The name of the message is Thanksgiving
through Christ. Thanksgiving through Christ.
And we'll look at the verses 12 to 17. 17 will be the verse
we'll be looking at tonight. But again, I'd like to read the
context of the verse. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things put on charity, which is love, which is the bond
of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, To the witch also ye are called in one body,
and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing with grace
in your hearts to the Lord. And here's our text for tonight.
And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, given thanks to God and the Father by Him.
Thanksgiving through Christ. Thanksgiving through Christ.
Tonight we'll look at verse 17, chapter 3, but let's look quickly
back at what we looked at last week in verse 16 to ready us
for the study tonight in verse 14. In verse 16 we looked at
how the Word of Christ is the Old Testament and the New Testament.
It's the Scriptures which include the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. This entire book From Genesis
to Revelation is extremely precious to the believer. Because it points
us to and tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's not
just the letters in red that are Christ's words. He's the
author of this book, beloved. He's the author. This is His
word. God's word to us. To us. To us. And this book is beloved
by God's people. and we are to teach and admonish
one another in all wisdom, which is the Lord Jesus Christ alone,
because he is the source of all our wisdom, and he is the believer's
wisdom, along with our righteousness, and our sanctification, and our
redemption. We have nothing outside of Christ,
nothing but condemnation. But, oh, in Christ, in Christ
the believer is secure, And Christ the believer is forgiven, pardoned
of all their sins, justified before a holy and righteous God. And so we are to teach and admonish
one another in Christ. In Christ. Whatever we do at
this church, we are to do for God's glory, for Christ, for
the glory of Christ. And we are to be thankful doing
it. We are to give Him thanks and praise. Thanks and praise. God's people are thankful people.
We see that in the latter part of verse 16. They sing with grace
in their hearts because they're born again by the Holy Spirit
of God. They have a new song, a song which we never had at
one time, but now we do. Born again by the Holy Spirit
of God, and they have hearts which look, which look and which
cling to the Savior, to Christ in Him alone. And now we've been
studying Colossians, and we'll be going through a portion which
is bought forth before us that which is commonly referred to
as practical godliness. And practical godliness pertains
to things that accompany salvation, a lifestyle that harmonizes with
the believer's profession. We who believe have been regenerated
by the Holy Spirit of God. We have had the Spirit sent into
our hearts, into the hearts of God's chosen people. And that's
the miracle of the new birth. We're born again. And that's
a work of God. That's not a work of some decision.
No, no, it's a work of God. Salvations of the Lord from beginning
to end. And that's how our minds have
been enlightened by the power, by the sovereign power of the
Holy Spirit, who now dwells within us. And again, that's the new man,
the new creation. Now we have a new nature that
battles with this body of flesh all the time. Don't you long
to be sinless? Don't you long to? Oh, we do,
don't we? We do. We long for that time
when we're being glory with the Lord and we'll be absolutely
sinless. It'll be amazing. It'll be amazing. And as new creatures in Christ,
we're to put off the old man with his deeds, anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of our mouth. We're not to
lie one to another. And we're to put on the new man,
and that's all by God's regenerating power. Remember we looked at
that? We don't do that. It's God the Holy Spirit who
puts on the new man on us, just like the armor of God, beloved.
The armor of God is put on by God. It's put on us, and it's
all Christ. Every piece of that armor points
right to Christ and him alone. And it's God who puts the armor
on, and it doesn't get removed. It doesn't get removed, beloved.
My. So we put on the new man by God's
regenerating work in us, and it enables us to show mercy to
one another, kindness to one another, humbleness of mind.
It enables us to be long-suffering with one another, to have patience
with one another, to forgive one another. forgive one another.
And also to have a genuine love in our hearts for Christ Jesus
our Lord and his blood-bought children. We have a whole new
attitude about God's people, don't we? I know, I know, it's
amazing. And that's why we sing, it's
amazing grace. Because it's all the work of
God. So practical godliness accompanies salvation, so-called godly living,
without the spirit of Christ dwelling in us, it's nothing
but hypocrisy. It's nothing but hypocrisy without
the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. So in the middle of this
teaching on practical godliness, Paul, by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, admonishes every believer in our text to whatsoever you
do in word or deed, and that covers everything. Word or deed,
that covers everything. There's nothing left out. Do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, or Lord Jesus, given
thanks to God and the Father by him, by him. Every believer
desires to do the Lord's will. We desire to do the Lord's will.
And we desire to do what this word says, don't we? We desire
that. There was a time when we didn't,
when I didn't even want to read the Bible. Now it's precious. Now I desire to do what God tells
me to do in the Scriptures. Not what some man tells me to
do, but what the Word of God tells me to do. And in our lives we face many
situations, don't we? Many situations. And we make
decisions. And this wonderful book will teach us and show us
by example what the Lord would have us to do. And like the faithful
father that God is, He never ever And I mean, he never ever
leaves his children with that clear instruction, does he? Because
this word, this word is a lamp unto our feet. And it's a light
unto our path. Right. In Proverbs, he also says
this, and all thy ways acknowledge him. And he shall direct thy
paths. He shall direct thy paths. The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, ordered by the Lord. Brother Henry Mahan brings forth
in making decisions in our lives, what we as God's people should
ask ourselves before moving forward. Like, say, a big decision like
moving or something like that. How we should approach it from
a scriptural point of view. He says, first of all, we should
say, is it for God's glory? Is it for God's glory? Is what
am I about to do? or where I'm about to go in the
best interest of God's glory. Will God receive more glory in
this way or in another? Scripture declares this, whether
we eat or drink, do all for the glory of God. The second question
is this, is this for the good of the church? Is this for the
good of the church? How is this decision going to
affect the church of which I am a member and vitally joined to?
Don't forget, we're joined together. Our hearts are knit together
in love, aren't they? They're knit together in love. And no
believer is independent. We're a member of the body. I'm
a member of the body of Christ with you, this local ecclesia,
this local called out assembly. It's not the building. No, it's
the people. It's the people. We're called
out assembly. We're a called out assembly, and everything
we do affects the church. We need to guard against anything
which may bring a reproach upon our God and his church, and we
need to seek ways to serve the body and not ourselves. Not ourselves. Scripture declares this, that
there should be no schism in the body, but that the members
should have the same care one for another. We're to esteem
each other better than ourselves. Better than ourselves. Our old way of living, it was
look out for number one, wasn't it? It's not like that in the
body of Christ, no. No, we seek God's glory. We seek
his glory. And then number three is, how
is this going to affect my family's spiritual good? If I have a husband,
a wife, or a daughter, everything I do, every decision I make affects
them in some way. I must lay aside my personal
desires, Henry says, in favor of them. I must do what is best
for their spiritual good. And in Ephesians 5.25, as Christ
loved the church, right? The very last consideration,
and perhaps no consideration at all, is my own personal desires
or happiness. Henry closes with this. Scripture
declares, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ.
Follow Christ. So with those thoughts in mind,
let's take another look at Colossians 3, verse 17. And whatsoever you
do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. So the
believer in Christ is here in our text admonished that in all
things we are to do them to the glory, giving thanks to God and
the Father in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us ponder
what happened at Colossus. The false teachers had crept
in. They crept in, beloved. And they were teaching that there
was a barrier between God and His people. They were teaching
that there were elemental spirits, which is angels, that stood in
the way of God's people and God. So they were not teaching one
mediator, they were teaching multiple mediators between God
and man. And only they had the key to
unlock the way for you to be able to talk to God through their
teachings. Now think of it this way. Paul is attacking that error
right here before us. Right here before us in this
verse, he is showing the Colossian believers that they are to do
all things. And all means all things. They
are to do whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he's attacking the air and
showing the caution believers that they are to do all things
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, right before us,
we see Paul stressing again the supremacy of Christ, the supremacy
of Christ. He is the image of the invisible
God beloved. He's the one who bought creation
about. He's the one who spoke this whole world into existence.
He's the one who holds it all together. He's supreme over creation. He's supreme over things visible
and invisible. He's preeminent in everything. And that together, with all this,
He is the head of the body of the church. There is no mediator
except Christ between God and man. So He's attacking, right
here in this verse of it, meanwhile admonishing the believers in
Colossians, He's actually attacking, too, at the same time, the error
of having to have mediators between God and the believers when Scripture
declares there's only one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all. He is the one
who has made peace for us by his precious blood, which was
shed on Calvary's cross. He is the only mediator. And
Paul here brings forth the greatness of Christ in his saving work
for his people. And he does that all through
this epistle, doesn't he? All through this epistle so far
we've seen Paul just exalting the supremacy of Christ and the
sufficiency of Christ. The fact that he tells us we're
complete in him. The fact that he tells us Christ
is our all in all. We don't need anything else or
anyone else but Christ in him alone. And he is everything we
need. Because there is nothing that
we can bring to God before him by our own works and our own
merits that God will accept. He only accepts that which Christ
has done. In Him alone. And it's only in
Christ that we're accepted in the Beloved. It's through Christ
in Him alone. So He brings forth the greatness
of Christ in His saving work. Destroying the false claims that
other powers, the other mediators that the Gnostics are bringing
in. Destroying the false claims that the other powers involved
in bringing people to God or that our works are notorious
before God Which the false teachers even today like to yoke people
with? You got to do this to be saying
you got to be baptized to be saved You got to go to this certain
church to be said They just yoke people just yoke them yoke them
with works of You got to follow the law, I can't. Christ did
it for me. And on him I hang my eternal
soul. Is it so with you? Oh, what a
savior we have. So Paul shows the utter foolishness
works-based religion brings forth in believing that works will
bring people to God. Once again, he brings forth the
supremacy. and the all-sufficiency of Christ
in Him alone, saying, giving thanks to God and the Father
by Him. By Him. Exclusiveness. Calvin
brings forth this wonderful truth on this comment, on this verse. He says, we are to be wholly
governed by the authority of Christ and may have an eye to
His glory as the mark. It is also to be observed that
he teaches that we must give thanks to the Father through
Christ as we obtain through Him every good thing that God confers
upon us." Again, Ephesians chapter 1 says all spiritual blessings
are in Christ and Him alone. They're nowhere else. They're
nowhere else. So Paul brings forth here the
exclusiveness of Christ and Him alone. in our salvation, and
also the exclusiveness of Christ in Him alone in our access to
the Father. In our access to the Father,
as we are to do all things for His glory, giving thanks to God
in and through Christ alone. Look at our text again. And whatsoever
you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Let us
take note We are to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here before us, beloved, is the
key to this verse. The key to this verse. We do
all things in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Here is a common
rule for all our actions in worship. A common rule for all our actions
in daily life. Common rule for all our actions
in teaching, in preaching. We are to do all things in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. With thanksgiving. With thanksgiving. Think of this. Our interest in Christ is a result
of the Father choosing us in Christ before the foundation
of the world, of the Holy Spirit regenerating us, and of the fact
that Christ died for us upon Calvary's cross. Our position
in Christ and our acceptance in Christ all comes to the believer
from the Father, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. So whether
in preaching, whether in singing, whether in praying, whether in
teaching, whether in conversation with with other believers, let
us do what we do in the name of Christ and for his glory. Whether in home, whether on the
job or in any business, social contacts we have, we are not
left at liberty to do as we please, but we are to aim at his glory
and his will. This will bring God's blessings.
This will bring unity of heart and purpose. This will drive
out divisions and strife amongst the brethren. If we do all, not
for selfish purposes, but for Christ's sake. We have one aim
here, don't we? To preach Christ and be crucified. To have the gospel go forth from
this place. Because we know that our salvation
hinges upon Christ and Him alone. We have no other hope outside
of Christ. So where we are here to glorify
God and to exalt Christ. Oh, and our salvation comes in
and through the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. Now, this is a common theme.
The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is a common theme. Let's look
at a few verses here. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
5.20 and put your finger in Acts chapter 4. And we'll go to Hebrews
10 and 1 John 5. I'll give you all those addresses
again. Ephesians 5.20, Acts 4.12, Hebrews chapter 10, and 1 John
5. Ephesians 5 20 given thanks always
for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ We also know that their salvation
in no other name but the Lord Jesus Christ because Acts chapter
4 verse 12 Acts chapter 4 verse 12 says this Neither is there salvation in
any other, that being Christ. For there is none other name
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. That's
pretty exclusive. None other name. There goes Mohammed,
there goes Buddha, there goes Mary, There goes all the false
gods that people bow down and worship. There they go. They're gone. They've been proven
to be false refuges of lies that people cling to. Because Scripture
plainly declares, neither is there salvation in any other.
There is only salvation in Christ and Him alone. For there is none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. My, what a Savior! It is in the name of Jesus Christ
that one day all will confess Him as Lord and bow their knee
to the glory of God the Father. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
10. And it is through the name of Jesus and Him alone that we
have access to the Father. We have no access to the Father
but in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ is our Savior. Christ is our Mediator. Christ
is our Redeemer. And it's in him we call boldly
on God, only in Christ, only in Christ. Hebrews 10 verses
19 to 20. Heaven, therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. It's only
through Christ. By a new and living way, which
he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his
flesh. And in turn, if you would, the
first John 513. It is believing on Christ Jesus
and Him alone that we have eternal life. My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We don't trust a thing of ourselves,
do we? We used to when we were lost. Sink or swim, we trust in Him,
right? Christ in Him alone. Look at
this marvelous verse in 1 John 5, 13. These things have I written
unto you. He's writing to believers. He's
writing to God's people that believe on the name of the Son
of God. That's Jesus Christ. That ye
may know that ye have eternal life. Folks say, well, how do
you know you have eternal life? Because Christ said so. Because
God said so. and eternal life is in Christ
Jesus and Him alone and He is my only hope and He is my only
trust. That ye may know that ye have
eternal life and that ye may believe. You must believe. The
unwilling are made willing. The unbelieving are granted faith
to believe. Oh, what a gift faith is from
God. that ye may believe, on whom?
On the name of the Son of God. Neither is there salvation in
any other. There is none other than Christ
Jesus, in Him alone, whereby we must be saved. The things that are written concerning
salvation in Christ are not only written to encourage
sinners to believe on Christ and to come to Him, that they
might be saved, but they are written to confirm and to give
confidence and to give assurance to those who already believe
in Christ. We who believe on Christ, we
grow in the knowledge and truth of Christ as we hear the gospel
preached. And not only does God use it
to save sinners, but also to have his people grow in the grace
and knowledge and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it marvelous? Isn't it marvelous? By having
the person and work and office and power of Christ explained
to us again and again, our faith is confirmed and our faith is
increased. What a mighty Savior we are. The one who keeps my soul is
the one who has all power. So you do it. It just makes us
rejoice. Oh, my. And he keeps his people.
He keeps us and he takes us home. He has all the power. He has
all let man say what they want and. My God has all power. all authority. He is the one who keeps the eternal
souls of his people. He purchased us. He purchased
us. I think he's going to lose those
who he purchased. Never, never, never, never. So eternal life is to be found
nowhere but in Christ. And in order that those who are
already in Christ might have assurance and that we might grow
in our faith in Christ Jesus the preacher is to magnify over
again and again and again the grace of Christ the all-sufficiency
of Christ and the supremacy of Christ again and again we just want to hear about okay
we just want to hear about So let us consider our text and
remember, again, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, given thanks to God and
the Father by Him. Through Him. Also ponder this,
that the Gnostic teachers were bringing forth other mediators.
Paul once again focuses the Colossian believers on Christ and Him alone. On Christ and Him alone. And
again he hammers home, again, that we have no access to the
Father, but in and through Christ in Him alone, giving thanks to
God in the Father by Him. By Him. It's a constant theme
of Paul, through all his epistles, pointing the believers to Christ,
looking away from ourselves and looking to Christ in Him alone. Religion does the opposite. They
tell you to look to yourself. I look at myself, all I see is
sin. I'm in a heap of trouble. I look to Christ, I see all my
sins forgiven, pardoned, eternal life in Him, justified before
God in Him. Religion's a sham, works-based
religion. Oh, but what we have in Christ
Jesus our Lord is eternal. Christ alone is Lord and sovereign.
He's Lord and sovereign overall. And he has let us let us just
let this sink into our souls. He has accomplished salvation
for his people. It's accomplished. He's accomplished
salvation for his people in his life. He lived the life we could
never live. In his death, he paid for us
everything God demanded. God satisfied. It's finished. And in His resurrection, He's
raised for our justification. We don't need anything else but
Christ. Oh my, what a great God we have. God's people love the Word of
God. And His Word dwells in us richly. It is His name that we seek to
exalt. We seek to exalt Christ's name
here. to have His name sound forward
from this place, that His gospel would be preached. And God's people, we want to
hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed every time
we meet together. We don't want to hear nothing
else. Nothing else. We don't gather together to try
to be seen by others. We come here to worship. Our
Lord and our King. This is why it is important to
be under the sound of the gospel. We are nourished and fed by the
preaching of the gospel. Beloved, it's sheep food. It's
sheep food. And we are not to forsake the
assembling of ourselves together. Hebrews says this, not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but
exhorting one another. And so much the more, as you
see the day approaching, We're not to forsake the assembling
of ourselves together, we're to gather together. Because we're
built up in edifying Christ as we hear the gospel preached,
we grow in the grace and knowledge and truth of our Savior. Genesis
51 says this, or Genesis 15 verse 1, I'm sorry, says this, After
these things the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. We who believe the grace of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord, we're not trying to earn our salvation.
We're not trying to earn rewards. Christ is our reward. Genesis 15, 1, I'll read it again.
After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in
a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham. I am thy shield. He's our protector. Turn the wrath of God away from
us. And thy exceeding great reward. Oh, what we have in Christ, beloved.
What we have in Him. Pardon for all our sins. Full
salvation. Justifying grace. So we serve
the Lord in the local body. We gather together as a local
body of believers because Christ has saved us. He's the one who
saved us. He's the one who saved us. He's
the one who purchased you, brother. Christ, that's why we come together,
because we want to hear about the one who's redeemed us, the
one who purchased us, the one who saved us from all our sins. We want to hear the gospel again
and again and again. We hunger and thirst after righteousness
now, after Christ, after Christ. We do not seek to draw attention
to ourselves and we esteem our brethren better than ourselves
and we seek to draw attention to Christ and who he is and what
he has done. He must receive the preeminence.
He must, he must. John said, he must increase and
I must decrease. John the Baptist, he must. And note in our text again, it
says, in whatsoever things you do in word or deed, do all in
the manner of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God
and the Father by him. Who is to give thanks? Let us
note that God's elect are to give thanks. We're to give thanks
to God. We're to give thanks to God for
the benefits which God has given us in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ alone. Who are we to be thankful to?
God the Father, the one who is the source of all our salvation. It is he who planned and purposed
the scheme of salvation. It is he who chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. It is he who sent his
son to die as our substitute. It is He who poured His wrath
and justice out upon Christ in our place. And we receive all spiritual
blessings in Christ from the Father through Christ. And there is nothing in us to
merit these spiritual blessings. There's nothing in us that we
would deserve these spiritual blessings. It all comes to us in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ alone. God's unmerited favor shown to
sinners in Christ. So we are to be thankful to God
the Father, who is the source again. He's the one who sends
the Holy Spirit into our hearts where we cry Abba Father. And who are we to give thanks
by to the Father? The Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is our salvation. He
alone is our mediator with God. It is through Christ and Him
alone that all spiritual blessings come to us. Again, with nothing in us to
merit these blessings. So we bow to the exalted Christ
of God, acknowledging Him and honoring Him as Lord of all.
Here are some things we give thanks. We give thanks for to
our Heavenly Father. Here are some things. We are
giving thanks. We give thanks to our Heavenly
Father for choosing us in Christ. before the world began. We give
thanks to our Heavenly Father for redeeming us by the perfect
redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. We give thanks to our Heavenly
Father for raising His Son from the grave and giving Him a name
which is above everything. We give thanks to our Heavenly
Father for sending the Spirit of His Son into our hearts to
take the things of Christ from the Scriptures and to reveal
them to us. We give thanks to our Heavenly Father for giving
us the only real reason for putting off the old man with his deeds
and putting on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after
the image of him that created us. I mean, it's all the work
of God. And we give thanks because we
know we could never do this on our own. There's none that seek
God. That means no one in their natural
state would ever seek God. There's none righteous. But scripture
declares that those who believe on Christ are made righteous
by the righteousness of God. So God, our Father, has put all
things under the feet of King Jesus. He's King. He's King. All power in heaven and earth
belongs to Jesus Christ, the God-man. He was God incarnate
in the flesh. And at the name of Jesus, every
knee will bow to his sovereign rule over all things in heaven,
things in earth, and things under the earth, in every tongue. is
one day going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. And let us close with these wonderful
truths for the believer. May this have us leaving this
place rejoicing. These wonderful truths for the
believer in Christ and Him alone. Christ Himself, the Word of God,
He who dwelt in eternity, left the glory He had from all eternity with the Father and come down
into this world to obtain salvation for poor sinners by the sacrifice
of Himself. Christ took upon Himself our
nature into union with Himself, God and man. And He was born as a man. God
incarnate in the flesh. And he did the will of God perfectly,
which we had all left undone. He was our substitute in his
life. He suffered on the cross. Brother
Newell, you prayed about that. All the horrid wrath of God,
which we ought to have suffered. which I was deserved. And he suffered on the cross
all the wrath of God, which ought to have been poured out upon
me and upon you who believe, dying in our place as our substitute. And he redeemed us from the curse
of a broken law. And we're the ones who broke
it. He redeemed us. He purchased us with His own
precious blood. He opened a fountain for cleansing
from sin and uncleanness, that the sinner who is double-dye
red with sin might be made whiter than snow. He died for our sins, the sinless
one, the perfect The spotless Lamb of God died for the sins
of His people. And He rose again for our justification,
proving that God was absolutely satisfied with the sacrifice
of Christ, the Lamb of God, in the place of His people. And
beloved, He ascended to God's right hand And he sat down. The work's done. He sat down
expecting his enemies to be made his footstool. And he sent the
Holy Spirit to regenerate us and to teach us the things concerning
himself. And it's all the work of God.
And He did this because He's loved us with an everlasting
love. And beloved, right now, right
this second, He sits at the right hand of the Father. Right now. Giving salvation to all who were
given to Him in eternity. Interceding for all who trust
Him. And ruling the universe. for the salvation of our souls
according to His will and purpose. Our God is God. He's in absolute control. And the God, the Father, will
not be praised or worshiped except through the Lord Jesus Christ,
our Lord, and our mediator with the Father. We trust in His merit
and favor with God. We trust in the work He did as
our substitute, in His life and in His death. And beloved, we
give praise to the Father and thanks to Him in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. And God's people say,
praise is mine. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
are so thankful that we can gather together tonight in the name
of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we give you thanks and
praise in and through him, knowing that the only access we have
with thee is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, we pray
that you might be glorified this week and magnified in our lives. And we thank you that you loved
us before we loved you. And we thank the Lord Jesus for
saving our souls. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's close.