The Healing Power of Christ in a Sandwich

As we come to our sermon text this morning, Luke. Chapter 8. Verses 40. Through fifty-nine. Luke chapter 8.

Verses 40 through 59. Before we read from God's holy and inerrant word, let's ask Him to bless it. This morning. Oh Lord, you are indeed. Mighty to save.

You are indeed the one who has done the great work. You have opened our eyes. And our souls to your magnificent glory. And we thank you for your rescue. We thank you that we are not saved through the blood of sheep and goats, but rather we are saved through the blood.

of the one true lamb. Bless us as we come to your holy word this morning. Bless us as we. Here it preached. And may we continue to remember.

That it is through the blood that we are washed. Lord, do not let the dragon prevail as you've promised. You have crushed. His head. Through the cross.

We pray all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Luke chapter 8 verses 40 through 59.

Now when Jesus returned The crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house. for he had an only daughter. about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. There was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years. And though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, Who was it that touched me?

When all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you. But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. When the woman saw that she was not hidden, She came trembling. and falling down before him, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him. and how she had been immediately healed.

And he said to her, Daughter. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher anymore.

But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him: Do not fear, only believe. and she will be well. When he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter, and John and James. and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her.

But he said, Do not weep. For she is not dead, but sleeping. They laughed at him. knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand, he called her.

saying, child, arise. And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. This is the word of the Lord.

Amen. You know, when we were last together in the morning, I left you on a cliffhanger as to what would happen next. And if you remember, Jesus had just cleansed the demoniac among the tombs and then sent him to be an evangelist. To his people.

Now, this was prior to the snowstorm, so the snow may have blotted it from your memory, but hopefully it's there, fresh.

Now, the title of my sermon is The Healing Power of Christ in a Sandwich. And you may be wondering just what I'm planning to do up here today. We're indeed going to be talking about sandwiches. You see, the history of the sandwich is hotly contested.

Some say that a Jewish scholar in the first century used soft matzah bread to make the first ever Mediterranean wrap. The Middle Ages, however, They used thick pieces of stale bread as plates. And when they had finished eating all the stew and the stew had soaked through the bread, they would then eat the bread.

However, the most famous origin of the sandwich, where it gets its name, Sandwich, is from John Montague, who was the fourth Earl of Sandwich. See, Sandwich was a place. He was an 18th century English aristocrat. He requested slices of hot beef between two slices of bread so that he could eat while not getting his cribbage cards greasy. Thus the sand witch, as we know it, was born.

Now interestingly enough, you may laugh at this statistic or this knowledge that you don't know, but the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration officially say That a true sandwich is made up of at least 35% cooked meat. No more than 50% bread.

Now why does the DOA and the FDA have standards on what a sandwich is? I'm not sure. But any true sandwich connoisseur will tell you That it's not what's in the middle that makes a good sandwich. A good sandwich is made when all the components of said sandwich work together. Right, you can have a very wonderful meat, you can have delectable cheeses, you can have a tasty spread, but if you're lacking in the bread department, your sandwich is not going to satisfy.

And What is he doing? Why are we talking about sandwiches? There's no sandwiches in our text.

Well, I hope you ate breakfast this morning. Because there is indeed a sandwich in our text. There's a very important sandwich. If we look at our text, We see bread, meat, and bread. We see the beginning of a story, and then we see an interlude.

And then we finish the story. This is a a literary term called a sandwich. And we should not think it coincidence as to what is happening in our text. Because there is one constant thread throughout the Bible. There is one story that Jesus Christ is Lord.

He came to this earth to reconcile us back to God through his blood.

Now, as we journey toward the event where Christ achieved this in the word, we see Jesus coming to this place in order to seek and save two daughters. Two image bearers. that Israel would repent. and belief.

Now the theme of our text this morning is a fringe healing precedes a bodily resurrection.

Now we'll see this theme in three movements in our text. A plea for a 12-year-old. A 12-year-old plea. and a meal for a 12-year-old. Those will come up on the screen as we go throughout our text this morning.

As we move into that first section, a plea for a 12-year-old. Where did we leave off in Luke's Gospel? Chapter 8 begins with Jesus giving parables regarding the word of God. and how people receive the word. Jesus then tells us who his family is based on if they're doers of the word or not.

And then Jesus gets into the boat with the disciples. He calms the raging sea. And then he rebukes the living demons inside the garrison man. And after the demons are driven from the man, Christ gives him a drive and a purpose to preach the good news to his people. And we pick up the story in verse 40.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Jesus gets back from the boat. He's greeted by a large crowd.

