In The Worst of Times, The Christians Stayed; Philippians 1:1-11

 

Rev. George Miller

May 10, 2026

Philippians 1:1-11

 

Last week we were with Paul, all alone, in Athens.  Now it’s about 10 years later.  Paul has done a lot, seen a lot.  His actions and beliefs have landed him in Rome, under arrest.

 

He is a person with a lot of time to reflect, think things over and see clearly from a lens wide enough to observe his past, present, and future. 

 

With sage wisdom he writes to a group of believers in Philippi who have had his back, sent him a sweet-smelling gift, and embodied what it means to be the hands, feet, heart, and mind of Christ.

 

Paul gives thanks to God for their legacy and prayers, offering blessings of joy and good tiding, asking that the Lord allows their love to overflow with insight and intelligence.

 

Though Paul has had his freedom taken away by the Romans, he celebrates how the Philippians are growing in what is right and what is good, what really matters and what is truly true.

 

While others could be bitter, or ruled by regret, Paul is living his days focused on all things made possible through Jesus Christ for the glory of God and God’s kingdom.

 

Paul is aware of his own mortality, but the joy of  Resurrection fills his being- Christ is alive!   

 

Paul is part of something exciting and new.  A movement of people going out into the world doing what they believed Jesus to do. 

 

This is a mixed group of long- time disciples and fresh faces who exist during a time of unrest.  They’re doing something that hasn’t been done before in the city of Phillippi- being CHURCH.

 

At a time when others worship the Roman Emperor as a god, pray to Zeus, or seek python spirits, Paul is part of a people united in Christ.

 

These women and men are gathering in small groups and private homes.  They’re having potlucks, reading Paul’s letters, saying prayers, recalling the work of Christ-

 

The one who told them to care for the least of these.  The one who said “When you welcome a stranger, feed the hungry, or visit the sick, you are doing it for me.”

 

This group of folk, who before knowing Christ were just doing their own thing.  Peter, a fisherman. Nathaniel, sitting under a tree.  Lydia by the water.

 

What it must have been like to be alive between the middle 30’s and 50’s,  when others are worshipping Zeus or think that snakes are a path to righteousness.

 

Along comes these working-class women and men, some of them with their hands dyed the color purple, others smelling like fishing boats,  inviting you to come to their home to have a meal in which you can learn about some guy named Jesus who was born illegitimately, never got married, was seen with street urchins, spent a lot of his time around the sick with no face mask, touching folk with skin lesions, and  rubbing mud in their eyes.

 

These first followers of Christ, told how Jesus was arrested, executed, and rose from the grave- how in the world did they believe such a tale?  How did something like “The Church” take off?

 

And yet, thanks to people like Paul and Lydia, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the tenacity of God, that is exactly what happened.

 

This group of eclectic, hard-working, faithful men and women become the ones in their cities who were known for offering food and supplying fresh water.

 

The early Christians, with no guidebooks,  Zoom calls, or bylaws, found a way to do the ministry of Christ.   

 

At a time in which Rome’s emperor kept saying “Me, Me, Me” these early Christians said “Sister” and “Brother.”

 

At a time in which citizens were always under the threat of attack, the followers of Christ offered comfort in the Kingdom of God.

 

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day and the women in our lives who have made a difference.  It is also Nurses Week, and on the 12^th it’s International Nurses Day.  Mindful of this special time to honor Moms and nurses, role models and care givers, hear this story: 

 

In the year 249, a pandemic hit the Roman Empire, taking millions of lives.  There was fever, vomiting, folk dying in the street.  Known as the Plague of Cyprian, 5,000 people a day died.  It was so intense, so nasty, that the “who’s who” of the city fled. 

 

The priests of Zeus and the worshippers of snakes were too afraid to stay.  All those who claimed their Emperor was divine or had a shrine to Serapis  took the next Uber and Amtrack out of town.

 

It was the earliest followers of Christ who stayed behind.  It was the Christians who bravely remained in the cities, cared for those in the alleys, and went into homes of the unwell. 

 

During the 13 years the Plague lasted, these followers of Christ did not care if you were of the same faith, skin tone, or caste-system, they nursed people back to health, or, like a compassionate mother, stayed with them even if it seemed hopeless.

