Latest / Desoto Hills Baptist Church / SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 23, 2025 "Familial Grace Brings Unity" Acts 15:19-35

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SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 23, 2025 "Familial Grace Brings Unity" Acts 15:19-35 · Desoto Hills Baptist Church

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 a.m.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: We hope you enjoy.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: God bless.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: This morning we'll be in Acts chapter 15.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to start reading in verse 19 as you turn there.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, with the holidays coming up, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um I if you read Ministry Moment this morning, you'll see how much I love Christmas.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love to think about Christmas, but I love Thanksgiving too.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Here's some things that I love about it, or one thing that I love about the holidays is the family time.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: The time that we get to be with our families.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, when I say that word family, sometimes it causes emotions to be felt uh in ourselves.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes those are those are good emotions, those are good things, there's good memories, there's there's good, especially around Thanksgiving and and Christmas, there's there's good holiday memories and and and things like that where you go back and have these good memories of being with family.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I also recognize that in a fallen world, sometimes our model of family isn't great.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: And and we we haven't had a great good model of what family looks like and what it what it feels like and what it means.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and so so it causes, when we say the word family and when we think about family, sometimes it can cause some some big and strong emotions.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the question, why?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Why does it why do we have those emotions?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: And here's what I think.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think all of us long to belong to something bigger than ourselves.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: We long to have a place where we belong, a place that is our place, that is safe for us to go to and safe for us to find comfort and peace and find that.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe God created the family to be that.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I know it's not always that, but I believe God created the family to be that.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: But also as we look in Scripture, one of the most powerful metaphors for the church is the family of God.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: He has given us the church, he has given us each other to be a family, to find that place of belonging, to find that place of camaraderie, to find that place, that safe place where we can come together and be challenged and be encouraged, yes, of course, and to be to be pushed sometimes, yes.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: But by people that we know that love us and want the best for us.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so as we approach this passage today, where we we see that.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it said even that you can't choose your family, and that's true.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: You can choose your friends, you can't choose your family.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Even in the church, that's true.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, I know that you could decide to leave the Soto Hills, or you could decide to come to the Soto Hills, or at some point you made a decision for this to come and be your family.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: And while maybe you can make decisions like that, listen, it is not our choice where we are part of the family of God.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: God chose that.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: He brought us into his family.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's what James says in verse 19 when he says, Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: He what he is saying here is he's not talking, he's talking about how Gentiles who have turned to God shouldn't have to become Jews first, because they are saved by grace through faith, according to Scripture, for the glory of God.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: That is why we are saved, and that's why we come together and and and God chooses that.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Just as we have a responsibility to respond, God chooses that, and so we don't get to choose our who the church is, but we are family.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And and another another family saying that you hear all the time is blood is thicker than water.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Understand our bond as family of God.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's not my blood, it's not your blood, it's his blood.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it bonds us together as this family of God.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: If you notice at the end of verse 19, though, it doesn't end with a period, it ends with a comma.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: It ends with a comma.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a the the the James's thought here was not finished.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And what we want to do today is take the second part of this thought.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: The first part is that we are saved by the grace of God.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Salvation comes through the grace of God, but we see this second part of this after the comma.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: And what we're going to see today is while we have, while believers have been given the grace of God, James is going to encourage believers to now extend the grace of God to each other.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: He's going to encourage them to extend the grace of God to each other.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we recognize that while it is the grace of God that brings salvation, hear me, familial grace, grace among the family, grace among the family promotes unity and fellowship.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: And James is calling the church to do that.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: So the challenge for us today is that we must extend grace to each other.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we want to seek to answer the question this morning of how was grace extended?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: How did James encourage them to extend grace to one another?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And how do we see that happening?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: So this morning we're going to read Acts chapter 15, starting in verse 19, and read down through verse 35.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you're able, I invite you to stand with me as we give honor to the reading of God's word.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Luke writes, Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: For ancient generation for from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church to choose men from among them and sing them, send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: They sent Judas called Bersabbas and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Sicilya, greetings.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth, for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements, that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Farewell.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter, and when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for today, and we thank you for how you love us.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you for the grace that you have poured out on us, the grace to save us, the grace to give us this opportunity to open your word.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: God, we pray that you change our lives, that you change our lives for all eternity.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus, it's in your name we pray.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: So again, the question that we have is how was grace extended in this first, in this new first century setting?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the first thing that we see is grace is extended by abstaining.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: By abstaining from something.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: See, again, understand, they are saved by grace.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and James writes, look, let's not put any other burden on them than just salvation here, but it would be good if you abstained from some things.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: And he lists four things here that they should abstain from.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: One of these is a a abstain from something immoral.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: It is a moral command.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: He says to abstain from sexual immorality.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is a big deal because in the first century, especially in Greek cultures like that like they were in in Antioch, the Greek culture would have, there was a lot of sexual immorality happening.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Can we just say that?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Religiously, in the way that they worshiped their false gods, culturally in the way that they interacted with each other.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: There was a lot of immorality going on and happening, and this can't happen.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that is the same message.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: That same thing should apply to us today.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, we have got to stop allowing the culture to tell us and define for us what is right and wrong, and we've got to allow God's word to do that.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to avoid sexual immorality.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to avoid improper relationships.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to avoid things such as homosexuality and transgenderism.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, we've got to avoid things such as pornography and fornication.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: We are supposed to abstain from those things.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Not that avoiding and abstaining from those things saves us, but because abstaining from those things, listen, is going to build brotherhood and unity because we are standing on truth.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to stand on the truth of God's word.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: So he gives this one moral, but the other three recognize they're more ritual in nature.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: What I mean by they are more ritual in nature, they are more ritual in nature because what they are they are doing is they are describing how the Jews worshiped and how they approached God.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: If we define worship as coming and adoring God, they define how they approached and worshiped God.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: One of those, probably the biggest, is to that he told them to abstain from things polluted by idols.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Things polluted by idols.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: What does he mean by that?
