SPEAKER_00 0:00

Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. He flourishes like a flower in the field. The wind blows over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord's love is with those who fear him, for those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Thank you, Sammy. I appreciate that. Have you guys uh you guys ever heard of a small company called Kodak? You might remember Kodak for their uh little yellow film boxes or the one-hour photo booth, or I know what I remember most is those disposable cameras. In 1975, there was a Kodak employee by the name of Steven Sassin, and he developed the very first digital camera that we know of. And it was kind of a it was a digital camera in embryonic form. Like he could take digital files of photos and offload them onto a cassette tape, so it was it was nothing fancy, but it was the very first digital camera 51 years ago. Kodak saw Sassin's work, and they kind of even saw the potential of what the digital camera could become, but they didn't do anything about it. Because they had so much wrapped up in film and so much invested in film that they didn't they didn't want to move forward into the digital space. So companies like Nikon and Canon and Sony took over the digital camera space, and that's why if you have a digital camera today, it's probably by one of those companies and not by Kodak. In 2012, uh Kodak filed for bankruptcy, and they technically still exist today, but they sold a lot of things, consolidated a lot of things, and they're really just in the commercial space today. They're nothing like the Kodak that we remember from decades ago. Kodak's tagline was the memory company, but today Kodak is nothing but a memory. They're not really a company anymore. They exist strictly in the past because they refused to let go of the past. I wonder this morning, church, how many of you are operating like a spiritual Kodak? There's something about your past, something about your old self, that you are refusing to let go of. You have made Jesus Christ your Savior. You believe that Jesus lived in your place, that Jesus died in your place, that Jesus rose again on the third day, and that you'll spend forever with God because you believe in Jesus. But maybe you're struggling to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Maybe there's something in your old past and in your old self that you're clinging to and you're refusing to move forward into the future. Well, here's the reality this morning, brothers and sisters. Clinging to the past is not a formula for flourishing. Just like Kodak, clinging to the past is a formula for collapse. What God wants from us, from his people, is not a bunch of people who are somewhat devoted to him or even mostly devoted to him, but people who are totally surrendered and totally devoted to God, leaving what lies in the past in the past and striving forward for what lies ahead. God wants his people to be totally devoted to him. And so what does that look like? The question of the day today is what does it look like for us as individual Christians and for us as a church to be totally devoted to God? Let's answer that question from God's word this morning. If you haven't already, turn with me to Psalm 103 or Tammy, you don't have to turn there. But turn with me to Psalm 103, and we'll answer the question: what does it look like to be totally devoted to God? Well, this morning we are continuing our summer teaching series, our summer sermon series, Songs of the Summer, looking at a different psalm each Sunday during the summer months. This is a 13-week long series. Today is week 10, and the psalm of focus today is Psalm 103. The superscription of the Psalm is very helpful. It's just two words. It says of David, but that tells us a lot about the Psalm. Because we have looked at several psalms written by other authors throughout the summer. We looked at a psalm that was anonymous. Of course, we know its divine author, but its human author was anonymous. We looked at a psalm written by Asaph, a psalm written by the sons of Korah. And we've looked at several written by David, including today's Psalm 103. You know David well, the shepherd boy David, King David. He's a familiar character to all of us. Psalm 103, it's 22 verses long, and it has a very mature tone to it as David praises the Lord and blesses the Lord. In fact, I love the progression through Psalm 103. In the beginning, those first five verses, David is really talking about himself and blessing the Lord and praising the Lord for all God has done for him personally. He moves on to bless the Lord and praise the Lord for all that God has done for his people. And then David finishes by blessing the Lord and praising the Lord for all that God has done for creation. He designed creation, he created creation, he is sustaining creation as we speak, and David blesses God and praises God for those things. But ultimately, throughout these 22 verses, we find for ourselves a template for total devotion to God. This template was applicable to David's life and God's people thousands of years ago, and this template is still applicable to your life and God's people right now. So let's dig in. Number one on your notes is this. Number one, remember the benefits. If you want to be totally devoted to God, then you must first remember the benefits of your relationship with God. Look with me now in verses one through five of Psalm 103. In