Let us worship God. Let us sing to God's praise from our Psalters, turning to Psalm 107, singing verses 31 through 38 to the tune, New Britain. Psalm 107, verses 31 through 38 to the tune, New Britain. Let us stand as we unite our hearts and voices in praise to God. O that men do the Lord forgive, praise for His goodness dead, and for His works of wonder done, and to the sons of men. Among the people gathered, let them exalt His name. Upon the temple elders' treads His most remounted fame. If you dry land as water springs, and flood through wilderness, For sins of those that dwell therein have led to barrenness. Bothered and parched wilderness, to water cool he brings. The ground that was dried up before, he turns to water's drains. And there for dwelling He a place Doth to the hungry give That they a city may prepare Cambodia's bleak to live. There's gold in fields and vineyards, plants to yield fruits of increase. Let's pray together. Gracious God, truly we are thankful for this, another Lord's Day, for the ordinance of corporate worship, the means of grace that are before us, that you have richly bestowed upon us to luxuriate in spiritually, to embrace, to celebrate, to enjoy, to delight in. We thank you, Father, for inspired psalms that allow us to sing forth your truth. We thank you for the The blessing of Christian fellowship, gathering here and seeing other blood-bought, spirit-filled, elect sons and daughters of yours. We count as brethren in Christ. What a joy that is. We thank you for your word in our language that we can enjoy, that we can read, that serves as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Father, we thank you for the gift of approaching your throne of grace as a congregation, cloaked in the righteousness of Christ, covered by his shed blood, made accepted and acceptable because of the merits of his perfect, sinless life and his obedient crosswork that you received, Father, on our behalf as our redemption, as our justification, as our sanctification. We thank you, Father, for our Lord Jesus Christ and the great salvation that we have in him being called by his name, being called to this place together this morning to seek your face in worship. Indeed, we should be a happy people, a joyful people, because we are so greatly blessed as a people in him. Father, we lift up. other faithful congregations this morning that are gathering for worship. We think especially of Pastor Gilday and the East Texas Reformed Fellowship. We ask, Lord, that you would be mightily with Pastor Gilday as he seeks to expound your word this morning. that you bless the congregation with accepted and ready hearts, with receptive ears to receive that blessing that you have for them through him. Father, strengthen Pastor Bilday as he labors among them today and we pray for traveling mercies as he returns home. Father, we confess our sinfulness as we gather before you this morning. Father, we know that In and of ourselves, we are not fit to offer worship to you. We praise you that in Christ, you have indeed made us accepted and acceptable in the beloved. And that you have not only commanded us to appear before you, but you delight in our presence. Indeed, you inhabit the praises of your people. So Father, grant to us a true heart of worship. May we seek to worship you this morning in spirit and in truth. Father, may we leave here this morning confident that we have not only met with one another, but that we have met with you. All of this we ask in Jesus' name and for his sake we're careful to pray. Amen. Please be seated. I'd like you to turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 18. Recently I was asked by a church plant to preach a sermon on church government. They're planning on particularizing and they're going to be selecting elders and deacons from among the men of their congregation. So I was asked to preach a sermon that would address the question of church government, the office of elder, the office of deacon, the qualifications for those offices. Preaching on church government is not always the easiest thing to do. It's not always the topic that is at the top of the list of inquiring Christians, things that concern them and about which They often ponder and pray. In fact, if you were to establish a list of theological topics that interest Christians, I doubt church government would break the top five. Maybe eschatology would be at the top, the study of Revelation, the study of Daniel, but church government typically is not something that stimulates a lot of Christians that tickle their fancy. So, I entitled the sermon that I delivered the ordinance of order, the often overlooked corporate discipline of ecclesiastical government. Wow, what a mouthful. And I structured it purposefully that way. In fact, the pastor emailed me and said, you think you could come up with a different sermon title? I'm afraid this title is a little off-putting. I responded and said, bear with me, there's a method to my madness. I have purposely picked a sort of unwieldy and burdensome title because when a lot of Christians think about church government, Their eyes tend to glaze over. They tend to think of it as a topic that is overly tedious, over which men like to split hairs unnecessarily. After all, what does it have to do with the gospel? What does it have to do with loving Jesus and loving sinners and preaching His gospel? What difference does it make how we order ourselves as long as we order ourselves? In fact, in the minds of a lot of people, church government is sort of a necessary burden, something that you have to have just to order yourself. Any human society has to have a certain structure, a certain amount of rules to govern them, and the church is going to get put in that regard. So let's just pick whatever works. And really, this quest for what works, I think, is a key to understanding what's wrong with so much of our so-called church government. Why so many churches do not