Cornerstone PLUS

And I'm gonna invite Stephen Irene Tucker up now to take us through our first section of the Bible translation mix. So shall we welcome them in the customary way? Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Good.

You can hear me. It does help, doesn't it? Well, as you probably know by now, my name is Steven Tucker. You hadn't missed that, I hope. My wife here in case you're wondering where she is, she's at the keyboard, and we're about to perform some magic.

So, yeah, let's hope it all works. As you know, we work with Wycliffe Bible translators. Now, you probably realize that wickliff Bible translators translate the Bible. Right? There's nothing rocket science about that.

Yes. We take as it were, this book, it wasn't written in English, by the way. It was written in Greek, aramaic, and Hebrew, and we translate it as it were, simply, very put simply, into the language of the local people wherever those local people happen to live. There are around 7000 different languages spoken in the world today, and part of Ireini's job and my job is to map those languages put the people literally on the map, and there's still work to be done. We don't know where they will live yet.

But this morning, I'm going to ask you a very simple question. And I'm hoping you'll get an answer by the time we finish this this morning. The question is simply this: Do you know what it's like to translate the Bible into another language. Now probably you don't know what it's like to translate the Bible into another language, Well, this morning, I'm hoping that you will arrive at an answer to that question because you are going to translate a little bit of the Bible from 1 language to another. Don't worry, you don't need to learn any of those 2 languages because you know both of them, The first language is n I v style English, n I v style English.

In fact, you'll find what you're about to see on the screen when you're ready. Please a verse of the NIV style English. It's Romans chapter 12 verse 1, and you could turn it up and you will find those words in this book. Now then I'm going to ask our particular stars of the show this morning, who are sitting here on my right, How much of that verse do you understand? Do you understand it all?

Well, let me ask the adults, actually, do any of you understand it all? Or, probably not many of you. And I don't think our 8, 7 and 8 year olds here will understand much of it. Your job this morning, my friends, here in the congregation, is to translate that verse from that style of English into the style of English that can be understood by our friends here on the right. They are going to be the stars of the show because if they don't under stand what you're suggesting to them, they're gonna chuck it out, and you're gonna have to think again.

And as we do that, you will come to realize something of the challenge of translating the Bible from 1 language to another. Anybody up for that? Good. I was gonna be jolly lonely if you weren't. As you see, we've got 9 key words or phrases down the left hand side of our slide.

And in a minute, I'm going to be asking the 6 blocks of the congregation here in front of me to tackle 6 of those 9 words. But just to give you a flavor of the sort of thing we're after here, I'm going to take you further through the first 2 as a group. And at the end, we'll come back and try to tackle the last 1. So therefore, literally, therefore, I'm going to ask you all, we have a group here of 6 7 8 8 year olds or so, and we are trying to translate the word therefore into a word that they will understand. Any ideas, please call them out, and I'll repeat them for the sake of the recording.

Because of So. And hopefully, they will appear. Yes. Good. Any other ideas?

As a result. Okay. Right. Now that highlights another slight point. I'm gonna constrict you rather because actually when you come across a phrase in the in the original language, you're you're trying to translate into the target language you only allow yourselves the same number of words.

Alright? And I'll give you an example of that. The today's English version in your NIV, you may see the word leprosy in English, right? Actually, the disease that was that was contracted on those circumstances was not necessarily leprosy. Okay?

It was a dreaded skin disease, and that today's English version translates the word that they translate leprosy as dreaded skin disease, and it's amazing how much that sort of sticks. Oh, I see it's a dreaded skin disease, and it's a you know, and it becomes very unnatural. So it's an example where they take on 1 single word and they've used 3 dreaded skin disease to translate it. So it's not a good idea if we can avoid it to try to to if we can try to keep ourselves to the same number of words in the original phrase, in our target phrase. So I'm afraid as a result of immediately gets chucked out, but we we can leave it up there anyway.

