A Healthy Congregation

Well, it's too bad Libby's just not very powerful. Wow, that was wonderful. Thank you so much. We really appreciate you sharing your gift with us. It certainly is inspiring and encouraging, and we have a redeemer that lives. It is a wonderful message, so thanks so much, Libby.

I know over the last several weeks we've been talking about creating an environment for spiritual growth within the Church. Within our congregation, we've talked about being the household of God. How can we be a better family? How can we be better fathers and mothers, more effective when it comes to the jobs that God's given us to do? And really, how can we change our actions and change the way we think so that as we live our lives, we're a legacy of the will of God? How can we do those things? We've been talking about those things quite a bit, and we know that we've been given commands.

We know God gives us two big ones. We summed them all up. We come down to loving God and loving our neighbor. And God gives us a challenge, especially when we look around and we've got a big group of people here. We are a big group, especially when we put both congregations together. It is a challenge to be a family. It is a challenge to be a household. And sometimes we don't get past, Hi, how are you? Good to see you again. And we don't get beyond that.

Yet, can we just show up, be here for services, and yet not fulfill our spiritual obligations? I think it's something that we need to think about. Do we really fulfill the calling that God has given to us? Can we be just a, Hi, how are you? kind of congregation? And claim to be the body of Christ? Or is there more to it? Can we create an environment? Can we be spiritually growing and have that kind of perspective? In fact, how can we be healthier? How can we be a healthy congregation of God?

Well, let's think about that today. How do we get past the, Hi, how are you? To really being a healthy, godly congregation. You know, the amazing thing is these are big questions and sometimes difficult to put into practice. And yet, it boils down sometimes to very simple things. Things that really aren't all that complicated. And in fact, probably mostly things we already know. I began to look back a little bit on the New Testament church and thought, Well, how did they do it? And it's amazing that right from the very start, they put that concept into practice.

To be a healthy congregation. To move beyond just the acquaintances. Move beyond just the casual. To truly be the body of Christ. To be His church, His household. So if you go all the way back to Acts 2, when the New Testament church began, it gives us insight into how we can begin to really be a healthier congregation. To get beyond just the surface. Let's notice that. Acts 2, verse 38. Remember, this is the day of Pentecost.

I think we probably all read through this section of Scripture just a couple weeks ago on the Feast of Pentecost. And of course, as Peter spoke to them, they were cut to the heart and they asked him, What should we do? What should we do? And in a sense, it's kind of like asking the question we did this morning.

How can we be a healthy congregation? How can we have an environment where we are growing? So that when others come, they'll be placed into an environment where everyone is growing. Well, Acts 2, 38, I think, begins to touch on that. Here's what Peter told them. He said, Repent, 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. So we've got to have God's Spirit and we've got to submit to God's Spirit to begin with.

And so God's Spirit has to take priority in our life and our dedication to serving God. And so once we have that, here we find Peter's giving them many other things. He says the promises is to their children and to all that are far off. Then we see the results. Verse 41, it says, Those who were there, they gladly received His word, and they were baptized. That day about 3,000 souls were added to them. And verse 42, They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers.