verse 1, David says, Bless the Lord, O my soul. Let all that is in me bless the Lord. There is a slight difference between the phrase, bless the Lord, and the phrase, praise the Lord. Elsewhere in the scriptures, elsewhere in the Psalms in particular, you will see writers of Psalms use the phrase, praise the Lord. For instance, in the very first verse of the very last Psalm, Psalm 150, verse 1, it says, praise the Lord. When you see the phrase praise the Lord, it's the Hebrew word halal, which sounds a lot like hallelujah, doesn't it? Praise the Lord is a it's an external, it's an outward act of praising the Lord, and it's often done in community like we just did together. We just praise the Lord and sang to the Lord together. But this idea of blessing the Lord, it's it's really the Hebrew word barak. Bless the Lord is more of an inward disposition. It's a soul that is turned toward God and oriented toward God. And so, in a sense, right here in verse 1, David is preaching to himself. And he's saying, Soul, remember who God is and all that God has done for you. Perhaps some of you here today, you don't need to hear me preach to you, but you need to preach to yourself. Soul, remember all that God has done for you. That's what David's doing in verse one. In verse 2, David says, Bless the Lord and forget not his benefits. Verse 2 is really where point number one comes from. We need to remember the benefits of our relationship with God. But what are those benefits? David goes on in verses three through five to list for us five benefits of a relationship with God. Now, this is what we would call a comprehensive list, but not an exhaustive list. So are there more than five benefits of a relationship with God? Absolutely. They're probably countless. But David highlights for us five key benefits of a relationship with God. In verse 3, David says that God forgives his people, he forgives our iniquity. Forgiveness is the first benefits. If we believe in Jesus, then our sin, our iniquity has been forgiven. Jesus took for us the penalty and the punishment of our sin. And the benefit of that right now, the benefit of forgiveness is that we don't have to carry around the guilt and the shame of our sin anymore. What an amazing benefit of a relationship with God. David goes on in verse 3 to say that God heals our diseases. Now, for some of us in the room, God will heal our diseases and our disabilities this side of heaven. And praise the Lord if he does that for you. But for all of us in the room, when we get to the new heavens and the new earth, God will heal your disease. God will heal your disability. And the benefit of that future reality right now is hope. You have hope in the midst of your pain. You have hope in the midst of your suffering. Your suffering has an expiration date, it has an end date, and it's the day when you step foot into the new heavens and the new earth. God will heal your disease and heal your disability one day. Moving on in verse 4, David says the third benefit of a relationship with God is that God redeems you from the pit. When God forgave you, forgiveness is not free. His son Jesus paid the price for your forgiveness when he died on the cross and his blood was shed for you. God redeemed you, he purchased you out of the pit. The benefit of our redemption is we can rest. The work is finished. You can stop trying to climb out of the pit on your own. You can rest. There is rest for your soul. You've been redeemed from the pit. Also in verse 4, David says that God crowns us. Now, when it says that God crowns us, this isn't necessarily talking about God giving us some kind of divine power, but it is talking about our dignity and how excited God is to forgive and redeem. When a sinner repents, when someone lost is found, God doesn't save them and forgive them and redeem them reluctantly. He doesn't roll his eyes and say, Ah, another one. No, he's excited to forgive and excited to redeem. He crowns us and surrounds us with his steadfast love. It's talking about our dignity and our value in the eyes of God. We live in a world where people are constantly dissatisfied, aren't they? People are dissatisfied with their bodies, with their bank accounts, with their cars, with their relationships, with the government, with the economy. People are constantly dissatisfied. But a benefit of a relationship with God is a deep satisfaction, a deep peace that surpasses understanding. And when you're satisfied in the Lord, it doesn't make all those other problems go away, but it puts them into perspective. And you might find some satisfaction and some contentment in other areas of your life when your soul is satisfied in God. David finishes in verse 5 by saying that when you're satisfied in God, he will renew your youth. Now this does not mean that if you have a relationship with God, you can run and jump like you could when you were physically young. But God will restore and renew your spiritual youth. Do you remember how on fire you were for the Lord when you first met Jesus? If you remember the benefits of your relationship with God, God will renew that zeal for him. But ultimately we see in verses one through five that we can't be totally devoted to God until we first remember the benefits of our relationship with him. Now I don't um I don't want to brag, but Hannah and I are we're members of a very exclusive club in the area, okay? We are executive members at the Costco