we've taken a break from our series in exodus and this morning i invite you to turn to the book of first samuel first samuel chapter seven as we anticipate coming to the lord's table this morning i thought what a wonderful passage to consider as we come and turn to the lord and he satisfies us with his word and sacrament we're going to read the entirety of first samuel chapter seven this is found on page 293 in your pew bible 293 we'll begin at verse 1 this is the word of the lord first samuel chapter 7 and the men of cariath jerim came and took up the ark of the lord and brought it to the house of abinadab on the hill and they consecrated his son eliezer to have charge of the ark of the Lord from the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-Jerim, a long time passed, some 20 years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtra, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the people of israel at mizpah now when the philistines heard that the people of israel had gathered at mizpah the lords of the philistines went up against israel and when the people of israel heard it they were afraid of the philistines and the people of israel said to samuel do not cease to cry out to the lord our god for us that he might may save us from the hand of the philistines so samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the lord And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mishpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below Beth-kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shin and called its name Ebenezer. He said, Till now the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Ekron to Gath and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life and he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would return to Ramah for his home was there and there he also judged Israel and he built there an altar to the Lord. May the Lord bless this morning the hearing of His Word. We have been studying Israel now for some time, and I don't know how anyone could walk away from all of these stories that we've been studying in the book of Exodus and spending time in the book of Exodus without a profound sense of how messed up we are. I mean it. Rebellious Israel was to the Lord. And as we've studied, it's been somewhat painful, but a necessary realization that what we have in Israel, you might say, is a microcosm of the macrocosm. What I mean by that is, you have in Israel a display of all of us. I think that can be somewhat discouraging. You read the Old Testament and you wonder, where is all the positive in the Old Testament, right? We read the Old Testament and we think things seem really bad throughout the Old Testament. It seems like judgment after judgment after judgment after judgment. Where were the bright moments? Where were the moments that we can look at and say, oh, thank you, Lord, because I haven't seen anything like that yet. Well, that's what we have this morning. In 1 Samuel 7, in the midst of a long section in 1 Samuel of a lot of darkness and a lot of apostasy, after the judges and the awful scenes of 1st Samuel comes a passage that stands out like nothing else it's a powerful passage it's a glorious section of scripture and like them as we consider what's going on today in 1st Samuel chapter 7 we similar to Israel often go through as believers prolonged periods of hardening and dullness to the Lord. You know this. I don't have to convince you of that. Don't you struggle with that? I must confess, I don't know anyone at this time of year who especially doesn't go through it. You just went through Thanksgiving and then Black Friday started Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. to get you out, to get you spending after you said thank you. We are bombarded at this time of year with distraction. We are bombarded with stress. A land of plenty as we live in, all the plenty we have seems to drive us to want more and more. Are we really satisfied? Are we? We recently studied the Canons of Dort and I was really taken by a particular phrase in the Canons that struck me. when it asks the question and recognizes in the life of believers that often there's a lack of assurance that we struggle with or an earnest endeavor after obedience, we struggle with that filial obedience. If it's not strongly felt, the canons say, in your own lives, using the means of grace, here's what the canons said in that little phrase in one of those sections in the first head. We should humbly wait for seasons of richer grace. Do you know there are seasons of richer grace that come upon us? Which assumes then that there are very dry periods that come upon us. Which assumes that there are periods of departure that come upon us. But that there are also seasons of richer grace that the Lord gives to us. What do they look like? How do you know? How do we arrive at a season of richer grace? Well, here before us this morning, after years of little to do with the Lord, the Lord brings upon Israel a season of rich grace. It's a really beautiful section. One of my favorites. Because in 1 Samuel 7, Israel returns to the Lord. That is a profound statement. This chapter shows their return, and everyone, after all this darkness, after