 

The Christians were there, and they were the ones to bury the dead, even when families refused to be around their own son or daughter.

 

Being a Christian truly meant to be the hands and feet of Christ, in which gifts of nursing, offering food, water, and presence saved folks lives. 

 

People took notice. 

“Hey- the priests who followed Zeus and Serapis all left us behind.”

“Those who claimed the Emperor was All-Powerful fled as if on fire, but the followers of Christ stayed, held my hand, and knew my name.”

 

Those who survived associated the care they received with what it means to be a Christian.  Instead of fear and abandonment, the Christians demonstrated faith and presence. 

 

Their witness was not doctrine or dogma, who was in and who was out, but presence, care, comfort, which all became a compelling reason why a life in Christ mattered.

 

Today we live in uncertain times.  It has seemed like a decade of delirious days in which we don’t know what’s next- more masks, return to monarchy, the third world war.

 

And yet here we are, as a church, as the Body Of Christ, honoring our legacies and always discerning where we are next being called to be. 

 

I don’t know about you, but I find this to be exciting and affirming.  Paul would say that he is confident that our good works will continue, that we are partners in grace and witness.

 

Mother and Fathers, Nurses and Doctors, Sisters and Brothers in Christ- we are so blessed to be recipients of Paul’s faith, with our sights set on Christ.

 

Just as the earliest Christians were able to figure it out, so will we.  Just as those in Rome were able to minister even during difficult times, so will we.

 

For we are children of the Living God, the one who knowns us by name and does not let anyone go astray. 

Amen and amen.

To Belong; Sermon on Acts 17:16-29

 

Rev. George Miller

May 3, 2026

Acts 17:16-29

 

Since called to serve St. Lucas, one thing that’s apparent is how many people have deep established roots here at the church and county.

 

It’s beyond “where did you go to high school” and beyond “our road used to be an apple orchard,” it’s “my family has been part of this soil for multi-generations.”

 

It’s walking through the graveyard and driving across the city, seeing tombstones and street signs with the name of St. Lucas families.

 

Such knowledge requires great respect and understanding, an appreciation for legacy and roots.

 

Which means that it can be difficult for anyone to move here if they are from somewhere else.  It can take time to find your niche, your tribe, your spot.  But when you do, you sense yourself becoming part of the earth around you. 

 

Everyone wants to feel like they belong.  Throughout the St. Louis landscape are people who can say they have lived on this land since Martin Van Buren was President and before Texas became a state.

 

In the Book of Acts we are following how Paul and others are building their own tribe and finding their own niche founded on Jesus Christ.

 

Paul’s tribe began with Ananias, who called him “Brother,” expanded as he bonded with Barnabas, grew when he joined the disciples in Jerusalem, settled when he set sail with Silas and expanded when sat down with Lydia.

 

Paul became part of a community that included enterprising women in Thessalonica and burly bros in Bereo.

 

And then…it came to a screeching halt.  Due to a religious upraor, Paul’s life became endangered.  He’s separated from his traveling friends and sent to Athens, all alone.

 

There is no more tribe. No clique. No niche.  No cohorts, friends, or streets named after family.  No Silas, no Lydia’s House.  Just Paul, in a strange land, with strange customs and shrines everywhere devoted to deities who don’t even have names.

 

I wonder how many people have an idea of what Paul was feeling, alone in a place with folk you don’t really know?  No class reunion, no church, no one who recalls where the original Freddie’s Market was.

 

Paul is the lone follower of Christ in a city of folk who believe in Zeus or have no belief at all.  Not only is Paul alone, abandoned in Athens, he has not a single person to sing “Jesus Loves Me” with.  He has no one to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” or “Apostles’ Creed” with.

 

He has no one to break the bread and share the cup with.  Or eat donuts cut in half during Coffee Hour.  Paul is a single, solitary sparrow in a world of strange shrines and curious customs.

 

On the surface, today’s scripture sounds triumphant, but read between the lines to realize that it’s about a very real person going through aspects of what it means to be all alone.

 

That Paul did not lose his faith in God or lose sight of the Good News is amazing.  With nary a friendly, familiar face in sight, Paul just keeps on keepin’ on.

 

That’s what faith in Christ can do.

With no one by his side, Paul sets out to do what he can.  He speaks up.  He reaches out.  He finds his voice.

