What Does the World See When They Look at the Church?

Of all the things Jesus could’ve prayed for before going to the cross, He prayed for unity. Why? And what does that mean for us today?

In this week’s message, Pastor Ken unpacks Jesus’ powerful prayer from John 17 and shows how unity in the Church isn’t just a nice idea—it’s essential to our witness, our purpose, and our relationship with God. If you’ve ever struggled with tension in relationships or unforgiveness, this message is for you.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith, and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- If you could have a 15 minute conversation with anyone, okay. Alive or not so alive anymore, okay. Historical or, or right now, living, breathing flesh, who would it be? 50 minute conversation. Anyone who would it be? Okay. I want you to think about that. Okay. If you're joining us online, I want you to think two, and then on a count of three, we're all just gonna say it out loud. All right? So don't get weirded out. It's fine to say it, okay? Unless it's someone who's super weird, like, I don't wanna say two who might be super weird. Okay, we go. Ready? I'm gonna join you. 1, 2, 3. My wife . Alright, if you didn't say your spouse, we got a new marriage conference coming up. Next note. Joking. Okay, we're in week two of the series called Prayers with Jesus and prayer as Very Heart. Okay, when you get to the bottom, very heart of prayer is an imitation to a conversation with the God of the universe. Wild idea. Ephesians three 12 says this In him, meaning Jesus, in Jesus. And through faith in Jesus, we may approach God with two things. With freedom and with confidence. Freedom and confidence. I want those words to just kind of rattle around your head for a little bit. Uh, not too long ago, my wife and I, we decided to do a renovation in our dining room. Dining room. We spent a lot of time in our dining room, and so we wanted to make that a special place. And so my wife took the lead on the design, and then I, I did the work and she made some very bold choices. She, I'm gonna get this wrong with the color, but it was like a, uh, like a, like a dark turquoise color. And on the bottom, like the rains wainscotting and on the top was like this, like floral wallpaper, okay? And she loved it. And the people who came to our house for a meal said that they loved it. Um, I did not like it at all. It stressed me out. I love being in that room, but, but I just couldn't, I was getting so squirmy, my brain hurt just from like, everything that was going on. It was just sensory overload. And so for like six months, I'm just carrying this right with me. I'm like, I'm not gonna say it. I'm not gonna say it. And then I just couldn't do it. I just, I just was too nervous to say something about it. Then one day just blurted out on a Saturday morning, I'm like, babe, I hate it. We have to change it. It's driving me crazy. I was so nervous to tell her that, you know, sometimes we, uh, feel nervous talking to our spouse about certain things. We feel nervous talking to our boss about things. You know, as kids we're told not to talk to strangers, right? And then we grow up and someone rings our doorbell and like, fear just grips our heart, right? Panic. We're still afraid of strangers. Yet the Bible tells us, with the God of the universe, we can approach him with freedom and with confidence. Now, don't misunderstand me, uh, if we, we don't approach God with any sort of irreverence. If there's any doubt of who you're talking to, when you pray, revelation one fixes that up for us real quick, John, who is the author of Revelation, he describes seeing this vision of Jesus. And the Bible says, when he saw the risen Jesus, he fell down as if dead. I know sometimes we joke around and we say things like, when I get to heaven, the first thing I'm gonna do is ask God, you know, fill in the blank. The common ones right, are God, what's the point of mosquitoes? Right? That's what we want to know, right? Or, or, okay, for you who do the laundry, God, what happened to all the socks? Where'd they go in the dryer, right?, maybe there's more real ones that we'd say like, God, why did, why did my family, why did I have to go through this? Why did this happen to me? And so we say, the first thing we're gonna do, we're gonna ask God these, these questions. You know, when I'm in a, an argument with my wife, which is never, so I don't really know, is hypothetical, okay? We'll sometimes joke around saying, when we get to heaven, the first thing we're gonna do is rewind the tape. Right? We, I dunno if you ever used that one. We're gonna rewind the tape to 2011 when we were in that argument to see who won. Right? We'll say, say something like that. None of that is going to happen when we are presented in front of us as the risen Jesus, we're gonna do like John did. The things of this world are gonna go strangely dim in the light of his glorious face. But here's the thing. The same resurrected Jesus that we'll one day see in glory is the exact same Jesus that we pray to and through right now. And we're told in scripture that we can approach this Jesus with freedom and with confidence and prayer. It's like, well, how does that work? How does that work? Because it wasn't that long ago that you were an enemy of God. The Bible says that we are alienated from God. Isaiah 59 says this, but your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear like you pray. And just like this force field, he's, he's not listening. So what changed? Why did, why Freedom and confidence. Now, this is what changed. The barrier between you and God that was established by your sin was completely obliterated by Jesus Christ on the cross. That's what happened. He removed that barrier. This is what it says in Ephesians two 13. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were Kay, past tense, you who once were far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And because of that, we have freedom and confidence to approach God in prayer. And it's not freedom, right, that you deserve. It's not inherent, it's not confidence based on yourself, right? And what you can do and what you can bring to the table. No, it's freedom that was purchased for you with the blood of Christ and confidence that on the cross God's justice was satisfied. And so when Jesus says it is finished, it is finished. You don't have to pay for your sin any longer. You have freedom and confidence to approach God in prayer. It's wonderfulness. This is a foundational reality of prayer. This is your position before God. If you have put your faith in Jesus before God, this is your position. But there's another reality that is also in play and also causes a little bit of tension in our lives. And it's, and it's just this simple. So maybe you admit, I I don't really know how to pray. Yes, I understand I have the freedom to approach God, but I don't really have the confidence 'cause.'cause I just really don't know how to pray. And you can go to a lot of different books that have been written over the years, and I have them on my shelf and I've read them to learn how to pray. And they're good, but why not go to the master prayer himself, Jesus, to learn how to pray. And so that's what we're doing over the course of this series, four weeks, four prayers with a single goal to help you pray better than you do now. It's a good goal. It's a noble goal. So today we're going to look at the last portion of John 17. John 17 is one continuous, wonderful prayer. One commentary I read said this was the goat of all prayers. That's my paraphrase. What he said was, this was the greatest prayer that has ever been prayed on earth. We don't know all the prayers that have happened in heaven but on earth recorded. This is the greatest prayer that has ever been prayed. And so if you're getting back in the Bible reading, or you're between reading plans or you just want to, you know something to something to read this week, spend your time in John 17. Here's the context. Jesus knows, and he's preparing himself to be arrested and to go to the cross. So he is spending these, these last precious moments with some of the closest people in his life is disciples. And this is what he says, verse 20. He says, my prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. So when he says, my prayer is not for them, he's talking about his immediate 12 disciples there, okay? And when he says, uh, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. He's praying for you. He's talking about me and you. This is wild. 2000 years ago, Jesus in his last moments before the cross is praying for you. Wow. So what does he pray for? So there's 20 verse 21 that all of them may be one Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me, I have given them the glory that you gave me. That they may be one as we are one I in them, and you and me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am. And to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Now we are dropping in. We have the privilege of dropping in on this intimate moment between Jesus and his Father. Moments before Jesus completes his mission on earth, which is to give his life as a ransom for many, for you and for me. And of all the things that Jesus could pray, man, this is his last prayer before he goes to the cross of all the things he could pray for, what does he pray for? Verse 21. That all of them may be one. He spends these last moments before the cross praying for unity amongst believers. It's like, why That of all things again, why unity? Now if you're a parent who has small children or you were a parent that has small children, um, you probably know and have an idea already of why Jesus would pray for this. There is nothing as annoying and peace of racing as your children fighting. There's nothing more annoying than that. Uh, my middle child, Willow, she will have a toy that she hasn't played with for years. It's collecting dust on some shelf in the basement. And my youngest daughter, Harper, she'll pick it up and immediately they could be on different floors in the house. And immediately my middle child knows what's happening. It's like, it's just sixth sense. Kids just know this and this thing, this toy that didn't matter to either of them, ever, all of a sudden is the most important artifact of their existence. And their willing not just to be grounded, but to die over this thing. . You know, the Bible continually admonishes believers to fight to maintain unity. The spirit applies unity to the church upon salvation. When you enter the church, you are entering into something that the spirit is given unity to. But we need to maintain that unity. It's a central idea in a New Testament church. Now, we just got through a series, uh, out of First Corinthians where we look at this church in Corinth that was divided. Now, we didn't cover this, but Paul just asks a three word question just to try to put everyone in their place. He