To the parents

I want to thank the parents for what you do. Sometimes they receive a lot of criticism, but many real parents who want to do good sacrifice a lot for their children and I want to congratulate them, thank them, I know that as a woman I wouldn't be half of what I am if it weren't for I had a father who, even today, who is 85 years old, invests in my life, so I am very grateful for the gift of fatherhood.

And I know that as women we have a great responsibility, to support fatherhood of our husbands or the father of our children. There are many cases in which mom and dad are no longer together, but even there we have a role as women to facilitate paternity, because we understand, we as immigrant people often separate parents and children, parents are in a country, you are here, there has been a divorce, there have been other situations that have separated you from your children, but that does not justify the fact that there has been a break or a distance between you and your children.

Even so, you can continue to be a father to those children. So it is very important that you do not allow anything to restrict you, that the gift of paternity flourish, nothing, not physical separation, not anything. In our society through the last few years, there has been a current of criticism towards the father, and towards man in general, that man should no longer occupy the place of honor that the word of God says he should occupy, and we have gone from a place of traditional values to think that we can do without paternity and the presence of man, and that cannot be. I believe that at this time the pendulum is swinging again, coming closer to its place again. I see that many agencies are developing programs to help be a father.

And in fact there are many studies recently where the impact of a father on the lives of children is studied, as if we needed to invest thousands of dollars to discover that fathers are important, we know it, fathers are important, I recently read about a study that studied the impact of the father's rough play with the children, and discovered that this is a very important element that the father provides to his children, by playing rough with his sons like this, you knew that the girls when the father of their sons, he takes him by the feet, turns him upside down, turns him over and throws him in the air that we have to look the other way because it scares us, well those things are important, that's generally what dads do, and it's important, she said the study for both boys and girls, I thought that these games were only liked by boys, they are essential for the development of girls, because what they do is that they arouse certain relationships of fear that have You need to confront a child being thrown into the air and reinforce that they are going to fall into safe arms, someone who is there to protect and care for them.

So someone spent thousands of dollars to find out what we already knew, which is common sense stuff. So don't let dad, let nothing restrict you from your role as a father, make an effort, I know that many men, it is difficult to reconnect with their children when there has been a distance, for women it is easier because we have more developed language, and certain qualities that we have, but for a man when he feels that there is distance, especially with the mother of his children, it is difficult to return to the children, and that is where we have an important role, we cannot prevent a good father, obviously, that he has something good to provide our children, we cannot block the path that reaches our children, I know that sometimes for many women it is an unacceptable message, because when we have problems with the father then by extension we sometimes use our children to vent our emotions, and we should not do that, our husbands continue to be part of our children's lives, because there will come a day when crying and pain will come, because their father has not been pa part of his life.

So as women we can fulfill that role of bringing them closer to our children. In this generation we talk about the generation without a father, in English we talk about the fatherless generation, the generation without parents, in the United States, 43% of children do not live with their parents, they are totally absent parents, and that % is even higher among the African-American people and the Hispanic people, so it is possible that half of the Hispanic children still do not live with their parents, and still do not have periodic contact with their parents, so we the church have to change that trend , and find a way for those parents to be able to unite with the hearts of their children, and those children can be united with the hearts of their parents, and that is what God has in his heart for it to be.

Recently they did an interview with President Obama, these days, about three or four days ago, they talked about three or four topics, but in particular the topic of paternity because today is Father's Day, and he received questions from the audience, there was a little boy in the audience who asked him, President Obama, are you going to miss your father? His father has already died, are you going to miss your father? I never had a relationship with him, I am going to miss my grandfather, my mother and my grandmother, but not my father, and that is the experience of many children, of many people, they cannot miss a father who does not they had, so be the bearer of this message as a man, make sure that those around you, men who are under your influence, are also responsible with their children, not only in maintenance, in giving them money for their expenses, but in maintaining their hearts, their emotions, being a spiritual father to them, because As a father, you are a physical father and a spiritual father for your children, you have a responsibility and a great calling, and know that the concept that your children will have of the heavenly father will be based in a great way on the type of father you are. .