all this apostasy, everyone should really think about this moment, what it looked like, what return to the Lord looked like. They found it so significant, they called it the raising of Ebenezer. We'll look at that. I'm not sure where you are this morning, but if your struggle is anything like mine you most likely have brought upon yourselves seasons of departure you have brought upon yourselves seasons of departure from god this morning the lord desires to bring upon his people in his word a season of richer grace will you hear it will you listen to it the lord's goal this morning in this passage and that's why it shines so brilliantly is that his people would be renewed that his people would be strengthened that they would be encouraged and he shows you what that path looks like when the season of grace has come upon you and that's what we're considering God calls us to faith and repentance to return to him this day with all of our hearts and he promises that he will answer any desolate cry of his people and fill his people those who turn to him in faith and repentance with lasting peace which is where this passage ends as we come to the table this morning i wanted to look at a sermon on repentance and this season of grace and that is where we are in first samuel chapter 7 of something new happening in israel one of the things that we really don't think about a lot is how sin does affect our relationship with the lord there is the serious problem of departure from the living god hebrews warns us of this this is nothing new hebrews says see to it brothers and sisters that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living god clearly it is cautioning us against turning away from the living god sin has devastating effects in turning our hearts away from him and hebrews will go on to even make statements like you must warn each other every day while it is still today so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. I'm going to show you what that looks like today. And I want you to see what happens in the lives of God's people when sin goes unchecked and we leave the God that we love. Sin always takes another step. If you're contemplating it, if you're thinking I'm going to test it, if you're thinking I'm going to go do something, if you're plotting it in your mind, John Owen was absolutely right when he said, sin that takes the first step will take the next. It'll take you somewhere. You'll go somewhere. Israel has been in a state of apostasy for years. They've been walking this, and that whole time they have known nothing but chastisement and hardship in the course of their existence because of it. In fact, chapter 6 keeps referring to the fact that the lord's heavy hand was upon them you'll notice yet you'll catch that if you go back and read chapter 6 and then the play on that word comes out in chapter 7 that the heavy hand turned on the philistines there was severe chastisement going on you ask the question what happened in israel i've got to sort of paint the dark background here for you for a moment so that then you understand how brilliantly chapter 7 shines. Ever since the days of the Judges, there was that little phrase that dominated the book of Judges, and you know what that phrase is. Everyone began to do what was right in their own eyes. And listen, everyone was doing and choosing their own path. Whatever their hearts directed them to do. You remember the terrible scenes of the opening of 1 Samuel, which is the consequence of that phrase living out in the life of the people that God's word was rare in those days, 1 Samuel 3. God stopped speaking. He was not speaking. It's a startling statement in 1 Samuel 3. Eli's sons were the leaders, remember. They had so corrupted the worship of the Lord, nobody even wanted to come and worship. Or at least they came and they hated it. Nobody was interested in it. They had a sour attitude to the worship of God. Do I really have to go up and worship today? And they'd bring their offerings and go through the motions. The spiritual decay of the people was so bad that when the Philistines came upon them to battle with them and Israel was defeated, they shot out at the Lord. Why is the Lord defeating us? You know what they did, boys and girls? They said, we can solve this problem if the Lord's not going to be with us. We're going to take the symbol of his presence and we're going to throw it out on the battlefield. And they took the ark and they thought it was a weapon of mass destruction out there. Just throw it out there. So they cast it on the battlefield. Do you know what they called it when they cast it out on the battlefield? Where that battle was fought, they called it Ebenezer. Hold that thought. There was no faith in one of the worst displays against the Philistines. The ark of God was captured. Eli's sons die. Eli falls backwards and dies. One of Eli's wives gives birth to a baby she doesn't even care about and calls the name Ichabod, which meant the glory has departed from Israel. Apostasy, glory gone from Israel is the state of the first section of Samuel of the people of God. no communion they did not know him worship nobody really wanted to be at but they knew they should no understanding