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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Acts. We're in Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. I'll pick up reading 
at verse 1b. Acts 8, beginning in verse 1. 
At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which 
was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout 
the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout 
men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over 
him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every 
house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 
Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the 
word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached 
Christ to them. And the multitudes, with one 
accord, heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing 
the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with 
a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many 
who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy 
in that city. But there was a certain man called 
Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished 
the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to 
whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, 
this man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because 
he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But 
when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning 
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and 
women were baptized. And Simon himself also believed. 
And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and was 
amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Now when 
the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received 
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they 
had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy 
Spirit. For as yet he had fallen upon none of them. They had only 
been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid 
hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon 
saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy 
Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me this 
power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy 
Spirit. But Peter said to him, Your money 
perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God 
could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion 
in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of 
God. Repent, therefore, of this, your wickedness, and pray, God, 
if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For 
I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.' 
Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that 
none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. 
So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, 
they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of 
the Samaritans. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you very much for the word of God. 
We thank you for this passage in the book of Acts. We thank 
you for what is going on in that time of redemptive history and 
how we praise you that the gospel was not confined to one people 
group, but it was to be preached in Jerusalem and then Judea, 
Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. How we thank 
you that this is a global directive. How we thank you that you're 
gathering together a glorious church made up from every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation. And God, we look forward to that 
day when the church militant becomes the church triumphant. 
But until that day, we pray that your gospel would go forth. that 
more and more people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord 
and Savior. And again, we pray that, specifically 
for our time here this morning, that any and all who are not 
saved would be saved by the grace of God, through faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Do forgive us now for our sins 
and our unrighteousness. Cleanse us in that blood of the 
Lord Christ, and do bless us with the presence and the power 
of that Comforter, the Holy Spirit. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, basically chapter 
eight takes up the ministry of Philip, and we'll look at Philip 
in just a moment, but by way of a sort of a general explanation, 
the ministry of Philip is sort of answerable to what we see 
in Stephen. This isn't Philip the apostle 
that we see there in John 14, but this is Philip, one of the 
seven, chosen by the church in Jerusalem, according to Acts 
chapter six. And like Stephen, this Philip 
was also able to preach. So we have that seven chosen 
in Acts 6, and then Acts 7 focuses upon one of the seven, namely 
Stephen, who was a preacher. And it shows his defense before 
the religious council or the Sanhedrin. And here in chapter 
8, we see the ministry of Philip, later called Philip the Evangelist, 
to this part, this region, this place called Samaria. And we'll 
see how this answers to the mission statement given in chapter 1 
verse 8. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, 
and then in Judea Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of 
the earth. So I want to look at two things 
this morning. First, the scattering of the disciples. That'll be 
just a bit of review, the first few verses here in chapter 8. 
And then the ministry of Philip in Samaria. Now this takes up 
the rest of chapter 8, but we're just going to focus on the summary 
in verses 5 to 8. We're going to spend a little 
bit more time with this magician called Simon, and then with the 
ethiopian eunuch at the end of chapter 8. But let's look first 
of all at the scattering of the disciples. Notice it was due 
to the persecution of the church. In verse 1, at that time, a great 
persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem. So because of this martyrdom 
of Stephen or this death or murder of Stephen perpetrated by the 
religious council, it emboldened others within Israel to target 
for destruction the church of Jesus Christ. Saul of Tarsus 
is introduced to us in this statement. Specifically here, we see this 
young man named Saul. They laid their clothes down 
by his feet, and then in 8 1a, it tells us he was consenting 
to his death. And so there's this great persecution 
against the people of God, similar to what we see already in chapters 
3 to 5, but it's been escalated. It's not simply confined to the 
apostles, but it's the entirety of the church. And it's not simply 
a warning or a flogging, but it has evolved into murder perpetrated 
against this holy man, Stephen. And so the persecution that's 
involved here is pretty high, pretty intense. In fact, notice 
in verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering 
every house and dragging off men and women, committing them 
to prison. So they're being in prison. They're 
going to be murdered. They're going to be martyred. 
There's all this stuff going on. And so that has the effect 
in Jerusalem of scattering the disciples. And that's what we 
find there in verse 2. They were all scattered throughout. 
the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. They stayed 
behind at that particular time, not forever, but eventually they 
will go, but for right now they are confined there in Jerusalem. But the others scatter, they 
go to Judea, they go to Samaria, and then we have this general 
statement in verse 4, what they did. Therefore, those who were 
scattered went everywhere preaching the word." So that's the general 
reference as to what occurred when these disciples were scattered. 
So then verses 5 to 40 highlight or focus upon one particular 
evangelist. It takes the time to show us 
the ministry of this man, Philip. So the mission as given by Christ 
in Acts 1.8 is being furthered, it's being continued. They leave 
Jerusalem, they now go to other parts of Judea, which Jerusalem 
is in Judea, but they are moving forward or moving out to other 
regions there, and then over into Samaria. And so, Philip 
is responsible specifically for going and witnessing and testifying 
in Samaria. Now, it's not only Acts 1-8 that 
is being fulfilled, but if you turn back for just a moment to 
Acts chapter 2, we see fulfillment of another passage taking place. 
In Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, as Peter's bringing 
his sermon to a conclusion, we see there's conviction wrought 
on the hearts of the hearers. Verse 37, Now when they heard 
this, they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the 
rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then 
Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you 
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now notice verse 
39, For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to 
all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. So you see what's happening. 
They're in Jerusalem. They go to further other parts 
of Judea and then all the way to Samaria. These are persons 
that are far off. These are persons that are outside. 
These are persons that have been banished, as it were, from the 
preaching of redemptive grace. But now the gospel is going forth, 
conquering and to conquer. So that's the scattering of the 
disciples. Let's look at the ministry of Philip in Samaria. Again, he's not the Apostle Philip. 
The Apostle Philip stayed behind, according to Acts chapter 8. 