Now the crowds have been following Jesus for a little bit. Hoping to see more amazing things. And now that he is back. Right, they are ready to see amazing things again, they're ready for him. But Jesus knows the depths of these people's hearts.

He knows many are are there just to see something out of the ordinary. And to continually put up with these people and not drive them away is a testament to our Lord's patience.

Well, something amazing is going to happen today, and it's in the form of a synagogue ruler coming to Jesus. And what does our text say? Verse 41 and 42. There came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus's feet, he implored him to come to his house.

for he had an only daughter. about 12 years of age, and she was dying.

Now, in Jesus' day, the synagogue was ruled by elders, right? These men attended to the logistical and spiritual matters of the people. This ruler, this elder, comes to Jesus and falls at his feet.

Now this would be a sight to see. Scholars do think that some leaders in the Jewish community thought Jesus was good. that he had some authority given by God to do these mighty acts. But an elder bowing before this man would be embarrassing. Bowing before a man like Jesus, who's turning the Jewish world on its upside down and proclaiming the kingdom.

would be outside what an elder should have done.

Now This would be very silly. For this high and mighty elder, ruler of the synagogue, to get down on his knees and bow before Jesus. Very thankful that your elders of your church are not like this. If this man Wanted to keep the respect of his fellow elders in the synagogue, he would not do this. This would be the same thing as the owner of some company going and finding the entry-level employee, getting down on his hands and knees and begging the person to help.

Uh that that doesn't work. But there's something about this ruler Jairus. That's different. He's not just an elder in the synagogue. He's been given an even more important role in this life.

He's a father.

Now, as a father, I understand the gravity that comes with that job. Being a pastor is an important job, but my first ministry is to my wife and to my children. And not every man is called to be a pastor, but every married man is called to pastor and shepherd his wife. Every father is called to pastor and shepherd their children. And what father wouldn't Drop to his knees.

Humbling himself. If that's what it takes to save the life of his child, what father wouldn't do this? But don't miss the contrast here. If you were to look up at verse 37, you will see the garrisons asking Jesus to leave. And now we see this man, this elder, this important person.

asking Jesus to stay. Rather, it's Jesus to come. Do you see the irony?

Now, Luke keeps this running story in chapter 8 so that you would see a common thread of who Jesus is. By the way that he talks, by the way that he interacts with the people around him. By the way, he intentionally goes to people who need him. Jairus is begging Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Jairus has no other hope.

Jesus is his only hope. Before we continue. Let's pause here. Let's contemplate this plea for a twelve-year-old girl. And we're not going to try and read more into the text that isn't there.

But I do want to pause because we see this man, this elder of the synagogue, believing that Jesus can do a miraculous thing. Not much is known about this Jairus. He's not going to come up again in the Bible. But we should see this event for what it is. An Israelite.

Ready to believe that Jesus can heal this girl while she's still alive. This is a great thing. It was told to Israel that a Savior would indeed come. And here he is. And this Israelite, no matter that he's a leader, this Israelite sees that Jesus is his only hope.

Hope. And thus Jesus then comes and has compassion on this man. And when he's asked to come to Jairus's house, He does. Chapter 8. It's a beautiful chapter of Luke's Gospel.

See, Jesus has compassion on this man. Chapter 8 shows a picture of an almighty God who goes to those of his creation who need him. But at this juncture We're about to see Jesus. allows someone to come to him for help. Right, if our text today is a sandwich, let's get to what's between the bread.

As we move into that next section, a 12-year-old plea. Let's look at verse 42 and 43. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years. And though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed.

by anyone.

Now, this woman comes into our story first by way of Luke telling us what's wrong with her. Indeed, this woman has a continuous discharge of blood.

Now, whether it's constant all the time or it reared its head at various times, we're not sure. But this woman is drained of her life. And her finances. To top it all off. She is perpetually unclean.

according to the law.

Now, most of us probably don't know what suffering from this blood loss would be like, right? The closest thing I can think of is to the time a few years ago, I was in the hospital, and they had me on blood thinners. And uh as the influx of air into my nose caused my nose to be dry and cracked, my my nose would bleed.

Now if you know anything about blood thinners, right, they make your blood harder to clot.

Now I remember being frustrated with the fact that my nose would not stop bleeding.

Now I then imagine a hemorrhage of blood in this woman that would not stop. Far worse than what I was going through. Very different. Very worse. See, blood is what allows us to live.

The Old Testament had much to say about the blood of people and the blood of animals. Leviticus 17:11 tells us this. For the life of a creature is in its blood. And I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar. It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

There are laws about cleanliness regarding when blood is shed, whether it's yours or someone else's. There are laws about how to use the blood of animals in sacrifice for ritual. Hebrews 9.22 tells us, indeed. Under the law, almost everything is purified with blood. Without the shedding of blood.

