Our sermon text today is from 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2, beginning in verse 7 through verse 11. For some context, I'll begin back in verse 3. So starting our reading, 1 John chapter 2, starting in verse 3. This is the word of God. Now, by this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He who says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk, just as you walked. Verse seven now. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. So for the reading of God's word, you may be seated. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, at the end of the day, it will be revealed that there are only two kinds of people, which of course we know now. It will be shown that there are those who walk with the Lord Jesus and those who walk away from him. You have those who believe, those who do not believe, those who follow Jesus, and those who have rejected him. And as we read scripture, of course, it presents to us this simple truth. It uses pictures, it uses images that describe these two categories of people. And today's passage, 1 John 2, 7 through 11, the passage uses the image of light and darkness, these two images, to illustrate those who are within Christ, those who are in Christ, and those who are outside of Christ. A crucial question, though, we should ask is this. Since we want to be in the light and not in the darkness, how do we know that we are in the light? And how do we know that we're not in the darkness? How can we have this assurance of salvation? And in this book, really, in this passage particularly, John is going to give us an answer to that. John gives us a test of our salvation so that we can know that we are walking in the light. And this test is this, brotherly love is a test of salvation. Brotherly love is a test of salvation. In verses 7 and 8, here as we approach the text, I believe that John presents his first main idea that brotherly love looks like Christ. And then in the rest of the text, verses 9 through 11, we're going to see that brotherly love shows if you are in Christ. So first of all, going back to verses seven and eight, we'll see how brotherly love looks like Christ. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment. But an old commandment which you have heard had from the beginning the old commandment Which is the word which you have heard from the beginning again a new commandment I write to you Which thing is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining So as we look at this brotherly love within these two verses, as we look here, we'll see a couple of main concepts. First of all, we're gonna look at the substance of this love, basically what this love is. As we see that brotherly love looks like Christ, and that really is the answer to the question, and that's underlying the question, this question, what is the new commandment? What is this new commandment here in the text that John is talking about? Well perhaps as you've read this text it kind of strikes you as being a little confusing on the face of it because John writes about an old commandment and then he presents that there is this new commandment. What is this old commandment? Well he says it's something they have heard from the beginning. Now, what else does John say is from the beginning? We can look at chapter 3, verse 11, which says, this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. So apparently, it looks like John is speaking about brotherly Christian love. And we see the same idea, I think, in 1 John 4, 21, where he writes, in this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God, love his brother also. And so as we look at what First John is saying, as we look at this old commandment, we have reason to believe that he's writing this commandment is to love each other. This is a commandment for brotherly love, a commandment that the church had from the beginning. from the very beginning of their Christian experience, in fact. And I think we see this at the beginning of this epistle, where John writes about the things that were from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have looked upon, that our hands have handled concerning the word of life. And obviously not going back to the very beginning, as he does in his gospel, but the beginning, I believe, in 1 John 2, of their Christian experience. So of course, though, this commandment, this old commandment to love each other, it's going to far predate them. And isn't this a commandment that you see in the Old Testament as well? The commandment to love your brother? Were not the Old Testament saints commanded to show this brotherly love? And of course, they were. So then why, at this point, would John emphasize the oldness of this commandment? Why would he harp upon the fact that this commandment is not new? And perhaps it's helpful to note that John is ministering in a context where the church is being attacked by false teachers. And you see this in his epistles. If you're reading these epistles, you'll see he's combating the church, excuse me, he's combating people who are attacking the church. People who are teaching that Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh. People who teach that Jesus Christ basically was not a true man. And so John is dealing with heresy that is infiltrating the church, or at least it's seeking to infiltrate the church. And so I think we see that John is emphasizing this commandment's oldness because of these new teachers who are coming in, bringing in their new teaching into the church. And of course, the problem there is a problem that we have