So we can do many things, exercise parenthood with great responsibility, so that we are not part of this generation without a father, but quite the opposite, so that they rise up as parents, if you don't have children around you, there are many children. that they need a father, someone commented the other day, he is the head of a Christian organization, that he grew up without a father, his father left home very young, and he became attached to a man who had a little store near his house, that man while educating him on how to work in his store, because he gave this young man a job, at the same time he was like a substitute father for this young man, so if you look, your nephews, your grandchildren, your neighbors, there will be someone, there is going to be a child who needs a father, and if you are still young and you are not a father yet, you are not married, grow up thinking that one day you are going to be a father, the work begins now since you are a child, do not start to make mistakes and then have to repent, He begins to prepare you early on to be a man of integrity, and a man of integrity the best gift he gives his children is to honor his wife, honor the mother of those children.

They are not two separate roles, here I am a husband, there I am a father, a true man of integrity must first give him the security of a stable home, honoring the mother of those children, so there are many different aspects and facets of fatherhood, and today I want us to read together Psalm 1, a very well-known psalm, the first psalm of the hundred and fifty that are recorded, the psalm of David possibly, so since they are going to be seated once more we read the psalm together, like this We wait for others, there are only six verses, everyone is ready, right? okay. "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of evil, nor has he been in the way of sinners, nor has he sat in the chair of mockers, for his delight is in the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night, and as a tree planted next to streams of water, which bears its fruit at its proper time, and its leaf does not fall, and everything he does will prosper, but not the wicked, who are like the chaff that the wind sweeps away, therefore the wicked will not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the just, for the LORD knows the way of the just, but the path of the wicked shall perish." Father, at this moment we unite to ask that the message of this psalm sink deeply into each person who presents himself, Lord, particularly men here, of parents, Lord, of whatever role each one has, and that this message goes directly to the heart, thank you Father in the name of Jesus, amen, you may sit down.

This psalm reveals to us in a very poetic way, in the psalms symbolism is used a lot, poetry, this psalm tells us what a blessed person is, although the condition of being blessed is a gift from God, it has to be supported by two actions, the first is to disassociate ourselves from sin, that is, to separate ourselves from sin, the second action is to associate with God, to draw closer to God, in fact this morning, as God always unites all things in such a creative way, most of the choirs that we sang this morning referred precisely to that, to the search for purity, to separate ourselves from evil, from sin, and to get closer to the Lord.

Verse 1 that we just read, very clearly says that as a child of God you cannot walk in the counsel of the wicked, you cannot stand in the path of sinners, and you cannot sit in the seat of mockers, and then we go Let's see what the mocker is, it's not a word that you or I use with any frequency, right? In other words, the blessed man, the son of God, has to reject all company that is not the son of God. It is very easy to fall into sin, it is very easy to slip into sin, it is a process that often goes little by little, very subtly, and in the last year we have seen many public examples of this, and sometimes one wonders but what the person was thinking, and I know that just by saying that you already think about the news you have heard, we have heard of a man who was having extramarital relations while his wife suffered from cancer, we heard of a woman who used a lot of money from the town obviously illegally, to afford luxuries.

We heard perhaps the most recent one from a man who was sending sexually content text messages to women on his political contact list, so you wonder what that person was thinking, how did it come to that, especially having him everything, being in a privileged position, what makes a person leave apparently want to leave everything and expose themselves to evil in that way, and obviously what happens, everything is affected, those people affected, some are in jail, some affected their marriages, put their relationship with their children at risk, society, their reputation has fallen to the ground, but why, why were these people, what were each of them thinking, and I know it's easy to be in a position that one criticizes what one sees, but you know what, it is by the mercy of God that you and I are not there.

That is why I did not even mention the names of these people, because it is very easy to point the finger, and throw the stone, but what does the Lord tell us, that the one who is free from sin throws the first stone, all of us in one way or another We have some area of weakness, we have a tendency to some area of sin, and so we have to have mercy with those who fall, so that when we accuse we also fall, right? That is a warning that the word gives us. So we have, to avoid falling into these things we have to be vigilant, we have to discern good and evil in everything, even the things that we see as private, as they are my affairs, even then one has to discern if this is from God or it is not from God, if God calls it good or bad, we have to always examine our hearts and see how the word says if there is a path of perversity in it, this is a daily task, we have to examine our hearts.

Our morality has become very lax, it has stretched, and many times even Christians call good what God has said is bad, we have to be careful, and you as a man have to be different, single, you have to be different, as a married man, as a father, as a worker, you cannot adhere to the principles of the values of this century, you have to be different, you have to shine for the Lord, do not allow the influence of the world, of the wrong advice that it may be surrounding, or your own carnality, sometimes that can make us fall and we have to be very vigilant, and we have to yearn, have a passion for purity, for a strong desire in our hearts to please the heart of the Father.

A scorner is someone who lacks the wisdom of God. If he has any common sense, it is a very mundane common sense, he has no precepts by the law of God, and lives according to his own law, and also his delight is to mock what is good and pure. Many of us know people like this, who make fun of the limits that the word of God sets, because they think that their limits, their freedom, is to resist what the word of God says, that is a mockery, a man like that cannot be blessed, because he has chosen the wrong path, and we know that there are only two paths, the psalm tells us clearly, the path of the just, or the path of the wicked. And many times we, you men, we women, even children, find ourselves at a crossroads, those moments when we don't know what to do.

Do you remember the video, that the little boy said there will be times when he has doubts about what to do, but there he will remember what his father taught him at times when the father had to show integrity before his son. So we're going to have those crossroads moments, and you're going to have to choose. The devil is going to want to deceive you and he is going to want you to believe that you can have one foot in the path of the bad and one foot in the path of the righteous, but it is not possible, both feet have to be on the path, because if you are one foot in the path of the bad, it means that you are already there, you are already corrupted by the values of this century, and in those moments when we present ourselves at those crossroads of what to do, what is the right thing to do, not necessarily what I want to do, because sometimes there are difficult decisions that imply a cost, a price involved, but still, we have to ask God what You want me to do.

And we have to be obedient, there is no other alternative, it is in those moments that we have to try and verify that our desire to get closer to God and accept his mercy is stronger than to taste what the world offers you on a tray of silver, many times they look so easy, the devil offers them to us like this on a silver platter, but may God help us to discern, discerning means understanding the good and understanding the bad, may God help you man, father, husband, to discern what is good and what is bad. And the blessed man has a totally different way of thinking than the scoffer, and that is what we are going to see now. Blessed means blessed, happy, that's what it means, so the psalm says it's talking about the blessed man, the blessed man, the happy man.

This man has joy and gratitude in his heart, because he recognizes that the gratitude he has in all areas of his life does not come from his own effort but rather from the hand of God, that is the first thing that identifies him, he cannot live How I used to live, when one walks in the ways of the Lord, many times even the small things that one did before, which perhaps were not big sins, were small sins, although there is no such thing, sin is a sin, right?, but perhaps things that were lawful for us to do at one time, but as we walk with the Lord, the light of his Spirit shines within our spirit and we begin to recognize that there are things that no longer please God. And it is a desire for purity. I remember that a few years ago in January, God continually spoke to me about purity, and how I, as his daughter, had to purify all areas of my life, even those that seemed innocent, because he was demanding something different from me. A saint is a person set apart to serve God, and that is what we are talking about, that you can discern what is no longer appropriate, and make changes, transform yourself to live in a different way, not as you lived before but as God it demands that you live today, that is obedience, when we make those changes, even when it hurts, we have to leave things that were pleasant to us before and that caused us delight. It is not an easy process, but it is a process with great rewards from God.

