[0:00] This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:19] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:33] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:50] Good morning. Welcome to our church. We have a gift for our visitors at the Connection site. Please fill out your friendship card for any prayers or concern or just so we can get to know you.
[1:02] It's fun to be part of the welcoming committee here at Hamilton Center. We do welcome you to worship this morning. We are passing around some clipboards for the Niagara Falls dinner.
[1:13] Please sign up to bring whatever it is the Lord puts on your heart to donate for that effort. And our youth, along with Pastor Tom and Pastor Sherry and a bunch of adult chaperones, are on their mission trip in Michigan.
[1:27] Please join us as we pray for their journey and we'll lift them up in a little while during the pastoral prayer time. You need to be aware that we're having some work done on our parking lot Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this coming week.
[1:40] Okay? Like tomorrow. And so the big parking lot over there is not going to be in use. If you need to come to the church for something for the office or for, you know, something that's happening during the day or in the evening, you need to use the Bear Ridge side and come in through this way.
[1:57] Also, the Niagara Falls Church rummage sale is next Saturday from 10 to 3. Usually we bring those donations in and put them outside in the back of the sanctuary.
[2:10] They need to go in the gym this time around. Just because of some events that are happening this week, we need to keep that area clear. So please, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, park on the Bear Ridge side.
[2:22] You can come on in and come through if you need to get to the office or wherever you need to be on this side of the building. And rummage sale stuff goes where? In the gym. Thank you.
[2:32] That's a wonderful thing. I do have two other things. Well, one other thing for you right now. See this? Do you all know what this is? It's a friendship card.
[2:42] It's in your bulletin. I have to mark that attendance book. And I'm all, you know, here I am. And, you know, and so my eyes aren't going to see everybody.
[2:56] Even if the only thing you put on it is your name, please put your name on the friendship card. And put it in the offering plate when it comes by. Because that's going to just make my life way easier when it comes to marking that book.
[3:08] Amen? Thank you for helping the pastor because she needs all the help she can get. If you would, please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day.
[3:20] What a blessing it is to be in your presence. What a blessing it is to trust that we can meet with you here. As we gather together as the body of Christ.
[3:33] We ask that you would be with us, bless us, and make our worship time to be a blessing to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
[3:45] If you would please stand as you're able and sing with us our opening hymn. And following the opening hymn, we're going to be doing a responsive psalm. So remain standing. Thank you.
[4:23] Thank you. Thank you. For our youth sweatpaid work.
[4:38] Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast brought us thine we are. Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, Thou hast brought us, Thine we are.
[5:01] We are Thine love, does we friend us? Be the guardian of our way. Keep Thy thought from sin, defend us.
[5:15] Heak us when we go astray. Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, hear us when we pray.
[5:29] Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, hear us when we pray.
[5:40] Thou hast promised to receive us, poor and sinful though we be. Thou hast mercy to relieve us, grace to cleanse and power to free.
[5:59] Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, we will early turn to Thee.
[6:10] Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, we will early turn to Thee.
[6:22] Early let us seek Thy favor. Early let us do Thy will. Blessed Lord and our Savior, with Thy love our bosoms fill.
[6:41] Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, love us still. Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, love us still.
[7:03] Let us pray. Hear the commandments of life. Give ear and learn wisdom.
[7:14] Together? Hear the commandments of life. Give ear and learn wisdom. The heavens?
[7:30] That's me? It is me. You know what it is? They didn't do the first part with me. So can we back up and do the first part, Adrian? I get so confused, you know, when we don't do what...
[7:42] Okay. Are we... Oh, look. There we go. It says the all. I know we never do this, do we? And that's why we don't remember how to do this. So that's why we're doing this today.
[7:52] Are you ready? We are going to praise God through Psalm 19. Hear the commandments of life. Give ear and learn wisdom.
[8:06] The heavens are telling the glory of God. And the firmament proclaims God's handiwork. Day to day works for speech. And night to night declares out.
[8:19] There is no speech, nor are there words. Their voice is not heard. And every voice will tell from all the earth. And their words to the end of the Lord.
[8:31] In them God has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and runs its course with joy like a strong man.
[8:42] It is Christ's peace from the end of the earth. And the servants will be in the end of the earth. And there is not being made from his kingdom. Hear the commandments of life.