order themselves in faithfulness to the work done. Because they are pursuing this pragmatic, this utilitarian approach to church government. They're looking for whatever works. So they take a pragmatic approach rather than a principled approach, and they end up being pragmatic rather than prophetic, rather than bearing witness to the truth of God's word in how they organize themselves together. In honesty, a lot of Christians, because they have not been well trained, because they have not sat under good biblical preaching and teaching, don't realize that the Bible does have a great deal to say to this question of how God's people are to organize themselves. does have a very clearly stated opinion about what he desires. And because these very well-intentioned, well-meaning, but uninformed Christians are not aware of what the Bible actually says about church government, they tend to look elsewhere for instruction. They tend to look to the world for analogies as to how they're to govern themselves. And so you can imagine if you look to business, They look to political organizations, they look to 501c3 charitable organizations for some sort of inspiration as to how to structure themselves. And as a result, they tend to be more influenced by books like, say, Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, or the classic book by Andrew Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People. They tend to look to these pragmatically driven human examples rather than to the inspired Word of God for their leadership. And brethren, with all sobriety, when we approach the governance of the Church like a business, when we approach the purpose of the Church as that of peddling a product, rather than demonstrating the presence and the power of a person. And as I look across the landscape today, the landscape of North American Christianity, Western Christianity, I see that there's more peddling of a product than there is the pursuit of the presence and the power of a person. So the gospel of Jesus Christ, the grace of God, is presented like a product, it's marketed like a product, marketed for consumers. And so we poll test our product, we poll test our consumer base, we see what they desire, what they appreciate, and we sort of tailor and package our product accordingly. God will not honor that. God has not pledged himself to honor that sort of approach. In fact, the Apostle Paul condemns that roundly in his writings. His approach to evangelism, his approach to missionary activity, his approach to church government, our topic this morning, was the principled one rather than a pragmatic one. He was not presenting a product to consumers. But he lived, he preached, he ministered in the presence, in the power, in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Imitate me, he said, as I imitate the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in all fairness to these who tend to take a more pragmatic and utilitarian approach to the church government, They don't completely abandon scripture. They look for some sort of biblical basis for what they're doing. And the text to which they oftentimes turn is the text that we're going to examine this morning. Exodus 18, the account of Moses' interaction with his father-in-law, Jephra, and the sage godly council. that Jethro, the priest of Midian, gives to Moses regarding the way he ministers to the people, the way he deals with their concerns and their questions as a covenant community together. And the light that this sheds on how we are to order ourselves as the people of God. So let's go ahead and read the entirety of this 18th chapter. And then we're going to compare how those who take a pragmatic approach to church government employ this passage versus what I really think it teaches us about why God requires that we structure ourselves as a people in a certain way. What should truly motivate us in our pursuit of faithful church government? Is it pragmatism? Or is it principle? I think we've answered that already. The question is, what is that principle? So we'll pursue that together this morning. Exodus 18 and verse 1. When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel and his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt, then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, and for two sons, of which the name of the one was Gershom, for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land, and the name of the other was Eleazar, for the God of my father, said he, was my help, and delivered me from the store of Pharaoh. And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses in the wilderness, where he encamped at the Mount of God. And he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake. and all the travail that had come upon them by the way and how the Lord delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. For in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, he was above them. And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. And Aaron came and all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God. And it came to pass on the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people. And the people stood by Moses from the morning until the evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou didst to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto evening? And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to acquire God. When they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and another. And I do make them to know the statutes of God and his laws. And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away both thou and this people that is with thee, for this thing is too heavy for thee. Thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice. I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people to God with, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God, and thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all at all