James 2:1-13
Good morning church! Today we’ll be picking back up in James, and entering chapter 2. The past couple weeks, pastor Patrick has walked us through chapter 1. This was James’ introduction in his letter to all the churches outside of Israel. James is addressing some issues through showing what it means to live an aligned life. A life consistent with what we preach and say we believe and the things we actually do. So Chapter 1 introduced that larger theme and began giving us little snippets which James is going to bring up again, expound upon, and give us concrete examples to understand what he means very practically. And that’s where we find ourselves beginning today in chapter 2. Let’s open our bibles and read James 2:1-13.
James 2:1-13 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
雅各书 2:1-13
早上好，教会！今天我们将继续学习雅各书，进入第二章。过去的几周里，帕特里克牧师带领我们学习了第一章。这是雅各在写给以色列以外所有教会的信中的介绍部分。雅各通过展示对齐的生活方式来解决一些问题。这种生活方式与我们所宣讲和所信仰的内容一致，并且我们实际行动中也能体现出这种一致性。因此，第一章引出了这个更大的主题，并开始给我们一些片段，雅各将再次提到这些片段，详细阐述，并给出具体的例子，让我们非常实际地理解他的意思。而这正是我们今天在第二章开始的地方。让我们打开圣经，阅读雅各书2:1-13。
雅各书2:1-13我的弟兄们，信奉我们荣耀的主耶稣基督的人，不可偏待人。2 若有一个人戴着金戒指，穿着华丽的衣服，来到你们的会堂，又有一个穷人穿着污秽的旧衣服也来到，3 你们就重看那穿华丽衣服的人，说：“请坐在这好位上，”又对那穷人说：“你站在那里，”或“坐在我脚凳下边，”4 这岂不是你们偏心待人，用恶意判断人吗？
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
At the end of the first century, the Roman politician and writer, Pliny the Younger (known most for his letters) attended a dinner party. He noted that the food and wine was actually different in quality. The guests were not being treated equally. Instead the host was mirroring the social status of the guests by the food and beverages he gave out. At the same party?
5 我亲爱的弟兄们，请听：神岂不是拣选了世上的贫穷人，叫他们在信上富足，并承受他所应许给那些爱他之人的国吗？6 你们反倒羞辱贫穷人。那富足人岂不是欺压你们，拉你们到公堂去吗？7 他们不是亵渎你们所敬奉的尊名吗？8 经上记着说：“要爱人如己，”你们若全守这至尊的律法，才是好的。9 但你们若按外貌待人，便是犯罪，被律法定为犯法的。10 因为凡遵守全律法的，只在一条上跌倒，他就是犯了众条。11 原来那说不可奸淫的，也说不可杀人。你就是不奸淫，却杀人，仍是成了犯律法的。12 你们既然要按使人自由的律法受审判，就该照这律法说话行事。13 因为那不怜悯人的，也要受无怜悯的审判。怜悯原是向审判夸胜。
在第一世纪末，罗马政治家和作家小普林尼（以他的书信最为著名）参加了一场晚宴。他注意到食物和酒的质量实际上有所不同。客人们并没有被平等对待。相反，主人通过他分发的食物和饮料反映了客人的社会地位。同样的聚会？
あり得ない！
As Pliny’s observations show us, in the Roman empire, status mattered. Who and what you were affected how you were treated and how you treated others. In the eyes of Roman law, people were not equal. Your status defined your power, influence, criminal punishments, marriage partners, even what you wore and where you sat.
Now James speaks into this as he writes to churches, not just in Rome, but all across Asia and says this type of behavior is not fitting for believers. This should not describe Christians. He states this section clearly in verse 1.
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
James mentions specifically someone with a gold ring because in that day, rings were a big symbol of money. People could even rent them to wear at parties to look more successful or wealthy. Not much has changed really right?
