You're listening to audio from Ascend Church. For more information about Ascend or to access more gospel-centered tools to grow as a disciple of Christ, visit ascendkc.org. Good morning church, my name is Lee White, and I have the privilege of serving here as the Director of Family Ministries, and it's a blessing to open God's word with you this morning as Pastor Jeff is away serving other churches in other capacities. As we do, I see in this room, it's the same right now as it's been in the other services, that some of you might have plans at about two o'clock today. And rather than compete with that, today I'd like to lean into that thought and to empower us to think of a team-type model for what the church is called to do and to be. And I believe that we find that pattern in the Scriptures. And while the metaphor that we often see is that of the body and the body being focused upon the necessity of all of its parts working together for the whole. It is the same for the team today that all of the parts must be working together for the whole for the Chiefs to win at two o'clock. That means that the receivers have to line up on sides. that the left tackle cannot be too far in the backfield, that the receivers have to catch the ball, that everyone has to play together for the purpose of stopping a dual-threat quarterback and the many other things that are taking place, right? Every part is crucial, is pivotal to the success of the team to ensure that they come out ahead. And as I've studied the church and I've studied many of the books that are written out there, many of them pick up on this motif, this sports motif, the image that we're called to be more than just fans on the sideline at church, but we're called to be a part of the team, that we're called to be active in participating in the church, and that the church is dependent upon us for that purpose. And it's that that I would like for us to focus our minds on this morning as we look at Titus chapter two. Now I've carefully worded the big idea for today, and the big idea is this, the church is dependent upon the participation of all of its members for the maximum impact of the gospel to be fulfilled in its midst. Now I say that I've carefully worded that, I've carefully worded that because it's very close to saying something that I hope you don't see. And that is, I did not say that God is dependent. Because God is not dependent upon any of us, but possesses in himself the ability to do all things for his glory, with or without us. Yet he chooses to empower and to call us into an opportunity to willingly participate in what he desires to do. And he lays that before us today in Titus chapter two. As we walk through it this morning, we're gonna see three reasons that the church needs you. Three reasons each and every person in this room is called to be active in their faith, to participate in the expansion of the gospel. And so I invite you to go ahead and turn to Titus chapter two, and as you're turning there, I'd like to give a very quick background and overview of the book as we're obviously jumping into it from a different context. We've been walking through Revelation, here we are in a one-week, one-off jumping right here into Titus. And as you do so, just a quick understanding of Paul writing to Titus. Titus is a young pastor who's looking to establish this church that's in Crete. And as the gospel is expanding, it's expanding to places outside of Jerusalem, outside of the places that Israel has a context with. And in doing so, it's moving into somewhat unfamiliar territory as it starts to now have to impact and starts to now have to set itself apart from the cultures in these different areas. And so the culture in Crete has caused Titus to have some problems as he's establishing the church. So Paul writes to him with some wisdom on how he can overcome these things. To oversimplify an outline of the book, chapter one focuses on the importance of the leadership for the health of the church. Chapter two focuses on the importance of establishing patterns of growth within the body of the church for the health of the church. And chapter 3 establishes the importance of setting oneself apart from the world for the health of the church. And so it's within that context that we're going to pick up Titus chapter 2 and see the challenge that he lays out before us this morning. It reads, but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfast. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They're to teach what is good and to so train young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled, show yourselves in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us. bond servants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything they're to be well-pleasing not argumentative not pilfering but showing all good faith so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of god our savior we establish these so that's that we're going to see in your notes today, I want you to understand that we've drawn these three from the text. An important word, hinnah, that establishes a purpose clause for the reasons that are outlined in there. I believe that they function to culminate in a third purpose that is overarching for the first two. So as we walk through this passage today, I want to tell you at the onset that we're not able to dive into each one of these words and to polish out a full meaning for every one of the characteristics that is established. But instead, I believe what Paul is doing is challenging Titus to establish these behaviors up and against the behaviors that are manifesting themselves in Crete so that the church will expand in its area. So the first thing that we see here is that the church needs you so that the Word of God may not be reviled. So that the Word of God may not be damaged, the church needs to be active in this participation that Titus is being challenged to exhibit in his midst by Paul. So as we jump in here, we see first and foremost that Titus is being challenged to teach what accords with sound doctrine, or solid teaching, or stable faith. These things that he's being challenged to do are to exhibit these attitudes or these behaviors within the church, and the people that are being called to it in these groups. But