The Best Seat in the Synagogue - David Wilber

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

You okay? All right, great. Well, as always, it is a blessing to be with you all today and to share from God's word. We're going to be talking about James chapter 2 today. Before we dive in, would you guys mind joining me in prayer?

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this Sabbath day. God, it is such a blessing to be here to just exist among your people, to be one body unified, praising you, worshiping you this day. Lord, it's about you. It's about fellowship. And so, we thank you for this blessing that you've given us. I pray that the message today will be an extension of just the beautiful worship that we experienced earlier, that you would be glorified in the words that you have given me to speak, and that your people would be blessed and encouraged and edified to live for you faithfully. In your son Yeshua's name, amen.

All right. Well, as I said, we're going to be going through James chapter 2 today. It's just going to be a very simple message. Before we dive in, just to kind of give some context to set us up here: James, or better translation would be Jacob, actually. But he is the brother of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. So, I don't know about you. I think it's pretty cool that we have a letter written by Yeshua the Messiah. And so, that's pretty cool that we get to learn from someone who grew up with Yeshua, who learned from him, who was related to him.

James, the Brother of Jesus

And he is writing to predominantly Jewish followers of Yeshua. So, Messianic Jews who are meeting in synagogues. So James, or Jacob, he is probably writing in the '40s AD, many scholars think. And so, this was when the Messianic community was still made up mostly of Jews. That said, although James' audience was predominantly Jewish, they were not exclusively Jewish. How do we know that? Because as early as Acts 13, we see that Gentile believers were gathering in the synagogues alongside Jews. And many of these Gentiles are described as coming to faith in Yeshua alongside Jewish believers who are also coming to faith in Yeshua.

We see this all throughout the book of Acts. In Acts 13, as well as in Acts 17 and 18, Paul, he stops in the synagogue and what does it say? It says he reasons with the people on the Sabbath. He reasons with them from the scriptures, and he persuades both Jews and Greeks. And so, we also see in Acts that James himself expects that Gentile followers of Yeshua would be worshipping in synagogues alongside Jewish followers of Yeshua. So, these are Jews and Gentiles.

But in any case, these believers whom James is writing to, they are facing persecution, especially economic exploitation. In chapter 5 of his letter, James mentions that there are wealthy landowners who are withholding wages from their poor laborers, their poor workers. We also see later in chapter two that we'll see today that the rich were leveraging the legal system to their own advantage. And so, the poor believers, they were being exploited in court and demanded justice.

The Purpose of James' Letter

So, James, he is writing to believers who are dealing with these hardships, and he's encouraging them to persevere in spite of these trials. That's how he begins his letter, right? He begins his letter. He's saying, "Hey, I'm James. I'm a disciple of Yeshua the Messiah. Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds, for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So, that's how he starts his letter, and that's a major theme throughout his letter: encouraging these believers to hold on, to stay steadfast in spite of all of these trials you're facing. And he also gives instructions on how to live faithfully for Yeshua in spite of these difficult circumstances, or in the midst of these circumstances. So, that is the purpose of his letter. And with that context in mind, let's go ahead and jump in starting at James chapter two, verse one.

Show No Partiality

We're just going to go through this verse by verse, and see what happens. So, James two, verse one says, James is speaking. He says, "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."

So, in other words, you can't be a follower of Yeshua. You can't profess to have faith in Yeshua the Messiah and show partiality. Those things are incompatible. In the previous chapter, James had just told his readers that merely hearing the word is not enough. Believers are called to be what? Believers are called to be doers of the word. Be doers of the word and not hearers only. And by the way, James equates this word that believers are to be doers of with the perfect law of liberty. That is, the law of Moses. We see this in James 1 chapter verse 25.

So now, in chapter 2, James is citing a particular commandment from the law of Moses that believers are to be doers of. He says, "Be doers of the word, not hearers only." And then he is giving specific examples. This is one of those examples that he spends a lot of his letter talking about. Is that show no partiality. This is a commandment that believers are to be doers of.

What is Partiality?

