Campfire Stories: Luke 15- Ian Graham: The Prodigal God

Pastor Ian Graham tells one of the grounding stories of Ecclesia, from Luke 15.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning friends.
My name is Ian.
It's so lovely to be with youtoday, and I just want to wish
you a happy Easter, as we liketo really try to inhabit around
here.
Easter is not just a day, it isa season where you have been
invited to live as if Jesus hasconquered death, and so all of
the stuff that you fasted fromduring Lent begin to say all

(00:21):
right, Lord, how can I honor you?
Begin to say all right, lord,how can I honor you and bear
witness to the reality that thegrave is empty by throwing a
good party or feasting.
So good to be here today.
It's an honor to welcome youand worship alongside you.
I don't know if you've ever hadthis experience, but somebody is
describing a show to you thatthey have recently started

(00:42):
watching on a platform that theyare watching it on, and you're
kind of like can this be real?
Like what is Tubi?
It's like CSI Abu Dhabi, likewhat is happening here, and it's
like no ChatGPT came up withthat.
Right, that's not a real thing.
And so for us, in our culture,we are awash in endless novelty.

(01:03):
Novelty is sold as a good untoitself, and there is endless
novelty, more shows to find oh,you like this show, you might
like these other five, where youcan spend 12 to 15 hours
watching these as well.
Or if your drug of choice ismore, 30 seconds, 60 second
reels or clips, we got those foryou too.

(01:25):
In our culture we value new,and many times we come across
something that we haveencountered before.
We say oh, I've heard thatbefore.
And when it comes to our liveswith Christ, especially those of
us who maybe grew up in church,we can encounter these stories
and almost be inoculated by thefact that we kind of know where

(01:47):
it's going.
Oh, I've heard that one before.
But for the ancients, one ofthe practices that they would do
as a community was they wouldgather and tell a story that
everybody knew and there wasthis sort of communal
undertaking of storytelling,participation, and oftentimes
there was one person designatedas the storyteller, the story
keeper.
But if they got off trackanywhere, the community would be

(02:10):
like oh no, that's not how ithappened, that's not how things
went.
And today, as we're gatheringhere in the Echo of Easter, we
are going to tell a story thatwe tell periodically here at
Ecclesia.
It's a story that Jesus hasentrusted to us to tell and to
live out.
And for us it is a guiding andgrounding story in the kind of

(02:32):
people that we are called to bein witness to this king who has
given his life for us.
And so I'm gonna invite you tonot experience maybe something
new, as in a new story, but tofind that God is ever making His
Word new, to find that he'sever meeting us anew.
Even with things that arefamiliar, things that seem

(02:52):
weathered or well-worn, he meetsus in the power of newness and
grace.
So if you would turn over withme to Luke, chapter 15.
15.

(03:15):
We're told that the taxcollectors and sinners are all
edging mirror to Jesus as he'stelling these stories.
And it's an amazing thing thatJesus, when he came to declare
the reality of the kingdom ofGod, came telling stories
Doesn't strike us as the mostefficient way, right Like, why
didn't he just tell us plainly,why didn't he just tell us what
he meant?
And oftentimes we find thathe's telling us parables, that

(03:36):
the realities of God areshrouded in these mysteries and
for us, cultural distance thatwe have to cross.
But Luke tells us that, asJesus tells stories, those who
have been deemed outside, faroff from the religious center,
are drawing near and those whofind themselves, who think they
are the center, are actuallygrumbling and stepping outside.

(03:57):
And it's that context thatJesus begins to tell one of his
most famous stories, verse 11 ofchapter 15, begins to tell one
of his most famous stories,verse 11 of chapter 15.
Then Jesus said there was a manwho had two sons.
The younger of him said to thisfather, father, give me the
share of the wealth that willbelong to me.

(04:18):
Okay, so remember, jesus istelling a story within a context
of a crowd.
So often when we hear thesetting for a story, we are
beginning to manifest andarticulate where we think the
story is going, and the peoplethat are listening to Jesus are
doing that.
As Jesus is saying, the kingdomof God is like this.
There was a man who had twosons.

(04:39):
The younger son speaks.
What does he say?
Father, give me my share of theinheritance that will be mine
right now.
Oh, one problem here.
When does a person usuallyreceive the inheritance that's
coming to them?
When the person that is givingthe inheritance dies?

