Beloved, please turn with me and your Bibles to the book of Joshua, Joshua chapter 2, as we continue our series, Strength and Courage in the Lord, as we make our way through the pages of this wonderful and encouraging book. We are in chapter 2, There are 24 fairly long verses here, and so I'll ask you to go ahead and just remain seated as I read the text. Please pay close attention to the Word of the Living God. And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, true, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted. And there was no spirit left in any man because of you. For the Lord, your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you, you will also deal kindly with my father's house and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from death. And the man said to her, our life for yours, even to death. If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way. The man said to her, we will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. And you shall gather into your house, your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear. And she said, according to your words, so be it. Then she sent them away and they departed, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned. And the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men, excuse me, then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua, the son of Nun. And they told him all that had happened to them. And they said to Joshua, truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us. Amen. As far as the reading of God's word, would you pray with me? Our great and mighty God, we pray that you would be pleased by your spirit to illumine our hearts and minds so that we would understand your word, so that we would, by your grace, believe your word, and also, by your grace, respond to your word, looking to Jesus for our salvation. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Beloved, the biblical narrative before us this morning is one of the most dramatic in all of Scripture. It's a story of intrigue, a story of courage and danger and great risk, and most importantly, it's a story of astonishing grace. It has all the features of a Hollywood movie. Indeed, the exciting narrative features two brave spies, a mighty pagan king, and a lowly Amorite prostitute who, by a surprising work of divine grace, turns by faith to the living God. Dear ones, what we have before us this morning is a deeply moving story of grace and redemption. and one that underscores the unspeakable depths of God's love in Christ for the very worst of sinners. And who are we sitting here this morning? But the very worst of sinners. This text teaches us what Philip Bliss expressed in his hymn, Man of Sorrows, quote, guilty, vile, and helpless we, spotless Lamb of God was he. Full atonement? Can it be? Hallelujah. What a Savior! This is what is coming at us in Joshua chapter 2. As we turn to our text for this morning, let's not forget what has already happened in this story so far. Chapter 1 opens up with a divine commission, a commission given by God to Joshua, Moses' seasoned successor. Three times God exhorts Joshua to be strong and courageous in his leadership, especially as he prepares to lead God's people over the threshold into the land that God had promised them, into the land of Canaan, a land full of armed giants and fortified cities. God will be with them. God will be with them to defeat their enemies, but they must live by faith. They must, by His grace, obey God's commands and not be like the former generation, the wilderness generation, which saw the mighty works of God in being delivered out of Egypt and knew the covenant promises of God and yet chose to live in unbelief and in idolatry and in sin and thus failed to enter their rest. In verses 10 through 15 of Joshua 1, we see Joshua commanding the senior officers to get the people ready to go west across the Jordan. The time has come to cross over into the land and to possess what God had given to them. We learned last time that the tribes of Reuben And Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were given permission to settle outside of the land that God had given them, east of the Jordan River. But their valiant fighting men were required to cross the Jordan with their countrymen and fight for the lands that they would be distributed amongst the 12 tribes and then can go back to that land east of the Jordan. The chapter, of course, ends with Israel declaring their allegiance to Joshua saying in verses 17 and 18, just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only be strong and courageous. And this brings us to the thrilling chapter two of the book of Joshua. I've split this long chapter up into three sections. Section one and section three are rather short in terms of exposition. The center section is the main and full one. I've split this chapter up into three sections. First of all, the unbridled courage of the two spies. The unbridled courage of the two spies. Secondly, the living faith of an Amorite prostitute. living faith of an Amorite prostitute. Thirdly, a God-centered report. A God-centered report. First of all, the unbridled courage of the two spies. Look with me again at verse 1. It says there, and Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. Go, view the land, especially Jericho. Sometimes when we read our Bibles, we forget that these were real people, that they lived in real cities, that there was real dust under their feet, that there were real fears that the people had. And so this is what is happening here