The Good Samaritan

Today's Life Lessons: Texts: Luke 10: 30-37 

1.) The impact and outreach of our love for Christ and others are revealed in: 

*A sincere empathy and Kingdom compassion for the least, last, and lost 

*A Christ-centered attitude, approach, and service to the hopeless and helpless 

*A selfless heart for sacrificial and unconditional love and sharing with those in need. 

Trinity Baptist Community Church International is shepherded under the direction of Bishop Dr. Michael J. Love. Trinity is a preaching, teaching, and reaching church. Under the direction of Bishop Love, Trinity has over 100 ministries, as well as global expansion, church planting in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and 37 churches in India. Please come out and join Bishop Dr. Michael J. Love as he critically imparts the Word of God at Trinity Baptist Community Church International www.trinitybcc.org

Copyright @ 2026 TBCCIdrloveministries. All rights reserved. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And I want to direct your attention this morning to the uh the continuance of the one of the passages that we read to get together as a church family. It picks up the storyline around about the 30th verse. But as we were reading it together, it opens up with this interesting conversation, this dialogue that takes place with Jesus and this lawyer. And I always find it fascinating when Jesus begins to have this conversation. The question on the table becomes, what must I do? What must I do? And Jesus begins to either to inherit eternal life, or that's usually the crux of the question. And how Jesus, in his all-knowing, fabulously caring approach, grace-filled and mercy-filled approach, takes them to a common ground in the conversation. As a student of the as a student of the Old Testament Torah, as a student of the law, what do you understand the word of God to say to you? That's what we read together. What does it say and how do you interpret it and apply it to your life? And having level set their understanding of what they think, how they read the law to be, it's a fascinating thing that the lawyer begins to open up with his questioning. Rather than delving into the depth and the beauty of the riches of the word of God, the lawyer asks the question when he says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. And your neighbor as yourself. Your neighbor as yourself. And then the text tells us that to justify himself, the lawyer said, Well, now, who is my neighbor? You know this, you know the storyline. You know the storyline. And then he gives him this parable. I just want to read it to you, give you the life lessons. Let's unpack it for a little bit. Because the different approach that I found myself looking at with this was based really based in this this, this, this, this. This rich statement, this conversation, and what's couched between these two questions, two questions. The one the lawyer asks, Who is my neighbor? And the question Jesus asked at the close. Who do you think was the neighbor? Who is my neighbor? Jesus closes out with the question. Who do you think was the neighbor? Here it goes. Jesus answered him and said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem. Verse 30. To Jericho, you know this. Fell among the thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him, departed, leaving him half dead. By chance there came a certain priest that way. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, verse 33. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And went to him and bound up his wounds. And pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And in the on the morrow, when he had departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host and said unto him, Take care of him. And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Then Jesus asked the question. And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said unto him, Go and do thou likewise. Let me list the life lessons for you, and then let's just spend a little time in this. I jotted down as we look through this parable again, these three points real quickly. The impact and the outreach of our love for Christ and others is revealed. And number one, a sincere empathy and kingdom compassion for the least, the last, and the lost. Secondly, a Christ-centered attitude and approach in service to the hopeless and to the helpless. And thirdly, I jotted down from the parable a selfless heart for sacrificial and unconditional love and sharing for those who are in need. This is all around that agape concept. It's around this agape definition, this application of what this is about. And so when he gets to the when it gets to the meat, the crux of the parable that Jesus is talking about, we we notice very quickly about the individual who's been basically ramsacked on the side of the road. The robbers have wounded him and left him to die on the side of the road. And Jesus makes this powerful contrast of Jewish, the inference is that he's a Jewish individual. And that both the Levite and the priest either don't have empathy, don't have sympathy, don't have compassion, don't have time, don't have whatever they don't have, find an excuse. Don't feel like this risk, this reward was worthy of the risk that they were willing to take in order to go and make a difference in the life of the individual who was wounded and probably at the point in the storyline of dying on the side of the road. And this is where we drill down into this a little bit further. It's this concept of a Samaritan, Jesus using a Samaritan to make his point. I began thinking about what is it that transformed the thinking, the attitude, and the approach of the Samaritan that would make that individual, make him take these steps that he took with this wounded Jew on the side of the road. Is there something in the background, something in the in his history or his in his