There is no forgiveness of sins. This woman is suffering from an unending flow of blood. Her life is constantly leaving her. For 12 years For 12 years she suffered from this discharge. Twelve long years.

Presumably. This discharge began the day a certain twelve year old was born.

Now I'm being on the nose about it, but just in case it's not clicking. This woman was suffering from this hemorrhage of blood for the same amount of time as Jairus' daughter has been alive. Friends, there is no such thing as coincidence. There's no such thing as coincidence when we have a God who perfectly ordains all things to happen in this universe. You may remember a point in the Gospels where Jesus passed by a blind man who was blind from birth.

John 9 recounts this for us. The disciples asked Jesus, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answers them. Neither this man nor his parents sinned. said Jesus.

But this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. And friends, this gives new meaning to suffering. God allowed for this man to be born blind, that the people of God would see the amazing transforming and healing power. of the living God.

Now, let me read from Leviticus a little bit more. Leviticus 15. Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. This is the law of his uncleanliness for a discharge. Whether his body runs with his discharge.

or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanliness. Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies. shall be unclean. and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. The words of Leviticus continue on.

Anyone who touches the unclean bed, you become unclean. Sit on something that is unclean, you become unclean. You touch someone with a discharge, you become unclean. If you're unclean, anything you sit on, lay on, touch. becomes unclean.

The woman in our text is non-stop bleeding year after year. And you can imagine her frustration as she cries out. Why does this keep happening to me, God? Why can't this be fixed? Why can't I be healed?

Your laws of cleanliness keep me from being part of the rest of my people. Lord, I am always unclean. Why? O image-bearer of God, if you only knew. You have been subjected to this discharge that the works of God might be displayed in you.

Verses 44 through 46. She came up behind him. and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, Who was it that touched me? When all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you.

But Jesus said, someone touched me. for I perceive that power has gone out from me. Here comes Jesus going on his way to help Jairus. The crowds are pressing against him, and everyone is just clamoring to get a glimpse of this miracle worker. And this woman This woman believes that if she would just touch the fringe of his cloak that she would be healed.

This is the man we've heard about. If I could just get close enough to touch the swaying of his shirt. I know I will be healed. You see, touching someone with a discharge makes you unclean. This unclean woman reaches out to grasp his garment and in touching it, her discharge immediately stops.

Now, in this moment, something amazing happens.

Now, yes, the healing happens, and it is an amazing testament to the wonder-working power of God. But the most amazing thing. Is that when this woman's bleeding is stopped in an instant, Jesus does not become unclean? She becomes clean. Jesus has not become unclean.

The works of God have been displayed in this woman. You see, Jesus is the one who heals. The laws of God do not make someone clean. The law of God outlines what uncleanliness is and how to deal with it. The law does not make people clean.

You see, Jesus does what the ceremonial law cannot. Jesus not only heals, but he makes the uncleanliness. Cease. Verse 47 and 48. And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, She came trembling.

and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him. How she'd been immediately healed. And he said to her daughter, Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Wow.

Your faith has made you well. You see, this woman wasn't hoping in herself. She tried to hope in doctors to make her well, and they couldn't. Nothing could make her well except the awesome transforming power of Jesus Christ. And not just Not just for her benefit.

But so that the works of God would be displayed And this daughter For all to see. Not only did Jesus end the uncleanliness, but Jesus will shake the shackles of sin from this woman's soul, and he calls her. Daughter. See, brothers and sisters, Christ does the same for us. You see, your discharge of sin has made you perpetually unclean.

Not for 12 years unless you're 12 years old, but for all your life. And Christ calls you by way of the Holy Spirit, and you reach out to touch a clean Savior with your unclean hand. And he makes you clean. When you meet the transforming power of Christ. You are transformed.

And he will call you son. He will call you daughter. But again, friends, do not think that there's some coincidence here that Jesus calls her. Daughter. There are many instances where we could say a coincidence is present.

Remember, there are no coincidences when God is involved. As Jesus says this to the woman, as he calls her daughter. and says your faith has made you well Who also is hearing this? Who is hearing this? Everyone.

Everyone is hearing this. I heard it already, but I'm going to get there. The people in the crowd, the disciples, and yes, the person who just said it, Jairus. Jairus is hearing this.

So we come to that last section of our text. The Bible doesn't need to tell us that Jairus is thinking about his daughter. But it does anyways. What does verse 41 say? Falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house.

for he had an only daughter. About twelve years of age and she was dying. Of course he's thinking about his daughter. What father wouldn't? Come Jesus, please come to my house for only you can heal my daughter They begin to go.