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Probably the most obvious thing throughout the rest of Scripture is meat that had been sacrificed to idols.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: That was a thing that happened in the religion of false gods in that time is they would offer this meat, these sacrifices to these false gods, to these idols.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Then they would take the meat and they would eat it.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you have what you have happening here is some of these Gentiles who are now believers not seeing anything wrong with that.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: And you say, well, what would be wrong with it?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, nothing.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Here's why nothing's wrong with that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because here's in their view, this is what they would say.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's a piece of wood.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's metal, it's not real.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: There is one true living God, and so they're just killing this animal in front of this piece of wood.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Why should I not eat it?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: But listen, for the Jews, this was a big deal.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Listen.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: The Davidic kingdom, the kingdom of David and Solomon, were split.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: You want to know the root cause?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Idolatry.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Idolatry.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Later in Israel's history, they are going to be taken into exile.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of things they were doing wrong.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: You want to know the root cause?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Idolatry.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Turning their hearts away from God to worship anything else.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it sometimes it was the idols of Baal and other idols.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it was not just a particular idol, but it was just them turning away from God and not giving God the worship that was due.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And when we do that, whatever we turn our hearts to becomes that idol and that root cause.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: This was a big deal to Israel because idolatry had caused them so much grief in their history.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so what they wanted to do is not turn from that.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: But for the Gentiles, it wasn't a big deal.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: And James, he had some, he must have had some kind of foresight because he knew it was going to happen.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: In 1 Corinthians chapter 8, when Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, guess what he's talking about?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Eating meat offered to idols.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: And he comes and he says, look, some of you, some of you have a proper understanding of this, that it is a piece of wood, it's a piece of metal, it is fine to you to eat.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: But he basically says this just because you have a right to eat it doesn't mean you should eat it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Just because you have the right to do it doesn't mean that you should do it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: In chapter 8, verse 13 of 1 Corinthians, he says this, therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat lest it make my brother stumble.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Paul says, I can eat meat offered to idols, but if it's going to cause my brother to stumble, I'm going to choose not to.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Even though I have the right to do it, doesn't mean I should do it.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: In Romans, Paul's riding to the church at Rome.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: In Romans chapter 14, guess what he's addressing?
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Eating meat offered to idols.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And he comes and he's talking about how they should or they shouldn't do it.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then in chapter 14, verse 19, he says, this, so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: Again, he's saying, look, I understand it's a piece of wood, it's a piece of metal.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: You have the right to eat it.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: What you're eating is not going to make you unclean.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: We've already established that.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's not going to be happening.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: But what you should pursue is not your right to eat that meat.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: What you should pursue is what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, you say, Grant, what does this have to do with us?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's no idols that we're offering meat to that I'm going to the grocery store to buy.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take that principle, though.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: What things among us as a church do we have the right to do?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: But it is not the best thing for us to do.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because it doesn't promote peace and mutual upbuilding.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: See, he calls them to abstain.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Extend grace by abstaining from some things.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: And in that abstaining, what they are seeking to do is to become unifying.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: He tells us there in verse 21 what's happening for the Jews is for their whole life they've been going to the synagogues and having the law of Moses read.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Week after week after week after week, they're having this law read.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: And now they're coming and they're seeing, looking back on their history and understanding what what the division that it has caused for them to eat meat offered to idols.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's not an easy thing for them to give up.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: And what he is saying, what he's trying to do is get the Gentiles who say, look, that's crazy.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: We can do this.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: It hasn't caused us any grief.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: What he's trying to get them to do is look at the Jews and have sympathy and empathy for them and say, you know what?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: We're not going to do anything that's going to cause you to stumble.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: It is better to abstain and unify than it is for me to have my rights and divide.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: So he says, We need to find unity in this.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: We need to be unified.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes that requires sacrifice.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's abstaining.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: So how did they extend grace?
