The following message is by pastor John Piper.

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Desiring God.

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The scripture text for the sermon is 1st Peter 2, 9 through 12. 1st Peter 2 verse 9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. But now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles

to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable

so that when they speak against you as evildoers,

they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Let's pray.

Father, the men from the men's retreat are with us to hear that little part of the message.

The folks tonight at the North Campus are here with us. The folks at the Southside are here and the downtown Sunday morning site are here. We're all here at this moment. All of us have just watched half of our

missionary families and singles be paraded across the screen and we have felt, at least I have felt, rising up inside of me a trembling tearful,

oh God, keep me faithful.

Don't let my hands ever grow weary in holding the ropes for hundreds and hundreds of children and families laying their life down for King Jesus. Don't let Bethlehem ever become so satisfied, so content, so comfortable, we just forget about the nations and all those

emissaries we have sent among them, oh Father, keep us faithful. And then there rises up in me the sense that you mean on

this weekend to call hundreds to missions or confirm the calling of the wavering to missions, cross-cultural long-term.

So I'm asking that you do it.

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