in all ages, and that is that people love to hear new doctrine, new things. And unfortunately, that will include new heresy, at least heresy that is new to them. Paul writes about this in 1st Timothy 4, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust they shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. These ears that basically, as I picture it, just can't wait to hear something new. So you have that John is now stressing that his message is different. It is indeed an old message. But then he turns around and says something a little different, doesn't he? And this probably struck you as you were reading the text. He says that at the same time, a new commandment I write unto you. And here we find ourselves in verse 8 of 1 John chapter 2. And I believe here there's little doubt that John is making reference to his gospel, that John is referring to words that Jesus himself uttered. It's almost a direct quotation, if not a direct quotation. If you were to look at John 13, verse 34, you'll see that Jesus says this with almost some of the same language. A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you. that you also love one another. And so then the old commandment that we looked at in verse 7 and the new commandment that we look at here in verse 8 at the end of the day, these are the same in their content. Commandments to love your brother. There is a definite contrast, though. There's a contrast that John is bringing out between this Old and this New Commandment, a way in which it's different from the Old. So what is the difference here? What is the aspect of dissimilarity that John is bringing out between the Old and the New Commandment? It might help to note in the original Greek that John is writing in, there's more than one word for new. And the word for new that John writes here is not typically the word that just straight up means new in time. There is a word for that. John uses a different word, a word that carries with it a special aspect of something that is new in kind or new in quality. call this word renewed perhaps and so that there is this new aspect or this there's some new way in which the commandment to love is now being presented. It looks like or it is going to appear to the church in a new way. Try to picture this with me. Imagine a homeless man who has not taken a shower in a long time. And his hair is disheveled. His beard has grown out. And you could probably see him now. He probably smells like cigarette smoke. Let's say he's, amidst all of his woes, he's just playing the lottery. But one day, he actually wins. And he finds himself an instant millionaire. So what does he do? He goes and gets a shower. He pays a barber to get his hair cut, he gets his beard trimmed, and he gets fitted in a new nice suit. And as he's walking out of that fitting room to meet with some financial advisors, what would his old friends say? They would say, that's the same person, but a new man. And so use that to kind of picture that there is this old commandment. It's something that is old in its substance, what it really is, but it's being presented. It is looking or appearing to the church now in a way that they have never seen before. This is indeed the way, this is indeed the command that John is giving to us. And so then how dare we today, how dare we as the church today who have received this letter, who have it in our Bibles, not recognize this command, not know this command to love each other and to take it very seriously. We should seek to hide it in our hearts. This should be something that we seek and endeavor to do through our lives. to love our brothers. And of course all the commands in scripture are going to be serious commands. They're all ones that we should take to heart and there's no excuse for us ever to be to be lax or or not to be diligent in fulfilling the commands that God has given us to do. But it's still true that there are some commandments that are more important than others. So what does Jesus say? All the law and the prophets can be summarized in this, in love for God and love for our neighbor. And so indeed, we should take very seriously this command that we are to love our brothers and to spend our energies for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the new commandment presenting the substance of this love, the love for each other. But before we move on, let me ask or really answer two questions that might be helpful to you as we think about brotherly love. And if you were here this morning, we touched on how Hebrews 10 says that we are to stir up one another to love and to good works. And here we have a sermon where we can look more specifically at this brotherly love. So the first question I wanna ask and then answer is, whom should we love? And naturally, you might think, I might think, we should love all people. And indeed, we should. There is a love that we should have for all people as image bearers of God. But is that the audience? Is that the object of this love that John is talking about here in this text? And in John's intent here, the object of this brotherly love is not every man and woman, but he is speaking more specifically about every believer in Christ. And the way that we love every believer in Christ is going to be different from the love that we should show or give to unbelievers. And you can imagine this, you can just picture this in your own lives as an illustration. You have a special love for the people that are within your own family that is not shared by those who are outside of your family, even if you consider them to be friends. And so Christians are to have a special love for other Christians, for their brothers and sisters in the Lord, their spiritual family that they don't owe to unbelievers. So that's the question of whom should we love? But also there is a question, how should we love? And isn't that a broad question? Couldn't a very lengthy sermon series be preached on how we should love our Christian brother? Certainly it could, but I'll be very brief here. Let's just look at a couple of verses that John gives, and let that provide a frame for us. So look at 1 John 3, verse 16 and 17. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? And perhaps I can call these two extremes of love that are being laid out for us in terms of what this love is going to look like. And verse 16 is going to present one extreme on the spectrum of the energies, the effort that's going to be poured out in showing love for someone. This is the ultimate sacrifice. This is the ultimate way in which we can show love for someone else. There's no greater love, as Jesus says in John 15, 13, that a man can show to his brother than to lay down his life for him. And that's what John writes here in 1 John 3, 16. And so this is a solemn call for the church to be willing to lay down our lives for each other if need be. I hope that never happens to us, but it's something that scripture does present. It is a call for us. I don't think it applies across the board in every way to every Christian. I don't think it applies in the same way to women and children per se as it would apply to men who are heads of their own households, who are to lead their own households sacrificially. But still, this is a call of willingness to lay down our lives for each other in this text. There has to be a way in which we understand that and accept that. But then you can look at verse 17, which appears to me to be the opposite extreme on this spectrum, or perhaps not an extreme, but just an opposite end. And it's an end of a very basic, common sense, mundane love, where it talks about you see someone, a Christian brother, who is without basic needs. How can you see this Christian brother and not not assuming that he's neglecting his own work or his own duties, but a man who truly is in need. And you have what he needs. Perhaps you have food or water or clothing, and you don't reach out and help that person in doing something that would be a very little expense to you. It's very common sense. It's a much easier way to love someone. And so I think as we look at these two things, it might be fair to say that between these two things, with this on the one hand and this on the other hand, everything else, every other way, every other expression or degree of expression of love for our brothers would be assumed under that. So now we've looked at the substance of the love. This answers the question, what is this commandment that's being talked about? It is the commandment to love. We're going to move on now to the grounds of the love. What is undergirding, underpinning the love that we should show to our Christian brothers? We're going to see this here at the end of verse 8 of 1 John chapter 2. We have a phrase that says this. Again a new commandment I write unto you which thing is true in him and in you because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. So now that John has given us this command to love each other, he's gonna give us the reason for this command that's underneath it, which is why I'm calling it the grounds of this love. And the grounds of this love that John speaks of is light. What is this light? So if the reason, excuse me, so if the reason for our love is that there is this light that is shining within us, we need to know what this love, what this light is. Do we not? And in my understanding, at least, the light here represents for us the kingdom of God. We have a light that shines with the coming of Jesus Christ, a light that shines with the building of his kingdom that we have not necessarily seen before, a light that you don't see shining to this degree, at least in the Old Testament. We have Jesus Christ who is coming, who is bringing this light. And if you're familiar with John's gospel, you might remember that it begins with words like this, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. All that in John's prologue, John chapter one. So I believe we have here this light that Jesus brings, I see representing God's kingdom that comes on earth. And as in terms of how light is representative of God's kingdom, Paul writes in Colossians one, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us to the kingdom of his dear son. Acts 26, 18, Paul says that Christ sent him to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. So it's probably true that light represents several things in scripture. I do believe it represents the kingdom of God, and that's what I see here in this text. Before we move on, though, there's something important that I don't think we should pass over that's really in the context that John is drawing from in this passage. So I mentioned that he's referring to or almost quoting, if not quoting, Jesus' own words in John chapter 13. But think about what's going on in John chapter 13. Isn't this the night where he was betrayed? Isn't this the chapter where Jesus wraps himself with a servant's towel, a very menial, lowly, despised position, and who washes his disciples' feet? This is the night where he prepares to die, where he agonizes in the garden of Gethsemane. That's the context here. That's what's happening when Jesus speaks about this new