struggle within his change, life change that could possibly bring him to the point that it's more than just altruism, more than just just just doing something nice for the wounded? But actually demonstrating what looks like agape type of love, sacrificial love that would pour out itself for the betterment of the object that they're displaying the love for. Not worried about, not fearing about the circumstances or the risk-taking that would take place, or not worried about whether or not uh uh they they might indeed lose something or have to give up something or have to sacrifice something or possibly uh be damaged in the process themselves. You could look over there and see the individual wounded. What makes you think the thieves are not nearby someplace and will not come back and possibly uh take advantage of the Samaritan? Because there was this conflict that the history tells us about when the Assyrians had their conquest over the Jews, uh, that they entered, they they integrated into their society, they married into their society, and and you had you had Assyrians and Jews uh forming new family structures, and to the Jewish mindset, these were there were two things that they they pushed him to the side and saw them as less than. They saw them as ethnically impure and theologically heretical. Ethnically impure and theologically heretical. You're not like Jew, you're not like us, and you don't believe the way we believe. Oh man, I wish we could apply that to some of the mess we see today. And this maybe we'd understand some of the struggles that we're witnessing. Or maybe an experience went, don't stay there too long, Pastor, don't stay there too long. And so they would even start, they would even start off and say, we're not even, we don't believe the worship places in Jerusalem. We got them out, we got it out here in garrison. We don't believe in the, we don't really not gonna trust in the prophets, your Old Testament prophets. We only believe in the Torah. So your prophets and your other teachings, so you know that's not a part of what we believe in. So in the process, you now have this schism, this this ethnic schism, and you have this theological schism. And so there was, they just looked down, they didn't see each other as brothers, they didn't see each other as neighbors, they didn't see each other as anything, uh, not one DNA, not one blood, none of that. They let their they let they they let their human mindset, human thinking, philosophy, uh, indifferences, prejudices divide them, and and Jesus has the audacity to take a Samaritan and put them right in the middle of the storyline after having told them there was this the two Jews of hierarchy, the the worship leader and the and the biblical teacher walked all past the individual who was wounded down there and didn't think enough, didn't think enough of their passion for the Lord, just finished saying what it how do you how can I how can I take an attempt? And you just told me that you read it from the old testament that you love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul, and you love your neighbor as you love yourself. The Bible has made it publicly plain that there's a Godly type of love which is impossible for you and your humanity, it can be it can be exhibited in partiality through your loving through Christ of God, which gives you the ability to now reach out and make a difference in the life of somebody else. But rather than having a conversation about how do I, how do I get how do I translate that love for God into my activity out here in the world, how do I do what Paul would say later on? How do I work out what would be my salvation and working out of me not for not for my salvation, my works not for salvation, but rather working out my salvation because it is God who has worked in me? How do I get to that place rather than having that conversation? The attorney, the lawyer, wants to parse the definition. What is the meaning of is? Stay with me, Judge. And so he says, Well, who is my neighbor? Not how do I love him, but who is? And so this parable takes on powerful meaning when Jesus lays out this contrast, and then he shows us through the Samaritan, as he says, the Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him. This empathy and this care and this compassion from somebody who had been ostracized, alienated, cast aside, don't want anything to do with, don't want to travel to your countryside. We're not gonna worship together, we're not gonna, we're not gonna commune together, we're not gonna have anything to do with each other. But in the midst of this, he sees someone on the side of the road, hopeless and helpless, wounded and left to die. And the text says that he not only does he notice him, he doesn't let his, he doesn't compartmentalize his activity and just simply want to get through Jericho and get on to the next best thing, but he notices, he has an eye for the hopeless and the helpless. And he notices him on the side, and then he says he, what does the text tell me in 30? He saw him, came to where he was. He saw him, he noticed him, he focused on him, and his heart went out to him. The first phase of his empathy and his compassion. Secondly, he says, and then he went to him. He he approached him, he made contact with him. It says it amplified, it says he dressed his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine. And then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an end to take care of him. This this passion, this, this, this sense of uh of uh living out that love that I have for God and making it practical and applicable to those that I come in contact with on a daily basis in this life journey that I'm in. He he there was a pre- there was a level of preparation here as I even as I even looked at this and he said it said he went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in all the wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to