All right, so what is partiality? What is partiality? Well, the Greek word translated as partiality, prosopolempsia, it literally means receiving the face. Okay? Receiving the face. Okay, well, what does that mean? Well, this is a metaphor. And to receive the face is basically to make judgments based only on the external appearance of someone. Okay? The face of someone, right? So you're judging based only on someone's social status or their race, their attractiveness, or whatever it may be. You're judging on the basis of the face of someone, the external appearance.

And as we will see, in particular to show partiality, it goes a little bit further. It's to honor one person by dishonoring someone else. So, you are showing honor kind of like at the expense of someone else. You show honor by dishonoring someone else. James calls this a transgression of the Torah. He calls it a sin. This is what it says in verse 9 of chapter 2. He says, "If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." So, he says it's a sin. It's a transgression of the Torah. That's pretty straightforward. Showing partiality, receiving the face, it is a sin.

The Law of Moses on Partiality

Okay, so where is this commandment found? Well, it's found in Leviticus , which reads, "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." Okay, so you're not to be partial to the poor or defer to the great. This commandment in Leviticus 19, it's specifically in the context of upholding justice in court. You're supposed to judge on the basis of righteousness, on the basis of what is right. You do not prefer one person over the other based on these external circumstances, whether they are poor or great. You're supposed to judge righteously. But you also see this idea of partiality as you are honoring one person by dishonoring another based on outward circumstances. If you do that, James says that you are sinning and that you are not loving your neighbor as yourself. And by the way, that also comes from Leviticus 19. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

James' letter, it's pretty interesting. It's essentially a commentary on Leviticus 19. If you read Leviticus 19 and you read the Epistle of James, you see all of these parallels to Leviticus 19 showing up in James. And so James is citing all of these commandments and kind of expounding on them and applying the principles of these commandments to the situation of the communities that he's writing to.

God Shows No Partiality

All right, so why is this so important? Why does James spend half a chapter of his letter talking about this particular commandment? Why does the Bible make such a big deal about this? Because God shows no partiality. Deuteronomy says that God, quote, is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. So God is not partial. God is not impressed by your wealth or your social status or whether or not you've maxed your looks, right? He executes justice for the vulnerable. God is on the side of those who have no power.

Why? Because those who have no power are often the ones who are denied justice by those who are powerful. And so God is interested in justice. He is interested in what is right. He executes justice for those who are often exploited, who are often taken advantage of. And since we are his followers, we are to imitate him. That is why this is so important. God shows no partiality and therefore neither should we. This also comes from Leviticus 19, right? Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy. We must judge based on righteousness, on what is right, not on these external features of people.

An Illustration of Partiality

All right. So, James, he now goes on to give an illustration of this type of partiality that believers are to avoid. Here's what he says, verse two of chapter two. Says, "For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there, or you sit down at my feet.' Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves, and have become judges with evil thoughts?" All right.

Again, so this is pretty straightforward, right? James, Jacob, is describing two men with different outward appearances entering the assembly. All right. I got to spend a couple minutes talking about this really quick. The word assembly here is actually a very misleading translation. In Greek, the word is synagoge. Synagoge—it's translated literally as synagogue. Everywhere else this word appears in the New Testament, it is always translated correctly as synagogue. But for some reason, in this verse, most English translations, aside from Messianic translations primarily, most English translations say something like assembly or gathering.

This drives me nuts because it obscures the fact that Christianity was not yet a separate religion from Judaism at the time that James or Jacob wrote this letter. The earliest believers functioned within Judaism and they met in synagogues. So we should translate the verse correctly. We should translate the word for what it actually means. The only reason to translate it as something other than what it actually means is because you're approaching the text already presupposing, already assuming that Christianity is not part of Judaism—that it's a separate religion already. And that's just anachronistic. It's not a good translation, but I digress.