The brethren, the disciples were scattered, but the apostles remained 
in Jerusalem. This Philip is the Philip in 
Acts 6. This Philip is later called, in Acts 21.8, an evangelist. This Philip obviously had the 
gift to preach and teach. It's not the case that every 
deacon will preach and teach, but it is the case that some 
deacons, namely a Stephen or a Philip, will have the gift 
to preach and teach. In fact, the Geneva Bible comments, 
saying Philip, who was before a deacon in Jerusalem, is made 
of God, extraordinarily, an evangelist. And so he has this ability, and 
then he sees this mission open up, and he takes it. He doesn't 
wait, he doesn't sit around, he doesn't try to find himself 
first, but rather he goes to Samaria in order to preach Christ. and the summary of his ministry 
is given. Now there's particular details 
with reference to this Simon the Magician and with reference 
to the Ethiopian eunuch, but five to eight functions as a 
summary of what Philip does when he's there in Samaria. And there's 
four things we ought to appreciate here. First, the preaching of 
Philip. Secondly, the response of the Samaritans. Third, the 
description of miracles. And then fourthly, the disposition 
of the city. But notice the preaching. Verse 
five, then Philip went down to the city or rather a city of 
the Samaritans. It's difficult to pinpoint specifically 
what the city was. One of the fathers tells us that 
Simon came from Gita. And so some suggest that this 
was the city within Samaria that Philip went to. It's really unimportant. I think the focus is upon Samaria 
as a whole. This place, this place that has 
been looked down upon by Jews. They did not respect Samaritans. If you remember the history of 
Samaria, it's mentioned by Jesus in the mission statement in Acts 
1-8. But the long history of Samaria 
shows why the Israelites didn't like them. It was initially founded 
by King Omri. King Omri was a wretch, but in 
1 Kings 16, he finds this city of Samaria. Now, Samaria becomes 
the capital of the Northern Kingdom. It becomes the capital where 
false worship takes place. It becomes the place wherein 
the religion of Yahweh is compromised. They mix it with the religions 
of the peoples around them. Not that that never happened 
in Judah or the southern kingdom, but it really takes off in the 
north. With reference to the history of the kings of both 
north and south, you had some good kings in Judah. You never 
had any good kings in the north. They were always bad. They were 
always corrupted. They were always wretched. The 
next significant effect with reference to Samaria was at the 
fall of the northern kingdom. The northern tribes fall to Assyria 
in 2 Kings chapter 17. Now the Assyrian method of conquest 
was quite ingenious. If they conquered you and you 
were Sea Peoples, they would put you in a mountainous region. 
If they conquered you and you were mountainous region type 
peoples, they would put you by the sea. They kept you off balance, 
they kept you off kilter, so that you couldn't regroup and 
strike out against the Assyrians. So in 2 Kings chapter 17, we 
see that Assyria repopulates Samaria with various people groups. Now, not all the Israelites were 
gone from the Northern Kingdom. Yes, they were exiled, and yes, 
they were taken away en masse by Assyria, but there were some 
that were left behind. Well, they intermarried with 
these people that now came via the Assyrian conquest. And so 
what basically spawned was neither Jew nor Gentile. They were sort 
of halfway between the mark. and the Samaritans were looked 
down upon by the Israelites. Remember our Lord's dealings 
with that woman at the well in John chapter four. She even says, 
why are you talking to me? Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. They understood that, they knew 
that there was this great disparity that obtained between Israelites 
and between Samaritans. What you are seeing here is not 
necessarily the full Gentile inclusion into the covenants 
of grace or covenant of grace, but rather you see inclusion 
of these Samaritans that were aliens from the Commonwealth 
of Israel. They were strangers to the covenants of promise. 
They were without God. They were without hope. They 
were treated poorly. They were despised. They were 
disdained. The reason why the parable of 
the good Samaritan packed a punch is because everybody hated the 
Samaritans. The reason why that one man that 
returns in Luke 17 to thank Jesus, remember, he heals all those 
lepers, and the only one that returns is a foreigner. In fact, 
Jesus calls him that in Luke's chapter 17. It's literally another 
race. That's how he refers to this 
Samaritan. Jesus, of course, had a heart 
for the Samaritans. He does ministry there among 
not only the woman at the well, but among other Samaritans also. 
but they were looked down upon. They were outcasts. They were 
aliens. They were not a people that Israel 
looked favorably upon. The very statement in Acts 1-8 
would have rattled the cages of the disciples. Well, even 
going back to Matthew 28, go therefore and make disciples 
of what? All nations. Baptize them in 
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them, 
the all nations, the disciples among all the nations, teach 
them to observe all that I have commanded you. That was shocking. 