 

He talks so much that the locals label him “The Babbler” and eventually the people begin to listen; they become curious; they ask to hear more about the resurrection.

 

All those lonely days and long walks has paid off; Paul uses what he sees to share what he knows to be true.

With only Christ to confide in, he conjures up a conversation no one was prepared for-

 

“You see that shrine over there,” he says, “That shrine devoted to an unknown god?  Well let me tell you who that god is; and let me tell you what God has done!”

 

While standing amidst a throng of unfamiliar-faces, in a place where people put philosophy over faith, Paul tells them all about God-

 

God the creator, God unlimited, God who can take one ancestor and make a nation and secure a legacy.

 

We may wonder- is Paul actually preaching to himself?  At this time in which he has been abandoned by peers, shipped off, left on his own, in which he’s spent countless days by himself, could it be Paul’s preaching is to remind himself of who he is and what God is about?

 

Maybe today is a story in which Paul is reminding Paul who God is-

 

God is not restricted to to one spot, not stuck to one building, not limited by circumstances or geography or people who look or act as you.

 

God can take a single sparrow and create an abundance, a flock, a nation.

 

Paul tells them and tells himself that no matter what- GOD. IS. THERE.  Even if we are that one lost sheep.

 

Even if we have to make it through dark valleys and death’s shadows; God is there.

 

Even if we have to wait, wrestle, and walk it alone; God is there.

 

So when we discover that no matter what, God is there, we can live, and we can find belonging.

 

Guess what – after this experience Paul  finds some friends in Dionysus and Damris, and with this  new group of folks, a brand-new chapter begins.

 

Today’s scripture reminds us that the Christian story is about moving forward, co-creating and celebrating new communities.  Reaching out and finding out that there are others reaching back.

 

God is not limited to or found only in buildings, people and places that are familiar, God is found in the strange places, the new places, and the lonely places.  God can even be found within ourselves and the stories that we share. 

 

God is found in the communities we create and circles that we form, in which Christ is the center and the Holy Spirit moves through all.

   Amen and amen.

Facing Dragons; Acts 16:16-24

 

Rev. George Miller

April 26, 2026

Acts 16:16-24

 

Thursday was a bit of a fun day in England- the day they honor their patron saint, St. George.  It was a day to raise a pint to celebrate courage, faith, and facing evil.

 

The story of Saint George goes a little something like this:  Once upon a time in 303 there was a Roman soldier born a Christian.  As a soldier he had success, respect, and alignment with political power.

 

The emperor he served under was cruel, targeting Christians, arresting them, destroying their churches, burning their scriptures, and killing them if they didn’t renounce Christ.

 

Though a soldier with privilege and status, George refused to renounce his faith.  Some say he protested the emperor’s directives in public; others say he declared himself a Christian in court. 

 

His actions cost him- arrest, torture, death.  Torture was meant to break him, but he held on, kept strong and refused to deny Christ.

 

His story was told again and again, somehow growing to include a dragon and a princess. It was said that one day there was a dragon who poisoned the land and controlled access to fresh water.

 

The people offered the dragon sacrifices- sheep; their children.  Eventually the King’s daughter.

 

George confronts the dragon, makes a sign of the Cross, attacks, destroys, and frees the town.  15,000 people are baptized and a church is built in honor of George and Jesus.

 

Regardless of what was fact and what was poetic truth, St. George is remembered for facing evil and oppression with courage, morality, and Christian love.

 

He became the patron Saint of Georgia, Ethiopia, Portugal.  During the Crusades, soldiers heard stories of his courage.  By 1348 Kind Edward elevated his role, by 1415 King Henry declared St. George’s Day a Feast Day.

 

Now, in 2026, St. George’s day is a celebration with people wearing red roses, flags popping up on pubs and t-shirts, folk gathering to raise a pint, eat fish and chips, laugh and celebrate English pride.

 

St. George faced evil head on and said “Nope.”

 

This story ties so sweetly into today’s scripture.  Paul is in Philippi on one of his many adventures. Earlier in the week he went down to the river and joined some people in prayer. 

 

There by the gentle waters that curved through the landscape, like River Avon in England, Paul met a group of women.  He got to know an entrepreneur named Lydia.  She opened her heart to the Gospel and had her household baptized.

