Ephesians 5:1 (Phil 4:8, 2 Tim 2:16,17): Imitators Not Innovators

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 06 Nov. 2011 and TSA AVM, 22 June 2025 By Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay (Chaplain, RCMP F Division)

This is the 2025 BC version, to view the 2011 Saskatchewan version, click here: 

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/11/ephesians-51-phil-48-2-tim-21617.html

 

Galatians 5:19-25: The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

            But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

 

 2 Timothy 2:14-16:  Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarrelling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

 

Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

Ephesians 5:1: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…

 

The previous 2 weeks we have spoken about lists that Paul mentions in his epistles, his letters. Last week we spoke about an athlete in training. The athlete is able to eat, drink, so whatever they like but they may not win the race if they do. {1}

The week prior we talked about As You Were: The Tragedy at Valcartier where cadets were given pretend brightly coloured grenades to assemble and dissemble but accidently one live green grenade was with the others. This grenade then went off causing death and destruction. We compared this to the items on the ‘bad lists’ in the NT. As our bad actions can cause all kinds of problems for ourselves and others. {2}

 

The Message today is entitled ‘Imitators not Innovators’ and its theme runs through the entire New Testament. In 2011, I was part of a group of people who were being trained on Violence Threat Risk Assessment by J. Kevin Cameron; Kevin Cameron is the fellow who led the crisis response team following the 1999 school shooting in Taber, Alberta. I was in this class along with many high school teachers, other school personnel, the Fire Chief, City RCMP sergeant and others. That same week, I was taking ICS 300. The Fire and the RCMP personnel and others who were at the other course with me, were also in this class. Incident Command System 300 is a course that teaches different groups how to interact in an emergency disaster. The Salvation Army had assigned me some new responsibilities in that area in the southern province so, even though I was and am certified to teach this course, I thought it best build relationships with other agencies and practice what I teach. It is important to practice and think about what skills we will need to survive and thrive in an emergency. 

 

Philippians 4:8 records, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.” This is important because we tend to imitate what we surround ourselves with.  2 Timothy 2:16-17a, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene…” Kevin Cameron of the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment said that the vast majority of people are imitators not innovators.[1] Ephesians 5:1 says, ‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children’ (cf. Mt 5:44–45, 48; Lk 6:36; 1 Pe 2:21).[2]

 

Let me share with you information about some of the things that the children in our schools – even today almost 15 years later - are still imitating. There is a 1999 movie starring Brad Pitt called Fight Club. The premise is that people get together and organize secret fighting matches between combatants. Did you know that, among other things, from this movie that adults and youth across this country and the USA started setting up their own real fight clubs? We watched YouTube clips of kids, some young and some obviously not fighters, being egged on into brutally beating each other in front of cell phones. We saw one clip of girls surrounding another girl and even kicking her in the mouth when she was down. The whole time people, instead of helping, people have their phone cameras on, and they post these scenes on the Internet. As this goes on-line it becomes even scarier because it can perpetuate the violence cycle even further and faster because indeed most people don’t create; most are imitators not innovators.

 

There is even worse still. We saw one clip of two boys punching, kicking, and fighting each other in the classroom, being videoed and the images put on-line. At the end of this scene, you can see the students watching and involved: they are quickly running away. What do you think happened? Why were the kids in the classroom running away? The teacher came? No. The Vice Principal came – the teacher… the teacher was already in the classroom… filming this event. The teacher set up a fight between two of his students and put it on-line. This is reminiscent of the two teachers who in this country thought that it would be appropriate to partake in a lap-dance in front of the student body in a Winnipeg school. These students and teachers were imitating what they have seen on media, social media, entertainment, etc. and then they put this on the Internet for others to imitate – the cycle of inappropriate behaviour and the cycle of violence spreads quickly.[3] 2 Timothy 2:16-17a, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene…” (cf. Ro 1:20–32; 1 Cor 6:9–10; Gal 5:19–21); Philippians 4:8 records, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.” Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”

 