And the blessed man lives confidently because he knows that God's blessing is not something emotional that is based on something capricious, no, it is something that is there with you, that is going to persecute you, because you are looking for it and wanting it, in the word of God there are many examples, we can think of Abraham, King David, we can think of the apostle Peter, among many others, who were men who had human weaknesses, like you and I have, but despite those weaknesses they managed to agree with God, they were blessed men, because even within the weakness that they had, even within their errors, some serious, when you think about the case of Abraham, lying was one of his weaknesses, following the recommendation of his wife and approach his servant and have a child, instead of waiting for God's promise.

In the case of Peter, it is lying, saying that he did not know the man in his Lord's moment of greatest need, that is, we are in good company, is what I mean, you as a man are in good company, the word of God is very transparent, he projects us men in three dimensions, the good they did, how holy they were, and also their weaknesses. So you recognize that God's blessing is there on your life, you are blessed, even in the midst of your struggles, salvation and God's blessing is not something that comes and goes, comes and goes, no, when We have made a pact with the Lord, we are waiting for his promises, and in that path of waiting for the promises the Lord cleanses us, a blessed man knows that.

Verse 2 informs us about the identity and character of the blessed man, and tells us that the righteous spend their time in a certain way. It says in that verse that the just meditates and reads the law of Jehovah day and night. The righteous meditate and delight in the law of Jehovah day and night. Because the just man is identified by the association he has with the law of God. That is his primordial identity, he is associated, he wants to separate himself from sin, he has separated himself from sin, and he is associating with his own, he is getting closer to God. And that verse does not mean, well, he is meditating on the law of Jehovah day and night, what does that mean, I have to lock myself in a room, read the word of God, think about the word of God day and night. night?, obviously no one can do that right?.

But what that means is that the word of God is going to permeate all areas of our life, it is going to be present, it is going to help us make decisions, it is going to help us at the crossroads that we talked about before, that is the purpose. , and it is by meditating, by having the presence in our mind, when difficult situations come in which we have to do the right thing, the word of God will tell us how we have to act, that is what that verse refers to when it speaks about meditating, and delighting in the law of Jehovah day and night. You learn with the passage of time, the law of God becomes like a lens, through which you look at all the situations and all the circumstances of life, and you decide what to do, go this way or the other , and that is what it is about, keeping it so present in the mind, in the heart, in the spirit, that with the passage of time it becomes easier for us to do the right thing.

I have had the privilege of witnessing the journey of many people in our congregation, who arrived here with rebelliousness in their hearts, mocking many things of the Lord, sometimes not even wanting to actively serve Him, and I have seen how when those people have entered the waters of the Lord, how they have been transformed in their lives, and today their lives, even their faces are totally different, and sometimes one looks at some people and says but what happened to these people, sometimes one sees a weight, a scab, to use a strong word, a scab that has fallen off, and that person is totally projecting and reflecting the grace of God, that is what happens when a person meditates and delights in the law of Jehovah day and night. night, is a precious process in which we must all be every day of our lives until the last breath.

Psalm verse 2 talks about delight, obviously when one delights in something it is something that gives you pleasure, it gives you pleasure, it is something that is first in your mind, it has priority in your mind, that is what a delight is, and I ask this day, you as a man, you as the head of your home, as a single man, as a father, what is your delight in, where do you delight yourself, the one who delights in the law of Jehovah is not only a hearer of Jehovah but a doer, and not many times because he wants to, because he wants to, but because he wants to be obedient, and wants to bring joy and delight to the heart of the heavenly father, when our son is solicitous, he is respectful, he gives us a place of honor It is true that this softens our hearts in a special way, that is how the Father is, when we delight in Him, when He is first in our life, when we want to bring joy to His heart, that is the reason for our existence, the The reason for our existence is to bring glory and honor to the Father, it is delight hope that His heart delights for us. I believe that there is no greater joy that a child of God can have than knowing that God delights in you, that your heavenly Father delights in you, in your work, your attitudes, how you treat others, how you you draw near to Him and want to be one with Him.

What do you meditate on? Because it speaks the word that you have to meditate day and night. What do you spend your time on? What occupies your mental space. That's a great question. What do you think about? The answer to that question often tells us where our hearts are with respect to God, the time, the effort, the thoughts that we dedicate to certain things, some of them recognizing that they do not please God, and it is Hence we have to make changes, even with our own mind, ask God to enter there and heal. A little while ago we sang that He is here to free, to heal, that is possible, it is possible to live free of mind, free of heart, to adore Him, to serve Him with all our hearts, it is possible.