amidst the people of Israel. Recently, as I mentioned, I believe a couple of weeks ago, recently having been at the British Museum in London and walking into rooms filled with tablets with ancient Hittite languages written on them, uh ancient Amorite languages written on them from these very days you realize that that this history spans back and God's promises spanned all the way back to these days these people were not so different than us they didn't have iPhones they didn't have high-speed internet but they were human beings just like us with fears hopes dreams It was in this same location, you might remember, in Shittim, that Israel rebelled against the Lord in former days, in a former generation, where they rebelled against God in the wilderness. This would have likely been in the minds of the people of Israel as they were preparing to go in, not least in Joshua's mind. We can read about this rebellion in Numbers chapter 25. It reports that, quote, while Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. You want to know the extent of the wickedness of that first generation? were delivered from Egypt. They worshipped foreign gods. They were involved in revelry and whoredom with these pagan peoples. so God's wrath consequently was poured out upon them and 24,000 people died from the plague. It was a significant event, a memorable event in the lives of God's people. It wouldn't have been forgotten. But this time around, God's people, the next generation, were seeking to honor and obey the Lord, not rebel against him. They believed God's covenant promises, and they were ready to take the land that God had promised to them. In order to get an idea of the terrain, the people, the cities of Canaan, Joshua sent two spies, not 12 spies as Moses had previously done, but two. Perhaps this was symbolic of Joshua and Caleb coming back and making their declaration. Maybe it was because it would be easier to stay secret. We don't know, but two men were sent rather than 12. These men risked their lives for the sake of God's kingdom and his people. These men weren't about, these two men weren't about personal comfort or self-preservation, which seems to be the goal of everyone in America, personal comfort and self-preservation. Dear one, if that is the end game for you, personal comfort and self-preservation, then you are not walking with God. Walking with God means self-sacrifice, being willing to give all for the sake of Christ. It doesn't mean that everyone will live in the same kinds of circumstances. We live in a very beautiful community, a very affluent community. Most in this room, I'm guessing, will go home to a cupboard and a refrigerator full of food and a closet with many different kinds of clothes in it. We are blessed. We're a blessed people. yet we have to ask ourselves, do we live for personal comfort and for self-preservation? It shouldn't be so, certainly wasn't so for these men. They were valiant men who put God and His mission before everything, even at the risk of their own lives. If they are discovered and they are caught, well, bad things are going to happen to them. When we were at the Tower of London a few weeks ago, I was with a couple of gentlemen from this congregation. I won't say who, but they were very excited to get down to the torture section of the castle. You know, I mean, I'm sure all young men somehow just are drawn towards this, right? You want to see how people were dismembered and, you know, what exactly happened when they were... put in the Tower of London and were tortured. But these men knew what was at risk. They know what they were facing. If they were caught, they'd be tortured and they'd be killed. So they went into Canaan incognito and entered the mighty walled city of Jericho. Where did they hide? Well, here is a twist, in the home of a prostitute. Some have found this strange and for good reason. These men just left godly Joshua, who has just heard from God about following his commands and not turning to the right or to the left. Why are they now with this lady of the night? Well, most scholars agree that if two visitors entered a city and did not want to be noticed as anyone to be concerned about, a good place to go where lots of people are coming and going is to the lodgings of a prostitute. Why? Because it's where many visitors would have gone. They wouldn't have drawn attention to themselves, perhaps like going in other places in the city. But what we learn next is that in God's providence, these spies are on more than just a reconnaissance mission. God in his providence, God in his providence has sent them. They don't even know this yet. He sent them to rescue Rahab, a woman who has heard of the Lord's mighty works on behalf of Israel, a woman who believes in the Lord. and has decided to leave her idolatrous religion and lifestyle and to follow the one true and living God of Israel. And this brings us to the second major heading, the living faith of an Amorite prostitute. So the two spies, according to verse one, went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. But what we learn next is that these two secret spies weren't very secret. Perhaps they needed more classes on spycraft. The story doesn't go very far before they are discovered. In the very next verse, we learn that they were discovered by informants and reported to the King of Jericho. Ultimately, we know that this is all a part of God's sovereign plan, His unfolding plan. Indeed, look with me at verse two. And it was told to the king of Jericho, behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land. Dear