Right. So we end up with so and because of even because of his pushing it a bit because I've got 2 words there, so we'll we'll leave it with so for the moment. Okay? Now let's look at the next word which is urge. Okay?

Ideas for a word for urge that will be understood by our friends down here. You can wait in a minute. I'll be calling you in a minute. Yes. Please.

Okay. We'll put that 1 up. Any other ideas? Want? Good idea?

Any other ideas? Beg courage? Beg all good ideas. Ask. And that ask.

Ask. Good. Incyst. Right. Okay?

Some plenty of ideas. We almost out of space there. We'll call a halt there. Good ideas. Thank you.

Right. Now then let's ask our friends here on the right. Okay? Do you know what because of means? Got a few nods.

Okay. Do you know what so means? More nods of head? I think so has it, don't you? Okay.

Now, what about? Do you know what plead means? Blank looks. Right? Do you know what want means?

Do you I want something? Do you know what that means? Okay. Plenty of nodding heads. Fine.

Okay? Okay. Your laughing proves the point. They are getting the message. That is meaning something to them.

That's exactly what we are wanting. Right? Okay. 1, once sauce is good. What about encourage?

Do you know what encourage means? Yes. We have a number of courage. Okay. Right?

Yes. Good. What about beg? You know what begging means? Okay.

Right. Now, we're going to be a bit careful here. If you saw somebody begging, where would you expect to find them? Yes? On the street.

Do you think that's where Paul was thinking of? I don't think it was where he was thinking of. So we can communicate a meaning, but it's not necessarily the right meaning. Do we think Paul was begging in that way? It has various connotations in English.

It's somebody on the street. No, I don't I don't think Paul was meaning that. You can differ with me if you like, but I don't think he meant that. So I think we're heading for something like want. What about ask?

I ask you. Do you understand what that means? Good. Plenty nodding heads. Fine.

And what about insists? You know what insist means? Not so sure. Okay. Right.

So we we got a few narrowing it down a bit. Okay? You get the idea. Okay? Right.

Now then, this section, tackle brothers and sisters. How would you translate that to 7 and 8 year old so that they understand that we're not just talking about siblings of the same family, brothers and sisters. Okay? We'll have in view of that back section there. Then we have mercy, this section here in the middle, then we'll have your bodies, the middle at the back, then we'll have a living sacrifice, this section here, and then at the back, holy at the back.

Talking amongst yourselves in the rows, I'll give you 2 minutes. I'll give you 20 more seconds. 20 more seconds. Right. How have Cornerstone church Kingston translators been getting on.

I wonder. Brothers and sisters, any ideas, please call out, and I'll repeat them. Christian friends, any other ideas? No 1 Jesus? Believeers in Jesus.

3 words. Very good. Any other ideas? Christian family? Okay.

Yes. Okay. Any possibly 1 more idea, friends or family, I really was going to change that. Yes? Okay.

Good. Some ideas. Very good. Thank you. In view of any ideas, because of Okay.

Very good. Any other ideas? No. No. Fairly simple 1 that what was in it.

Okay. Don't worry. Got some challenges coming up. Okay. Mercy, kindness, forgiveness, forgiveness, generosity, Notice how each of these misses out something.

Mhmm. Any other ideas? Love? That wasn't your word. But anyway, we'll allow cheating.

Okay. Right. Your bodies are the back. Your bodies. Any ideas?

Yourselves? Any other ideas? Your lives? Any other ideas? No?

Okay. Right. And a living sacrifice. This was probably by far the trickiest of them agreed? A living sacrifice.

Any ideas? Giving your life, a daily offering, Any other ideas? You see, I think this got you stumped, rather agreed, Okay. And what about holy there at the back? Pure.

Say again? Godly. Good, clean. Okay. Doing well.

Now then, as we close this first session, and we'll be coming back to put it all together in a minute, your true and proper, sorry, proper worship, your true and proper worship. Okay. You've got 5 words there. How would you translate that into simple English? Any ideas?

