All right, if you're in earshot, we're going to go ahead and get started. Yeah, she's here. We've been waiting all morning. All right. Well, Merry Christmas, everyone. I am probably the closest thing our church is gonna get to Santa Claus. So, you know, fat guy, red shirt, beard. So, do y'all like all that coal we got this week? It got pretty chilly. I had to pull out the old fire pit for the cigars. Felt nice. Anyway, before us this morning, we continue in our eschatological study of the resurrection. an important doctrine, no doubt. Now this one is, it's a short question, it's a short answer, pretty straightforward. It addresses a few of the things we've already talked about. I was hoping that we'd be able to finish it rather quickly and move into question 89 this morning. Then I finished my notes and I realized, yeah, that's not gonna happen. So it is what it is. Let me open us up in prayer. Our good and gracious Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the opportunity to study your word and the catechism. We pray that you would be with us in this hour and that you would be with us in our worship of you this morning. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. So question reads, what shall immediately follow after the resurrection? Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general and final judgment of angels and men, the day and hour whereof no man knoweth that all may watch and pray and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord. All right, so first thing this question addresses is actually something we haven't talked about yet, and that's how soon the judgment will occur after the resurrection. And the answer is immediately. The divines make it quite clear that when Christ returns and the dead are raised from the dead, there will be a general and final resurrection, general in the sense that all people will be judged, final in the sense that Christ's sentence cannot be overturned or appealed. We'll talk more about that in a minute, but this judgment doesn't happen in a couple of hours after Christ runs a few errands when he gets back. It doesn't happen after a little thousand year period. It happens immediately. Cool. How do we know that? Well, let's prove it with scripture. Turn back to a passage that we looked at last week, John chapter 5. John 5. Starting in verse 27. Verse 27, and he, that'd be the father, has given him, that'd be the son, authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. So in verse 27, Christ speaks of having received from God the Father authority to execute judgment. And Jesus actually tells you why. He tells you why he is the final judge. Because he is the son of man. That's what the text says. And this language actually echoes the text in Daniel 7, 13. Daniel 7.13 says, I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. Now what's interesting is that Jesus is the final judge because he is not only the divine son of God, but also truly human, the son of man, right? He's the eternal world ruler that was prophesied in Daniel. Therefore, the Father has rightly given to Jesus authority to carry out the final judgment of every human being. He alone is fully qualified to carry out this task. Now, I'm gonna make a little confession here. Before I was saved, this was B.C. Travis we're talking about here. I had this view that Judgment, Day of Judgment, would be kind of like this courtroom scene where God the Father would preside as the judge sitting to condemn you, and then Jesus would intercede as your attorney of sorts. And then the Holy Spirit, I don't know, he's off doing something. It's probably important, but we don't know where he is. Now, as ridiculous as that sounds, and as much as I'm all for making jokes at my own expense, unfortunately, I think that most of the evangelical world believes some kind of version of that. God the Father's the judge, Jesus is your attorney. He wants to protect you from big bad debt. Okay. But that is not what we see pictured here in the text, is it? Jesus himself is the one seated on the bench pronouncing judgment. The one who saves is also the same one who condemns. And why? Because he is both God and man. He has both of these two natures uniquely united in one person. As God, he knows all things. And as man, he has experienced temptation and suffering. Therefore he is eminently qualified to render a just judgment. Now in verses 28 and 29, which we did look at last week, we focused on the fact that there's only gonna be one resurrection. This morning, I want you to notice something else. We have two groups of people here, right? That's the first thing, two groups of people, those who have done good and those who have done evil. By qualifying people in this way, It does not imply that a person's deeds in this life are the basis on which judgment is pronounced, okay? I mean, it couldn't be, right? That would completely contradict and nullify the gospel, that we're saved by grace through faith, right? It's not of works, we know this. Rather, as they always do, good works function as an evidence of true saving faith. And if good works are lacking, they show an absence of true faith. And with these two groups of people in the text, we see that Christ not only has absolute authority to judge, but that he also has sovereign jurisdiction overall. Now, here's what I really want you to notice, because this gets back to our original point, that the resurrection and the judgment are so closely connected that they must follow immediately. That judgment immediately follows after the resurrection. They're so closely linked. Jesus says in verse 28 that they're gonna hear his voice. We know from other portions of scripture, that's gonna be a very loud moment. He says in verse 29, then they will come forth. They're all gonna come out of their graves. At that moment, one of two things is gonna happen. they're either gonna receive the resurrection of life, or they're gonna receive resurrection of judgment. If judgment doesn't immediately follow the resurrection, then these verses can't connect the two events so closely. In other words, the way it reads makes no sense. Because these verses are connecting these two things together, resurrection and judgment. Okay, you got Jesus calling, resurrection, and the people going, judgment. Okay, one happens right after the other. These verses show us that there's no time gap in between. Now, if you remember from last week, there are those who teach differently, right? You got premillennialism. Now, just as a quick reminder, premills offer a, shall we say, distinctive and dyslexic approach. Based on Revelation 20, one through six, which we looked at last week, they say, no, okay, that's what you said, that's all well and good, but there's actually two resurrections. Revelation mentions the first resurrection and then the second death. So why don't you go ahead and double that resurrection recipe for me, please, that'd be great. They say Christ returns, right, and then you get the resurrection of the righteous. A thousand years, literal thousand year period, right, where Christ will reign. Actually, I believe they believe he will reign from Jerusalem, specifically. A thousand year ends, and then you get the general and final judgment, as our answer would say. Now, I'm not gonna repeat everything we went over last week. But again, based on what we just talked about from John 5, is this view possible? No. Judgment immediately follows a single resurrection. And this judgment is final. Now, let's talk about judgment for a minute because I wanna address a couple things regarding that topic specifically. Everything we think, say, and do will be submitted into evidence against us, or for us, on judgment day. In other words, everything's fair game, right? Everything's judged. Everything we think, every last thought, every last word, every last deed, Now, I know me, and despite what you all may think, I actually do sin on occasion. It's been known to happen. And the thought of standing before a perfectly holy and just God as a wretched sinner should terrify even the bravest man. For this, we turn to Ecclesiastes 12. Turn with me there. Last two verses. Last two verses of the whole book. You know, people always seem to get confused by the book of Ecclesiastes. I always tell them, you want to know what Ecclesiastes is all about? Go read the last two verses. Sums it up well. Best summary of the whole book. And some of the best wisdom literature that you'll read. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13. We read there, the end of the matter, all has been heard. And here it is. He's about to lay out the end of the matter for us. What it all boils down to, and it's one simple thing. It says, fear God, keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. That's it. That's all you have to do. But why? Why should we do this? Now you might be thinking, well, I mean, because God is holy. Right? It's right that God should be feared and we should keep his commandments because we love him. But that's actually not where the preacher goes with it. He says in verse 14, fear, I'm sorry, for God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Every secret thing. Nothing can be hidden from God. You know, I tell my kids this all the time, and this is good advice for the rest of you kids in the room. Probably the adults, too. Even though you think you're getting away with something, even though your mom and dad doesn't see you, they don't catch you, God saw. He sees every secret thing. And those secret things will be judged according to His perfect standards. Sometimes, Those secret things are bad. Sometimes they're good. And if they're good, it's only because of God's grace, right? It's only because the Holy Spirit has enabled and assisted you to do good and please God. But at the end of the day, every secret thing will be revealed before God. I don't know about you, I found that a little bit terrifying. Okay, now that I've sufficiently scared you. What do we do when we commit one of those evil acts done in secret? Are we doomed to the resurrection of judgment? Well, maybe for you. No, we run to Christ, the one who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John. We worship the one true and living God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He has cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. He's washed us wider than the snow. Those of you in Christ need not be afraid of the judgment that follows. The resurrection for your sins have been paid for in full. And you have been given the full righteousness of your Savior, Jesus Christ. Here's the second point regarding judgment. The saints will participate. The elect will partake alongside Christ in judging the wicked. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6. We'll look at the first three verses. Speaking of participating, anybody want to read those? First three verses. Go ahead, Sam. has a grievance against another? Does he dare go to the law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent? Yeah, incompetent to try trivial cases. Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters for shaming to this life? Thanks. So clearly the point that Paul's trying to make here is to tell the Corinthians to settle their matters in house first. Don't go to the unbelieving magistrates for matters of discord. And this is one of those times that Paul's arguing from the lesser to the greater. If you guys can't handle these little things amongst yourselves, how are you going to be able to handle even these greater tasks? And it's actually this greater eschatological picture that I want us to focus on. Now, there are actually quite a few other references to judging the unrighteous in Scripture. the fact that we will be judging the unrighteous, Daniel 7.22, Matthew 19.28, Luke 22.30, but listen to Revelation 3.21. It says, the one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. Wow. So as if contemplating sitting alongside Christ on his father's throne was not fantastic enough, think about the implications of this statement. In this position, as we've already discussed, Christ has been given the authority to judge the world. We know that. Since believers are to sit in the same seat of power, we too will be granted divine authority to judge the world. Wow, how can this be? Well, remember our previous question, some of the things we went over, right? We will be made like Christ in every way. We will be given new resurrection bodies that will be raised powerful, spiritual, incorruptible, glorious. We will be fully righteous and without sin. Believe it or not, we will actually be qualified to sit alongside Christ and make the judgment to cast the wicked in hell. We will be able to judge righteously as Christ does. And actually, this is really interesting, this type of language echoes the words that God spoke to Moses in Leviticus 19. 1915 specifically. Now, remember, when you're reading the book of Leviticus, right, the main theme there is what? Holiness. Leviticus is all about God's holiness. Chapter 19 in particular, right? The first two verses say this, and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy. So right out of the gate, God is saying, everything we're about to talk about is derived from my holiness. So you be holy. Okay, now listen to verse 15. You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. So, in the civil law, given by God to His people, we are to judge matters, particularly in court, in righteousness. It doesn't matter if the person is rich or poor, friend or family, has a special lineage. You judge according to God's law, His righteousness, and His holiness. No favoritism is permitted. Now what's interesting is that this civil law is given to Israel, and one that our land should apply today, but it points to the reality which will be fulfilled perfectly in heaven, as we will judge in righteousness, perfectly alongside Christ. When we sit in judgment over the wicked in God's court, we will demonstrate how this law is meant to be lived out and fulfilled. And not only will we be qualified, we will want to. Because those in judgment, these people and these angels, did nothing but sin and blaspheme against God their whole life. With every breath, with every fiber of their being, they hate our God. They did not fear God, they did not keep His commandments, as the preacher said in Ecclesiastes. Now, lastly, regarding judgment, I want us to look at Romans 14. Please turn with me to Romans 14, verses 10 through 12. Anyone want to grab those? I got them if nobody wants them. You got them? Yeah. But why do you judge your brother? But why do you show contempt for your brothers? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. Thank you, sir. Okay, let me tee this point up with a little silly story. My kids love to watch the Goosebumps movie, the 2015 version with Jack Black. Well, there's a teenage boy in that movie who, when he's scared, he lets out this loud, high-pitched, little girly scream. And every time, my girls will say, wow, he screams like a girl. At one point in the movie, another boy, his age, will look at him and say, is that your scream? And the first boy will look back and he'll say, don't judge me. First of all, if any of you boys scream like that, I will call you out. We live in a world that's characterized by that phrase, don't judge me. Or better yet, only God can judge me. I assure you that's not something that you want. People will run to passages like this in Romans 14 or Matthew 7, 1 through 5, and say it is wrong for Christians to judge. Period. Only God can judge. So they say. Now, most of you know Matthew 7 is