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: They did it by abstaining, they did it by unifying.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Finally, they did it by planning.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they were very intentional in their plans.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Verses 22 through 35.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to find some things that are happening that they are doing planning-wise.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: But listen, what I want you to see bigger than planning, I said planning because it, I'm trying to be a preacher.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Abstaining, unifying planning.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Probably a better thing here is intentionality.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: They are being very intentional in what they do.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what they're doing intentionally.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: They are intentionally communicating.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what happens.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: They choose two witnesses, aside from Paul and Barnabas, to send these two witnesses.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: They send them out and they say, hey, look, here's what the church, here's what the apostles and the elders and the brothers who are there, here's what they have come to.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: They are sending out so the witness can go out by word of mouth.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: They are being very intentional in their communication by sending out these witnesses to deliver the message, but they're also sending these witnesses out not just to deliver a message, but to deny false witnesses.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: There are people who have come into the church to cause division who have caused division, who are working out of their own opinions and their own what they think right, think is right, not judging by what the church is saying and what is going to be unifying and building up.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: So they're sending these witnesses.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: They are being very intentional in how they communicate.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're also being very intentional, not just in sending these witnesses, but they're also being very intentional because they are sending a letter as well.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: A letter signed by the elders and by the apostles that are saying, listen, we are saved by grace through faith.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing more, nothing less.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: For the fellowship, it would be good if you abstained from these things.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't cost salvation, but it is grace being extended for the benefit of the family.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Not only are they being intentional in their communication, they're being intentional in their purpose.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: See what happens when Judas, when Judas and Silas come to the church, they deliver the message, they gather them up, they deliver the message, and then they proclaim the word of God.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Paul and Barnabas, what did they do?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: They proclaim the word of God.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: They were very intentional in their purpose, which was this: to be Christ's witnesses for the kingdom of God.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: He called them to it back in chapter one.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does this mean for us?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: Real quickly.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what it means.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Church.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I'm gonna say it again.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you should do something.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: We should seek, we should seek what brings peace and mutual upbuilding.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now, listen, I understand there are some things that we do have to take a stand on.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: James did it talking about sexual immorality.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Look, there's no giving here.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is true, you gotta stand on it.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: There are some doctrines that we hold, there are some truths of scripture that we hold that we have to stand firm on, that there is no wiggle on.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: We are saved by grace through faith according to scripture for the glory of God.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot bend on those things.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: But when it comes to our opinions and what we think should be done, what we seek is peace and the mutual upbuilding of the church.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes that requires sacrifice and us abstaining.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: It also requires us being intentional in our communication.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Don't wait for the perfect time to apologize.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: Be intentional and go apologize.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Don't wait for the perfect time to let somebody know that they hurt your feelings.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Be intentional and go communicate, seeking peace.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because when we are not intentional in our communication, do you know what happens?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Gossip and rumors.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: We have to be intentional.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: We also have to be intentional in our purpose.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Remembering this.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: We are Christ's witnesses for the kingdom of God.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to know the best way for the world to see how God has given us grace when they see how we give each other grace?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: May we be a church that extends grace to each other?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: We're about to enter into a time of invitation.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: When you pray for us, we're going to stand and sing.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: As we sing, let me ask you this: have you ever, are you a part of the family of God?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Have you ever trusted Christ to save you and bring you into the fellowship?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you haven't, let me tell you, today is the day of salvation.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: If you have, but there is somebody that you need to reconcile with this morning.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: There is an apology that needs to be made.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: There is an apology that needs to be sought.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: There is something that needs to be done for us to promote peace and the mutual upbuilding of one another.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe this morning during this invitation, you need to go seek somebody out.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you need to step out and make a phone call to somebody.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever God is leading you to, I pray that this morning you will allow Him to work in your life.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: God, we love you.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for how you love us and we thank you for all you've done for us.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: God, we pray that this morning, as you are moving among us, God, you will help us to understand that we are the family of God.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: You have united us.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: You have called us.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: You have chosen us.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: God, not because of anything that we've done or not because we deserve it, but because of you who you are and your grace.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: God, I pray for those who need to trust you this morning.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Give them faith.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: God, I pray for those who need to extend grace to someone this morning.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: I pray that you give them the faith to do that.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Help us and lead us as only you can.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at DeSotoHills.com.