says, listen, is Christ divided, meaning, no, he's not divided. And we're to pattern our lives after Jesus. And so you cannot be divided as well. And so I want you to try that on your kids next time they're fighting. Okay? Just interject and say, children is Christ divided. Now they'll have no idea what you mean, but you might be able to redirect them. Okay? Give 'em a little snack. I'll stop things. Now, a plea for unity might not be the most interesting thing in the world to a modern western person because we are individual, uh, individualistic by default. Meaning we tend to prioritize individual rights, personal freedom we're told kind of growing up. And, you know, just to, just to pursue your own dreams and, and to be be yourself. We couldn't really imagine life, uh, with an alternative to that. That's just normal. That's sort of just the soup that, that we've grown up in. And so this biblical plea for unity isn't what I would call a felt need that some of us have. Maybe, maybe some of you do. But generally we have other needs in our life that are more, more pertinent to us now. So for individualism, it's something that emphasize, uh, emphasizes itself for biblical unity. It, it emphasizes others. That's the juxtaposition. Uh, for individualism. You say, I do what's best for me with biblical unity. You say, I do what's best for the body of Christ. In individualism, we get our identity from ourselves, what we can do, what we can produce. In biblical unity, we get our identity from Christ and what he's done for us. And so when someone in the Western Church gets saved, it can be a topsy-turvy experience. Because what they have going on now is what the Bible describes as this dual citizenship. And this is what I mean, meaning we're Canadian, right? I'm Canadian, if you cut me, I bleed maple syrup just like you do. Okay? I love this country. I pray for this country. I want this country to thrive. I am Canadian through and through. The Bible also says that if you put your faith in Jesus, that you also are a citizen of heaven. And our ultimate allegiance is to God. And that we live for him. We belong for him. So we have all this canadianness in us. And and I like that about me. But, but Hebrews says that we are destined for a new country. A a better country. An eternal country. Meaning, meaning heaven. And the way that things work in this new country are different than the way things work here. And the Bible from time to time gives us glimpse, uh, glimpses into that new country. And here's what we know about the new country, is that we'll not be divided there. There'll be no unforgiveness, there'll be no hatred. There'll be no animosity or bitterness or anger towards one another. We won't be divided. Isaiah 65 gives us this beautiful picture of what that would be like. It says this, the wolf and the lamb will feed together here. That doesn't happen. You, you keep those two animals as far apart as possible. You divide those things. But in new country, they're gonna eat side by side and not one another. And that says this. And a lion will eat straw like the ox. And the dust will be the serpents food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord. Now here, here's the idea I'm getting at that our destiny is unity. That's where we're traveling towards this new country. Our destiny is unity. And Jesus' last words, okay, his parting words in his last prayer before the cross is that you wouldn't wait for then, is that now you would live and pursue unity. And so I wanna talk about the nature of unity.'cause it's not obvious what that means. We might think sort of as a reflex that it just means not fighting, right? If we're not, you know, at each other's throats, that means we're unified. But we know that's not really true. And so let's dig into that just a little bit. What does unity entail? Jesus of course, tells us, he says this, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one father, just as so now he's gonna tell us what this unity looks like. Just as you are in me, and I am in you, Jesus is praying for unity amongst us, amongst believers. That is based on the unity found in God himself. That's the basis for our unity. That's the nature. Now, the God of the Bible has revealed himself as three persons, father, son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is God. But there is only one God. This is a doctrine of the Trinity. Uh, and Trinity just means try unity. So this is the mystery of God, but it's also the model of unity for believers. And so what can we pick, pick out from, from this unity of the Trinity? What can we pick out from that to help us understand what Jesus is praying for exactly for his church? There's many things, but there's two things that I want to draw out today. The first is this. In the unity of Trinity, they have the same purpose. And number two, they love one another. So just some theology here, okay? The unity of the Trinity to have the same purpose. So back at the beginning of John 17, Jesus, pray this, Jesus looks towards heaven and says, father, the hour has come, meaning I'm about to be arrested. I'm about to go to the cross. The hour has come. He says, glorify your son, father, glorify your son. Meaning make him known. Make a big deal. Deal about him. Reveal his true nature, honor him, delight in him. Uh, father, uh, glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. So there's this reciprocal glorification happening, okay? In John 16, Jesus tells us what the role of the Holy