[0:00] This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice, let us rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.
[0:20] This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice, let us rejoice, let us rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it, and be glad in it, and be glad in it.
[0:50] Any prayers or concerns, and any notes you want to send to the staff. And if you're new to our church, please be sure and pick up a gift that we have for you in the back of the church at the Connection site after worship.
[1:01] Thank you for coming today, and welcome to Pendleton Center Church. We do welcome you to church today. A couple of announcements. There will be clipboards going around for the Seneca Street dinner that we do once a month.
[1:17] We need people to help with donations and actually working on the dinner. And there will also be a clipboard for our prayer vigil. Every once in a while, we hold a 24-hour prayer vigil, and we have the church open during that time, and we invite people to come by to pray.
[1:35] You can sign up for a specific hour, or you can just stop when you have the time. But we invite you to come in to the quiet and the peace of the sanctuary, and just spend some quality time talking with God.
[1:50] That's what it's about. We do believe that it will be a blessing to you. As we gather this morning, shall we take our hearts to the Lord in prayer. Gracious and loving God, we are gathered here today to worship you.
[2:09] Our hearts come longing for an experience of your presence. And so we ask that you would make yourself known among us. Let your spirit walk with us.
[2:20] Help us to feel your love and your healing. Help us to know that you are God. We ask that you would strengthen us and give us a faith that we can carry out into the world.
[2:33] And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. I'd like you to stand if you can and join as we sing in Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love.
[2:45] Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love And that you would like to hear from God.
[3:01] And that you would like to hear from God. And that you would like to hear from God. Then shall my feet no longer run, rooted and fixed in God. Oh, that in me the sacred fire might now begin to glow.
[3:19] Burn up the dross of first desire and make the mountains flow. Oh, that it now from heaven might fall and all my sins consume.
[3:35] Come, Holy Ghost, for Thee I call, Spirit of burning coal. Refining fire, go through my heart, illuminate my soul.
[3:52] Scoundrel thy life through every part and sanctify the whole. The peace of the Lord be with you.
[4:04] And also with you. Won't you greet your neighbors with the peace of the Spirit. Amen. I'd like to invite the kids to come on up.
[4:25] Any kids want to come up? Come on up, guys. All the kids, come on, come on. All right, we have lots of kids.
[4:35] Come on up. All right, bunches and bunches of kids. This is great.
[4:46] I have to ask you, did anyone ever try to bribe you with something fun, something good?
[4:58] Did they ever ask you to do something that you shouldn't do and promise you something good in return? Anybody ever do that? Have that happen?
[5:08] Somebody come to you and say, if you'll go in the store and steal some candy, I'll give you lots more candy. Did you ever have anybody do that? Oh, what would you do if you had that happen to you?
[5:24] You just say no. Exactly right. Anybody else know what to do? What would you do? You can just walk away. That's right. How about you?
[5:34] How about you? Good for you.
[5:47] Good for you. You just said no. And that's good. God gives us his power to say no to bad things, even when we're promised a special prize.
[5:58] And so we should listen to God and do what God says, shouldn't we? Yes, absolutely. All right. I want to hear if you have anything special that you're thankful for today.
[6:10] My mom and dad and my hamster. Family, friends, and God and Jesus. I have my mommy and daddy.
[6:24] My mom and dad. My friends and family. Friends and family. My mom and dad. My mom and dad. Family.
[6:37] Family. All right. Let's pray then. Lord, we do thank you for our families, for all the people that we love and who love us.
[6:49] We ask, Lord, that you would help us to say no when someone asks us to do something bad. We know we shouldn't be tempted, even by good things. And so, Lord, we ask for your strength to be with us every single day and help us to do what's good.
[7:06] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much for coming up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[7:17] This morning you'll probably notice a special envelope inside your bulletin that says, Imagine No Malaria.
[7:35] And we're going to show a video that explains that. Can you imagine a world with no malaria? The people of United Methodist Church King.
[7:49] Malaria deaths in Africa are half what they were when we began the Imagine No Malaria initiative in 2010. Together, we've distributed 1.9 million nets.
[8:04] Together, we have trained 11,600 health workers in 300 hospitals. Together, we've equipped clinics with life-saving medications.
