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Redeemer Community Church is located in the historic Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham, AL. Our church family exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
For more information on who we are, what we believe, or how to join us, please visit our website at rccbirmingham.org.
Today, we begin the third and final section of our study of the life and the letters of the apostle Peter. As you may recall, this study began back in January. We spent fourteen weeks looking at Peter's life and his call to be a disciple of Jesus and and then after that we spent eighteen weeks walking through first Peter, the apostle's letter declaring the gospels, talking about suffering and perseverance in the faith. And today, we begin this third section of our study looking at second Peter, the apostle's last testament as a follower of Jesus. And our passage this morning, we're we're gonna be in the first 15 verses of chapter one, the start of second Peter.
Jeffrey Heine:And so it's printed there in your worship guide and if you've got your bibles with you, invite you to turn to second Peter chapter one beginning with verse one. And, let us listen carefully for this is God's word. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and savior, Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Jeffrey Heine:For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self control, and self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. And if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.
Jeffrey Heine:For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I'm in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. This is the word of the Lord.
Collin Hansen:Thanks be to God.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's pray together. Lord, be near to us as we meditate on your word. Lead us away from falsehood and to your grace and truth. Meet us by your spirit and stir us up. Awaken our hearts and our minds to your love, and give us the gift of faith that we might trust you and follow you all the more today.
Jeffrey Heine:So would you speak, Lord, for your servants are listening. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The two men were in their late sixties, and both were awaiting their executions. One was in Athens, the other in Rome.
Jeffrey Heine:And in their confinement, they were preparing their last words before the civil authorities ended their lives. One was the apostle Peter, the other, the philosopher Socrates, And both were sentenced to death, sentenced to death for their beliefs, for their teaching, and the way they had impacted the people who listened to them. However, they were separated by about five hundred years. In March, Socrates was imprisoned in Athens on trial for crimes of impiety and corrupting the youth, which when I was young, thought was pretty cool. In Plato's work, The Apology, I know some of you were probably forced to at least purchase a copy and maybe encouraged or expected to read, well, if you haven't read it, you can usually find them in mid May after a term ends at Goodwill.
Jeffrey Heine:They're just plentiful. But in the apology, we read that Socrates stood before a jury of his randomly selected peers and offered a defense for his life, saying these words, quote, for if you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such ludicrous figure of speech, am sort of a gadfly given to the state by God. The state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly, and as you will not easily find another like me, I would advise you to spare me. End quote.
Jeffrey Heine:The philosopher saw himself as a divinely appointed gadfly, a gnat that buzzes around and annoys. And in its annoyance, the gadfly keeps the people agitated and moving. In Socrates' view, he was the gadfly that stirred the people into awareness and, again in his view into a more meaningful life. And around five hundred years later, the apostle Peter also sat in a prison awaiting his execution. The apostle also saw his role in the world as being divinely appointed.
Jeffrey Heine:He was called to stir the people up, to encourage them to a greater and more meaningful life. But the apostle Peter did not see himself as an annoying gadfly. He was not a mere gnat buzzing in the ear of the people. Peter saw himself and his role of stirring up as one who reminds and reawakens a people to the truth and the promises of God who might be falling asleep. In studying our passage this week, I realized for the first time that both Socrates and his defense of himself and Peter's self description here in second Peter, both men use essentially the same word to explain their purpose and their work, to describe their role in the community.
Jeffrey Heine:The word that Socrates uses to describe his life's purpose is to rouse, to wake up. And the word that Peter uses to describe his life's goal and purpose is De Eg Eo. It's the same root verb. Peter's just adds a prefix that is emphatic. It goes to the extreme.
Jeffrey Heine:He's not just loosely waking up. Peter wasn't a gnat buzzing in the ears of Christians trying to get them to begrudgingly follow Jesus in some rule keeping behaviors. He wasn't pestering people in obedience like some cosmic hall monitor, seeing who was doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Peter is calling people by the gospel of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit to awaken from the dead to everlasting life. Peter sought to stir up his readers to be fully awake, completely awake, not just loosely roused.
Jeffrey Heine:He's not buzzing like a gnat, he's roaring like a hurricane. And, this end goal of Peter stirring us up to life is the purpose in writing this second letter. We read of this purpose towards the end in chapter three. It's a rather brief letter, but he says this in chapter three verse one. This is now the second letter I have written to you, my beloved.
Jeffrey Heine:In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. Do you need a reminder? Do you feel the temptation to be lulled to sleep? Do you need a reminder to be awakened again? This will be the overarching theme of this letter, this last letter from the apostle Peter.