That was a bit scandalous. And then in Acts 1, we can understand 
as disciples the ministry of the word in Jerusalem, and we'll 
grant Judea, but Samaria? Samaritans are going to be included 
in the covenant promises of God, and then to the uttermost parts 
of the earth? This is a very significant passage in redemptive 
history. It is a very significant shift 
or change rather in the encompassing of other peoples in the covenant 
promises of God. They were usually classed with 
Gentiles. Remember when Jesus gives that 
mission in Matthew chapter 10, he tells them, don't go to Samaria, 
but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as 
I said, the Lord Jesus refers to the thankful Samaritan in 
Luke 17, 18 as a foreigner, as another race. Now Barrett, I 
think, wisely suggests that the New Testament regularly takes 
them as occupying a middle position. They're neither full Jews nor 
mere Gentiles. And I think that's the way Acts 
presents it, because the calling of the Gentiles seems to be highlighted 
in Cornelius in Acts 10. When Peter preaches to the household 
of Cornelius, that is absolutely positively Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises of God. Again, not that that minimizes 
what we are finding here, but we see how the gospel is going 
forth, and we see how that middle wall that separated the peoples 
is coming down, and how we see that persons are being included 
in the promises of God Almighty. Now, notice what... Philip dies 
when he goes there, verse five. Then Philip went down to the 
city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And I find this 
very, very encouraging and very instructive. And I think if the 
church is listening to the book of Acts today, we will all be 
encouraged and we will all be instructed. There's a mess out 
in the world, isn't there? There's a lot of things going 
on within evangelicalism and within the reform community in 
terms of racial disparity, at least in America between blacks 
and whites. You have racial disparity going 
on in this passage. You have Samaritans, persons 
that are looked at as foreigners, persons that are looked at as 
another race. You have persons that are despised. You have persons that are outcasts 
that are now being called and brought into the camp of God's 
people. That's how you're supposed to 
understand 14 to 17 in Acts chapter 8. Peter and John get wind of 
what's happening in Samaria. So Peter and John go to investigate. Peter and John, being those leaders 
in the church in Jerusalem, go to investigate these Samaritans 
now coming in to the church. And they confirm that this is 
in fact the work of God Almighty. They lay hands on them and they 
receive the Spirit. Now, that's not to say the Spirit 
is unattainable to fill up. That's not to say that the Spirit 
is not for each and every human being. But what you have in Acts 
8 answers to what you have in Acts 2. In each of the three 
legs of that Great Commission, you see a special outpouring 
of the Spirit to confirm that this is, in fact, of God. In 
Acts 2, the Spirit comes down on the day of Pentecost in a 
powerful way, according to the prophet Joel. Well, here the 
Spirit comes, again, not that Philip is inept, not that Philip 
is unable, but that the apostles, responsible as foundation stones 
in the Church of Jesus Christ, they authenticate the work, they 
say that, in fact, this is a good thing, they lay hands on them. 
The other place that we see the Spirit come is in Cornelius' 
conversion in Acts chapter 10. So you see, at those instances 
where the various people groups are targeted, according to Acts 
1-8, Jerusalem, Acts 2, Pentecost. Judea, Samaria, Acts 8, the Spirit 
comes. And then to the uttermost parts 
of the earth, Gentiles, Acts chapter 10, the Spirit comes 
in a powerful way. Again, it's not some magic the 
way that Simon the Magician sees it. He thinks that Peter has 
the key. Peter has the power. And if Peter 
gives him that power, then he'll be able to convey the Spirit 
elsewhere. He doesn't understand the apostolic ministry. He doesn't 
understand redemptive history. He doesn't understand what's 
happening. And I fear that many of us don't understand it as 
well. Christ at the right hand of the Father is giving the Spirit 
at these key times to indicate that He is at the right hand 
of the Father. that he is building his church, and that he's equipping 
her for service according to the Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 
and uttermost parts of the earth paradigm. That's what's occurring 
here in Samaria. He is preaching Christ to them, 
and that's what includes them. So what ought we to glean by 
way of an application? How do we overcome racial tension? 
The preaching of Christ. Now, the opponents to that would 
say, well, you can't just preach Christ and think that's gonna 
fix everything. Well, that's a misrepresentation. We preach Christ and Deuteronomy. 
We preach Christ and Proverbs. We preach Christ and the ethical 
directives in the New Testament epistles. We preach Christ and. But what happens there is that 
they preach the justice and don't preach the cross. That's the 
problem, that's the issue, and that's what we have to condemn 
with. Brethren, we preach Christ and Him crucified. That's the 
primary emphasis, that's the primary message. But you know 
me, I've told you as ladies that you need to submit to your own 
husbands as unto the Lord. You know me that I've told you 
men that you need to love your wives as Christ loved the church. 
So when we preach Christ, the way the Bible sets Christ forth, 
we will certainly preach those ethical demands given by Christ. In fact, we saw it in there in 
John 14. If you love me, what? You'll keep my commandments. 
So it is simply misrepresentation. If I say we need to emphasize 
and preach the gospel of Christ, oh, you don't care about racism. 
You don't care about slavery. You don't care about, you know, 
gender inequality. I actually do, and the gospel 
is the answer. That's what we need to appreciate. We're going to look at that when 
we summarize the message, just prior to going home today. We 
have to appreciate the power of the gospel and what it does 
in society. What brings blacks and whites 
together? The cross. What brings rich and 
poor together? The cross. What brings Asians 
and Canadians together? The cross. What brings old people 
and young people together? The cross. The cross is always 
the answer. If we neglect the cross and we 
preach social justice, we're no better than a political party. 
That's not what the church is. We preach redemption. We preach 
blood atonement. We preach true reconciliation 
with God and then among one another. It is the power of the Christian 
gospel to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the 
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, that as 
it is written, the just shall live by faith. Brethren, I submit 
that those preaching justice apart from the cross are doing 
a gross disservice to the cause of Jesus Christ. That's what's 
happening. Again, it's a matter of emphasis. 
We preach the cross here. We also tell you to love each 
other. There are ethical demands associated 
with the preaching of the cross. It's not the four simple steps 
to becoming a Christian. All preaching of the gospel ought 
to include, not all, sometimes it's just preach the cross, but 
there are those ethical demands associated with it. Philip didn't 
preach himself. Philip didn't preach a bad system. He certainly preached a good 
system in terms of the Christian system. He didn't preach racial 
disparity and the anecdote through the Democratic Party. He preached 
Christ. What does it mean to preach Christ? 
It means to preach Him as the mediator between God and man. 
It means to preach him in his offices as prophet, priest, and 
king. It means to consider, why do 
we need him as a prophet? Because we're ignorant. Why do 
we need him as a priest? Because we're sinful. Why do 
we need him as a king? Because we're stubborn and we 
need protection. That's why we preach Christ and 
Him crucified. We need a prophet, priest, and 
king. So faithful preaching of Christ 
will include those elements. Not every single thing, every 
time. I've heard that before. You know, 
after a 45-minute, actually no, after an hour sermon, somebody 
will say, oh, but you didn't say that. You can't say everything 
in an hour. You take the specimen samples of preaching, the apostolic 
preaching in the book of Acts, it's not a cookie cutter. But 
one thing they have in common is the preaching of Christ. Christ 
as our blessed representative. Christ as the law keeper to the 
Father. Christ as the atonement on Calvary's 
cross. Christ as the resurrected Savior. Christ as the coming judge. That's what's consistent in the 
apostolic preaching of the cross in the book of Acts, and the 
church must follow that paradigm. We simply do not have the authorization 
to twist, to tailor, or to retool the data. We're simply to follow 
these men and do what they did and preach Christ and Him crucified. 