 

Now, Paul and Silas are on their way for more prayer when a woman who is enslaved starts to really annoy them.

 

She is possessed by a spirit of divination, basically trapped by an evil spirit.  Her owners use her as entertainment to make much, much money, pimping out her talents.

 

Every time this woman, possessed and enslaved, sees Paul and Silas, she follows them, she shouts out, she makes them all a spectacle.

 

Day after day this happens until finally, finalmente, Paul can not take any more and says “In the name of Jesus get out of her!”

 

Her possessor leaves, the woman is free of the demon…yet still enslaved to the men and their mighty dollar.

 

What’s interesting is this- the NRSVU edition says she had a “spirit of divination” BUT that’s not what the original story says.

 

In the Greek, it is said that she is possessed by “pneuma pythona”, which means a python spirit.

 

In the story of St. George the princess faces a dragon; in Acts, the woman has a dragon dwell within her.

 

For those hearing this with 1^st Century ears, they would know that it was said that a python guarded the city, Apollo killed it, created a temple where the priestess would go into trances and speak oracles.

 

In that city and culture, a slave girl who spoke with a python spirit was seen as a marketable business.

 

So here we have this issue.  Paul is where they consider this behavior appropriate; he sees it as abusive, morally reprehensible and unholy.

 

When he casts the money-making dragon out of the woman, her masters can no longer make a profit.  So they respond with violence; they respond with threats of legality.

 

Paul and Silas are dragged to the city officials.  The owners accuse them, the crowds are blood thirsty, the authorities have them stripped, beaten, thrown into prison with their feet fastened in stocks.

 

And yet, somehow, someway, like St. George, they hold onto their faith and belief in Christ, and eventually they are freed, make their way back to Lydia’s house and more people become baptized.

 

What a complex amazing story.  I wish we got to know more about the woman.  Just like her owners, the narrator loses interest in her once the dragon is slayed.

 

But wouldn’t you love to know the rest of her story- how this affected her, what she did after? Did her life become better or worse once she was no longer used as profit?

 

That is for our imagination to dance with and wonder.

 

But for today, let us leave with a thought.  The story of St. George and the woman with the python spirit can be for us a metaphor.  A metaphor for how we live, how we act, when faced with dragons.

 

Think about it- there are dragons everywhere; dragons of all kinds.

 

As believers in Christ, how can we deal with those dragons, those we can control, those we are forced to face?

 

The dragons of health, like unexpected diagnosis, draining treatments, bodies that don’t body the way they used to.

 

The dragons of home life.  The bills to pay.  The beloved pets that age or face medical crisis.  The empty nest or reality of having to move.

 

The dragons of the world.  ICE breathing threats of violence against anyone brown. Wars that don’t end.  A planet that just wants to breathe and be beautiful.

 

How in Christ do we face the dragons, how do we face the pythons, how do we hold onto our faith even if it means we can be punished, shamed, shunned?

 

Some folk here today may be saying “Pastor, what kind of dragons you think we got?”

 

Others are thinking “The pythons are many and they seem to be choking my neck.”

 

There is no easy, automatic answer to give, but in today’s stories we witness ways to confront them; to act.

 

In today’s scripture and virtually every story in the Bible, we are reminded of how people of faith faced difficult situations, and how we to can have courage too.

 

Paul could have stayed annoyed at what was going on around him, but instead he acted, and he invoked the name of Christ.

 

May we all continue to grow into our Christian legacy so that we too can play a role in facing those things that want to hold us down.

 

Amen and amen.

From the Ground We Arise; Acts 9:1-9

 

Rev. George Miller

April 19, 2026

Acts 9:1-9

 

What does it mean to be part of Christianity’s deep soil?  How does Christ as our foundation lead to a church victorious and at rest?

 

Imagine- Spring of 1863, sitting atop a hill in England, with no sense of rush or hurry, looking upon the countryside as the Avon River winds across the land.

 

The view is like one of Karen Papin’s creations- a world soft and alive.  Lime green leaves, emerald grass, and golden buttercups.

 

From this comfy view upon the hilltop, robins hop close by, barn swallows swoop across the water, and skylarks share their songs.

 

From these still waters and green pastures, one’s soul is refreshed as they see women in bonnets walk the paths, farmers mending fences.