And I think right off the bat, we see how we can be a healthy congregation. He says they continued steadfastly in doctrine and fellowship. Well, we can have doctrine, but if we don't live that doctrine, if we don't put that doctrine into practice, it's not going to happen. That's got to happen. That's got to be first. We've got to have God's Spirit submit to that spirit and live by God's way. He also says, fellowship, the importance of fellowship. Because sitting here today, you might say, Well, we're going to eat some hamburgers and hot dogs after church. What's the big deal? I hate hamburgers. I've had enough hot. All we do is grill out around here. I've had enough of that. Well, it's not about the grilling. It's not about the dogs and the burgers. It's about this. It's about koinonia. That's the Greek word that's used here. Koinonia, fellowship, which isn't just standing around the church drinking coffee or having that... It's about sharing. It's about participating together. In fact, that word can have a sense of a partnership. And so it leads us to have joint relationships that we commune together. In fact, that's where they get that word communion from, this word, koinonia. It's not talking about being a commune. Some people get the wrong idea. But it's about sharing our lives, sharing our experiences, getting to know one another so we can serve one another. Because this group, as it became the early New Testament church, became a tight-knit group. They were together. In fact, look at the next verse. It says, Now, that doesn't mean they all sold their houses and moved to a commune. That's not what it's talking about. It says, They sold their possessions and they divided them among all. When people had need, they served those needs. They knew those needs. They understood those needs because they shared their lives with each other. They understood when there were problems, when there were issues, when there were shortness of funds, when there were losses, when there was grief, when there was tragedy, because of fellowship, because of the sharing, because of the participation in one another's lives. They didn't just show up on the Sabbath. They knew each other and they cared about each other. And it says, they were together. In fact, we know they didn't sell everything because it also talks about their homes. And they went to their homes. So they didn't sell everything. It didn't happen that way. But it does tell us, everyone participated in Koinonia. No individual was an island. Nobody was by themselves. They shared. They participated together. They weren't just an, hey, how you doing kind of church. That's not what they were. The more they shared, the closer they became. And so they expressed their commitment. They expressed their dedication. They expressed their involvement with each other's lives in a couple of ways. In fact, you read through the beginning of the book of Acts here. It points very clearly, yes, there were physical things that we just read about. Physical things that they shared, whether it was money or food or land even. They shared those things. But they also shared in something else. They shared in joys. They shared in trials. They shared in triumph. They shared in tragedies, in grief. They shared their faith. And that all happened through this Koinonia.

Through the commitment to be the body of Christ. And so what I think we see as an example here, was that they gave the best to each other. And when you give the best, you give of yourself. It's not just items, physical things, but they gave of themselves. How do you assign a dollar value to a tear that's shed for someone's loss? How do you assign a dollar value for the time that you pray for someone else? You see, you can't put a dollar sign on that type of thing. How do you value someone venting to you about their feelings, or their frustrations, or their problems? You see, you can't do that. So if we're going to be a godly congregation, a healthy congregation, we have to get beyond the superficial, and we have to become this kind of congregation. A congregation that shares. We have to fellowship. But the godly kind of fellowship that we read about here in the book of Acts, a sharing kind of fellowship, a participating kind of fellowship, a fellowship that gets beyond just the surface to what lies beneath, so that we can certainly participate with each other's joys, and trials, and challenges, and difficulties, and accomplishments. We can do all those things because we are a family, because that's a big part of our calling. And so we can do our part. We can do this. And so here at Cincinnati East, we have a lot of activities. We have a lot of activities. And it's not just because we love volleyball. It's not just that. It's not just because we like hamburgers. It's not like because we just like to have fun socials and do silly things up on stage. It's not just those things. Those are a part of things, but it's because of the fellowship and the opportunities to really get to know each other. And what a blessing it is to be here. You ever think of that? You ever thank God for the blessing to be here? Because we live in an area that we're really not all that far apart when it comes to where we live. We were visiting back in Minnesota, and we were reminded, we had to drive 90 miles to church. Just to get to church. And everybody was driving that kind of distances to get there. It's an area where you don't get together at other times than maybe just the Sabbath, just because of the cost and the difficulty and the challenge. But it's not like that here.

I mean, we can complain about the distances that we live, but it's so different. And so we have opportunities that it doesn't have to be just a Sabbath thing, either. And we can get together any day that we choose to. We make that happen. And so this kind of fellowship is certainly one way that we can get beyond the superficial. I think we're shown here as well, at the very beginning of the book of Acts, there's another way. Another way to get beyond, to go to a deeper spiritual level. And that's where we see that everyone was doing something. Everyone was doing their part. Everyone had a part to play. Because we've talked about the church being a family. A family isn't a family unless everybody's there. If someone's not there, something's missing. It's just not quite right. If the family is the church and the church is a body, we all have to work together. So the body functions the way that it should. If it doesn't, we've got problems. We've got problems. Maybe it's like the man went to the doctor. He said, Doctor, if there's anything wrong with me, just out with it. He said, don't soft-pedal it. Just give it to me straight out. I don't want any long, fancy names. Just tell me straight out, plain English, what's wrong with me? The doctor examines him, comes up and he says, listen, I'll just be frank. Straight out with you. He said, you're just plain lazy and you need to exercise. The guy was kind of taken back a little bit. He said, okay, well, is there a scientific name for that so I can tell the people back at the office? You see, sometimes we look for scientific names and it's not that complicated. It's not that complicated. Look over at Ephesians. Let's go to Ephesians 4. I was going to say Hebrews, but let's go to Ephesians instead. Ephesians 4, verse 15. Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, I think, talk a lot about this concept of being a healthy body, a godly body, the body of Christ. In verse 15 of Ephesians 4, here's what New Living says. It'll be a little different maybe from the King James or New King James. It says, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of His body, the Church. So as we submit to God's Spirit, we're becoming more like Christ. And it says, in every way. Verse 16, under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly, as each part does its own special work. It helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Boy, what a great mission statement for us as a godly congregation, that this is what's describing us. We want to live up to this mission statement, that each one of us has a part to play. Each one of us has a share in the body of Christ. And so how can we be healthy? How can we function properly? Out of love, out of care, out of concern, out of service. And so it's not just getting up and giving a sermonette or a sermon. It's not just leading songs or coming up and giving a prayer.