(05:01):
What then might this youngerson be saying to his dear father
, father, I wish you were Okay.
Now we've got a story Becausethe people listening to Jesus
have very clear expectations ofwhat should happen next.

(05:21):
This is a highly patriarchalculture.
The father is the bedrockfigure in this culture and his
responsibility culturally is toput his son in line.
This younger son is way out ofline, and so the father's job is
to say under no circumstancewill I give you the inheritance.

(05:44):
It only comes to you when I die.
And also the father is nowdeeply wounded by the son's
words oh, you just want me forwhat I can give to you.
And so all the people listeningto Jesus are now expecting that
the father will respond withanger, perhaps with violence,

(06:07):
and will put this younger sonback into his proper cultural
place.
And yet what does this fatherdo?
Verse 12, so he divided hisassets between them.
Oh, now we have a story.
This father does not respond inalignment with the cultural

(06:28):
expectations.
He doesn't beat his son backinto proper order.
He gives in to the son'srequest.
Okay, yes, I'm hurt by whatyou've said.
And yet I will entrust you withthe freedom Verse 13,.
A few days later, the youngerson gathered all that he had and

(06:51):
traveled to a distant region.
Now, for this culture, theaccumulation of wealth was not
seen merely as a personalendeavor.
Wealth was not seen merely as apersonal endeavor.
So the perspective was that,yes, a family or an individual
might hold the wealth and havethe disposition of what to do

(07:12):
with it, but it belongs to us.
The best example I can give isif you are a fan of a
professional sports teamprofessional sports teams the
owner, as foolish or asmisguided as they may be, is the
person that's ultimately incharge of the team.

(07:33):
Right, but tell that to theEagles fans, right?
They're not like yeah, jeffreyLurie, this is your team.
They're like actually, it's ourteam.
You may sign the checks and weappreciate you for that, but
this is our team and it will beour team long after you are gone
.
Philadelphia sees the Eagles astheir property and Jeffrey
Lurie just happens to be thesteward of that property.

(07:54):
A very similar dynamic going onhere, with the apprehension
towards wealth here.
And so this younger son is givendisposition of the father's
goods and he begins to sell thatwhich he has been given.
Now, just stay mindful.
There are cash and coin-basedtransactions in this society,

(08:20):
but this is not a fullycash-based society.
They don't have numbers in abank account that are telling
them how much money they have.
A lot of their money is tied upin things like land and
livestock and cultural goods andfamously, in this culture of
which Jesus is a part, thisancient Near Eastern culture,
sales of, specifically, landtake a long time and things like

(08:44):
livestock again.
Everything is at a very slowpace.
But what we see here with thisyounger son is that everything
is moving at a rapid speed.
In a few days this son hasliquidated all that the father
has entrusted to him.
He is selling it all off sothat he can take it and get out
of here.
He wants to get out as quicklyas he can and so he liquidates

(09:10):
his share of the estate and heleaves.
He's now broken relationshipwith the father.
Father, I wish you were dead.
He severely compromised hisolder brother.
Remember there was a man whohad two sons.
He's taken a lot of what wouldbe coming to the older brother.
The older brothers do a doubleportion of the inheritance and

(09:33):
this younger son has now takenand he is out of here.
Let's see what happens next.
Verse 13.
There he squandered his wealthin dissolute living.
When he had spent everything, asevere famine took place
throughout that region and hebegan to be in need.
So he went and hired himselfout to one of the citizens of

(09:57):
that region, who sent him to hisfields to feed the pigs.
He would gladly have filled hisstomach with the pods where the
money runs out.
Now it's not only that.
This man is personallydestitute.

(10:17):
There is a famine in the land.
And again, jesus is a Jewish man, a part of a Jewish culture.
Famously, jewish people keepkosher laws, and one of the
bedrocks of those kosher laws isto abstain from pig, from swine
, and so we see the level ofshame that this man has dropped

(10:38):
to.
He is being forced to feed thepigs just to scrape together a
meager existence that will notsuffice.
And he looks at the things thatthe pigs are eating.
There are carob pods that areeaten by people in places like
Syria, that are sweet, that havenutrients and nutritious value,
but there are other carob podsthat are not nutritious.