Cameron says, “Most people are imitators not innovators.” We are all susceptible to our environment (cf. Ro 1:20–32; 1 Cor 6:9–10; Gal 5:19–21 & Mt 5:44–45, 48; Luke 6:36; 1 Pet 2:21). Especially, one deemed an empty vessel: “A person who is not connected to a healthy mature adult will search for people or things to identify with. A person who feels empty will try to fill themselves up with something [sic]. In VTRA [Violence Threat Risk Assessment] the question is, ‘What are they filling themselves up with?’”[4] I think most of us have gone through times in our lives when we would fit the definition of an ‘empty vessel’ – someone searching for something to fill ourselves up with (We used to call this a ‘God-shaped void’) - what happens when we find something other than God to fill the void in ourselves with? When searching for something for which to fill ourselves, most people are imitators not innovators – so who and what then are we imitating?[5]

 

Did you know that most school shooters spend a great deal of time researching other school shooters and how they do it before they commit their crimes? This is how they try to fill the void. This is who they seek to imitate. The school shooting in Taber, Alberta happened only weeks after the Columbine shootings in the United States of America. The then largest spree of mass shootings in the US happened after CNN reported on the 1992 Dawson College shooting in Montreal, BQ. People who were near the edge, looking for something with which to fill their painful emptiness, saw on the news what happened in Montreal, picked up their own guns and imitated what they saw on CNN. Most of these empty vessel shootings, by the way, were committed by men not boys; adults not children. Most people – adults and children alike - are imitators not innovators; Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” Concentrating on, Philippians 4:8, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.”

 

We saw a clip in our Threat Assessment course from the video game Grand Theft Auto – I’m not sure which version. In this video game, the character you play not only steals cars as the name suggests. The characters look realistic and one can make his/her character have relations with a prostitute and then beat her to death. Did you know that some parents have let their children as young as six years old play this game? Parents have let their children’s friends play this game when they come over to their house. One lady, who heard this information at a course, volunteered that her husband plays this game with her child. This is scary because most of us are imitators not innovators. We can only imitate what we see and this is the kind of stuff our post-Christian North American society is saying we should be able to fill our minds with. Is it any wonder that North America has more mass murderers than the rest of the world combined? 2 Timothy 2:16-17a, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene…” Most people are imitators not innovators; therefore, Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.”[6]

 

I think sometimes we think that some of the things that we see on shows and in movies and some of the things that we do on the Internet and in video games, they can’t harm us. I think we can be tricked into thinking that they are harmless. You have all heard, I’m sure that many people have watched the movies we mentioned, many people have played the video games we mentioned who did not turn into the murderers that I was studying that week. This is important: these games, these TV shows, the Internet and even news programs – they don’t force people to kill themselves and other people. What they do is push people who are struggling to fill the empty vessel within themselves, over the edge. People are imitators not innovators and the only things they can imitate are what they see. Like we said off the top, most school shooters spend a lot of time researching how their predecessors committed similar violent crimes. People are imitators. What are we as a culture giving them to imitate and, we as Christians, what are we imitating and what imitating are we modelling for our other brothers and sisters? Before I quit drinking to be a soldier in The Salvation Army, I can’t tell you the number of times that I was involved in barroom ministry that by the end of the evening turned into more barroom than ministry. Most people are imitators not innovators; therefore, Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”

 

Sometimes too do we think that no one will see us if we are at home supposedly by ourselves partaking in a little self-indulgence in some of these things that we are talking about today? In the other course I took that same week, the ICS 300 course, we were reminded that nothing we say or do is ever private. Media can zoom in on us from a great distance away these days and share what we say and do with the whole world. The fire chief told us a story about how one firefighter told another walking out of a fire that he thought they should have used a different sized hose than the one they did. A TV camera picked this up from a distance, read their lips, and then someone successfully sued the fire department for using the wrong hose – which they didn’t, by the way. How much more are our own actions viewed by God our father too? If CBC can pick you up from a mile away how much better range does our Lord have? He can pick up even what is in our thoughts and think of the pain you cause Him if you choose to fill yourself with all of this stuff that is harmful to yourself and others. Most people are imitators not innovators. Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”

 