[8:17] Together, we've given health workers the tools they need to educate their communities so that people can get information right away. Thank you, Imagine No Malaria.
[8:31] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Imagine No Malaria. Thank you for everything you have done for us and our community.
[8:41] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You've made a difference. The people of the United Methodist Church have made a real difference by fighting this terrible disease.
[8:54] Deaths have been halved in the time that we've been distributing nets and medication and education to the people of the world. And so we'd like to see malaria eradicated completely.
[9:07] And if you'd like to help with that cause, you're welcome to give an extra offering today. As you consider all that you're thankful for, won't you prepare your gifts for the Lord? Thank you. Thank you.
[10:03] Thank you.
[10:33] Thank you. Thank you.
[11:03] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[11:13] Lift up high the name of Jesus Magnified, come glorified Christ Jesus the King Majesty Worship His majesty Jesus who died King of glorified King of all kings And the Lord of kings
[12:17] Jesus who died Jesus who died King of all kings And the Lord of kings And the Lord of kings And the Lord of kings And the Lord of kings And the Lord of kings We do have some joys and concerns this morning. In the line of concerns, Sally Acord's brother, Rick, passed away. That is also Sherry's uncle. We need to be with that family.
[12:58] Didget Hugh's son, Michael McMahon, was in a traffic accident on Wednesday. He's bruised but okay. But his truck was totaled, which is not a good thing. So let us go to the throne of grace with our concerns and our joys.
[13:18] Dear Heavenly Father, here we are this morning among our friends, among those who we love. We are privileged to be here together. May we remember that as we go through the week that not only you are with us, but our fellow Christians are with us.
[13:47] We are with us in our concerns, our joys and our prayers. Heavenly Father, be with us, these families who are suffering loss, who are suffering disturbances in life.
[14:02] Life goes along very smoothly. And then we hit a bump in the road sometimes. And you are the one that helps us get over that bump and go on to that smooth highway that we all enjoy.
[14:22] Be with our church. Be with our volunteers. Be with our staff. Prayers are needed every day for all of us.
[14:37] We especially ask for your love and your guidance on all the victims of this horrible hurricane. Thousands of people have been displaced. Homes are shattered.
[14:56] I cannot imagine what that must be like. We pray for them that somewhere amidst all the rubble they may find a bit of peace. A peace that can only come from you.
[15:13] Lord, as we go through our work days, let's be kind to others. Let us be patient. Sometimes patience is the greatest challenge to overcome.
[15:29] But when we do, we pray for them. Be with our young people. Be with our young people as they struggle and strive through school.
[15:43] All these wonderful things you give us. We are so grateful. We cannot express that gratefulness in words. So let us do it in our hearts. And let that Holy Spirit come into us and reach out to others.
[16:07] In your holy name we pray. Amen. We will now have our scripture reading. Good morning. Today's scripture is from the book of James, chapter 1, verses 19 through 27.
[16:47] My dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
[17:00] Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
[17:14] Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
[17:25] But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does.
[17:37] If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself, and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this.
[17:51] To look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Lynn, for sharing the scripture with us today.
[18:07] For those of you who don't know me, I'm Pastor Jean, and usually I'm down at our church in Niagara Falls on Sunday mornings preaching, and so it's a real gift to be able to come here and be with all of you today.
[18:18] I hope that if I don't know you, that you'll stop by and introduce yourself to me as we go through the morning. You know, we're continuing on with our sermon series on the seven deadly sins.
[18:31] We'll also be looking at that old TV show, Gilligan's Island, because the characters on that show each represented one of the seven deadly sins. Now, Pastor Tom is on vacation this week, and I have to say, he has impeccable timing, leaving me with the subject of lust.
[18:56] Now, parents, I'm going to warn you. I'm going to try to keep it PG-rated, but we may be talking about some things that will raise tricky questions for you.
[19:06] However, I hope that you will see these as a launching pad for holding some of those important discussions that we need to have with our children and our youth.
[19:17] Besides, if we don't talk about these things in the setting of the church, where will our young people learn about them? We certainly don't want them to learn about it at school or in the mall, and heaven forbid that they learn about it on the internet, right?