(11:02):
They don't have any vitamins ornutrients for humans, and so
it's likely that the food thatthis man is having to give to
the pigs will not satisfy him,though even though he's eating
it, it just won't fill thehunger that is deep within him.
And we see this spiraling ofthis young man from new wealth,

(11:23):
new money, living large, tobeing beyond destitute.
Henri Nouwen has an extendedreflection on this passage the
return of the prodigal son andhe parallels that sense of the
man's very real destitution withour own sense of despair, that

(11:46):
sense of the man's very realdestitution with our own sense
of despair and the way that weoften try vainly to fill our
lives with things that only Godcan fill.
Nouwen's word for this approachis addiction, and he writes
this.
He says the best word toexplain the lostness that so
deeply permeates society.
Our addiction makes us cling towhat the world proclaims as the

(12:08):
key to self-fulfillmentAccumulation of wealth and power
, attainment of status andadmiration, lavish consumption
of food and drink and sexualgratification without
distinguishing between lust andlove.
These addictions createexpectations that cannot but
fail to satisfy our deepestneeds.
As long as we live within theworld's delusions, our

(12:31):
addictions condemn us to futilequests in the distant country,
leaving us to face an endlessseries of disillusionments,
while our sense of self remainsunfulfilled.
In these days of increasingaddictions, we have wandered far
away from our father's home.
The addicted life can aptly bedesignated a life lived in a
distant country.
It is from there that our cryfor deliverance rises up.

(12:54):
I am the prodigal son.
Every time I search forunconditional love where it
cannot be found.
Ecclesia, you have God-givendesires, desires to be safe,
desires to be seen.
Those are given to you by God.
But so often we try to fill ourlives, we try to sate those

(13:17):
God-given desires with trivialthings, with things that harm us
and enslave us.
And we see this in the despairof this younger man in the far
country, verse 17.
But turning point maybe,perhaps.

(13:40):
But when he came to his senseshe said how many of my father's
hired hands have bread enoughand to spare?
But here I am, hunger.
I, I will get up and go to myfather and I will say to him
Father, I have sinned againstheaven and before you I am no

(14:04):
longer worthy to be called yourson.
Treat me like one of your hiredhands.
So he sent off and went to hisfather, and went to his father.
We have to pay close attentionto this young man's hypothetical
conversation that he's havingwith his father.
Oftentimes we read this passageand we think, ah, here's the

(14:27):
moment where everything changes,here's the moment where things
start to get better In a way.
That's true, but let's payclose attention to what this
young man intends to do.
Oh, I'm suffering.
This life is terrible.
I have nothing to eat.
I want to eat the food that thepigs are eating.
I know I will go back to myfather's house, where there is

(14:48):
plenty, and when I go back thereI will say to him Father, I
have sinned against heaven andbefore you.
Oh, it sounds good.
Right, we're on a good start torepentance.
Except, there's nothing in thisspeech that would suggest that
this young man is repenting fromthe deep fracture that he has
introduced into the relationshipbetween he and his father.

(15:12):
What it seems that the young manis saying is that I have
cultural obligations.
I was entrusted with a measureof wealth.
I have now squandered thatwealth.
Now I have to repair that insome way.
I have to make my own way.
I have to repay what I havelost.
I've sinned against heaven andbefore you.
What's my solution in order topay back that which I have

(15:34):
wasted?
Ah, make me Interesting.
This young man is still orderinghis father around, isn't he the
story started with?
Give me my share of theinheritance that will be mine
Destitution.
His solution is stillimperatives.

(15:54):
Make me like one of your hiredhands.
Notice this all sounds veryself-effacing, right?
Oh, like I'm not worthy to becalled your son, I will accept
the role of hired hand.
That sounds very humble.
Except a hired hand in thisculture was like a day laborer.

(16:14):
A son was under the authority ofthe father.
A son who submitted to thefather's rule, lived under the
father's rules.
My house, my rules, you knowthat patriarchal kind of stuff.
If the son is saying, make me aday laborer, he's not saying I

(16:35):
really want to be your son again.
He's saying dad, I know I hadobligations.
I still don't really want to bein this kind of near
relationship to you.
I know I broke some stuff.
Now I'm going to try to fix it.
His solution is stillcompletely self-reliant and his
solution still keeps him outsideof the jurisdiction of the

(16:58):
father's house.
He gets to come and go as hepleases.
He gets to do what he wants.
And so we see that this son'shypothetical conversation with
his father though it seems likethis massive turning point
within the story may not be sucha turning point after all,
still the son is trying to pavehis own way.