commandment to love each other. And how is that chapter, John 13, how does that begin? The very beginning of the chapter says, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. So, What John is highlighting here in 1 John 2 is that this commandment is growing out of Christ's own love for his people. The Christ's commandment to us that we should love comes from his own love for us. It would be this sacrificial love. John 15, 13, I quoted earlier, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. So what I see here that John is saying, inescapably saying, is that the brotherly love that we should show ought to look like Christ. That Christ here is the model for the love that we should show to each other. And in what way? How? Because Christ humbled himself and Christ gave his life for us poor sinners. So brother and sister in the Lord, if you want to know what love is, look to Jesus Christ. Look to the one who humbled himself, who took on himself the form of a servant, who came to earth and who sacrificed his life. This is the demonstration of love that no one has ever seen before. That's why I believe John can write, this is not an old commandment that he is giving to you. This is a new commandment. And what is new about this new commandment? The fact that we, in the whole history of the world, have never seen such a deep and profound expression of love. We see love throughout the Old Testament. We see it in the lives of the patriarchs and in other saints and other ways in which God has loved his people. But never until the coming of Christ do you see God himself becoming man, taking to himself a human nature, then God dying for man, the righteous God. dying in the place of poor sinners. Romans 5 says, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, but God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And in this way, we have this new commandment to love. We have this love that is displayed for us on the cross of Calvary in a way that no man has ever seen before. And so if you have any doubt in your mind what it means to love your brother and sister, look to Christ. That's what the text is teaching. That's the context of what John is writing here in this letter. Look to Christ, to the love that he showed for us, to the one who hung there on the cross in all of his crucified glory. Look to the one who hung there for your sins and for mine, who died for every one of you that has been called by God. If we want to be seen to be in Christ, if we want to be in the light, walking in the light that John is speaking about, this is the brotherly love that is being modeled for us. This is the brotherly love that we are told we are to emulate. So then we have seen this great and this weighty truth of how brotherly love looks like Christ. John doesn't stop there in the text as we look at how brotherly love is a test of salvation. He goes on from showing us how brotherly love looks like Christ to now making it more personal and showing us how brotherly love shows if you are in Christ in verses 9 through 11. You can say that John moves from the principle to now an application. He moves from the theoretical to the practical. He takes this standard of love in Christ, and now you apply it to people. He has shown us the mold, and now he's going to show us what happens if you do or do not fit this mold of brotherly love. Verse nine, he who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him, but he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. In these few verses, John gives us very simply two basic ideas. One idea being that there is condemnation if you do not love. And the other idea being that there is comfort if you do love. This first idea, the idea of there being condemnation, if you do not love, we see in verse 9 and then in verse 11, skipping over verse 10, but looking back at verse 9, he that says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now. So what John is saying here, this idea that he's giving is really a jarring idea. You have this great contrast of claiming to be something inside or outside that you're actually not. You have this contrast of claiming to be in the light, but not really loving. And that is something that's not possible. I think it's supposed to be a jarring contrast that is presented to us. It's as if you had a jar and you fill it with water, and if you were to pour it out, you would expect water to come out and be utterly shocked and stupefied if something other than water comes out. And so if the light is in you, if God has shown his love and his light in you, that's what you expect to come out of you. Nothing else can come out or nothing else should be coming out of you. So if hatred, generally speaking, is coming out of you, then that is an indication that God's light has not shown in your heart in the first place. We see that here in verse 9. So we have this absurd claim to be in the light, to be, but really to be walking in darkness. If the light is not coming out of you, it is not within you. already. If there is not light within you then scripture is saying you hate your brother or rather you hate your brother which shows that you are not in the light. So it is impossible for God's love to shine inside of you now that love not come out and spill itself out in others. It's something that just cannot happen. And so verse 9 presents to us this great contrast which I believe is jarring enough in itself But John doesn't stop there. He goes on in verse 11. He really heightens the description. You can say he heightens the drama in what's happening with the language that he's