Suffering

Good evening to you tonight again from beacon Baptist Church. I trust that you turned in early enough to hear that congregational song low-salt ole O father you are sovereign was good to hear that recording be reminded of the things that we affirm together.

We have come to believe the grow out of a proper understanding of the word of God represent the God of the Bible and those wonderful doctrines the sovereignty of God to be put to music old father you are sovereign in all the world's you made a father you are sovereign in all affairs of men will father you are sovereign Lord of human pain father you are sovereign goes on the last stanza your love pursues its purpose. Our souls eternal good sing these things on Sunday morning.

Looking forward to the return of a full slate of services normal schedule back to what was a year or so ago and were moving in that direction. We think about announcements this evening. I trust that your praying and preparing your hearts, for the spring Bible conference Mark Webb and his wife Paula will be with us beginning Easter Sunday morning this coming Sunday.

Sunday morning, Sunday night, and in an Bible conference Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night in the tri-state particular Baptist Fellowship will meet on Monday and he's also going to be speaking there three men speaking at that pastor's conference and it's open to you if you your schedule allows, and you want to come Terry Lane from Shallowford Baptist Church in Pottstown be one of our speakers. He's so some of you remember Bill James Bill James Pastor Shallowford Baptist Church for nearly 50 years.

Lord called him home after battle with cancer several years ago, the church called Terry Lane to follow him. So that's who Terry Lane is and then Ron Romberg will be with this piece up in the Richmond area. He's a very very well read man written a good bit about the Civil War written Hazel.

He's a solid theologian pastors a small group up there. He's been married 61 years. It's good to talk to him on the phone, listen, learn from him.

He'll be with us and then Mark will be speaking so three men on that Monday following the beginning of our Bible conference. I was encouraged as I went by the book room and saw that it doesn't or so. If you picked up Dr. Erwin losers book, we will not be silent. The title of it to me what your appetite with the few of the chapters here. Chapter 1 how we got here survey of the forces that seek to dismantle or values that build up America chapter 2 the these are some of the efforts that he is identifying and exposing and calling us to take a stand against one is rewriting the past to control the future. Freedom of speech for me not for the salad is a noble cause. How propaganda is used to shape like a populations perception of reality so they will not change their minds even when can run it by compelling counter evidence.

Capitalism is the disease socialism is the cure. Why socialism is initially attractive yet ultimately leads to failure and how capitalism can create wealth that further furthers Christian work everywhere. Chapter 9 vilify, vilify, vilify how disagreements today are no longer resolved suspect and civility, but through shaming and outrageous denunciation's and then the last chapter wake up strengthen what remains Jesus speaking to a New Testament church gives a warning that applies directly to us today in his assessment is the only one that matters. So a book that will bring you up to speed on a number of contemporary issues a written with a pastor's heart.

Very readable for good things from those who have begun to read pick that up I noticed that the sign-up sheet for the meal schedule for Mark and Paula Webb Sunday night Monday night Tuesday night and Wednesday night are still open you're interested at your schedule and you want to host them for meal after the services call the church in Alberta so that it true name on the schedule.

Otherwise the schedule will be available for people to sign up and be nice to have some more.

The slots filled in before they arrive here we staying in our missionary house. It's nice to have that to host our conference speakers. They like that. It's very suitable to them. We made we offered them either to stay there or stay in Graham and they preferred that so they will be there. Let me take a quick look and make sure I haven't missed anything else on the announcements. Just just to alert all of you Sunday school teachers are mindful of this but to let me make everybody aware of what our schedule is for Sunday school.

The Sunday after the Bible conference. We are going to begin Sunday school. All of our adult classes will gather here in the auditorium will be able to social distance spread out and for eight weeks will have a rotation of men speaking during the Sunday school hour, and this is in transition toward our summer elective program that will begin the first Sunday in June so let me see if I can get the well it's the it's the first Sunday after the Bible conference. Our Sunday school will begin all adults in here are other classes meeting. Accordingly anyone has any questions about that you have concerns you have questions call the office and talk to me were going to move forward in that way were moving slowly, not beginning children's church yet just going to begin Sunday school and we thought this would be a good way to make a transition to our summer electives when summer elective scum will have three or four options for you that will allow us to again spread out throughout abilities will be all packed in small classrooms and will allow more time for the move toward normalcy. So that's what the plan is just alerting you to what we've discussed and decided upon Isaiah 53 verse four and five. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed is take a look at the request side of the sheet.

