Central Assembly

Summation - a final statement that distills the core messages or takeaways from an extended discourse.

"God does not change. He is immutable in His character, in His purposes, and in His promises. The God we trust is the God who has always been and will always be the same. Whatever He has done, He is doing, and will do is consistent with His unchanging character. His truth, His promises, and His purposes are all as sure as the rock beneath our feet. We can trust Him because He will never change." - J.I. Packer, from Knowing God

Four Observations about Enduring

> Enduring involves suffering

Four Observations about Enduring

> Enduring involves suffering

> Enduring happens by faith

"The experiences of my life are not such that I could infer from them that God is good, gracious, and merciful necessarily. To have had one husband murdered and another one disintegrate, body, soul, and spirit, through cancer, is not what you would call proof of the love of God. In fact, there are many times when it looks like just the opposite. My belief in the love of God is not by inference or instinct. It is by faith. To apprehend God's sovereignty working in that love is—we must say it—the last and highest victory of the faith that overcomes the world. It is the victory which enables us to worship God in the midst of tears and apparent contradictions."
- Elisabeth Elliot, from Keep a Quiet Heart

Four Observations about Enduring

> Enduring involves suffering

> Enduring happens by faith

> Enduring looks different in different situations

Four Observations about Enduring

> Enduring involves suffering

> Enduring happens by faith

> Enduring looks different in different situations

> Enduring helps us look ahead

* Look ahead to potentially overcoming now

> Enduring helps us look ahead

* Look ahead to potentially overcoming now

* Look ahead to complete victory at the end

So what do we do?

* Run our race with perseverance
Perseverance - steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement

* Keep looking at Jesus