All right, good morning and welcome to our second service on Sunday mornings. We have two services,

the first of which is our Bible prophecy update that we do weekly, and our second is the sermon,

actually a verse by verse study through the Word of God. We're currently in this amazing book of Hebrews

and today's text is chapter 12. It's there on the screen beginning in verse 14.

We're going to pick it up where we left off last week in verse 13. Lord willing, we'll make it

through to verse 17. So I'll ask you to stand if you're able. If not where you're seated

is fine, but you can follow along as I read

the text beginning in verse 14. The writer of Hebrews by the Holy Spirit writes, make every effort

to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

See to it, verse 15, that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son?

Afterward, verse 17, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected.

Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

Let's pray if you would please join with me.

We'll ask God's blessing on our understanding.

Loving Heavenly Father, we're keenly aware that unless the Holy Spirit is here present, that we really

have no hope of understanding what it is that you desire to speak

into our lives in and through your Holy Word. We need the Holy Spirit. As we've just got

done singing, Lord, we need you, we need you every hour we need you. And Lord, at this time we need

you because we're a hungry and thirsty and needy people. And only you can satiate that

hunger and that thirst and that need that we have.

So Lord, will you?

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