I have life.

You some information that helps me explain to you some developments with some of these requests are government official. The week is member councilmember Everett Green praising the Lord Bob Caldwell is doing well from his recent procedure. Drew Guthrie continues courageously and in an honorable way of battling cancer.

Pray for her.

Doris Loftus mentioned to you on Sunday fell and broke her wrist. She had surgery last Friday, Duke, and she's making progress with that and adjusted to a cast.

Thank you for praying for Shirley Watkins who is at home and just week, Gary Barker, former member of the church year is making good progress in recent surgery had his cast removed from his hand. Pins will be taken out. Recent pins will be taken out soon and he will begin physical therapy shortly thereafter. That's the latest we have Barker Sandra Blanchard is a cousin of Sue Vestal. She's in ARMC was severe anemia is having upper G.I. tests Laura Sue tells us she is a believer doing Craig, his father staying with he and Lori as gone to the VA hospital at this time they're doing an assessment of his condition, and they will be advising Duane and Lori concerning how to move forward with him were asking you to remember calling Gail Ellis his family. Drew and Nancy Ellis. Nancy has been diagnosed with coven and pneumonia.

Nancy and Drew have 10 children recently brought a newborn into the home and it's challenging time to have coven and pneumonia there an amazing family. The older children just have pitched in taken over and obviously with supervision but they are very well-organized family. They need to be to care for many children. But it's it's good to see that see them take on responsibility and would pray for, particularly for Nancy Andrews.

He said of the home of Terry Smith is a cousin of Sue Vestal.

She was in the ER overnight on Monday due to breathing issues and Sue tells us there's a family history of COPD, Lee Vestal, her husband saying please pray for complete healing for an infected toe is thyroid function is almost normal. His blood sugars have improved with.

He saw the doctor last week and then an uncle of an unique Jack Wiley had a bad fall last weekend is very sore. I know you're praying for Laverne walk Webster is Mike Battle's colon cancer. Vern continues to adjust to the loss of Stuart. Please remember Betty Duncan in your prayers. She is weakening hospices coming in to help and I think the frequency of their visits as increased pray for them during this time of transition.

I have two missionary letters center, both from the same a couple see Lawson longer composts in Brazil. The short, let me read them to you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, with the growing number of deaths due to covert, 19 the governor of our state decided for a stricter lockdown.

Again, we are prohibited from gathering together for worship so we decided to pray and invest on preaching God's word online Lord is blessing and the message is reaching more than 1000 rejoice with us right now we are preaching a series on the sermon on the Mount.

Besides, that is much as possible. We try to assist and visit older and lonely people. They are the ones really suffer with the quarantine imposed by the government get a picture there of an elderly man, this dear brother lost his wife four months ago and is now by himself week after week and feels an emotional torture, and he says like Mr. Ed Mundt.

Oh, there are thousands of widows and widowers and we are.

He says we are also dealing with several cases of serious marriage conflict. The quarantine obligated couples to spend a lot of time together by God's grace. Most couples are growing in their love for each other at some who already had unresolved problems are getting worse. We have three couples in our church talking about divorce.

Pray that the Lord may use us to help them reconcile and live peacefully to the glory of God is from see Lawson then here is some additional information is both came today March 31. He writes your partners in the gospel of this month. Mrs. Barbara Lively, one of our faithful supporters surprised us with a collection of all of our newsletters since 1985 the picture at the right shows a letter written when we were finishing our studies in the US in preparing to return to Brazil to work with church planting and literature ministry. We still have good memories of living in this tiny trailer which was parked in our teachers backyard. We never dreamed that after two years of ministry here in Brazil, the Lord would provide us with a a real house, a generous gift from Mr. Mrs. Bolthouse a dear couple that by God's wonderful Providence we casually met in a restaurant in 1986 they came to Brazil saw the work and gave us a home, fully furnished, see loss says that he is being blessed by studying and preaching on the sermon on the Mount. What a joy to hear Jesus teaching on Christian character love for our enemies revenge, speech, divorce, etc. he says I thank God for teachers such as Dean Martin Lloyd Jones Dr. John MacArthur and DA Carson from home. I am able to rely with my studies. We rejoice in the fact that many years ago we translated into Portuguese studies on the sermon on the Mount 873 page work by Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones with love and gratitude for your partnership. The Campos so that's what I have for you tonight terms of missionary correspondence.