I think it's important for us to understand that this is the terms of a calling for these people. If we go back to the book of Genesis, we see that when God establishes a relationship with individuals, he creates an opportunity to display expectations for them. When he creates and places Adam and Eve in the garden, he has established them and provided them with an opportunity to manage what he empowers them to manage. In doing so, he gives them the blessings of the area, but gives them expectations to follow. We see that grows when we move into the nation of Israel. As they are drawn out in the book of Exodus from their captors in Egypt, he establishes a pattern, and once again, that the people that he has a relationship with, he has an expectation for their behavior. He says there, I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt, therefore you shall, and lays out the Ten Commandments. As he establishes that and expands that through all of the commands that he has for the people, he teaches us that he always ties his expectations to the relationship that he has with people. So we must understand before we jump into any of these that this is established within the relationship that God is saying, I have these people who have given themselves to me, who understand their relationship, who are believers active in the church. That means they know what Jesus Christ has done for them by dying on the cross for their sins. They live a life of repentance, a desire for obedience, and a newness of life because of the finished work of Christ upon the cross. Those individuals are the ones called to exhibit these behaviors. Not because they must do, do, do, but because God has already done, done, done for them, and now their life is an overflow of that. So he lays out that expectation here by laying it out in these four groups of people. We see he begins with older men. He begins with these older men to set them apart as examples of faith and examples of maturity. He calls them to be clear in thought, to be respected, to be in control of themselves, to be grounded in love, faith, and perseverance. You get this picture of a person who is not wavering in their faith. They're steadfast and movable. They're one who is to be looked up to. He's calling older men to this. He's not calling everyone to that. That's because he understands that it takes time to establish that type of faith, to be one who is able to withstand the culture and the items that are there. But the challenge is still laid out for them because it is important for that to be demonstrated for the rest of the body. Now it's not unreasonable to say that other people can't attain that, but he says this is the expectation for the older men. They would continue down the path of maturity and they would be established as a steadfast portrait of what faith is. Now, the second and third groups are tied together very quickly with older women and younger women, and we'll explore that connection as we walk through what is here. First, he calls these older women to be reverent, or to be a priestly in their functions, that they understand the importance of their calling, that they understand the opportunity that they have to intercede on behalf of others, to be ones that take others into the presence of God and understand that they are integral to that process. He also challenges them as those who are in a specific situation that have two specific different situations in Crete that are taking place that they must set themselves apart from. As people who greatly care for others, they're often involved in conversations that if not held in a right motive and in a right light, could lead to gossip or slander, which is no longer at the benefit for those who they're trying to serve. Also, as those who have the access to the wine at home, they may be those who are given over to the temptation to partake of that in excess. Those are evidently two different situations that are taking place within Crete that they need to set themselves apart from, that he establishes because of their situation and their temptation to those things. that they need to be warned about those errors. Certainly those could be said of older men and younger men and younger women and younger anyone in the church, that those are things that they are to set themselves apart from, but he mentions them because of the situation in Crete and the necessity of these types of behaviors to be manifested for the expansion of the gospel. But as he moves forward, he quickly shifts now from just the focus upon older women to connecting them to the younger women with the importance that they have in a role in mentoring and teaching and establishing younger people in their faith. While it's specifically singled out here with older women and younger women, it's the same truth for older men and younger men. But simply, there's more that he has to say about this establishing of the teaching between the older women and the younger women. He lays out six important items for them to consider and for them to be devoted to. First, they're called to teach how to love their husbands and children. Now, this might be something that you say, hey, why does he need to say this? All Christians are supposed to love everyone. We're called to love our neighbors. We're called to love anyone we come into contact with. Why would you have to tell older women to teach younger women how to love their husbands and children? Well, it's because it's a special kind of love that he's talking about. It's a special kind of love for the husband who piles up the mail on the table. A special kind of love for the husband who can get the dirty clothes next to the hamper but not in it. Special kind of love for the husband who can get the dishes to the kitchen but not cleaned. A special kind of love for the child who wants to hold your hand while you go to the bathroom. A special kind of love for the one that you have to explain everything in your life to. It's a special kind of love that a mom must have for her husband and for her children. As she maintains the home and the husband comes in and creates chaos with everything that's been established, takes out all the rules that have happened during the day, everything changes, right? I'd say often I walk home and