God always wants to clean the hearts of his children, and the minds of his children, He wants to unmask lies that we have believed since childhood. He wants to do those works, He wants us to continue growing, to have full integrity in all areas of our lives. Man often believes certain lies, and I, analyze yourself to see if one of these is yours. You have heard yourself say or think, in my house what I say is done. It looks like it is. My wife and my children have to settle for me working hard for them and they shouldn't demand anything more from me. The house, the kitchen and the children are women's things. It is good that my children are afraid of me, so they will behave well even if I am not present. It is not good for a man to be affectionate, you have to establish distance with your wife and children.

Even when I am married I can live as a bachelor. And the last one. As a man it goes without saying that I can give myself certain liberties, that's what my father and uncles did. Are there any of those lies that you have believed? Because even though they are things that are on your mind and seem very subtle, they will have an impact on how you behave. Many times we hide our sins behind the false screen of culture. It is that this is my culture, that is how they taught me, that is where I come from, it is that in my country things are done that way. And God requires something more. God, God's world is so much bigger than the small world of your culture, which you have become affiliated with, we have to start making changes even in those things, and I tell men that there is nothing sexier in a man to see him in the kitchen cooking. So to a good understanding, few words are enough.

Those changes of leaving our culture, of leaving certain things, do not happen overnight, we know that, right? But if our purpose is to please God, then when that crossroads presents itself to us, we will be able to abandon all those drags of culture, how they raised me, even our own wounds, and begin to grow in the Lord. I have seen the transformation of many men that even their whole way of thinking, acting, treating their wife, their children, has changed, that is possible. Do not let what is in your past, what you have learned determine how you are going to behave in the present and in the future, we can go further and always want to please God.

The psalmist declares that the bad man is like chaff, chaff is another word that we do not use today, chaff is the equivalent of chaff, it is like when grain is wheated, a chaff remains, and it says here that man bad is like tamo, like straw, worthless, that is taken away by the wind. In other words, it has absolutely no value, it is useless, the chaff is useless, and it says that the bad man is like that. But nevertheless, he uses another precious image to declare the opposite, he says that the just man is like a tree, verse 3 says that he is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season and its leaf does not fall, and all you do will prosper. Trees are wonderful organisms, we need them to live in fact. A tree is responsible for oxygenating and purifying the air, providing housing for wild animals, primary building material, providing food, preventing soil erosion, providing shade, and producing visual delight due to its beauty. I am a nature lover, my husband and I, and that is what we, instead of going to cities, what we really want to do is go and be in nature, and how beautiful a tree is, planted like this next to the streams of water, and that it offers its shade, and that it is pleasing to the eye, and that if it offers its fruit better.

So that precious image, we are not surprised that God, as the creative God that He is, to say that the just man is like that, is like a tree planted next to the streams of water. And the Psalm says that it is a planted tree, it is not a wild tree, it is not a tree that happened by accident, a little seed that the wind flew and fell where it seemed to fall, it is not like that, this is a planted tree, there was God's intention to plant this tree next to streams of water. God Himself is in charge of providing the water, the necessary spiritual irrigation so that you, like this tree, do not dry out or wither, God is responsible, John 7:38 that whoever believes in Me, from within will flow rivers of living water, so you, as a blessed one who is planted next to the streams of water, you know that the Spirit of God runs within you, that you will not lack water, that even when you are in a desert, from a great drought even so you know that you will not lack water because those rivers are already running inside you.

And besides being a tree planted intentionally, this is a tree that bears fruit, says the Psalm, and the tree is known by its fruit, if you are walking and you see that a tree has apples, you already know that it is a tree of apples. apples, or if it has pears, or if it has mango, which perhaps is something more pleasant to all of us, since it is a mango tree, you know that the tree is known by its fruit, and likewise we are by our fruit what is known We are the type of tree, by our actions, by our words, by our attitudes, we will bear fruit that will define our character, because we all have fruit, whether it is good, bad, healthy or sick, all of us we have a character, and there is nothing hidden under the sun, the state of your tree in the long run or in the short run will be known.

