In this sermon, the speaker discusses the anticipation and excitement of the children of Israel as they finally reach the Promised Land after years of wandering in the desert. Joshua, their leader, instructs them to camp near the Promised Land for three days. He assures them that God is with them and tells them to watch what happens when the priests step into the water of the Jordan River. The speaker emphasizes the importance of looking to Jesus as their example and guide as they enter into a new year.

Good morning. This was to be my last Sunday with you. I was supposed to be using this day to say thank you for the wonderful time I've been with you, for the blessing it's been to me, and to say my farewell, but I guess it's not going to be that now. I'm reminded of the time when Moses was about to leave the Children of Israel. I'd like to read to you my text. It's from something that he said to them just before they entered the Promised Land. My text is found in Deuteronomy chapter 11. You don't need to turn to it, but I won't be staying there just to read my text. This is what he says to the Children of Israel as they are about to leave their journey in the wilderness to go across the Jordan into the Promised Land. You'll remember, of course, that Moses died there in the wilderness. He did not enter with them, but this is the words that he says to them. Chapter 11 of Deuteronomy, verse 10. The land whither thou goest in to possess, it is not like the land of Egypt from where you came, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot as a garden of herbs. But the land where you're going to possess, it is a land of hills and valleys. It drinks water of the rain from heaven. It is a land which the Lord thy God cares for, for the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. He was leaving them at that time and he was giving them a commission to go into the Promised Land, the land that God had called them to. Sadly, he was not to join them in that land. These are the words of his farewell. I'd like you now to turn to the book of Joshua chapter 3, because we're going to look at what happened on the day when they entered into the Promised Land. I thought it would be very appropriate for us to look at this at a time when we're leaving the old year of 2006 and entering into a new year 2007, because the things from this story I want to present to you as you are about to enter into the new year and be with you, or I with you. Chapter 3 of Joshua. And Joshua rose early in the morning and they removed from Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and they lodged there before they crossed over. They came to Paris after three days that the officers went through the host and they commanded them saying, when you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God and the priest, the Levite, bear in it, then you shall remove yourself from your place and go after it. And we'll continue through the chapter, but just consider that. For 40 years they'd wandered in the wilderness. Now the wilderness is a flat land full of sand and a boring landscape. And as they looked back on those 40 years, most of these people had been born while in the wilderness. Most of them were under 40 years of age. Because certainly those who are old enough to be considered culpable, at the time when the children of Israel did not enter into Jordan 40 years earlier when they should have after leaving Egypt, they all died in the wilderness. And so the full experience of these people journeying, following the pillar of fire at night and following the cloud by day when it did move, was one of just sand and blah and desert. Now I have been to Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the flat lands, the prairie lands, and I can understand how much they appreciate the big sky. And I know some of you are from there, and I know some of you miss it. I've even heard of people who came out here to retire to a beautiful Vancouver island, who left and went back there saying that the mountains got in the way here. It spoiled the scenery. Well I come from Wales and in Wales we have lots of mountains. And I want to tell you I love the mountains and the scenery. And I'm not sure I could want to live in Saskatchewan. I have a friend in Saskatchewan and when I went to visit him, he drove on this flat, flat, flat lands for what seemed like hours. And there in the distance would be this little hill. And he had his house on the hill. I find that pretty boring. Maybe you don't. I appreciate the big sky. But I know this, walking through the wilderness with the children for 40 years must have been pretty boring. And I wonder how many of you when looking back in 2006, you found it really to be one of those blah years, just like every other year. Particularly as far as your Christian walk is concerned. And I'm talking in spiritual terms. Maybe you've had wonderful experience of a wedding or something special, a big celebration. Maybe there's been very sad moments. Some of you have passed through grieving this past year. But as your spirit, I'm talking about the spiritual, as you look back in 2006, has it just been just an ordinary year? A blah year. Or has 2006 had mountains of wonderful experiences with God and valleys? Because there are no mountains, of course, without valleys. Well these children, they're coming now and many of them for the first time, they are seeing the promised land. They've gone from oasis to oasis and they've spent a few years here and a few years here. But basically all their experience has been blah, blah, sandy