warehouse. Okay? I know. You didn't know we rolled like that. And uh as executive members, some of you are executive members of the Costco warehouse. They've just built a new one in the villages right here. We're pretty pumped about that. As executive members, one of the benefits is you get all this Costco cash back on all your purchases. Gas, in the warehouse, online, and it's awesome unless you forget about that benefit, like Hannah and I did for years. So we've been executive members for a long, long time, and we forgot about the Costco cash back benefits. Until about a year ago, uh somebody reminded us of the benefits, and we checked our Costco account, and we were kind of embarrassed by how much money was just sitting in there going unused because we forgot about the benefits. And so Hannah turned to me and asked, Hey, what do you want to buy from Costco? And I said, Well, I need a new TV. And let me rephrase that. I want a new TV. My previous TV was 13 years old. I'm pretty sure it's the first LED TV that man made. And so we had, this is embarrassing. We had enough Costco cash back to buy a brand new television on Black Friday for free. And so if you come over to my house, which many of you have, and you see the TV on the wall, that wasn't my signing bonus for coming to Oxford campus. That was Garrett and Hannah forgetting about their Costco benefits, okay? Now, that's a funny story. A young couple forgetting the benefits of their warehouse membership and then remembering the benefits, and it changed our lives. What's not funny is when a Christian forgets the benefits of their relationship with God through Jesus. You still have a relationship with God. Once you're saved, you're always saved. Your status, your right standing before God is not going to change, but you can forget the benefits of that relationship. And when you do, it changes how you experience God's steadfast love. But when you recall and remember the benefits of your relationship with God, it changes your life. And so I wonder if someone is here this morning and you've forgotten one or several or all of these benefits. Would you preach to your own soul like David did? Would you remind yourself from Psalm 103 the benefits of your relationship with God? Because until you remember those benefits, you cannot be totally devoted to God. Hey church, number two on your notes is this. Number two, rejoice in God's mercy. If you want to be totally devoted to God, then you must first rejoice in God's mercy. Look with me now in verses six through fourteen of Psalm 103. In verse 6, David tells us that God cares deeply about the oppressed. And if God cares deeply about the oppressed, then we should too. In verse 7, David tells us that God revealed his character to his people through Moses. When God did that, what did he reveal about his character? David tells us in verse 8. In verse 8, David says, God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalm 103, verse 8 is a direct quote of Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 and 7. In Exodus 34, God is talking to Moses, and he's revealing himself to God's people through Moses. And Exodus 34, 6 and 7 are two of the most important verses in the entire Old Testament. Because God pulls back the curtain and he says, I am a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Anyone who says that the God of the Old Testament, first of all, the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament and is still God today. But anyone who says the God of the Old Testament is just an angry, distant God who's constantly commanding genocide, they're wrong. Look at Exodus 34, 6 and 7. God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. That's who he is at his core. David has already quoted those verses in the Psalms. You'll remember from a couple weeks ago in Psalm 86, verse 15, David quoted those verses, and here he is again in Psalm 103, verse 8, quoting those verses. They're some of the most quoted verses in the entire Bible. In verse 9, David builds upon verse 8 and said, he says, God will not stay angry. In verse 8, we learn that God is not, we wouldn't say that God never gets angry, but in verse 8, God is very slow to anger. God has a long fuse. And in verse 9, we learn that if his fuse gets lit, it will go out. If God is provoked to anger, he will not stay angry. And praise God for that. In verse 10, David tells us that God will not deal with us according to our sin. What a sigh of relief. Because if God dealt with me according to my sin, it wouldn't go very well for me. But God no longer deals with us according to our sin because our sin was dealt with once and for all on the cross. How often do we talk about people and think about people according to their worst moments and the worst things about them? Shouldn't we talk about people and think about people according to their best moments and the best things about them? Let's not be a people who deal with others according to their sin. How different would our world be and our community be, and dare I say our church be, if we were diligent to love one another according to the best things about us? It would change the way we interact with other people. But it all starts with God not dealing with us according to our sin because our sin was dealt with on the cross. What happened when our sin was dealt with on the cross in verses 11 and 12? David, he's talking in a bit of abstract terms. In verse 11, David says, as