Pray a little later in the service but I want to take up where we left off the last time I was here 944 Pastor Barkman covering for me last Wednesday night. It was my turn but I was feeling pretty ill last Wednesday. Funny how these things start. I left the house in the morning and had just a bit of a scratchy throat but felt fine, otherwise came to church and as the day wore on, in the field worse and worse headache and body ache, sore throat so went home around 2 o'clock and went straight to bed for several hours and it's been a bit up and down since then.

Even a bit of a sore throat today that necessitated a virtual call with the doctor just wanting to be certain that I didn't have strep throat. After talking with him.

He was convinced I didn't make me feel better about them. We talked about coven asked if I'd been exposed to it. Nice it will yes I said I'm 90% convinced that I contracted coven December. I told him a little history here that Carly had come down with it and was tested in.

She tested positive, and I was having the same symptoms and drew the conclusion that I had it as well. I wasn't tested and he said them well under normal circumstances I would say to you that that probably wasn't it's not being tested, however, I did the very same thing he said this is the doctor talking to me. His wife came down with coven gutter thinks he got it from her at same symptoms and he did not go and have a test run so let me off the hook because he was guilty of the same.

But anyway, it was good to talk with him over cornerstone medical it's been a bit frustrating.

Dr. Lamont Morrissey been my doctor 18 or so years and he had a number of health issues in and out of the office and eventually retired from the practice and when he retired the past be off to another man.

He was there and ever so often soda the past be off to another doctor, Dr. Lana.

She was there. While she's gone. So it's been a bit frustrating to have consistent care with the doctor. So, hope, and perhaps so the contact I made today will prove to be fruitful moving forward. I want talk to you tonight about suffering is we've encountered here in the book of Job and in particular in the life of Job and his wife. I remind you that although Job is the main character in the book and his wife is only mentioned secondarily that Joe was married to her and everything. Job suffered and lost his wife suffered and lost the same, and she also her complete her problems were complicated by seeing her husband assaulted physically and so she was grieving the loss of her family, her children and then the sea husband's health deteriorate compounded her. Her struggle and we have this record in chapter 2, after Satan got permission to attack Job's health. It's were told in verse seven.

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head and he took for himself a potsherd with which he to scrape himself which he sat in the midst of the ashes and his wife said to him, do you still hold fast to your integrity curse God and die, but he said to her you speak as one of the foolish women speaks.

Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept diversity in all this Job did not sin with his lips, and I'm encouraged by the way, Job responded to his wife. I think if I could read between the lines he was saying something along these lines to her when he says you speak as one of the foolish women speaks.

I think he was saying. That's not you you're you're speaking out of character.

I've known you to be of better frame of mind you're speaking as of the foolish women speak and he was admonishing her, and yet was being tender toward her. Even though he was suffering immensely.

And then he brought her back to the sovereignty of God. He says to her, shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity in all this Job did not sin with his lips. I think it's hard for us to read this passage and get ourselves acclimated to what was going on in Job and his wife's life.

We know what was going on. We know the test in the spiritual realm that was going on and they knew nothing of that. So they're trying to make sense out of this cataclysmic fallout that has engulfed their lives and again I remind you, they did not know what we know so they're trying to comprehend what what is God doing what, how should we respond in its its loss and devastation.

That's hard to comprehend. Not one child not to children at 345 but the entire family. 10 of them all their servants all their livestock.

All is well now is health, it's good to be reminded of God's sovereignty and I came across this quotation from Joel Beatty in his book walking is Jesus wall. Listen to what he says and he's talking about the sifting of Satan. Satan's desire is to overturn and destroy our faith by choking it with impurities, but Christ desire is to strengthen our faith by purging the wheat he desires to purify the grains of divine grace so that chaff may be destroyed and that our faith would prevail.

What's more, Satan had to ask God's permission to sift the disciples as wheat. Christ overrules Satan he sets limits beyond which Satan is not allowed to go. Satan may take away much through sifting he can destroy much through his see sieves of prosperity and adversity and he can wreak havoc through his sieves of spiritual temptation and difficulty in fear.