真是不可思议！
正如普林尼的观察所示，在罗马帝国，地位很重要。你的身份和地位会影响你如何被对待以及你如何对待他人。在罗马法律的眼中，人们并不平等。你的地位决定了你的权力、影响力、刑事惩罚、婚姻对象，甚至决定你穿什么和坐在哪里。
现在，雅各在写给不仅是罗马的教会，而是整个亚洲的教会时，对这种行为进行了批评。他说这种行为不适合信徒。这不应该描述基督徒。他在第1节明确指出了这一点。
我的弟兄们，信奉我们荣耀的主耶稣基督的人，不可偏待人。若有一个人戴着金戒指，穿着华丽的衣服，来到你们的会堂，又有一个穷人穿着污秽的旧衣服也来到，3 你们就重看那穿华丽衣服的人，说：“请坐在这好位上，”又对那穷人说：“你站在那里，”或“坐在我脚凳下边，”4 这岂不是你们偏心待人，用恶意判断人吗？
雅各特别提到戴金戒指的人，因为在那个时代，戒指是财富的重要象征。人们甚至可以租戒指来参加聚会，以显得更成功或更富有。其实这种情况并没有太大改变，对吧？
In English we have the term, “dress to impress.”, We so often do things only to impress or look more successful than we are. Except with the trend of today’s vintage clothes, sometimes the “ shabby”looking clothes actually cost way more than the nicer looking clothes right? The more holes in the jeans, the more expensive sometimes! But the goal is the same, to put on an appearance, to bring attention to ourselves.
But really, we could brush James’ command to treat rich and poor aside and say, “well, we know better now of course. 当たり前でしょう? We don’t have the 士農工商 or a system of slavery around here anymore. We wouldn’t discriminate like that. But this command not to discriminate is rooted deeper than just the early first century. Time may pass, and there may be rules in our society made to prevent some discrimination, but there still remains a part of that in our hearts.
For example, If next sunday, you came in and this guy SLIDE (Otani Shohei picture) was in the room, would you act differently? If you like baseball, you may. If you don’t, you may not even know who this is. but maybe that person for you is in music, or TV, heck even a famous Christian author perhaps. You might not know what to do if you met them.
在英语中有一个术语叫“穿着打扮给人留下深刻印象”。我们经常做一些事情只是为了给人留下深刻印象，或者看起来比实际更成功。除了今天的复古服装潮流，有时“破旧”的衣服实际上比看起来更好的衣服更贵，对吧？有时牛仔裤上的洞越多，价格越高！但目标是一样的，都是为了装饰自己，引起别人的注意。
但是实际上，我们可能会把雅各关于对待富人和穷人的命令抛之脑后，说：“好吧，我们现在当然知道得更好了。理所当然对吧？我们这里没有士农工商制度，也没有奴隶制度。我们不会那样歧视别人。”但是这个不歧视的命令根植于比早期一世纪更深的地方。时间可能会过去，我们的社会可能会有一些规则来防止某些歧视，但在我们的心中仍然存在一部分歧视。
例如，如果下个星期天，你进来时这个人（大谷翔平的图片）在房间里，你会表现得不同吗？如果你喜欢棒球，你可能会。如果你不喜欢，你可能甚至不知道这是谁。但也许对你来说，这个人是在音乐、电视，甚至是一位著名的基督教作家。如果你见到他们，你可能会不知所措。
Now treating these people with honor is not inherently a bad thing. It’s when we treat them with honor, and don’t extend the same treatment to the homeless guy down the street, or the conbini worker when you go get your midnight ice cream. And James speaks to this happening within groups of believers, when people are coming together to worship God and says enough!
Now, it’s important for us to understand WHY we do this. Why are we as humans drawn to these people? Why would we act differently if Shohei Otani or Kishida-san walks in? First, at its root is a selfish desire. At its core, we want something for ourselves. Maybe not directly money or their influence, but just a desire to be like that ourselves. We begin to consciously or subconsciously think treating them with extra favor will give us that access. Maybe we’ll be successful or famous or like them if we treat them well enough.