[19:36] So I want our kids to have a godly understanding, something that comes right from God's word, not the world's viewpoint on lust.
[19:48] So there you have my warning. If you feel as though you have to take children or youth out, I understand, but I hope that you'll stay. So what is lust? I would say that lust is any desire or passion that we have for something or for someone that becomes obsessive and out of control.
[20:10] Lust is a deadly sin because it can replace God as the object of our desire. And any time that happens, we're in dangerous trouble.
[20:23] It can be, but it's not always related to uncontrolled sexual desire. But let's be honest about it, though. When you hear the word lust, isn't that right where your mind goes?
[20:35] Yes. Yes. We think especially of young men who have all those hormones raging, and it's hard for them to keep everything under control.
[20:46] But it can also affect women, men and women of all different ages. There's nothing really wrong with physical desire for one another, for men and women.
[20:59] It's actually a natural desire that God has planted inside of us so that we'll be attracted to one another. It brings two human beings together. And it's a wonderful feeling when our hearts are all on Twitter, isn't it?
[21:12] But God has given us this physical desire for a very sacred purpose. It's meant to bind the relationship of a husband and wife together.
[21:25] It's meant to strengthen their marriage and increase the love that they have for one another. And it also allows us to perpetuate the human race by producing children in a stable home.
[21:39] Scripture says that when a man and woman are married, the two become one flesh. But like any other good gift from God, we can take that gift, that physical intimacy, and it can be twisted and it can be abused.
[21:56] The problem of lust arises when our physical desire begins to take over and rule our life. It becomes a sin. We act upon our desire without stopping to think about the real God-given purpose of it and without considering the long-term consequences our actions could have on others.
[22:17] Everything we do, everything we do affects someone else. Whether we do it behind closed doors or not, it still is going to affect the other people in our lives.
[22:29] Lust is especially sinful when it takes advantage of vulnerable people, whether it's children or even disadvantaged adults.
[22:43] That is why James writes in verse 27, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
[23:01] Our world is inundated by inappropriate sexuality. Everywhere you look, you see it. TV shows, movies, books, fashions, the internet, advertising.
[23:16] You know, companies can't even sell candy without making it look like a highly sensual thing just to eat chocolate. We're supposed to keep ourselves pure from being polluted by such images and such thoughts.
[23:33] The thing about sexual lust that makes it wrong is that it disrespects the person it's directed towards. It takes away their personhood, their individuality, their value in the eyes of God.
[23:49] Lust is sometimes confused with another four-letter word. I wonder if you know it. Love, L-O-V-E, love, exactly. And there's a lot of difference between the two.
[24:03] Lust is self-centered and love is other-centered. In other words, lust thinks about what pleasure or power can I get out of our relationship while love is focused on sacrificing my needs for the good of the other person.
[24:21] It's just this way that Jesus demonstrated love to us, didn't he? Jesus demonstrated real love by sacrificing his life for us.
[24:33] Too often these days, I think that physical intimacy is becoming a substitute for real deep emotional intimacy. In fact, it seems as though sex has become a casual sport in some circles.
[24:47] You know, two people can be physically intimate for years without really getting to know each other on a deep level. Here's a note that a young woman wrote to an advice column not too long ago.
[24:59] She wrote, Dear Abby, I am a 23-year-old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive, and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with him.
[25:18] Really? What is wrong with this picture? Can you know someone well enough to sleep with them but not know them well enough to talk about money with them?
[25:30] It doesn't make sense to me. And this young woman's note would really be funny if it wasn't such a sad statement of her own poor self-worth.
[25:40] And it's also a statement about the worsening decay of our moral fabric in this society. Am I just old-fashioned?
[25:52] I don't think so. When I look to the scriptures, I see the writings of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6 and 7, where he advised people to stay single if they could, so that they would remain pure and could concentrate on serving the Lord.
[26:10] But he also said if a couple is burning with passion for each other, they should get married so that they wouldn't fall into sexual immorality. That just makes sense.
[26:22] We're supposed to remain celibate in singleness and save ourselves for marriage because in the act of physical intimacy, two become one.