Jeffrey Heine:As he seeks in his final days on this earth to stir up his first hearers, and I believe by God's providence and his power to stir us up today. So you too would be wide awake in the truth and the reality of Christ's resurrection. That is why Peter wrote this letter in his final days. And we will see in comparison as as we just wrapped up first Peter that the content of second Peter is very different than first Peter because the situation now is very different. He's writing to the same audience.
Jeffrey Heine:He's writing to the same churches in Asia Minor, but he is responding to specific false teaching that is happening in those churches. And since he is responding to specific arguments, to specific heresies, he's going to address them in kind. He's going to take their points up in the manner that they have been presented as arguments. He's going to fight these falsehoods on their own ground, which means he's gonna sound different. In a sense, Peter is bringing a knife to a knife fight.
Jeffrey Heine:He's not simply writing his personal thoughts and reflections on being a follower of Jesus as nice as that would be to have. That's not what he's doing. He he's offering specific help to a specific people. Help that I would say is just as relevant to us today Because this help that Peter is offering, it's addressing how do we endure in faith in an age of deception. In first Peter, the churches were suffering great persecution from the outside.
Jeffrey Heine:And in second Peter, they were being threatened by false teaching from the inside. So Peter meets these new arguments directly. He's not gonna give a full systematic kind of unfolding presentation of the gospel. He's making surgical strikes against the lies that were harming these churches and he also wants to prepare them, equip them for a future where more lies will happen. And but let's make no mistake, Peter is still preaching the gospel of God's grace here in second Peter.
Jeffrey Heine:He is showing that God's grace does not lead us away from holiness, but it actually leads us in the way of Christ. And so Peter begins his letter tradition with a greeting. And in this greeting, he identifies himself and he identifies his readers and he identifies himself by name, Simon Peter, and calls himself a servant, a doulos, a bond servant, a slave of Jesus. He also calls himself an apostle of Jesus. And then, identifies his audience.
Jeffrey Heine:He's reminding them of their identity and our identity, calling these readers as those who have received the gift of faith from God. He puts it in these words, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ. And then, Peter offers an opening blessing, a blessing, a prayer to these people in chaos, to his readers who are confused and in turmoil, wondering what is true anymore, who are at risk of being led astray by false teachers. Peter prays that God would multiply grace and peace, multiply grace and peace in the knowledge of God. And, this is how the people will endure the lies and the confusion, the false teachers and and all that those false teachers are stirring up in those churches.
Jeffrey Heine:It will be through God multiplying grace and peace that comes only through knowing him. The theme of knowledge, it will be seen throughout this letter. The word itself is used five times in just these opening eight verses and that should draw our attention. The knowledge of God will be the point of response against the falsehood. Whereas, persecution was an attack on the outer person, the body, that was the primary theme of first Peter.
Jeffrey Heine:Here in second Peter, the primary theme is the attack on the inner person, the mind, the heart, the soul, an attack on the truth and the knowledge of God. And so, this first letter, Peter responds to persecution and he says that the way for the people to endure is through faith and through love. So how will Peter direct these same followers of Jesus to fight against the false teachers who are inside these churches who are causing so much harm and confusion? Well, since this letter responds to active false teachings in the church, it's important that we understand them. Because if we only consider Peter's words, those that are on the page, then we're only hearing one side of the conversation.
Jeffrey Heine:He's responding to something. So what was it? Well, from Peter's responses, we learned that the false teachers really embodied one of the worst kinds of betrayals that we can experience. This betrayal was coming from known members of the local church community. This wasn't an outside threat like the persecution was.
Jeffrey Heine:These are lies within the family, which meant that these false teachers were trusted people. Not only that, but it appears that the sources, the the evidence that they were pointing to for their false teaching, they were actually manipulating and twisting the words from the apostle Paul. They were using scripture to deceive these people. And in these twisted teachings, they were telling the church that Jesus was never coming back. He had completed the work that he was supposed to do and he's done.
Jeffrey Heine:And if he's never coming back, that means that Jesus will never come to judge sin. So logically, if Jesus is never coming back and Jesus is never going to judge sin, then that means that we can live however we want. If he's done this work of grace, which they're pulling from the Apostle Paul, particularly the letter to the Romans, if if Jesus has done this forgiveness business, if this grace is true and he's not coming back and he's not going to judge our sin, then we can live however we want. We can live like the world. We can take what we want in greed.
Jeffrey Heine:We can fulfill every selfish desire because none of this matters. We have grace. And that's exactly what these people did. They were living selfishly with no care for their brothers and sisters, even enticing them to sin, enticing them to licentiousness, which just means a complete disregard for holiness. It just doesn't matter because we have grace.
