Better Things for a Better Life

Well, if you would, go ahead and take your Bible, turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 7. We will get to those verses a little later on in the message. We will not be in those verses and psalms that we read earlier. Now this morning we are having a special worship service, special in that we are honoring our high school graduates. And in honoring our graduates, we really are doing two things. We are celebrating the fact that our graduates have reached a great milestone in life. More importantly, we are looking to God and to His Word for specific teaching that will minister to them at this point in time in their life.

But it would be a terrible mistake to think that the message is only for our two graduates. Any message from God's Word is for all of the church, and I think all of you who work Grace Life know that by now. Now this morning we are going to be honoring two high school graduates, Aiden McMorris and Annabelle Summers. All of you know Aiden and Annabelle because they are very active in the life of our church. Now I have had the privilege of being their pastor for many years, so I have a lot of good memories with both of them. But in preparing for this day, what has come to my mind lately is their age. They are very, very young.

Aiden has worked hard to graduate from high school a year early. That's mighty young. Annabelle was sharing with me that she is still 17 and she will not turn 18 until the day before her graduation. Did I get that right Annabelle? Now I don't know about you, but the older I get, the younger they get. And notice how we tend to view Aiden and Annabelle and all that we know who come to this point in life. We naturally believe that they have many days ahead. We instinctively hope and believe that they have many good days ahead. Now let me flesh this out some.

After high school graduation comes college for some, whether it be a local community college or a senior college. Some may go into the military. We have had three Brookhaven High School boys go to one of the military or service academies the last two or three years. Some go straight into the workforce. That's good. Sometime after high school or maybe after college, most will get married and within marriage come children in what we would call family life. And by this time, most would have settled down into a community like Brookhaven or maybe a larger city and they will be building a life for themselves. But notice what I am pointing out.

When we think about what comes after high school graduation, we tend to think of things related to good days to come. But we need to make sure that we are not too sentimental, idealistic or utopian here. To be sentimental means to appeal to the emotions. To be idealistic means to have a tendency to be guided by ideals more than reality. To be utopian in our mindset means to be guided more by the image of some kind of perfection rather than reality. Now what I am saying is this.

If we are too sentimental, idealistic and utopian, we will look at our high school graduates and imagine that they have nothing but good and happy days ahead when that is not real life. Those of us who are more experienced adults, notice I didn't say older. Those of us who are more experienced in life, we know that life can be hard. We know that life can seem unfair and even be cruel at times. We know that life is short and sometimes life is tragically short for some. Now the past year, our home and our home life has been quite different. Our Annie got married in March so she has moved out. Our Maggie moved off to Mississippi College.

She is home for the summer and we are happy to have her home. But Christy and I have been enjoying the almost empty nest. We have been enjoying the mostly empty nest. I think it will be completely empty when they are off our checkbook. Now for us, not having the girls at home means that we have uninterrupted movie night. So that means that we watch one of those Hallmark movies because that is mostly what my wife likes to watch. John Wayne is out the door. Now think about those Hallmark movies. The story line of all of those movies are difficulties and even tragedies for the main characters. But in the end, things always end up good.

Isn't that right? Even though the guy who was the good looking college football star falls off a mountain, he is run over by a train, he loses an arm, he is in a wheelchair, he still marries the most popular cheerleader that he dated back in college after he reconnects with her when he is in the hospital. They live happily ever after. That is the way they always are. You can predict them. My wife gets mad when I do that. Now what is my point? Some of you are thinking where in the world is he going?

Aiden, Annabelle, as we honor you at this special time in your life, we certainly would like all of your days to be nothing but good like a fairy tale, maybe even like one of those Hallmark movies but we know better. So from Ecclesiastes 7, I want to talk to you about certain better things which if we have in our lives will produce better days and that will produce a better life, not a life free from pain, not a life free from hardship, not a life free from difficulties, even tragedies, but a better life. At this point I do want us to turn to Ecclesiastes 7. I want us to read verses 1 to 10.