fun daddy hits the door and the girls want to do whatever they want to do. Like it's all things can go at that point. There's been an order established, there's been rules, there's been regulations, there's been discipline, all those things that I must step into. And it's crucial for Amy to learn, and for other young women to learn, that these things too will pass. That there will be a time where the questions will stop and they will have to be the ones who ask the questions. That there will be a time when the season of life will change and they will not be so hectic, and they will not feel like they're just waiting each moment for the next thing that's gonna fall apart. I'm grateful for the culture here at Ascend where so many women are involved in helping and mentoring and coming alongside other women to help them see the seasons of life that they're in, in official and in unofficial established patterns in their lives, that they're leaning into this challenge and the other challenges that are in the scriptures because they see the importance that they have and the role that they have in teaching that because honestly, men, we don't understand. We don't understand what it's like, and we can't empathize to that situation. But these other women can, and they can establish those patterns. They can speak words of truth, words of wisdom that they are equipped, that they are empowered to display to others. Now we quickly move to the second and third items, and there's not too much required to unpack the significance of the older women challenging younger women to be self-controlled and to be pure, but then we hit this fourth item on the list that could get dicey for some people. As you look down and you read this phrase, working at home, you might be tempted to say, here we have an outdated tradition that's talking about removing women from the workplace, so we need to just throw that out and move on with the chapter. But what's difficult is if that's your mindset, if we're going to throw that out, what else are we throwing out from here? When do we stop throwing things out? So rather than throwing it out, rather than just casting it aside, let's lean into the tension that we see here in the text, and let's start to build a pattern for how we can understand when we see these difficult passages to understand. How are we to interpret that? When we start to look into this English phrase that we have present, it's actually just one word in the Greek. And that word is only used here in the New Testament. And so we don't want to build our faith and build patterns off of a single word that is present that we may not understand in its fullness. So we need to look at what the rest of the scriptures teach to understand what Paul is challenging Titus to challenge these individuals with. So the first place that we can go with that is we can go to another place where Paul is also writing to a young pastor who's working through similar situations. If we jump over to 1 Timothy, we see in 1 Timothy 5.14, he challenges women there to manage their household well. A similar thought of working together for the betterment of their home. They're to be devoted to doing the things needed to manage their home. It does not say that they can't be out and working. It does not say that the seasons of their life will not change and allow them to participate in different activities that are there. But instead says that they're managing their household well. When we start to understand that that's what this passage is calling it to, we can also see that that's in line with the rest of the scriptures. If we jump over to Proverbs 31 where it explains what a model woman looks like or a different opportunity for us to understand what women can be called to and empowered to be doing as they're placing their lives before God's Word and opening their lives to be used by Him, we see there that this woman is out gathering supplies, out in the field, she's doing many things. She's not just in the home. In fact, she's making items and purchasing items in the marketplace. She's developing herself within commerce. She's trading goods and services. She's out, she's active, she's present. And I challenge you to focus in on verse 27 in that passage, because I believe it's saying in concert with what Titus is speaking here. As it says, she looks well on the way of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." What it's talking about and what this picture is, is of a diligent worker managing their household well. Not just saying the location of that, but all of the needs that are present in developing a pattern of life that focuses on the betterment of their home. But I think it's important that we also understand that men are not absolved from responsibilities within the home. We look back to First Timothy, the same book where he's telling women to be important in managing their household well. He says that the spiritually mature men of the church, those who are aspiring to be elders, also must manage their household well. Chapter three, verses four and five. Men and women are crucial to managing the home for the sake of the gospel. In this passage specifically, there must be something taking place in Crete that leads to Paul challenging Titus to challenge women to excel still the more in this area for the sake of the gospel. Back in Titus chapter two, we see that younger women are called to a final pair of attitudes in relationship to their spouse. They're to be kind and submissive to their husbands in accordance with the created order of God who calls men to lead and to love their wives as God loves and sacrificially gives himself for his church. In that same way, married women replaced themselves under the headship of their husband and of the Lord for the purpose of putting the gospel on display in the midst of the community. But then we get to one last little section as we jump over the so that clause to finish these four individuals. It's a pretty comprehensive list here. It says, likewise, urge the young men to be self-controlled. Everybody else gets a list. The young men get one thing. Very simple. Simple people. Just give them one thing, right? And you might understand, you know, hey, what is it? Is this just because, you know, they can't do anything