Your Christian duty. You're doing it altogether. Okay, Pete. What are your ideas? Oh, boy.

Your heartfelt commitment. You got enough room for all that. Any more ideas? The right way to pray. The right way to pray.

Okay. I think there might be room for another line underneath there, Ivy, if you need it. Okay. Your real love for god. Yep.

Keep going. You can still see that. Okay. And I'm once again, I'll ask you exactly what did sorry. What did Paul mean?

What did Paul mean? Tricky, isn't it? When you're trying to express it simply? Okay. Dan's going to pray for us.

Well, that was round 1. I think you did very well, but we've got a second round now, and we're going to put it all together and we're gonna end up with the Cornerstone Church Kingston version of Rammer's 12 verse 1. And when I really has had a chance, you will see that, we've already got some texts sitting there actually. It's the original text. Because it's gonna make it easier for her to keyboard our trans sorry, your translation of that verse.

Right. We'll get started while I really tries to puzzle it out to change it. Where's the guru got to? She wants to change the text to black. Oh, there it is.

You got it. There we come. It's all in a different place on these different versions of windows, isn't it? There we are. Okay.

Therefore, we go through word by word, and this time we have to choose the alternatives, which alternatives we're going to put in. We can only have 1 So you'll have to decide which 1 we're going to go for. We start with the word therefore, and we've got the options of because of so or as a result, I think the more or less decided on so. Agreed? Okay.

So I urge you, becomes I plead or want or encourage, beg, ask or insist. Okay. I'm gonna suggest plead is not on. Encourage. I would prefer want or ask agreed.

Okay? Who would like want? Hands up. Who would want ask? Oh, boy.

Roughly even. Let's ask our experts. Which do you think it would be better to have? I want or I ask? This is where it all starts falling apart.

Right. Matt, can I do something to make an executive decision? I am not going to be bowing to heckling. Thank you. I'm going to use the word ask Problem but once.

Yeah. No. No. Shut up you lot. Brothers and sisters.

I ask you brothers and sisters, Christian friends or family believers in Jesus. Okay. Which would you prefer, committee? Christian friends, Christian family, or believers in Jesus? Never do anything by committee.

Okay. Which? Who? Believe it's in Jesus. Okay.

I'm happy with that. You're happy with that? Okay. Alright. Fine.

Okay. Right. In view of becomes because of, that's fairly simple. Couldn't be easier. Okay.

God's mercy becomes god's kindness is forgiveness, generosity, or love. Okay. Let's have a vote for kindness. Hands up. Okay?

Forgiveness. Oh, right? Okay. Generosity, or love. I think there's a gentle majority there, but notice that all of them miss something out, miss a great deal out, actually, and I'll make a point about that later.

Okay. We'll go for love. Are you happy with love? Coastal of God's love? Good.

That's fine. We'll go off with love. Goes of God's love to offer. Now we didn't look at this as a specific word. To offer your bodies, to offer yourselves, your lives.

Do you know what to offer means? To give. Okay. Let's say you use the word give shall we instead? Okay.

To give what yourselves or your lives, which would your lives. Okay. Right? Give your lives. Fair enough.

We'll go with that. Okay. As a living where I would sacrifice. Okay? Now we've already got giving your life a daily offering.

Mhmm. Yeah. So we might need to review something there. Mightn't we? As, well, we can have a daily offering.

How about that? Give your lives as a daily offering. That sounds alright to me. Happy with that. Okay.

Right. Give your lines as a daily offering. Holy has to become pure, godly, good, or clean. Godly? Are you happy with god sorry.

Happy with godly folks? Okay. Godly, it is. Fine. And pleasing to god.

You're happy with pleasing to god? You know what pleasing to god means? Yep. Okay. I'm happy with that.

Which is this is your true and proper worship. This is your Christian duty, your heartfelt commitment, your right way to pray, or your real love for god. Okay? He who shouts loudest, you're real love. Okay.