So James speaks into this self-centered behavior in a couple ways here. First he points out how God chooses the poor to inherit the kingdom.
现在，尊敬这些人本身并不是坏事。问题在于，当我们尊敬这些人，却没有同样对待街上的无家可归者，或者你在便利店买午夜冰淇淋时的店员。雅各在这里针对信徒群体内部发生的这种情况说，够了！
现在，我们有必要了解我们为什么会这样做。为什么我们人类会被这些人吸引？为什么如果大谷翔平或岸田先生走进来时，我们会表现得不同？首先，其根本原因是自私的欲望。在其核心，我们想要为自己得到些什么。也许不是直接想要金钱或他们的影响力，而只是希望自己也能像他们那样。我们开始有意识或无意识地认为，给予他们特别的待遇会让我们有机会接近他们。也许如果我们对他们足够好，我们也能像他们一样成功或出名。
所以，雅各在这里以几种方式谈论了这种以自我为中心的行为。首先，他指出神选择贫穷的人来继承他的国度。
Verse 5: “Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor!” This is a rhetorical question. The answer is yes! We just went through the sermon on the mount a couple months ago and we saw how God flips our world upside down with how He sees things and what He values. So James is reminding the church of that here with this. He says, remember - poverty and riches mean nothing before God! God makes the poor in this world rich in faith! James further says that they are heirs of the kingdom.
Throughout the Bible, God constantly flips our expectations by choosing people we wouldn’t expect - and you don’t have to look far, but let’s just look at Jesus. God, in His sovereignty, could’ve come as a ruler, a king, a warrior like most expected, but what does He do? He comes as a son of a carpenter, born in the most humble of circumstances. God Himself identifies with, and sends His only Son as someone of seemingly no importance or power. A person whose status the world takes walks over and ignores, takes advantage of - that’s who God came down as.
第5节：“神岂不是拣选了世上的贫穷人，叫他们在信上富足，并承受他所应许给那些爱他之人的国吗？但你们却羞辱了穷人！”这是一个反问句，答案是肯定的！几个月前，我们刚刚讲完了登山宝训，看到神如何颠覆我们的世界观，看到他是如何看待事物和珍视什么。所以，雅各在这里提醒教会这一点。他说，记住——贫穷和富有在神面前毫无意义！神使这个世界上的穷人在信仰上富足！雅各进一步说，他们是国度的继承人。
在整本圣经中，神不断地颠覆我们的期望，选择我们意想不到的人——你不需要看得很远，只需看看耶稣就行了。神在他的主权中，本可以像大多数人预期的那样，以统治者、国王或战士的身份降临，但他做了什么呢？他以木匠的儿子身份降临，出生在最卑微的环境中。神自己认同并派遣他的独生子成为一个看似无关紧要或没有权力的人。一个世界会忽视、利用的人的身份——那就是神降临的样子。
We also see this clearly portrayed in Matthew 25:34,35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
To which the the listener replies, when did we do these things? And he answers, 40 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
God identifies with the poor in their distress. When we care them, we care about the things God is concerned with.
Secondly, James points to the absurdity of pandering to the rich.
Verse 6:Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
James is saying, not only should you not dishonor the poor, God’s people, but also, the very ones that you are showing favor to are the ones that bring you difficulty. Now just to clarify, it’s not having money that is the issue. There were wealthy people in that time who served the poor and supported the church and cared for their community, and they are commended.