saying, the correct answer to that text, is saying that you should not judge unrighteously. or hypocritically, okay? And that's part of what Paul's saying here, right? Paul is not saying that you should not judge because only God can judge. Not what he's saying. Actually, we just read the exact opposite in 1 Corinthians 6, did we not? Paul is not saying you should not call out sin. Not what Paul's saying. Paul is saying that the strong should not despise the weak. And the weak should not judge the strong. We will all stand before God on the last day to give an account. And each one of us, we have plenty to worry about regarding our own sin. Plenty to worry about in our own lives. And as I've said before, it is very true that we are saved by grace through faith. That will never change. But what we do in this life as believers matters. What we do as Christians will affect God's evaluation of our service to him and the rewards that we will receive in heaven. That is true. So no, you should not despise your brother. And brother, right, that's an important point regarding this text, by the way. All of this is in context of believer to believer. No, you should not judge unrighteously. You should not bury your coins or your talents in the sand. Yes, you should call out sin. Yes, you should judge righteously. You should be concerned with your own life and how you love and serve God in this life. Because all of that will affect our judgment and our standing before the Lord. Very good. That is all I want to talk about regarding judgment. Our answer continues in the second half part of it, and it says, it says the day and hour whereof, which by the way, like the resurrection, that phrase whereof, it's just pointing to the fact that judgment will begin at a definite particular time, okay? So the day and hour whereof no man knoweth, okay? Just to say it one more time, Like the Second Coming, no one can predict when Judgment Day will be. That knowledge has not been revealed to man. That is secret, privileged knowledge that belongs to the Lord. Now, with this high level of uncertainty, what should man be doing in the meantime? Well, in short, we need to prepare. Now, what do I mean when I say we need to prepare for Judgment? Am I talking about becoming a doomsday prepper? No. Realizing the certainty of judgment, I'm looking at you, Sam, yes, and our own ignorance of the time, our preparation looks a little different. Turn with me to Matthew 24. You'll be here for a little bit. Matthew 24, the good old Olivet Discourse. Can someone please read 36 through 44? A little bit lengthier passage, but we're gonna go through all of it. 36 through 44. Yes, sir. Without that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, to my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also the coming of the Son of Man will be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field. One will be taken in the other lap. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken in the other lap. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Perfect. Thank you, sir. Now, I like this text because it highlights our two different groups of people that we've been talking about really for the past couple questions, right? We got the wicked, we got the righteous, Let's talk about the wicked first, because that's the order that our passage goes in. In verse 38, we see the wicked who are, right, they're eating and drinking, laughing, getting married, having a good old time. They're going about life like nothing is wrong, much like people do today. They're quite content to ignore or outright blaspheme God. And then out of nowhere, or so it seems, it starts to rain, right? I love how the text says it. I find it almost humorous. Everyone's happy. Everything's good until the day when Noah entered the ark. Everything was fine until Noah got in his ark. Interesting. All of a sudden, the Christian who was faithful to the Lord and building the ark isn't looking so foolish now, is he? Because on that day, everything goes from really good to really bad, really fast. Now verse 39 says, they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. What does that mean that they were unaware? You mean to tell me that all this time, Noah is building this massive ark, he knows the flood's coming and he doesn't tell anyone? Is that what's going on? Actually, no. That's not what unaware means, and that's not what Noah was doing. In fact, 2 Peter 2.5, Noah is called a herald of righteousness. It's quite a title. It's actually what Laura calls me in my house. In other words, Noah, according to 2 Peter 2.5, he shared the gospel. He called them to repent. He told them the flood was coming. So then, in what sense were these ungodly people unaware? Well, they were unaware in that, like the rest of the unsaved, they did not have ears to hear when Noah spoke the truth to them. The Lord did not open their hearts to truly grasp the saving realities of the gospel or what was going on until the flood came. And of course, at that point, It's too late. So, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man for the wicked. When Christ returns, the eyes of the unrighteous will finally be opened, but it'll be too late. So how