 

Sitting on that fresh grass and damp earth are rabbits darting about, a red fox in the distance, cattle grazing, and lambs wobbling alongside their mothers.

 

Centuries old with stories to tell is the Avon River with shifting blues, edges of silver highlights where reeds grow as women kneel on flintstones to wash clothes and fishermen patiently wait for a brown trout to feed their family.

 

The River Avon is not dramatic or demanding, but simply there, reflecting the colors of the world around, a sky of pale blue with drifting clouds and the aroma of woodsmoke from a local home. 

 

This image from 1863 inspired Folliot Pierpont to think about God’s gifts of creation and in the church, so he wrote the lyrics to the hymn “For the Beauty Of The Earth.”

 

“For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies.” 

 

These words appear in our Friendship Hall on the Social Justice bulletin board, lovingly created to celebrate our Earth Care Ministries at St. Lucas UCC.

 

Everyone is encouraged to check out this bulletin board and discover just how much we do here at St. Lucas to care for the earth.  From our recycling of clean paper and cardboard (no pizza grease) to composting leftover food and coffee grounds, from collecting batteries and ink cartridges, to things you’d never think of, like the glass from airfreshner plugins and empty potato chip bags.

 

Earth Care is not just a form of ministry, it is a form of worship- through action, giving thanks to God for all the gifts of creation.

 

Every time we recycle, every time we compost or bring in an empty shampoo bottle, we are saying our own kind of “Alleluia!”

 

For the Beauty of the Earth, Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise…How fitting, as Earth Day is April 22 and Forrest Park is having their own special celebration the 25-26.

 

How fitting, since today’s reading is all about the earth, the ground; and how an encounter with the soil can change your entire world.

 

Here we have Saul, so angry and judgmental, breathing hate upon the people he dislikes, having them dragged out of homes and put into chains.  He is on his way to self-righteously hurt a community when the unexpected happens.

 

He has an experience with the Resurrected Christ, falls to the ground, and when he stands up from the dirt, he is a changed man.

 

It can make one wonder- is this story of Saul meant to mirror the story of Creation?

 

Acts 9 and Genesis 1 have at least 4 things in common: breathing and ground, light, and words.

 

Acts 9 tells us Saul is breathing threats of murder; in Genesis 1 God’s breath sweeps over the waters.  Paul’s breath brings chaos and death.  God’s breath brings order and life.

 

Then we have the ground.  After a bright light, Paul falls to the ground, hears words of the Lord, and from the ground he gets up.

 

In Greek, the word ground is pronounced “gayn” or “gays,” it can mean earth, land, soil, and sometimes region or territory.

 

So whoever put together this version of the Bible we use had to decide- does Paul fall to the earth, to the land, to the soil, or to the ground? 

 

Each word can create a different emotion and understanding, especially knowing that this is the same word used in the Greek version of Genesis 1&2 when God creates the earth, and forms “man from dust of the ground...”

 

Creation begins with God’s breath, resulting in life emerging from the soil.  Saul’s transformation and welcome into the Christian community begins with him breathing death, being brought down to the earth and up.

 

Genesis shows the beginning of a new experience through the persons of Eve and Adam; Acts shows the beginnings of a revolutionary movement through Saul and Christ Resurrected.

 

In both stories, from the earth, from the land, from the soil, from the ground new life emerges and blesses the world.

 

We could talk about how the light that flashes around Paul and the words he hears could relate to the light and words of Creation.  But let’s focus on the earth, and the “what can we take away?”

 

Saul doesn’t just fall to the ground and get back, Saul begins the process of becoming part of the deep, rich soil of Christian faith. 

 

Saul becomes like a “Glory of the Snow bulb” planted in soil, blind and vulnerable, emerging new and transformed, finding his way into other gardens where he shares the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

Today’s scripture isn’t just about how the experience of Christ changed one man, but how it connects us to the beginning, it connects us to the ground, it connects us to the dust we come from and the dust we shall return. 

 

This is another story of legacy, heritage, and hope. 

 

Just as St. Lucas was forged out of limestone from the earth, Saul emerged from the ground, forever different and inspired.

 

So as we prepare to honor Earth Day, as we continue to compost our cups and plates, bring in our socks and empty cleaning bottles, let us know that we’re not separate from the earth, but we are forever connected to and a part of it.

