Good morning. It's a joy to be bringing you God's Word this morning. If I haven't met you yet, my name is Christian Brewer, one of the pastors here. I see a face I haven't seen in a very long time. If I haven't met you yet, please come and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you. This morning, we are working our way through the Gospel of Mark, and we are finishing out, as we'll see, one of the main sections we've been in for the last three months or so. We are finishing out this block between 822 and 1052. We'll be reading in Mark 10, verses 46 through 52. If you have your Bibles, I'd invite for you to stand, and as we read God's Word together, This is, as we'll see, Jesus about to begin his journey to Jerusalem, the last step of his mission here on earth. And he stops in what is perhaps the most unlikely of places. Let's hear God's word. And they, that is Jesus and his disciples, came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, call him. And they called the blind man, saying to him, take heart, get up, he is calling you. And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, what do you want me to do for you? And the blind man said to him, rabbi, let me recover my sight. And Jesus said to him, go your way, your faith has made you well. And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that in it are our treasures forevermore, that your word is to be desired more than gold, even much fine gold. Father, I pray that you would send your spirit and open our eyes, Lord, open our hearts that we might see Christ. Jesus, would you be pleased to come and to be with us, Lord, as we hear your word preached. Jesus, the true word of God, come and dwell in our hearts as the word makes its way through our ears into our hearts. Lord, would you continue to use the word preached, the word read, Lord, to mold us more and more in the image of Christ. It's in his mighty and matchless name that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Well, as I said, we are coming to the end of a major section that we have been working through the past months. We've been in this block since maybe even the week before I got here. We've been in this block of Mark's Gospel where Jesus is showing his disciples what it means to be one of his disciples. Both the disciples before him then, the 12, and even his disciples now, us here seated before his word. And there are two important parts of this phrase, his disciples, that this whole section is trying to teach on. You have his disciples, but that can be divided up. It can be his disciples, we need to know who he is, who are we following, but it's also his disciples. What does it look like to be a follower, to be a disciple of this man Jesus of Nazareth? And I've noted it before, but just to show you again, right, if you have your Bibles, you don't have to turn it if you don't want to, but if you just flip back a couple pages, maybe just one page even, you'll see in 822, the beginning of this section, Jesus is healing a blind man, unnamed. And then, 827 through 9-1, we have the confession of Peter and the 12 of being the Christ, but we quickly see that it is not the confession that is clearest, is truest. So something must happen, right? They think that Jesus is certainly the Messiah, but a Messiah in their own image. And Jesus knows he has some work to do. And then from 9-2 all the way to 10-45, we have numerous instances, numerous points where Jesus is showing his disciples and us here who he is, what he's come to do, and what it means to follow him. Who he is, what he's come to do, and what it means to follow him. And it ends with our passage here today. Once again, the healing of a blind man. It started with the healing of a blind man and it ends with the healing of a blind man. Pastor Jacobs has said it before, but it's this idea of sandwiching, right? Blocking these two stories together to highlight that this whole section is about our eyes being opened to who Jesus is. Our eyes being opened to the truth of the gospel. And of course, the irony of a section like today is that the one who cannot see anything sees clearest of all. The one who cannot see anything with his physical eyes sees everything with his spiritual eyes. And then only begins to have his heart and his mind and his eyes opened more and more and more. And so today in this story, it is the capstone, right? It is the answer, a partial answer, but an answer nonetheless on who is this man, Jesus? And what does it mean to be his disciple? We see that Jesus is about to begin his journey to Jerusalem. In fact, the very next passage, next week, we will begin to see his entry into Jerusalem. Before that happens, Jesus has one more stop to make. He stops in Jericho. Jericho, that's a name we haven't, perhaps the only time we hear this town in the New Testament, but if you know your Old Testament, you know this town is very, very important in the Old Testament. In fact, many scholars are quick to note that there is something going on here, right, of not only Jesus entering Jericho, but the gospel writer is being intent on noting it's Jericho that he's coming to. Jesus, or Joshua, as he would have been called, son of Joseph, is coming to the