[26:33] You can't become one with several different partners before or even after marriage and still have the right kind of relationship with your spouse.
[26:46] The flesh, the heart, the mind, the soul, it all becomes involved and it becomes confused by too many partners. And so people, God's word is, save it for the real deal.
[27:00] Save it till you're with a partner that you want to be with for life. When James wrote his letter to the early Christian believers, they were surrounded by pagan religions.
[27:14] And among those religions were various forms of idol worship, which was something that God really, really detests. People were worshiping man-made statues that represented the forces of nature.
[27:29] There were gods of the sea and the sun and the moon and the stars. There were gods that people thought could affect their success in war or could make their crops grow or could help their families to be fertile and produce lots of children.
[27:44] And when we look at it now, it just seems ridiculous to us, doesn't it, that a statue made out of metal or stone or wood could actually have any effect at all on nature, much less the God of the universe.
[27:59] And a lot of these pagan religions practice rituals that we would consider strange, at least, and even immoral. Some of them sacrificed the lives of their children to the idols as a sign of their devotion.
[28:16] And many encouraged both men and women to have physical relations with temple prostitutes because the people thought it would help them to improve their own fertility, their own strength, and that it would somehow please these little gods.
[28:32] Idol worship was all about manipulating the natural forces and the people in our lives in order that the worshiper could gain something for themselves.
[28:43] What happens when we try to manipulate forces and people in our world? We're trying to gain control, control over our lives, and the only one who really has control over our lives is God.
[28:59] And so when we worship idols, we're putting ourselves in the place of God. No wonder God hates idol worship. Idol worship plays upon our natural desires, makes us think that we should be able to satisfy any want, any need, any desire in any way that makes us feel good.
[29:21] And so we can try to use our desires to manipulate others for our own satisfaction and gain. Do we see that in our culture today? Yes. Yes, we do.
[29:32] Both men and women use physical desire as a means of manipulating other people. We play upon someone's lust and try to use it to our advantage.
[29:44] Can you think of somebody from Gilligan's Island who did that? How about Ginger? Ginger, I think the plan is impossible. Why?
[29:55] A girl can get a man to do all kinds of things for her. I know, but robots aren't human. Neither are some of the guys I went out with. The professor says that robots can't do any original thinking, no matter how you ask them.
[30:05] Well, that's what makes it a challenge. See you later. High and tall, dark and mechanical.
[30:20] I do not understand. I'll make it a little clearer for you. You see, I've been stuck on this island for a long, long time. Understand?
[30:32] I understand. And I want you to get me off. I am not programmed for that task. Well, uh, gee whiz.
[30:44] Can't you put your mind to it? I mean, concentrate for Ginger, can you? Just think of what it would mean for me to be back in Hollywood. I'll tell you what.
[30:57] If you get me back to Hollywood, I'll introduce you to the swingin'est lady robot you ever saw. For Ginger? Huh? Come on. Please?
[31:10] Now you're goin'. I think you're beginning to register. Of course, it seems silly to us that Ginger could manipulate a robot in that way.
[31:23] I mean, you have to think about what she brought in her little travel bag for this three-hour tour. She probably had her bag of makeup, right? And she had, um, oh, some perfume.
[31:33] You saw her spritz her perfume on, right? And maybe she had some long, dangly earrings, because those are sexy, right? And then, of course, she had several dresses in her bag.
[31:44] Nah, that one doesn't work. How about, how about, yeah, this one. This one, I think this one will work. Ha ha ha. Woo! Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Well, it's silly to think about her bringing those things along, and it's silly to think about her trying to manipulate a robot.
[32:02] How could she have any effect upon him? But every woman out there understands what Ginger was trying to do. She was flirting with the robot to get her own way, and we've all done it, haven't we, ladies?
[32:16] You know, you bat your eyes, and you tilt your head, and you dress provocatively, and you appeal to the big, strong man in him and say, oh, please, help me, sir.
[32:28] We know we're trying to incite their lust to get our way. We know it, and the men know it, too, and the men do it to us as well. Don't you? Yes.
[32:40] We try to say it's innocent flirting, but even innocent flirting can get out of control, especially when it disrespects the human dignity of another person.