I did say this earlier that we will not cover all of these verses. I'm leaving a lot here untouched. But let's read the verses and notice the term better. Verse 1, "A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. But this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. Whereas the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools, this also is vanity. Surely opposition drives the wise and the madness, and the bribe corrupts the heart. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in the spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Now before we get into what I call the message, I need to give us just a little bit of background here in the book and then also these verses. The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, and most believe that it was written in his later years, Solomon wrote primarily to warn and to instruct young people in his kingdom. But of course, others besides young people can benefit from the book. And there are several key themes found in the book. Here we find quite a lot of teaching about the vanity or the futility of life.

Solomon writes in many ways to say that any attempt to find satisfaction apart from God is utter futility, it is vanity. We also find a lot of instruction concerning the true meaning of life. Solomon moves from the futility of life without God to pointing his readers to see that the true satisfaction in life is found in God. You see, if the Rolling Stones would simply read the book of Ecclesiastes and do what Solomon says, then they would not be singing about having no satisfaction. Some of you will get that halfway home today. Here we find instruction about having balance in life. Yes, balance in life.

Solomon teaches that there is a time and a season for everything, even the difficult things. We also find a lot of teaching concerning the fear of God. Not only does Solomon call his readers to find the true meaning in life in God and God in this, he calls on them to live with the true fear, a reverential fear of God. But in this book, Solomon shows us that he was not sentimental, idealistic, or utopian about life. As a matter of fact, at times we see that Solomon is downright pessimistic. Now why? Well, Solomon, pessimistic. Sometimes he's just gloom and doom. It is because Solomon had lived most all of his life. He had attained it all.

He had attained great power, great wealth, everything. He had even attained great wisdom from God, but he knew from experience that life was hard, even cruel, and even unfair or seemingly unfair. He knew that life was not like a Hallmark movie. Right here in chapter seven, Solomon gives some instruction that is all about what is better for life so as to have better days and to have a better life even when life is hard, difficult, seemingly unfair, tragic, and short. So specifically we see eight better statements. Some scholars will call these short proverbs. And I want us to examine these proverbs, these short statements.

I want us to embrace them. I want us to wrestle with them now, and I want us to seek to live them so that we can have better things for a better life. That's the title of the message. Better things for the better life. Better things for the better life. So let's get started. Number one, Solomon tells us that a good name is better. We see that at the beginning of verse one. A good name is better. Notice what the verse says. A good name is better than precious ointment. Here Solomon is obviously making a comparison, and in the comparison he is issuing a call to a particular standard for a Godly life which is all a part of the better life.

And he says that a good name is better, and to understand what he is getting at we need to see that a person's name meant something in their day. Solomon's day, a person's name was not just a name. It wasn't just a label. But it was meant to express the very nature of that person. Their name truly expressed who they were, good or bad. Let me give you an example here. In first Kings and second Kings we see that Israel had a very wicked king named Ahab in their history. And Ahab was married to a woman named Jezebel who was so wicked that her name came to represent the worst kind of a woman, even today.

If a woman is a Jezebel, she is understood to be a woman with a contemptuous spirit who is bold, shameless, has no moral restraint. The name Jezebel speaks of the most ungodly woman. Well here Solomon is issuing a call to intentionally work so as to have a good name. This would be a name that represents a good reputation because that good reputation is born out of good and godly character. Then the comparison. He says that a good name representing a good and godly character is better than precious ointment. The new American says good ointment.

And to understand what Solomon means here we have to understand what good or precious oil or ointment was for them in their day. You see costly perfumes and oils had a practical use in their day. They were used to moisten the skin in their dry, very harsh environment and they were also used as perfumes. And these were very expensive commodities in their day, usually only available for the very wealthy. But also costly perfumes and oils had a very different use. Much like we use things like silver and gold to back up our money and their economy, commodities like ointments, oils and perfumes were used like money.

They were used to back up money. So these were very, very valuable commodities. Now the point of the proverb right here is this. Solomon is writing to show that a good name that represents good and godly character is better than the finest, the most expensive, the most desirable things in life. Now Aiden, Annabelle. As you continue to grow and move on into life, you will have the desire for good jobs, career, money, houses, cars, investments, even retirements. And those things that give us the good life are what we might call the American dream. And notice desiring those things and having those things, it's not necessarily bad.

