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Let's pray together.

Father, as you have now a thousand times, grant faithfulness to your word and a blessing of salvation and sanctification and hope to your people and be pleased to magnify your son's name.

Through Christ I ask this, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So on January 27, 1980, I preached my candidating sermon from Philippians 1. It is my eager expectation and hope that now is always.

Christ might be honored or magnified in my body, whether by life or by death,

for to me to live as Christ and to die his gain.

And on February 13, 1980, Bethlehem voted 149 yes 17 no to call me as pastor my official employment began July 1, 1980 and I preached the first sermon as

pastor then on July 13. 1980 so tomorrow is the last day of my

employment in this church and therefore I will have served here 32 years and

nine months.

There are many personal things I want to say,

and I said 20 of them to the staff on Tuesday. I hope that gets published somewhere.

And I have more that I'll say on the 14th. I hope you can come to Grace Church of Eden Prairie Sunday evening, but this is the

Lord's Day and this is the highest day of the year.

Resurrection Sunday.

It is Sunday somewhere in the world.

And... And our commitment from the beginning has been that nobody should go to church to hear the mere sentiments or ideas of a man. You should go to church on Easter weekend

and every other weekend to hear the word of God. So I invite you to either turn in your Bibles or open your

worship folder to this text and I'll read it. It's very brief and I'll tell you why I chose it.

Hebrew chapter 13 verses 20 and 21. Now may the God of peace who brought V the blood of the Eternal Covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will,

...