[8:55] Give ear and learn wisdom. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise and simple.
[9:08] The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, and enlightening the heart. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
[9:22] The ordinance of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.
[9:34] Hear the commandments of life. Give ear and learn wisdom.
[9:46] Moreover, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. But who can understand one's own errors, the fear of the hidden faults.
[10:00] Also keep your servant from the insolent. Let them not have dominion over me. Hear the commandments of life.
[10:24] Give ear and learn wisdom. The Lord be with you. Will you share the peace of Christ with all those you're worshiping with this morning?
[10:34] Amen. Amen. Come on.
[11:09] Forward. It is. Except, well, yes it is. Children. Where are the children? I know there are some in here. Come on down. Come on down. Good morning.
[11:26] Good morning. Good morning. How are you today? Everybody good? Oh, here comes somebody. Hi, how are you? Everybody's come to worship this morning, haven't you?
[11:37] Did you ever notice that sometimes people don't pay attention? Really? And I'm not just talking about what happened with the psalm, either. People tend not to pay attention to the things that are going on around them.
[11:52] And that sometimes gets us into trouble, doesn't it? It's important for us not to be thinking so much about what we're doing right this minute that we miss all of the things that are around us.
[12:05] Because when we miss all the things that are around us, we might miss something that somebody else needs that we could help them with. Hi, come on.
[12:16] Good morning. I have a story to tell you about something that happened in my life when some people weren't paying attention. I was about 12 years old. When I was about 12 years old, I was riding my bicycle up and down the sidewalk.
[12:31] I wasn't allowed to ride the street yet. Do you ride your bicycle? Yeah? Do you ride it on the sidewalk, usually? You don't have a sidewalk? Where do you ride your bike? In the driveway?
[12:42] If you go back and forth in the driveway, you have a long driveway? Oh, that's good. Good. Yeah? Yeah?
[12:54] Yeah? Okay, yeah. Well, sometimes, you know, when I was riding my bicycle, I'd ride up and down. And I usually paid pretty good attention to what was going on around me.
[13:07] But I'm not sure exactly what happened. I think maybe I wasn't paying attention as well as I should have been. And my neighbor was not paying attention as well as she should have been.
[13:19] But I was going past her driveway. And she was backing out of her driveway in her car. And just as I was passing, right where her driveway was, she saw me and stopped as quick as she could, but not quick enough.
[13:40] And I went, boom, right down off my bicycle. Now, she got out of the car right away. And she came over to see if I was okay.
[13:51] And I was. I wasn't hurt. I was a little scratched up. Did you ever fall off your bicycle? And you get scraped, don't you? You might skin your knee or scrape your elbow or something like that. Yeah.
[14:02] Yeah. No. Try and follow on the other knee so that they match. Okay. And what happened was she got up.
[14:15] She got out of the car and she helped me get up. And she helped my bicycle get up. And she brushed me off and asked me again if I was okay. And I said, yeah, I'm fine. And she said, well, let's take you back to your house.
[14:28] And she walked me all the way back home. And she talked to my mother and told her what happened. And we talked about it. And everything was fine. But it wouldn't have happened if she had been paying closer attention as she was backing out.
[14:43] And if I had been paying closer attention as I was riding by. We both weren't paying attention to what was going on around us. And sometimes when we don't pay attention, we miss things that are important to other people.
[15:02] Right? Right. So you're going to pay attention to stuff? You're going to pay attention to the things around you? You forget you lose focus too sometimes, don't you? That happens too.
[15:13] Did mom ever ask you, mom or dad ever ask you to set the table? Or clean up your room? Or something like that? To help out in some way? Pick up your toys maybe?
[15:25] Yeah. And sometimes do you say, okay, yeah, I'll go do that. And then you go over and you start watching TV and you see a cartoon on and you forget all about cleaning up your room or setting the table or picking up your toys?
[15:39] And what usually happens after that? You do. You do. Because you have to learn to focus on what other people need.
[15:49] And sometimes we have to put aside the things that we want so that we can really focus on what other people need and take care of them. Right? Anybody have something thankful for this morning?
[16:01] My mom and dad. My family. Okay, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day.