Jeffrey Heine:In essence, these teachers said, you have God's grace so do whatever you want. Your sin is covered, so just keep in it. It even reads like these false teachers, they they weren't just leading people to behave in these ways, they were treating the other members of this church family, they were treating them in sin with perceived impunity. So this this wasn't just a generalized false teaching, it was specific. These false teachers were spreading lies, essentially saying that because of God's grace, our obedience to Jesus, our living out in his holiness, it just doesn't matter that much.
Jeffrey Heine:And so, to this specific lie, Peter sought to offer to this church family and to these churches in Asia Minor specific rebuttal and corrective truths. Peter must refute these lies with a powerful testimony of the way of Christ, a journey, a path of repentance and sanctification, trusting in Christ's faithful return and his reign. And so, that's what he does as he begins in verse three. Speaking of God, he says, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. That's one sentence.
Jeffrey Heine:Just just just saying. This gets complicated. But remember, Peter is emphatic. God, through his divine power, has given us all things for life and godliness. He has called us to his own glory.
Jeffrey Heine:He has made a way for us to live with him and live like him, not like the world. In other words, there's a new path for us to walk as the followers of Christ, to follow Jesus in life and godliness. This power was demonstrated in your life by God calling you to his glory and excellence. Peter keeps the message of God's grace central. Even though knowing full well that these false teachers are are twisting it and manipulating it and turning lies out of it, he's not letting it go.
Jeffrey Heine:Because redemption, this redemption in Christ, it is dependent upon God's grace. Even because they will make a mockery of it and lie with it, Peter says, we will not let it go. It is by grace that we have been saved. God's power at work in calling you to himself, his glory and his excellence is of his grace. God called you to Himself.
Jeffrey Heine:And in doing so, He gave you His precious and very great promises. Promises of what? His covenant promises, promises of redemption and his commitment of his steadfast love. Redemption not only out of the corruption of sin, but redemption to himself. Again, all by his grace.
Jeffrey Heine:And the life that God has called us to by his graces is far more than just the forgiveness of sins. Let me say that again. The life that God has called us to by his grace is for more than just forgiveness of sins. Keep in mind, salvation is never less than the forgiveness of sins, but it is also and always more. Far more.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter references this more with a rather mind blowing phrase in verse four. Maybe it caught your ear as well when he says, so that through them, the them is the precious and very great promises of God, through them, through the promises, you may become partakers of the divine nature. Peter is correcting the people, but the false teachers, he's saying they are missing the big picture of God's grace. It's not just our past that Jesus is addressing, it's everything. It's our whole lives.
Jeffrey Heine:The theologian, Jorgen Moltmann, if you are looking for a baby name, may I recommend to you Jurgen. You'll get to teach your child what a what an umlaut is and I can promise you there will not be another child in pre k named Jurgen. So, Jurgen Moltmann, German theologian, he said this, in the forgiveness of sins, righteousness is a retrospective act, something that points backwards, something that makes good a past that was bad and weighs us down. And in rebirth, righteousness is understood as an act pointing forward towards the future of eternal life. It is the right of God's children to inherit the future shared with God in eternal life.
Jeffrey Heine:End quote. So what's Juergen saying? He's saying that the grace of forgiveness that these false teachers were talking about, it's actually true. This grace that comes in and overwhelms our sin and sets us free, that's true. Don't let go of that.
Jeffrey Heine:But, as Peter says, if it's only that, they're nearsighted. They're not seeing everything. They were only seeing what's up close. They they weren't looking ahead. They wouldn't look up and see the future.
Jeffrey Heine:Through his death and through his resurrection, Jesus addresses our sin and he forgives us through his righteous sacrifice. But the past isn't all that he has addressed and that's not not all that he has accomplished. Life in Christ points backwards and forwards. Jesus is addressing all of it. Christ's resurrection points us forward to a future, to a life as the children of God in his kingdom, a life as partakers of the divine nature, sharers in God's loving faithfulness and his joyful godliness.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter says that, we begin this loving faithfulness, we begin this joyful godliness here and now. It's not just a future promise, it's for today. Peter continues in verse five. Let's look together. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self control, self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, brotherly affection with love.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter says, for this reason. Peter is appealing to logic. He is saying, on the basis of God's grace in calling you to himself and his glory and his excellence by his divine power displayed through Jesus, on this basis, for this reason, on this logic, you now follow the way of Jesus in holiness. The reason, the logical basis for pursuing holiness is God's transforming grace. God's grace is not a reason to forget about holiness, it's the basis, the reason for pursuing it.