But it's relating to each other. It's visiting the sick. It's helping the needy. It's strengthening each other. It's building each other up. It's knowing each other so that we understand how to do that and what our needs are. And so we're dependent on each other. Isn't that what He's saying here? If each part does its share, its own special part seems to be the indication when you look at what the Greek is really talking about. So we want the church to grow. Well, how am I helping that to happen? Am I growing personally? We want to see people change their lives and come to God's church. But am I changing my life? We want to see the weak encouraged. Well, do I take apart and do that very thing? We want to see our children grow up in God's way and taught God's way. And I think what we begin to see when you look at Ephesians and you look at this whole concept, can we really as a body, can we as a congregation, be any stronger together collectively than the whole? Our collective strength, when we put our body completely together, gives us an idea of how strong we really are.

Gives us an idea of how much we truly are submitting to the Spirit of God. We each have to do our part, don't we? I had heard a story one time about a kite, and the kite was arguing with itself. Can you imagine this wonderful scene? The kite is arguing. All right, who flies the kite? Well, all the sticks were saying, I fly the kite. Without me, this kite wouldn't fly. Of course, the paper on the outside of the kite said, no, wait a second, I fly the kite. Without me, this kite is nothing. Of course, the tail has to pipe in and say, well, listen, we'd have no direction without me, so I fly the kite. Of course, then there's the little boy who runs along with the kite and says, wait, I've got the string. I fly the kite. Well, the wind has to pipe in as well. He says, listen, without any wind, you're not going anywhere, so I fly the kite.

But in actuality, they all got to be together, right? Everybody's got to be together. Collectively, they all fly. The sticks broke, not going to work, the tail gets caught in a tree, not going to happen, the paper gets torn, the wind calms, whatever. It's not everyone had a part to play. And I think in a way, that should describe what we're about.

Without one of us, the congregation isn't going to work the way that God intended it to. If God placed us in the body, so the body will function the way that He wants it to, and if we don't do the part we're supposed to play, what does that mean?

It means the body's not going to function properly. Oh, this arm might work okay, but if I'm this elbow, that's not going to work. And so we each have a part to play, and we must take on that responsibility that God's assigned to us. And so we have a work. You want to put it that way? We have a job of giving and sharing and visiting and serving and coignonia and countless other things in order to make the body of Christ work the way that God intended it to. And so we all have to work together in order to accomplish what God has intended. And so it is a matter of a full, healthy body.

And not just teamwork, but more than that. It even goes deeper than that. In fact, there's so many amazing passages that indicate that very concept. You don't have to turn there, but you could just write down 1 Corinthians 3. In 1 Corinthians 3, when you get to verse 6 and kind of go beyond that, you probably remember that passage that talks about Paul planting, Apollos watering, God giving the increase.

Paul points out pretty clearly, it's not just about the guy that does the planting. It's not just about the guy who does the watering. Somebody's got to get rid of the weeds. So we've got to make sure and take care of those tender little plants that begin to grow. And God's got to play a big part in all of it. And so we have that part to play. And so what is it? What is the part that you can play so that God's congregation is healthy?

Are we ready? Are we ready? Because I think of the opposite sometimes in my way of thinking. Do I want to stand before God and tell him why I was a hindrance to the church? Why I didn't fulfill the responsibilities that he intended for me to fill? I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that. In fact, it reminded me of 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4 maps out, in a little bit more detail, this concept of the body and the family and our part that we each play.