[16:14] We thank you for the children. We ask in Jesus' name that you would keep them all safe, those who are here with us today and those who aren't for whatever reason. Maybe they're on vacation or they just decided to sleep in or something.
[16:28] Father, we pray that they will all be kept safe and their families too. Father, we pray in Jesus' name that you help us to remember to pay attention to all of the things that are going on around us so that we can be aware and help people when they're in need.
[16:46] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. And I think you have Bible school you can go to, right? Church school? And right now I'd like to invite Denise to come forward.
[17:00] You'll find in your bulletin an envelope for a special offering. Our mission moment is for the Christian Motorcycle Association. And Denise is going to tell you all about that. Wow.
[17:16] I feel really tall right now. Well, good morning. And I would like just to thank you for giving us this opportunity to come here. Pendleton Church has been very faithful to our ministry.
[17:30] And, I mean, we've come here for a long time. We've even developed relationships with people. And I just think that's awesome. And one comment I wanted to, another one I wanted to make aside from my little speech here was that lots of us, or many of us cannot or do not have the opportunity to literally go out on missions trips or out into the missions field.
[17:53] And your financial support to various organizations or people that do that type of thing, that's your seed into that ministry. And then God is able to use that financial support to bless, you know, the people that we're trying to minister to or other missionaries are trying to minister to.
[18:13] So I just wanted to put that seed out there for you to think about it, because I know a lot of people would like to or don't even think that they can do that. But that's how you sow into the ministry.
[18:25] And I'm sure your church has already spoken about that. But let me get down to my speech here. Our organization is an international organization committed to reaching the lost for the gospel of Jesus Christ by equipping the saints and supporting various mission projects.
[18:42] Over the past 40 years, CMA has been able to extend the outreach to millions of people throughout the world by the fruits of our fundraiser, Run for the Sun. Run for the Sun is done annually, and it's totally used to support missionary work in the United States and abroad.
[18:59] 100% is used. 20% is used to go to Open Doors Ministry. That was originally founded by Brother Andrew in 1955, and the project takes Bibles to countries where other ministries do not go.
[19:12] We've helped Open Doors provide over 1.3 million Bibles. Another 20% is going to Missionary Ventures International, which began in 1983.
[19:24] This project sends mission teams and pioneers new missionary outreaches in over 60 different countries. CMA has provided motorcycles, bicycles, and other forms of transportation, such as boats, horse, buggy, and even the camel.
[19:40] You know, when you go into the jungles or the African safari type thing, you need whatever kind of transportation you can get. 20% is used to the Jesus Film Project, which for more than 32 years has been shown to almost 6 billion people around the world.
[19:59] It's a project of Campus Crusade for Christ International, which is based out of Orlando, Florida, and they translate the gospel story into various languages, and through this project, about 200 million people have accepted Christ as their Savior.
[20:14] And CMA has been noted as the largest financial contributor to this project, and a few years ago, another CMA member and I went to the Campus Crusade for Christ base in Orlando, and we had the opportunity to tour the facility and see how they made these films, and it was really kind of awesome how they do that, because while they're actually producing the films, those are opportunities also for people to make decisions for the Lord, because they're watching and seeing what's going on.
[20:44] And the last 40% is used for home mission projects that CMA supports, like Sturgis Bike Week and Daytona Bike Week. Funds are used to purchase Bibles, tracks, and other items used at these biker events to minister to the bikers.
[20:58] We have current... I don't. Excuse me. I don't have... If you need any more information or would like information about our organization, you can go to our website. Just type in Christian Motorcyclists Association, and that will bring you to our website.
[21:15] And we do have a local group, which is also on that website. So I want to thank you again for your faithfulness, and as you prayerfully consider what you would give to our organization.
[21:26] Thank you. Thank you, Denise. Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone to help others.
[21:40] Now, mine is not riding a motorcycle, but maybe if you can't do that, wave, give them a high five when you see them, because they are doing God's work in their own way.
[21:51] With that, we will now take up our tithes and offerings. Thank you. Thank you.
[22:23] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[22:38] Thank you.
[23:08] Thank you.
[23:38] Thank you.
[24:08] Thank you.
[24:38] Thank you.
[25:08] Thank you.