Jeffrey Heine:Grace isn't the logical basis for living however we want, hurting others through our selfishness and self centeredness, our greed, our lust, our envy, our prejudice. Grace isn't the reason for carelessness or callousness, it's the reason, the basis for holiness. Here Peter, likely through the aid of a secretary who was skilled in philosophy and argument outlines this logical reason through a progressive list of virtues, qualities of godliness that the followers of Jesus are called into, not as a prerequisite to God's grace, but on the basis of it. And, this list, these qualities of godliness, They're for the followers of Jesus to make every effort to pursue. That's how Peter phrases it, make every effort to pursue these things.
Jeffrey Heine:Again, these virtues are not to be pursued in order to obtain promises of God's grace. You already have that. It's yours. Peter says that we are to make every effort to pursue pursue these qualities on the basis of God's grace and promises that he has already brought to you through his divine power through Christ alone. We obey out of this grace that we've already been given.
Jeffrey Heine:We run with the reward already in our possession. But having it is no reason to slow down. It's the reason to run with endurance and with joy. Peter says, to supplement, build build with your faith these qualities of godliness, knowledge, self control, steadfastness. How are we doing?
Jeffrey Heine:How are you doing in these things? Me, not so great. I think I might need to be reawakened to these things, reminded of these things. Now, these qualities that are being listed out here would have been familiar as a list of virtues in a Hellenistic world. That would just kind of mean, in in the philosophy in the era of that time, they would have recognized this like list of virtues that it's good to seek in your living.
Jeffrey Heine:Every philosopher or teacher of wisdom would have taught essentially these exact same virtues except for the first one and the last one. Peter does not begin with virtue. He does not begin with honor. He does not begin with reason. Peter begins with faith.
Jeffrey Heine:And notice, does not begin with faithfulness. He begins with faith. Faithfulness is something that we do. Faithfulness is our striving for fidelity and steadfastness in the Lord. Faith is a gift from God.
Jeffrey Heine:I believe that Peter's entire emphasis in this section hinges on this distinction, so let's pay attention to it. We begin not with our own faithfulness, but we begin with a faith that was gifted to us by God's grace. Sanctification is a process of this continual growth in our faithfulness to Jesus, but God's saving grace bears in us, bears in the believer faith. And, this gift of faith, it initiates, it inaugurates our journey of sanctification. It begins our walking with God in the way of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:We begin not with a virtue of faithfulness, but with the gift of faith. And from this faith, we grow in virtue. We grow in knowledge and self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection. And ultimately, and I would say substantively and summatively, we we grow in love, faith and love. Once again, just like he did in first Peter, as he spoke to the persecuted followers of Jesus, when he told them to hold fast to faith and love so that they could endure their suffering with joy.
Jeffrey Heine:Here, Peter breaks from worldly logic and philosophy and he book ins this list of the qualities of godliness that followers of Jesus are to earnestly make every effort to pursue. And, he emphasizes that these two realities, they come to us by God's grace, faith and love. And this is how the people would refute the false teachers and endure their attacks and the division, faith and love. The same gifts of God that he told them would help them endure the attacks of the body would prepare them to endure the attacks of the soul, the mind, the truth of God. We endure through faith and love.
Jeffrey Heine:We make every effort to live into this faith and love. Peter goes on verse eight, for these qualities are yours and are increasing. They keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter says, you already have these things. Back to verse three, God has already given you all things that pertain to life and godliness.
Jeffrey Heine:You have these things already because of God's divine power and his promises. And, you're pursuing them, you're making every effort will keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful. Stated in the positive, as you pursue these godly qualities, you will keep being effective. You will keep being fruitful in your knowledge of Jesus Christ. Your knowledge of Jesus will be fortified, it will be strengthened, and you will endure the lies of these false teachers and endure the many sufferings in this life.
Jeffrey Heine:You will be effective and fruitful in godliness. So how do we increase in these things? Again, it is not through our will and strength, but by God's grace. We submit, we surrender to his power at work in us because he has granted us all things for life and godliness through Christ and in the presence and power of the spirit. And then, Peter addresses the false teachers and those who are beginning to follow them into sin.
Jeffrey Heine:And he says in verse nine, whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. And therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be all the more diligent.
Jeffrey Heine:Practice these qualities. I like that he uses the word practice here because it means to do, but it also conveys try. Keep trying. Keep pursuing. Keep seeking these qualities of godliness.