Because I don't think it's a matter of we haven't been doing these things because I think we have. But Paul writes to Thessalonia. And as he writes to the church there, Thessalonica, he says something very interesting. He says they've been doing well. In fact, this whole letter, sometimes it's called the thank-you letter to Philippi because it wasn't really corrective. They did a lot of things well. But notice what he says here in verse 9 of 1 Thessalonians 4.

He says, Concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. Wow, that's a pretty nice compliment that they received. But then he says in verse 10, And indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are all in Macedonia. But, uh oh, what? But, he says, we urge you brethren that you increase more and more. You see, he was reminding them. They weren't just some sort of social club. They were a family of believers that they had to be active in accomplishing the will of God.

And it wasn't just about supporting Paul. It wasn't just about sending tithes to him so that he could preach and teach. But it was also about building each other up. It was about edifying each other. It was about reconciling the family, working out differences. It was allowing God to work in them and through them so that God could build them close and intimate as his very family. And so Paul encouraged them, go on.

Do even better. Continue to grow. Continue to grow. And so, as we begin to see, if we're not doing our part, then something is wrong. The body isn't healthy. The body is not quite right. That example in 1 Corinthians 12, 12 is the one where Paul talks about, well, not everybody's the mouth or not everybody's the ear. Because the body wouldn't work if everybody was that. And so we all have to fulfill our part. So it would be good to ask, how am I contributing to our congregation in order to fulfill God's design for his body?

Because if I'm not, then you know we're not quite right. The body is just not working the way that God intended it. Now, in Thessalonica, we see that they fulfilled one powerful aspect in addition to fellowship, in addition to finding their place in the body to fulfill the goal that God intended for them in order to be the body, in order to be the family. Did you notice that? It's also found over in John 13.34, if you want to turn there.

John 13.34 gives us a key to make it past the superficial. And it's that commandment that Jesus Christ himself gave to all of us. Just before the crucifixion, we see what that commandment is all about. He says, John 13.34, a new commandment I give you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. In fact, he goes on and he says, by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Well, that's certainly another way that we can overcome the superficial, that we can really begin to be a healthier congregation by fulfilling Christ's command.

Disciples love other disciples. That's an indication of who they are. It's not just where they go to church, but we begin to see it's about their identity. It's about who they belong to. And so we can ask ourselves, do we have that sign? Christ says it's how we should live. Do we bear the sign of the disciples of Christ? And so, when you begin to think about it, is there evidence? Is there evidence in my life that proves that I love the disciples, that I love God's people?

It comes down to the fact that love is putting that feeling into action, because it's more than just a feeling. And if we are the children of God, we've got to become the family of God. And the family should be that closest relationship. And so within the family of God, we have the potential to have a deep and binding kind of love that Jesus Christ himself is at the heart of. And so, yeah, there's going to be problems. There's going to be disagreement. What family doesn't have them? What physical family doesn't have problems or disagreements? It doesn't change the fact that we love them and we care about them and we work them out. That's certainly the key. And so we have so many examples of that throughout Scripture. Galatians 6 is one that I'll turn to for just a moment. Look at Galatians 6, verse 9.

Galatians 6, verse 9, I think speaks to this great commandment that God gave us. It says, "...he who sows to his flesh will reap of the flesh corruption." You see, it's useless. It's going to wear out, right? It goes away. It doesn't last. It's corrupt. "...but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." So we see there is a job to do. There's work to be done. There's sowing and planting and watering and all these things. So he says, verse 9, let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. And so he tells us very clearly, if we are the body, if we are the family of God, we have to treat each other like that. Like family. Like a good family. Like a balanced family. Like a family that loves and cares about each other. Like brothers and sisters who get along and work things out. We're fellow workers together. And it's just a real challenge. We can read over those words very quickly. But it is a challenge. And it's something that we can put into practice and we have to do.

And so we have to be loving Christians today. Now. If we plan to be a part of what's beyond today, we have to. We have to. We have to be involved. We have to be a church family. We have to be fellowshipping together and participating together and sharing together.

Because that builds a healthy body of believers and can't help but lead to an environment of spiritual growth.

Because we know it doesn't come down to just me. It's not all about me, is it? It's about us. It's about us. God is creating an eternal family. And He gives us these commands because we need it. He knows the best way to live. And so no wonder He commands this way. Romans 12 deals quite a bit with this concept of being a living sacrifice and even within our congregations.