seasons, and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, that every small matter they shall judge. So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened the voices, father-in-law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads of the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons, the hard causes they brought unto Moses. But every small matter they judged themselves. And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went into his way, He went his way into his own land. Thus far, the reading of God's Holy Word. As I was thinking about a thesis statement for this sermon, sort of a big idea for what I wanted to present to you this morning, I put pen to paper and this is what I came up with. The biblical requirement that churches organize themselves around certain office areas, who themselves are characterized by certain attributes, certain qualifications, is not, and let me emphasize, is not merely a matter of functional efficiency or the optimal deployment of the human resources that God places within a congregation. Rather, ecclesiastical government has grander and nobler aims. Now, we as Reformed folk, as Presbyterians, should not be surprised by that because we have committed to memory the question and answer, the first question and answer of the Shorter Catechism. What is the chief end of man? Of course, the chief end of man is to glorify God. That applies to all things, church government included. So, church government is not about and the establishment of church government is not merely about administrative or functional efficiency, but it is about the principle pursuit of the glory of God. Now, the passage we just read tends to be held forward as sort of the Bible's first example of the wisdom of God in delegating authority, in pursuing administrative and functional efficiency. And here you have Jethro sort of held forward as the paradigm, as the model, of this genius of administrative order. And here he comes upon his poor son-in-law, Moses, overworked, overridden. has no time to commit to his own relationship with God or the proper governance of the people. And so Jethro has this great idea, you need to delegate authority, you need to set apart these men who have these certain qualifications and allow them to bear the burden, delegate authority to them. And this will lead to a much happier life for you and for the people. And so these who take, as we've said several times this morning, a more pragmatic or utilitarian approach to church government will see this sort of as the foundational text, the touchstone text for their approach to whatever works, do it, church government. I'm going to argue though that Jethro has much higher and nobler and more principled considerations here. as he seeks to address concerns as to how the people are governed under Moses' leadership. First of all, notice that Jethro is portrayed in the very first verse of this chapter, not simply as some sort of management whiz, but as the priest of need. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, is approaching this issue with a spiritual perspective, a religious perspective, not simply a functional or a pragmatic perspective. He is a priest of Midian. He is, I would assume, a true priest of God, according to the text. So he has a relationship with God, and it is with that relationship with God, and with eyes informed by that relationship with God, that he approaches Moses, Indeed, notice the very reason for the encounter between Jethro and Moses. What led to this encounter in the first place? Look back at verse 1 with me. When Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt, Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back. And so on and so forth. He meets Moses there in the wilderness of Sinai. And as they meet, look at the testimony of Jethro. Look at verse 7. And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did of essence, and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare. And they came into the tent, and Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all that prevailed that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them. And look at Jethro's reaction in verse 9, Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hands of the Egyptians, And Jethro said, look at his testimony here, Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. For in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. Now listen, Jethro here is not presented as some sort of genius. of administrative efficiency, but rather exult for the glory of God. He's heard about all that God has done, how God has exalted Himself, glorified Himself in the defeat of Egypt, and in the release of His people from subjugation and slavery, from oppression in the house of bondage in Egypt. And isn't that the very thing that God said He was going to do in the Exodus? Look back at Exodus 9. Exodus 9 I was thinking it was Exodus 9. I may have called a wrong reference. And I probably have. Such is the danger of working without notes. There is a text previous to the one we're examining this morning, where God, as he does several times in the early chapters of Exodus, commands Moses to go to Pharaoh and command Pharaoh to release his people. And God tells Moses that in doing this, in hardening Pharaoh's heart, that he will not let the people go. and bring the various plagues upon Egypt which will ultimately lead to the breaking of Pharaoh and the breaking of the Egyptians. I'm going to get glory for myself. And I'm going to make my name renowned among all nations, among all peoples round about Egypt. So this pursuit of his own glory is sort of at the center of what God is doing with Pharaoh and Moses, the Egyptians and the children of Israel in the Exodus to begin with. And so here in chapter 18, in the person of Jethro, you sort of have that goal illustrated in a microcosm, in one man, a priest from Midian, who indeed hears about all that has happened. So Jethro here is