The reality that the second person of the Trinity came into this 
world and took on our humanity. It's an amazing thought, isn't 
it? God the Son leaves heaven above, comes into this world, 
and He takes on our humanity. Now, it's not the sense that 
God the Son could actually leave heaven. Jesus, according to his 
deity, never ceases. He doesn't leave. It's more anthropomorphic 
that I'm speaking. And those who attend Wednesday 
night will get that. The local motion thought is not 
in the manner of God. It's in the manner of men. But 
he takes on our humanity with all the essential properties. 
Everything that makes us man, Christ took it on. It's not that 
God just inhabited a body, God in a flesh suit, some have spoken 
of. No, He's real humanity. We need real humanity. If we 
don't have Christ as real humanity, we die in our sins. As well, 
he has the common infirmities, the various things that affect 
us. Temptation, for instance. He was, in all points, tempted 
like us, yet without sin. We need to maintain that reality. 
All the essential properties, the common infirmities, and yet 
without sin. You say, well, he can't really 
identify with me. Oh, absolutely he can identify 
with you. He was tempted in all points 
like us, yet without sin. That's the emphasis in Hebrews 
2. Brethren, the Christ does this for us men and for our salvation. You know, it's the case that 
why would we preach anything else? This is glorious. This 
is wondrous. This is most excellent. He is 
the darling of heaven. This is what every man, woman, 
boy and girl not only should hear, but should want to hear. 
that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 
So when Philip is in Samaria, he's not preaching Philip. When 
Philip is in Samaria, he's not coaching them on, you know, reproachment 
with the Jews. When Philip is in Samaria, he 
preaches Christ to them. Now notice the response. Notice 
the response of the Samaritans in verse six. It says, and the 
multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip. The verb is to pay close attention 
to something. Pay attention to, give heed to, 
follow. If you are sleeping right now 
and your eyes are open and you're able to do that sort of thing, 
or if you're checked out, you're not like these Samaritans, You're 
not like these Samaritans. Pastors or preachers sometimes 
wonder, who's actually paying attention? It's tough to know. 
You could have that look of, yeah, I'm engaged and be thinking 
about cat videos, or thinking about work tomorrow, or thinking 
about burritos this afternoon. I mean, it is Cinco de Mayo, 
right? Everybody's having burritos today. That's what's occupying 
our minds. You see, these Samaritans, when 
Philip comes to preach Christ, Christ is so glorious, Christ 
is so wondrous, Christ is such an excellent theme, they paid 
attention. They didn't check out. They didn't 
vacate. It wasn't the lights are on, 
but nobody's home sort of a thing. And it wasn't just the adults. We see later men and women believe 
and they're baptized, but children heard this as well. It's simply 
unacceptable, kids, for you to tune out in the midst of corporate 
worship. Somebody asked me, somebody emailed 
me and said, well, do you have children's church? I said, no, 
we don't. We never will. We have nursery for little babies, 
and we're good with that, but we don't have children's church. 
And she says back, well, can I ask you why not? Well, first 
of all, biblically. Deuteronomy 29, Nehemiah chapter 
8, when the assembly of Israel were addressed, their little 
ones were with them. The second leg of the argument 
was historical. And I had to admit my lack of 
sort of keenness with reference to that. But this much, I think 
I can venture to say that children's church as an institution is a 
pretty novel idea. It's pretty new in the history 
of the church. I'm guessing that at the time 
of Augustine, the kids were all there listening to that man preach. 
And then the third was pragmatic. The brethren in our church are 
encouraged to family worship at home. Teach your kids, sing 
with them, pray with them, read with them. It doesn't have to 
be an hour long sermon. It doesn't have to be Spurgeon. 
Get the book out, sing with them, get the better book out, read 
to them, pray with them. It doesn't have to be an hour. 
But that's also an encouragement to bring them to the public worship 
of God so that they can sit still. And I said to this particular 
person, I don't think that every child gets 100% out of every 
sermon. But I'm not so foolish as to 
think that every adult does either. But if you get 20% more than 
you had, that's a find, isn't it? That's a good thing. 20% 
or even 10% more knowledge of Bible, Jesus, and salvation is 
better than you had, oh, say, an hour ago. There's every reason 
for children to be in the house of God. We don't schlep them 
off into another room and let them do flannel graphs. They 
need to learn the most blessed, important, and wondrous thing 
that a creature can do on this side of heaven is to be in church. 
Oh, no, come on, that's not true. Yes, it is true, because God 
dwells in the church in this new covenant era. It's a beautiful 
thing. Why would we jip children to 
that? Oh, we know that God's going to be here, and we know 
that Christ is going to walk in the midst of the land. But 
you go to flannel graphs. For you younger people, you have 
no clue what a flannel graph is. I'll tell you later. Actually, 
basically, it's felt, and you put them together, and you make 
little images of Noah and his ark. I imagine in the days of 
internet, there's no flannel graphs anymore. But Jesus is 
in the midst of the lampstand. Oh, but you know, we want our 
kids to leave. No, you want your kids to be 
where Jesus is. Not that Jesus isn't present where flannel graphs 
are, but you get the point. But when they're present, they're 
listening. What are we told later in Acts 
chapter 17 about those Bereans? They were more noble-minded. 