James describes two men entering the synagogue, and one is clearly wealthy. He has a gold ring and fine clothing, James says. And the other one is poor, okay? So these two men, they enter the synagogue. They both look very different. And the believers, they give the rich man all of this special attention and they give him the best seat. They're like, "Oh, come here. Thanks for coming. Here, you sit here. You have the best seat in the synagogue." And when the poor man with shabby clothing comes in, James says that he's just pushed aside. He's just kind of ignored and dismissed. So what's going on here?

The believers are receiving the face. They are showing partiality, favoritism toward the rich person and dishonoring the poor person. They are treating people differently based on social status. And because of this, James says that they have become judges with evil thoughts. Okay? They're judges with evil thoughts. In other words, they have allowed their evil thoughts, their self-interest, their selfish motivations to shape how they view and treat people. They were pushing their poor neighbors aside and showing favoritism toward the rich for some selfish reason—to try to perhaps gain some favor with the rich.

God's Values Versus the World's Values

James not only calls this sin, this showing partiality, this receiving the face—he says it's not only sin, but he goes on to talk about how it is totally backwards and irrational. Why? Well, he goes on to say that the poor are their brothers in the Lord. They're brothers and sisters in the Lord. And the rich are the very ones who are oppressing you. This would be like cheering for the bully while your brother, who the bully just punched, you know, is tending to his wound on his own after he was defending you from the bully. So it'd be like cheering for the bully who punched your brother. It doesn't make any sense.

Listen to what James says. James 2:5, he says, "Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?" So has not God chosen the poor in the world? So here James is telling his readers that you guys, you got to see this from God's perspective. You have to see the situation from God's perspective. These believers were exalting the rich and dishonoring the poor. But God has chosen the poor. God has chosen those who are poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. Yeshua said the same thing, by the way.

Luke . It says, "Blessed are you who are poor. For yours is the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God belongs to the poor. All right.

So now this does not mean that being poor automatically earns you a place in the kingdom. It also does not automatically mean that having wealth excludes you. But it may indicate that those who are poor are often placed in a position of dependence upon God. And so poverty can provide the conditions in which faith grows more naturally, if you will, right? That's why Deuteronomy says that God executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and the sojourner. These are people who, you know, they're often the ones who are denied justice. They're often the ones who are oppressed. But it's in those conditions where they are depending upon God because he's the only one that they have—that's where their faith is stronger.

I don't know about you, but I've often found it easier to trust in God in times of trial because in my own life, I've had to depend on him. I didn't have any other choice. If I were wealthy, if I were well-off, you know, I could perhaps rely on my own abilities and internally think that I may not need God as much. But when I am totally dependent on him, it changes things. My faith is actually stronger in those moments.

In any case, James says that the poor who place their faith in Messiah, they are promised true riches in the age to come. Since they're heirs of the kingdom, right? Unlike the riches of the wealthy in this age, the poor will have real riches. They will have true eternal riches in the kingdom—riches that never pass away, unlike the riches of this age. But the main point that I think James is making here is that God's values are not the same as the world's values. God's values are not the same as the world's values. Remember, the Bible says that God is not partial and that he executes justice for whom? For the fatherless, for the widow, for the sojourner. The Messianic community failed to recognize that the people whom they were dishonoring were in fact the very people God has chosen to be heirs of the kingdom. They were dishonoring their brothers and sisters in the Messiah and instead exalting the very people who were mistreating them.

The Dark Irony of Favoring Oppressors

This is what it says as we continue, verse 6. "But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you? And the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?" So here, again, James is highlighting the dark irony of this situation. The rich were the ones who were abusing the believers. They were using their power and their influence and their wealth to drag the poor into court. They were leveraging the courts, the legal system to take advantage of the poor. They were perverting justice. And not only that, they were blaspheming the Messiah.