When we went in summer, we saw a tree that seemed quite healthy on the outside, the bark looked beautiful, it had a good amount of leaves, and at the moment the tree fell, the roof of a house was also destroyed, and I said to myself how is it It is possible that a tree that has roots, that is so big, how is it going to fall, when we approached the tree we realized that it was hollow inside, its substance was not there, it had eaten the center of the tree and that is why it fell and caused destruction. That is why sometimes when the comegen comes we can allow it to become the owner of our tree and that tree falls, causes destruction, whenever a tree falls something is destroyed, something that is in its path is going to be destroyed unless we be an isolated tree but generally the trees are together.

There is always something that destroys when the tree falls, so nothing is hidden, it always comes to light, we have to be there, that is why we spoke before about good and bad, we have to discern so that does not happen to us. We have to see where we are planted, if there is good irrigation, if the nutrients that our roots absorb are good, if our fruit is going to be palatable or unappetizing, and what do you want, do you want palatable fruit, right? to you, and in fact the word of God is very clear saying that first by their fruits you will know them, that is clear, and also that the branches of those trees that do not bear fruit, says that they will be removed, removed, destroyed, So the same thing if you plant in your patio for the summer, you are planting some tomato plants, what are you waiting for, that it bears fruit, right?, that it gives you tomatoes, and what happens if July arrives and the plant has not produced tomatoes , or they are green, ugly, they are not edible, how are you going to feel, disappointed right?

Likewise, God feels disappointed with us, and demands, for us to prove that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, the word of God says that we are required to bear fruit, there is no other alternative, if you are a tree planted next to the streams of the waters, as a blessed man of God, you have to bear fruit, that is not negotiable. And this tree is also a tree whose leaf does not fall. Have you ever seen a dry, ugly tree, and say oh how beautiful that tree is, I'm going to sit down and put a blanket on, I'm going to have a picnic under the tree, no, quite the contrary, you are not interested in getting closer to that tree but we all feel good with a prosperous tree, with very deep roots, with large branches, with green leaves, a beautiful tree that gives shade, to that tree we all feel attracted.

In fact, when Roberto and I had our first apartment in Cambridge, in front of the window where Roberto sat to pray at dawn, there was a very beautiful tree there, it was a beautiful tree, with very beautiful branches, when the snow fell it looked beautiful, The tree was spectacular, and sometimes the blue jays came, those blue birds, they came and nested there, there were little eggs in the nests, it was a beautiful tree, we were in love with that tree, but one day we got home from work and to our surprise they had cut down the tree, and we stayed, we didn't know what to say, simply when we asked, what happened, why did they cut down the tree that was beautiful, the man who gave maintenance said the owner said that we should remove it, because he wanted the tree to be more visible center, there where the grass was and that, so that tree was attractive to us because it was very beautiful, it ministered to certain needs, there was privacy in the room where the window was because the tree was there protecting. So a tree has a purpose and when that tree is not there, it is missed. And in this case it was a tree that provided for many of our needs.

Because we all like to take refuge in that tree, a tree that has these qualities. From such a tree we take shelter from the cold and the rain. The word of God says that a righteous man is a tree of life, that is, you as a child of God, as a blessed man, you are a tree of life, and if you have a word, you feed on the word, you are a tree of life, you will be able to give life to others equally. You are that tree that everything you do will prosper, follow the verse later, everything you do will prosper, and it seems to me that the Lord is emphasizing the word everything, and what is everything, that is, everything that the blessed man does will prosper And that means everything, including your marriage, your parenting, your job, the way you support your home, your ministry, everything.