ones, here is where the tension of the story is. Here is where we see the tension. The two Israelite spies are now number one and number two on the Jericho most wanted list. People are looking for them. The situation has been brought to the top man himself, the king, and he has sent what is presumably a group of soldiers to apprehend the spies at Rahab's lodgings. What will she do? What will she do? The risks are enormous. Indeed, to protect the spies would be viewed by the king as a brazen act of treason. And if found out, she and her family would no doubt be tortured and executed. But rather than give up the spies, as an act of faith, As an act of faith, she hid the spies and led astray the king's men. Now, what's interesting are all the conversations that happen around the ethical dimensions of Rahab's lie, right? I can't believe she lied, they say. That was not a good thing to do, to lie to these soldiers or whoever it was that came to apprehend the spies. How do we respond to this? Well, if you have taken an ethics class, you'll know that there are times when some people do not deserve to have the truth, right? You think of Corey Ten Boom, hiding the Jews and the Nazis were coming after. Would any of you men, if someone knocked on your door and they had swords and guns, and they said, where's your family? Would you say, oh, just right upstairs in the TV room? Of course not. You'd say they're not here. You certainly wouldn't answer their question. You see, Rahab was acting in faith, even as she denied these men of the truth of whether or not these men were in her lodgings. In an expression of her new loyalties to the God of Israel, she welcomed these men and she protected them. Look in verse 4 with me. but she had brought them up to the roof, the spies that is, and hid them with the stalks, the flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Some have surmised that she was no longer an active prostitute because of these flax that were laid out that perhaps she was selling. We don't know exactly. But what we do know is the inspired, the Holy Spirit inspired interpretation of these actions in the New Testament, because Rahab is remembered and mentioned in the New Testament. In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, we have what's called the Hall of Faith. You make it into this chapter, you have exercised saving faith. What's extraordinary are some of those who are listed within this chapter. Rahab is mentioned in this chapter. Hebrews 11 verse 31, By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. You see, this was a wonderful act of faith by Rahab because she was risking her very lives to see God's purpose going forward, believing his promise, believing that he is the one true and living God, as we will see in a moment. Moreover, in the book of James, as James is explaining the difference between dead faith and living faith, that faith without works is what? Dead, okay? Faith with true works is a living faith and an authentic faith that's a gift from God, let's say man should boast, but within this argument it states in James 2 25, after speaking of Abraham having a living faith, it says, and in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works, that is, You must understand this as being justified by faith that produces works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. Her faith produced works because it was a true and a living faith. And what was that work? She received the messengers, the spies, and sent them out by another way. In other words, in James's argument that faith without the fruit of good works is a dead faith, he states that Rahab's faith was shown to be an authentic faith precisely because of the works that flowed from it. Faith without works is dead, but faith with works is a true and a living faith. And of course, the greatest work of living faith is believing in Jesus Christ. believing in Jesus Christ, and worshiping him, and seeking to glorify him. That is a living faith. That's a generalized kind of way to say that those are the works that flow from a living faith. We hear a testimony of her faith in the following verses, don't we? The two spies are now hiding under some stalks at Rahab's residence, and the gates to the city are closed. What happens next? Look at verse 8 with me. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and she said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt." Interesting, she says, we have heard. You wonder if she's even bringing in some of her family in this, perhaps that also had this faith. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." This doesn't sound like a pagan idol worshiper anymore, does it? Notice, she says, I know that the Lord has given you the land. Rahab is familiar with God's covenant promises to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to Moses about this gift, this gift of land. We're not sure how she knew this, but she has heard of God's promises to his people, and she believes them. Secondly, she is heard of God's mighty acts of bringing his people through the Red Sea and defeating, taking them out of Egypt, and defeating the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og. Twice, she expresses that the hearts of the people of Jericho have melted with fear. And then finally, she gives this glorious declaration, for the Lord your God, he is God. For the Lord your God, she is saying, He is God. In other words, all of the idols that she has known her whole life, they are not God. God is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Dear