own position, what has formed and forged your own position about who Jesus is? Is it pop culture? Is it the songs of Justin Bieber or Kanye West or Kid Rock? What has caused you to come to the position where you know who Jesus is? Is it on the basis of the authority of God's word? And if so, now how have you responded to Jesus? Have you been seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons? Or are you in complete and total submission before the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, who the Bible says one of these days he's gonna return and every knee's gonna bow and every tongue's gonna confess. Kid Rock notwithstanding, Hank Williams Jr. too, Dolly Parton and Justin Bieber and Kanye West and every president and every king and every queen of human history will bow before the throne of Jesus Christ and confess that he is Lord for the glory of God the Father. Have you been in a place? Have you come to the place where you have seen that this Jesus is not just some figure of pop culture or some figure of religiosity, empty religion, but that he is indeed Lord God? and that He has the authority to judge you. He has the authority to damn you. He has the authority to cast you into everlasting darkness in the lake of fire without ceasing for all of time and for all of eternity. But not only does this Jesus that Herod was seeking to know who he was have the authority to damn sinners and to judge sinners and to cast them into everlasting hell, but this Jesus has the authority to forgive sinners. He has the authority to save sinners. And the Bible says that if you will cast yourself upon the mercy of God, that if you will believe that you have indeed sinned against God, that if you will cast yourself upon his mercy, believe that Jesus Christ died in your place, suffered for you, and if you will call upon him for salvation, whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So is that you in this room today? Maybe there's a child in this room, maybe there's an elderly individual among us, maybe there's a visitor, maybe there's a lost church member among us, that this morning, for the first time, you've come to see yourself as guilty. You stand in need of salvation if you will turn to God even now and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that you shall be saved. But make no mistake about it, this Jesus put on display for us in the pages of Holy Scripture, he is no sappy happy Jesus. He is not the nice religious guy who just smiles at everyone and hopes that you have a wonderful, wonderful day. He is not the white Jesus, the European figure that you see on so many postcards and so many different paintings in Christian bookstores. He's not the superhero Jesus, a powerful figure who uses majestic power and flexes his divine muscle coming to do battle with a great dragon, the ancient serpent. He's not the grandpa Jesus, who's just up there saying, I just want all of my children to come and have a wonderful eternity. He's not the Christmas Jesus who comes out of the attic, right about Thanksgiving, and is presented in the living room of families all around the world, all about until somewhere around New Year's Day. He's not the community center Jesus, the social justice figure, who walks about as this ecumenical rabbi, hoping that everyone can just have a wonderful life, and that they'll have good, clean drinking water, and that he'll right all the wrongs of society. And he's not the pop culture Jesus, the Jesus that you sing about or get tattooed on your bicep. No, scripture makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is the prophet greater than Moses. He is the priest greater than Melchizedek. He is the king greater than David. And he is the eternal judge of the entire world. And he is indeed the savior of sinners. So what about you? What's your opinion? And what's your answer to this question that should search every soul in this room today? Who is this man named Jesus? Will you bow before him? Have you bowed before him? Will you worship him? He is worthy of praise and honor and glory forever. May God be praised. this morning. Let us pray. Father, we love you and we praise you and thank you for the privilege of worship, for the opportunity to sing the gospel and to preach the gospel and to pray the gospel and to now see the gospel made visible at the Lord's table. We ask that you would bless this time as we continue to worship at the culmination of our worship service. And I pray that even as we fence the table here momentarily, that you would cause us to understand the importance of what we will be participating in in just a few moments. We ask that you would strengthen us through the ordinary means of grace, strengthen our faith, and save sinners. We ask all of this in Christ's name, amen. As we now prepare for the culmination of our worship service, every Lord's Day, the culmination is the Lord's Table. Sometimes people say, well, do you still give invitations? You know, like those old-fashioned invitations at the end of the worship service. My question to them back is, how old-fashioned do you wanna be? because we give an invitation every single Lord's Day. And I do that often throughout the preaching of the sermon based upon the text of Scripture. But the primary, the primary call to respond to the preached word is at the Lord's table. And this is a time where we can fence the Lord's table where we tell people who should not be partaking of the Lord's table, make it very clear, give clear directions and instructions. But it's also a means by which we invite and we call people to worship and we call people to respond. But in