我们在《马太福音》25:34中也清楚地看到了这一点：“因为我饿了，你们给我吃；渴了，你们给我喝；我作客旅，你们留我住；36 我赤身露体，你们给我穿；我病了，你们看顾我；我在监里，你们来看我。”
听众会问，什么时候我们做了这些事？他回答说：“40 我实在告诉你们，这些事你们既做在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上，就是做在我身上了。”
神认同贫困中的人。当我们关心他们时，我们关心的是神所关心的事。
其次，雅各指出讨好富人的荒谬之处。
第6节：“岂不是富足的人欺压你们，拉你们到公堂去吗？7 他们不是亵渎你们所敬奉的尊名吗？”
雅各说，不仅不应该羞辱穷人，神的子民，而且你们所讨好的人正是给你们带来困难的人。为了澄清一下，问题不在于有钱。在那个时代，有些富人服务穷人，支持教会，关心他们的社区，他们是受到赞扬的。
So it’s not the money, it’s the heart that is the issue. And oppressing the disadvantaged wasn’t uncommon in James day. Many christians may have been poorer due to their faith. So James is like, um aren’t these the guys that persecute you for the faith? There’s no need to dishonor them, that’s no good. but why are you pushing aside God’s chosen people to pander to them? It’s our hearts. It’s our hearts that are the issue. Finish the verse for me, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the _____.
Yes, the heart. God cares about where our hearts are. We can get so caught up in the outside appearance of people, that we forget their identity, and begin to think of ourselves and what we can get.
So what does James say to do to fix this?
Verse 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. Keep the royal law. Now James is the only one that refers to it with this term, but he clarifies what he’s referring to. This was Jesus’s answer to the Pharisees when he was asked what is the greatest commandment. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He’s saying when it comes to the poor, they’re your neighbor too! And if you love them as much as you love yourself and serve yourself, then you’re doing alright.
所以问题不在于钱，而在于心态。压迫弱势群体在雅各的时代并不罕见。许多基督徒由于信仰可能更贫穷。所以雅各在说，这些不是因为信仰而迫害你们的人吗？没有必要羞辱他们，那没什么好处。但为什么要推开神所选的人去讨好他们呢？问题在于我们的心。是我们的心出了问题。请帮我完成这句经文：“人是看外貌，耶和华是看____。”
对，是心。神关心我们的心在哪里。我们可以被人的外貌迷住，以至于忘记了他们的身份，开始只想着自己能得到什么。
雅各说要如何修正这一问题呢？
第8节：“你若成全圣经上所记‘当爱人如己’的话，就是行的正。”守全这至尊的律法。雅各是唯一用这个称呼来指称它的人，但他解释了他所指的是什么。这是耶稣对法利赛人提问他最大的诫命时的回答。“要爱人如己。”他在说，当涉及到穷人时，他们也是你的邻舍！如果你像爱自己一样爱他们，并像服侍自己一样服侍他们，那么你就是行得正。
But we don’t do this perfectly do we? And when we don’t, there are consequences. When we show partiality, our witness as Christians, our testimony is out the window. Someone who recognized this very well was Ghandi.
There was a point after reading the Bible and the life of Jesus, he was so moved by the words and deeds of Jesus, especially the sermon on the mount, Ghandi was eager to explore becoming a Christian. So he decided to attend a church service. But when he reached the door, the church elder asked “where do you think you are going, kaffir…(which was a super insulting term) .There is no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I’ll have my assistants throw you down the steps”. Whoa, WHAT??
Now that’s pretty unbelievable discrimination, but Gandhi’s experience here and later his words pointed at Christians show us the consequence of favoritism in the church. In an interview about his thoughts on Christianity, Ghandi was quoted as saying. “I love your Christ but I hate your Christians because your Christians are unlike your Christ.” Ouch. Now we know, we can’t be perfect in all areas because we aren’t Christ, but it shows: When we show favoritism, we go from being the aroma of Christ, to being the stench of misaligned Christians….