You're real love for god. Let's have real love for god, shall we? Okay. So we'll read the whole verse through So I ask you, believers in Jesus because of god's love to give your lives as a daily offering godly and pleasing to god. This is your, real love for god.

That I would argue is a fantastic translation. Do you understand what it means? Well, we haven't got time to make any changes. I'm afraid. I'll speak to you afterwards.

Notice that it virtually every call. Certainly, the important words, important features of the original word had to be dropped, and that remember is a translation from 1 style of English to another style of English. We don't know, unless you happen to know New Testament Greek and I don't know it that well, How much has already been lost in the translation from New Testament Greek, which is the original language in which this versus written into NIV style English. What does that tell us about 2 things? It tells us about translation.

It tells us about the power of god's word. I challenge anybody here, 7 years, 8 years of age or older, to put that translated version of the verse into practice this week, and I think you'll find you'll have plenty on your plate to manage that. Thank you for your time, praise it all. Okay. Thank you very much, Steven, and I for your work.

I've had some sort of challenges in my life. But I've never had to prepare a sermon on a text that hasn't yet, been translated. That's pretty difficult. So we're gonna try to sort of incorporate some of the ideas that, we have learned and discussed some of our new translation and some of the old translation and, and to see where we see where we get to. And as Steven was saying there at the end, I think, it's been really good for us, hasn't it?

Just to kind of dice sect and take apart this verse and to have a think about what the words mean and how we might put them together. But we also want to be people who ask for god's help that we might obey, what is told to us here and that we might we might live it out because that that's definitely what Paul wants, isn't it? He wants for the church in Rome and for us, to turn what we have learned into how we live, turn our learning into living that's what we're gonna have a think about. So, let's let's get the verse in the NIV back up, and, read that little first bit together. Hopefully, with all the kind of new ideas that we've got to help us, understand some of those words, he says I urge you brothers and sisters.

It's a strong it's a strong command, isn't it? Whatever word we choose. I urge you brothers and sisters. I want you. I ask you.

I really want you. I really ask you. Brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to god or as the old English puts it, and this is a fun word to learn, particularly as we're thinking about words, is I beseech you That's what the old English version is. I beseech you. Does anyone know what that means?

I beseech you, beach, beseech. Sounds like something you might pour down your toilet, doesn't it? Beseech. But it's not that. It's a really strong word, which means I I really want, I ask you, I desire, you know, even in the right, in the right context, I beg you to live this way.

So it's very, very strong. And so I reckon next time you want some someone to do something for you, you should beseech them to do it. Okay? And if they do it, then you know they understand, but if they look quite confused, you you you they've probably got no idea and you need to retranslate them for so what does what does Paul want them to do? That's the main thing.

Well, he says, doesn't he to offer themselves as maybe willing helpers or offer their lives as we had it their whole lives as living sacrifices to the lord. Now what does what does that mean? Well, I was reading this week about the Roman army. Okay? And the Roman army Paul would have known about, and he would seen, he often borrowed illustrations from, for from, the Roman army and soldiers, and the Romans had the best armies in all of the world.

Okay? Have a look at what they might have looked like. They they were just a fierce fighting machine. Now when the Romans actually came to Britain, they they took on British armies that were 10 times bigger than their own army. So if you'd like each soldier, in Rome had to fight 10 of the of the other soldiers.

Okay? And they won. They had the best weapons, the best training, the best teamwork in all of the world. And the reason for that is because to be a soldier in the Roman army was a lifelong commitment. You couldn't you couldn't just kinda breeze in and then breeze out if you fancied a career change.

You had to serve for a minimum of 25 years. You had to give your best and your fittest years to the empire in order to serve. And for them, for a young man in the Roman empire, that was a glorious wonderful thing to do to be able to give your life in the service of Rome. And I think that's a kind of helpful comparison. Being a Christian is a whole life, mind, body, heart, things we love or affections, the way that we think is a whole life kind of thing.

