Thank you, Lord. Would you please join me in the word of prayer? Lord, thank you so much, Lord. We thank you

for the opportunity to be here, Lord, to sit under your teaching. We just pray that you would speak to us,

Lord, and give us that focus that we need, Lord, to hear and to understand, to receive, Lord.

So thank you for this time. Would you speak to us, Lord?

We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus we say. Amen. Amen. Good morning and welcome. You can be seated.

I want to welcome those of you joining us online as well.

And I want to take a moment before we get started, then just thank all of you for your grace to me and patience with me during my extended time off.

I also want to apologize.

I owe you an apology because I could have been clear

that I was not planning to be back on Sunday, July 9th,

last Sunday, as some thought,

because it was my 21st, 61st birthday.

So I wanted to, yeah.

I know I look pretty good for 61, yeah.

You're too kind.

Anyway, I just wanted to add last Sunday on my birthday to my time off, and I'm so glad I did because as it turns out, my family really needed me over the last few weeks.

So thank you again for your grace. And this is our second service.

As you know, we're currently going through 1 John verse by verse. Lord willing, we'll complete

chapter two today. And our text will be verses 21 through 29. So now that you're comfortably seated, I'll ask you to stand again if you're able,

if not where you're seated is fine, but you can follow along for the reading of God's

word.

Verse 21, John continues and writes by the Holy Spirit, I do not write to you because you do not

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