motivated by Functional efficiency? By delegated authority? No. He's interested in worship. He's coming to Moses to know more about this God who has acted so wondrously and powerfully in liberating his people from Egypt. Notice also, and this is contrary to the way this text is often interpreted, Notice that the danger for Moses is not that he simply becomes physically fatigued. Jephthah's concern is not that Moses suffered a physical breakdown. Moses, you've taken too much responsibility on yourself. You've stretched yourself too thin. And you're going to reach a breaking point. And you're far too important to the people to endanger yourself in this way. assemble around you some able men who can share this responsibility with you. That's not Jethro's primary concern. Again, because Jethro is motivated by the glory of God. And by God being glorified in his people. So it's not physical fatigue that is Jethro's main concern. Rather, I believe it's spiritual fatigue. Now the two are connected. God has created us whole persons, body, soul, and spirit. So as your body suffers, that has an impact on your spirit. But Jethro is concerned that Moses become spiritually fatigued, that he perhaps experience backsliding, spiritual declension, which leads to sin, and that would endanger Him endanger the people, bringing upon them the judgment of God, and threatening the glory of God. Look at how Moses answers Jethro here in this chapter when Jethro confronts him about this question. Verse 13, It came to pass of Amara that Moses sat to judge the people, And the people stood by Moses from the morning until the evening, and when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou by thyself alone? And all people stand by thee from morning until evening. Look how Moses responds in verse 15. And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God. When they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and the other, and I make them to know the statutes of God and His laws. There's a dangerous overuse of the first person singular pronoun here. I, me, I, me. And I think Jethro, a priest of Midian, a spiritual man, a spiritually discerning man, senses the danger here for Moses. That he will be exalted in his own eyes, he will be pumped up, become wise in his own conceit. And it will lead to the downfall of him and the downfall of God's people, and it will constitute a threat to the glory of God. Emphasize that again, because that, I believe, is Jethro's chief concern here. The glory of God, the maintenance of the glory of God. God's reputation is at stake here. in how Moses behaves, in how the people of God fare. And really, isn't this the cause for Moses' chief transgression anyway? Moses was not allowed by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. And do you remember why he was forbidden from doing that? If we look in Numbers chapter 20, we see the reason for that described in some detail. Numbers chapter 20 and verse 1. Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation into the desert of Zin in the first month And the people of Odin, Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people showed with Moses and Spake, saying, Would God that we have died when our brethren died before the Lord? And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord unto this wilderness that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they fell upon their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron my brethren, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth his water. And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, watch this, Here now you rebels must we fetch you water out of this rock. And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smoked the rock twice. And the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron because ye believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel. Therefore, ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove to the Lord, and he was sanctified in them. What was Moses' sin that prevented him from accompanying the children of Israel into the land? We must, we, is it necessary that we bring forth water out of this rock for you difficult, complaining, burdensome people? He refused to give God alone the glory. He did not sanctify God entirely in the eyes of the people. But he claimed some credit for himself in that. And perhaps it was this pride about which Jethro was concerned way back in Exodus 20 as we turn back to that text again. It was the threat of spiritual fatigue, spiritual weariness, leading to foolishness, leading to the insinuation of pride and arrogance in the heart of Moses. that Jethro was concerned about. Thus, his counsel that Moses assembled around him. Men of certain qualifications. Men who are able, who fear God, according to verse 21. Men of truth. So these are men of capacity. These are men of reverence. These are men who love truth. And hate covetousness. And again, it's important for us, oftentimes when congregations think about the attributes of leadership, it sort of becomes, and as preachers speak on this subject, it sort of becomes a matchmaking enterprise. Okay, here's Mr. Wright. Here's what Mr. Wright looks like. And so, look around the congregation. and see how many Mr. Whites you have in the congregation. And then we'll recognize them, we'll select them, we'll ordain them, and appoint them to service. Jekyll is not primarily concerned with a matchmaking exercise here. He's concerned that these who are a shoulder of leadership reflect the attributes of the guy whom they represent. So as we think about church government, as we think about the leadership of overseers and elders in the congregation, they are to reflect the character, the nature of God. Because again, their concern is that God be glorified, that God be represented truthfully and honestly. And that as we bear witness to the world and the way we organize ourselves, we tell the truth about the God we worship. We