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Grace, mercy and peace

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be to you from God

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our Father from our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.

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Bible passage for the message is the reading earlier from Acts.

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Here at the Seminary each year

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we have a little phrase that's chosen as a theme for the year.

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And when you are acting as president,

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Dr.

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Preus, you chose Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.

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In Prior years, we've had one that said lead with the gospel or

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be helpers of joy.

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Those three put together

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summarize this reading and the work of Philip, the evangelist.

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Philip departs from Jerusalem with many others, after the

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persecution begins, and the stoning of Stephen.

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Acts says,

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that the words going to go out to Samaria and to the ends of the

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world and in the way, Philip fulfills that. He goes first to Samaria.

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He heals people.

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He cast out demons.

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He preaches Christ and the Samaritan village

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believes. Philip crosses lines

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cuts down the boundaries explodes, the borders.

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And he takes Jesus Christ, that message

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into Samaria.

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And this is what it says.

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So, there was much joy in that city

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then he goes to this Ethiopian eunuch.

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Ethiopia would have been the ends of the Earth for Philip.

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Here's somebody

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that is well-to-do, he has a chariot and a scroll that he can read.

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A high government official.

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Once again, the lines are crossed.

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Borders exploded, boundaries done away with.

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Philip

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takes the message of Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch

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and after the encounter it simply says, the eunuch saw him no more and

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went on his way

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rejoicing.

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Philip

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lead with the gospel

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became a helper of joy

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because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today, and forever.

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In a way though, Philip had it easy.

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Went into Samaria and he could heal people, he could do miracles,

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he could cast out demons that was going to attract some attention.

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He goes to the Ethiopian eunuch, and he's reading from Isaiah 53.

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Now, that's a setup for evangelism, especially since the unit was just

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coming back from Jerusalem, after after having gone

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to church.

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Now, that's wonderful opportunities with miracles and somebody already

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interested in Isaiah 53.

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How about us,

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who's in The Chariot for us?

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When I think of a chariot, maybe old movie, The Ten Commandments, and

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the Egyptians are crossing that plane with war horses

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and at top speed,

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But here it could be mean a covered wagon

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a buggy, it's big enough to hold the eunuch his driver, perhaps a

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helper and for Phillip to get up in as well.

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But who's in the chariot for us?

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Who's in the Lexus or the beat-up old Chevy

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or the big pickup truck or has to use public transportation or could

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get on a plane at a moment's notice and go somewhere.

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Who's in the chariot for us?

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A reason blogged by James Emery

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White speaks of how the church has not come through this past year

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in very positive light

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for the unchurched.

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He says, we may have tried to do things, right

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but the way the church has been portrayed in the media and some of the

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things that have happened.

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That's not what happened and we need to pay attention to who's

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actually in the chariot rather than defend ourselves.

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Who's in the chariot?

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A young man who looks at the church with distain.

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He's heard about congregations that ignored

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all the guidelines gather together and worship in mass

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no mask on.

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No

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social distancing, singing loud and clear becoming a super

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spreader.

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And he hears about the church, that supposed to be an unselfish and

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caring, but he does not see it.

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He does not see a love for the neighbor.

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Now, that's not true of all churches but that's who's in the chariot.

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Or the young woman who's afraid of the church

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because of what happened at the Capitol

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in January where she saw signs with Jesus name on it and a prayer

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group and

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people saying they're acting out in faith for her the church that she

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is seeing is more like a terrorist group and she's afraid.

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Or

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 the Suburban well-educated woman.

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Who sees hypocrisy.

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Sees hypocrisy for all these social media posts that are almost

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idolizing

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Donald Trump.

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And for the good that he's done with the sanctity of life and Supreme

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Court nominees and religious freedom

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but ignoring ignoring what seems to be the lying, the sexual

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immorality

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the ego, the narcissism.

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Some inconsistency and she simply sees the church as hypocritical.

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Who's who's in the chariot? Perhaps someone of a different race.

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When George Floyd comes out

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she hears the church react to critical race theory, label all protest

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as riots and

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and putting up all lives matter signs instead of having sensitivity to

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what's going on.

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Is it true all the way across the board, no. Different congregations,

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did different things.

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But that's who's in the chariot.

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And who else might be in the chariot?

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Last Tuesday

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Noah Comfort, dog

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went to Crystal City

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High School, a senior two weeks before graduation

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commits suicide.

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Who's in the chariot? Parents

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who are planning a funeral instead of a graduation party and wondering

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wondering about what's going on here.

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Or maybe it's another teenager that does not want to die, but does not

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want to live the life.

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Or maybe at stop the widow, whose husband died of covid or the lonely man in a Veterans home.

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Who's in the chariot?

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Seems much more difficult for us

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until you realize that it really wasn't the miracles

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or even which Bible passage, it was

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But listen again, to what Philip did.

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But when they believed Philip as he preached, good news about the

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kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized.

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And then for the eunuch Philip, the open, his mouth and beginning with

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the scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

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How did Philip become

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a helper of joy?

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He led with the gospel, he led with

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Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever.

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About one who did go to the cross

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stricken smitten and afflicted, beaten, bruised bloodied, but one who

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crosses all the boundaries,

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who gets rid of the lines.

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No more borders to the ends of the Earth.

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His forgiveness is for you for me and for all.

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His life that he offers is for all races does not matter how much

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money you have or you do not have.

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What country you are from male or female young or old lonely or

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surrounded by friends

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Jesus crosses all the boundaries he explodes all the lines.

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He is the same from back then, as he is today and always.

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Someone lead with that gospel to us

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and as the people in Samaria or the eunuch were baptized we too were

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brought into his kingdom

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and now we have the opportunity to lead with the gospel.

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To be a helper of joy

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because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and always.

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One example of this

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in my closet at home, I have a couple ties.

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I will occasionally wear this Nathaniel.

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You've seen me where the happy tie big smiley face on it.

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It's a happy tie.

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Bring smiles to people faces.

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But this tie,

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this tie has a Bible verse on it.

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It's actually the Bible verse for Noah Comfort, dog.

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It's from Psalm 29:11.

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The Lord will give strength unto his people.

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The Lord will bless his people with peace.

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This is a tie

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that leads with the gospel.

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God's peace.

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God's strength.

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His Blessing

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through Jesus.

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My youngest daughter, Beth, does not attend church as often I would like

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her to but at Easter

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she went to worship service.

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She now lives outside of Nashville and she went to a church close by

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along with her husband

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Alex. My, my daughter Beth likes to do something when she walks into a

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church and greets the pastor,

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She will say to him, I think you might know my dad.

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And he says, and she, Dr.

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Glenn, Nielsen from Concordia, Seminary in St.

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Louis, and she watches for the reaction. Well this pastor knew me

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had that little reaction

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but then he did something to get a reaction from my daughter.

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He simply said

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I think I remember that your parents went through a tragedy

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when they lost their son and your brother, a few years ago.

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And it's true in 2017

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our oldest son, Matthew, at the age of 33 died suddenly of a pulmonary

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embolism at Mercy.

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Heart Hospital in front of my wife Sue

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his mom.

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3 1/2 years later

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this pastor

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remembered who is in the chariot

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and lead with a, a word

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of gospel

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that brought rejoicing.

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When we think about our son's death, it is not this tie.

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It is this one

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and that brings joy.

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That week

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my daughter received a letter in the mail from the church usual letter

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of, thank you for visiting with us.

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Glad to have you here come and worship with us

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again, I'm committed to preaching Christ crucified among this body of

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believers.

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The pastor wrote, we Are confessional Church, committed to sound

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doctrine, liturgical worship, caring, fellowship in Christ.

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Standard letter

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until you get the last paragraph.

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I pray God's richest blessing for you again, receive my condolences

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at the death of your brother and pass them to Doctor and Mrs.

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Nielsen.

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Praise God for the resurrection of Christ and the reunions ahead for

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all who fall asleep in him.

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For parents and a sister who still grieve.

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Here's a pastor who led with the gospel

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proclaiming Christ, who's the same yesterday today and forever.

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To bring joy

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into our hearts.

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Philip lead with the gospel.

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He proclaimed

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Jesus Christ

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the same yesterday today and forever

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and brought joy.

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And so, for us,

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lead with the gospel.

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Be helpers of joy because Jesus Christ is the same as he was for

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Phillip.

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And he is today

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and he will be forever.

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Amen.