else or none of the rest of the things were important? I believe, and many people would argue, that this simple self-control item is tied to all the rest of the four. It is the most important of them. And all of the other items can be seen through the lens of self-control. When we look here at them being called to self-control, we might be tempted to think we're just talking about purity. We're talking about them keeping themselves from the temptations of the world. But truly, to have control over oneself in all situations is much greater than that. And it's something that is pivotal to young men understanding. They must understand that they're to be self-controlled and to control the emotions, the desires that they have with respect to anger, with respect to how they spend their finances, their free time, their diligence in working, their leisure, sports betting, video games, any of these things that are out there, that they must understand that they are to manage their desires for the sake of the gospel. Much has been written about our current generation of young men who live in what's called the Peter Pan generation. The Peter Pan generation who never wants to grow up, who wants to continuously live off of the benefits of being a child and not growing in the responsibilities that come with maturity. It was the case then, it continues to be the case now that our culture is driven off of an ability to take young minds and to put them into patterns or addictions that will keep them from displaying mastery over these situations. And they feed off of that. They feed off of that and they suck life and money and time away from them because they think this is what they want. They think this is what they need because they don't have control over themselves. That's a distinguishing facet between a child and an adult is the ability to overcome your desires and your cravings to understand what's best for you. I have a two-year-old at home and she would live off of chips and cookies and ice cream if we would let her. And she will tell you that's what she wants. She will look you in the face after she said she's full and doesn't want any more food and ask for a cookie, right? That's what her body is telling her. That's what she needs. But if she eats that, she's just gonna crash. She needs protein. She needs vegetables. She needs all these other things that we're trying to tell her that she needs for her meal. Yet she wants a certain thing. And she has to grow in that to be mature. She has to understand that you have to set aside for the cravings. You have to set aside those things so that you can feed off what is good so that you can grow. These four groups of people that we've looked at, when they begin to do what they have been called to do, they set themselves up and set themselves apart from the world so that the word of God would not be reviled. Each of these groups has to display the importance of distinguishing themselves from the world for the sake of the gospel. Because when the church looks just like the world, it damages the reputation of God. It damages the power of the gospel, and it keeps the power of the gospel from extending and transforming new lives. Because there's no difference between the people of God and the people of the world. We also see that this intergenerational aspect of what's tied here is important to establishing a pattern that will ensure that does not take place. Titus is calling them to all be involved in this, to be passing the wisdom forward, to be working through this, just as Paul is displaying to Titus as he writes these words to him. When we look at the scriptures, we see that a repeated pattern is the new generation arises and forsakes the wisdom of the generation before them and chooses to turn from God. We see that in Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who forsakes the wise counsel of his father's advisors and instead tries to establish himself and his own kingdom in his own way to the demise of his kingdom. We see the same truth played out in repetition during the book of Judges as a cycle takes place where a new generation rises up who forsakes the blessings of the Lord, chooses to ignore Him in His presence to the point that they're taken over by their enemies and sucked into a continuous cycle of doing so because each generation forgets what took place before. You know, young people have a lot of ideas. But unfortunately, most of them are bad ideas. I recently saw a video that touched on this and it was a denomination looking back on how they had failed the future generation. And so they went to the students and they asked the students, what do we need to do to get you to come to church? What do we need to do to get you to be here? And they're like, you know what? give us our own building, give us our own team that focuses on us, and let us do those things. And they said, great. So they built new buildings, and they brought in new teams, and they took their least qualified people, and they put them in charge of these people who were moldable and shapeable, and they never had them come and participate with the rest of the church. So when that generation left and grew up, they had nothing tying them to the church. They gave the kids exactly what they asked for, and they failed them because of that. And I think it's, you know, it's telling but it's also, it's encouraging at least that they realize that they did that. That they sucked them out of the church and they should now not be surprised that they have no desire for the church. Because the church and the people of God need to see what's going on as a totality. to build the importance of what's taking place. They need to see the tests of wisdom, the times that are there, so that they desire to continue to be a part of what God is doing in their midst. The intergenerational aspect that Paul is challenging Titus to display in his church is in direct opposition to that model that I've described. And I believe our second point develops that more this morning as we see that we're also called to be active in the church so that the opponents of God may not prevail. Paul moves on to explain that Titus and those listed above are all to be examples of what faith looks like. And that word that's used there is used to