desert, sand in their shoes, sand in their mouths. And that's been their experience. But now they've come and they can see the promised land. Maybe they've heard stories from their fathers about the time when the spies were sent into the promised land almost 40 years before. Maybe they've had an anticipation grow within themselves of longing to be there to see it. But now finally, they're there at the edge. And Joshua, who's now taken over from Moses, leads them and they're to encamp for three days within sight of the promised land. I tell you, if I were one of them, I'd be chomping at the bit to get across it. I'd want to get there. But they're being held up. Joshua sends the leaders out to the commanders, the officers, and they went to people and they said this to them. And the first principle I want to present to you is you enter into 2007. When you see the ark move in, follow after it. I want the first thing for you and me to grasp this evening is as we go into 2007, the Lord, represented by the ark, is going before us. And I want to be a man who follows where the ark is moving. I want to be a man who's following where God is moving. I want my vision to constantly be upon him. And these people are told, you do not move, you do not go, you do not enter the land without knowing that the ark, representative of God's presence, is going before you. Verse 4, you shall not go too close. You shall keep about a kilometre behind it. But by this you shall know the way ahead of you. I have a little saying, you've heard me quote it here, I do not know what tomorrow holds. I do not know what 2007 holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. And as we enter into 2007, my first thoughts for you to grasp onto and make this a foundation in your life is this, that God is going before you. He knows the way. And he's going before you. Follow the ark. Follow the Lord's presence. For that surely is the promise of success in 2007. If you want to know success in 2007, certainly spiritual success, keep your eyes on Jesus. Follow where he leads. Verse 5, the second little principle. And Joshua said to the people, sanctify yourselves before you enter in. For tomorrow the Lord is going to do wonders among you. Sanctify yourselves. That means prepare yourself. That means remove from yourself all those burdens that you've carried during the past year. It means shake off the sand from your shoes. It means get that monkey off your shoulder. It means deal with the issues of the past that have hindered you. Right? The Hebrews say, let us lay aside every weight that has hindered us. And when Joshua is saying to people, sanctify yourself, he's saying to them effectively, prepare yourself for what's ahead by getting rid of all the things that hinder you. And tonight, the eve of a new year is a very good time to take stock of where you've been in the last year. Take stock of the journey you've gone. And ask yourself, what is it that has clung to me? What is it, the sand in my shoes, what is it that's hindering me from all the experiences that God wants to bring me into? I must sanctify myself, make myself holy, separate myself from these things. Take stock and deal with them. So if there are items of unforgiveness, now's the time to exercise forgiveness. If there are items where you've got a person in bondage because you're not releasing them, today's a good day to do that. If there are offenses you're carrying, today's a good day to get rid of them and deal with them. If there are problems that have been unresolved, issues between you and a brother or sister, this is a good day to deal with it. Because before we come into the promises of God, before we come into 2007, it's a good time to take stock, sit in camp for three days before you enter in and sanctify yourselves. Get rid of the baggage, attitudes, enmities. Then he says to them, verse 6, take up the ark, pass before the people. And now they're about to go across. They took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. And the Lord said to Joshua, this day I'm going to begin to magnify you in the sight of Israel, that they may know that I am with you, even as I was with Moses. You shall command the priests that bear the ark, saying, when you come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you should stand still. Jordan at this time was in flood. There's a big barrier between them and the promises of the promised land. There was a big barrier between them and the vision that they had for what was ahead of them. And I'm sure that they had much excitement. I'm sure they had much apprehension, for they did not know what tomorrow was going to hold. They'd never been there. All their experience was the blarness, the dreariness of the prairies of the desert wilderness. Their only highlights had been those oases. And they were very much similar to one another. But now they're going into a land that they've been told flows with milk and honey. They've never experienced that. But they've also heard there are giants in the land. They've never experienced that. They got all the emotions of apprehension and excitement. And Joshua says to them, to the priests who were going ahead of them, when you get to the Jordan which is in flood, stop at the edge of the waters. Verse 9. And Joshua said to the children of Israel, come hither and hear what the Lord wants to say to you before you enter the promised land. This is the how you're going to know that the living God is with you. And he will without fail drive out before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Hevites, and the Perizzites, and the Gergesites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Didn't I read those well? Didn't you hate it when you were younger, when you had to read in church sometimes, and all these big words came up? I practiced. Verse 11. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan. This is how you're going to know that God is with you. Watch what happens. For behold, the ark of God's promises, the ark of the covenant, God's promise with you is going to go before you. Watch what happens. Then he instructs the priests to step into the flooded waters. And what happened? The waters parted. Now imagine you were one of the children of Israel at that time, and you saw this happen. What would be the first thing that would flow through your mind? Ah, I remember mom and dad telling me about this. Mom and dad used to always talk about the day they came out of Egypt. And what happened when they crossed the Red Sea? By this you shall know, says Joshua, that God is with you. Watch what happens when the priests step into the water. And when they watch, they saw that which caused them to look backward to the day that they came out of Egypt, or their families came out of Egypt. When they came out of Egypt, what was the promise of God that was given to them? Moses standing there by the side of the Red Sea, seeing the cloud of the pursuing Egyptians, trapped between the mountains on one side in the Red Sea, was in a wedge. If you look at your map, you see that the people, children of Israel, were trapped in a wedge as they coming out of Egypt. There is nowhere to go. They cannot climb the mountains. They cannot cross the sea. And behind them is the pursuing Egyptians. And Moses declares these words to them at that time. Stand still. Fear not. Look. Watch. For today you're going to see the salvation of God. For these taskmasters who have held you in bondage for so long, you shall see them again, no more, forever. Their crossing of the Red Sea was their guarantee that those things that held them in bondage would no longer hold them in bondage. They were not to be afraid of taskmasters. They were not to be afraid of masters who controlled them. And now they're coming into the promised land, where there are giants. And Joshua says to them, watch. See what happens. Because God wants you to know that He who brought you through the Red Sea, He who stopped the taskmasters and broke their control upon you, He is the one who's going to go with you into this land where there are giants in the land. And they shall not have dominion over you. Isn't that a good promise? And as we enter 2007, I would like to challenge you to take time, not just to prepare yourself and sanctify yourself, though I think that is so important, but also to take time and look back and see if the Lord has led you. Has He been faithful to His promise? He's certainly been faithful to the promise as far as I'm concerned. Look back even as far as that day when you first gave your life to Christ, when He met you at the cross of Calvary, when He cleansed you from sin. Did He do a complete work? Did He do that work? Some of you are nodding. Has He done what He said He would do? Then be assured of this, He will do what He said He will do. Moses' words speaking from God to the children of Israel said this, as you go into the land, it is a land of mountains and valleys. You're going to have valleys in 2007, brothers and sisters. There are going to come days in 2007 where you're going to feel very low spiritually and you're going to go through a struggle. It's going to happen if you want to grow. Otherwise you can stay in the wilderness because it's all blah in the wilderness, there are no mountains and valleys. But if you want to go on into the promises of God and to experience God in a new way in 2007, let me assure you, you're going to find valleys. But the God who led you and brought you from Egypt is the God who's going to go through the valleys with you. Then there will also be mountains and the God is going to be with you in the mountains. Now the mountains are the place where the Giants dwell in this land. One of my favorite characters in all of scripture is the man Caleb. So Caleb is the oldest man along with Joshua who's going to cross the Jordan. Caleb was one of those 12 spies. He is at least 80 years of age at this time. He for 40 years has longed to enter into the promised land because he saw it, he was there 40 years before. He is one who came back carrying large bunches of grapes. He is one who came back and said there are Giants in the land but there is bread to us we can conquer in the name of God. But the other 10 spies persuaded the people not to go. And for 40 years Caleb, who is now 80 years, longed to be in the land. And as they come into the land, Caleb is the man who says to Joshua, remember the promise that Moses made to me that when we come into the land I am going to have the mountains where the Giants dwell. How many of you want mountains where Giants dwell in 2008, in 2007? How many of you want to be on mountaintop experiences with God in this year? I do. But I know Giants dwell there. I have to be an overcomer there. But the God who brought me out of Egypt, the God who opened the Red Sea and proved himself, the God who removed from me all those things that once held me captive, is the same God who's going to go in there with me. Hallelujah. What a wonderful promise. I can face tomorrow because I know he reigns. And Joshua says to the people, stand still. I want you to see what happens when the priests step into