Romans 12.9 We see it's not optional. It's not just a good idea. It's not, well, it would be nice if.

None of those kinds of things. Let's notice the way the Apostle Paul puts it. Verse 9, Romans 12. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what's evil. Just notice what's bad. He says, abhor it. Cling and hang on to what's good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. In honor, giving preference to one another.

Not lagging in diligence.

Fervent in spirit. Serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Continuing steadfastly in prayer.

He says, distributing to the needs of the saints. Given to hospitality.

Even goes on to say, bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

Who's he talking to here? The family. The family. Yeah, because sometimes even in families, we get off kilter a little bit, don't we?

But he's saying, hey, work this out. He says, rejoice with those who rejoice. Verse 15.

Weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Put somebody higher than anybody else. We love each other.

We care about the entire family. Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don't be wise in your own opinion.

You see, so he begins to map it out pretty clearly. How can we be a part of the church of God and not be devoted to each other?

Not get to know each other in an in-depth family kind of way, healthy kind of way. How can we not contribute to each other's needs?

How can we keep people in arm's length away? That's not God's way.

How can we be close if we don't open our homes? If we don't open our hearts to each other? If we don't really, truly get to know each other? How can we claim to be a healthy congregation of God? It takes a whole lot more than just handshakes after church, doesn't it? It truly does.

It requires an investment in the lives of others. God requires no less of us.

So if there is a congregation of God, we need this kind of perspective because this kind of family, this godly family, shows that we need each other.

If we're going to dispel problems and divisions and difficulties, it means we've got to hang together.

They can pick on each other out there, but when it comes to us, we're a family. Nobody touches my brother. Nobody messes with my sister.

We'll be able to get rid of the divisions and the difficulties because being together means we break down the cliques.

We step out of our comfort zones. We mend the fractures and the difficulties by fellowship, by growth, by caring for each other.

And we become closer because we need each other. We need each other.

And so as we grow closer and closer, we do suffer together and we rejoice together.

And that kind of caring, that kind of godly concern is the sign, as Paul talks about here, of good health, a healthy, strong congregation of God.

And so it is possible. In fact, it's our calling to put this way of life into practice, not only personally, but collectively, because we are God's family.

So the funny thing is you can't make people. It's mandatory, but God can't make us do it. We have to choose to do it.

It's something I think that has to come naturally. And that means you've got to work on it so that it does come naturally.

And I think it will, as we do, because God does hold us accountable, and we can hold ourselves accountable in order to do these things.

So can we hold ourselves to that level of accountability so that we will lovingly support and encourage and exhort and correct when we need to, and have fun together and uplift one another?

As we grow in spiritual maturity, I believe we can. I believe God wants us to do that very thing. And so we can certainly begin by sharing together, by fellowshiping together, by that coina nia, that partnership that we have in one another, as we do our part, as we discover what is our part.

How can I be a better friend? How can I be a better disciple? How can I be a better family member?

And certainly, as we strive to fulfill the goal of John 13.34 and love one another, we can determine that we are going to do something about it. We're not just going to think about it. We're going to do something about it. We're going to dedicate ourselves to live the will of God.

We're going to dedicate ourselves to submit ourselves to God's Holy Spirit. We are going to dedicate ourselves to His way of thinking.

We are going to strive to put ourselves to use and dedicate ourselves to be a part of building a healthy body of believers.

And as we do that, it can't help but produce an environment of spiritual growth.

That's the sermon for this morning. But I have something else that I'd like to talk about for a minute.

What we're going to be doing is we're going to try to be a little bit better organized here in our Cincinnati East congregations. In fact, if our ushers will help me out, now is the time that you can go ahead and hand out these different things.

We have a way, at least initially, to begin to help and to serve in ways we can get to know each other better. Now, this is not the be-all and the end-all of what we talked about today during the sermon. Certainly not that. This is only one way that we can begin to contribute and serve within our own congregations here in Cincinnati East. And so, in fact, if I could get one, I forgot to bring one up myself. What our ushers are handing out right now is a listing of ways that you can serve here in Cincinnati East. How we can serve each other, how we can become a better family of God. Now, this, as I said, is not the only way. What the ushers are handing out is a little volunteer sign-up listings.

Over the years, many of you have been serving in many ways here in the congregation. Since we've been here, a number of you have asked, well, what can I do? How can I help? Is there anything left to do? And so, we've talked with the deacons and deaconesses and our elders and their wives. And we've come up with a number of ways that we can serve one another here in the Cincinnati East area.