Why? Because they heeded the things 
spoken by Paul. They examined daily the scriptures 
to see if what Paul had said was true. You see, you get one 
crack at this. You get one kick at the can during 
the week. You're exposed to so much contrary 
to Christ in the week. You're exposed to so much of 
the world in the week. We ought to prize the corporate 
worship of the living God, that if preaching is accurate and 
it's faithful and the Spirit is present, why wouldn't we be 
attentive to that? Why wouldn't we pay attention 
to that? Why wouldn't we give our hearts and our minds to that? 
J.C. Ryle made the observation in 
the Parable of the Sower. He says, preaching is an ordinance 
of which the value can never be overrated in the Church of 
Christ. All preachers say that. He says, but it should never 
be forgotten that there must not only be good preaching, but 
good hearing. Spurgeon could fall out of heaven 
and preach the best sermon ever preached to you, but if you're 
not paying attention, it's of no avail. So that's why you should 
be in church, and when you're in church, you should pay attention. When the gospel goes forth, brethren, 
Samaritans pay attention. When the gospel goes forth, may 
it be said that Chilliwackians and Abbotsfordians pay attention. This is consistent with what 
we find in Romans 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing 
by the word of God. That's the cause and effect situation. It's absolutely crucial. In the 
exercise of His will, James 1.18, He brought us forth by what? 
By the word of truth. For since in the wisdom of God 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through what? Through the foolishness of the 
message preached. Not mimed, not pantomimed, not 
dramatic or ballet or dance, but the message preached. So 
that's another thing I don't think we fully appreciate. The 
time of the apostles, there were other media available. Maybe 
not internet, maybe not Facebook, maybe not Twitter and that sort 
of thing, but drama, mime, theater, play, all that stuff is there 
and it's prevalent in this culture. And yet Paul says, through the 
foolishness of the message preached. There's something unique about 
preaching. You can't shut it off. Now, certainly 
you can leave. I won't tackle you. I won't sick 
people on you to tackle you. But there's this dynamic between 
heaven, the preacher and the people. And it's a blessed and 
a wonderful thing that demands attention on the part of people. 
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Now notice, 
they saw or heard and saw the miracles. The apostles were given 
authority for such things in Matthew chapter 10. Stephen and 
Philip also had authority for such things. I realize they were 
not apostles, but they were apostolic men. And one of the other things 
we have to remember is that the New Testament wasn't fully complete 
at this time. What's one of the primary purposes 
for the fact that God, through His agents, heals paralyzed people? God, through His agents, heals 
lame people. God, through His agents, dispossesses 
demons from people. What is God's primary interest? It's on the authentication of 
His Word. I know that's radical. Oh, no, 
no, man, that lame guy, that paralyzed guy, God loves him. 
Yeah, God does love him. And he's now walking and leaping 
and praising God, the way we see that fellow in Acts 3. But 
signs and miracles in the Bible are given at times when authorized 
agents are speaking the truth of God. There are signs and wonders 
at the time of Moses. There are signs and wonders at 
the time of the prophets. There are signs and wonders at 
the time of Jesus. There are signs and wonders at 
the time of the apostles. And this still falls into that. 
They weren't apostles, but they were apostolic men. And as they 
take this gospel to the Sanhedrin, as they take this gospel to Samaria, 
it is vital that these signs be given to confirm that the 
message is from God. That's the primary emphasis on 
signs and wonders. They are not an end of themselves 
that lame people get up and walk. Again, that's good. I don't want 
to diminish that or discount that. But the reality is that 
when these things happen in concert with the preaching of Christ 
by Philip, it affirms that the preaching of Christ by Philip 
is sanctioned and authorized by God. That's the point in the 
description. So these people heard him preach, 
and they heard and saw the miracles which he did. Now notice the 
description of the miracles. They parallel what Jesus does. They parallel what Jesus told 
his apostles to do. They parallel what the apostles 
did. Again, when we think apostles, we think of the 12, but we think 
of apostolic men. That's how you explain certain 
New Testament epistles that weren't written by apostles. Luke was 
not an apostle, but he was an apostolic man. Mark was not an 
apostle, but he was an apostolic man. Philip and Stephen weren't 
apostles, but they were apostolic men. It's not necessary that 
it comes from the pen of an apostle if he's an apostolic man. Mark, 
closely associated with Peter. Luke, closely associated with 
Paul. So certainly these authorities, 
these apostles, were the ones to verify, confirm, and make 
sure everything that they wrote was in fact consistent, legit, 
and right. Just like in 14 to 17, Peter 
and John come, not to check on Philip, not to punch his time 
clock and make sure he's doing his job, But as this new significant 
inclusion of Samaritans in the covenant promises of God are 
taking place, the leaders from the Jerusalem church come to 
verify it. The leaders in the Jerusalem 
come to make sure it is, in fact, the work of God. The leaders 
in the Church of Jerusalem lay hands, and the Holy Spirit comes 
upon these Samaritans. Again, the emphasis is not, well, 
Philip didn't have the rank, or Philip didn't have the ability, 
or Philip didn't... That's not the point. Apostolic men charged 
by Christ for the founding of the church had to give the authorization, 
or rather, the confirmation to these things. It's really a beautiful 
thing, and I hope that as you think through this, you'll realize 
it wasn't just some ragtag group of people that, you know, had 
a vision. The 12 were selected by Jesus. And while we do not 
believe with Rome that Peter was Papa or Peter was the Pope, 
we don't believe in that. We don't derogate from the prestige 
that the original 12 had. They were key men for a key time. There were specific qualifications 
in place to serve as an apostle. They had a very vital place in 
the Church of Jesus Christ at this time. Now notice the types 
of miracles, the casting out of demons, beautiful. Hearing 
and seeing the miracles which he did, then verse 7, for unclean 
spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed. You see Jesus do that. You see 
the apostles do that. And then as well, it says, and 
many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And again, there's 
other examples in the book of Acts, other examples in the gospel 
narratives that show us the same sort of thing. In fact, as 21st 
century Christians reading this, it probably doesn't really dazzle 
us because we're so used to it with Jesus, with the apostles, 
and with the multitude of sermons that have dealt with these particular 
things. But think about it. If you were a demon-possessed 
wretch living in Samaria, Philip would be your hero, wouldn't 
he? At least for a time. Because Philip would say, I'm 
not your hero. The Lord Christ is. Oh, yeah. If you were lame 
or paralyzed living in Samaria, you were thankful to God Most 
High for Philip. Doesn't Paul tell us how beautiful 
are the feet of those who bring the gospel? Do you ever look 
back in your history at the person that was vital in bringing you 
to the Savior and think, man, they got great feet? We probably 
don't think that, but we should. We give glory to God, praise 
to God, but we're thankful for the human instruments. I'm thankful 
for my brother-in-law that said to me, come and see. His feet 
will always be beautiful to me. His feet will always be gorgeous 
to me because he brought me to the Savior. Brethren, they would 
have been thrilled with Philip. They would have been so happy 
and so pleased. But why these kinds of miracles? Why? Well, I think it speaks 
to the reality that many of us need to be encouraged with, is 
that God looks upon the inner and the outer man. The inner 
and the outer man, this casting out of demons, it writes a man, 
doesn't it? It sets things in order. Remember 
that account of the paralytic, the demoniac that Jesus deals 
with. In Luke's gospel specifically, there's a great statement Remember 
that man, kids, he was naked, and he lived among the tombs, 
and he cut himself, and he was screaming and crying out day 
and night. Everybody was afraid of him. 