[25:38] In his name we pray. Amen. You can be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[25:52] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[26:03] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[26:15] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. there. We need to pray for Jim Schlemmer. He's in Millard Fillmore. He's had surgery. He will be there a few more days. And as they say, you can't keep a good man down. So I expect that he'll be back soon. Lynn Albertson's brother, David, has a brain tumor, and we need to pray for that family.
[26:44] So let us go to the throne of grace. And before we enter into prayer, look at the person next to you and envision their face. And when you're praying, envision them in your prayers. And that way, everyone in this sanctuary will have had someone praying for them today. So let us pray. Heavenly Father, how blessed we are to be in your house this morning. How blessed we are to be part of your kingdom and to know about you. You do so much for us. Sometimes we forget that you are in our lives.
[27:38] Sometimes life gets bumpy and we get off course. But somehow you always direct us back where we need to be. Lord, take care of these people that we've lifted up in your, in our prayers and joys and concerns this morning. Be with those youth as they're working, working to share the love of God with others.
[28:11] We ask you to be with us each day of our lives. We know you are, but sometimes we forget you are. Lord, we thank you for this congregation. We thank you for the pastors here, for all they do, for their unselfish deeds, for the path that they show us, the path to your kingdom.
[28:41] Lord, many of us have heavy hearts, but many of us have joy in our hearts. And whatever we have with us today, we leave with you, we share with others, and may we share Christ with all people we meet this week.
[29:03] In your holy name we pray. Amen. Good morning.
[29:37] Good morning. Good morning.
[30:07] Amen Good morning, tävien. Does he not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
[30:19] Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me. I have found my lost sheep. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.
[30:37] Jesus continued.
[31:07] So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
[31:21] When he came to his senses, he said, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
[32:33] What do you think of?
[32:51] When you hear the sound of geese honking. Do you think of the change of the seasons, these beautiful, graceful birds flying in their V formations through the sky toward their summer homes and feel the anticipation of all the warm weather and fun that you'll have outdoors.
[33:18] I had an adult student several years ago at my studio who lived on Grand Island, and I could always tell that summer was on its way the week she came to the studio, all excited because the geese had returned to the river near her home.
[33:34] She loved to watch them.
[34:04] She loved to live and to live and to grow in this world, but geese have another side. One day, the week before last, when I was driving home from church, I was coming around a curb on Ellicott Creek Road when suddenly I came upon a whole row of cars stopped right in the middle of the lane.
[34:25] Now, I was able to stop in the nick of time, and thankfully there was no one behind me. But I really couldn't see around that curve ahead of time to realize sooner that I had needed to stop.
[34:40] I wondered whether an accident had happened, if a car was disabled, if someone had been hurt. And then, as the traffic gradually began to move again, I could clearly see that the cause of the holdup was a gaggle of geese in the road.
[35:01] Yes, a gaggle. A crowd of geese, if you did not know that, is called a gaggle. And the word gaggle just sounds to me like the way a group is that's just loitering around and doesn't care what's going on around them.
[35:20] Really, think about this. When other critters run into the road when you're driving down it, like think squirrels, cats, rabbits, they get into the road and they hear you coming.
[35:38] And they run like crazy to get out of the road. Sometimes they run back and forth trying to figure out which way to go. But they really do care about getting out of your way, about getting out of the road.
[35:55] But geese, they just don't get it. Even ducks hurry up when they hear you coming. And they make such a mess.
[36:12] Everywhere. I like to take long walks by the river. Some of you know this. I usually go early in the morning. And I go from the beginning of Isleview Park down by the South Grand Island Bridge.
[36:24] And I usually walk all the way up to the far end of Nyawanda Park and back. It's a good walk. Well, there are stretches of that path where the goose droppings, I'm sorry, church, but goose droppings are just everywhere.
[36:40] Because the geese don't care. It's hard to find a place to step. You know? Geese don't care about what they leave on the path.
[37:00] Or whether they're in our way. Or that they can really be noisy. Oh, and by the way, they're really aggressive too. Don't mess with them. If you've never messed with a goose, don't. They will run at you.
[37:12] They will hiss at you. And they will try to bite you. They don't even notice the impact their actions have on others as they live their lives.