Satan can destroy much in sifting us, he can destroy our fleshly self-confidence are fleshly expectation of an earthly kingdom. Fleshly holiness, freshly fleshly pride fleshly strength fleshly wisdom fleshly prayer and fleshly self-righteousness. All that is self must fall as dust or dirt through the sieve. But the one thing that Satan cannot destroy is our faith. He cannot touch that noble grace by which we are united to Christ he cannot touch faith, which is that bond of union by which Christ dwells in our hearts. He cannot destroy the faith that works by love produces hope, and is the heart of true godliness. The faith that cleaves and clings to the Lord that cannot but love God that hangs upon Christ in God's promises in him cannot be destroyed by Satan.

Satan cannot destroy that faith which clings to God's word and which seems the humblest of all graces, though it is the most important grace of all for it is the foundation in support of every grace you remember on that fateful night when Jesus predicts Peter's denial of him. We have this record in Luke chapter 22 verse 31 and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, indeed. Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as we but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail and when not if but when you have returned to me, strengthen your brother Christ prayer for Peter ensured that his faith would not fail in his faith did not fail were talking here in these first couple of chapters about the development of persevering faith that is a faith that God gives.

That is faith that God superintend site is a faith that God works to develop and produce perseverance in that's what he's doing in Job's life. We need to be reminded. I think continually of the extent of God's sovereignty brought the words of Isaac watches him with me here to the pulpit. I Sing the mighty power of God.

Listen to these words. I Sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise that spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies. I Sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day the moon shines full at his command, and all stars obey. I Sing the goodness of the Lord that filled the earth with food. He formed the creatures with his word and then pronounce them good Lord how thy wonders are displayed. Where'er I turned my eye if I survey the ground I tread her gaze upon the sky, listen to this third stanza there is not a plant flower below what makes thy glories. No, and clouds arise and tempests below by order from thy throne while all that borrows life from the is ever in thy care and everywhere that man can be thou God our present there. Yes indeed God's sovereignty came across this little book buyer when looser pandemics plagues and natural disasters. What is God saying to us, and he has a little bit in here about Job and I thought I would share it with you because it is pertinent to where we are here at the end of chapter 2, he says we must distinguish between secondary causes of events and their ultimate cause the immediate cause of the lightning and the wind that killed Job's children was the power of Satan. But he says follow carefully.

It was God who gave Satan the power to wreak the habit and it was God who prescribed the limits of what Satan could do or could not do.

That's why Job quite rightly did not say the Lord gave, but the devil took away no. He ascribed the death of his children to God's will.

The Lord gave, and Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Then he pivots from that to the current covert crisis pieces from a natural point of view the immediate cause of the coven 19 pandemic is that the germs which originated in Wuhan, China spread from one person to another immediate cause of or two of a tornado or hurricane is wind and temperature pattern. Earthquakes take place because there are shifts beneath the Earth's crust yet. The ultimate cause of these events is God. He rules nature either directly or through secondary causes, but either way, he is in charge. After all, he is the creator and the sustainer of all things God has not relegated calamities to his hapless archrival, the devil without maintaining strict supervision and ultimate control of nature, no earthquake comes no tornado rages and no tsunami washes villages away, but that God signs off on it.

No pandemic stalks the earth, but that God allows it.

Many theologians emphasize that God does not ordain natural disasters and pandemics, but only permits them to happen. However, keep in mind that the God who permits these things to happen could choose to not permit them to happen in the very act of allowing them. He demonstrates that they fall within the boundaries of the inscrutable Providence is inscrutable Providence and will Luther is quoted as saying even the devil is God's devil. So says Erwin looser so the sovereignty of God. First Peter chapter 4 verse 19 says, though, those who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faith creator in doing what is right and that verse by Peter tells us that every Christian who endures adversity of any kind is suffering.

According to the will of God.

God isn't absent. God has ordained that suffering whatever it is, for purposes that are good and noble and wise and prop and profitable for you and for me, so Peter tells that suffer whoever he is whatever he suffering to do what entrust your soul to your faithful creator and that's what Job is telling his wife, shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity in all of this Job did not sin with his lips. Here's a quotation from an article that I've been reading by Carolyn Staley a book that she's written from grace to glory.

She says this quote since a Christlike character rarely develops under circumstances of earthly comfort and ease the furnace of affliction is more or less. Our allotted since a Christlike character rarely develops under circumstances of earthly comfort in the furnace of affliction is more or less. Our allotted portion does seem to be that way. And for those of us who struggle with the mystery of God and trying to understand the ways of God looking for explanations and call and connecting cause and effect. Let me summarize these two chapters by giving you three statements number one God is under no obligation to give us an explanation of his doing this God is under no obligation to give us an explanation of his doings. He did not explain the Job front end.