far as the north is from the south, really he says from the heavens to the earth, but as far as the north is from the south, and then he goes on in verse 12 to say, as far as the east is from the west, so are you separated from the penalty and the punishment of your sin. Now David is not encouraging us to get out a calculator and try to determine the mathematical distance that is now between us and our sin. But what he is saying is the north will never touch the south. That's that doesn't make sense. And the east will never touch the west, that doesn't make sense. So it is with you and the penalty and the punishment for your sin. In Christ, you have been separated from the penalty and the punishment of your sin, never to be brought back together. As far as the north is from the south and the east is from the west. In verse 13, David says that God loves his people like a father loves his children. We've said in this room before, dads and grandfathers, you should try really hard to make it easy on your kids and your grandkids to think of God as their heavenly father. Now, dads, I know you're not perfect. And the reason I know that is because I'm a dad and I'm not perfect. But dads and grandfathers, you should try your very best to make it easy on your kids and your grandkids to imagine God as their heavenly father. Don't make it hard on them. In verse 14, David says that God remembers our frame. He remembers that we are but dust. When God disciplines his children, he disciplines both firmly and gently, just like a father disciplines a child, because God remembers our frame. He remembers we're dust. He remembers we are weak and fragile. So he disciplines us firmly and gently. But ultimately, the point of this section of verses is really verse eight, talking about God's mercy, how we did not get what we do deserve, and how God's mercy is not something to doubt, is not something to decline, but it's something that we ought to rejoice in if we are to be totally devoted to. To God. You know, in 1830, almost 200 years ago, there was a gentleman by the name of George Wilson. George Wilson was convicted of several crimes. Theft, he endangered the life of a mailman. The list goes on. Ultimately, in 1830, the court ruled that Wilson deserved the death penalty. And so some family and some friends of George Wilson, they advocated to the president at the time, President Andrew Jackson, and they begged him to issue a pardon. And President Jackson actually did. In the summer of 1830, President Jackson issued a pardon to George Wilson. But the crazy part of the story is that in the fall of 1830, Wilson declined the pardon. He said, no, thank you. Now, the story, the storybooks, the history books, they don't really tell us why. We don't know if Wilson thought he was innocent and he was too prideful to accept a pardon. We don't know if Wilson thought he was so guilty that accepting a pardon would do no good because they'd find something else to get him for. We don't know why he declined, but we know he did. And the court didn't know what to do. And so after much deliberation, Chief Justice John Marshall made a statement. He said, in order for a pardon to be applied, the pardon must first be accepted. In order for mercy to be applied, mercy must first be accepted. This is a principle that has now been true in the United States legal system for almost two centuries, but it's always been true in the kingdom of God. God is merciful, Psalm 103, verse 8. But in order for mercy to be applied, we must first accept mercy. I wonder if you're here this morning and you're not rejoicing in God's mercy, but you have declined God's mercy and brushed it aside for some reason. Maybe you've declined God's mercy out of self-righteousness. You think I'm good enough, I don't really need any help here. Or maybe you've declined God's mercy out of self-condemnation. I'm too far gone. God's mercy won't be enough. But until we accept God's mercy and admit that we're neither good enough nor too far gone, we can never be totally devoted to God. But when we accept God's mercy and rejoice in God's mercy, we'll be one step closer to being totally devoted to God. Don't reject the pardon, don't reject God's mercy. Church number three on your notes is this. Number three, recognize God's greatness. If you want to be totally devoted to God, then you must first recognize God's greatness. Look with me now in verses 15 through 19 of Psalm 103. In verse 15, David says that human beings, we are kind of like various plants. We're like the grass, we're like the flowers. In the right conditions, we we naturally flourish. We know a lot about this in Florida. It is rainy season, and I don't know about you, but the grass in my house is flourishing. No problem. But we also know a thing or two about verse 16. David goes on to say that with one simple gust of wind, a plant could be carried away never to be seen again. We know a thing about that in Florida because we deal with a lot of hurricanes, don't we? I don't know if you know this, but we're in hurricane season right now. It's not going to peak until September or October, but I've been through my fair share of hurricanes, and with one giant wind gust, it can destroy a lot of plants, never to be seen again. That is the human condition. Now, David in verses 15 and 16, David is not trying to cause God's people to despair, but he is contrasting our finitude, how finite we are, with how