(17:20):
Still he doesn't really graspthe level to which he has broken
his father's heart and hedoesn't see the father for who
he is.
But here's the beautiful thing,ecclesia.
It doesn't matter, because nomatter what our apprehension of

(17:42):
God is, no matter what hasbrought us to a point of despair
, where we turn towards ourFather's house, the reception
will be the same.
Let's see what happens, verse20 tells us.
So he set off and he went tohis father.
Now again, we're in an ancientNear Eastern climate.

(18:03):
Even today this is an aridclimate.
It is dry.
We're not told how far the sonhas to walk to return home, but
we can imagine it's a gooddistance.
So he's been walking forprobably days.
We're already told this is aworld of famine.
He has nothing to eat.
We can presume he has little todrink.
A level of delusion and mirageare beginning to creep in.

(18:25):
But as the younger son beginsto see familiar landscapes,
places near to his town thathe's known since he was a boy,
he's walking.
Places near to his town thathe's known since he was a boy,
he's walking.
And because he has squanderedthe wealth of the village,
because he has wasted it amongstthe Gentiles, the village has a

(18:49):
cultural responsibility too.
You see, it's easy for us toidentify some of the characters
in the story.
There's the father, there's theyounger son, there's the older
brother that we'll meet moresignificantly in just a moment.
But there's another characterthat is present in the story
that the listeners to Jesus'stelling would have known.
There's the crowd, the village,the people that say, like you

(19:10):
not only lost your family'swealth, you lost our wealth,
you've brought dishonor upon ourplace.
And they had a culturalresponsibility too.
And part of what the younger sonknew as he is turning back
towards home is that he wouldencounter the shame and the
scorn of his previous neighbors.

(19:30):
He's got a plan how to dealwith his broken relationship
with the father.
He's going to make things right.
He's got a plan for how he'sgoing to coexist with his
brother to some extent.
But the problem of theneighbors, the villagers, cannot
be solved, for it must simplybe endured.
And he will endure their shameand their scorn.

(19:50):
And they will tell him veryplainly you are not welcome here
, you.
You have wasted our collectivewealth amongst the pagans and
the Gentiles.
This is not your home anymore.
And as he is walking back, ashe's seeing that familiar
landscape, he also starts to seefamiliar faces that have a very
different disposition towardshim and he starts to endure

(20:16):
their shame and their scorn.
It's not because they're bad orevil people, it's because this
son has committed a cultural sinand they are merely transacting
that which comes with culturalsins.
But he's walking and you know,like when you're walking and

(20:36):
you're tired, he puts his headdown.
He's hearing those wordsshouted over him and every once
in a while he picks his head up.
As he picks his head up for thethird or the fourth time, he
sees something.
Again, he hasn't had anythingto eat or to drink in a long
time.
Landscape plays tricks on you.
But he's like, is that somebodyrunning?

(21:00):
And he sees this older man,robes flowing, running towards
him and his first response isand as the vision comes further
into clarity, he realized thisisn't just any older man, this
is his father, and his fatherhas hiked up his robes and he is

(21:24):
running towards him at fullspeed.
And as the father draws close,the son doesn't know whether to
lean in or to lean back and thefather nearly knocks him over
and wraps him in his arms and hecan feel the weight of the
father's embrace and he hearshis delighted sobs and then the

(21:53):
younger son starts his speech.
Father, I have sinned againstheaven and before you.
Oh, we've heard this one before.
We know this is going.
I am no longer worthy to becalled your son, period.
Where's the rest of it?

(22:14):
Where's the make me like yourhired hands?
Now it's possible, and many haveposited, that the father simply
interrupts him.
Nonsense.
Put a robe on his shoulders, aring on his fingers.
That's possible, but I don'tthink so.
But I don't think so.