the water. He tells the priest to step in. And immediately the waters are parted. God is here. God has proved himself in the past year by feeding you on quails and manna. I tell you what, quails and manna after 40 years get a little bit boring. I remember as a young Christian singing that song, you know, I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply. Do you remember that song? Paul, you sing that? You sang that, Denzel? I won't sing that. I stopped feasting on manna years ago. Manna is for those who enjoy living in the wilderness. If you enjoy living in the wilderness spiritually, then you feast on manna. God will keep you. But I want to know the existence of being in the promises of God, living in the promises of God, where there are giants in the land that he has promised to overcome. Amen? Are you with me? Am I talking foreign language? There are some hymns we sing in Wales that said, deep Jordan's bankside tread and look yonder. And they speak about the Jordan as being a picture of death. Jordan is not a picture of death. Death does not take you into a land where giants dwell. The Jordan is that place that men and women are called to enter into the promises of God, in the fullness of God, in the fullness of his spirit, where you become overcomers in the promised land, where you live in the promises of God. And the children of Israel are about to experience that for the first time. And Joshua said to them, stand still, watch what happens. The ark of the Lord will go before you. And then he says, verse 12, Now take twelve men from the tribes, one of each tribe. As soon as you enter the waters, and the priests that bear the ark have entered the waters, they shall stop there in the middle. The waters stand up on a heap. And when you come across, I want you to take twelve stones from the middle of the water and carry them across with you. And so the people are instructed to do this. And the priests carrying the ark enter into the water, and they stop in the middle of the flood. The flood is back. And Moses tells the people, now cross. I can imagine, there's a million plus men, plus all the women and children. They've seen the promised land, they're told to cross. I wonder how they cross. I wonder if you and I were among them, how we would have crossed. Not quite so sure about this. And the people behind pushing the way, some are eager, some are going to run across. Some are afraid the water's going to come down again. But I read that they crossed on dry land. The land is dry. But I imagine how you would have crossed if you'd been one of them. If you have apprehension, because you know there are giants in the land, maybe you're not quite so sure, you can hang back a bit. Maybe you're eager because you want to get those grapes and the honey. But the story is that they all crossed. A million plus people going across the Jordan. And they get to the other side. But it's hardly any mention of the fact that as they're going across, all of them are passing close to the priests who are bearing the ark. They are standing right in the middle. And I often wonder if any of the children of Israel actually stopped to look at the ark. Because for 40 years, the only times they'd seen the ark was when the priest bore it from one campsite to the next. Which may be three, four, eight, ten years apart. And then when the priest bore it, the people had to stay well back. In this occasion, they were told to keep one kilometre back. Stay far away from it. But now as they cross the Jordan, they are actually walking right past the ark. And I wonder if any of them stopped and said, I want you to know this, brothers and sisters, as you and I enter into the year 2007, we are walking right past where God dwells. He is right there in the midst. And I want to encourage you as you enter into 2007 to stop for a moment and gaze upon the ark. Gaze upon his presence. That's what we come to worship for. I love songs of worship that adore him and express love to him. I'm not so interested in singing songs about him. I love singing songs to him. Oh Lord, you're beautiful. Oh Lord, I love you. I lift my arms to worship you because I love stopping in life and looking at the ark. The ark representative of all God's glory and power and majesty and promises and faithfulness. As you and I enter into 2007, I want to invite you just to take a moment to gaze upon the ark. And then they came across and they come to the far side. And Moses says to the priests or to the people, take 12 stones, one from each tribe. When you get to the far side, I want you to build a memorial, a cairn. There in the banks of the Jordan, in the promised land, they build this cairn. And they ask, why are we doing this? And Joshua says to them, there will come a time when your children will ask you that same question. Why are you doing this? What means these stones? What are these stones you're for? And you'll be able to say to them, ah, they are there to remind us constantly of God's faithfulness in bringing us across. So I suggest to you as we come into 2007, that we stop, we sanctify ourselves, that habit, that offense, that hurt, that unforgiveness, whatever it might be, things that we need to do, put right. Keep our eyes upon the ark. Take a moment out to look at it, the glory of God, gaze upon him, and build a memorial. I'd like to encourage you, I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. I keep them for about one day usually, like most of you, just a few days. But I'm big on memorials. Jacob built a memorial when he rested his head upon a stone at Bethel