They weren't just abusing the believers, they were blaspheming the Lord. They were giving the middle finger to God. And yet, despite all of this, the community was showing favoritism toward the rich and powerful. So again, showing partiality is not just a matter of discrimination. It is favoring a person at the expense of dishonoring someone else. These believers were exalting the rich out of some sort of self-interest, whatever that may be. They were judges with evil thoughts. They had evil motivations. And by doing this, they were dishonoring their brothers and sisters who were being oppressed by the—

I'm reminded of two stories from the Hebrew scriptures that I think may kind of help drive this point home a little bit further. There's one story where the people were doing exactly what James' audience were doing. They favored the powerful, which led to the innocent being oppressed. And then I want to talk about another story where the people judged righteously, where they stood up to the powerful to defend the innocent. Let's take a look at 1 Kings chapter 21. 1 Kings chapter 21, starting in verse 1. Says, "Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

And after this, Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.'" Seems pretty reasonable, right? But Naboth said to Ahab, "The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers." And Naboth went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him. For he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food. Okay, so what's going on here?

Naboth and the Vineyard

Here we have the king of Samaria, Ahab, who wanted a vineyard that did not belong to him so that he could have a vegetable garden next to his palace. The vineyard was owned by an Israelite named Naboth, and Naboth refused to sell it or to give it away because it was part of his family inheritance. And by the way, the Torah actually requires that land inheritance is to remain within the tribes of Israel. So Naboth was honoring the Torah here. The fact that Naboth refused to sell this land, however, it caused Ahab to behave like a giant man-baby. He retreated to his bed and he refused to eat and he was all vexed and sullen, the text says. Yeah, because he can't have his vegetable garden. So at this point, Ahab's wife, Jezebel, intervenes. And so she mocks Ahab for being a weak little man-baby. And she promises to get the vineyard for Ahab. So she's like, "Yeah, aren't you the one that governs Israel? And you can't even handle this guy here. I'll take care of it. I'll get this vineyard for you." So she's like, "If he won't give it, I'll come up with a way just to take it from him."

Eminent domain, right? We'll get it done. We'll get this land." So, she writes letters in Ahab's name and commands the leaders of Naboth's city to stage a false accusation. Listen to what it says. First Kings 21, starting in verse 9. And she wrote in the letters, "Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people and set two worthless men opposite him. And let them bring a charge against him saying, 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." So, pretty disturbing, right? That was the letter that she wrote to these leaders. Jezebel literally orders that an innocent man be put to death so that her husband can have a vegetable garden. What is even more disturbing about this, though, is that the elders and leaders in Israel, those who are entrusted with upholding justice, with judging righteously, they comply with this order seemingly without protest. Naboth is falsely accused, condemned, and executed all because he owned a vineyard that the king wanted. And nobody did anything about it.

Judging Righteously

So, the story is an extreme example of how partiality operates. The leaders of the city aligned themselves with power rather than with righteousness. Whether they were motivated by fear or some other self-interest, they participated in the death of an innocent man of Israel. They became judges with evil thoughts, as James says.

Okay, I also want to highlight an example of righteous judgment. If you want to turn with me, or swipe if you're on your phone, to Exodus . Exodus , this is when Israel is in Egypt. It says, "Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 'When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter, she shall live.' But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So, the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this and let the male children live?' The midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.'" So, God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

The Midwives Who Feared God

Okay, so here we read about two Hebrew midwives who were placed in a very difficult and dangerous situation. The king of Egypt went to them and commanded them to kill every Hebrew male child at birth. This was the value system in Egypt, right? They saw, "Oh my goodness, these Israelites, they're growing too numerous. They're becoming a threat to the empire." And so, what did they do? They sought to maintain power by oppressing the most vulnerable people in society, little babies. Let's just kill their kids. Let's kill their babies. That way we can maintain power.

Now, it would have been in the midwives' interest to obey this order, right? They were putting their lives at risk by defying the king of Egypt. They had nothing to gain by protecting these helpless infants. What are the infants going to do for them? They had nothing to gain from their poor brothers and sisters. But they had everything to lose by defying the king of Egypt. Yet, unlike the leaders in Naboth's city, these midwives chose to defend the innocent. Why? Because the text says that they {quote} "feared God." They recognized that God is not partial, but executes justice for the powerless. And he will also hold those in power accountable one day. God requires that we imitate him, that we have the courage to judge righteously rather than out of self-interest. He requires that we have the courage to judge righteously rather than out of self-interest.