Not for 25 years, every year of your life, not casual, totally committed, not 9 to 5 every hour of every day, not on your own, but together as a Christian family or as a unit, not to Rome because the old Roman empire is dead and gone, but to the lord Jesus Christ and his glorious kingdom. What is what is what is real worship? What is a life that is pleasing to god look like as brothers and sisters as Christian friends as a team we give everything that we've got our whole lives in service of the king. But there's more we can say about that phrase, living sacrifices. Have a look up at this, this picture because it's a bit weird living the living sacrifice, isn't it?

It it and to start with, I don't know if you felt this, but 1 of the things about it is it it feels like a, like, a weird thing to say, a living sacrifice like trying to say, can I have a cup of dry water, please? You think dry water doesn't really work, or can you can you start a cold fire? For me. You know, think of cold fire? Those things doesn't it.

What, you know, what is what is a living sacrifice? Because, obviously, in the old testament part of the Bible, sacrifices didn't stay living for very long. In fact, that was part of it. They, every day, they died, and they died, and they died over and over again. So what does he mean here?

Well, it's another way of saying, look, if you are a Christian, Jesus Christ, has made you alive to god. You are no longer dead in your sin under under the under the judgment of god for your sin, you have been given life. You have been given eternal life. You are alive now to god. And therefore, or so that you need to use your Christian life that god has given you to worship him.

So what does it mean to live a life that is pleasing to god or to be a living sacrifice? Think of the army Think of the whole life given over that god has given us. But what what will that actually mean for us in everyday life. What's it gonna what's it gonna look like for us to live that way? Well, have a look at verse, 2.

So we didn't come onto this verse, but it will come up on the screen hopefully. There we are. It says do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Do not conform to the pattern of this world. What does it mean?

Well, it's interesting, isn't it? Cause if we go back to the Roman Army illustration again, it kinda goes without saying that when a young soldier signed up to give 25 of his best years in service of the empire, He was signing up for battle. He was gonna give his life to a life of conflict and struggle, and it's it's the same thing here. When we become Christians, when we start to follow the teachings and the life of the lord Jesus Christ, we can expect a battle until we get to heaven, we are gonna be living in a world which believes and teaches things that are opposed to Jesus and opposed to his way of life and his word. So wherever we are at work, or at school, people might people might laugh at you for following Jesus.

They might think it's a really weird thing that you go to church on Sundays when all your friends seem be doing much better stuff, or they might even try to tell you or persuade you that to live god's way is not very good at all. And part of our worship and our giving our lives to God is not to let what they say shape how we think. You see there's no there's no point having a Roman soldier in the army who signed up, but he doesn't really believe in it. He's not that committed to it. In fact, he's always dreaming of the day when he's gonna get out of the army.

You want his mind and you want his heart and you want his affections loyal to Rome and to the empire. It's the same kind of thing. We don't want brains like this. Do we? Let's have a picture.

We don't want brains made of play dough. Okay? We don't want squashy brains, okay, that can be squash and resquashed and shaped and reshaped by the world. We don't we don't want that kind of brain, do we? We wanna be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

We wanna let god by his holy spirit through his word give us a mind that thinks the way he thinks, that feels the way he feels, that is shaped by the things that he loves, that hate the things that he hates. We wanna have these steady Christian minds that are not transformed by the world, but are transformed by the word of god. I mean, let's be clear, there is nothing wrong at all with a good bit of brainwashing. Okay? Nothing wrong with brainwashing.

We all need to be brainwashed. Let's have a picture. It doesn't mean that, by the way. That would be a seriously unhelpful operation to have, I think. That's not what it means.

It doesn't mean having your brain really scrubbed like that. It means having your brain just so full of the truth of Jesus that you wanna live for him. Okay? And everybody's mind, everybody's brain is brainwashed. There's nobody in the world who doesn't have a brainwashed brain.

Okay? It's just what's washed it. That's the question. Has it been washed by what the world thinks and loves? Or has it been washed by what Jesus thinks and what Jesus loves.