infinite our God is. Look in verse 17. David goes on to say that God's steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting. Now, in English that seems a bit redundant, doesn't it? Couldn't David have just said, God's steadfast love is everlasting, and that would have been enough, right? But what David is trying to communicate is that God's steadfast love will not only last forever from this point forward, not only does God's steadfast love have no end, God's steadfast love has no beginning. God's steadfast love was here before you and I got here, and it'll be here long after we're gone. From everlasting to everlasting. In verse 18, David says, those who want to experience God's steadfast love on the deepest level should keep his commandments and do his will. You don't have to do anything to earn God's love. That is true. But if you want to experience God's love on a deeper level, then you should live life according to God's design. God designed all this, God created all this, God is sustaining all this. Why not live life according to the one who designed, created, and sustains? That is the way to experience God's love on the deepest of levels, is what verse 18 says. In verse 19, it says that God established his throne in heaven and he rules there forever. I love that song that we sang this morning, holy forever. His name is the highest, his name is the greatest. And God rules forever. He is the King of Kings, He is the Lord of Lords, He is the greatest. And until we recognize God's greatness, we'll never be able to be totally devoted to Him. You know, in the in the year 1990, uh there was a factory worker in Indiana, and uh he just a normal guy, he had a hole in his wall at his house. And instead of repairing the hole in his wall like he should have with drywall and putty and sandpaper and paint, uh, this guy resolved to go to the thrift store and find a piece of artwork that he could hang on the wall and cover the hole. Okay? Guys, can you relate to that a little bit? I feel that. So he went to the thrift store, and pretty quickly he found a painting that was the exact dimensions he needed. He didn't really care what the painting was, but it was like a painting of flowers or something. And he bought that painting for $30 in 1990, and he hung it on his wall to cover the hole. And it was on his wall for nine years until in 1999, on a whim, I don't know if someone encouraged him to do this, he started researching the painting. And it turns out that this painting he bought nine years prior for $30 was a rare, original Martin Johnson Heed painting of some roses. And he ended up selling the painting in 1999 to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas for $1.25 million. And this was almost three decades ago. Who knows what it would sell for today? But the thing about this factory worker, it's a true story, but he wanted to stay anonymous in the news. The thing about this factory worker is once he recognized the greatness that was in his possession, his whole life changed. And church, something similar is true of you today. You possess a relationship with God. Once you're saved, you're always saved. You have right standing before God that cannot be taken away from you. But how are you valuing your relationship with God this morning? Do you see your relationship with God like a $30 painting from the thrift store? Or do you see your relationship with God like a painting worth millions that should be under lock and key in a museum? Once you recognize the greatness of God and the greatness of a relationship with Him, you'll be one step closer to being totally devoted to Him. But until you recognize the greatness that is in your possession, you can never be totally devoted to God. Church number four on your notes is this. Number four, respond with praise. Here's the turn in the story. Here's the turn in the passage. Once you are totally devoted to God, you will inevitably respond with nothing but over the top gratitude and praise. Look with me now in verses 20 through 22 of Psalm 103. In verse 20, David says that phrase, bless the Lord, again. You'll remember that phrase from verses 1 and 2. In verses 1 and 2, David was preaching to himself. It was a very inward disposition. But in verses 20 through 22, David brings up that phrase, bless the Lord again, and it's really more about praising the Lord. He's making an external turn. He's encouraging everyone in the universe to bless the Lord and praise the Lord just like he does. In verse 20, David encourages the angels to bless the Lord and praise the Lord. And all who do the will of God bless the Lord and praise the Lord. In verse 21, David encourages the hosts to bless the Lord and praise the Lord. He encourages the ministers to bless the Lord and praise the Lord. In verse 22, he can't get much bigger. David says, in all places, no matter who you are or where you are, praise the Lord. Bless the Lord. When you are totally devoted to God, you will inevitably respond with nothing but over-the-top gratitude and over the top praise. You know, um uh Hannah's paternal grandmother, uh her grandma on her dad's side, uh, might be the best person to give gifts to. In fact, I think she is. I think she is the best person to give gifts to because of her response, because of her reaction. Now, one of my uh I'm gonna I know you don't want to be called out Mimi, but one of my grandmas is sitting here on the front row. My mom's mom is