town, which was the first stop in the conquest of Canaan by Joshua, son of Nun. The new Joshua is coming to conquer. He is bringing a kingdom with him, and so he follows the same pattern. He's going to Jerusalem, but first he has to go through Jericho. But he doesn't stay for Jericho for long. In fact, in Mark's gospel, it's just a footnote, right? He's just there for a moment, and it just seems like he just turns right back around. We see a further explanation of what happened there in the gospel of Luke. But for Mark's purposes, he's just intent to note he goes to Jericho, and something happens on the way out. And Jesus is leaving Jericho. You can imagine he's got the disciples, he's got a whole train of people following behind him. This is his journey, his final conquest into the city of Jerusalem. And there's a blind man sitting by the roadside. And he hears this crowd. And you can perhaps imagine this blind man hitting somebody as they pass by. Hey, who is this coming by? Who is this man? And he hears who it is, Jesus of Nazareth. Now, before we get into this passage, there's just a couple of notes I wanna make. This is one of those stories that if you read critical scholars, they'll say that this story right here is the pudding of proof that our gospel writers had no idea what they're talking about. You see, in Matthew and Mark, we are told that Jesus is going out from Jerusalem. In our passage that's today and in Matthew, Jesus is going, or not Jerusalem, going out from Jericho, excuse me. But if you read the Gospel of Luke, it says it's, in our translation, if you have the KJV or the NASB, the translation is, as he was going into Jerusalem. Seems to be it's happening at two different points. Is Jesus going in or out of Jericho? So critical scholars will be quick to note, see, they're just making this stuff up. They don't really know what happened. Now, I say this because it's easy to let little doubts creep in without having a full answer. Critical scholars are always quick to note the weaknesses without ever offering any possible and likely solutions to these kinds of things. And some, in answer to this critique, point out that this Jericho, it's about 10 miles, 12 miles east of Jerusalem. The Jericho that was inhabited in the first century AD was not the same Jericho that Joshua would have conquered in 1400 BC. The inhabited city stood about 100 yards away from the ruins of the old city. So one way it could be fixed is saying, all right, Jesus is, you know, it happened as he was leaving the ruins of Jericho that he ran into the blind man and was entering into the inhabited city of Jericho. That's just one way, right? That's just one way of thinking about this, that there's actually two different Jerichos that Jesus is going to about 100 yards away from each other. Or, and I find this way to be much more, much easier to accept, much better from a grammatical standpoint, another scholar notes, and even Calvin, John Calvin notes, that the Greek construction in Luke of going into Jericho, excuse me, I'm gonna do that a lot, so just forgive me, going into Jericho would better be translated in the vicinity of Jericho, as he was near Jericho. And so it's not making a claim of whether he's going in or out, but it's just where he is in the vicinity of Jericho. So know that there are very good answers of seeming apparent discrepancies in a text like this. But another apparent discrepancy is the fact that in Mark and Luke, we are told of only one beggar. We're only told of one man, but in Matthew, we are told that there are two beggars here. Again, this is another thread that critical scholars want to pull on and say, obviously, these guys are idiots. They don't know what's happening. Is it one? Is it two? Is it going in? Is it going out? And yet, again, there is a very good answer. It is important to note that neither Mark nor Luke say that there was only one. They are just focusing their attention on one of the beggars. As it's been said before, saying that one came forward doesn't mean that there wasn't another one there. But he's rather focusing in on one of these blind beggars. And in fact, we do this all the time. We use singular and plural language just depending on what we're doing at the time. Saying a friend asked me versus I was with a group of friends and one of them asked me, you're saying the same thing just in a different way. For some of y'all, this is like, I don't even care what you're talking about right now. Some of y'all, these are just little tidbits, things that, to the untrained eye, it can seem like there may be discrepancies, and yet there are always good answers. And that's just a good, what's called, a good hermeneutical principle, when you're reading the Bible, interpreting what it's saying, is to remember the quote-unquote problems always receive the limelight, and yet there are always good answers out there. And in fact, Mark shows us that he in fact knows what he's talking about, and that this account that he is giving us actually comes from the horse's mouth, right? Insofar as he uses a sort of ancient way of footnoting, right? Many of you all Hate writing papers, some of y'all haven't written papers since college, but you know, when