and he had that vision of God and he built there an altar as a memorial. Abram built many memorials. And here we read of the children of Israel building a memorial. And I think it's always good as Christians to build memorials. What do I mean by that? There are always times in life that it's good to look back and say, I remember, I remember that day in Chambledean Baptist Church, that little church, where I knelt and I wept before God in contrition. I remember that day. I remember the day when I dedicated myself to God in a fresh way. I wrote in my journal my commitment to God. I remember the day I made a commitment to my wife. I remember the day I made a commitment to God when he called me to pastoral work from teaching. After much prayer and anxiety, was I doing the right thing? And I finally came to the place and said, yes. And I said, God, I'm your man for pastoring. And I submitted myself to the denomination to become a pastor, believing that wherever they sent me, I was willing to go. If they sent me to Alaska, if they sent me to the northern territories, I was willing to go because I knew that God had called me. I look back in the day when I was asked if I'd come to this church. And in my office, and in Victoria, my home, I prayed. And I committed myself to be as faithful a pastor as I could to you as a church. I'm not Baptist, but I committed myself to honor the Baptist tradition of this church. I made memorials. And I think this is a good time to make a memorial. Something that you can do, that you can look back on at the end of the year or maybe in five years time or ten years time and say, I remember when I did that. Maybe it's not even a spiritual issue. Maybe it's not a case of something spiritual like a resolution. But maybe something you do, something that's different as a memorial. Maybe something as simple as someone you've never even spoken to in this church, decide today you're going to speak to that brother, that sister. Invite them over to your home for a supper. So that in the future you'll say, I remember the day I invited Jack to our home. We got to know him for the first time. We'd been in church together for years, but we never really got to know him. But that day I built a memorial. Maybe some of you older senior men should consider some of the younger men or women in the church, men and women, and say, today I'm going to make a memorial. I'm going to build into that person's life. I'm going to make a commitment today. And this week I'm going to invite so-and-so to come and fellowship with me. Maybe it's a memorial of saying, I've supported missions all my life, but I'm going to be very generous from my bank account and send it to missions this week as a memorial. Maybe it's something that has been in my life. Maybe something that is not sin, just a hobby I have, but you recognize that it's robbed you of time with God. Maybe it's a time to build a memorial to that and bury it. Something you can do that is so different to the things you normally do. But you can look back and say, I built a memorial at the start of 2007. This was my memorial. Children of Israel are instructed to do that. Very striking thing happens when they did that. Because when the 12 men took the stones to the banks and built a memorial, the one who's coming last of all across the Jordan is Joshua. God is leading them and Joshua is following. And when Joshua comes to the priest in the middle of the water, he also takes up 12 stones. I assume the priest helped him carry them, get them out from the earth and he brought the stones up. And there in the middle of the Jordan, he built a memorial. And then the priest and the ark and Joshua proceed to the far side. And the moment they come to the far side, the water sweep down and cover this memorial. And the Jordan is once again in flood. And the scripture says, and that memorial remains there to this day, says the scriptures. You see, when you and I build a memorial to God, when we step out in doing something as an act of worship to God, by doing something as a memorial, whether it is committing to a young person in the church, whether it is sending someone to missions, whether it is whatever your memorial will be, God builds a memorial also. And there is a spiritual memorial built for the you made a memorial to God. And I would suggest to you, brothers and sisters, a little message from this story of Joshua and the children of Israel as we leave 2006, which may have been for some of you a blah year spiritually. And we enter 2007. If you long to experience in your life the promises of God, I want to tell you they are encumbered upon you living a life where there are valleys and mountains. There will be valleys and mountains. But I want you to know, if you sanctify yourselves, get rid of the things that hinder the taskmasters, as you come into the morrow, into the new year, God has promised to be there with you. The same God who brought you out of deliverance, delivered you from Egypt, is the same God. And the same way that he cut off the old taskmasters, if you allowed him to then, he has promised to not allow taskmasters in your future. He wants you to know the victory of the living, the overcoming life with the spirit of God leading you. But he calls you to build a memorial that he also registers in heaven by building a memorial to. I come to the conclusion of the story. The children who came across, you know what happened thereafter, the first thing was they saw the walls of Jericho fall down. What a wonderful way to start the new year. Then, of course, in