with us today, and Mimi might be the best gift giver. But I'll tell you what, grandma is the best gift receiver, and here's why. She reacts so well to gifts, and I would tell this story even if she was here, because she knows it and everybody knows it. She's the best person to give gifts to. It was about three years ago. Hannah and I gave grandma a potato peeler for Christmas. Okay. I know, we went all out. We got her the potato peeler. She asked for it, okay? Like she asked for the potato peeler. It was on her list. And uh, so we we it was probably like 12 bucks. We wrapped up the potato peeler, we put it under the tree, and I'll never forget on Christmas morning, Grandma she opens the potato peeler and she says, Oh my goodness, a potato peeler. Thank you so much. She just goes on and on about how excited she is about this potato peeler. You could give her anything, and she would respond over the top with gratitude for the gift that you gave her. Now, what grandma did not do with this potato peeler, she did not respond with any kind of entitlements. Well, I knew it was coming. I mean, I asked for it, didn't I? No, she didn't respond with entitlement to her potato peeler. She didn't respond with any kind of resentments. Well, guys, it's about time you got me a new potato peeler. I've been eating potatoes with skin on them this whole time. Like, come on now. No resentment. She didn't respond with any indifference. She didn't look at the potato peeler and say, Well, there's better brands out there, but this one will do. She responded with over-the-top gratitude because of, not because of the gift, but really because of her relationship with the people giving her the gift. Our response to our relationship with God should be very similar. When we're totally devoted to God, we should not respond with entitlement to the benefits of our relationship with Him. Well, God, I deserve forgiveness. God, I deserve redemption. No, we don't. And we shouldn't respond with resentment to the mercy of God. Well, God, thanks for your mercy. Thanks for pulling me out of the pit. But if you could have pulled me out of the pit a little sooner, that would have been nice. We shouldn't respond with resentment. We shouldn't respond with indifference to the greatness of God. Hey, God, you're pretty awesome, but if you're open to feedback, I've got a few suggestions. No, when you're totally devoted to God, you inevitably respond to your relationship with Him with nothing but over the top gratitude and praise. If grandma can respond like that to a potato peeler, we can respond like that to our salvation in Christ. Well, hey church, this morning we've talked all about being totally devoted to God. We started this morning by saying, let's not be a bunch of spiritual kodaks. Let's not cling to the past. Let's not be somewhat or mostly devoted to God. Let's be totally devoted to God. How do we do it? We remember the benefits of our relationship with Him. We rejoice in God's mercy. We don't decline God's mercy. We recognize God's greatness. And in response to it all, we praise the Lord. We bless the Lord. But hey, maybe you're here this morning and you're not a Christian. Can I tell you, we are so glad that you're here today. But here's what's about to happen. In just a moment, I'm going to pray to close our time of Bible study, and we're going to sing one more song of response. And as we sing, we want to extend an invitation to you. If you're here today and you're not a Christian, maybe you're like, I don't need to become more devoted or totally devoted to God. I've never been devoted to God at all, and I'm wondering if it's worth it. Friend, it is worth it to give your life to Jesus. As we sing in just a moment, you'll see some Christians praying and reflecting in their pews. You'll see some Christians who want to come forward and pray and reflect at the altar. But if you're here today and you're not a Christian, you don't yet have a relationship with God through Christ, as we sing, myself and some other members of our team will be standing across the front. We would love nothing more than for you to walk the aisle and talk to one of us about becoming a Christian today by placing your faith in Jesus. There is no better decision that you'll ever make. Would you pray with me? Father in heaven, God, we love you and we praise you. We're grateful today for your words in the Bible that are understandable and applicable to our lives today. God, I pray that you would help me and my brothers and sisters in the room through Psalm 103 to recalibrate our lives unto total devotion to you this week. God, I pray for that one person in the room who's not a Christian, who does not yet have a relationship with you through Christ. God, would you continue to work in their hearts right now? Would you continue to stir in their hearts right now a desire to walk forward and place their faith in Jesus? You started a good work in their life by bringing them here today. Would you complete it by helping them place their faith in Jesus? God, we've gathered here today to glorify and to honor you and to do nothing other than that. We pray that you've received our praises as we sang to you. We pray that we studied your word faithfully and that our hearts and our minds were open to receive what you had to say to us through your word. We give all these things over to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. Would you stand with me?