anymore of god's holiness and by the end of the book or end of chapter six when the ark finally makes its way back after crushing the philistine gods the men of betshamish look into the ark but you think are you guys crazy and sure enough thousands were struck down and a ringing question comes at the end of chapter 6 who is able to stand before the lord this holy god uh-oh something was being realized that had been lost in israel well that's a jet tour through the first part of the book but it helps us to show and see how dark Israel was how dark things had become in the nation of Israel and that leads us now to verse 2 and it leads us to where we want to get today that the ark of God had been and remained in a place called Kiriath Yerim a long time and there's a little time clue there it was there 20 years 20 years so here it begins You read a remarkable little statement at the end of verse 2. And Israel, the children of Israel, lamented after the Lord. The house of Israel lamented after the Lord. It's a remarkable statement. It's a powerful little statement. The text is showing us something important. Do you see it? The children of Israel had not lamented after the Lord for 20 years. And finally, after 20 years, it started. So here's the scene. The ark is away from Israel. The glory has departed from Israel. And you think of Ezekiel when the chariot wills leave the temple. The glory had departed. Just as the Lord's hand was heavy against the Philistines, so it was against Israel. For 20 years, they were oppressed by the Philistines. They had become slaves in the land, their own land. We know from chapter 13 that the Philistines would not even let them have blacksmiths so that they couldn't make no swords. To give you context, the Philistines took away all their guns. no guns in israel you know what i'm reacting to i'm just saying that's the big discussion right now can you imagine if all the guns were taken away that's what happened in israel no blacksmiths no swords no weapons they were oppressed and god's as god's judgment had fallen on eli and his households were getting household were getting the sense of something terrible has happened in israel terrible i believe it's one of the most remarkable things that's raised here in first samuel chapter 7 samuel is saying to us this morning that there was a period of time offset by 20 years now follow me israel had nothing to do with the lord the picture that we have is israel had been assimilated in the canaan life They were not distinct. Functionally, they had become Canaanites. No more separation. No more stands on anything. No more taking a stand and defending much of anything in the course of their lives. Isn't it sad? Was the Lord ever mean or hard on these people? I mean, what had the Lord done for them? You've been studying Exodus. This is where studying the Old Testament helps us see the picture of the character of our God. His ways were not burdensome to them. He had constantly been caring for them. He had delivered them. He had plundered Egypt for them. He had provided for them. What hadn't the Lord done for them? And he invited them to come to the king and worship in his courts, worship before him. He had set a place of worship. That's why they went out into the wilderness that they might become a worshiping people, a people set apart. And they said, no thanks. Nope. The Lord's ways are burdensome to us. And lo and behold, they didn't enjoy peace. Their children were a mess. They didn't know the Lord's loving care. His help. Deep-rooted idolatry had fallen upon Israel. Nothing was going well. Now, I can apply this in a few different ways today. Does the church ever depart from the Lord? Do we see in the vast majority of church-going people today, people departing from His worship? Do we see the problem of people ruling by their own authority? How worldly has the church become? Is it possible to come and sing and do this? And yet in the people's hearts, there's no separation from Canaan. What is the spiritual life of people like? among Christians today? Do we see people understanding the Lord and delighting in His gospel? Or is it the truth that idolatry has filled the church? These are bad signs, of course, if you can affirm any of those things. Do you see what's happened? And you could look simply at the problem then of our own personal lives. How much do you personally depart? I ask today, how much of a priority is the Lord in our lives? Think about it. In the course of our weeks, do we draw near to Him? The truth is, if we're going to be honest, is the Lord really absent from us apart from our gathering? In your choices, in your walk, how prevalent is idolatry? Dr. Clark mentioned web browser last week. What of spending? What of eating? What of drinking? What is your approach to the God that you worship? be honest we would never cast out the ark in the middle of the battlefield right we'd never here it is Lord's Supper is right in front of you cast it in front you deserve this do you presume upon the Lord you think God owes you something or you think he's just thankful you came today do you have sin right now you're hiding that has been ongoing in your life for a long time that you would never want the person