using. And in verse 11, he throws a few other phrases in here. So in verse 9, he mentions those who walk in darkness. In verse 11, he describes people who walk in darkness. But he who hates his brother is in darkness. and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes." So of course as we think about light, if we think about truth, it in itself is going to give clarity by its nature. Light gives illumination. When I think of verse 11, what's described for us here, I think of like walking into a new hotel room that you're not familiar with. And you walk in in the dark, you're fumbling around, you're probably trying to find the light switch, you just can't find it. And maybe you're afraid that you'll bump your foot into a piece of furniture. You're just kind of stumbling around. You don't know where you're going. But if the light switch is found, that's turned on, suddenly now you can see things clearly. You know where the furniture is. You have the path that you see in front of us where you need to go. This reminds me of a certain proverb, Proverbs 419, which says, the way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble. And so just as light inherently by its nature gives clarity, knowledge, illumination, darkness does the opposite. Darkness keeps people from knowledge and illumination. So what John is doing here is he's giving us an indicator of how we can know if we are in the darkness. He's showing us where we really are. He's saying, if you do not have this brotherly love within you, then you are in the darkness. And of course, that needs to be changed. It needs to be corrected. So then we move in verses 9 and 11 to seeing that there is condemnation if you don't love, to now in verse 10, there is comfort if you do love. So going back to verse 10, and we see that John has positioned this between these two warnings, warnings about those who don't have this brotherly love, and he puts it right in the middle. It's this central verse here that gives comfort and assurance. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. So John is here giving the church comfort if they do love, this abiding love, this love that you really do have for your brothers. This is a real evidence of salvation. And look more closely at the word abides in verse 10. And this is a term I want to bring out for you, a term that John uses to tell us this is a state of God's grace. This is a state of being in God's light. It's not a transitory state. It's not as if you could be in the light one day, and then God can put you outside of the light another day, or that you could backslide and entirely fall out of the light. God gives us the promise in verse 10 that if you love your brother, you abide in the light. It's your home. This is the place where you dwell. And all those that God brings to the light and brings to this state of grace will never fall from it. So we believe that if the light of the gospel has shown inside of your heart, that is such a light as by the grace of God shall never be put out. No matter what a true Christian may do, God will not remove that light from him. Again, I think John is picking up some of the language of Jesus, referring to what Jesus said in John chapter 15, as he speaks about those who abide in him and him abiding in them the night before he dies. In John chapter 15, verses 10 and 11, we read, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full. So here John is teaching that loving your brother is a proof that you are in the light. I think reflecting 1 John 1, 7. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. So there is no need for a true believer to be worried about the sins he has committed, regardless of how recent those sins may be, regardless of how far distant that they may be, in the certain sense that a true believer who sins, it's not a sin that is too hard for the Lord to forgive. It's not a sin that will keep you out of the grace of God, or I should say that will put you out of the grace of God. God teaches, first of all, as we have just seen, if you love your brother, you are a true Christian, you abide in the light. God will not let that light depart from you. And we also see if you have this brotherly love, then you have this promise that you are in the light. And certainly the blood of Jesus Christ, which has been shed for your sins, cannot be undone. The great sacrifice that has been made cannot be revoked. So here we have this great comfort. And before we move on, let me make a note here, a distinction of theological concepts of doctrine that should be helpful. And it's a distinction that we can make and should make between salvation and assurance. So we've been looking at assurance of salvation, not salvation itself in this message. If we think of salvation as all of you, I trust almost all of you should be able to say and to confess that salvation is not by our works. We don't bring any of our own works to God to be saved on account of them. We know we're not saved by those. But while it's true to say that we don't bring any good works as the basis of our salvation, assurance of salvation, assurance is a different concept. Assurance flows from salvation. I believe scripture teaches if a Christian is backslidden, God can remove in part his assurance for a time. It's certainly true the law does not save But I believe scripture teaches the law has a function in assurance, as we see here in this text regarding love. So our good works, or perhaps better, God's good works within us, they have a function of confirming salvation, and thus they have a function in assuring us of