 

Genesis 1 and Acts 9 reminds us, our connection to the earth is deep, it is real, and it is eternal; forever intertwined in God.

 

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, let us each be our own best version of ourselves, knowing that what we breathe makes a difference. 

 

How we treat the earth is a form of praise and worship to our living, breathing, still Speaking God. 

 

For that, let us say “Amen.”

Peace Victorious; Sermon for April 12, 2026; John 20:19-28

 

Rev. George Miller

April 12, 2026

John 20:19-28

 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been intrigued by this verse- “And the great Church victorious shall be the church at rest” from “The Church’s One Foundation.”

 

It sounds like an oxymoron; a paradox. Like saying “The more I learn the less I know.”

 

Who would ever think that rest can equal victory; that calm can be the conqueror?

 

Perhaps we can.  As Children of the Resurrection.  As recipients of the Holy Spirit.  As the forgiven and the lost sheep that was found.

 

Last week we came to the tomb and stood in the garden with Mary Magdelene.  Now we stand with the disciples, so afraid.

 

Though the doors were locked, that did not stop Christ from entering their existence.

 

And instead of the Resurrected One saying “What’s wrong with you?” or “Snap out of it!”, Christ says what they most need to hear- “Peace be with you.”

 

Here the disciples are, lost in a valley of fear and confusion, and their greatest hope appears in a way that defies logic and speaks these words “Peace be with you.”

 

It’s like Genesis when God says “Let there be light” and the waters find their place.

 

“Peace be with you” and “Let there be light” are so similar in the calm they can create.

 

“Let there be light” brings order to unknown chaos.  “Peace be with you” brings comfort to a situation that feels out of control.

 

Christ says these words of peace- though he was the one betrayed, denied, and abandoned.  Though resurrected, Christ still bears the marks of where he was wounded.

 

Instead of allowing his wounds to lash out and hurt everyone in that space, Christ uses those wounds as incarnate understanding.

 

“Peace be with you,” he says.  The disciples rejoice.  “Peace be with you,” he says again.

 

This is not a peace that implies laying around or to stop evolving.  This is a peace that will empower the disciples to go out,  forgive, be the hands and feet of Christ, and for  Peter to feed his sheep.

 

This peace that Jesus talks about is a calm that comes from the kingdom; a sense of peace that comes from a focus on who one is and what they are gifted to do.

 

I’s a peace that says “The storm is over, discover what the rain has made.”

 

When studying the words of scholars, there was one writer who said closed doors no longer matter to Christ because “he is the door.”  Jesus is the door through which we can enter and experience all that God has promised.

 

Upon reading these words, an image appeared in my mind- a bridge.  Imaging Jesus as a bridge; a bridge over troubled waters.

 

All the verses in John that reference H20- the Wedding, Jacob’s Well, the Bethzatha pool.

The walking on water, the tears Jesus weeps, the feet he washes.  The Living Water he speaks of to the Samaritan Woman and Festival Crowds.

 

So many ways Christ is a bridge for us.  When we’re weary.  When we’re full of tears we cannot shed. When situations are too much and friends seem too few.

 

These feelings the disciples may have felt hidden in that locked room unsure about tomorrow. 

 

Imagine the storms that raged inside them; the worries they feared.  Then Christ Resurrected appears before them and the 1^st thing he says is “Peace.”

 

Peace, as in comfort and calm.  Peace, as in lying down in green pastures and being lead beside still waters.  Peace, as in a table prepared and a cup overflowing.

 

It is from this peace that Christ grounds them, centers them, and sends them out into the world.

 

It is from this peace that Christ invites them to receive the Holy Spirit and it is from this Peace that he encourages them to forgive.

 

It is from this peace that Thomas is able to believe.  It is from this place of peace that Simon is told to tend and feed the sheep.

 

As descendants of the disciples, we also have been given a legacy of peace.  We get to choose every day to receive it and remember what it means.

 

When we allow this peace to wash over and inhabit us, we find ways to live so that we can tend, we can feed, we can forgive, not because we must, but because we may.

 

Christ Resurrected is our way, is our door, and he can also be our bridge. 

 

The Peace of Christ gives us peace and rest, so that we can dream, we can feel at ease, we can be victorious.

 

For that, let us say “Amen.”