the inn to take care of him. So it tells me a little something about the Samaritans' worldly wisdom in the midst of a of the context of this road of Jericho. He understands there's robbers on this road, he understands that this type of thing can happen on the road of Jericho. He's prepared himself for service. He's prepared himself to protect himself, but he's also prepared himself to have impact on someone else on the road. So he not when he sees the opportunity, he steps into the opportunity. Was it heart to make a difference? It's it's it's I'm not I'm not worried about my risk, I'm worried about the impact. I'm worried about the kingdom impact of what I'm about to do. Talk to me, somebody. I'm I'm uh and I'm putting the Lord has prepared me for the moment that I'm here. I'm not just haphazardly wandering on this road of Jericho. There's a purpose for my being here, there's a purpose that the Lord has placed in front of him, that this individual has somehow crossed my path. There's a reason that if no one else would do anything to make a difference in the life of the person that's now wounded and on the side of the road, and God calls me and I have an opportunity to make a difference in that individual's life and tracking with church. And I'm not gonna turn my head from and I'm not gonna walk a pastor, I'm not gonna make money with it, I'm not gonna sit with somebody else and come back in the later and do something about it. God is equipping me and preparing me to come along and make a difference in my life. I'm gonna be winning to read something and make a difference in somebody's life today. And he didn't just happen to have, he didn't just happen to have the the the oil and the wine to be able to treat the wounds. He he recognized that this is a part of what I might need to have, not only to deal for myself, but to help somebody else in the journey. There's a there's a kingdom wisdom here that is flowing in and through that. I I see what can happen. I know what it takes to help somebody, I know what it would take if I were on the side of the road. Somewhere in his background, I've got to believe there was a there's been a grace moment going on inside the room, but he might have had to deal with feeling this sense of what is what it's like to be helpless and hopeless and have somebody come alongside him and make a difference in his life. Somewhere in this history I gotta contend. Then why they were telling you you're ethnically impure, and you're physiologically hyetical, someone God is told to be in this, you're a child, you can be a child of the Lord if you just come and blove on the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul. And you have value to God, you have value to him, and that wounded individual left to die on the side of the road is an opportunity for you to express uh some of the some of the the transformational change that God might be working inside of you as a as a believer. Let me get to this side of the cross as someone who has felt what it like to be pushed aside by those around you, someone who felt like that someone has told you possibly that you're not worthy of anything, you're not worth anything, you can't accomplish anything, that you won't do anything of any meaning in life, and to have God say, Yeah, but when you come to Christ Jesus, you're a new creature, and and all things have passed away, and all things have all things have become new, and you got a new identity now, and then you've got a new purpose now, you've got a new plan operating in your life now. Don't let anybody tell you who you are and define you. When God has made it powerfully plain through his word, and so he he takes what God has provided him, he takes the knowledge God has given him, he takes the experience that has come out of his background of what grace and mercy looks like and it's operating within his own individual life realm. And he says, well, wait a minute, if if if if the if this God that we are to love with all our heart, minds, and soul uh cares enough about me individually, in a sense of gratitude, and opportunity, maybe God's just giving me a chance to work out that which he has worked in me. So he comes, bounds up the wound, set him on his own beast, give what he has given, brought him to an end. This is no small gesture, and took care of him. That took some time. That reads very quickly in a verse. But that's that's hands-on compassion and care. That's empathy that's not in a hand. I'm gonna stay here with you. I'm gonna be here with you. Maybe other robbers out on the highway. I might still watch other priests and Levi's walk on by on the other side of the road. But if the Lord has sent you across my path, and there's an opportunity for us to have this sharing moment, then I'm gonna be here as long as it takes. I'm gonna give as much as God has given. I'm gonna expend my energy, do what God has placed on my heart to do, and we're gonna walk this thing out together. Oh, I hear you, Holy Spirit. I I feel like I got a first John moment coming here. Hold on. Let me flip. Let me just flip. I didn't ask for this up on the screen. I didn't ask for this up on the screen. John does a segment on this, and uh made myself know. First John, the first epistle of John. Let me bear with me. Okay, chapter chapter four. I got it down verse. Here's how the epistle writes Beloved, let us love one another. Let me get to the King James. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God. For God is love. In this it was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Thank you, John, for that gospel moment. Hearing his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. And sent his son to be the propitiation for our sin. He came towards us. And healed us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He figuratively, literally and spiritually put us on his shoulders and carried us, took us. He paid the price for all of our sins. He redeemed us, he purchased us out of our sinfulness, never to be sold back into it again. He made us right in the eyes of God. Am I still at the cross? And then he made this fascinating promise. I'm coming back again. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to also love one another. No man has seen God at any time, and if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is made, is perfected, made perfect in us. Thank you, John, for that segue moment there. He he went to him, he bound up his wounds, he poured all in wine, he set him on his own beast, he bought him to an end, he took care of him, and on tomorrow, on tomorrow, he left him with the hope and assurance and a promise that indeed he would not be alone, he would not be left uh unattended, uncared for. Uh, not not out to fear for him. So he the mob he knew he knew what it felt like to be abandoned and to be and to be uh whipped and scourged and left on the side of the road. Uh the Samaritan must have someone in his history said, Well, now wait a minute. I can relate to some of them, I can feel some of them, I can step inside of some of that pain, and I might not get at all, but but someone in that journey, I know that a sense of being alone, I know that sense of being set apart and ostracized, not being accepted, not being loud in the temple of worship. I know what it feels like the heaven turning their eyes one way, Jews turning their eyes one way, looking me sideways as I'm coming down the street, or not even want to come into my territory. I mean, the man as a woman saying, What are you doing up here to winner? You know, what are you a Jew doing up here to winner? What to get this woman in the relationship was just that toxic, if you will. But in the midst of that, Jesus said, That's that's just that's your humanity, your sin-free of humanity attempting to separate you when God is trying to unite you through Christ Jesus. Come on, church. Gave him two pence, told the host, take care of him, take care of him in whatever more thou spendest when I come again. Not if I'm coming again, I'm coming again, I will repay you. He gives them this powerful sense not only of the of what sincere empathy and companion compassion look like for the least, the last and the lost, but how we begin, how we can act that out, how can we live that out, not in our own strength, not of our own intellectual ability, not a not an altruistic moment. You know, there there are there are folk who there are folk who who who might want to give something good in the sense of seeing the needy out there, but the question on the table always becomes who's who's getting glory in our giving? I mean, if I'm giving so that you can notice that I gave and glorify me, then that's not that's not glorifying God. He didn't look around. Uh as the text doesn't expand, he didn't look around and say, Is anybody looking? I'm gonna go over here to the side. Do I have enough of an audience so that you can see I'm doing this good work over here? I need somebody to notice what I'm doing out here. You know, I'm gonna take this risk. And I think ought to be a little bit of fame and fortune to come along with this risk I'm about to take over here. No, no. He snuck up, he went on over there in the quietness of the moment, and the prayerful quietness of the moment, and personally touched him, and personally took care of him. He stayed with him, he bound him up. He took the time of putting him. There's some effort going on here, putting him on his own horse. That means he had to literally lift him up and put him on his own beast. There's a whole lot of care and contact going on here. And then slowly walk him to the end. Assuring him that I'm gonna be with you in this journey. And then to come along and add the caveat on the cadet on top of this cake, but basically saying to the innkeeper, which modeled this agape love, this love of God and love for your neighbor, the the life lesson for even the innkeeper in the story is that this is what it looks like. This is how it lives out life, this is how it acts. It's not, it's not, it's not looking at the individual, bringing him in here and saying that he had no business on that road in the first place. It's not questioning the questioning the activity and the and the difficulty that the individual's in. There's plenty of time for this self-analysis of this this post-mortem on the journey that you're going through where you struggled and you wonder why am I here? How do I get here? Why do I keep staying here? Why do I keep landing in this spot? But God is trying to demonstrate mercy and grace in your life that moves you above above the pain and of your circumstances and the inevitable dumb anxiety and chaos that goes on with living out this life, the fear that the enemy was going to have you dealing with in this journey, the spiritual warfare that somehow wants to isolate you out of here and somehow continue to keep you in a state of feeling like you're not worthy of God's love and care. Paul has the audacity to make this interesting statement to say, yep, while we were sinning. Christ died. This makes it positive plain that there's nothing we can do to earn it. This is not about salvation. That's not about what the question on the table from the lawyer is how can I do to earn that? How do I earn eternal life? Jesus points him to what he should already have known. Tell me what you read in the word. Now that you've read it, tell me how you interpret it. Because if you're not interpreting it right, you know, the very thing that you, the very thing that you would that you would absolutely hold against a Samaritan by saying that, you know, your your theology is all heretical, it's all skewed, it's whack. And not only is your belief system bad, I don't want nothing to do with your ethnicity, your ethnicity isn't. I mean, you know, you need to you need to take that back