you have a footnote and you say something, you have to cite that source, right? Never use endnotes because they're wicked, but footnotes are awesome. Putting the source of our story, of what we're talking about, and here Mark is doing just that. And we know this because he actually names the man who was healed. And if you read Matthew and Luke, the blind man does not receive a name. But Mark does, Mark gives the man's name. And there's a New Testament scholar, a man named Richard Bauckham, who has particularly done a lot of work on this and is showing that this is Mark telling us where he got his story from. It's the man who was healed. You know him, Bartimaeus, right? You might even know his dad, Timaeus. He's the guy I got this from. You want proof, go ask him. This man, Bartimaeus, there is no reason that Mark would have given his name unless he was known to the audience to which it was written. Mark is showing this story happened because I heard it from the horse's mouth. Now, those are just some side points. So if that doesn't concern you, just push that out because we're now getting to our main points. All of this is showing, Mark is showing in this passage that this beggar, Bartimaeus, sums up, clarifies, illustrates what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He is an ideal picture of Jesus' disciple. And so Mark uses Bartimaeus to work through three key ideas of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. He's a key picture of discipleship, and as a key picture of discipleship, Bartimaeus is also one of the ideal pictures of mercy that we have. He is the prime example of what it looks like to receive mercy. So compelling is this picture, both in Mark's account, in Matthew's account, in Luke's account, that his phrase, have mercy on me, became sort of the common cry of the early church. We have all these liturgies of the early church where people will come together for worship and the pastor would say something and the congregation would reply, Lord, have mercy. Pastor would say something, congregation would reply, Christ, Jesus, have mercy. It sums up what it means. So compelling, in fact, that the 80s band Mr. Mister actually wrote a song based on this passage. So you can go and get a little 80s jam on your Sunday drive this afternoon after this. But in our text today, Mark is using Bartimaeus to show us a picture of discipleship. Because in our text today we have a man whose eyes have been opened long before his physical eyes have been opened to answer three key questions when it comes to discipleship. The first is the question of identity. Who is this Jesus and who am I? Second, it requires the question of do you know what Jesus can do Do you know what you can do? We could sum that up as desperation. And lastly, the question of what does it mean to receive salvation? What does he do? What does Jesus do? So what must I do? These questions of identity, desperation, or identification, desperation, and salvation. These are painted for us clearly in this passage today. So as I said, Jesus is walking along the way to Jerusalem, surrounded by his disciples, surrounded by a crowd, and Bartimaeus is there, blind beggar, hears the crowds coming by, and he hears that it's a man named Jesus, and not just any Jesus, because no, this would have been a popular name at this time, but it's Jesus of Nazareth. And obviously, Bartimaeus has heard of him before, because as soon as he hears that name, he starts crying out. And notice what he cries out, son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me. Now this is a man who has never met Jesus. He's never spent time with him. But from all the reports he's heard, he knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly who Jesus is. He's the son of David. And now this is an important title that Bartimaeus is giving to Jesus. It's an important title that Mark is giving to Jesus. See this title, Son of David, signifies that Bartimaeus believes, he knows, that this Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises about a Messiah. This man is the fulfillment, the one that they have been waiting for. Now we go all the way back to Genesis 49. Judah was prophesied to have a ruler in his line forever. And one day there was gonna come a ruler who would inherit the entire world. Then in 2 Samuel 7, it's clarified as God makes a promise to his king, David, that he would have a son. Not Solomon, not the kings that followed, but a son who would have a throne forever. A son who would reign forever. Then all throughout the prophets is the constant promise of this Davidic king. Especially in Isaiah. Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11. The root of Jesse. But Hosea 3, Amos 9, Jeremiah 30 and 33, Ezekiel 34 and 37. All throughout is the promise that God's Messiah would be the final and true son of David. That God's Messiah would be the final and true son of David. This blind man not only knows his Bible, but just like Simeon in Luke chapter two, he is given eyes of the kingdom to see who this Jesus really is. He's the Messiah. He is the chosen one, the promised one, the one we've waited so long for. And you get a picture that Mark is using this blind man to parallel Israel. This blind man has been sitting in darkness for years, waiting for the one who can give him sight. and how is Israel described in Isaiah, but as those who have been sitting in darkness, who have seen a great light. This is the chosen one of God. But there's something even deeper in this confession. Son of God, have mercy, or Son of David, have mercy on me. See, this blind man knows, Bartimaeus knows, not only that Jesus is the Messiah, but that he is somehow both the son of David and at the same time God himself. He's recognizing that there's something about this Jesus that not only is he man, but he's God. And two things hint at this. First is the fact that in a few Old Testament prophecies, this Davidic Messiah, this son of David who would be the chosen one of Israel, is blended with this imagery of God. It's this conflation of two ideas of kingship and divinity. Kingship and divinity. Most apparent, most exemplary is Daniel 7, 13 through 14. All right, Daniel says, I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. If you know your New Testament, you know that's a big title right there too, son of man. But listen how it describes the son of man. And he came to the ancient of days, God, Yahweh, and was presented before him. And to him was given the dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. And his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. Notice what Daniel's doing, right? There's a man, a king, coming before to receive a kingdom. Son of David language, messianic language. But this king is doing something only God does. He's receiving something only God receives. Worship, adoration, glory. This son of David was nothing other, no one else than God himself. But that's not the only hint we get that Bartimaeus was able to see the appearance of things. Because second, look at what he says to him, right? He doesn't just say son of David, but he says, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. Or in the Greek, eleison me. Eleison. And while this type of language is used in a few different places between men, between servants and kings, masters and rulers, the most common place this phrase is used is in the Psalms. Have mercy on me. And every time it is mentioned in the Psalms, there's only one recipient of that request. God. Psalm 25, 16, look upon me, have mercy on me. Psalm 27, 7, have mercy on me. Or Psalm 56, 1, have mercy upon me. Who? Yahweh. Yahweh, Lord, have mercy on me. And Matthew, he's even clearer, he knows even firmer what, he's trying to make even more clear what the blind beggar is doing, because he adds Lord to this beggar's request, kurios. He's trying to show that this blind man isn't just addressing a wizard or a healer, but this blind man knows that he is somehow addressing God. Bartimaeus sees who Jesus really is. He knows that the one he is crying out to is someone who can actually help him. Someone who can do something about his plight. And just think, there's a lot of things we think we're going to receive mercy from. That we think we're going to receive help from. As I was writing this sermon, for some reason, just the Bernie Madoff fiasco. was running through my mind, right? Thousands of people, thousands of people thought Bernie Madoff was their salvation. He was making them rich. At the end of the day, he was enslaving them all. Or think about how many people have found themselves trapped in cycles of addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography. And all of them, not a one of them was exempt of once believing that those things would help them. That those things would give them what they wanted. And yet all of them found themselves in chains. All sorts of things promise mercy, promise salvation, promise peace, but we have to know who is the true one who offers these things. If the person or thing who offers those things, salvation, mercy, peace, is not God himself, it'll never be what you think. It'll never really be mercy. And a blind man on a dusty road outside Jericho sees clearly who he's talking to. but as a disciple is one who receives the mercy. It's not just about seeing Jesus, about seeing God. Millions, if not billions of people have had Jesus presented to them, has heard the name of Christ preached, and have all turned away. There's something else we need to have in order to be Christ's disciples. We need to have our eyes open to exactly what kind of pitiable, desperate state we are in. And Mark gives us two pictures of just how desperate this blind man is. And the first one is that he's blind, right? This is first century AD, outside Jericho. A blind person in that surrounding would be about as helpless as you could possibly imagine. And I'm not blind. I've got pretty bad eyesight, but I'm not blind. But yesterday, I was helping Brad lay some concrete. I don't do that all the time, so don't ask me. I'm not that good at it anyways. But I didn't have my glasses on, and I was working with some goggles. And I was shoveling the concrete in, and I looked back, and it looked pretty smooth. I thought I was doing a good job. And then I put my glasses on, and it's wavy. It's like turning. It's unlevel. And if someone in the 21st century like me is somewhat helpless without