[32:53] Of course, that's what makes the video so humorous. We know Ginger's charms couldn't really work on a robot because he isn't human. But we are human beings, and we do have real physical desires.
[33:07] How do we control those desires? How do we learn to use them in a healthy way? Well, I would suggest that we look at the Word of God. James says in verse 21, The Word of God tells us to make ourselves holy and pure, to reclaim that image of God in which we were made.
[33:41] And the only way we can do that is to receive the transforming of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It's not always an easy thing, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can exercise self-control.
[34:00] One of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. Do you remember them? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
[34:14] We always balk at that one, don't we? But these fruit are the virtues which counteract the seven deadly sins that we've been talking about in this sermon series.
[34:25] Self-control and genuine love. These are the ones that counteract the sin of lust. When we fill our lives with God's Word by reading it and studying it regularly, we begin to experience the fruit of the Spirit more and more in our lives.
[34:43] And while coming to worship and hearing sermons is also good, if we don't take that back out into the world with us, it doesn't do any good at all.
[34:55] James goes on to say in verse 22, Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Some people who come to worship every week can be like students who go to a college in order to audit a class.
[35:13] They don't want to do the work that's involved in earning real credits. So they'll take advantage of the privilege of hearing a good teacher, but they don't want to do the homework.
[35:24] And they sure don't want to write a thesis. And they certainly don't want to take a test and maybe fail. So some people are like that when they come to worship and they listen, but that's as far as it goes.
[35:37] When they walk out the door of the church and back into the world, they continue to act as if they have never heard the Word of God. Their lives go on being controlled by the lust of this world, the overpowering desire for physical pleasure, or for power, or for anything else that might fill up the loneliness and the ineffectiveness that we all feel inside of us at times.
[36:03] There's only one who can fulfill those deep longings, and that one is God. What else does Scripture tell us about our relationship with God and how we're expected to live?
[36:16] In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, it says, It is God's will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.
[36:43] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
[36:55] Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being, but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
[37:07] Pretty strong language, right? But God doesn't waver on his requirements. We are called to be pure and holy. We are called not only to listen to the word of God, but also to go out and do it every single day.
[37:23] And it's not just our action, but also our thoughts that can get us into trouble. Do you remember what Jesus told his disciples when he was talking to them about adultery?
[37:34] In Matthew 5, he said, You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery, but I tell you, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
[37:50] Why is adultery so wrong? Because it disrespects the relationship we have with our spouse. Why is lust so wrong? Because it disrespects another person and misuses the natural gifts of God, whether it's for sexual intimacy or for the natural power that we have over others who are smaller and weaker than us.
[38:16] Lust is about using another person, and that's just wrong. So, every time a thought like that, an impure thought, pops into our heads, or a lustful desire begins to overtake us, we need to get rid of it.
[38:35] And the best way to do that is to fill up our hearts and fill up our minds with God's holy scripture. These are words that have been preserved for us down through the ages.
[38:47] They're not just old words written in a dusty book. They're words that have meaning and give us hope and give us strength and give us life. These are holy words that can change us forever by teaching us to resist the deadly sin of lust, teaching us the right way to love and to have self-control, to love God and to love each other.
[39:12] And so this morning, I'd like to invite you to stand and sing with us ancient ornaries. holy words, long preserved for our walk in this world.
[39:37] They resound with thoughts of God, oh, let the ancient words impart. words of life, words of hope, give us strength, help us hope.
[39:57] In this world, where'er we roam, ancient words will guide us home. ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you.
[40:17] We have come with open hearts, oh, let the ancient words impart. holy words of our faith, handed down to this age, came to us through sacrifice, the weak of faithful words of Christ.
[40:52] of Christ. holy words, long preserved, for our walk, in this world. They resound with thoughts of God, oh, let the ancient words stand in for.
[41:11] ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you.
[41:23] We have come with open hearts, oh, let the ancient words impart. ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you.
[41:44] We have come with open hearts, oh, let the ancient words impart. God purifies us sometimes by putting us through the fire.
[42:02] purify my heart, let me be as gold and precious silver, purify my heart, let me be as gold.