He didn't explain to Job on the backend. He didn't exchange explained to Job in the middle of what was going on. He did not know what you and I know God is under no obligation to give an explanation that's hard for us. That's hard for us but this next point I think is helpful for us not. The first isn't helpful. It's helpful but it's difficult for us to accept a persevering faith and that's what God is developing here in Job, a persevering faith, a persevering faith is not dependent upon explanations. Job grew in persevering faith in the absence of an explanation which tells me that it's not necessary. We don't have to have an explanation. Faith does not die in the absence of an explanation. In fact, faith can persevere in the absence of an explanation. That's good news in the third point is just because God doesn't give an explanation doesn't mean there isn't one. Just because God doesn't give an explanation does not mean that there isn't one there is one you and I know what's going on.

Job didn't know what was going on and I wonder Job now knows what was going on that will help us I believe is we seek to live our lives to the honor and glory of God because suffering exposes us to the mystery of God, suffering exposes us to the mystery of God, not an explanation from God.

Romans 11 verse 30 3O the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and how unfathomable his ways. Proverbs 25 verse two says it is the glory of God to conceal a matter it is the glory of God to conceal a matter. Deuteronomy 2929 says that the secret things of the Lord that the secret things belong to the Lord our God with the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children.

One of our difficulties is that we preoccupy ourselves too much with the secret things of that are confined to God hidden from us. We want to know the secret things of God and we are not near as earnest in committing ourselves to the things that are revealed.

What is our obligation.

What is our responsibility to live out our Christian life is a good verse Deuteronomy 2929 the secret things belong to home. They belong to the Lord our God. They don't belong to us they belong to him and their secret because he doesn't reveal them to us. Listen to Amos verse in Amos chapter 4 verse seven God says, I also withheld rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon and where it did not rain the part withered. Wonder why it rains here and 3 miles north. It doesn't rain will because God orders these things, God's in charge of the weather. That's what he saying there in Amos chapter 4 verse seven. I also withheld rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest when they needed the rain. I made it rain on one city I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon and where it did not rain that part withered. Yes, so there are direct causes, and there are indirect causes the indirect cause of the suffering and calamity that Job through an experienced was the devil was marauders that came and robbed and pillaged and killed.

Those were the indirect causes with the direct cause behind it all the plan and purpose of God. Listen to this verse in Isaiah chapter 45 in verse seven. Isaiah 45 verse seven I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity and if were confused about who is saying this the end of the verse says I the Lord do all these things I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity. I the Lord do all these things.

You see we can't have a cut-and-paste theology. What I mean by that will theology on suffering that just clips and cuts in Payson ignores certain things revealed in the word of God.

That's part of the word of God. We have to read it.

We have to embrace it. We have to incorporated into our theology as a 4515 profits is truly you are a God who hides himself to God who hides himself. CS Lewis said that God actually speaks loudest to us when we suffer now.

I think it's just our ability to hear his height and none of the God speaking any louder is just he has dispelled all the clatter and the noise that's drowning out his voice. But anyway CS Lewis at this quote God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world anyway will before and we moved on and consider Job's friends in the ministry that they had when they came to immanence commendable. He had his friends, and it's commendable what they did.

I thought it was good just to stop and pause and revisit the subject of suffering and get get our theology reinforced and strengthened because there's no escaping, suffering, consider it all joy, my brother and when not if you encounter various trials and temptations is a part of life. It's what we have to live through. It's our portion in this broken and fallen there too many disillusioned people who do not have a robust, biblically-based theology of suffering. And when suffering shows up on their doorstep and invades their life and their family. They are without answers. Their foundation is revealed to be weak and faulty.

We need sound theology that when the storms of life come when suffering comes. We have been fortified been taught been instructed and we honor God in our response to these things that he brings in your life for our good and his own glory.

So that's what I have force tonight. Pray I would ask you to join me as we remember these requests and ask God to grow us in these areas about me please. Father, we confess that we do not suffer very well. We confess that more often than not, are minds are given to doubt we begin to wonder in question. Where are you God, what are you doing, Lord, thank you for your word.

Thank you that it is indeed profitable to us, for instruction in righteousness, for correction, for review. We pray that you would help us to respond to life in challenges that you bring into our lives with in believing faith and to value what you value you value intake esteem at higher than pure gold.