ones, here we see the fruit of God's sovereign grace in Rahab's life. And it's not so different from the way that people receive Christ and believe on Him in our own day. She hears the promises of God, and she embraces them. She hears the stories of God's mighty acts of deliverance, and she believes them. She hears the truth about God, that He is the Creator God, the one true and living God. And she confesses it. So here, get this now. Don't miss the drama of this. Here is this Gentile, which means she's not a Jew. She's not a member of the people of Israel, the covenant people of Israel. This Gentile, who is also an Amorite, who are sworn enemies of Israel. And she is also an idol worshiper and tabooed. She is a prostitute. In other words, she's probably the last person one would think would ever become a follower of Yahweh, turning from her pagan idols, turning from her wicked lifestyle, turning from her national loyalties to serve the living God. We hear echoes of this kind of commitment in 1 Thessalonians 1 9, when Paul writes, Doesn't that sum up that great work of redemption? that in Christ, by his grace, we turn from idols to serve the living and the true God. This was Rahab. This was Rahab, an object of God's sovereign, saving, covenant mercies. Her saving faith, which in and of itself was a gift from God, is celebrated in Hebrews chapter 11 and in James 2. But that is not all. It gets even better. We also learn that she becomes a part of the family line of the coming Messiah. God not only saves her, but brings her into the family line of the coming Messiah. Indeed, as James Boyce comments, quote, She married a Jew and became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. She married a man of the tribe of Judah named Salmon. Their son was Boaz, who married Ruth the Moabitess. Their son was Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David. We see this listed in Matthew 1, verses 5 and 6, the genealogy. And it says, and then Boyce writes, she was fully accepted into the life and nation of Israel, and even brought into the noble line of Judah, and became an ancestor of our Lord. Beloved, Jesus loves wretched sinners. He loves wretched sinners. He was nailed to a cross for wretched sinners like Rahab, like you, and like me. This is what we're taught here. Don't miss it. God's grace is bigger. It's higher. It's wider. And it's deeper than we could ever imagine. If you personally were writing this story, would you have put an Amorite prostitute in the lineage of the coming Messiah? Would you have done that? Maybe there are family members from the past that you are embarrassed of. ashamed of in some way, you know, we do that, right? Well, first of all, everybody has a relative on the Mayflower. We got that. Everybody in the South has a relative that's connected somehow to General Lee. You know, everybody's got, for some reason, everybody just comes from the same line, you know. But sometimes you go back, I mean, a comment's even been made in my own family heritage on my mother's side that we kind of stop asking questions around World War II because my family has a German lineage. Now, I think history is interesting, whether it's good or whether it's bad, but here, Here we see an Amorite prostitute saved by God's grace, accepted fully into the nation of Israel, marrying a Jewish man, and being in the very line of the coming Messiah. Dear ones, here we are reminded that God's ways are higher than our ways, and they are astonishing. God's love for sinners is astonishing. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, a city dedicated to idols, to child sacrifice and every sort of blasphemy. And yet in God's mercy, his message came to her. His promises came to her and by grace, God saved her. And with her new heart, she believed. She believed. I wanna ask you, if you are here this morning, doubting God's love for you, or perhaps for another. Are you doubting His love and saving power, perhaps for someone you love? Do you think that your sins are too big for God to forgive? Is your past too checkered? Think again. Think again. God's grace and forgiveness are greater than you think. Yes, we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior. And so let us all turn from our sins, as did Rahab. Turn from idols and from any loyalties that are above Christ, whatever they may be, and give your life to Him. Put your faith in Him. He loves you. He gave His life for you. His cleansing blood and justifying righteousness are sufficient to deliver you from eternal judgment. So come to Him. Don't wait another day. Call out to him so that the walls of God's judgment don't crash down upon you one day in the future. Jericho was dedicated to destruction, and this world will one day be destroyed. God's judgment is coming, and all will be lost if you are not in Christ. Well, as we return to our story, let's see what happens next. Look with me at verse 12. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house. And give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. And the men said to her, our life for yours, even to death, if you do not tell this business of ours. Then when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. The Hebrew word that's used there in terms of that kindness is the word chesed. It's where we get the steadfast mercy and love of God. And this kind of love and mercy is being shown to one another. She shows it to them. They show it to her. In 1 John, it says that God's love is being perfected in us. That's that work of sanctification, so that as we grow in Christ, we love God more and more, and we love others more and more. This kindness is being shown. This kindness was first shown to us by God, and then we show it to one another. And Rahab here is looking out for her family. She asked that upon their attack on Jericho, that they would be spared. The spies, they took an oath to do just that, so long as she does not give them up and does exactly what they've told her to do. What did they tell her to do? Well, we know what she told them to do. She told them to place a scarlet rope. And we're going to see this in just a minute. For now, look with me at verses 15 through 21. Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall." If you've never been to an ancient city, it's extraordinary how those walls will be 20, 25 feet wide. And people lived within the walls. You go over, for instance, to Europe, you can see these, you can walk around them. So she's living in this wall. She lets them down through the window. And she said to them, go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward, you may go your way. The man said to her, we will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, verse 18. When we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. And you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear. And she said, according to your word, so be it. Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. Imagine her tying that scarlet cord to the window, making it real tight. Don't want that to slip off. Don't wanna have any problems with that when Israel comes. Some in the past have tried to make something of this scarlet cord, viewing it as representing the blood of Christ, which brings deliverance. I'm not convinced that this was the intent of the spies, or of the author, but I do think it makes for a wonderful gospel-centered analogy, a wonderful one. God's judgment upon the wicked city of Jericho is coming. The only thing that will save Rahab and her family from this judgment and destruction is the scarlet cord in her window. It's reminiscent of the Passover, isn't it? When God commanded his people to smear the blood of a lamb over the doorframe, so that when the angel of death would come over those homes, the angel of death would pass over, seeing the blood. And here we have something similar. It provides this wonderful analogy. It's only by the scarlet cord of Christ's blood hanging over our hearts that we do not receive the wrath of God. In Christ alone, we are delivered from just judgment. Through Christ's cleansing blood alone, we are forgiven of our great and countless sins. Through Christ's blood alone, we are rescued from the clutches of Satan and eternal separation from God. And so, dear ones, let us not clutch. Let us not clutch and cling to this world's empty promises or its myriad deceitful idols. Let us put our trust in the Lord, not in ourselves or our own faulty good works, but let us put our trust and faith in Christ. Let us cling to him. Let us cling to him. Finally, we see in Joshua 2, 22 through 24, that they departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, just as Rahab said they would. And the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua, the son of Nun. You can imagine them traveling back, so excited, coming down the hill. They've escaped what was looking like a really bad situation. And they're coming back to give a report. And they said to Joshua, We've been through a lot. We think we need to go take a rest, and maybe we don't need to go in there. Is that what they said? Of course not. They came back with hearts full of faith, trusting in God's promises. They say, truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands. The very thing that Rahab said is the first thing they said. Truly, truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands and also all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us. Dear ones, what a story. This land, as we have considered in previous weeks, is all a foreshadowing of the new heavens and the new earth. The land that they would eventually conquer and dwell in, they would in due time be expelled from because of their sin. Even as Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden because of their sin, Israel was expelled from the land because of their sin and idolatry. And then after 400 years, after the exile and that post-exilic age, you have the angel coming into the temple. and telling Zachariah that his wife, Elizabeth, his elderly wife, Elizabeth, is with child, and you shall call his name John. You see, all of this, all of these stories, all of these promises, it's all finding its ultimate fulfillment in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. Again, as we close with this great hymn, Man of Sorrows, what a name. for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah. What a Savior. And when He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Cling to Him. Even as you know, He holds fast to you. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this text and for the clear message that you are a God of abundant grace and mercy. We thank you for rescuing Rahab and her family. We thank you, Lord, for this glorious portrait of your unspeakable grace. And we pray that today we would receive it and rest upon it by grace for our salvation, and then we would sing for the rest of our lives of that amazing grace. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, dear ones, I invite you to please stand as we sing together this wonderful and familiar hymn, Amazing Grace, number 433 in your hymnal.