And the crowd is pressing in, keeping them from moving quickly. Come on, Jesus, let's go. We're almost there. The disciples are probably anxious too. Hence why Peter tells Jesus not to worry who touched him.

Jesus, don't worry about who touched you. As things are unfolding with this woman, Jairus is probably looking back at Jesus and then looking to where his house is. If he had a watch, he'd be looking at it, he'd be checking it because we're almost there. And it's no coincidence Jesus calls this woman daughter. Jairus is thinking about his daughter.

He's worried, he's flustered, he's anxious. He's hoping to see his daughter far, far, far away from death's door. Verses forty-nine and fifty. While he was still speaking.

Someone from the ruler's house came and said, Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher any more. But Jesus on hearing this answered him, Do not fear. Only believe and she will be well. See, Jairus had faith in Jesus.

and came to him for help. And at this point, hearing that his daughter is dead, oh, how this heart must be broken. His only daughter. But Jesus is the one who binds up the brokenhearted. Where Jairus had faith in Jesus' ability to heal his daughter.

Jesus assures him that not only can he heal her from her sickness, but he can heal her from her death.

Now, if you're reading Luke's gospel, if you read over Luke's Gospel, you see that Luke is interested in reporting the facts. For Jairus' benefit and ours, he probably doesn't report what Jairus said if he said anything. But at this point, this distraught father probably can't speak. As he contemplates his only daughter, it is no longer with him. This little girl's life was taken from her, as we would say, well before her time.

When he came to the house, He allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and the mother of the child. You probably could guess what Jairus is thinking. We're not told, but we can guess. Is there no God? Why take her?

She's just a little girl. What did she do to deserve this? Why should the life leave her body? Why? so that Eugiris would see and believe.

But why?

So that you Peter would see and believe. Why? So that you, John, would see and believe. Why? So that you, James, would see and believe.

Why? So that the works of God. might be displayed in this little girl.

So that you, brothers and sisters here and now, would see. And believe. And all were weeping and mourning for her. But he said, do not weep. For she is not dead, but sleeping.

And they laughed at him. knowing that she was dead. Jesus, before going into the house, He tells the mourners and the crowd that this girl is not dead, she's only sleeping.

Now, you may not know this from the text, but you should understand there was a job called a professional mourner. These people would go to where people had just lost a loved one, and they would wail, and they would cry, and they would tear sashes to represent them tearing their clothes. These people They laugh at Jesus. These professional mourners cease their wailing and their crying and start to laugh at the absurdity of what Jesus. Just said.

You got to give the Son of God credit. It must be hard for Jesus to stand there and listen to people tell him he's wrong. They laugh. She's dead, Jesus. How mistaken you are.

But this moment with the mourners is just a distraction. Jesus pays them no mind. He pulls three disciples in with his parents. They look at the daughter of Jairus still. Not moving.

Not running around as a child should, not playing games as a child should, not full of life like a child should. The vision of a still child is brought to you.

So that the works of God would be displayed. And what does Jesus do? He reaches out. to touch her. He he reaches for her hand.

Now we don't have ceremonial laws, so we don't really grasp the situation here. Jesus, don't touch her. She is dead. Don't become unclean. What are you doing?

Numbers 19:13, whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself. defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanliness is still on him. This would be serious stuff.

Jesus, don't touch her, she's dead.

Now in Luke 7 Jesus encounters the young man who's dead, right? He touches the stretcher that the man is on, he tells him to get up.

Now touching the stretcher alone would be a no-no. But but this is different. He is going to physically touch her hand. What is he doing? But taking her by the hand, he called, saying, Child, arise.

And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. and he directed that something should be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed. But he charged them to tell no one. What had happened?

Jesus reaches out his hand. He touches this little daughter in order to wake her from her slumber, like many of us parents have done before. These people know what a dead body is. These people can tell when the life leaves a body and the blood runs cold. Jesus touches this dead girl, tells her to get up.

And she does. He does not become unclean. She becomes clean. The law tells us what a dead body is, and the law tells us how to care for ourselves after being in the presence of a dead body. But the law does not give life.

Jesus gives life. See, the law of God doesn't make someone clean. The law of God outlines what uncleanliness is and how to deal with it. Jesus does what the ceremonial law cannot. As one commentator writes, Luke is a doctor.

Luke knows this girl wasn't comatose. When you're comatose, your spirit doesn't leave your body. Luke knows this girl wasn't sleeping. Your soul doesn't leave your body when you're sleeping. Jesus raised this dead girl to life.