Partiality in Politics

Okay, so how does this apply to us today? These instructions from James about not showing partiality. Well, politics is always an obvious go-to when it comes to applying these biblical teachings. There are many examples that I'm sure all of you are thinking of where supporting certain political leaders results in our own innocent neighbors suffering under their policies. Abortion is a clear parallel to Exodus 1, I think. And there are leaders in our own time who push for policies allowing for the legal murder of babies made in the image of God. And there are people who enthusiastically support those leaders, which is insane. That's like cheering on the king of Egypt in Exodus 1. He's like, "Oh, he's a great leader. He's making those tough decisions, right?"

Now, obviously, this criticism can be applied across the political spectrum, right? There is no perfect choice for political leadership in this fallen world. It's always a choice of the lesser of two evils. We're not going to have a perfect political system until the Messiah returns. So, what do we do? Just not vote? I mean, that's one option. I don't think that's necessarily the right answer. But at the very least we should be honest. We should recognize that most people who want power over us are not good people. Even if some might be slightly better than others. And we must not turn a blind eye to injustice just because it is coming from {quote} our side. When it comes to politics, it's easy to become tribal and to just excuse the worst injustices, to excuse the worst blasphemy because it's coming from those who we believe are serving our own interests.

So I think at the very least we need to be honest. And we need to have the courage to call balls and strikes. To just be honest about what the state of things. There's this political podcaster that I listen to and he has a segment of his podcast called "Good Trump Bad Trump." And I think it's great because he's like, all right, here are these things that Trump is doing good that are helping the country. These are the things that he's doing that are immoral and that are wrong and that need to be called out. And I think that's a great way to handle it. No matter who you vote for, just be honest. There may be things that are good about certain political leaders that are helping, but there are also many things that are bad and we cannot turn a blind eye.

Partiality in Everyday Life

In any case, politics is obvious, but I'm much more interested in how this passage is relevant to our day-to-day lives. What are some ways that we might receive the face of someone out of selfish interest? Where we might dishonor someone else by exalting another person. I think this happens probably much more often than we might like to admit. For example, I'm sure many of you have experienced this. I know I have. But have you ever been talking to someone and you're in a conversation and you slowly realize that they don't really want to be talking to you? That you were just kind of the person that they're putting up with until they can get a chance to talk to the person they actually wanted to talk to?

So maybe during the conversation, right? You notice them kind of looking past you for their opportunity to escape. They're like, "Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, that's interesting." And finally, when the conversation ends awkwardly and they quickly go and talk to someone better, right? And it's not a very good feeling, right? Is it? You kind of feel dishonored. You feel like you aren't really valuable to that person.

Maybe you have made someone feel worthless and that they aren't really important enough to listen to. I think that's along the lines of what James is addressing here. James is addressing this very human tendency to be self-interested. This very human tendency to be concerned about what you can get out of a situation or what you can get out of someone. To value people differently based on what you think they can offer you or how important they appear to be. James calls that a sin. He says if you do that, you are convicted by the Torah as a transgressor.

The Royal Law of Love

James 2:8 says, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are convicted by the law as transgressors. You're committing sin. If you show partiality and you are not loving your neighbor as yourself," James says. "You're not loving your neighbor as yourself. Why? How is that not loving your neighbor? Because you are diminishing a person's value to what they can or cannot do for you. Or how they may or may not serve your own selfish interests. You're diminishing their value to that. That is not love. That is not real relationship. It is treating people like objects. You're only thinking about what you can get out of them.

Like I said, I think we've all experienced something like this at some point in our lives and sadly we've probably participated in something like this. In my own world of Christian content creation, making videos and articles on the internet, this happens constantly. Even in Christian and Messianic spaces that I'm in, this happens constantly. We call it networking. All right, how can I use you to grow my own ministry? Who should I invite on my podcast to tap into their audience a little bit, get more subscribers? Now, I don't think that networking is inherently wrong, obviously. It's good for us to work together for a common cause, to further the gospel.