I have two or three more quick stories to share with you today. We were told this one story of an imitator in these school shootings. He walked into his favourite teacher’s classroom, climbed up on a desk, and pointed the loaded gun at the class with his finger on the trigger. At this point, instead of panicking, instead of diving under desks or heading for the door, the teacher who was standing beside the armed student, said, “Listen up class, I think John has something he wants to tell us.” Listen up class; I think John has something he wants to tell us. At this point the boy broke down and cried. Philippians 4:8: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.” Ephesians 5:1 says, ‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children’

 

God saved them. God is the only one who could save them and God is the only one who can save us (cf. Ac 4:12, Phil 3:7-11). In the ICS 300 course we heard an audio clip from a six-alarm fire in Toronto. At one point a firefighter is trapped on a floor when his oxygen tank runs out. He has no air. He had no expectation of survival. He calls for help. He collapses on the floor. For no apparent reason the elevator, which has another firefighter in it, opens directly on that floor. The firefighter in the elevator notices his colleague collapsed at his feet and drags him into the elevator and away to safety. The official line is that we don’t know how it happened that he was saved. The truth is, we all know how he was saved. God saved him. God is the only one who could save them and God is the only one who can save us. Ephesians 5:1 says, ‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children’

 

I have one more story about imitating our saviour. We, when I was an Officer at The Salvation Army in Swift Current were developing a program to help people who are sent to prison from our community to transition back into our community. I had one friend who I sat in court with through his trial, visited in the cells, kept in touch with when he was away in prison and made contact with immediately after he was released. I kept in touch for a while afterwards. The Lord was and I trust is still doing great things in his life. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke. He has taken regular anger management courses – and he is actually learning to hold his temper. He has a job. He has a place to stay. He is starting to eat healthy. He is keeping active. He is going to a church. He knows Jesus now. He was keeping in touch with me and he is keeping in touch others. Last I heard from him, he is now and still part of a community of believers. He is praying and he is being blessed. As He is spending time with God, God is changing him from the inside out. Of the many people we worked with in the years I was involved with this program his story was more the rule than the exception and He was indeed, Philippians 4:8, concentrating on “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.” For we are all primarily imitators not innovators and my friend is being an imitator of Christ and as he is, God is indeed transforming his life. Ephesians 5:1 says, ‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children’. And as we are, God will indeed transform even our lives from the inside out as well.

 

Let us pray.

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{1} 1 Corinthians 9:24-26a, 10:1-33; Galatians 5:16, 22-25; Ephesians 4:31-5:2a; Philippians 2:3-4, 3:14: Stuck on Hamster Holiness. (https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2025/06/1-corinthians-924-26a-101-33-galatians.html)

{2} Galatians 5:15-21, Ephesians 4:26-32, Philippians 2:14-16: Green Grenade. (https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2025/06/galatians-515-21-ephesians-426-32.html)  Gerry Fostaty, As You Were: The Tragedy at Valcartier (Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane Editions, 2011).

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[1] Kevin Cameron, Violence Threat Assessment (VTRA) Level One Training Guide (Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response: 2011), 38.

[2] Cf. Francis Foulkes, Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1989 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 10), S. 144

[3] Donald Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1990 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 14), S. 164: "Whenever men waste time on trivialities they merit the same condemnation. But the more serious aspect is the effect upon others, for this method of futile argument only ruins those who listen."

[4] Kevin Cameron, Violence Threat Assessment (VTRA) Level One Training Guide (Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response: 2011), 38.

[5] Cf. Ralph P. Martin, Philippians: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1987 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 11), S. 179

[6] A. Skevington Wood, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Ephesians/Exposition of Ephesians/III. Practice: The Application to Christian Life (4:1-6:20)/C. Christian Behavior Patterns (4:25-5:2), Book Version: 4.0.2: "Paul invites his readers to imitate God. What follows elucidates his meaning. A child will show himself to be a true child by wanting to grow up like his father. In the same way, God's precious `children (tekna, those born from him) will be eager to copy him, as he enables them. This was the teaching of Jesus himself."

1 Corinthians 9:24-26a, 10:1-33; Galatians 5:16, 22-25; Ephesians 4:31-5:2a; Philippians 2:3-4, 3:14: Stuck on Hamster Holiness.

Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 15 June 2025, by Major Michael Ramsay 

 

Today is Fathers’ Day. I was blessed this week in that I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughters and my parents. On Monday, Susan, Heather and I went down to Victoria to spend time with family for Sarah-Grace’s 23rd birthday. On Wednesday I needed to be in Victoria for a conference, so I visited with Sarah-Grace and Rebecca and my parents some more. Thursday, I came home to get Susan and Heather and we all came back to Victoria again, this time for Sarah-Grace’s convocation. She graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Honours English from UVIC. It was great to spend so much time with my kids and my folks.  

 

I am so proud of Sarah-Grace (like I am of all my kids). The Grad ceremony was good too – some I have been to have been long and boring, but this was a very good one. The Chanceller of the University spoke about Hope. She mentioned hope as being the opposite of being stuck in fear and fatigue. Susan shared with me another story this week about being stuck. This one is from Metro News among other sources. 

 

A little girl’s pet hamster was unmoving, apparently paralysed so she brought him to the veterinarian’s office because he hadn’t moved for three whole days and he just sat by the side of the cage and wouldn’t eat or drink. The vet asked the girl if anything had happened to the animal before this and she replied that he had escaped and was found under the fridge before he was caught and sat unmoving in the cage. When they took the hamster out of his cage at the vet’s office, however, he began walking around normally, which they didn’t understand at all. Then one of them noticed something in the hamster’s mouth. They looked and found… a fridge magnet. It turns out the only thing wrong with the hamster is that it had a fridge magnet in his cheek pouch that stuck him to his metal cage. 

 

Today’s message builds on last week’s Message, Green Grenade. Last week we spoke about Galatians 5:15-21, Ephesians 4:26-5:2a, and Philippians 2:3-16. The Apostle Paul reminds us in these letters that hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions, envy, and the like, bring death to a church and the people who are consumed with them. Paul’s words are ‘they will not inherit the kingdom of God’. We compared these actions to live green grenades last week – they can destroy a congregation, a church, a family, people wherever they happen to land. This week we will compare these same actions and others Paul mentions in similar passages to a fridge magnet stuck in a hamster’s mouth, among other comparisons. We read today in Paul’s letter to the saints in Corinth, in 1 Corinthians, about things that can really get Christians stuck so that we can’t move any more than a hamster who has eaten a fridge magnet. 1 Corinthians 10:7-10: Paul is warning them by comparing Christians to the ancient Israelites, Paul writes: 

 

7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.  

 

Paul in his letter speaks about these things that can really get us stuck so that we can’t grow, we can’t move in Christ: indulging in revelry, engaging in sexual immorality, grumbling. He then says, as he does elsewhere in this same letter, 1 Corinthians 10:23, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 

 

This is a key argument that Paul makes about all these lists that show up to his letters to Christians in Corinth, Ephesus, Phillipi, Galatia, Rome and more. Paul speaks a lot about us now being free from the Law and different rules and cultural traditions, as we studied in our extensive look at Romans a few months ago. Paul is adamant that we are now free in Christ but he keeps coming back to lists and lists of behaviours that he warns us about. Which is it? Are we free from the law just to have new rules, such as those we have read this week and last week – and if we don’t follow those we go to hell? or are we free to do whatever we want and it doesn’t matter anymore? Or something else altogether? 

 

When I was young and attending a Baptist church, this question was really important to my friends and I. When I was a teenager and younger, like well more that half of all Canadians at that point in history, but unlike most Baptists, I smoked cigarettes. I still read my Bible, prayed everyday, and went to church multiple times a week with my friends but people were really concerned about our smoking: some were concerned that we were just ‘bad people’ who disregarded the rules and deserved to get in trouble. Others were truly concerned about our souls. I remember one friend of mine, Heather Heal, she invited us to a different Baptist church youth group one week; at one point we all went out for a smoke break, as we often did, and she spoke to me in tears. She was genuinely concerned that we might all go to hell because we smoked cigarettes. After all the Bible does tell us a lot of behaviours that it extolls and a lot of behaviours that it condemns. She didn’t want any of us to be condemned.   