Everything and possibly having those things must be under the lordship of Christ for your life. But make sure that you see that Solomon is telling you that you can have all of those things and more in your name, not be worth a nickel. Now as your pastor, as you make this big transition in your life, I'm calling you to make sure that you work to continue to develop good and godly character so as to have a good name which is a part of a better life. Now I'm going to challenge you, Grace Life Church. Some of you who came to faith in Christ a little later in life, you can look back at events in your life that soiled your name.

Some of you did things in college that soiled your name. Some of you did things before you came to faith in Christ that brought shame to your marriage, shame to your parents, shame to Christ. I want to challenge you to casually, seriously, quietly come up to Aiden and Annabelle, men with men, women with women, and just explain that part of your testimony and let that be an encouragement to them not to make the same mistakes you did. And Annabelle, Aiden, one of the sad things about growing a little older is that you will begin to look at people that you once looked up to who don't have a good name anymore.

They may have graduated a year or two ahead of you. Let that be a motivation for you. So a good name is better and that is what is needed for a better life. And then number two, Solomon tells us that the day of our death is better. We see this at the second part of verse one, the day of our death is better. Now this part of the verse can be different in different translations. Notice the English standard says, and I'm reading all the verse, "A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of birth." But the legacy standard Bible is a little different.

It says better is a good name than good oil and better is the day of one's death than the day of one's birth. Now here Solomon's making another comparison and here he is issuing a call to something that is needed for a godly life, the better life. And the comparison is easy to see although this is hard for us to accept and understand. We may even take a step back from this. Now this sounds terrible to our ears but Solomon is truly saying that better is the day that one dies than the day one is born. And that is because Solomon knew that people did not evaluate life, death, and how they lived by celebrating their birth.

He knew that a true evaluation of death and eternity and how one lives can only come from accepting and preparing for one's own death. One writer said that a birthday bash, a wedding reception, a frat party, or whatever kind of party one may attend will not normally enable a person to evaluate life, evaluate death, their death, and eternity. Now the point of this proverb is this. Solomon is saying that it is better to ponder over one's day of death than to celebrate the day of one's birth. And that is because facing one's death had on, facing eternity had on is the only way we can truly evaluate life. Now let's continue.

We will see that these two better statements from the end of verse one and verse two really go hand in hand. So number three, he shows us that a funeral is better. A funeral is better. Look at verse two again. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. Again, Solomon is making another comparison. And here he is issuing another call to something that is needed for the godly life for the better life. But here he moves from one's day of death to a funeral, but not necessarily their own funeral. Solomon is saying, and I'm putting this in my words, it is better to go to the funeral home than to go to a party.

It's better to go to a house of mourning and sadness than to go to a Super Bowl party with all of your friends. And that is because Solomon knew that to face death and to ponder the fact that time is limited and time is short brings a person to a point where they can truly think about life. And he knew that going to a birthday bash, a wedding reception, a frat party, or whatever kind of party one may attend will not normally enable the person to evaluate life, death, and eternity.

One writer said that outside every funeral home, God holds up a sign that says, "Life is brief, death is inevitable, walk wisely." And I believe that Solomon, that if Solomon were here today, he would say something like this, go to a funeral, go to all of the funerals of family and friends. And I believe he would say as you look into that casket picture yourself looking back, as you see the pictures displayed, imagine there are pictures there of you and your family. As you sit in that funeral service, imagine your family being seated in the reserve seats. Hear the eulogy as your eulogy.

Listen to the funeral message as being preached over you. Go to that graveside and picture yourself being let down six feet deep into the ground. And the point of this proverb is this. Solomon is writing to show that going to a funeral or a house of mourning is better than going to the biggest banquet. That is because he knew that going to a funeral forces us to see and even anticipate our very own death and that anticipation is meant to move us to evaluate life, death and eternity. Sadly, Annabelle, you and your family have had to face death this year. It's been hard. And as your church family, we've all tried to walk right by you.

I believe we've walked by you well. And Aiden, because of your family business, you see and you face death regularly. But listen to your pastor. We are great at insulating ourselves from the hard things. We're good at it. And especially our very own day of death and especially when we go to the funeral of family and friends. But Annabelle, Aiden, as you venture into life, I pray and I believe that God is going to give you a godly life and continue to give you a godly life. But discipline yourself. Work hard to live life backwards. And what I mean by that is the opposite of the way that we normally live life.