They would carve a large path not to go around his house, or 
not to go around where he was. I mean, he's just a wretch. It's 
a terrible picture. It's us, really, sinful. I mean, 
maybe we're not demoniacs or possessed by demons, but it's 
certainly a picture of what sin does to a person. In Luke chapter 
8, after Jesus has saving dealings with him, we see that man and 
Luke tells us he was clothed and in his right mind. Isn't that what the demoniacs 
are? They're persons out of their 
minds. Isn't that what sinners, apart from the grace of God and 
Jesus Christ, are? They're out of their minds. How 
do we get right-minded? It's through the gospel of Jesus 
Christ our Lord. And the gospel has power to do 
that, as we see in this miracle. But as well, the outer man. See 
brethren, God does heal. God is good. God is gracious. God, according to the Psalter, 
loads his people daily with benefits. When David rehearses the many 
benefits that he has received in Psalm 103, when he says, bless 
the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his 
holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and 
forget not all his benefits. He then summarizes the manifold 
benefits of God. And yes, salvation or forgiveness 
is one of them. But so is a lot of deliverance 
in the physical realm. David had a lot to be happy about 
that God was his God. David was chased by Philistines. 
David was chased by Saul. David got into some pretty precarious 
positions and the Lord delivered him. That one instance, I think 
it was at Keilah. He's at Keilah, and Saul's closing 
in on him. God uses Philistines to save 
David. It's really amazing. So that 
when David says, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
those benefits, yes, it's the internal. Yes, it's the forgiveness 
of sins. Yes, it's the beauty of knowing 
Jesus Christ. But it's also the benefit that 
God delivered him from the hands of his enemies. It's also the 
fact that at Keilah, Philistines saved his bacon. God Almighty 
is concerned for both the inner and the outer man, but he's not 
to be manipulated. He's not formulaic. He doesn't 
always do exactly what it is that we want. In fact, in the 
reading in John 14, if you ask anything in my name, I will do 
it. That doesn't mean you get a billion dollars. That doesn't 
mean that you can live carefree for the rest of your life. Jesus 
isn't a lotto ticket. It's according to his will. We 
pray to God asking that if it is his will, would he be pleased 
to do that? And the child of God is able, 
willing, and happily submissive to even a no answer. So these 
things manifest the fact that God is for us in totality. And then finally, note the disposition 
of the city. I love this, verse eight. And 
there was great joy in that city. There was great joy in that city, 
Gil says, both on a spiritual account for the good of their 
souls through the preaching of Christ and his gospel to them 
and on a temporal account for the good of their bodies or their 
friends being dispossessed of devils and healed of their diseases. So I think we forget this at 
times, to smile for believers. I know, and I admit it, I can 
walk around looking like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. And just 
look like the world's about to end. I get that. It's something 
I struggle with. I shouldn't do it. I don't know 
if there's any change on the immediate horizon, but I recognize 
the problem. Brethren, as the people of God, 
joy ought to permeate our hearts and our lives. And having said 
that, just because somebody might have an exterior that doesn't 
look that great, interior might be happy. Sometimes you see an 
old dilapidated house on the outside, you walk in, it's like, 
wow, you guys have done great. Beautiful in here. So we can't 
judge a book always by its cover. Sometimes, but not always. Joy, 
happiness, thanksgiving. What happens when Philip comes 
to Samaria, and Philip preaches Christ, and Philip, under the 
agency of the Holy Spirit, does these miracles, and good things 
transpire? The people don't say, oh, this 
is terrible. Oh, this is horrible. Oh, what about this? Or what 
about that? They're joyful. They experience gladness of heart. 
You see that throughout the book of Acts. You see it in Acts chapter 
two. You see it in Acts 13. You see it in Acts 15. You see 
it with Paul in the letter to the Thessalonians. In chapter 
one, verse six of 1 Thessalonians, he says, and you became followers 
of us and of the Lord, having received the word and much affliction 
with joy of the Holy Spirit. And then turn to Romans 14. Romans 
14, verse 16. Therefore, do not let 
your good be spoken of as evil for the kingdom of God is not 
eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and what? Joy in the 
Holy Spirit. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5. 1 
Thessalonians 5. Verse 14, now we exhort you, 
brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, 
uphold the weak, be patient with all, see that no one renders 
evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both 
for yourselves and for all. Verse 16, rejoice always, pray 
without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the 
will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Have you ever asked the 
question, what's God's will for me? God's will for you is right 
here. Rejoice always, pray without 
ceasing, in everything give thanks. That's God's will for us. We 
need to rejoice always. Do you ever consider that God 
takes our joy seriously? Paul the Apostle says, rejoice 
in the Lord. Again, I will say rejoice. Why 
do you think there's heavy emphasis on the part of the Apostles to 
encourage us to be joyful? Maybe I'm not the only one that 
walks around looking miserable. Why the emphasis in the New Testament 
epistles on greet one another with a holy kiss? Because not 
everybody wanted to do that. These things are emphasized because 
there are traits or characteristics true of every people in every 
time. We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, and 
we don't just stop and think, wow, how great it is to be a 
child of God. Isn't this Jesus' point in Luke 
10? The disciples come back, and they say, Lord, we saw demons 
cast out. We saw people healed. We saw 
amazing things. He says, don't rejoice in this, 
but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 
Oh yeah, I guess I should rejoice in the fact that my sins are 
forgiven. Oh yeah, I guess I should rejoice in the fact that I'm 
gonna spend eternity with Father, Son, and Spirit. Oh yeah, I guess 
I should be reminded that I ought to, at least for the overarching 
theme of my life, manifest joy because God has saved me from 
my sins. Now before we end, I want us 
to notice something interesting in Acts 8. Specifically in verse 
8, there was great joy in that city. Note the juxtaposition 
with Jerusalem. What's happening in Jerusalem 
at this particular time? What's happening in Jerusalem 
at this particular time is that Stephen, a godly man, had been 
executed. What's happening in Jerusalem 
at this particular time is that there's a great persecution against 
the church. Isn't that intriguing? The city 
that starts is now the city that by and large has rejected. And 
now this gospel glow, if I can use that terminology, moves over 
to Samaria. Matthew Poole says, the despised 
Samaria rejoices and the formerly beloved city of Jerusalem repines 
at the gospel. Such strange alterations does 
the free grace of God make. It really does. Well, in conclusion, 
we not only see in the first place the geographic expansion 
of the kingdom of God, Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, but we secondly 
see the ethnic extension of the kingdom of Christ. The racial 
hostility that was there, the religious disparity that was 
there, is being obliterated through the gospel of Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Now brethren, don't think that 
everybody just saw this all at once and said, yippee, there 
is a transition period. This is why the apostles do come, 
according to 14 to 17. It's why they do investigate. It's why in 11, and then ultimately 
in 15, you get these accounts of how God is including Gentiles 
into the covenant promises of God. They didn't immediately 
receive this. There were those who said, well, 
you know, these Gentiles are coming in, but they need to be 
circumcised before they get sort of full benefit or full access. 
They need to be Jews and Christians. That's what happens in Acts chapter 
15. But it is intriguing to see the 
way that they deal with that. In Acts chapter 15 verses 16 
and 17, James, sort of the leader of the church in Jerusalem, quotes 
Amos the prophet, Amos 9, 11 and 12. And in Acts 15, 16 to 
17, James says, after this, I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle 
of David, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins and 
I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the 
Lord Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the 
Lord who does all these things. You see, James is thinking when 
he's at this Jerusalem council. He says, this is what was spoken 
by the prophet Amos. See, each of the apostles give 
their testimony. First, Paul and Barnabas, and 
then Peter, ascribing or testifying. I think it's Peter actually, 
and then Paul, and then James. Each one testifying about this 
inclusion of other people groups in and amongst the covenant people 
of God. It's a mind-blowing experience 
for them at this particular day and age. And again, we take it 
for granted. We just say, oh yeah, of course 
Gentiles are always included. Well, this was interesting in 
this particular situation. It goes back to what God says 
to Noah. To Noah, God says, may God enlarge 
Japheth, or Noah rather, to his sons under the inspiration of 
the Spirit. May God enlarge Japheth and may he dwell in the tents 
of Shem. That means Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises of God. Japheth will occupy the tents 
of Shem. The Shemites, the Israelites, 
they are the ones to whom the gospel goes first, but also to 
the Greeks, also to the Canadians, also to the Gentiles all over 
the earth from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. This is the 
way the Lord purposed it in the promise to Abraham all the way 
back in Genesis chapter 12. These apostles, these disciples, 
this evangelist is seeing God's promise come to pass, and so 
are we as we witness. Galatians 3, for you are all 
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of 
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is 
neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. 
There is neither male nor female. For you're all one in Christ 
Jesus. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and 
heirs according to the promise. I'd be remiss if I didn't throw 
in the obligatory you know, dis of dispensationalism. Why would 
they try to wedge the two things that God's brought together? 
The Lord Most High has made Jew-Gentile one person under Christ, one 
new man. Why take a wedge and a hammer 
and try to split that in two? Oh no, there's promises for the 
Jews, there's promises for the Gentiles. No, there's one promise 
from God to the salvation of all of his elect, as many as 
the Lord our God will call. And then finally, I mentioned 
this earlier, I think we ought to end here. First, the power 
of the gospel in the extension of the kingdom of Christ. You 
see Christ, him preached, as being the remedy for ethnic disparity 
here in Acts chapter eight. You'll see the gospel and Gentile 
inclusion proper in Acts chapter 10, when Cornelius and his household 
are included in the covenant promises of God. You see the 
gospel in Pisidi and Antioch. Turn there for just a moment 
to Acts 13. just to see the power of the gospel upon whole cities. You know, this is where I think, 
as we read the book of Acts, our hearts ought to be leaping 
out of our chest, praying to God for that. Not necessarily 
the power of the Holy Spirit to enact miracles, not necessarily 
the power of the Holy Spirit to raise men from their sick 
beds, but rather for the faithful, not extraordinary, but the faithful 
proclamation of the gospel blessed by the Spirit for effect upon 
whole people groups in cities. Look at what happens. Paul goes 
in and he preaches in Acts chapter 13. We won't go through his sermon. God willing, we'll get there 
someday, but notice in verse 42. So when the Jews went out 
of the synagogue, Paul had been in a Jewish synagogue and he 
preached Jesus. Paul had been in a Jewish synagogue 
and he preached Jesus. So it says, when the Jews went 
out of the synagogue, the Gentiles, note the language, begged that 
these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Begged 
for preaching. We read about that in the history 
of revival, but most of us haven't seen that. People begging for 
the Word of God? Do we value and prize the Word 
of God as we ought? Like the days of Amos where the 
Lord threatens them with famine, not a famine for food, not a 
famine of water, but a famine of hearing the word of God? Would 
that affect us if the Canadian government said, oh, you got 
to give up all your Bibles and your guns too, give up everything, 
and just wear the uniform and do exactly what we tell you? 