do the wicked prepare for the Day of Judgment? They learn from the unbelievers that came before them. The one who is not saved, quite simply, should prepare first and foremost by repenting of his sin and believing in Christ as his Savior. That's why it's so important to try to get, you know, friends and family, unbelievers, any of them, right, to church so they can hear the Word of God preached. Now, in order to drive home this point regarding Judgment Day, Jesus gives us an illustration in verses 40 through 44. Let me read that part again. Then two men will be in a field. One will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and one left. Yes, finally. I was wondering when we were gonna get to the rapture. Yes, bad news. Still no rapture. At least not in the dispensational use of the term. These two verses are an illustration of what will happen at the second coming. Say that again. These two verses are an illustration of what will happen at the second coming. There's two possible ways that you can understand these verses. Okay. First, the ones who are taken are the wicked. That's based on verse 39. The unrighteous are taken to experience judgment, and those who remain experience salvation at Christ's return. And there's some merit to this. It immediately follows the story of Noah and the ark, and it's in line with what it teaches. Those who were of the wicked and outside the ark, outside of Christ, were swept away in judgment. Those who are left are the ones the Lord preserved and were faithful, like Noah and his family. However, there's a second view that I think is a little bit better. The ones who are taken are the saints, the elect. The Son of Man will, according to verse 31 of the same chapter, Matthew 24, will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. It's speaking to the same thing that Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians 4. This is the view that Matthew Henry takes in his commentary, and I think he's right. On the last day, Christ is going to come when people are least expecting it. Those who have fallen asleep shall rise first. We know this, right? And then he will turn his attention to those who are still alive. They will be going about their labors as usual, men and women alike, either in the field or at the mill, okay, common labors, and with his winnowing fork in hand, he will separate the wheat from the chaff. The saints will be called up into the clouds to join the resurrected dead, and all of God's people will be able to see God face to face at the same time. They shall then be ushered with God into glory. This, this, by the way, this picture, if you wanted to use the term, is a biblical rapture. This is what it will look like. This is the rapture that scripture pictures at the last day. It's not people suddenly disappearing, leaving their clothes behind, planes crashing into the ground. The movies are entertaining, but it's not the reality. Once the elect are safely in place, At this point, Henry says that Christ will sweep up the residue. That would be the wicked. Now, Henry points at four reasons why understanding the text this way gives believers immeasurable comfort. I wanted to share them with you. I think they're quite wonderful. And this aligns perfectly, again, with Paul's writing in 1 Thessalonians 4. Remember, Paul says, I do not want you to grieve as others who have no hope, right? So this is all about giving hope to God's people, giving us immeasurable comfort, right? When we understand the text this way, we do have great hope and comfort. Here's the four reasons that Henry lists, and I'm paraphrasing. Should you be meager or despised in the world, like a maid servant, or a manservant rather in the field, or a maid at the mill, no need to worry. You will not be overlooked on that day. Henry says, the poor in the world, if rich in faith, are heirs of the kingdom. Secondly, he says, what if you're in a remote part of the world? A place where you wouldn't expect to find an air of glory, right? Like a field or a mill, somewhere way far away. No need to worry. Christ will send his angels to retrieve you in those hidden places. And you will be changed. In fact, he says for a very great change, it will be to go to heaven from plowing and grinding. It will be glorious. But what if, number three, what if you're weak? Maybe from your physical labors. What if you're unable to move yourself toward Christ or heavenward? No need to worry. Christ will lay hold of you as he laid hold of Lot in Sodom by what Henry calls a gracious violence. Those whom Christ has first laid hold of, he will never let go. Number four, what if you're intermixed with believers, or unbelievers rather? You know, in your house, or your job, or society at large. What if he comes back then? He can't see you. No need to worry. Henry says, God knows how to separate between the precious and the vile, the gold and dross in the same lump, the wheat and the chaff in the same floor. So we as believers have every reason to have great hope and experience tremendous comfort in anticipation of that great day. Should it come in our lifetime or thousands of years from now, right? Because no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing, Christ will come for you. It's at this point in Matthew that Jesus turns his attention to believers in our text, right? He says in verse 42, therefore stay awake. Stop right there. That's really all that you need to know. Okay, right there. Jesus is based on everything I just told you. Stay awake. Pay attention. The way a believer prepares for the day of judgment is to do what our answer says. Watch and pray, and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord. Watch and pray, watch and pray, and be ready. Christ's return is unknown, so we should always be ready. And to help demonstrate this, Jesus gives the excellent illustration using the master of the house and the thief. Right, he says, if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would have not let his house be broken into. Well, most people would read that and go, yeah, duh, of course. In fact, some of us would be licking our chops holding a shotgun, ready for it, right? And yet at the same time, there are those who are willing to proffer no defense for their souls. They walk about in this world lackadaisically and unprepared for the day of judgment. They're not prepared for when the Son of Man returns, an event that's far more important than a thief in the night, yet equally as unexpected. Now, as Christians, we should not merely keep looking or watching for the coming of the Son of Man. That is an important aspect of it, but there's more. We should also be completing the work of the Great Commission. Our task is to be devoted to prayer, spreading the gospel. When Christ returns, we want to be able to stand before him knowing that he gave us five talents and we yielded five more in return. So that on that great day, our master will say to us, well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. We want to be good stewards of the gifts and talents that Christ has bestowed to us and the labors that he set before us. This is what it means for Christians to prepare for the day of judgment. Whether you're working the field, whether you're in the mill, whatever it is that you do. Now, one last point I want to make before we close out this question. You need to be careful when you're studying these doctrines, okay? Be it the second coming, other related doctrines. That you don't fall into one of two extremes. Because there are two different pits that you can end up in if you don't stay awake. See what I did there? The first one is, I've seen several Christians get so absorbed in these eschatological doctrines that they show little interest in other biblical teachings. Don't get me wrong, studying eschatology, Second Coming, Judgment Day, it's all very important. It's all good stuff. And we should learn about it, because the Bible talks about it. But they are not the only important doctrines. And on a related note, in this category of people, don't go past where the Bible goes. Stop where scripture stops on this stuff, okay? There's some things we don't know or fully understand regarding these topics, and that's okay. Take the doctrine as far as you can within an orthodox framework and let it rest. There's too many people who want to stretch the text beyond its meaning in an attempt to fill in the gaps, and we can't do that. These people may have good intentions, but they have poor hermeneutics. Now, the second pit that you can fall into is when you take these things to the opposite extreme. or take that view to the opposite extreme, rather. You look at eschatology, you look at these doctrines, you read Revelation 20, and you say, this is way too complicated, I don't get it, I'm no theologian, and you just throw your hands up. And what ends up happening is these precious truths end up totally neglected. People don't take the time to study and understand. Things like the second coming, resurrection, judgment day. When in actuality, they are quite important. This is a harmful extreme. The right view is a balanced one, as all things should be. We should view these doctrines in their proper place in the divinely revealed system of truth. And we need to give them the correct degree of emphasis that they deserve according to the teaching of Scripture. Okay. Yeah, we're definitely not going into the next question. Y'all keep showing up late, I'm just gonna keep you later. So, that's just what it is. Alright, anybody have any questions about... What are we on, 88? Yeah. Yeah. One, I had, I would still call it a privilege of being in the jury in a murder trial and wound up being foreman of it. It was a little tough signing that guy into jail, basically, as foreman. We won't have that kind of feeling in heaven when we make judgments. No, we will not. All right, let me close this in prayer. Our good and gracious Father, we do thank you for your word, Lord Jesus. We do look forward to the day that you return. We do earnestly pray that you would come quickly and that we would hear those sweet words, well done, good and faithful servant. We pray that you would assist us in the talents that you have given us and that we would return them in full. Please be with us as we fellowship in this hour and as we come into your presence for worship. may it be glorifying in your sight. Pray this in Christ's name, amen.