being able to see clearly, I'd imagine a blind person in first century AD. Literally all he can do is sit outside a city and wait for someone to give him food, give him money. This man is desperate. But Mark also wants to show us his existential, his personal, his experiential desperation. He's crying out, son of David, have mercy on me. And yet both Jesus' disciples and the crowd are hushing him up. Shut up, he's got important stuff to do, you know. It almost reminds me if you've ever been to a dinner party or a party of some sort, right, and someone says something awkward, and you just get really quiet, you're just like, oh, please stop talking. Here's the disciples in the crowds, would you please be quiet? He's got a mission to complete. We've got 12 miles to get to Jerusalem. But Bartimaeus knows that if there's any chance he has, this is it. And what does he do? He cries out even louder. In fact, it's hard to see in the translation, but in the Greek, what it says is, literally, many tried to silence him. Paulos, Paulos tried to silence him. So he cried out, many much more. Paloi, Malone. There's a play, the more people tried to shush him, the more he cried out to Jesus. He's blind, literally sitting in darkness, maybe with his hands screaming out, have mercy. He knows viscerally at the bottom of his heart that there is nothing he can do to save himself. He is utterly helpless. but he will not let some hushes and social niceties stand in the way of him and salvation. But Mark is continuing to press the point home, right? Jesus hears the man calling out and he stops. Or in the Greek, he stands still. He calls the man forth. And you can imagine either the shame or shock filling the disciples in the crowd, right? Oof. We really messed up there, didn't we? And they turn to Bartimaeus, take heart, rise, he is calling you. Now, if there's not a sermon in that little interaction, right? Jesus, the son of God, the king of kings, calls out to this man. The crowd, take heart, rise, he is calling you. Take a moment to imagine the tenderness in Jesus's voice. Call him. And here Mark is showing just what kind of Messiah Jesus is. Do you think Caesar had time for a blind beggar? Does the president have time to stop and shake everyone's hand? Does, will Cyrus give leniency to one of his servants? No. No and no. But Jesus is the one who calls the beggar to himself. Bartimaeus hears Jesus calling and the text tells us that he throws off his outer garments, right? He can't get up fast enough. He throws it off and comes towards Jesus. He jumps up, jumps up to get to Jesus. Just imagine, here's a man who is handicapped, jumping up from his seated position in order to get to the one calling him. It's almost a reckless act. It is a reckless act. Doing all he can to get to where he knows he needs to be. I thought of, right, when a pop fly in a Major League Baseball game, right, and you see the guys who have probably drank a little bit too much beer and spent a little bit of time watching baseball, and they're doing everything they can, short of killing somebody, to get that ball, right? Kids, sorry, ladies, get out of my way, right? I am getting this ball. Bartimaeus is sure of one thing, he's getting to Jesus. He knows who Jesus is. He knows what Jesus can do. And just as importantly, he knows what he himself can do. Nothing. And here's one of the hardest parts of receiving mercy is seeing that you actually need it. One of the funniest, most frustrating parts of working with small children, right, is doing something for them and them being insistent, no, I'm going to do it. And after about the 10th time, like, all right, you can do it. And it never works out, right? We would have been much faster if I just did this for you. Or just think about what happens inside you when someone says you can't do this. Not shouldn't, but can't. Well, buckle up buttercup, I'm gonna show you I can. Too often it becomes now, it is now my mission to prove to you that I can. One of the most telling examples of this was Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame enshrinement speech. Greatest basketball player of all time. And what did he talk about? His JV coach who cut him in high school. His JV coach, he was unable to accept the fact that maybe he couldn't be good at something. Now, I'm not trying to, you know, send away all hard work or trying to better yourself, but there's something inherent about us because of sin that we cannot accept the fact that we can't do something. But guess what? Mercy only comes to those who know they can't do it. Mercy only comes to those who are desperate. Bartimaeus has answers for identification, for desperation, and finally we see Bartimaeus shows the answers about salvation. Bartimaeus knows that his one hope is found in Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of David, even God himself. Now he finds himself approaching the person he's been waiting for, for all this time. And you can imagine, what are you saying in a moment like that? Right? I mean, I remember once I walked into Target and there was a bass player named Victor Wooten, who I loved as a kid. He was my inspiration when I played music. I saw him walk in and I was like, I'm