And so, what we've done is we've put together an entire listing of lots of different jobs and responsibilities and ways to serve. Now, as I said, this is only one way. This is not so much talking about the fellowship and those aspects of doing things, but ways that we can serve one another within the congregation and on the Sabbath specifically, and yet more than that as well.

So, we're handing out this volunteer sign-up. This is for everyone that are teens and above, those who are able to actually fulfill some of these responsibilities. And what it is, is there's a listing on the front cover that shows a number of responsibilities, whether it be something like the bulletin board or coffee and snacks, some of those things that maybe we're fairly familiar with, the emergency phone network, to other types of things, whether it's snow removal. Well, what is that about? Why do we need to have any snow removal? Well, what we've done is we also have stapled to that page a description of what these different areas entail. Now, it's just a short little description of what that area might be about. And so you can kind of take a look at that and see, well, if I were to sign up for snow removal, what is that about? Well, there's a number of things that do need some help. And of course, there are many things that come up from time to time that we need to call on someone. Well, who should we call? It's ways that you can get involved, whether it's helping with the service committee and I can help with my strong back, move someone. Well, I could do that once in a while. Or when we have big activities here in the Cincinnati area. Because we are the home office, we have special activities where maybe, you know, the dance weekend, there might be guests that come in. And they need a place to stay for a night. Well, I could help out with that. Or I'm willing, if someone just shows up and they need a place, I might be able to provide that. Now, it wouldn't be necessarily that you would have to do it always and all the time. Hopefully, what we'll find is that there'll be a number of us that can contribute in these various ways. And we can have a team of people. I know our elders and deacons and deaconesses can coordinate many of these things. Others are different areas that will need some people to help coordinate and direct these areas.

But I think this can help us to become a little bit better organized so that we can meet each other's needs that much better. Certainly, it doesn't minimize our ordained leadership in any way. They're certainly going to continue to serve God in the roles that they have. But we need more help. We need more helpers. We need more servants. We need more team leaders. We need more to help in our congregation. So what I'd like you to do is take the time to fill this out. I realize not everyone is here today. So for the next several weeks, I'll be reminding you about this. You can either fill this out and turn it back into me. You can keep—in fact, you could rip off the front page and turn that in, and you can keep the descriptions pages for yourselves. There is a box at the lobby that you can put these in if you happen to finish it today. We'd like you to choose as many areas as you want. You don't have to limit yourself just to one thing. I hope we're just overwhelmed with as many that want to help in these various areas. We might even have to say, well, we've got enough help. That would be a good problem to have. But if you sign up for a number of things, I know that there will be places that we all can serve. There's never a shortage of need for those that could help with socials, those that could help with moving, those that could help with even lawn mowing. If we had 30 people sign up to help cut our shut-ins lawns, that might mean you have to do it once during the summer. Wouldn't that be a great thing? So there are so many ways that we can help and we can serve. And this is one way I think that we can begin to draw a little bit closer, and that we can help each other and serve right here in the Cincinnati area. If you've got any questions, feel free to see me after services. We'll be around for the burgers and the dogs this afternoon. And if you would, you don't have to do it today. But if you'd like to take this home, pray about it, think about ways that you can help out. I'm hoping to collect them all by the first Sabbath in August, by August 2nd. So you can either put those in the box in the lobby, set them on my desk, or give them to me. I'd really appreciate that. And that will help us, I think, to better begin to do our part here in the congregation. Now, of course, we're not limited to this. This doesn't limit us. There's so much more that we can do than just these activities that are spelled out. And so many more important things as well. So many more important things. Just getting to know each other and spending time with one another, in many cases, can be just as vital as it is, if not more important than these things. And so if you'd like to help in these ways, we certainly would be thrilled to be able to utilize everybody's gifts and talents and abilities as well. So where are your gifts? Where are your talents? Where would you like to help and where would you like to serve? Now's the time to step up and maybe begin to fill in a bigger way a number of the responsibilities that would certainly help our congregations here in Cincinnati East be that much stronger and that much healthier. Okay, I think that will do it then for this afternoon. We'll go ahead and ask Mr. Bissey to come up and lead us in the final hymn and the prayer, and then we'll be dismissed.