A blessed man who is like this tree, everything he does will prosper, God has a very big vision about your life, God is not a limited God who sees you, he is satisfied with what you are now, God wants you to grow, He has a beautiful vision for each of you as a man of God, as a single man, as a married man, as a father, in all areas of your life God has a very beautiful vision, and there is an illustration that I want to share with you that I read a few years ago. little, is that an African-American man who lived, was, this was a long time ago, he was the son of slaves, he lived in a cotton crop, and one day God put in his heart as a believing man, he put in his heart the desire to get out of that place and look for a place and a better future for him, and do you know what he did? He looked for two very large containers, and everything he was earning, he deposited in those containers, and one on one side of the bed, the other to the other, and put a sign on it that said, what my eyes still do not see.

That this is based on Hebrews 11:1 which says, faith is the certainty of what is expected, the conviction of what is not seen. And there he placed the money until one day the two containers were full, after a while he emigrated to the north of the United States, found a suitable wife, and had six children. And every time one of his children was born, he would buy three frames, one of those frames that one uses to put photos in stores, well he would buy three frames, and thus, empty without putting anything, he would place them on the wall, and they would fill up. as their children were graduating from college, high school and college, so it looked like a very interesting wall, all those full frames and empty frames.

The same is God for you, in heaven God can have many frameworks for you, so that you fill them as you get closer to the upright and blessed man that He wants you to be, and I imagine that as a man you feel like at times incompetent, powerless to do certain things, frustrated in some areas, even in the area of fatherhood for example as a husband, but stay there, you know, the same Lord who sustains that tree planted next to the streams of water, He will sustain you, you do not have to be afraid, He will do the work, if you are in the hands of the Lord He will do the work, and to conclude I want to read about you, about you Lion of Judah congregation , Psalm 92, some verses from Psalm 92, that Psalm says like this.

It says that the just will flourish like the palm tree, will grow like the cedar in Lebanon, planted in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of our God they will flourish, and look how beautiful he says this, even in old age they will flourish, they will be vigorous and green , to announce that Jehovah, even in the strength is straight. That is God's promise for your life, and if you can put the image of the tree in God's hands. Just like that image that you see there, your life, your tree is in the hands of your heavenly Father. In Him you are safe, in Him you are going to have that continuous water, which goes like rivers that will run inside your interior. So you don't have to be afraid, take the risks that God has called you to take, establish integrity in all areas of your life, in the hidden and in the public, and be as the Psalm says, that blessed and full man, who blesses because it is planted next to the streams of water, because it bears fruit, and because its leaf does not fall, and because everything it does will prosper, may God allow that to be the man that more and more you are transforming into him.

When the frustrations of life come, when you think I can't, this is very difficult, I don't know what to do, when you are at the crossroads, remember what God says about you, so that it encourages you and recharges your battery. , and bring you closer to keep looking for more of God. We are going to pray for a moment and then we are going to have a song to honor the parents on this day, Lord, thank you for your word, thank you for the precious images, thank you because your word is so clear in guiding our way, father, I present to you the parents of our congregation, thank you Lord for your ministry, now Lord I bless you in all facets of your life, wherever you are Lord, in all your struggles, in your weaknesses, Father at this moment I want you to minister your spirit , the purifying water of your Spirit in their hands, Father that they know that they are well planted, that in you they should not have fear, that You have given them purpose and permanence in the kingdom Lord, for the sacrifice that You made in the cross.

Lord, may Your purity become greater and greater, may the desire to be pure dominate them, and may it help them to establish correct priorities. Lord, let Your word establish positions. Lord, when you leave here, take them well, take them with the word they have heard, and determined, Lord, to delight themselves more and more in you, Lord, may You be their delight, Lord, may their delight be to delight their hearts, Lord, Lord, may that be the people that You are forming in this corner of Boston Lord, an obedient people, who delight in doing Your will Lord, thank you Lord, thank you for this town, take them well to enjoy as a family, to spend the rest of the day Lord , and guide each day of their lives Lord, as You sustain that tree Lord You sustain the life of each one of them Lord. Thank you Lord, for your word, for your presence in this place, in our lives, thank you, oh God, amen, in the name of Jesus. Amen.