presumption, they thought they'd do the same thing with the town of Ai and they were greatly defeated, you may know this one. But I find sadly that of the 12 tribes who had wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, the tribes of Manasseh, the half-tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Gad and Reuben, two and a half of the tribes, came to Joshua and said to Joshua these words, we're willing to come across with you to fight the giants in the land, but we'd like to stay here, this side of Jordan. We don't want to inherit the promises of God. We don't want to come into our inheritance because we have noticed that this land where we are right now is a land fit for cattle and we are men who have cattle. So we will come with you across the Jordan to conquer Jericho and other places, but when we finish, we want to come back here because this is where we feel at home. How tragic. How tragic when God has called them out. His whole purpose has been to establish them in the land of promise where he is going to be their God. How tragic that some of his people prefer to stay in the land of cattle. I was brought up in the country and I want to tell you the land where cattle dwell is not a very clean place, but that's where they wanted to stay. And I wonder this morning as we enter 2007 whether there are some people who say, no, don't rock my boat. I'm perfectly content as I am. I'm perfectly content with this Christian life I've got. It may be a bit blah, but it's not threatening, it's not dangerous, and I'm not sure I want to go on into deeper spirituality or deeper things of God. How tragic. When God in Christ has got for us to obtain for us so many wonderful promises, the inheritance of his saints is so glorious. He wants us to enter into our inheritance, wants us to know all the fullness of him dwelling in us. Yet we say, no, I don't want that. I'd rather stay where I am. How sad. So brothers and sisters, may you have a very happy new year. May you enter into all the promises of God. May you know the overcoming victories and mountaintops where he leads you, where giants will fall, because the God who brought you thus far is a God who's guaranteed to go with you into the future. May we at the end of 2007 be able to look back and say how wonderfully well the Lord has led us, for he truly has been faithful. Amen. The Lord bless you. May you all have a very happy 2007. And thank you for allowing me to come across the Jordan with you into 2007. Pastor Gareth, he said as the children of Israel were entering into the land of Canaan, they looked towards the ark. Now we don't have the ark today, but do you remember that little chorus we used to sing, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. And as we enter into into this new year, as Pastor Gareth has said, let's look to him because he's our example, he's our guide, and he has been since we trusted him. Let's sing this song together. One day when heaven was filled with his praises, one day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin, dwelt amongst men, my example is he, living, he loved me. Rise and sing with me. Come on. One day when heaven was filled with his praises, one day when sin was as black as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin, dwelt amongst men, my example is he, living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justifies freely forever, one day he's coming, oh glorious day, one day they led him to Calvary's mountain, one day they nailed him to die on the tree, suffering anguish, despised, unrejected, bearing our sins, my redeemer is he, living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justifies freely forever, one day he's coming, oh glorious day, one day the grave couldn't unseal him no longer, one day the stone rolled away from the door, then he arose, over death he had conquered, now he's ascended, my lord evermore, living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justifies freely forever, one day he's coming, oh glorious day, one day the trumpet will sound for his coming, and it might be this year, it might be today, one day the skies with his glory will shine, one day my beloved one's bringing, glorious savior, this Jesus is mine, is yours today, come on let's sing it together, one day the trumpet will sound for his coming, one day the skies with his glory will shine, one day my beloved one's bringing, glorious savior, this Jesus is mine, oh living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising he justified freely forever, one day he's coming, oh glorious day, amen. Amen, oh father as we bow in your presence today, we've just come into the end of this old year, and we're going into the new year, as we enter we pray that we might turn our eyes upon our blessed lord Jesus, help us to follow him day by day, moment by moment, as you lead us, and father we pray for each family represented here today, and we don't know all of the families represented, but father we pray that you will guide and lead us, help us as Jesus was an example to us, to be examples to our families, our loved ones, our children, our grandchildren, that we might bring them up to love and to trust our lord Jesus Christ, so thank you lord for all you have done in the past year, and we look to you for the future, for your goodness, and a pleasure to live for you father, bless us now as we separate today, go with us, may the grace of the lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the father, and the fellowship of the holy spirit, go with us now, and until Jesus comes, amen. Thank you.