Spirit is. The role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus. So here's what we have going on. We have, uh, Jesus glorifying the Father, the Father glorifying Jesus, and the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus. This is the eternal rhythm of God, meaning each person of the trinity is making. The other one known is revealing the true nature of each person of the Trinity. They're delighting in one another, they honor one another. So first thing we learn in the nature of the Trinity, they all have a unified purpose. The second thing is they love one another. The heart of the trinity is love. One John four, eight says, God is love. That's a nature statement, okay? For us, it's a verb. This is what we do. But for for God, it's who He is. It's primarily a noun. The Father, son and the Holy Spirit eternally love one another. In perfect harmony. In perfect unity. So when Jesus prays that the unity of believers would be like that of the unity found in God, he's praying, number one, that we would have the same purpose. And number two, that we would love one another. So let's talk about our purpose really quickly. We share the same need for a savior. We believe in the same truth. We trust in the same Christ. We are filled with the same spirit. We receive the same baptism, we belong to the same family of God. One day we'll all enjoy the same heaven. What we have in common in Christ totally eclipses our differences and our unified singular purpose. It actually resembles the purpose of each member of the Trinity. Our unified purpose is that our lives would glorify God. That's the purpose of our life. Yes, we have different backgrounds, we have different dreams, we have different careers. We have different family dynamics. Yes, a hundred percent, but because you're my brother in Christ and because you're my sister in Christ, all of those differences become secondary compared to the unifying purpose that we have for our life. We're all going in the same direction, is to glorify God with our lives. If you ever have lied in bed at night and just wondered what is, what is this about? What is going on? Maybe if you're feeling disappointed or you have some angst in your life because you just feel like, ah, this isn't what adulthood would, I thought it would be like, I thought life would be better than this. Or maybe you're feeling some sort of sense of failure over a, you know, you didn't get the promotion or you didn't get into the school you want, whatever it might be. You're just thinking, ah, life just isn't working. Let me reorient you to the purpose of your life as a Christian. It is to glorify God, your work, your family, your school, your parenting, your friendships, your relationships, your money. All of that is about glorifying God. So that's the first aspect of Christian unity that we have to understand that we are all on the same team. We have the same purpose, which is to glorify God. A second aspect is that we need to love one another. Just like the heart of Trinity. Of the Trinity is love. The heart of Christian. Unity is love. It's the glue of the church. Listen, preferences and worship style, that's not what's gonna unify us. I like this song. I wish they'd do this somewhere. That's not what's gonna unify us. Going to the same church, even the same service that doesn't have the power to unify us. Shared interests, backgrounds, shared life stages. They can create a connection, but they don't have a power to unify you with someone. You can have the same truck and the same haircut and the same hobbies. And you have kids the same, uh, age. You have all this stuff in common, but then you find out there are flames fan, and it's like, boom, right? It's just like friends off the, the connection's broken. The only thing that has the power to unify us is Christian Love. It's the center of the trinity, and it's the center of biblical unity. And again, we tend to make this mistake. We, we think that the absence of conflict equals love. But you know that's not true just because you're not yelling at your neighbor just because you haven't called 3 1 1 on them this year, that doesn't mean that you love one another. So the absence of conflict does not mean that there's love that's present. Unity entails love. And love always looks like something. Love always looks like something. And the Bible is very clear and gives us dozens and dozens of examples of what Christian Love amongst believers ought to look like. So I'm just gonna read a handful of them. And as I read this, I just want you to think, is this me? Are the, are these characteristics present in, in my life? Because this is determined. Are you living unified? Are you living in Christian Love with your brothers and sisters? So here it is James five, with confess your sins to one another. That's what love looks like amongst the church. Hebrews 10, stir one another up to love and good works. Galatians six, bear one another's burdens. Romans 12, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Galatians five, serve one another. Ephesians four, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another. Ephesians five, submit to one another. First Thessalonians five, encourage one another and build each other up. This is just a sample. So the nature of biblical unity are those two things that we would have the same purpose and that we would love one another. But why does that matter? Like what's the point of the unity? Because we've discovered that Jesus prayed that we would be one. We've, we've talked about the nature of that oneness. But what does that oneness do? Let me read again what, what Jesus prayed in this prayer. John 17 says this, my prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. This is you. That all of them may be one father, just as you are on me and I am in you, may they also be in us. So that, okay, that's, that's what we need to follow. What's what's happening after this? So that the world may believe that you have sent me, that's the purpose of unity. I have given them the glory that you gave me. That they may be one as we are one, I and them and you and me. So that it may be brought to complete unity. Here it is again. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. This is a wild idea. Jesus is saying and praying for unity in the church so that the world would know that God loves them. He's saying that what happens in here is gonna be, the testimony is gonna be the witness to people outside of here what they think about Jesus Christ. He's saying a lost world needs united Christians and a united church, a lost world cannot see God, but they can see Christians. And when they see us and what they see in us is what they will believe about God. And the world can write off a divided church, right? They have every right to do that. If we don't love one another, how will they ever know that God loves them? If we don't forgive one another, how will they ever know that God would forgive them? And Jesus is saying, there's something so magnetic. Something so, uh, uh, unbelievable. Something so undeniable that a watching unbelieving world would look upon a unified church and believe in Jesus Christ. The world cannot see God, but they can see you. And when they see you, what do they see? What do they see? Are you in unity with other believers? And so if you wanna pray better, right? That's what we're talking about. If you wanna pray better pattern your prayers after Jesus, pray for unity. Fill your prayers with please for oneness with other believers. To finish up, I wanted to, um, share something from Mark 11. Something that Jesus said that I think would just be really kinda a helpful, practical, um, thing for us to take home today. This is what, this is what Jesus says. He goes, when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, anything against anyone, forgive them. So that your father in heaven may forgive your sins. Anything against anyone. Unforgiveness is the great enemy of unity. It destroys your connection with other believers. It weakens your witness to an unbelieving watching world. And it wrecks your intimacy between you and God. Now, this of course applies to people outside of the church as well. Not just inside, but the thrust of Jesus's prayer is for those inside the church. And so that's what we're talking about. This is priority. Now, it contradicts the nature of grace to ask for it and receive it yourself and not give it to others. It's a contradiction. We have to live in sync with the forgiveness that we've given freely, freely we receive. You didn't deserve it freely you receive. And so even if the person doesn't deserve it freely, we give. So the question I wanna ask you, it's a hard question. And you know I'm going there and some of you don't want me to go there 'cause you don't wanna have to look this in the eye, but we need to do this. Do you have any unforgiveness in your heart towards another believer? Is there unforgiveness in your heart with another believer? If so, simply you have to forgive them. It's not, it's not an option. You can't live with this on your back. It doesn't work like that. You have to forgive them. Forgiveness has the power to release you from this bondage. Forgiveness has the power to restore your connection with the Lord. Forgiveness has the power to strengthen your witness to an unbelieving world. This is by far the most difficult aspect of the Christian life. And Christian unity is forgive. I don't wanna undermine that. But I also want to relay the urgency of this. This is not an option. You have to forgive. And I've had countless conversations with people who live with unforgiveness towards other people for years. They know what they ought to do. They know God's words. It's not a surprise when they hear this, but they don't. And when you don't forgive, you're purposely living in disobedience and disalignment from God's word. We can't do that. We have to forgive. So I wanna, I wanna challenge you. I wanna admonish you. Do not let unforgiveness linger in your heart one second longer than it has to. Don't give it another day. Don't give it another day to rob you of your joy. Don't give unforgiveness another day to rob you of your peace, to rob you of your intimacy that Christ died for. Don't let it weaken your witness. One more day. Come into alignment with Jesus's great prayer here in John 17. And the first step to do that is to forgive. And so maybe you'd say, okay, but how I've trot how I want to, but how I just can't. I just can't get myself there. I'm gonna give you three ways. And after each way, if you want to forgive this person in your life or these people in your life, I'm going to say a little prayer. And I want you to pray along with me in your head or your heart. Okay? So here's the first way that you can forgive someone. First way is to remember, remember that you have been forgiven. Ephesians four says, be kind and compassionate to one another. Forgiving each other just as Christ Jesus forgave