但我们并不完美地这样做，对吧？当我们不这样做时，就会有后果。当我们表现出偏袒时，作为基督徒的见证、我们的见证便会受到影响。一个非常了解这一点的人就是甘地。
他读完圣经和耶稣的生活后，尤其是登山宝训后，他被耶稣的言行深深感动，他渴望了解更多成为基督徒的可能性。所以他决定去参加一个教会崇拜。但当他到达教堂门口时，教会长老问道：“你以为你在哪里，印第安黑人（一个极具侮辱性的称呼）？这个教会里没有印第安黑人的位置。滚出去，否则我会让我的助手把你推下楼梯。”哇，什么情况？
这确实是难以置信的歧视经历，但甘地在这里的经历及其后的言论向我们展示了教会内部偏袒的后果。在一次关于他对基督教的看法的采访中，甘地曾被引用说：“我爱你们的基督，但我恨你们的基督徒，因为你们的基督徒不像你们的基督。”这句话真的很痛。我们知道，我们不能在所有方面都像基督那样完美，因为我们不是基督，但这表明：当我们偏袒时，我们从基督的馨香变成了不符合基督精神的臭味……
Now James also addresses the consequence of partiality for us here in verse 9-11. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. He says: But if you show partiality, if you show favoritism, this is sin and you have broken the law. He continues: “For whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. He continues this point: 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Whoa. Is he for real? If I fail just one of God’s laws, it says I’m a lawbreaker? Compared to murder or adultery, favoritism not too bad right?
At the 2008 Olympics, the men’s relay team won gold. Or least… they thought they had. The team ran well, they passed the baton perfectly, and crossed the finish line way ahead of their rivals. As they were actively celebrating in front of the cameras, they were informed they had been disqualified - their win would not be counted. You see in the relay race, you only have a small window to pass the baton, about 30 meters long. Now that seems pretty long, but for top athletes running at full speed, for one to start their run and get up to top speed at exactly the right time as the other going full speed, it’s actually very challenging to hit that brief window.
现在雅各在这里也指出了偏袒的后果，就在第9-11节：9 但你们若按外貌待人，便是犯罪，被律法定为犯法的。10 因为凡遵守全律法的，只在一条上跌倒，他就是犯了众条。他说：但你们若施行偏袒，若表现出偏爱，这就是罪，你们犯了律法。他继续说：“因为凡遵守全律法的，但在一点上跌倒，就成了众条的犯法者。”他继续强调这一点：11 因为那说“不可奸淫”的，也说“不可杀人”。你虽不奸淫，却杀人，仍是成了犯律法的了。
哇，他是认真的吗？如果我违反了神的法律中的一条，就说明我是犯法者？相比之下，偏袒看起来并不算太糟糕，对吧？
在2008年奥运会上，男子接力队赢得了金牌。或者至少他们以为他们赢了。这个团队跑得很好，他们完美地传递接力棒，并且远远领先于竞争对手越过了终点线。当他们在摄像机前庆祝时，他们被告知他们被取消资格——他们的胜利将不被计算在内。你看，在接力比赛中，你只有一个很短的时间窗口来传递接力棒，大约30米长。幻灯片现在这似乎很长，但对于全速奔跑的顶级运动员来说，一个人开始奔跑，并且在恰当的时机达到最高速度，而另一个人正在全速奔跑，实际上是非常具有挑战性的，以命中那个短暂的时间窗口。
So what happened? That team had stepped out of the passing lane by just one stride during the baton pass - they were disqualified. What??
Would it be fair to say, comon judge, give them a break, it’s one stride. It’s not like they were doping or had an early start; they were the fastest! Just breaking one small misstep shouldn’t completely disqualify them right?
When we break God’s law, we are lawbreakers, and therefore guilty of sin. Just as in a race, It doesn’t matter how big or small the law is - we are disqualified. We have broken the rules. That’s what James is saying here in verse 9-11.
So what do we do? Verse 12: Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
He is saying we need to realize our insufficiency to live perfectly according to the law. James reminds us here as Christians, we should realize that we will be judged for our actions, recognize our spiritual poverty, and remember how Christ gave us mercy in spite of that.