next to you to know about because it would utterly expose you. Anyone who commits sin says Jesus is a slave of sin. Sin produces awful slavery that leads to death. What amazes me here is you'd think Israel would have stopped and says, why is the Lord's heavy hand on us? How do you miss that for 20 years? I'm asking Israel this question. And now I'm asking us. where were you 20 years ago 20 years for 20 years they never stopped and asked where is the Lord's promise deliverance did they care anymore were they so discouraged because of the lawlessness they didn't care anymore you know this is what David said when he was living in sin with the Bathsheba incident that you kind of tally up would at least be nine months when i kept silent my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long for day and night your hand was heavy on me sound familiar it's the text my vitality my strength was turned into the drought of summer sila in other words i lived a miserable life in my path of sin but I didn't want to see it is the hand of the Lord against you upon you, heavy on you I mean at the end of verse 2 all of a sudden Israel amends after the Lord I love that what a moment, something's going on finally there were tears finally the weight of god's displeasure of real and unconfessed sin was felt they weren't confessing their sins they begin to realize our lives are really going on without the lord i want you to sense that right now that they began to realize our lives are going on and we're trying to live without him the ark is not even with us what are we doing And what I love about this is Israel's tears were the first sign that they were ready for the Word of God. God was now returning to them. You know when a season of rich grace has come upon us? It's right here. They're sighing after Him. You know all over the Scriptures, God's people, to enjoy His grace, had to cross this path. This is the first great evidence of repentance. This is the first great evidence of something happening in the heart. God was looking upon them again in mercy. And you think about all the things happening in the world today and all the things we're distressed about. Do we ever stop and think, we've been trying to do this without Him? Remember Peter? I'll never deny you. Nope. And in the next breath, he's denied him three times in the next scene. soon he had rejected the lord but but but the beauty of that whole scene was uh the lord didn't let him get very far did he do you remember what happened do you remember the path of his restoration do you remember the moment in peter's own fall in peter's own demise of his turning and it was this and i'm reading john hales here who i've been reading lately and he has a great point with this, it was this look of Christ that restored Peter. They weep for their sins whom Jesus looks upon. Peter denies him once, he repents not, for Jesus looked not back upon him. He denies him a second time, and yet he weeps not, for the Lord looked not back. He denies him the third time, Jesus looks upon him. And then he goes out and he weeps bitterly. There it is. Day and night, says David, my tears have been my food. This is Paul. Oh, wretched man that I am. He had to walk that. It's the prodigal in the pigsty. What am I doing here? I'm going to get up and go home. All these stories in the Scripture are telling us the same thing. These people were returning to the Lord. It's the people in Acts. What must we do when they heard and were convicted? It's at this point that people's questions, feeling the guilt of their consciences, which are severely pricked and turned, begin to say, well, who then can stand before the Lord, this holy God? That's the end of chapter 6. That's the question that launched us into chapter 7. Who has the ability to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And after such a dark period of apostasy, when we would all think, how could God ever forbear? How could God not be done with these bums? He brings a season of grace on them. I mean, we would all think God's done with these people, right? Maybe you've struggled with that. Maybe you said, I've done so many things in my life or I've continued to do so many things against him. God must be done with me. And yet after all that we've studied, here we are in 1 Samuel. How many years later after the exodus, God is still forbearing, God is still delivering. And the time of refreshing came and was signaled by the humbling of the human heart to finally see what it really is, to not fight against that anymore and to desire to return to the Lord. That's it. Do you lament after the Lord? What you have here is the whole pattern of repentance, forgiveness and the protection that God desires and gives his people. Do you see it? You see, now we're ready for Samuel. do you know this is the first prophetic speech in the book from the man it's almost as if samuel would not speak remember the word of the lord was rare in those days samuel would not speak until this and when he saw it he spoke now we're ready for the first prophetic words out of samuel the prophet's mouth what are they they're just beautiful Then Samuel spoke to all Israel, saying, I want you to notice this. Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Are you really returning to the Lord with your heart? This is how God always called His people to Himself. Throughout the Old Testament, He would call His people and He would say, return to me and I will return to you. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven, said Jesus, is at hand. Turn, repent, believe, you, you, you, you, covenant people. My people. It's interesting how Samuel says it. If you are returning with your heart, all your heart, if you're coming back home, prodigal sons, Put away your false gods. Put away your idols. You see what's adorning you? Put them away. The astras and the bales, which you say they were really worshiping the astras and the bales, and then you think 1 Corinthians 10 says all that's written for us so that we don't do idolatry because we have this problem. Put them away and worship the Lord only. Is that so much to ask for a God who's been like this to us and answered us? I love to notice that Samuel's first sermon to Israel was to turn them back to the Lord. Return with all your heart. Put away your idols. Prepare your hearts for the Lord and worship Him only. Serve and worship, same thing. Worship Him only. Israel comes together at Mizpah. They have a grand covenant renewal ceremony. And they pour out water before the Lord and they fast. And the whole symbolism of that was a time of deep repentance and turning had come upon the Lord that came from the heart. They were humbled and grieved by their sin and they fasted. And here comes the great phrase in this section. There you see they said together with one voice, we have sinned against the Lord. What is that? confession it's confession that's what we're called to do the lord's always called his people to be a confessing people one of the ways of confession is confession of sin um here israel is 20 years no confession and all of a sudden they're confessing and this is this is why first john this is what first john's operating out of you confess our sins and he's he's what what's he going to do he's faithful and he's just to forgive them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness There really are two kinds of responses in this life to this call, which goes out to everyone. You look at our society, you look at our society going to hell in a handbasket, it seems, and then you read this week in the daily news, God's not fixing this. That's one response. That's the response of the world to all the evil that's happening. We'll fix it. We'll set up an Ebenezer. Guns or no guns won't solve the problem of the human heart you're seeing, you guys. Dearly beloved. Guns or no guns will not solve this problem. God's not fixing this. That's one response you got this week. You want to do that response? It's a foolish one, but it's all around you. Or there's this one. I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I've not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. That's the right one. Years of darkness, glory departed. Finally, they began to yearn for the Lord. They turned. I wish everyone would turn to the Lord today. They realized how miserable they were without Him. They didn't even want to admit it. going through the motions of worship, full of idolatry, all of a sudden their eyes were opened. They cried, tears came, they returned, their hearts were opened, they confessed their sins. Welcome to the Christian life. This is what Paul said. Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us and nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. You know how you know it's a godly manner? You're lamenting after the Lord. I want Him. What have I done to Him? Without deep conviction that you're a sinner, you'll never get there. I wonder if some of us sit here today and really don't want to hear this. And then I think, that's the other response. But when it comes, it produces repentance, turning, change to the Lord. This is what Paul said to the church in Thessalonica. I praise God, you have turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God. That's evidence of the season of grace. It was a beautiful moment. So what happens here? Verse 7. Verse 7. Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the people of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to the Lord. Notice this. Our God. He hadn't been in their practice. He's our God. We are His people. So that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. As soon as they're returning, here they come. Before that, what did they do? Before that, they went and established their own Ebenezer. Before that, they went up and threw the ark in the middle of the battlefield. No prayer, no faith, no understanding, mere presumption. Do you notice the complete change of heart here? Totally humbled Samuel. Ask the Lord to save us. Go to the Lord and intercede for us. What a change from smug self-confidence and presumption. We're the covenant people to help us, Lord. Verse 9. So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel. And notice the phrase, and the Lord answered. As Samuel's offering, think of the imagery of this for a moment. We're going to come to supper. As Samuel's offering the burnt offering, the lamb, the Philistines draw near to attack. But