describe the continuous molding and fashioning something into its shape. So the patterns of these people's lives, as they're displayed out before the people, are to display the truth that the gospel is on display in their lives. That despite their imperfections, despite their weaknesses, God continues to mold and shape them into what the gospel transformed them to be. When we look at that and we see what's going on, Paul is repeating in a different way his challenge that he gave to the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, where he calls the church to imitate him as he imitates Christ. The Christian pattern of imitation is displayed in this passage and challenged to be a part of the church. Who are the older men and women that you are looking up to who are imitating the patterns of the older men and women that they were looking up to, who are imitating all the way back to those who were initially imitating Christ? Who are those who have molded and patterned and shaped their lives for the betterment of the gospel that you can look to to be a part of that process, and who are the people behind you that you're doing that same thing for? I'm grateful for our small group ministry and the student ministry and many of the ministries here that build upon that principle, that develop a desire to bring those people into places. But there's still so much more that we can do to excel the still more as we add these intergenerational aspects into all facets of what we're doing. That we would see the way in which the word of God founds us in traditions that are biblical and scriptural that establish patterns in our life for imitation. so that we're not cast to and fro and all around by the changing winds of culture. The National Study of Youth and Religion did some research on the 20-something-year-olds and asked them all about their relationship to faith. What they found was that 80% of the people who chose to continue their faith when they were in their 20s, when they were established by themselves, did so because of the importance of the factor and the atmosphere that their home developed for them. 80% of them singled that out as the most important thing. So they said that's statistically significant. What is it about that that establishes that? They looked into that and they saw three things rose to the top. The first one was the students, the kids, knew that their parents weren't perfect. They knew that their parents weren't perfect. They were sinners themselves. They displayed patterns of transparency in their home about establishing need for asking for forgiveness, looking for repentance, sharing the needs of others. They put the gospel truth on display that each day they needed Jesus to transform their lives. The second item was that the parents practiced what they preached. There wasn't a double standard for their kids and for them. There wasn't a do what I say, not what I do attitude. There was a we're all in this together, working towards displaying the gospel in our lives and in our home. The third item was the parents were open about the struggles of life. These kids saw their parents suffer and work through difficult situations. And they were open about how the gospel was anchoring their faith and allowing them to be established despite the bad things that were going on. They saw that the faith meant something to their parents. They saw that example and they desired to have that for themselves. And they knew that it offered the things that were promised because they'd visibly seen that take place and be modeled in their home. So if you look at these three items in acknowledgement that you're not perfect, that you practice what you preach, and that you display a transparency of the struggles in your life, you see what it looks like to conquer, endure in your faith on a day-to-day basis. And you see an example of growing in your faith. Now that same group of people, they went back to and they asked, hey, you who chose not to stay, what was a reason that you didn't want to stay in the church? They saw that many of them singled out that there was a lack of clarity on why it really mattered. Because they saw the hypocrisy of the people that were there. Why does it matter when you look just like me? Why does it matter when the patterns that I saw distinguish me in no way from the world? Why does it matter? Why should I do something extra on my Sunday morning if it doesn't really matter? Lifeway Research backs up that trend by hypocrisy being the leading exit of people who walk away from the church displaying that one third of people in their 20s would say that the reason that they stopped going to church or stopped desiring a faith walk is because of the hypocrisy that's displayed within the church. The opponents of God in Crete and the opponents of God in our culture are prevailing against him and his church in areas. May it not be so in our church. May it not be so in our generation. The importance of this pattern of faith and a solid example to follow is further established in this third point this morning, so that the glory of God will expand. And now this portion, you might say, just really focuses on these bond servants or these slaves, but I believe that we've been culminating with this item, that we've been building towards it by the patterns that have been developed in this. And now while we won't have an opportunity to develop a defense or attack of the practice of slavery, that's in here. I do think if you're looking for more information on that, I would recommend the book, Slave, by John MacArthur, where he develops a whole theology of this word. It's important for us to know just, though, that the word here is also used in chapter 1, verse 1, where Paul willingly calls himself a slave of Christ. And so a negative connotation can't always be established with this word or else Paul would not be putting himself in that relationship with Christ. So we have to understand that there's maybe something a little bit more that he's talking about here. And I believe that is the desire to, regardless of your circumstances, put the gospel on display for the expansion of God's kingdom. Bondservants or slaves are a growing group of people in the church, especially within the established Roman Empire. The