 

This then is a question as old as the early Christian church, as we have seen in Paul’s letters, and it is one that has often been brought up around me and has affected my life a lot as well – both as an Officer and as a child / teenager growing up. Are we free in Christ? And if so, what does that mean? 

 

A few years agon now, when I was just new to Alberni, we brought a friend and mentor of mine, Major Stephen Court to the Valley here to speak at the Summer Rain Evangelism Festival. That is coming up again this summer, btw – I think it is July 19th Stephen has been a great help to me over the years and even helped me to get my two books published by The Salvation Army. The other day I read a story that he shared on his social media that I think sums up 1 Corinthians 10 very well- especially 1 Corinthians 10:23, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 

 

This story is from the periodical, “The Running Week”: it refers to athletes which is an analogy that the Apostle Paul himself uses to compare saints and our roles and responsibilities in life: 

 

Athlete: Coach, I need to ask you something. Is it really so bad if I have a drink with my friends? Sometimes it feels like everyone else is having fun except me. 

 

Coach: You can have a drink, if you choose. No one will stop you. 

 

Athlete: And what about smoking, just every now and then? Just to feel free for a moment. 

 

Coach: You can do that too. This is your life, not mine. 

 

Athlete: Coach, sometimes I just want to be like everyone else. Go to parties, stay out all night, laugh, and not worry about tomorrow. Can I do that? 

 

Coach: Absolutely. No one can take those moments away from you. The world is full of options. 

 

Athlete: And if I want to go even further, to just escape get high, live wild, forget all the pressure for a night? Can I? 

 

Coach: Yes. All of that is within your reach. You can choose any path you want. 

 

Athlete: Then why does it feel like I can’t have both? Why do I feel this ache in my chest, like something has to give? 

 

Coach: Because, deep down, you know the truth. You can have anything, but you can’t have everything. Every great dream demands something from you. You are free to enjoy every moment, every temptation, every thrill but you are not free from the cost. You cannot expect to show up on race day with the body, the mind, the spirit of a champion if you are not willing to sacrifice what others are not. Every late night, every shortcut, every easy decision chips away at your potential. 

 

Everything is permitted, but not everything is worthwhile. 

So you must choose. What means more to you? A fleeting night or a lifelong dream? The comfort of now, or the pride of forever? You cannot serve two masters. 

 

Every runner stands at this crossroads. The easy road is wide, full of laughter and distractions. The hard road is narrow, but it leads to places most will never see. The finish line you dream of only you can decide if it’s worth the sacrifice. 

 

You choose how far to go. You choose whether you will look back with pride, or with regret. Only you can decide what your dreams are worth. 

 

That’s the cost. And only you can pay it. 

 

And this my friends is the encouragement that the Apostle Paul is giving us in many of his letters. Paul probably has some different items on his lists than competitive athletes and I don’t know what behaviours our coach, the Spirit, is actively encouraging you towards and dissuading you from. But, as Paul says in1 Corinthians 10:23, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. … 

 

The choice is ours: today let us choose to be constructive; the choice is ours: today let us choose to be beneficial to God, the Kingdom, our neighbour and ourselves. The choice is ours: Today let us choose hope over fear and fatigue. And my friends, today the choice is ours: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-26a: 

 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore… do not run like someone running aimlessly. 

 

Philippians 3:14, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called {us} heavenward in Christ Jesus” 

 

My friends this is my encouragement to each of us here today. If there is anything holding us back from running the race well or living our life to the fullest; if there are any temptations or actions that are keeping us stuck like a magnet in a hamster’s mouth so much that we can’t even move in the freedom in Christ anymore, I invite us to set it aside.  

 

Let us, as Philippians 2:3-4 encourages us: 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

 

Ephesians 4:31-5:2a, let us: 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us… 

 

And let us follow our coach, Galatians 5:16, 22-25: 

…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

 

I have every confidence that as we persevere in the faith in this way, Christ will remove the magnets of sin, fear, fatigue and anything else from our mouths that is holding us back. As we persevere and train in hope and love, I have every faith that we will all continue to, as Paul writes in Philippians 3:14, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” 

 

Let us pray 

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