Would we be affected by that? When Daniel is told that he can 
no longer pray to the God of heaven and earth, is he affected 
by that? Absolutely positively, in the sense that he's going 
to have nothing to do with that mandate. He's going to do exactly 
what he's always done, because it's his custom to pray to the 
God of heaven and earth. Notice that, that language. So 
when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged 
that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now, 
just keep following. Now, when the congregation had 
broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul 
and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue 
in the grace of God. Now, note verse 44. On the next 
Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word 
of God. You see that? You know, there's 
this attempt to get people in our churches. Well, we got to 
have a Facebook presence. We got to have a Twitter presence. 
We got to have an Instagram presence. You know, the best way that people 
are going to come and visit our church is if you tell them to. Yeah, I guess you can do that 
on Facebook and you can do that on Twitter, but you can also 
do it in person. I know that's just zany, isn't 
it? Telling somebody, oh, you have 
to come to church with us. Facebook, Twitter, you've got mouths. Word of mouth is typically, right? You can actually say, hey, why 
don't you come to church? You'll hear the gospel, hopefully. 
You'll have an attentive spirit and pay attention, and maybe 
the spirit of God will work in your heart to bring you to the 
place of saving grace. That's a beautiful thing. The 
whole city came together. Why? Because everybody that had been 
exposed to it the previous week went and said, look, you've got 
to come to the synagogue because this guy brings it. And he's 
bringing about this man named Jesus. And he says that this 
man Jesus brings forgiveness. This man Jesus frees us from 
all the things that the law of Moses couldn't do. This man Jesus 
is the Messiah promised by God in the Old Testament. You've 
got to come and hear what Paul has to say. You get these images 
of such things in the history of the church. What would Whitfield 
do? He'd go to those miners and he 
would preach to them. He'd call them out of their holes 
and he would preach to them. There'd be black-faced miners 
having these tears, you know, make streaks down their faces. 
Yet endless numbers of persons coming to hear him without Facebook, 
without Twitter, without Instagram, without TV or radio. It was the 
people of God who heard the word of God that said, you likewise 
need to come here too. That's what filled the synagogue 
on that Sabbath day. It was big mouth people going 
out amongst their fellows and saying, come and meet a man, 
hear of a man who tells us all things we ever did. That's the 
language of the Samaritan woman, which incidentally brought the 
Samaritan village to our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel and 
the Secular Philosophers in Acts 17. How do we meet the Stoics 
and Epicureans? Certainly we need to put our 
Bibles down and meet them at their level. No, we preach to 
them our Bibles. That's Acts 17 in summary form. And then in Acts 19, what happens 
there? The gospel comes to Ephesus. 
Remember, he came and preached peace to you. Well, Acts 19 is 
the record of that. You have occultists, you have 
people that lived according to magic arts and books that burned 
them after the gospel is preached to them. And then later on in 
Acts chapter 19, you have a trade union. that is in danger of being 
put out of business. You know what their business 
was? Making idols of the idol Diana. And they get together 
and they say, if these guys keep preaching and these guys keep 
listening, nobody's going to buy our little trinkets anymore. 
We have to silence them. What does that indicate? There 
was economic impact upon a particular city, not through the preaching 
of economic impact upon a particular city, but through preaching Christ 
and Him crucified. You see, the gospel is the power 
of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first 
and also to the Greek, for in that gospel the righteousness 
of God is revealed. Not just who he is in terms of 
his perfection and in terms of his attribute. He's a righteous 
God. He's a just God. He is full of 
rightness. But when Paul says, for in it, 
the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, that means 
the righteousness that God demands from each of us, but supplies 
to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That's what 
the power is. So, when we think, what does 
a city, what does a people, what does a country need? I hope the 
resounding answer on our behalf will be the preaching of Christ 
and Him crucified. If you don't typically pay attention, 
I would encourage you, pay attention wherever the Bible is read and 
wherever the Bible is preached. Because faith comes by hearing 
and hearing by the Word of God. And if you are not a Christian 
this morning, you need salvation. You need Jesus Christ. Because 
as Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one 
comes to the Father except through me. Every other religion ends 
in hell. It is Christianity alone that 
is a redemptive religion. Christianity alone that provides 
forgiveness and provides the righteousness that you and I 
need. And that is received by faith in Jesus. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your Word, and we thank You for this summary statement of Philip's 
ministry in Samaria. And God, may we see the emphases 
here, and may we see the necessity for the Church to be found faithful, 
preaching Christ. And God, we pray that You'd help 
us to be faithful, preaching Christ, and upholding the rest 
of what Scripture says, and realizing that if we love Him, we will 
keep His commandments. And God, we pray for the Spirit 
to indwell us in a powerful way so that we would comply. We pray 
for the Spirit to indwell us in a powerful way so that we 
would testify concerning Jesus to others. And God, we pray for 
our city, our community. We know that what this city desperately 
needs is more preaching of Christ. And we pray in His most blessed 
name. Amen. Well, we'll close by singing 
the doxology. It's found on page 568. That's 
568. We'll stand as we sing together.