salvation, of assurance. I can quote our Confession of Faith, chapter 18, which is on assurance. In this chapter, there are three grounds of assurance that are given, or I should say these foundations of true assurance, and one of these is this. It says, an infallible assurance of faith is founded upon, and one thing is the the inward evidence of those graces. So looking at the work that God has done within a believer himself. The works that we see inside of us that God is doing, of course, these are not the only foundation of assurance. We can look to God's promises in scripture. We can look to the Spirit's testimony within our hearts who cries out, Abba, Father. But scripture also does teach that if you have this brotherly love, if you are showing this, that this should function. It should function as giving assurance for you, assurance of your salvation. And so brothers and sisters, we have seen that John is teaching us in this text that brotherly love is a test of salvation. And first of all, John has showed us how brotherly love looks like Christ. And then apply to us, we have seen how brotherly love shows if you are in Christ. And ultimately, at the end of the day, these are the only two paths, the path of light, the path of darkness. And these two paths will have their ultimate destinations. Those who walk in darkness throughout their lives will end up in eternal darkness. They will end up in everlasting hell. But those who walk on the path of light will, by the wonderful, glorious grace of God, end up in eternal light. They will end up in heaven with the Lord. And perhaps you're sitting here today as an unbeliever. Perhaps during the service and the preaching of the word, God has been convicting you and you have seen that you are not a true believer. You've seen that you're not converted. And maybe you see that you have no true love for Christians around you. Maybe you see that you're this person that John speaks of in these very broad and general categories who hates his brother. You need to recognize that, and that's part of the reason that John is writing. If you're not in the Lord, acknowledge that. Repent of your sins. Don't bring any good works to the Lord to be saved on account of those. Don't bring any false love that you think you can conjure up in your own heart to be saved on account of that. Come to Christ, the one who has loved his people, the one who loved his own, and to the very end, who gave up his life on our behalf as the wonderful sacrifice. And it is on account of his sacrifice that you will be saved. As John writes, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. But if you're here as a believer, as I trust many of you are, in fact, perhaps most of you, I don't know the hearts of those who are here, you should take comfort from this fact. You should take comfort looking at the fruit of the Spirit that is in your life, like love for your brother, and know that this is a sign of salvation. And 1 John perhaps might be seen as a scary book, as a book that we can read and that should be frightening people, should be taking away their assurance and showing them that they're not in a state of grace, that they're going to hell. And that application is there. And that application of 1 John must be made. And you can't read through it or speak about 1 John and be faithful to it and not make that application. It's absolutely there. But is that the point of the book? Is the point of 1 John primarily to show people that they're not saved? Isn't it to give people comfort and assurance that they are saved? That's why John writes, he says in chapter 5, verse 13, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. Why? That ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. So, brother and sister, take comfort, be assured of your salvation if you see this fruit of the Spirit within your own heart. If you see these evidences of the spirit within you, take heart. You should take comfort. You are indeed a son or a daughter of God. And this is not a mere comfort that I can give you merely. This is a comfort that God himself grants and that no one, no preacher, no Pope, no council, no civil magistrate, governor, king, or president can take away from you. Meditate, revel, delight in the great privileges of assurance of salvation that you have. Take great joy in this. And go out and love your brother and sister in Christ. Remember that Christ himself is the standard that we must be conformed unto. Look at the way in which he models love for us. and then go thou and do likewise. And be assured that as you are doing so, that Christ is in you, that indeed you are walking in the light. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, you have given us the wonderful gift of your Son, who is a gift that is impossible to describe in our in our in human words, the one who is infinite God, who died for us, who shows us the love that we cannot comprehend, and that we shall not exhaust throughout all the ages of eternity. Let us love the Lord Jesus. Create in us a greater, deeper love, the one who loved us so much. Forgive us of Whenever we sin in being angry and hating our brothers, keep us from this. Help us to love them. See how Christ loves them. And let us reflect the love of our Savior and shine forth the light that you have poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. All this we pray in the name of our Savior Christ Jesus. Amen. Thank you, brother. Let's stand together and turn our hymnals to number 238. Respond to the word of God, my dear Redeemer and my Lord. 238, let's stand together, please.