you. When we grasp the depth of God's grace towards us, when we really grasp it, it softens our heart towards other believers. So today, if you are intention or if there's unforgiveness in your heart with another believer, would you just pray with me And we're gonna pray on this idea of remembering how much we've been forgiven. So pray with me. God, help me in a fresh way to realize the grace I've received through the cross. Lord, I pray that you would soften my heart towards person and fill in their name. Don't generalize this, say their name in your head. Who is it? Lord? Soften my heart towards this person. Okay? The second thing that the Bible shows us that we can move into forgiveness after we remember how much we've been forgiven is number two, we pray. We pray for those who have hurt us. Matthew 5 44 says, but I tell you, pray for those or love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Listen, pray for your enemies. It sometimes shifts them, but it always changes you. It always changes you. And so that's why we're told to pray for our enemies. So if you want to forgive somebody in your life right now, just bow your head and pray with me along in your head or your heart. God, right now I pray for and fill in that person's name. God, I pray for them, Lord, they've really hurt me. And you know that. But despite that, God, I'm trusting you and I wanna walk in obedience. So God, I pray for them. Lord, would you draw them close to you? Lord? Would you heal any broken things in their life? Lord, I recognize that I have revenge or control on my heart. Would you free me from that? But also them. If there's unforgiveness from them towards me, we thank you Jesus. Amen. Thirdly, last one, and and I would say for many of you, this is gonna be the one. This would be the one. Okay? And some of you won't like this'cause it's too unspiritual. Um, but it's not. The third way that you forgive somebody is you choose to forgive somebody. Forgiveness is the way we see it presented throughout all scripture. It is a choice. Forgiveness is a choice that you make. And unforgiveness is a choice that you make as well. You cannot wait for your feelings to dictate if you forgive someone or not, because you'd be waiting. Some of you have been waiting decades for that today. Make a choice to forgive. You know, I, I remember I was talking with somebody who hated their father. They had such unforgiveness in their heart towards their father, and that's common. And she couldn't for years forgive him. And then as we were praying, she just said it out loud, she said his name, but she said, I forgive my dad. And when she said it, it was like, boom, that that just broke everything. It's like peace just filled her heart. It's like she was released of this bondage and change. She lived it for just because she said it. She made a choice. I forgive. And so if that's you, if you wanna live in forgiveness or with forgiveness, oh, got an alarm. Okay, now's the time. Now's the time. . Let's pray. God, I've let unforgiveness rule my heart for too long. So today I'm choosing to forgive. Fill in that name. Say it in your heart. Today I choose to forgive my mom, my dad, my grandparent, a relative, a friend, a boss, a coach, a teacher. My kids today I choose to release them. I forgive them. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let me pray for all of us just as we close. God, I thank you so much for this time together, that we can go through your word. We thank you Jesus, that you prayed this prayer for us. And we thank you that, uh, the Holy Spirit has preserved this for us, that we can read from it today and we can learn what it is that you desire for our lives. You desire us to have the same purpose. You desire us to love one another, you desire unity amongst your church. So God, if there's any, um, tension, Lord, I pray that you'd present that into our hearts, that we would forgive one another as we have been forgiven. I thank you and I bless you for those brave people here today who've decided to walk in obedience and confidence in you and have chosen to release that person from the grip of their unforgiveness. We thank you and we praise you is only by the spirit of God. So we thank you for that. God, I pray beyond that, that we would move towards unity. That we would love one another, serve one another, admonish one another, confess our sins to one another. We'd stir one another up towards love and good works, Lord. Just 'cause we're a big church, it does not mean that just means there's more people love. This means there's more people to serve. So let us not just be isolated individuals, Lord, but let us see this as something different that you're doing here on earth. It's just a preview of our destiny, which is unity in the new country. But as we are here today, Jesus' prayer, that we would live in unity. Let us pursue that with our heart. Pray in your name. Amen. Amen. If today you do not know Jesus Christ, but as we talked about him, you're like, wait, what? I wanna know more. Uh, we'd love for you to, to make that decision and help you make that decision. And what that means, we have a QR code that's gonna be on the seat back in front of you or on the screen. You can scan that. Let's give you some next steps. We're also gonna have some people up here who would love to pray with you, hear your story. If you need prayer for anything, again, we'd love to pray with you. Thank you so much for being in church on this Sunday. We'll see you next week.