[42:38] pure gold, refined as fire. my heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord, I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master, ready to do your grace.
[43:18] pure gold, pure gold, purify my heart, and speak from within, and make me holy.
[43:33] pure gold, purify my heart, and speak from within, and make me holy. deep within, deep within, deep within, repine us God, my heart's one desire is to be holy, is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord, I choose to be holy, set apart for you, my master, ready to do your grace.
[44:17] my master, ready to do your grace. So we ask God to cleanse our hearts, give us clean hands, clean hearts, help us to be holy.
[44:34] help us to be holy. help us to be holy. when without you can fill us in, hope for you. We bow our hearts, we bend our knees O Spirit, come make us humble We turn our eyes from evil things O Lord, we cast down our idols So give us sweet hands, give us your heart Let us not lift our souls to another
[45:35] Give us sweet hands, give us your heart Let us not lift our souls to another O God, let us be our generation that sings Who sings your face, O God, O Jacob O God, let us be our generation that sings Who sings your face, O God, O Jacob We bow our hearts, we bend our knees O Spirit, come make us humble We turn our eyes from evil things O Lord, we cast down our idols So give us sweet hands, give us your heart
[46:38] Let us not lift our souls to another Give us sweet hands, give us your heart Let us not lift our souls to another O God, let us be our generation that sings Who sings your face, O God, O Jacob O God, let us be our generation that sings Who sings your face, O God, O Jacob O God, let us be our generation that sings Who sings your heart, let us not lift our souls to another Please be seated You know, the word of God teaches us how we're supposed to live
[47:44] How we're supposed to live with self-control In a way that pleases God It helps to build up our relationship with God And our relationships with other people It helps us to remember how much God loves us And it reminds us that if we fail If we fall prey to sin If we're overcome by lust We can turn back We can ask God for forgiveness He'll wash us clean He'll help us to be pure again He'll help us to start over And so it's really fitting Really right That as we come to the table of the Lord That we offer up our prayer of confession And so I ask that you would pray after me Dear Lord You are holy You are pure You are pure And I am a sinner Sometimes I have lusted Sometimes I have lusted
[48:45] Sometimes I have broken sacred trusts Sometimes I have broken sacred trusts And I am sorry I ask you to forgive me I ask you to forgive me To make me clean To make me pure and to help me to walk in the ways that are pleasing to you.
[49:10] Forgive me, Lord, through the grace of Jesus Christ. For it's in his name that we pray. Amen.
[49:23] Hear the glorious good news. God loves us even though we are sinners and he has sent his son into the world to live for us, to die for our sins, to be raised again in glory for each one of us.
[49:37] And so I can say to you with confidence, in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen.
[49:49] The Lord be with you. Also with you. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts, Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and purpose.
[49:59] It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life.
[50:12] When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God and spoke to us through your prophets.
[50:25] And so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
[50:40] Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ.
[50:51] Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people.
[51:07] He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
[51:26] When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and your Holy Spirit. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, and he gave thanks to you, and he broke the bread, and he gave it to his disciples, and he said, Take and eat.
[51:49] This is my body, which is broken for you. Eat of this often in remembrance of me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup, and he gave thanks to God, and he said, This is the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
[52:18] Drink of this often in remembrance of me. And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
[52:40] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by this blood.
[52:58] By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with your Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.
[53:17] Amen. And now let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[53:32] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[53:46] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. I meet thee every hour, most gracious Lord, no tender voice like thine can be so thorn.
[54:27] I meet thee, oh, I meet thee, every hour I meet thee, oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
[54:44] I meet thee every hour, stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power, when thou art nigh.
[55:00] I meet thee, oh, I meet thee, every hour I meet thee, oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
[55:17] I meet thee every hour, teach me thy will, and thy rich promises in me fulfill.
[55:33] I meet thee, I meet thee, oh, I meet thee, every hour I meet thee, oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
[55:50] we do need God every single hour, don't we, to resist sin and to stay pure. As you go out this day, may you know the love of God that surrounds you, may you feel the grace of Christ that washes you clean, and may you know the power of the Holy Spirit, which helps you to resist sin, this day, and forevermore.
[56:12] Amen. Amen.