tell the truth about who God is. in setting apart and ordaining men to serve in leadership capacity. Well, the goodness of God is under threat, and Jethro recognizes that. You can see it in the language of the passage. If you look back At verse 9, Jechro is rejoicing over, quote, the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel. He's rejoicing over the goodness, but he's concerned about the not good thing that Moses is engaged in. You look at verse 17, the thing which thou doest is not good. Jethro says to Moses. So the goodness of God, his glory, his reputation, is under threat because of the not good thing that Moses is engaged in doing. But Jethro promises that if Moses receives his counsel, if he puts it into practice that God is going to be with him, and that not only Moses but the people are going to be able to endure him, And they shall, according to verse 23, end of verse 23, all this people shall go to their place in peace. Now that word peace in Hebrew is shalom. It means more than simply an absence of agitation or stress. But this Hebrew noun, shalom, speaks of completeness and wholeness. Certainly the redemption of God Tremendous blessings for us. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3, that we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus in heavenly places. But the blessing of God's people is, as we've already noted this morning, not God's chief end. It's not God's final objective. the blessing of God's people, but the stole of shalom on God's people. Granting us all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. This is the glorification of God. As He redeems, as He transforms a peculiar people, zealous for good deeds. He is glorified in that. And notice, that Jekyll promises that all his people shall go to their place in peace. God has redeemed the people out of Egypt. He is with a strong right arm. He has proven himself to be God, the true and living God over all the false gods worshipped by the Egyptians and the pagan peoples around them. God has staked his reputation not only on the ability to redeem this people, but the ability to provide for them as they make their way through the wilderness. So that if somehow all or a portion of God's people fail to make it to their final destination, God's glory will be diminished. And that's Moses' concern, remember, in the episode of the golden calf, as the children of Israel engage in false worship while Moses is up upon the Mount of Sinai receiving the law. God commands Moses to get out of the way. I'm going to destroy this people. I'm going to start over again with you. And how does Moses intercede on behalf of the people? To what does he appeal? appeals to God's glory. God, you've redeemed these people out of Egypt. You don't want the Egyptians to be able to say it was because of mission that God led the people out of Egypt into the wilderness. And remember God, remember what you have pledged, remember your promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that you would give this land to their people. And God relents of his of his great wrath against the people, of his desire to destroy them. So, it's the glory of God, folks, that concerns Moses, concerns Jethro, here in Exodus chapter 18. It's not the efficient deployment of human resources. It's not a mere question of functional efficiency. And so it should be with us. As we think about church government, as we think about everything that we do as the people of God, assembled in covenant with Him, every aspect of our witness should be as faithful as possible to the Word of God, because we want to honor the God who inspired this Word. We want God to bless our efforts. We want God to honor us as we seek to serve Him. And God has not at all pledged to honor pragmatism. God is not at all obligated to honor that which we do simply because we think it's in vogue or fashionable. Fad's faith, that which is in keeping with the Word of God, will bring with it eternal benefit. And again, like Jephthah, we should be concerned with the glory of God first and foremost in how we approach this This ordinance of order, it matters to God, so it should matter to us. May God give us the grace and the wisdom to be as concerned as Jethro with the glory of God in how we order ourselves as his people. As we conclude this first service of worship, let's take our psalters once again. and turn to Psalm 105, and we will sing verses 38-45 to the tune, Saint Anne. Psalm 105, verses 38-45, let's stand as we sing. He just was glad when forth they went, their fear of them delight. He spread a cloud for covering, and fire to shine by night. They asked and he brought quails with bread, a family grill with them. He opened rocks, floods, gushed and ran, in deserts like a stream. For God is holy, promise ye, and servant Abraham was. With joy his people, his allies, with gladness forth be brought. And unto them the pleasant words he of the heathen gave, That of the people's labour they inherit as mine have. That they his statutes might observe, Let's conclude this first service with prayer. Gracious God, we thank you for the blessings that we have received in this first service of worship this morning. We thank you for the blessings that you bestow upon us in Christ for allowing us to be instruments whereby you get glory for yourselves. And Father, may the pursuit of your glory always be at the heart of all that we think, all that we do, The way we live, the way we assemble as a people, the way we seek to govern ourselves in the name of Christ and to do ministry. May we always be served with faithfulness to your words, so that the maximum amount of glory might be bestowed upon you. Give us the grace, Father, to resist sin, to run the race that you have set before us with gladness, to finish strong, so that a watching world might say, truly, The living God is with them and they are called by his name. All this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.