(22:39):
I think something hasprofoundly changed in this son's
disposition towards his father.
What has changed?
Ecclesia, the father ran to him.
In this culture, older men didnot run.
Aristotle said running is forfools, and old men are wise and
not fools.
To hike up your robes in orderto be able to actually
physically run would involveexposing your upper legs, which

(23:01):
was shameful for older men.
The son, who previously had allof these perceptions about his
father that were not based inreality, now sees his father.
Clearly, the father'sdisposition towards the son and
running to him, the grace ofthis father irrevocably breaks

(23:21):
the son's heart and shows himthe beauty of who the father is.
And beyond that, it's not justthat the son sees the father.
Remember there's a crowdassembling, no less than when
somebody yells, fight and peoplestart to gather around.
The father, in running, hastaken all of the cultural shame

(23:45):
that was intended for thisyounger son who is approaching
this village and brought it uponhimself.
He has taken the shame thatwould have been the younger
son's and by running, bybreaking social and cultural
convention, has heaped all theshame right onto his very
shoulders.
It would have been culturallyexpected for the younger son to

(24:07):
have to go to the father, intohis house, to ask permission to
enter and to supplicate himselfbefore this father, asking
forgiveness.
But the father doesn't wait forthe younger son to come into
the confines of the house, heruns to him and this Ecclesia is

(24:28):
who our God is.
The father says quickly, bringout a robe.
The best one, the best onedefinitely belonged to the
father and it wasn't just hey,you should have the best garment
.
The best robe would havesignified to everybody who came

(24:48):
to the house that day that thisson had been restored to full
sonship within the house.
Put a ring on his finger, asignet ring, a marker of
authority within the house.
Put sandals on his feet, shoesoften designated the difference
between servants and sons andget the fat calf and kill it.

(25:12):
Let us eat and celebrate.
What was it that brought thisyoung man back to his father's
house?
Ultimately, a famine.
And here we have a feast, aparty being thrown.
In a world of famine, youwouldn't kill the fattened calf
just for a nice little dinnercelebration with your family,
extended family.

(25:32):
This is a village celebration.
This will feed hundreds.
This is a 40-pound brisket thatwe are about to throw on the
grill.
And there is a party that thenensues because this younger son
has been embraced and welcomedagain by the father who runs to

(25:52):
him.
There was an older man who hadTwo sons Now verse 25,.
His elder son was in the fieldand he came and he approached
the house.
He heard music and dancing.
He called one of the slaves andasked what's going on.
He replied your brother hascome, your father has killed the

(26:18):
fattened calf because he's gothim back safe and sound.
Then he became angry andrefused to go in safe and sound.
Then he became angry andrefused to go in.
So this older brother now whohas very real gripes this isn't
just hey, you're being kind of astick in the mud here.
There's a party going on Veryreal loss that this younger

(26:38):
brother has cost him.
And he hears that his youngerbrother has returned and there's
a party being thrown in hishonor and he is beside himself
and he refuses to go into theparty Again.
Culturally, the older son wouldhave been expected to be

(27:00):
summoned and to join the party,but he refuses to go in.
And look at what the father doesfor this older son.
He doesn't just run to theyounger son.
We see at the end of verse 28that his father again leaves the
house to go out to one of hissons.

(27:20):
He comes out and he pleads withhim, but the older son answered
his father, listen, for allthese years I've been working
like a slave for you.
I've never disobeyed yourcommand, yet you've never given
me even a young goat so that Imight celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours cameback, who has devoured your

(27:43):
assets with prostitutes, youkilled a fat calf for him.
The older son's like are youkidding me?
This bottomless pit, this waste.
And the subtle insinuationthroughout all of this is it's
not the son who's wasteful, notprodigal, it's the God, it's the
father, he is the prodigal one.

(28:03):
And the older brother names itand the Father says to him son,
you are always with me and allthat is mine is yours.
Remember where this storystarted?
It was about possession ofassets, it was about disposition
of goods.

(28:24):
And the father says to hisolder son everything I have is
yours.
But we had to celebrate andrejoice because this brother of
yours was dead and has come tolife.
He is lost and has been found.
Now again, we sang earlier.
It's one of our favorite songsas a family.
It's one of the songs that'smarked the story of Ecclesia.

(28:45):
You're never going to let medown.
Now I don't know about you.
I don't sing that because thatis my lived experience with God.
I don't sing that because I'mlike, yes, god, I've never once
felt disappointed by you.
I've never felt once like I'vebeen misled and I don't know if
you're like me, but that's how Ifeel.
But I sing that because I know,ultimately that is true that

(29:08):
God has us, that he is workingall things for our good.
But I experience at times in mylife with God that I feel
disappointed, that I feelconfused, and I think we see
nothing less than that going onwith this older brother.
It's like, really, this is howyou are.
And for many of us we have allthe characteristics of this

(29:29):
older brother.
We've been doing the rightthings, we've been hoping for
the right things and yet westill feel like those things
elude us and we're just like God.
We see you doing these thingsfor other people and yet still I
can't even just get a littlesliver of what I've been after,
what I've been aching for, whatI've been asking of you.