[37:22] We've been talking at the beginning of the summer about human attitudes and relational problems that build walls and keep Christians from sharing their faith with others.
[37:36] This week's problem is indifference in our wall. Now, I know what the word indifference means.
[37:48] And I'm sure you do too. But I always like to look up the definitions of words I'm using when I preach or when I teach because I find it gives me greater insight and understanding of what I'm talking about.
[38:01] So as I was looking up and searching out different definitions, I found that when we're indifferent about something, it means that thing is of no importance or value to us one way or the other.
[38:20] And our attitude about that thing is marked by a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of interest, a lack of concern.
[38:35] So what does it mean when we say that many American Christians today are indifferent about sharing Jesus Christ with others?
[38:50] And that that indifference builds a wall that keeps others from coming into the church.
[39:03] Well, what does having Jesus in your life mean to you right now? How does having Jesus in your life make your life different from what your life would be like without him?
[39:25] Let's go back to the scripture that was read so very beautifully by Jan and read and look at what receiving God's love meant for the people Jesus encountered in Luke's gospel.
[39:41] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear him, Jesus.
[39:54] But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. The Pharisees were the people who were in charge of making sure God's laws were kept by the people, an important thing to do.
[40:13] But many of them were not interested in doing anything to help the people who weren't already doing things right.
[40:25] And they were definitely not indifferent to what Jesus was doing. They really didn't see Jesus as setting a good example for good upstanding Jewish folk.
[40:37] The Pharisees didn't think that God's good people should be associating with God's bad people. The tax collectors and the sinners.
[40:49] But really, now think about it. Come on. Be honest. Isn't it easier to hang out with people who think like you? Who act like you? Who believe what you believe?
[41:02] Who value what you value? What about the people who don't? Don't they need Jesus too?
[41:14] In many ways, we were just like them before we came to know and accept God's transforming power in our life. If knowing Jesus is the most valuable thing to us, wouldn't it be for them too?
[41:34] If they only knew. Jesus reminds the Pharisees of their own feelings about valuable things when he tells the story of the lost sheep that we heard.
[41:45] The Sabbath day was the day God had set aside as a day they weren't allowed to do any work at all so that they could rest. And Jesus points out.
[41:56] And Jesus points out that even on that special day, each one of them would break God's law if they needed to go look for their lost sheep and lift it out of a pit.
[42:09] Why? Because the sheep was valuable to them. Each one of us is a creature of great value to God.
[42:21] When we come to know and accept that and Jesus comes into our hearts, the scripture tells us we have the mind of Christ. Now follow me here. Because Jesus Christ is God, with the mind of Christ, we can know those things that God values.
[42:41] If we choose to listen for God's voice. And if we choose to learn God's word. God values the lost ones who need to be found, who need to be pulled out of the pits of their lives and carried lovingly home.
[43:16] Shouldn't we also value them? Now, let's look at the story of the lost son.
[43:30] Here we find a father who is nothing like the Pharisees. He gives his son everything he has for him. And doesn't stop him when he leaves the house and goes off to live any way he wants to.
[43:47] He doesn't criticize or condemn. What was he doing? He was looking for his son. Waiting.
[44:00] Watching. Watching. And when his son could finally be seen returning. The father didn't care what he had done. But he was filled with compassion for him.
[44:13] And ran to him and restored him to his place in the family. The opposite. Of indifference. His compassion.
[44:28] God has great compassion for all of us. Those who have returned and been restored to our place in God's family. And those who are still far away.
[44:40] Trying to live apart from the only source of life and love that there is. God. When we tune in to God's love for us.
[44:53] We can't help but feel God's compassion for others. God is deeply, primarily concerned for the well-being of those who haven't received the love.
[45:08] The grace. The mercy. Available to them in Jesus Christ. And we should be concerned about them too.
[45:21] Father's other son. The one who didn't leave and squandered his inheritance in open, wanton, excessive sinning. Was not so much of a saint himself.
[45:34] You can read the rest of the story and find out about this. The young man was completely indifferent to his brother's need. And he put his own concerns ahead of caring for his brother.
[45:50] Even though he already had everything he needed. And wasn't at risk of losing anything that he already had. The father celebrated with his whole household when his lost son returned.