on over Samaria where you belong. And Jesus shatters all of that. He drops a spiritual, theological, divine bomb in the middle of all of that self stuff that we deal with down here in our fleshless. All the reasons that we can find to separate ourselves one from another, all the purpose, all the all the things we can jump them down about, somehow somehow that thinking that somehow to you to you religious leaders that you're better than these folk down here in the ditch. And then Jesus has the audacity. After demonstrating this sincere empathy in this kingdom service, this selfless heart, that's sacrificial and unconditional. He didn't look for anything back. He didn't, you you notice it. He doesn't say, I'm I'm coming, but I this I'm paying for what he what he needs here, and I'm coming back to take care of whatever you you're giving him. There's plenty, there's an abundance. You don't have to worry about getting paid. There's plenty here to take care of the thing, and I'm willing to give it up, sacrifice it, share it out unconditionally, and I'm not looking for anything back. Take care of my brother. Give him your best. Give him your best. Spare no expense here. And then he looks over at the lawyer who has asked the question, Who is my neighbor? Opening up this whole conversation. And he closes it out by asking him the question. Jesus is marvelous at doing this stuff. I mean, the word is marvelous in doing that to you. It's like, okay, you he just says, Well, now, now that you've got the storyline, that you got the parable in front of you, you got the illustration that you can chew on a little bit here, and you had the Old Testament word that gave you the foundation, a biblical foundation in which the storyline was presented to you. And you asked the question, what, who is my neighbor? Jesus said, Well, who do you think was the neighbor in them? Who's the neighbor? To him that fell among the thieves. And in his in his theologically, legal, analytical mindset, he has to do the analysis that Jesus takes him. He comes over here and steps in out, steps in through this thing. And then asks the question, do you get it? Have you got this? It's not about your words. It's about your faith. That leads to your work. The fruit cannot come until it's attached to the right. Then you'll know what kind of fruit you're gonna get. Thank you, John. I just thought that out there. And he has that he has an answer. There's only one way to answer. There's only one way to answer. And he says, go and do likewise. Go and do likewise. He's about to head to the cross and pay the price for mankind's sin. An opportunity for all who would believe in him. To receive the redemptive, the redemptive impact of the blood of Christ, the sacrificial gift. Of God loving, given by Christ Jesus, of God loving us so much that he can give his only begotten Son. And we who believe in him shall not perish, but have life everlasting. Agape love. Love that doesn't that doesn't happen. Somewhere in John's epistles, he would make a statement that there's no greater love than a man should lay down his life for a friend. Did I call that right? The Samaritan was willing to lay down his life. Not for his friend. But for a complete stranger. And perhaps somebody who looked on him as ethnically impure. Are y'all with me? And probably thought, your theology is frank. I don't believe anything you believe. Maybe the Torah. Maybe we maybe land on some of the Torah. So I don't like who you are, and I don't like what you think. But I sure do like that. You came over here while I'm dying in this ditch. And maybe that opens up a heart to receive not only the love of the giver. And possibly transcend, say, this is what loving, this is what the impact of loving God does on a heart that receives it and gives it out. Because it's it's his love flowing through. It's the gratitude for what God has done for you and for me that enables us to be able to give unconditionally and selflessly to the best of our human ability. And not seek glory, honor, and reward. Let me pray. Give me my life lessons, Lord or die. And then let me pray in our last deacon wide and become a leaders in our giving time. The impact and the outreach of our love for Christ and others is revealed. Three things I jotted a sincere empathy and a kingdom compassion for the least, the last, and the lost. A Christ-centered attitude, approach, and service to the hopeless and the helpless, and a selfless heart for sacrificial and unconditional love and sharing for those in need. And the Lord sends them across your path. Can you do something with that today? Can you work with that today, church family? Can we work with that? And Father God, we thank you for this time. Thank you for this moment that you've given us this wonderful opportunity to worship, praise, study, and fellowship together. Open up our hearts to receive not only your presence but your blessings and blessings. And to be motivated and empowered to serve you to the best of the ability that you have afforded to us. May we indeed love you with all our heart, mind, and soul. And demonstrate and express that and reveal that love to others. With a sincere gratitude. That you poured into us. We might walk out this, live out this, share out this salvation that you appear. You who have done this for you. It's available to anyone. Anyone in heaven. Keep us mindful of the fact that you're coming back again. Just like you said. We look up with hopelessness. All this we ask with the spirit of thanksgiving. Love gracious mercy. Jesus holding Christ's name. Like God's people in the house saying. And then we open up the doors with the church. We prepared for giving worship God without giving. But if you're here, the Lord has moved on your heart, seeking a home in the church family. We invite you from your Christian experience of the candidate for baptism. Tuning in and watching us through the live stream.