Roman Empire is one of the few true slave empires that was not only built on, but necessitated by the practice of slavery for it to continue in its functions. And so it's such a significant portion of the Roman Empire that now it's becoming a significant portion of the church. And Paul must address them as a group of people, once again, because of the way in which their behavior is important to the expansion of the gospel. Now when we look into that, we see that they have a unique opportunity to display the gospel. Now you notice here Paul says nothing about the masters in this passage. That doesn't mean that Paul and God don't have things to say about that, but it means that he's not addressing it here in Titus. If you want to look at those things, you can look to Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6 where he lays that out. But here he focuses fully upon the servants or the slaves and their ability to do that. So when anyone serves to their fullest potential, it would make someone ask why, especially somebody in a slave type relationship. Why would you work so hard for the master knowing that it really doesn't help you? Why would you do this? Why would you not pilfer? Why would you not take these from? The answer that the slave's life replies with is, I do not just work for this man, I work for the Lord. It establishes that pattern of authority to say, everything I do in my life is important, not just because of the person who has asked me to do it, but because of the calling of God upon my life to be an example of the gospel. What better way to put the gospel on display than to endure the suffering, the hardship, and the difficulties of life, living in the reality that God has won and the promise of heaven awaits with eternal rewards. You know, it sounds like what we've been hearing in the Revelation series, that we're called to endure whatever is taking place in our lives, knowing that the victory has been won, and knowing that we have established ourselves for the promise of eternity. But when you look at these servants, these slaves, I believe the economic situation that they're in is similar to many of us who are in a workplace, who have to establish ourselves under the authorities that are above us. Why do we work hard? Why are we diligent? Why do we do what we do? Because first and foremost, every item we do, we do unto the Lord. Whether you're a student, whether you're at home, whether you're working out of your home or anywhere you're at, you work diligently to put the gospel on display, understanding that in doing so, you set yourself apart from the world who desires and lives differently. You know, when we look into these situations, we see that it's all building to adorn the glory of the doctrine of God our Savior. When we look into that phrase, it's talking about displaying the fine jewels or the priceless victories that are there, laying them out before all so that they would see the majesty and the grand nature that is on the display. One commentator says it this way, their lives were to be so evidently transformed that they commend the gospel that teaches that this God saves people and changes their lives. He's calling them to be trophies of the transforming work of Christ. Why would they endure? Why would they not pilfer? Why would they not do the things that everyone else thought was okay? Because their calling has been established by God to be otherworldly, to be set apart, to be holy. for him and his kingdom. So while we've segmented these three clauses in our mind as we've walked through the group of people, I truly believe it's building to this point. Because when we see the fullness of them on display, the third truth is most actively present. When we see that the word of God is not reviled, when we see that the opponents of God cannot prevail, we see that the glory of God extends for his kingdom. And when we do that, we do that knowing that we're doing this work for the sake of the gospel. So as we think about the game today, and we think about those different things that are there. My daughter was here in second service. It's a little much for her to sit through multiple services. But she came home this week talking about how she was going to be a Jayhawk. much to the chagrin of my wife who graduated from University of Missouri. But they read the three little Jayhawks and the Big Bad Tiger this week at school, and my wife began to question our public school decision. But ultimately, if she chooses to be a Jayhawk, she can choose to be a Jayhawk. That's not going to have that big of an impact upon my life, I'm sure. Whatever she chooses, the fandom that she has is not significant. But do I understand the significance that I have and that our church has for molding and shaping her and the rest of our kids in this room and the rest of our kids in this community to understanding the importance and the truth of what it means to be a follower of Christ. I pray that not only do I participate in that, but each one of you is an active participant in that, not just for my kids' sake, but for our generation and for the community as a whole, for the glory of God. Because when we see that we take seriously the challenge laid out before us today, that we participate in the work of the gospel so that God's word may not be reviled, so that God's opponents may not prevail, and so that God's glory will expand, we will see lost people saved. save people matured, and mature people multiplied for God's kingdom and for God's glory. Will you pray with me? God, we just do thank you for the power of your word and the way in which it's able to lay out for us its transforming nature. The calls that you give us and the reminders that you give us of our own sinfulness, our own worthiness, and our insignificance are not there to weight us down, but to point us to the true solution that we have and the true power that we have in you, in your word, shaping and molding our lives in your spirit, empowering us to live the lives you've called us. So as we reflect on this, as we personalize this application to ourselves, we pray that you would be speaking to us in words that give us clarity on how we respond in faith so that your word does not return void. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.