The development of genuine faith.

Help us to place the same value on this that persevering faith is something worth pursuing and something worth enduring something worth enjoying the see it developed in our life and to realize that suffering is very much a part of the fabric of that development. We thank you for the way in which you've demonstrated that our perseverance behind our persevering faith is a God who sustains us and keeps us how we thank you that Jesus prayed for Peter and told him such that when his faith did not fail.

He was to strengthen his brother. Thank you for sustaining the faith of Joe. Thank you that you made him mindful to even be able to instruct his wife and to help her. She was dealing with the same losses that he was so Lord, we confess and humility are need to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ to submit ourselves to you and your sovereign ways and to understand that we live by faith and not by sight that it is not profitable for us to be constantly trying to understand the intricacies of your ways that your ways are higher than our ways and are beyond finding. We thank you that a robust Christian life is a life that embraces ministry and unanswered questions. And yet trust the God who is sovereign over all things were like commit our church to you and thank you for the way you have kept us and sustained us in grown us through this past year as we live through this covert pandemic. Thank you for sparing us of much more severe bouts of coven. So many of our people who have had it had mild cases of it, and despite whether our case was milder, more severe.

You've taught us things through it all of the uncertainty of life and the brevity of life and that it is in you and you only that we live and breathe and have our being. You have convicted us of presumption.

As we have thought they were going to do this year from now or two years from now or five years from now or 10 years from now we have this day. We must live this day in the light of that day so Lord, thank you that we can have audience with you that we can talk with you that we can pray to you that we can intercede for others. Thank you for Bob and Judy Caldwell. I thank you for sustaining them in bringing Bob through pretty serious health crisis a few weeks ago. Thank you that although he's a week he's regaining his strength have seen them back in the services and for that we are thankful we pray that you would draw near to the Betty Duncan and Pat, as she is failing in her health. Thank you that you have directed them to Jeannie's place there in Greensboro where they can be looked after or how we thank you for the ministry of hospice how they have ministered to so many of our families in this church. Thank you for the way in which they go about ministry, their tenderness, their compassion and their skills, we bless you God for giving us this tangible ministry. We thank you to Doris Loftus is responding to the surgery and a broken wrist. We pray for her healing. Thank you for Gary Barker's improvement pray for these relatives of Sue Vestal for Sondra Blanchard whose in the hospital was severe and and anemia is having these upper G.I. tests.

We ask that you did use these to reveal any serious problems. Pray the same for Terry Smith. The ER overnight reading issues struggling with COPD, we commit leading you and asked that he would continue to know healing in his toe concerned about Nancy Ellison covert.

In the pneumonia that she's battling with. We pray that you would sustain her strength in her.

Thank you for the training that her and Drew have given their children and for the family unit.

The way it works in function so well. We asked that you'll be kind and merciful. In that situation and raise Nancy up very soon.

Pray for Duane Craig and Lori as they have the weight responsibility of Duane's father we ask that would be clarity that come from the VA when they meet with their diagnosis. Pray for Jack Wiley this uncle of Annina who had this bad fall, but we are very much looking forward to the spring Bible conference Lord. It is our prayer that you would open up the heavens and come down that you would visit us in power and in grace, that we would see the word of God unfold to us in fresh ways that the word of God would come with convicting power and it would come was saving power and that the church would prop would prosper from this concentrated time in the word of God watch over Mark and Paul as they come. We acid he would come in the full power and strength that you provide. That is, he stands here and preaches on Easter Sunday morning and we sing of the resurrected Christ that we would rejoice together in that which you've given to us in the Savior.

We thank you for these appointed days and we do indeed look forward to times of refreshment in times of strengthening in times of edification in times of growing in steadfastness in times of growing in deeper understanding of the ways in word of God. So bless this Bible conference blesses. We continue to move forward and come out of the this cellblock down pattern we been in for over a year me are people respond enthusiastically to the Sunday school reopening in a week or so and as we do. Would you protect us from any further outbreaks of coven, Lord, thank you that we can look to you. Thank you that we can trust you with these things here are prayers, not because of us but because of him who came and lived and died and rose again and is seated at your right hand in glory ever lives to intercede for us. Bless your people bless this upcoming Bible conference. Bless us that we might be blessings to those around us. We pray in Jesus name, amen