Directs her to be given something to eat. Why? because it proves that was once unable to consume sustenance in order to survive, can now eat. and sustain her body. This is a true miracle.

And anyone who says different is wrong. You see, our text is indeed a literary sandwich, but the main what is the main point here? The theme was a fringe healing precedes a bodily resurrection. But in 2026, We must see something amazing here that points us to an amazing God. What is Jesus doing in this passage?

Sure, he heals a body from a discharge of blood, and he heals a body from certain death. But what he is really doing is showing that he is the Son of God and He has authority over disease and death. Jesus is showing the disciples, the people, you and me, that he is indeed the Christ. And that means that he does not allow disease and death to continue in his presence. But more importantly, when he comes into contact with disease or death, those things cease.

When a discharge of blood comes in contact with him, it ceases. When a dead girl comes into contact with him, she comes back to life. Brothers and sisters, disease, death, leprosy, lameness, blindness. All these ailments. Point.

to a greater ailment that plagues us. That ailment is sin. The sin that grips us causes our bodies to decay. It causes them to catch sickness. And it causes us to die.

Sin makes us unclean. When Jesus comes into contact with our sin, with our defilement. He doesn't catch it. He doesn't become unclean. You become clean.

And you say to Jesus, but you don't know my life. You don't know the horrible things I've done. You don't know how I've wounded people. You don't know how I've wounded myself. You don't know how sick I am.

Jesus, don't touch me. Don't let my defilement come to you. Don't touch me, Jesus. When Jesus comes into contact with our sin, with our defilement, He doesn't catch it. He doesn't become unclean, you become clean.

One of my favorite preachers on this subject is Liggin Duncan. He's a far better preacher than I am. And his sermon on this topic brings me to tears every time. But he closes with this: He says, Jesus doesn't become unclean, they become clean. When you take people to Jesus, he knows what to do with them.

There is a power in him to deal with our defilement. What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now, as we've spent a lot of time reading Leviticus, and hopefully you read through Leviticus in your daily Bible reading plan, but as we finish here, I want to read from Hebrews 13, verses 10 through 13. We have an altar. from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people. through his own blood. You see, the number of sacrifices to cover the sins of the million or so people of Israel is astounding. As you read through the books of Leviticus and Numbers, you'll see that after sacrifice after sacrifice happens, and after the blood has been splashed and sprinkled on the altar in the people. After the different choice parts have been burned, There's a pleasing aroma to God.

The rest is taken outside the camp. To be burned. When we see the ceremonial laws being applied to the Israelites in the wilderness. We see an unforgiving punishment. for something you have no control over.

You have a spot of leprosy on your body? Outside the cam. You have a discharge from your body outside the camp. The camp was a dwelling place of God. He is holy, and therefore all defilement must go outside the camp.

The wife that you love has a spot of leprosy. She is unclean. As long as she has the disease, she shall live alone. Her dwelling shall be outside the camp. The husband that you care so deeply for has come into contact with a dead body.

And he now must go outside the camp, away from you, for a period of time. But your son Your only son had a discharge of blood. He must dwell outside the camp until the discharge ceases. You must dwell apart from your child. That's the law.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem. He suffered outside the city, he suffered outside the camp. in order to keep the people of God holy through his precious blood. And Jesus doesn't hear the comforting words of Psalm 23 spoken to him by his shepherd father in heaven. No.

Instead, he hears the words of the judge saying, I will show you no mercy. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. by becoming a curse for us. See, the healing power of Christ is sufficient to take you from the grip of sin and to then clothe you in righteousness. Not only is his power sufficient, But his power actually seeks you out in order to save you.

Because that is what Jesus Christ came to do. to find and rescue the lost. and win them back to God.

So that they will be able to dwell in the house of the Lord. Forever. As Psalm 23 ends. It says, It is by grace you have been saved, not by works. Or if your works were how you was saved, you'd still be outside the camp.

Forever. Instead. Friends, be transformed in the renewing of your mind. to understand that Christ has done the work on your behalf. What costs everything to God is free for you and me.

As the question was posed earlier. What can wash away my sins? Nothing. But the blood. of Jesus.

Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. We thank you that your Son's blood.

is the rescue we need. For we could not hope. in any other Savior. Oh Lord, we are. Wretched, and yet you desired us.

You you didn't need us, and yet you desired us anyways. And you have worked so many things for your glory, but for our good. May we never forget that it is not a work that we could do. But it is you who have done the work to rescue us. Your son went outside the camp.

And you call us. Sun. You call us daughter. You call us your children. This is an amazing gift, Lord, and let us never take it for granted, for you are indeed the mighty God.

Lord, we love you. We pray all this in your son's name. Amen. Mm-hmm.