[46:06] Jesus said, Jesus said, All of heaven would rejoice if one sinner would repent. The response of the righteous. The response of the call of the saved.
[46:20] Is to be involved as Jesus' hands. And feet. And voice. In actively sharing God's love.
[46:30] When we share God's love with people. We break down. The walls of indifference.
[46:45] In our hearts. We make a way. For people to see God's love.
[46:59] As God's love is the way to salvation. And we make a way for them to come into God's church. Because God's church. Brothers and sisters.
[47:12] Is the place where God's love is found. Do we really value. Our own salvation. Enough to realize the importance of sharing it with others.
[47:25] We understand the need people have for food. So we regularly share our food with others. Providing for the Niagara Falls and Seneca Street church dinners.
[47:36] For the food pantries. We understand the need people have for shoes. When they don't have any. And we have provided. And we have provided. Hundreds and hundreds of pairs of shoes for people.
[47:49] Think for a minute. About all the material things. And financial support. That you provide. For what people need here on earth. Now.
[48:03] What good. Will all that stuff and support be. If when they stand before God. God looks at them and says. Depart from me.
[48:15] I never knew you. How can we be so acutely aware of people's physical needs.
[48:27] And so indifferent. To their spiritual needs. Perhaps the answer lies. In a measure of indifference.
[48:37] To our own spiritual lives. Now I know. And you have to know that I know and understand. That each one of these. Of this church's missionary efforts.
[48:49] Is not just about stuff. The gospel message is shared. And the reality of our Christian compassion. Is demonstrated. By taking care of people's material needs.
[49:01] And their spiritual needs. We don't support a mission effort. That doesn't involve sharing the gospel. And you can check on that. With every single thing that we do.
[49:14] But what about. The people where you work. What about the people at your schools. What about the people in your neighborhood.
[49:29] And in your own families. Who don't know Jesus. What about them. They're not getting leftover shoes. They're not coming.
[49:42] To the Seneca Street dinner. Who's going to tell them. How can we know this great love of God. In our own lives.
[49:52] And what it means. Now. And what it will mean. On the day of judgment. How can we know that. And be indifferent. To what it could mean. For their lives.
[50:04] God is not indifferent. And even early on. In church history. The church. Was becoming indifferent. And so God sent word.
[50:14] Through John. To correct this indifference. In Revelation chapter 2. John tells us. Jesus said to the church. I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love.
[50:28] Remember the height from which you have fallen. Repent. And do the things you did at first. And in chapter 3. Also to the church. I know your deeds.
[50:39] You have a reputation of being alive. But you are dead. Wake up. Strengthen what remains and is about to die.
[50:50] For I have not found your deeds. Complete. In the sight of my God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard.
[51:02] Obey it. And repent. What were the deeds. The church did at the beginning. When they first received the power of the Holy Spirit.
[51:14] And knew the way to be saved was by faith in Jesus Christ. They went out. What did they do? They went out and told people.
[51:29] About it. You can read about it in the book of Acts. The scripture tells us. That when they did that. In Acts chapter 2. The Lord added to their number daily. Daily.
[51:41] Those who were being saved. Church. When was the last time. You invited someone. Who didn't know Jesus. To come to church. Or told someone.
[51:55] Who needs the gift of God's grace. About what Jesus has done. In your life. When was the last time. You were part. Of changing somebody's life.
[52:07] By bringing them. To salvation in Jesus Christ. How can we say. That the love of God is in us. When we're indifferent.
[52:18] To sharing that love. Even with people who aren't like us. Or who we just don't like. I heard a story.
[52:29] About a group of children. Who were at a Bible camp. One summer. Their counselor. Had been teaching them. About hearing God's voice. Well at the same camp.
[52:40] There was a little girl. Who was a real handful. She had trouble. Getting along with the other children. And she spent most of her time. Either acting out.
[52:52] Or completely withdrawing. A little boy in the group. Went to the counselor. One day. And said. That he had been praying. For the girl.
[53:03] He believed. He had heard. A message. From God. For her. The counselor. Asked him. Whether he felt. The time was right. To share the word.
[53:14] With her. The little boy said. Yes. And together. They approached. The girl. The boy said. I have been praying.