这支接力队发生了什么？他们在传递接力棒时，只是多出了一步的距离——他们被取消资格。什么？
难道可以公平地说，来吧，裁判，放过他们吧，只是多了一步。这不像他们服用兴奋剂或提前开始；他们是最快的！仅仅因为一个小小的失误就完全取消资格，这不公平吧？
当我们违反神的律法时，我们成了犯法者，因此有罪。就像在比赛中一样，无论法律有多大或多小，我们都会被取消资格。我们违反了规则。这就是雅各在第9-11节中所说的。
那么我们该怎么办呢？第12节：“你们既要按着使人自由的律法受审判，就该这样说话行事，因为那不施怜悯的，也要无怜悯受审判。怜悯胜过审判。”
他在说我们需要意识到我们无法完全按照律法生活的不足。雅各在这里提醒我们作为基督徒，我们应该意识到我们的行为将受到审判，认识到我们的属灵贫穷，并记得基督如何在这一点上给了我们怜悯。
If you are a Christian, it means you realized your need for a Savior, and it’s trust in Him and His voluntary sacrifice on the cross we rely on to free us from sin. James calls us back to that and says, show mercy to people the way it was shown to you. Love people like you were loved! Not in teaspoons, but in buckets and dump trucks of mercy. That’s what we want Christ to do for us and our sins when we stand before God right? That’s what I want for my missteps. I’d take a swimming pool of mercy!
That’s exactly what Christ gave us when He took the cross and more! He took all of our sin, all our missteps and offers us mercy instead of judgment. Praise the Lord! Now that we have received such an awesome mercy, we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ so others can see His love for them as well. So let’s be consistent in our attitudes. Let’s be aligned with Christ and His words with how we treat those around us.
If you’re not a Christian, please know anyone and everyone is always welcome here. It can be pretty tight in this building, but we will always find you a seat, because we want you to feel welcome and to experience the love of Christ. Not just from listening to His words, but from the actions of Christians as well. But you need to know, you’ll still find inconsistencies in us. You’ll find misalignment.
如果你是基督徒，这意味着你意识到自己需要一个救主，信靠他和他在十字架上的自愿牺牲来解救我们脱离罪恶。雅各呼吁我们回到这一点，并说，像对待你一样对待人们显示怜悯！用满满的怜悯而不是一点点的。这就是我们站在神面前时，我们希望基督为我们和我们的罪所做的事情，对吧？这就是我对我的失误的期望。我希望得到一池子的怜悯！
这正是基督在他背十字架时给我们的，而且更多！幻灯片 他承担了我们所有的罪，所有我们的过失，并提供怜悯而不是审判。赞美主！现在我们已经领受了如此神奇的怜悯，我们被呼召成为基督的手脚，让其他人也能看到他对他们的爱。所以让我们在态度上保持一致。让我们与基督及其话语一致，对待周围的人。
如果你不是基督徒，请知道任何人在这里都是受欢迎的。这栋楼里可能会很拥挤，但我们总能找到一个座位给你，因为我们希望你感受到欢迎并经历基督的爱。不仅是从听他的话中，而是从基督徒的行动中也能感受到。但你需要知道，你在我们身上仍然会发现不一致性。你会发现失调。
We aren’t perfect people, but we follow after a God who is; and by following Him, we’re actively trying to look more like Him in our lives. We just thank God that He invites us despite our imperfection to Himself. And He offers that invitation to you too. The bible says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you want to hear more about this, please find myself, Patrick, or Ken after service and we’d love to talk with you more.
Let’s pray.
我们不是完美的人，但我们追随一个是完美的上帝；通过追随他，我们在努力在生活中更像他。我们只是感谢上帝，尽管我们不完美，他仍然邀请我们来到他面前。他也向你发出邀请。圣经说，我们还作罪人的时候，基督为我们死了。如果你想听更多关于这个的，请在崇拜结束后找我，帕特里克或肯，我们很乐意与你进一步交流。
让我们祷告。