That is what Solomon is doing here. He is calling us to live life backwards because it could be that we are living life backwards. Solomon is calling us to live life the right way. Live as if your day of death very well be next week. Go to every funeral and every graveside of family and friends and discipline yourself to see that your funeral could be next week as well. Now right here, some of you adults are thinking, "Pastor Chris, this is too much. What are you doing?" You might be saying they're graduating from high school. They don't need this. They need something positive. Folks, what is true? What is real life? What is smart?

What is Solomon teaching us here? What is the world telling them versus what is God telling them? So pondering over our day of death and even attending funerals which are very sorrowful events, it's better and it is what is needed for us to live a better life. Then number four, Solomon says a sad heart is better. A sad heart is better. Notice verse three. "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of faith the heart is made glad." Now the legacy standard reads a little different. Better is vexation than laughter. For when a face is sad, a heart may be merry.

Again, we see another comparison and again Solomon is using another comparison to issue a call to something that we need for the godly life, the better life. Now this comparison, just like the previous two, can be very hard for us to accept. We just don't think this way, but here Solomon says that sorrow is better than laughter and that is because he knows that sorrow is a tool in the hand of God. Yes, sorrow is a tool in the hand of God. William McDonald says that sorrow and suffering from sorrow are the means of God in developing graces in our life. That's good, I'm going to repeat that.

McDonald says that sorrow and even suffering from sorrow are the means of God in developing graces in our life. Notice what Solomon says that sorrow does in the heart. Sorrow brings about a glad heart. The work of sorrow and even suffering in sorrow can actually make the right, the heart bright, make the heart joyful. One commentator said that this phrase heart is made glad, can be translated, may be put right or it is put right. That would mean that Solomon is saying that when sorrow comes into the life, the heart can actually be put right, therefore becoming a glad heart.

The Amplified says it this way, sorrow is better than laughter for when a face is sad, deep in thought the heart may be happy because it is growing in wisdom. I would add to that, growing in the grace and knowledge of God. So the point of this proverb here is this, Solomon is writing to show that sorrow and even suffering from sorrow makes the heart right, therefore producing a glad heart. And he says that this work cannot and will not come from only experiencing laughter in good times. As one commentator said it, sorrow shared will bring more inner happiness than a night with backslapping friends.

Now Aiden, Annabelle, this will sound like a lesson for adults, but Annabelle, you've been having to learn this lesson. Your whole family has. But the lesson here is this, trials, difficulties and even great tragic events come into our lives. That is a part of life and we cannot shield anyone, especially our children from sorrow, even great, great sorrow. And even if we had the ability to keep all of our children away from sorrow and suffering, that would not be God's will for their life. God loves us and God ordains sorrow and even great sorrow and suffering. And those things are God's way of working great grace in us.

And when we embrace this way of living, this produces great joy in our sorrow and in the clouds of sorrow that produces great joy. And Annabelle, I encourage you, embrace the work that God's doing in you. We see it, we recognize it. Again, there may be some that are saying, "Pastor Chris, this is just too much. Look, college prepares high school students for life, right?" Well, this is preparing them for reality and a reality that the summers are living now. Now, Grace Life folks, I have a challenge for you. Some of you have gone through sorrow. Some of you are walking through sorrow and suffering right now.

Some of you have gotten to the land of great joy through sorrow and suffering. And if that is you, Grace Life, men with men, men with Aiden, ladies with Annabelle, you just slip up to them. You tell them that part of your testimony. You encourage them to hold on to this teaching because great joy comes through embracing sorrow. That's God's way. So a sad heart is better because God uses sadness and sorrow to produce a work of grace in us and this is needed for a better life. Question number five, he shows us that a rebuke from the wise is better. Verse five, a rebuke from the wise is better. Look at verse five.