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. And with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. And with all thy mind. And thy neighbor as thyself. And have a hate program going on with self. Let's pray. Father God, we are enthralled by the fact that you thought we were worthy of the same. Bless us all. To enjoy. The copycatting of that love, that great love that you had for us before the world was. While we were yet sinner. Let us copycat that love for ourselves. For the the abuses, the tragedy, the bypassing that we accept regarding our treatment of others reflects what we really think about ourselves. And so in this area of giving where you've laid down the example, this son who is teaching the attorney is saying, I'm gonna give you an example from one who is despised, described in your fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, whom you hated. Your shortcomings were poured on him. That's me, and I'm talking now to you. Not because the recipient deserves it, not because the recipient has earned it, but because giving is a property, a reflection of your love for yourself. Fortify us, Father, and the hearing and the understanding and the application of this great love that you have for us. May we not also be benefactors thereof in the exercise of that love for self and just watch how our giving explodes for others. In Jesus' holy name, we pray.

SPEAKER_02 42:43

As we lean forward, we're gonna get to add our blessings and our prayers and our best wishes to the to Deacon and Sister Smith here as they head south. Atlanta bound. To extend that, uh, I think we probably got like, we probably at least got five families. I can kind of think of. Maybe you'll make it fifth. At least, at least five families now. This is that's an Atlanta branch of Trinity. Over the years, so we we're praying for you. You know God would do great things in and through you. You know you got family and a home up here. Whenever you swing back this way, find an excuse to swing back this way, a reason to swing back this way. And we we love you and thank God for you. And uh and you and you and the children. Get to be with the girls. So that's fantastic. So God bless you. I know you did the red eye jumped off the plane. I said, man, that's the stuff I used to do when I was young. Flying on from business trip on Sunday mornings and jump off the plane and run down here to service to be able to preach. Uh I'm not gonna put you on the spot and say if you want to say it, but if you if you run up here and grab the mic, you can say something. It's it's up, it's something you deacon. Oh no, okay. But we thank God for you. I see you moving, I see you moving. Are you gonna let him do? Okay. Oh, you're a deep. God bless you.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

I thought I was gonna leave the way I came in, just kind of slip in, but the first day I came here, Rab saw me like and introduced himself to me and tried to find out what my channels were, so here we are. Um but uh it's been amazing. Um I never, like Reb has said over the years, I never thought I was gonna end up in McHenry, Illinois. Um and it's just been a heartfelt blessing uh watch all my kids grow up and and more importantly, the family I've made over the years. Some of my lifelong and dearest friends are right here in this church. And it's gonna be extremely hard for me to get overnight being a part of this service every Sunday and meeting and greeting and fellowshiping with each and every one of you. And uh we love you guys, and you've just been an amazing group of people, and I I can't say that enough. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 45:25

It's yours, right here. Amen. So as we as we prepare to close out with our closing benediction here, again, uh may God bless you, keep in prayer. Individuals, family members who are who are struggling, not only physically, but whatever they might be struggling with in their journey. Always good to see Daughter Deanna slip on back in. The Memphis connection here. So, you know, so we keep you prayed up in your family and Michael. So uh God bless you all. So let's stand and close out. I don't know if I got any voice to sing anything. I might have the Mafia do this uh closing benedictory song here, but with our heads bowed and our eyes closed and our hearts humbled before the living God, as we assume an attitude of prayer and as we lift our hands to him in praise, and now unto him, who is able to keep you and me from falling, and present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. So the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty through power now, is forth and forever. As God's people said, Amen, and we take our forces.