going to go talk to him. And you stand up before him and you I really like you, and you're like, oh my gosh. Can you imagine, what do I say to Jesus, the one I've been waiting for? But he's not the first one to speak. Jesus is. But notice that he asks him a rather surprising question, given this scenario. What do you want me to do for you? And it's surprising because to everyone around it is painfully obvious. what this man wants Jesus to do. It is obvious what this blind man is looking for, and yet Jesus, as I said a few weeks ago, is the perfect pastor and always knows exactly what we need to hear. As one author put it, that there's a theological point to what Jesus is asking. There's a point that Jesus is making, and that is Jesus is teaching both Bartimaeus and us that he is always eager to receive the petitions of the desperate. Isn't that amazing? Jesus is always eager to hear the cries of the needy. And Bartimaeus doesn't hesitate, teacher, rabbi, or really even more literally greatest rabbi, rabboni, that I might see. Or again, if we're just thinking about how difficult it would be for a blind person at this point in history, I want to live. Give me back my life. His request shows the full confidence in Jesus' ability to save and to heal. There is no if you are able. There is no if you want to, as we've seen in other healings. It is one thing. I want to see and I know you can do it. And his request is granted in the most pithy statement of salvation we could possibly ask for in the New Testament, go, your faith has saved you. Go. Your faith has saved you. He believed in who Jesus was, the Messiah, even God himself. He believed that Jesus could save him, knowing full well that he had no ability to save himself. And he cries out for mercy. And he receives the salvation that comes from leaning upon Jesus alone for salvation. It's amazing how the New Testament interprets the New Testament, right? How different passages mirror other passages. Listen to Titus 3. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, when Jesus came, he saved us. Not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own what? Mercy. Mercy. And here's the final point, right? If you cry out for mercy to Jesus, he will never say no. He will never turn away those who come to him for help. Everyone else will. Everything else will. Nothing gives mercy like Jesus, because only God can give mercy. Well, the text gives us just one more note. What does it mean to enter into this salvation? It ends with one other point. Remember, this is discipleship we're talking about. There's something that Jesus now calls those whom he has saved. Just as quickly as he hopped up to run to Jesus, so just as quickly he gets on the road and follows Jesus. The last point, and immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. He joins the throngs of worshipers following Jesus into Jerusalem. And this is what we must do because of what Jesus has done. He makes us whole in order that we may follow him. Jesus makes us whole, he saves us in order that we may follow him. Because remember, the way, that phrase, the way, was the most common early church way of talking about Christianity. And as Mark ends his section here, he's making much more of a point than just, yeah, he followed Jesus in Jerusalem. And remember, this is the Bartimaeus that was most likely known by name to those to whom he was writing. Mark ends it with, he followed Jesus to Jerusalem, and he followed him for the rest of his life. He spent his whole life in pursuit after the one who gave him life. This is true discipleship, seeing who Jesus is, He's not just a man, but the Messiah, and even more than that, God himself. And if any other religion, any other organization tells you he's less than that, they're offering you someone else. We also need to see what Jesus can do in contrast to what we can do. Is he God or are you God? Lastly, we need to see what Jesus has done and now asks you to do, to live your life in full devotion to him. Only those who follow this path can finally say, the Lord has had mercy on me. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your great mercy. We thank you that in the face of Jesus Christ, we are shown the faithfulness and the loving kindness of God. Lord, I pray for your saints here this morning that we would receive mercy again and again, that we would never shy away, never tire of turning to you, Jesus, for mercy. Lord, I pray for those who do not know you this morning. Father, I pray that If anything I said be an adequate portrayal of your gospel, Lord, would you use it to show them your mercy? Lord, show them that yes, they are sinners, but that you are our savior. And Jesus, would you send your spirit that we might live our entire lives to devotion to you, that we would never tire of picking up our cross and following in your steps. We ask this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ, amen. Will you stand with me as we hear the benediction and the doxology? The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ♪ Praise God for whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures, if we know. Praise him, all the people we host. Praise the new sun and holy host. Amen.