"It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools." The amplified says, "It is better to listen to the rebuke of the wise man and pursue wisdom than for one to listen to the song of fools and pursue stupidity." Again, Solomon is using another comparison. This is all about issuing another call to something that is needed for the godly life, which is a part of the better life. And here Solomon is saying that it is better to be rebuked by a wise man or a wise woman.

And the picture here is of listening eagerly, willingly with the intention of receiving the correction or the rebuke so as to act upon what's heard, even though the rebuke may be harsh, even though the correction could be difficult to receive and even painful. The picture here is of one receiving the rebuke, which is better. Notice the comparison. He says the rebuke of the wise is better than hearing or listening to the song of fools. Now question, what is this song of fools? Some scholars say that this speaks of flattery. Some say this is the fool complimenting and flattering the one who needs the rebuke.

But based off the language here, some say this speaks of songs of laughter and happiness, songs that are only about the good life. And the point of the proverb is this. Solomon is writing to show that a rebuke from a wise man or a wise woman is better than any flattery from a fool and it is better than empty songs. Now notice what this tells us for us in our day. Adults, this is for you. Annabelle, Aiden, this is for you. We should ignore those multi-million dollar sports heroes. Most all of them live godless wicked lives. And when they tell us how to live, it is nothing but the song of a fool.

We should ignore those multi-million dollar TV and movie stars. Most of them live godless wicked lives. And when they tell us how to live, it is nothing but the song of the fool. The same goes for all the music that's around. Aiden Annabelle, do not get life advice, do not get your morals and values from Taylor Swift. I'm not going to tell you which one listens to Taylor Swift. That's an inside joke. Annabelle, here's my challenge for you. Find at least two older women in the life of our church who are godly and wise. Find at least two. Attach yourself to them and make them mentors. Aiden, this is my challenge for you. Do the same thing.

Find at least two older men in the life of our church who are godly and wise. Attach yourself to them and make them your mentor. Both of you, you should develop wise voices in your life. You should develop relationships with older, wiser people. I'm thankful you get that in your family. But see, in the church family, we get it double, triple. Congrats, life. If you've been born again for, let's say, 10 years, maybe even five years, especially 10 years or so, you should be becoming a mentor to our teenagers, and especially those like Annabelle and Aiden who are stepping off into life.

So the rebuke, the correction, the encouragement from the wise is needed for a better life. And then number six, he shows us that the end of a thing is better. Look at verse eight. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, the second part of the verse. And the patient is spirit. The patient spirit is better than the proud spirit. Now again, we see another comparison, and we have two here that are related, and he is again issuing a call to the godly life, a better life. But what is Solomon referring to? And he says the end is better. Is he referring to a long project or task, like buckling down to finish college, your college degree?

Is he referring to something even longer, like finishing out your career and making it to retirement? Now if we interpret this in light of the entire message of the book, it seems that Solomon may be simply saying that the end of a righteous life lived for God is better than the beginning. One scholar pointed out that the Old Testament example, Job, his later days were better than his earlier days. But it may be better to interpret this proverb in light of what Solomon said earlier. The end result of truly contemplating one's day of death and a house of mourning is better.

The end result of truly embracing sorrow and suffering, that is better. I believe it is best to see this teaching this way, and the point of the proverb is this. Solomon is writing to show that the end of all of these things are better than the beginning, and that leads us to the better life. But that's connected to the next better. Number seven, Solomon tells us a patient spirit is better. A patient spirit is better. I'll say it again, better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Again we have comparisons. This is all meant to produce a godly life.

This is all about the better life. Here Solomon says that patience is better than pride. Seeing this teaching within the previous teaching enables us to see what Solomon is aiming at. Only if one perseveres in righteous living for God, if one perseveres in this task of contemplating one's death and the reality of death, if one perseveres in sorrow and suffering in life, then patience is what is needed. Patience is better than pride because pride will cripple one's walk with God through all of these things. One commentator says that this phrase "patient in spirit" is the central concept around which everything in these verses orbits.

I think he nails it. Let me say that again. One scholar said that this phrase "patient in spirit" is the central concept around which everything in these verses orbits. The old English Baptist John Gill said, and I'm quoting, "Patience is a fruit of the spirit of God, and it is of great use in the Christian's life, and especially in bearing afflictions and tends to make men more humble, meek, and quiet." Now the point of this proverb is this. Solomon is writing to show that patience, which is born of God, is what is needed to walk with God in all of these things.