Jeffrey Heine:They're already yours. You already have them through Christ and his perfect righteousness. Christ lived the perfect righteousness to make a way, his way, a path for you to follow in humble obedience. His perfection in of godliness means you get to practice godliness. You get to seek them every day all the more because he's perfect, not you.
Jeffrey Heine:And honestly, owing our owing our imperfections and our failures, our outright neglect and sin. It's part of this humble journey of walking in the way of Jesus. It's full of repenting, requiring us to turn our back once again to keep seeking Christ because you have not forgotten that you have been cleansed. Your repentance isn't a sign that you're falling away. Your repentance is a sign that you're remembering the way.
Jeffrey Heine:You've been washed by Christ, clothed in his righteousness forever. And in following this way, this way of Jesus that he himself both walked for us and cut a path for us to follow, this road leads all the way to the eternal kingdom. This way leads all the way home to God himself. The way of righteousness is not a code of conduct. Peter's not just some gadfly annoying you to do better in your behavior.
Jeffrey Heine:The way of righteousness is the way of Jesus that leads us home by his grace and his peace in the knowledge of God. Peter is only a few lines into this letter, but we sense his deep affection. He calls these people his beloved. We also sense his pain and his anger over these brothers and sisters who are being led astray. He will resort to name calling in this letter because he is so angry about this.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter also knows that he's about to die. He will be executed soon. It's only a matter of time. But however much time is left, months, weeks or days, he has one goal in mind. And he shares it in verse 12.
Jeffrey Heine:Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right as long as I'm in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon just as the Lord Jesus made clear to me and I will make every effort. I will make every effort, so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. Peter intends always to make every effort. Effort to do what?
Jeffrey Heine:To remind them, to remind us about the truth of Jesus. As long as he's still in this body, he has a singular ambition to stir them up, to agitate them, to wake them up, and to keep them from becoming stagnant and drifting off into deceit. Why? Because he knows when he's gone, when he's no longer in this body, he wants them to be able to recall these things, to always remember the truth and follow in the way of Jesus. Do you need stirring up today?
Jeffrey Heine:Do you need to reawaken to the goodness and godliness that God has called you into through his power and his grace? Peter is saying, I'm not always going to be able to write another corrective letter. This is the last one. When trouble comes your way, I'm not going to be there. I won't always be able to fight against these lies for you.
Jeffrey Heine:You need these truths because when I'm gone, you need to be able to remember these things for yourself, but also to teach them to others, to teach them to remind your brothers and sisters and to teach these coming generations to follow in this way of Jesus. Peter calls these brothers and sisters and us today to make every effort in pursuing godliness from the place of faith with the culmination of love. And he promises his intent to make every effort to remind them as long as he can why they should do this. Because Jesus has made a way back to God, a way established in his power and his promises made good through his work on the cross and in defeating the grave. A way born out of the gift of faith, this liberation from the tyranny of sin and death, that instead we would be slaves to Christ and his righteousness.
Jeffrey Heine:Socrates' best defense for sparing his life was that it would be very difficult to find another gadfly like him. Peter makes no such argument. He saw his pending execution as the final leg of his journey home. And he knew that any good that he had to offer the people, it was the spirit at work in him, and through him, and at times, despite him. So he thought it was right.
Jeffrey Heine:He was resolved to spend the rest of his days living as a reminder, stirring up, awakening those being lulled to sleep. And, this is to be our aim as well. As followers of Jesus, living in the household of God, we are to live as reminders to one another. We are called and equipped by the spirit to remind each other of the precious and very great promise of God. We remind one another of the truth of the knowledge of God, the truth that we know and that we have.
Jeffrey Heine:We remind one another of love and good works. We stir one another up so that we may fully be awake to the resurrection hope that we have in Jesus. We are not gnats buzzing in the ears of culture telling them how wrong they are. We are called to live as the sons of daughters of God making every effort to follow the way of Jesus. And along that way, lovingly reminding one another when we begin to wander off into selfishness, falsehood, and sin.
Jeffrey Heine:Reminding one another that Jesus has not only addressed our past but also our future because he is the knowledge of God who multiplies grace and peace in us. We remind one another that everything we have ever truly needed or ever truly needed to become, we already have and we already are in Christ himself. So let's go to him now in prayer. Oh, Lord, by your spirit, would you turn our eyes upon Jesus that we would look full in his wonderful face. That the things of this earth, the deception, the lies, the chaos would grow strangely dim.
Jeffrey Heine:Oh lord, we need you. So would you lead us in your way to life everlasting. In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit.