Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Do You Have Peace With God? | Romans
Ever been jolted awake by a sudden, inexplicable noise and felt a wave of alarm wash over you? Pastor Celeste recounts a vivid memory from Alexandria, Egypt, where a loud boom on a quiet morning led her to reflect on the profound peace she found in her relationship with God amidst life's chaos. Join us as she poses a thought-provoking question that encourages a deep introspection: do you have peace with God? Pastor Celeste warmly invites you to understand the mission of loving God, making disciples, and reaching the world through the lens of her personal experiences and biblical teachings.
Discover the beauty of divine friendship and its transformative power as we explore the concepts of peace, grace, and hope in our relationship with God. Inspired by figures like Abraham and Jesus' disciples, Pastor Celeste delves into the enduring peace and continual grace that comes from standing in God’s presence. Imagine having the unwavering support of a loving parent—this relationship with God empowers us to persevere through life’s challenges much like an Olympic athlete determined to finish the race. The insights shared highlight the intimate and supportive nature of this divine connection, offering listeners a deeper understanding of their own spiritual journey.
Reflect on the unyielding power of God’s love and the hope it instills, even in the face of adversity. Pastor Celeste shares her high school struggles and the resilience built through faith, likening the decision to follow Jesus to the liberating feeling of being debt-free. She invites listeners ready to embrace this transformative journey to confess and believe, offering a communal prayer of gratitude and blessing for all. The episode wraps up with a call for continued spiritual growth, inviting everyone to experience God’s boundless grace, peace, and love.
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Good morning. So it was 2018. I was living in Alexandria, egypt, with my family and we were pastoring an international church and we lived in a really high building. We were on the 12th floor and it was a Saturday morning and I remember I was in the kitchen making breakfast. If you've ever been to Egypt, you will know that they are a night culture and so on Saturday morning it's very quiet and the window outlooking my kitchen you can see a lot of the city, sky rises everywhere. It was really calm and quiet outside and as I was preparing breakfast, I suddenly heard this really loud boom and I knew that it was a sound that I had not heard before. I knew that that sound was not somebody dropping something from the 12th floor, but I knew it was something different and I immediately walked into the living room kind of quickly and I saw Jay Our kids were in their rooms and I said did you hear that? And he said yeah, I did. And I said did you hear that? And he said yeah, I did. I said what was it? He said I think it's a bomb and, just like you feel right now, I had a lot of emotions going through my body. I was up in the 12th floor. I didn't know where it was. I had a lot of things that I was thinking about, my mind was going crazy, but in that very moment, one thing was for sure, and that is that I had such a peace with God that, no matter what was happening outside of that window, I knew that my relationship with God was good and I was at peace with that. And so this morning, I want to ask you that same question Do you have peace with God If we haven't had the chance to meet?
Speaker 1:My name is Celeste Jay, and I pastor this church, and it is a privilege to lead people closer to Jesus. It's a privilege to help you on your journey and to let you find that very reason you were created, and so we're glad that you're here with us today. Maybe you came because you watched somebody get baptized, maybe you were invited by a friend, but you're not here by accident. You're here for a reason, and so we're grateful that you have joined us today. One of the things that we love about this church is we strive to be more like Jesus. How many of you know, that's not easy. Maybe even today, getting here, you messed up, and that's okay, because every day we just strive to be more like him. What we learn at this church is that we love God, we make disciples and we reach the world. We've just finished a season of life groups, and so we're taking a break for a little while. But I do want to encourage you, when we start back up, that you join a group and you invest some time into drawing into community and really learning more about God.
Speaker 1:So we're in this series right now on Romans, and I have been challenged over the last few weeks. Any of you have been challenged. You've kind of seen the chapters just a little bit differently as people have presented them to you. Well, today we get to jump in to Romans 5. And we're going to start in verse 1, and it says this Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you have peace with God?
Speaker 1:Last week, pastor Jay spoke out of chapter 4, and we learned about what it is to be justified by faith. So what it means in layman's terms is if you're a sinner and you come to Jesus and you ask for him to forgive you of all the things that you have done and you accept him as your Lord and Savior, you have been justified by faith. That's what it means. There's no underlining comments at the bottom, there's no secret code. You got to know. It's that simple. You just get to come to Jesus, acknowledge him as your Lord, and you are justified by faith. You become a new creature. It says in Romans 4.13,. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. So you have faith in Jesus, you are justified. So we're going to start in chapter 5 today and we're going to look at what Paul begins to tell Rome and all the Romans about what is next. And one thing I love about chapter 5 is that now that you've come to that place of knowing Jesus, now you get to hear what happens after that. In fact, we hear from Martin Luther himself. He says this in the whole Bible. There is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text. So it says this in Romans 5, 1 and 2,. Therefore, since we've been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Speaker 1:So many, many years ago there was a family that was migrating from Europe to the United States and the only way they really could get here was by ship. It was an old ship so they had saved a lot of money. They were going to come and be in America and so they worked really hard. They earned a lot of money. They bought tickets to come. It was about a three-week journey at the time so they got everything ready and they knew during those three weeks they were going to need to eat. So they packed a bunch of cheese and crackers. How many of you have lived off cheese and crackers at some point in your life? Don't be shy. And so that's what they did. They packed a bunch, bunch and they boarded onto the ship.
Speaker 1:So every day, day after day is going by and they hear a lot of people having fun, a lot of people are rejoicing, they're eating, they're enjoying their time on the ship, they're eating at these buffets, they're going to restaurants, and this family would just go quietly into their room, take their cheese and crackers and just eat little by little. On the very last night of that three-week journey. The husband decides you know what. We are going to be in America tomorrow. Let's celebrate. We've worked really hard to get here, so we're going to go eat at the restaurant. So he took his family and they went to have dinner at the restaurant and when it was over he asked the waiter, can I please have my check? And the waiter looked at him and said there's no check. Everything's included in the price of your ticket on the boat. Well, you laugh.
Speaker 1:But how many of you sitting here today have been in that situation where you are following after Jesus but you have no idea what benefits you have? You've been following Jesus, maybe just for a little bit, or maybe for a long time, and what we're going to dive into today is chapter 5, where Paul begins to explain to Christians listen, if you've accepted Jesus as your Lord, there's a lot of benefits that come with that, and we're going to begin to dive into them today. Are you aware of what access you have? Number one the first thing you have is peace with God. That right there is worth everything. There are people all over your neighborhood, your work, your state, your country, the world, looking for peace. They can't sleep at night. They are asking questions. They're reading self-help books. They're going to people for information. They need help and they don't know what to do. They're looking for information. They need help and they don't know what to do. They're looking for peace.
Speaker 1:There is something about peace with God that changes everything and, as a believer, you have this peace with the living God. It says therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, jesus Christ. It means this that your debt has been paid. That's something to rejoice about. Your debt has been paid. God's justice towards us is eternally satisfied. The battle between God and ourself is finished. The battle between God and ourself is finished. So if you feel like there's something between you and God, it's because you're thinking that there isn't anything. Once you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and you decide to follow him, every day, that is gone. You are a new creature. That peace can only come through Jesus Christ. It says in Ephesians 2.14, creature. That peace can only come through Jesus Christ. It says in Ephesians 2 14, for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
Speaker 1:You see, some of us walk around like we're still bound and it makes me sad because I'll see Christians and they should be free, and they're walking around going. Oh, woe is me. Anybody ever seen Winnie the Pooh? Eeyore, drives me crazy, drives me crazy. But I see it in the church many times where people are just woe is me. If you only knew what I'm going through. You're free, you're free. You have peace with God.
Speaker 1:When you come into the church, you should enter with that understanding and that knowledge that you are free, you're free. Nothing has a hold of you because you are at peace with God. You, because you are at peace with God, justification took that sin away and it made a way for peace. The guilt is gone. The person you knew five years ago it's not the same as the person today. Scripture says that when he forgives you, he takes your sin and he throws it as far as the east is from the west. But sometimes we go and pick it up again and we keep bringing it and we're like, oh, woe is me. I keep, I have this thing. He's like you don't have anything, I don't even know what you're talking about, because it's gone. That is peace with God. In fact, when you're at peace with God.
Speaker 1:You're a friend of God, you have a friendship with him. It says in James 2, 23,. And the scripture was fulfilled. That says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God. You're not an acquaintance, you don't know God through somebody else, but you yourself have a friendship with God.
Speaker 1:There was times in my life when I struggled with that concept. How can we have a friendship with God? He is the creator of all things, and here I am, just me. How can I have the opportunity to just go in and talk with God whenever I want? And then I began to remember his disciples. And when he was here, walking on the earth, he had men and women surrounding him and he would teach them everything he knew. He would pour into them, he would live life with them. He was a friend with them. And in John 15, 15, it says no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you how many of you love to have friends. Well, how amazing it is to be a friend of God. Think of it like this God is either your friend or he's your enemy. You have a friendship with God. He also maintains our peace. So we're at peace with God. We've made Jesus our Lord, and so now God is our peacemaker.
Speaker 1:When we lived overseas, every single day, we would pray that God would bring us peacemakers. He would bring us people in the community who are peacemakers. That would give us an inroad into that culture. Man, we needed a peacemaker. How many of you would prefer a peacemaker than a drama creator? Let's be real. You already are thinking of a friend who creates a lot of drama in your life. How about we push them that way and we bring the peacemakers our way? Yes, peacemakers are amazing. They just bring such a different atmosphere into the room. It changes everything and it says that God is our peacemaker.
Speaker 1:We may not have peace in any other area of our life, but we have peace with God. In fact, scripture says that it does not guarantee you will have peace with the world, so you can already throw that out the window. There will be no peace in this earth, but there will be peace with God and as long as you are serving him, that peace will be there for you. It also says that he maintains our peace. Colossians 1.20 says and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross. You see, the peace of God is not a one-time feeling, but it's day after day after day after day that peace with God is there, and I am so grateful for the peace of God. Do you have peace with God?
Speaker 1:Another area that you have access to is grace. It says in Romans 5, 2,. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand. What is grace? Grace is God's undeserved favor towards us. It's undeserved. You cannot earn it, you cannot do enough good works to get it. He just gives it. It's grace, it's the grace of the Lord. It's something that he gives us freely. We receive grace in salvation when we make that decision to follow Jesus. And grace is extended to us day after day. So today, when you woke up, you didn't deserve it. Maybe you had an attitude with your spouse, maybe you were frustrated about something, but guess what? You got it. You got that grace. It was extended to you. Grace is continually given to us. It says in verse two, this grace in which we stand. If you're an English major at all, you know that this is present tense. It means the grace for today, a reassurance that God's favor is upon you. You still can't earn it, but he gives it to you freely.
Speaker 1:What happens when we're able to stand in God's presence? Well, many things. When you stand in God's presence, well many things. When you stand in God's presence, it means this that you are pressing forward. I don't know about you, but there's nothing left back there for me to go back to Nothing. I don't want to go back to 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago. Man, there's some decisions I would have made different. How many of you hear me on that? So there's nothing to look back to. But you know, what I can do is stand and press forward, and I can change what I'm about to do and keep moving with him. Another thing it does when you stand in his presence is you persevere Probably why we love the Olympics so much.
Speaker 1:Right, some of my favorite moments at the Olympics are when an athlete falls down and they're injured and they get back up and they're like I'm finishing, I'm finishing. How many of you love those moments? I can remember certain people in the Olympics over the past 30 years who they? I will never forget them because when they were cramping or hurt, they fought their whole life for that moment and they're like nobody's taking me out of this race, this cramp is not taking me out, and they get up and they finish hobbling the whole way. They persevere.
Speaker 1:It also means we're upheld by the power of God. You are sitting in here today and I don't want you to ever underestimate the power of God. Your human mind cannot comprehend the power of God and that's okay. But do know this he is upholding you as you follow him and we get to stand in his presence because we're his. My kids get to come to me whenever they want. They don't have to go anywhere else. They don't have to go ask somebody if they could talk to their mom and dad. They just get to come. If we're in the room with the door locked, they still come. That's a joke. They do, they do, they try, they try to get in.
Speaker 1:But it's just being in the presence of God. You have access to him. Standing in grace means I have nothing to prove. Jesus loves me just the way I am. I'm worthy of God's love. Just for being made in his image, I have access to enter the throne of God. No one enters for me. I have the ability to talk to God personally, one-on-one.
Speaker 1:Many religions around the world will tell you that you have no access to the higher being in their religion, and it's something that I've seen all over the world, where people crave. They crave being able to have a relationship with the person that they put at the top of that triangle. And here we are as believers in Jesus, made in his image, and we get to just walk boldly into the throne. Because when Jesus died on that cross for us, that veil was torn and he said come on in, and so I don't have to go to a temple, I don't have to go to a priest, I don't have to go to anyone. Give them my message and have them go for me, and they'll be like there's some brunette girl back there. She wanted me to tell you. It's none of that. I just get to come right in and talk to God myself. My debt has been settled with God. Do you have peace with God?
Speaker 1:Another area that we have access to is the hope of God. A hope equals a feeling of trust. It says in verse two we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. There are a lot of things today that I do not have hope in. One of them is a four-way intersection with the red, yellow and green light. So if you are behind me and I am the first at the intersection with the red light, I'm not going first when it turns green. I'm going to tell you that right now I'm going to let the two lanes on the side of me go. I'll wait and then I'll go. Why I don't have a lot of trust in those intersections anymore. But what I do have trust in is him. I have a lot of trust in him that he's going to do what he said he would do. In fact, one day he says that we're going to see him face to face. Can you imagine what that day will be like?
Speaker 1:Since we have access by faith into the grace of God now, we can hope for the glory of God hereafter, that he goes to prepare a place for you. His word is true. Psalm 84, 11 says for the Lord. God is a sun and a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk in his integrity and walk uprightly. You get to rejoice now, even though you're going through hard things, even though you're going through seasons that you wish you never had to go through, you have hope and trust in the living God, that he is here for you. Do you have peace with God? It says in Romans 5, starting in verse 3,. Not only that I mean, those are good enough, I'll take those. But he says not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. You might read those three scriptures and just start to think oh my goodness, what did I sign up for? But I want to share just a little snippet of my life in those scriptures.
Speaker 1:When I was in high school, I went to a high school where there wasn't a lot of Christians. It was like 2,400 students at the time in my high school and there was just a handful of Christians, and I remember they always would invite us places. You want to go to a keg party? I mean, we lived in the desert. We're in Casa Grande, there's not a lot to do, let's just be real. So it was a lot of keg parties in the desert, a lot of things that were just probably shouldn't have been there doing any of it. So we always said no, me and my three friends. We always said no, and they would look at us like we're really strange, like what are these girls doing? They're not even going to hang out or do any of the fun stuff with us. And so we found out that there was a missions trip taking place and we signed up. Well, then we got to raise money and my parents were not in a position where they could help us at all help me at all. So we decided we're going to go to a Costco or a Sam's Club In fact, back then I think it was called Price Club I think that's how old I am and we would buy these boxes of candy bars and we put them in a Ziploc bag and we take them to school and sell them.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean teenagers sugar, I mean it was a win-win. So we would take these bags and every day we would sell these candies and it was money for our missions trip. And people would always say, what are you selling them for? I'd say, oh, we're going to go on a missions trip, and they would. Some would be like, oh, that's so ridiculous, what are you going to do over there? This is a vacation, and we would sell them. And I don't encourage it now. So, please, I don't think administration lets you bring candy for sale, so I'm not encouraging this. But back then we could and we would sell so much candy that we'd have to go home at lunch and refill our bags and bring them back. And we just sold a lot of candy.
Speaker 1:And we'd tell people all the time like we're doing it for missions, we're doing it for missions, we're going to tell people about the love of Jesus, and so we would sell all this candy. And when I start to read this scripture, I see this it says rejoice in our suffering man. It's not easy to stand up for Jesus. It's not easy. You might be the only one at your job right now that is a Christ follower. That's okay. You live boldly, you live unashamed.
Speaker 1:When I was going through high school, and we would stand up for what was right, even when everybody else was going the opposite direction. It wasn't easy, but we kept going on mission trips. We kept coming back. We kept telling people what we did over the summer, even if they didn't want to hear it, we would tell them. But we went through seasons of suffering and in missions we did without luxuries of life. I went on trips for longer lengths of time. We didn't have cell phones. I know that's shocking, we didn't have a cell phone. So it was one of those like trusting in God that you're going to make it to the location and not be able to send word back to your parents Because by the time you come home then the letter would come afterwards. Right, I made it. Oh, we're already home. So it was just this season of following after Jesus.
Speaker 1:Then the scripture says this rejoice in our suffering, and then suffering produces endurance. Keep going even when it doesn't feel good. Stay on course, stay in the race, keep serving Jesus. Even when things come your way, it's okay. Keep following after him. And then it says endurance produces character. I am who I am today because I chose to serve other people. That's it, and I am not perfect. I am definitely trying to be more like Jesus every day. You can ask my husband, you can ask my kids. You can ask my kids I'm sorry when I yell at you. I am not anywhere near trying to arrive, I'm just a work in progress. In fact, I think that should be our next cornerstone shirt work in progress, because that's what we are. We are constantly working to be more like him, and it produces a character in us that people see, and then that character produces hope.
Speaker 1:There's one thing I've learned in all my life, and that is this the same God that you serve today is the same God all over the world today. He is no respecter of persons. The Bible is very clear on that. So you are not favored over anybody else. We're all God's children, and what he is doing here, he is doing in other places, because God's love is great.
Speaker 1:This passage in verses 3 through 5 highlights another benefit, and that is this in verse 5, god's love. It says God's love has been poured into our hearts. Aren't you glad that he doesn't give it to you in increments every day? Aren't you glad he's not sprinkled over you when you wake up in the morning, but it says that God's love is poured out over you. So in my mind I visualize a water park because we're in Phoenix, and those water parks that have those massive buckets at the top that just fill with water and you're smiling already because you want to be there right now and you stand under it and that bucket when that bell rings and that bucket falls and all the water just comes pouring out over you. That is God's love for you. Everybody gets. It is God's love for you, everybody gets it. It doesn't come in sample size, it doesn't come in increments, it comes all poured out. That's the good father In God's love.
Speaker 1:It says we need not be ashamed. It says and hope does not put us to shame. That means this when you trust Jesus, don't ever feel ashamed that you've put your trust in him. I don't know how people make it in this life without him. I have seen many devastations. I have seen people go through crisis that I would not wish upon anyone, and I don't know how they make it without Jesus. So don't ever be ashamed of God's love in your life. I'm not ashamed to call out to him and I'm also not ashamed if I had to suffer in his name. Verse 5-8 says this but God shows his love for us in that we were still sinners.
Speaker 1:Christ died for us when we were in Alexandria. We were driving in a vehicle and we had our three kids in the car and I won't tell you which one it is but as we were driving, one of my kids was looking out the window. It was a really beautiful moment. We were having fun laughing about something, and that child, out of nowhere, looking at the city, said I just want to let you guys know that I love you, but I would never die for you. And she and I looked at each other like well, that's settled, they're out of the will, they're done. And it was such a precious moment that our kids, who love us, we give them many things and we have fun with them and we enjoy life with them that it's still a big decision to have to lay down your life for someone, even those people you truly love.
Speaker 1:It's not easy. God's love is amazing and that scripture says he died while we were still sinners. We were a mess, we're still a mess, we're just a grace-filled mess. And so you have God, who loves you so much, and he pours out his love upon you that he sent his son and he said hey, listen, they're all a mess. They don't even know what they need right now, but they cannot pay the price to be in my presence. So I'm going to send Jesus, my only son, to die on your behalf. He gave his life for those that were living their own way. He died for people who think they can make it on their own. He died for people who others would consider not worthy of their time. He died for everyone. He died for you. God's love for you is deep and God's love is for everyone. Do you have peace with God?