(29:49):
And Jesus, in all of hisbrilliance, ends the story.
What becomes of the olderbrother?
I don't know.
It's a question that's put tous here today.
What will become of us when Godis far different and yet far

(30:13):
more beautiful than we realize?
What will become of us when wesee him lavishing grace upon
grace?
Will we hear his invitationthat everything we have,
everything he has, is ours?
Jesus, in an incredible way,throughout his life, doesn't

(30:38):
just tell stories, he lives them.
And Jesus, in every way,embodies the different
characters in this story.
He is the younger son who goesoff to the far country, not
because he's done anythingsinful or immoral, because
that's where his children are,and he goes to get them.
Jesus runs to us on the crosscarrying that heavy weight of

(31:02):
cavalry.
Jesus will have himselfdisrobed so that he can put a
robe of salvation, a garment ofpraise, upon our shoulders.
Jesus embraces us in the armsextended upon the cross, arms
that embrace us here today.
He loves you.
He has been lifted high so thatwe can see him for who he is

(31:29):
and for some of us in here today.
You need to hear that for thefirst time.
We were watching the Parent Trapwith our girls last night and
sons and I'm kind of vaguelypaying attention and the Parent
Trap has kind of a weirdconstruct Like parents just
divide the two kids and they'relike, all right, they'll never
see their other parent, goodbye.
It's a weird construct.
Like parents just divide thetwo kids and they're like, all
right, they'll never see theirother parent, goodbye.

(31:53):
It's a weird concept.
But there's this beautifulmoment and I was working at the
table and I look up and I'm likecrying gently over there
because that's what happens tome when the kids switch places
and they meet the parent theyhad never experienced before and
the parent is taken aback byhow strange they're being

(32:13):
because it's a different kid andthey don't know that, but
there's so much wonder and aweand a sense of safety and
goodness on the part of the kidsthat have switched places.
They're like I didn't know Ihad a dad like this, I didn't
know I had a mom like this, andit's so beautiful.
And for some of you in heretoday, you need to hear that you
have a God that has run to youand embraced you at great cost

(32:37):
to himself and he loves you.
And that's good news For othersof us in here today.
You've been at home and that'snot a bad thing, ecclesia.
But perhaps the older brotherdefines your life with God and

(32:58):
it's just like yeah, I'm hereWhatever you need.
Can I get a little goat tocelebrate with my friends?
God is showing you that there'smore, that there's more than
your disappointment, that he'sbeautiful, he's better, but you
have to see him.
And I think in no uncertainterms the father shows himself

(33:21):
to both the younger son and theolder son by going out to them
and he wants to draw you in heretoday and say hey, I can handle
your disappointment.
It's interesting, the fatherdoesn't rebuke the son in his
disappointment.
He doesn't say get out of herewithout complaining Seriously,
your brother's back, he pleadswith him.
He says I know, but this son ofmine was dead and he's alive

(33:44):
again.
We had to celebrate Jesus.
We pray for your Holy Spirit tocome over the next few moments,
god, I pray for dear sons anddaughters, lord, who don't know
that they had a father like thisone.
A God who runs, god, a prodigalGod who wastes mercy and mercy,

(34:05):
grace upon grace, god, upon usin order to show all of us, god,
who you are.
So, god, I pray that there arethose among us who are finding
themselves wrapped in yourembrace, hearing the declaration
put forth to all the communitythat this is my son, this is my

(34:26):
daughter, and it's you and youractions that change everything,
god, not our changes of heart,god, not our despair, but what
you've done, Jesus.
God, I pray for those of us whohave just been confused,
disappointed, god, upset, lord,even Looking at other people's

(34:50):
lives and thinking I can't evenget a little bit of that.
God, would you meet us herewith a revelation of who you are
, god?
Could we accept thatrelationship with you is enough,
god, that it will satisfy usand that we serve you, lord, not

(35:13):
for what you can give us, lord,that you give us everything,
but for who you are, jesus, god,we pray these things in the
name of the Father and the Sonand the Holy Spirit.
We declare this to you Amen.
I could see over the next fewmoments we're going to invite
you to stand and respond inworship.