The Danger of Objectifying People

That's what it's all about. That's what it should be all about. We ought to be working together, supporting each other in the work. But I think that so often there is a danger of falling into a mindset of objectifying people. Of just looking at relationships as a means to your own selfish end. How can you serve me? How can you help me get what I want? And also, it's kind of self-degrading, too, if you think about it. You're not only degrading the other person, but you're kind of degrading yourself, as well. Because you're reducing your own self to your ministry, your career. Like if you objectify people, if you focus so much on what they can give you, that's kind of like a way of saying, I am my ministry. I am my career. I am whatever the thing may be. I'm not really a person. It's just about this external thing. We're not to objectify. We're to treat each other as people, people made in the image of God. We're to love each other. We're to not receive the face as James says, to judge only on the basis of the external conditions. Those who will serve our own selfish interests.

Worship team, you can come back up if you're ready. James says, "Do not show partiality." Because God does not show partiality. And we are to imitate him.

God's Example of Love

What has God done? What are God's relationships like? God has invited all of us into relationship with him. Not because he gets something out of us. God does not benefit from being friends with us. He sees the value in us just because of who we are, just because we're his people, just because he wants a relationship with us. We are called to imitate God. We are called to value others because they are humans made in God's image. We are to love other people the way that he has shown us how to love. Not out of self-interest, but because they are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. They are humans made in God's image, just like we are. So, don't dishonor your poor neighbor. Look them in the eye, love them, and honor them as the child of God that they are.

A Prayer for Transformation

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much again for your word. Thank you for conviction from your Holy Spirit that we're constantly growing, we're constantly correcting mistakes by your grace. We thank you for your Holy Spirit that you've given us to empower us to walk more faithfully. And Lord, I just pray for your people today that you would pierce their hearts. That you would help them love their neighbor as themselves, like you have called us to do. Help us to take your word seriously God and not leave here today unchanged. But that your word Lord would be planted deeply in their hearts. That they would not only be hearers of the word, but that they would be doers of the word. That it would change their behavior. It would change their lives. And that this world would be changed for your glory. Yeshua's name, amen.

You gave your life for mine. Nailed to the cross, crucified for all my sin and shame. It was washed by your mercy. You are the treasure I find. My reason for living, so let me become an offering to the one who is worthy. All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua Messiah, my King of Heaven, my King forever. You stormed the gates of my heart. The veil in between was torn apart. Now, you hold the keys to the grave. 'Cause you bring things to life. You rolled the stone away.

All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua Messiah, my King of Heaven, my King forever.

We lift you up. I lift my hands up, I lay my whole life down. My whole life down before you. I lift my hands up, I lay my whole life down. My life now is for you. I lift my hands up, I lay my life down before you. I lift my hands up, I lay my whole life down. My life now.

All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua Messiah, my King of Heaven, my King forever. All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua my King of men. My King forever. All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua my King of Heaven, my King forever. Oh, my King forever. Yeah, we lift our lives to you. Oh.

And I lift my hands up, I lay my whole life down. My whole life down before you. I lift my hands up, I lay my whole life down. My whole life now.

All praise. All praise to the Lord Most High. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Yeshua Messiah, our King of Heaven, my King forever. Hallelujah.

Final Blessing

Oh, Father, we thank you. We thank you for the praise of your people. We thank you that you are sovereign over each of our lives. Father, you have set before us the good way, the right way, and you desire that we would follow it. We thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are the one who leads us into all truth, and that you guide us as we walk along the path. We look to you for that. And we bless you for it. In Yeshua's name.

Sing the Shema with me. Shema Israel, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. Baruch shem k'vod malchuto l'olam va'ed.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one, and blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity. Now, may the Lord also cause you to increase and to overflow in love for one another and for all people in order to strengthen your hearts as blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all of His holy ones. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you His peace, His shalom, in the name of our Sar Shalom, our Prince of Peace, Yeshua Hamashiach, we pray. Amen and amen. Shabbat Shalom, family.