Speaker 1:I'm going to invite the worship team to come and join me and I want to bring you back to remembrance of the story I told you at the beginning of the message about my time in Alex when I heard that bomb go off. Man, when you're in your human mindset, you start to think a lot. We got on social media, on different, different platforms, because news spreads very quickly in Egypt and all of a sudden we found out that that bomb was about one and a half miles from our front door of our apartment building, which isn't far, and we started hearing sirens and we started hearing a lot of things, sirens, and we started hearing a lot of things. And it was in that midst and that chaotic situation that I knew it doesn't matter what happens. I have such a peace with God. I know where I'm going. If anything happened to me, I'm going to be standing face to face with him.
Speaker 1:Maybe you're here today. Maybe you've never had that opportunity to ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. It's nothing crazy. You're not marked with a tattoo on your body, nothing like that. All it is is you coming and saying I recognize that there's a creator who's created me.
Speaker 1:Bible says I was even made in his image and he has such a love for me that he paid a debt I could not pay. I don't know about you, but it's amazing when you're debt-free. It's amazing when you get your paycheck and you don't owe anybody anything. Your car's paid for, your loans are paid for, your house is paid for. What a feeling and that's what it's like in your spiritual life is that if you, when you come to the Lord, you get to trade all of the junk of your life, you just get to give it to him and he gives you of your life. You just get to give it to him and he gives you a new life and he takes all of it from you and you don't have to carry it anymore. It seems like a very uneven trade, but it's to your benefit because he loves you.
Speaker 1:And so, as you stand with me, I want to read a scripture for you out of Romans 10, verses 9 and 10. It says because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. So maybe you've been coming here for a few months, maybe you just came today and is saved. So maybe you've been coming here for a few months, maybe you just came today. Maybe you've been in church for a while and you've never made the decision to ask Jesus into your heart. I want to give you that opportunity today. He loves you, he wants the best for you, he wants to trade in all the things of yesterday for newness of life, for peace with him, and so I'm going to ask everyone to close their eyes just for a moment of reverence.
Speaker 1:If you're in here today and you want to make that decision to follow Jesus I'm the only one looking around. I'm just going to pray with you. I'm not going to embarrass you or anything, but just slip your hand up, let me see, I'm going to pray with you. I'm not going to embarrass you or anything, but just slip your hand up, let me see, I'm going to pray with you. Amen, amen, amen. I'm going to ask everyone to repeat this prayer with me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you In Christ's name. Amen, amen. We rejoice with you. What a day, what a day.
Speaker 1:If you made that decision and if you're online and you made that decision, let us know. We want to put some material in your hands. We want to give you a Bible and I want to encourage you to find a Bible-believing church. If you live in the area, you are always welcome here. If you don't find a church near you that teaches the word of God, join them, get involved, find out everything you can about the Savior who loves you.
Speaker 1:Now I'm talking to all of you believers in here. I don't want you to be like the family on the ship who waits till the last night to find out what you have access to, but I want you to know that there are things here for you. Just for being a follower of Jesus, you have peace with God, you have continual grace, you have the hope of God and you have God's love being poured out over you. And so, as the worship team begins to play, I'm going to invite you to this altar. I'm going to invite you to dive in and to get more of Jesus. I don't ever want you to think of this place as, oh my gosh, if somebody sees me up there, I'm embarrassed. No, you want to be here. This is where you want to be.
Speaker 1:I always feel like the bucket pours out here first. I'm just, it's not, it's not really, but I feel like that. So I just want to pray with you. Father, I thank you for today. You are good, you are good and, lord, I pray that we are those that acknowledge your benefits, that, god, we are grateful for your grace. We are grateful for the peace that we have with you. We are grateful, lord, for your love that is poured out over us. And so, father, I pray right now that you would move in the lives of your people and that you would draw them closer to you in every way. In Jesus' name. This altar is open for you. Thank you for coming. We would encourage you to join us next week. We're going to be in Romans 6. And also pray for our kids. They are headed to kids camp tomorrow. Pray for our leaders that they have strength and energy and that God just pours out his love over our children.
Speaker 2:Let me pray this blessing over us today. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Father, you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you. Have a great week.