Okay? Nothing wrong with a bit of brainwashing, and that's what we want. We wanna be brainwashed by god. We wanna love the things that he loves. That's part of what it means to be a Christian.

So here we go. A life that pleases god is lifelong, It's totally committed, it's different from the world, it's shaped by the word of god, it's that kind of life, which is what Paul commands here, but If we leave it here, then we're gonna miss a really major part of this instruction that Paul gives because we need to also think about the motivation Don't we? We can't just give a whole load of this is what you should do without giving any energy and any motivation to live way. You see, for a soldier, his motivation was the glory of Rome. It was the glory of Rome.

It's a glorious thing. To live and serve the end, but that's what they were motivated by. But what about us? 2 brief things, our motivations. Here we go.

The first 1, come up on the screen is the greatness of Jesus. That's our motivation. Here's Romans 11 verse 33 into verse that we've had a go at translating. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. We're not gonna we don't have to translate this 1.

Okay? She's gonna enjoy it. Knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out who has known the mind of the lord or who has been his counselor, who has ever given to god that god should repay them for from him and through him and for him are all things to him be the glory forever our men. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters so so that because of this brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

I don't know if you've ever seen a child, maybe maybe you've been like this. We've all been like this at some point, who who has experienced something absolutely wonderful, something so good that they they are actually unable to express themselves because they're so excited. They don't know how to get the words out. They can barely even breathe. You ever seen that?

And and they run-in to whoever it is, mom and dad, or 1 of their friends, and any other conversation that is going on must stop immediately. Okay? Whatever else whatever other topic is being discussed, it is totally boring compared to what they have just discovered. They they can barely get their words out and they're trying to tell you something of what they've enjoyed. And I reckon Paul is like that in Romans right at the end of Romans 11.

So far in this book, he's told us about our sin that we have rebelled against god. We deserve his judgment, and that's fair enough. For the way we've treated him and other people. But he's told us about Christ, that the son of god has come in his mercy to die in our place, to bear, to take all the sins and the things we've done wrong upon himself. It's amazing, isn't that god is angry at our sin, but he was willing to direct it upon his own son so that we could be saved.

He's told us about being god's child. That we can know god as our father. He's told us about the future of god's people that 1 day we'll be with Jesus forever on a new earth. He's told us that there was a great mission to be part of. Go to the nations and tell them about Jesus.

And now at the end of chapter 11, he's like a cope bottle. Let's get it up. He's like a coke bottle that has been, she's been absolutely shaken up, and he's ready to just explode with excitement. Okay? And then he goes, oh, debts of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of god from him and through him and for him are all things to him be the glory forever and ever.

Here is our motivation for Romans's 12 verse 1 living. As we gaze upon the greatness and the kindness of God. We will find ourselves saying my old life is gone. I only have 1 aim I want to make Jesus famous with my whole life. That's our first motivation to obey this command we need to get a vision for god's greatness.

But secondly, there's another 1 that's gonna come up. We've seen the greatness of Jesus, but also god's mercy, okay, or his kindness as we translated it. Therefore, I urge you or his love, actually, rather we did. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Thank goodness.

The Bible doesn't say, offer yourselves and God will show you mercy. Thank goodness. It's that way round. Because of god's mercy or his love offer yourselves. Thank goodness.

It doesn't say, live a life like this and god will be pleased with you in the end. It's the other way around. Jesus Christ has shown you mercy. He has given us the opposite what we deserve. Instead of facing his anger, we are found safe in his love.

He's just given us the total opposite of what we deserve in the gospel. A wonderful, wonderful thing that if you trust in him this morning, you are right with god he looks upon you as he looks upon Jesus and he says, you are right. I love you. You are my son or my daughter, and with you, I am well pleased. And in light of that, because that is true, we wanna live for him.

That's how the gospel works. You see when Christmas day comes around kids, Christmas day, I know it's a long way away, but it's quite an exciting time, isn't it? When mist Day comes around, or you go downstairs, and mom and dad have got a big present for you, all wrapped up. It's exactly what you wanted. You can tell by the shape you're really excited.