When a greater work of patience comes from walking with God through these things, that is a part of the better life. Now Aiden and Abel, this is the opposite of what is taught in our world. This is the opposite of what you hear in life. You see, we want our Starbucks now. We want our order at the Mexican restaurant now. But notice that patience starts in us because it's a part of the fruit of the spirit of God in us. Galatians 5.22 says, "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience." So see the end result of the work of God in your life and all of these things and more, which is better.

And to truly understand this reality and to accept this reality, you will both need to have and to develop and to cultivate patience and a perseverance in patience. Again, I'm challenging you, Grace Lye. Some of you mature believers have had to learn patience. You want your Starbucks now, spiritually speaking, but God has purged that out of you and you have learned to walk with God patiently and you've learned to walk with God in these things with a patient perseverance. You need to be sharing those kinds of things with Annabelle and Aiden. They need to see those things in you.

And then last, number eight, Solomon shows us that the present and future days are better. The present and future days are better. Look at verse 10. "Say not, why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this." Again, we have another comparison. This is the last one. And in this comparison, Solomon is issuing another call, which is about God living and this is all a part of the better life. Here he says that it is foolish, which is the opposite of wise. It is foolish to believe that the days before were better than the present.

And Samuel the commentator pointed out two places where the Jews committed this sin. In Ezra 3, when the Second Temple was being built, some of the older generation expressed nothing but tears and sorrow at the Second Temple because it did not compare with the First Temple. In Numbers 11, 14, we see that the Jews longed for Egypt even when God had miraculously delivered them from Egyptian slavery. And in this comparison to me, it seems that Solomon is pointing out that yearning for former days is wrong in two ways.

First, in believing that former days were better, for some, this comes from some sense that the former days were somehow less sinful, which is simply not true. And that is simply not true. Sin and sinfulness has always existed. It is just that people become sentimental, idealistic, and even utopian about the past. Second, in believing that the former days were better, in every way it is a rejection of the providence of God. God does not make mistakes. He ordains that a person be born in a specific place and a specific time according to his will and plan.

And to be constantly looking to the past, looking to the past, can be for some a sin against the providence of God in their life. As one commentator said it, "To evaluate the times may be needful. To ask specifically for days gone by is wrong and foolish. One cannot face the difficulties of one's age by pining over another." And the point of this proverb is this. Solomon is rotting to show that living in the past is utterly foolish. It is actually wise to live according to God's will for today, for tomorrow, and for eternity. And look, Grace Life, there are some in the church today.

They are caught up in this sin and they are caught up in this foolishness. There are even movements in the church that teach believers that if we live like people did in the past, maybe like 1840, that somehow, someway we can be more godly. Well, that's the opposite of what Solomon says here. And notice, when people do that, they are smarter than God, or they think they are. Solomon says, "We don't look to the past, we look to today and we look to the future." Yes, we evaluate the times, but we cannot romanticize those things. And notice how this applies to you graduates.

Aiden and Abel, if God allows, you both have many, many years ahead of you. And my challenge for you here is this. Live for Christ, every day. Walk with God intentionally every day. And live the Christian life capitalizing on today. Take advantage of every opportunity today, while at the same time, living for tomorrow, living for eternity, living for that day of death, living for that funeral. You see, the front windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror. In Grace Life Church, we have a mighty expectation for our church. And Aiden and Abel, you should have a mighty expectation for God to work in you, in today, and in the future.

We do. I do. Now, I have preached a little long, I know that. Covered a lot of material. There are babies in the nursery and lunches waiting in the fellowship hall. In Grace Life, Aiden and Abel, these are better things that will produce better days, which lead to a better life. And these are things that we desperately need. The world tells us the opposite here, and Aiden and Abel, I look forward to seeing these things fleshed out in your life if God gives us many, many, many more years together. So let's pray over the message. We will not have a closing song because of time. And then I have a gift from the church for Aiden and Abel.

And then we are going to have a short, special prayer time for them. Then we will dismiss to the fellowship hall. So let's pray together.