both, what we're doing is we're calling people to repent. We're calling unbelievers to repent and to believe the gospel, and we're calling the church to repent and to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace in the life of the church. So if you're here today as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a baptized follower of Christ in the life of our church, and you, again, are a member who is not under church discipline in any way, then we invite you and call you to worship with us at the Lord's table in just a moment. If you're here today and you're not a member of Praise Meal Baptist Church, but you're a member of a gospel church who believes the gospel and preaches the gospel and you're in good standing within your church as a member having been publicly baptized, as a follower of Jesus, then we want you to worship with us as well at the Lord's table. If you're here today and you say, I have never been baptized as a follower of Jesus, then we simply ask you to refrain from taking of the Lord's table as it's passed in just a few moments. We ask that you would not leave and get up and walk out because the worship service is still ongoing. And we would ask that you just pay close attention, that you listen to what we're saying, pay close attention to your family, pay close attention as children to your grandparents and parents who might be among us this morning, and listen to the words, the intentional language that we use talking about the elements of the Lord's table. the bread and the cup, what they represent, and the purpose for what's taking place here at the Lord's table. If you find yourself here this morning and you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, and you know that right now as the gospel has been preached, you need to be saved, then simply pass over the elements as they're passed, but bow yourself before the throne of God. and repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ alone for salvation. And so this is our opportunity now to worship and to continue to worship and to remember the death of Jesus Christ, his atoning sacrifice for his people. And so may God be praised. May Christ be exalted among us this morning as we continue to worship at the Lord's table. The word of God now calls us into worship as we worship at the Lord's table as we consider the words of institution from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 23 through 26. God's word there says, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. This is the word of the Lord. you As we come to this time of worship, we are consistently, week by week, we are seeing the gospel made visible. And what that means, that statement, the gospel made visible, is that we are looking to bread that is to represent the body of Christ. We are looking to a cup that is to represent the very blood of Christ. And so it is a constant reminder that when we think of the saving work of God, that we are at this moment, at the culmination of our worship service, we are pointing away from ourselves and we are giving attention to the one who has indeed worked on behalf of God to save us. So every Lord's Day when we eat of this bread and drink of this cup, it is a fresh reminder that we could never save ourselves and that apart from the work of Jesus, We're all doomed. And so it is with joyful hearts that we gather. It is with a heart of worship and humility that we come now to be able to eat of this bread and drink of this cup together as brothers and sisters in the Lord, celebrating the wonderful grace of our God through Jesus Christ. So as we take this piece of bread, we are mindful of John the Baptist words as he pointed away from himself stating that he was not even worthy to untie the sandal of the one who is the Christ. And he said that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So if you are here in this room today as a brother and sister in Christ, having cast yourself upon his mercy, believe that Jesus Christ has suffered and died for you, you have been baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ, with assurance that you have been identified with Christ and with his church, then we eat of this bread together. And we do so with joyful hearts, remembering the body of Christ that was broken for us. In like manner, we take of this cup and we are reminded of the fact that there was to be a grand sacrifice. All the way back to the very Garden of Eden, all the way throughout the Old Testament law and the worship of God's people, there was always a sacrifice that was offered up on behalf of God's people for God to satisfy Him. But it was always forward-looking, so that in Jesus, as he said, he did not come to abolish the law, but he came to fulfill it. So when Jesus died as the Lamb of God, he was the fulfillment of all of those foreshadowing promises. And so as we continue to worship now, we drink of this cup, and we remember the very blood of Christ that atones for every last one of our sins. Dear brother and sister in Christ, be encouraged in the hope of the gospel. The same Christ who promised and prophesied of his death, burial, and resurrection has also prophesied of his return. We look back and we remember the very sacrifice of Jesus and we look forward anticipating his return. Let us stand and continue to worship as we sing. ♪ Blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ Amen. You may be seated. Let's pray. Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we as your unworthy servants, we give you humble and a hearty thanks for all your goodness, and your loving kindness to us and to all men. Father, we bless you for your creation, for your preservation, and for all the blessings of this life. But above all, your inestimable love and the redemption of this world through your son, Jesus Christ. For the means of grace, for the hope of glory, a Lord who gives to us liberally, and abrade us not, teach us to give cheerfully of all that we have for your cause, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. May your blessing be upon this offering and grant us to know the joy of those who give with their whole heart. We pray all these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. you I'm sorry. As we prepare now to head to the end of our worship service, we have a time of announcements where we want to provide a couple of announcements to our church, as we typically do each Lord's Day before we have our final hymn of commission and then our benediction to follow. I want to remind the church This week there is a special conference that is taking place on our church campus, and it is titled Operation Save America. Jason Storms and his family are here with us this morning, and then, of course, he will be leading that conference this week. You are invited. I believe registration will take place tomorrow evening. The evening sessions are from six o'clock to nine o'clock. And then, of course, in the mornings and throughout the day, there will be opportunities for street evangelism, and that'll be taking place in various different places across the city of Atlanta. If you want more information about that, you can also talk to Bobby McCreery, as he's gonna be involved in that this week. A number of us will be going out to evangelize this week. And then this Wednesday evening, I will be one of the three speakers that will be speaking in the conference that will be here on campus this coming Wednesday. So no typical Wednesday evening service or prayer time and Bible study for us. But if you are interested in being a part of that conference, you can join with us and we will be meeting here in the auditorium this Wednesday. Also want to remind us all that we are continuing to pray for our prayer focus and mission focus this month in July, which is the church in America. We are praying for faithful churches and the faithful proclamation of the word of God. And we pray that we would be a part of that and that we would be able to continuously proclaim the truth of the gospel. So we pray for other sister churches as well. not only in the state of Georgia, but all across the United States, that we would see a recovery of the pulpit and a recovery of sound biblical teaching and preaching and faithful evangelism taking place on the soil of America. Also be mindful of this evening, our 6 p.m. worship service is indeed a worship service. Many of you know that we will have the opportunity at the end of that worship service to be able to lay hands publicly upon John Norton and to go through the process of ordination and installation of John as an elder in our church. But that's not just what it is. So sometimes people think, well, it's just an ordination service. I don't need to be a part of that. Actually, it's a worship service. and we will just do the ordination at the end. So I hope to see each of you here this evening. In fact, it's a critical opportunity for you to hear a charge to one of the elders who will join the other pastors of this church in shepherding this flock. And so that will take place this evening at six o'clock. And then finally, if you're here today as a guest of ours at Praise Meal, in just a moment, we're gonna have one final hymn, our hymn of commission, and then we're gonna have a closing benediction. If you're here today as a guest of ours at our church, worshiping with us, it's a privilege to have you with us. I would love the privilege to meet you and greet you. As you exit today, I will be in the foyer and would love to be able to shake your hands as you leave today. May God bless you. Let's stand and continue to worship through song. As we do prepare to be sent out this morning, We turn to our final hymn, our hymn of commission, and just as we have been exhorted today in the sermon, we do indeed want to join together in singing and professing and proclaiming that Christ is Lord and that we do indeed bow before Him and bow before His glory. So with that in mind, let us sing, Lord, we bow before Your glory. You can find the hymn sheet in your bulletin insert. Let's join together. Lord, we bow before your glory, manifested in your son. Radiant with your perfect beauty, he is heaven's beloved one. Saving grace has given us vision, open eyes that once were blind. Whom we brought derision now delights our heart and mind. Such a Savior, now exalted, well deserves our heartfelt praise. Dying He has death defeated, risen He reigns for endless days. Now in heaven interceding, Jesus, friend of sinners, prays. For the weakest daily pleading, all sufficient is his grace. Oh that we might know you better Jesus Christ our living Lord let our love grow daily greater as we hear your holy word there you have revealed your glory Feed our souls and make us like you till we see you face to face. Amen. As we lead now to God's word, as he sends us out, as we began the worship service with him speaking to us through his word, we end with him sending us out by speaking to us once again. Our benediction, our blessing this afternoon comes from Revelation chapter one, beginning in verse five. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests, to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him. even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. May God bless you. You are dismissed.