They give it to you. What you don't do is get out your money and say, how much do I owe you for that present? Yeah? Or you get out your purse and say, can I do contactless payment for that? You know?

You don't or if you've got an old checkbook, you might say, how much do I owe you for that present? Nobody does that? Do they the way you say thank you and the way you honor your mom and dad is by enjoying the gift. Yeah? And by appreciating their kindness to you.

Or like a wedding, few of us were at a wedding yesterday. There there's this kind of serious whole life commitment. They're making big promises to each other, but it's all in the context of love. Love is at the center of it. And so it is here.

As we see Jesus, who is often called the bridegroom, or as we see the gift of Jesus Christ in the gospel wrapped up in god's kindness and love, we take hold of it, we enjoy him, and that is what worship really looks like. Thank you for your mercy. I'm gonna enjoy it, and I'm gonna live for it, and I'm so grateful that you've given you've given it to me. 2 motivations, greatness, of God, the mercy of Jesus. But under that last point, there's just 1 more thing we can say.

And as we've been thinking a bit about translation this morning and how to use different words, There's an interesting thing that we can learn from some of the other translations of Romans 12 verse 1. Have a look at, what, another version here and let's see if you notice the difference. I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. And that's really interesting, isn't it? I appeal to you by the mercy's of god.

In other words, the mercy of god doesn't just inspire us to live for him. It is the energy for that life. We live it by the mercy of god. Think of it this way. Let's have this, next picture up.

When you pull up your car, that's my car, by the way, when you pull up your car to a petrol pump, okay, at the Shell garage or BP or wherever you normally go if you're loyal to 1, then, you pull your car up by the by the petrol pump there. You don't just leave the car there hoping it will be in inspired by the idea of getting some petrol in the tank. Yeah? You know that inspiration is not gonna work. It needs to be full of the energy and the fuel so that you might get a few more miles out of it.

Yeah? And that is the point here as we reflect on the kindness of Jesus Christ It doesn't just say be inspired, go and live for him now. It it actually gives us the energy and the passion to live the way he calls us to live. So coming to church and hearing the gospel is like having a fresh set of fully charged batteries placed in you so that you can have grace power and grace juice to live for the rest of the week. Okay?

Let's have that picture up. To live for Jesus, I think, Without without that regular boost of grace is useless. We are gonna run out of juice. We are gonna start to trust in ourselves and the world will start to shape how we live. But if we live by, each day, by and in light of and because of, the mercies of God, we can go for it with his help.

So I think we can be very thankful this morning. It's been so it's good it's good for us, isn't it? To spend some time pulling apart this verse thinking deeply about each word and why it was chosen, but now we must pray that it would actually transform our minds so that together as brothers and sisters, we might live this life to which god has called us. Let's bow our heads and pray. Maybe just take a moment of quiet, perhaps something struck you particularly about that verse that you just wanna you wish you wanna say thank you for.

You wanna say thank you for the mercy of god and pray that it would be your energy, for the life ahead. Heavenly father, we do thank you that from you and through you and for you are all things and to you belongs the glory now and forever and ever. We thank you for the mercy that you have shown us in the lord Jesus Christ. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, we thank you that through his precious blood shed on the cross, He has made us right with you. Thank you that right now Jesus is not still dead, that he is alive, and he is well, and he holds out the gift of life to all who will turn to him.

We pray that your kindness to us and the greatness of your character would give us the energy that we need to live for you. We pray that you would help us not to be halfhearted people. But we pray that we would give our whole lives the way that we think, the way that we speak, the attitudes that we have the way that we feel, the way that we look at life, everything that we are. We pray that it would be pleasing to you, that we would worship you and enjoy you and give ourselves to you. And lord, we ask that your mercy and greatness would be the inspiration and the fuel for that, and we ask it all in Jesus' name.

Oh, man.