the Lord thundered that day with a mighty sound. I don't know what that was like, but I know it terrified them to death. so that it so much threw them into confusion. They were utterly defeated with one thunderous blow from the Lord that day. And when did that deliverance come? Here's the beauty of this. Here come the enemies, ready to slaughter. They have no weapons, no guns, no power, no confidence anymore in themselves. Best place you could be. They can't deliver themselves. They're completely at the mercy of the Lord. Philistines have swords raised. And as the sacrifice is going up, just at that moment when death about came on Israel and the sword was coming down on Israel, at that moment Samuel offered the lamb and they were delivered. The Lord answered him right then and there. And that powerful, earth-shaking, thundering voice of the Lord terrified them so much so with a fear the enemies had never known before. We read, they never came into the territory again after this. And from that day on, the hand of the Lord was heavy on them. Do you see when the deliverance came? When they forsook their sin and they saw what they were and the blood of the lamb was offered and the mediator who went in between took the blow and that day the Lord was satisfied. That day the Lord delivered them. That day the Lord helped them. I even read a commentator that wrote, the day of Israel's justification before God. If you're really returning to Him with your heart, if you believe, He'll save you. That's what He did that day. And we close with this thought. Then Samuel took a stone, in verse 12, and set it up between Mizpah and Shin and called its name Ebenezer, saying thus far the Lord has helped us. He's always helped us. But this was entirely different. Ebenezer means stone of help. You know that. Ebenezer means stone of help. Samuel says the Lord had always been our help. Now we are acknowledging He is our rock and our shield and our help. The Lord ever working to bring His people to the true Ebenezer stone. Let me say again, some of you may have been involved with sin and in sin, unrepentant for 20 years. Idolatry brings you no peace. I hope today that as a whole body, you see this in the Scriptures, we lament after the Lord. And we say we miss Him. We say we want Him. We want Him to satisfy us early today with His mercies. The more you learn this about the Christian life, It's not a one-time shot. This is the life of sanctification. This is daily conversion. And the greater your joy and peace will be in this life in deliverance and real help in your struggles with sin, the less and the farther you run, the more you will experience His heavy hand. That's the mystery of sanctification. We all go through periods of darkness and hardening of heart. And God's love to us has shown that He will set His heavy hand on us. He won't let us get very far. Never let me get very far. He won't let you, as a child of God, get very far. You don't want to try it. He says to you today, I will by no means cast any who come to me, says Jesus. I'll fight the battle. I'll save you. I don't know where you are today, but when you come into these periods of renewal and strengthening in grace, which I hope and trust and pray this is it for the Escondido URC today, a moment of real renewing and renewal. You should remember what the Lord has done for you today. He set up an Ebenezer stone in his son. He's your stone of help. And Israel finally realized how somebody could stand before the Lord, this holy God. They needed a sacrifice. The sacrifice they had long kicked at God said to Eli and his sons for a long time you kick at my sacrifices now that sacrifice had become special to them and I pray that Christ is special to you he is your Ebenezer and every time you partake of his supper you have a memorial of his grace to you a remembrance and a spiritual help to assure us that the victory is in him remember this when you feel that you're weakest in despair. When you have no answers and the Philistines come to attack, a sacrifice was raised for you in AD 30 in the month of Nisan at about the sixth hour of the day when Jesus said it was finished. And He is your stone. Don't let that stone fall on you. Fall on Him. And all who look to Him in repentance and godly sorrow and faith will be delivered from all their sins. And today He says, if this is you, come to your Ebenezer. Come to the feast intended to help you in all of your weakness. Let's pray to you. Gracious Heavenly Father, we bow the head at this hour thankful that you lead us in repentance and that you've given us a sermon of rich grace showing your powerful working. We confess our sins together today of idolatry. We confess our sins of departing. We confess our sins of not loving you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and ask that you would bring upon us this season of grace and answer us today in your supper. Fill us with Christ. Nourish our souls unto eternal life with the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. And let everyone who comes know that you are for us and that you love us and that you will never despise or cast out any who come with contriteness of heart. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.