[53:24] To God. Like the counselor. Taught us. And I believe. God told me. To tell you this. God says. He loves you.
[53:36] And forgives. Your sins. God says. He loves you. And forgives. Your sins.
[53:48] From that moment on. There was a positive change. In the girl's relationship. With others. In the camp. That's the message. It's not a huge.
[54:00] Theological discourse. On what salvation means. It's simple. God loves you.
[54:11] And God forgives. Your sins. Somebody. Somewhere. Sometime. In your life. Loved you enough. To take the time. To care.
[54:21] About your need. Of Jesus Christ. They weren't. So involved. In the stuff. Of their own lives. That they were indifferent. When it came. To reaching out to you. Or to me.
[54:34] The Christian life. Is simple. But it isn't easy. God has given us much. Amen. Amen. And so the scripture tells us.
[54:45] Much is required of us. A couple weeks ago. Pastor Tom asked people. To write down the name of someone. In need of prayer. And to take a name. And spend time praying for them.
[54:56] For all the names that are left. And there are still more. I saved some out for the next service.
[55:06] And about this many went last night. A couple weeks ago. Pastor Tom asked. Take a name. And pray.
[55:19] All the people who aren't. Being prayed for by this church. Because. Even though they're free. All you had to do.
[55:29] Was pick up as many as you wanted. Everybody took. One. Well.
[55:42] We'd like to see all the names taken. And all the people prayed for. So I'm going to be out there at the end. And you can have as many as you want. I want to empty that basket. This service. I've got more in the back. For the next one. Don't feel like you need to leave some.
[55:54] For the other people. I have some. I promise. I'm going to add to your task today too. Ooh. Much is required. We're going to sing. Open my eyes.
[56:05] That I may see. While we're singing. I want you to listen to the words. And I want you to open yourself up. To the possibility. That God may actually answer.
[56:16] The prayer you're singing. And open your spiritual eyes. And ears. To discern who God is going to open your mouth. To speak to. About Jesus.
[56:27] This week. Ooh. This week. God wants me. To say something about Jesus. To somebody. Who doesn't already know him.
[56:41] Well. Then we're going to take some time. To pray silently. And I want you to write down. Just somewhere. On your bulletin. Or wherever. Write down that name.
[56:53] That God gives you. And I promise. When we're done. I will pray for you. We will pray for wisdom. And we will pray for boldness. So that you will be able to share God's love. With that person this week.
[57:04] Now let's pray together. As we sing. Open my eyes that I may see Glimpses of truth thou hast for me Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall once plasp and set me free Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God I will to see Open my eyes illumine me Spirit divine Open my ears that I may hear
[58:07] Voices of truth thou sendest clear And while the wave notes fall on my ear Everything false will disappear Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God I will to see Open my ears illumine me Spirit divine Open my mouth and let me bear Gladly the warm truth everywhere Open my heart and let me prepare Open my heart and let me prepare Love with thy children thus to share Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God thy will to see
[59:12] Open my heart and let me prepare Spirit divine Let's pray a prayer of confession first Great God in heaven Great God in heaven I have sinned I have sinned I have been indifferent Indifferent to the needs of your people Indifferent in sharing the great love you've given me I have kept too much of it to myself I have looked around me And seen the people in need And sometimes I have looked and seen And just didn't care
[60:14] Forgive me Lord Fill me with a heart of compassion Help me to go to people And share your word with them That you love them And that you will forgive their sins In Jesus name I pray Amen I'm going to pray for you Heavenly Father I just ask in Jesus name That each and every one of us today Each and every one of us Would be given the name of somebody To share your love with That we would not be afraid But that we would go out with a boldness By the power of your Holy Spirit That we would have wisdom To know what to say How much to say And how much to be quiet about Lord I pray in Jesus name That you would give us a heart of love
[61:15] And that they would see that love Not any kind of guilt Or condemnation Or judgment But only your love Because that's what draws people to you Father I just pray That you anoint Each and every one here To share your love With that person You placed on their hearts In Jesus name I pray Amen You know God is so good God has given us everything we need To do all that God has called us to do And this was the thing That the church did The moment they were Given that power from the Holy Spirit They went out and shared the good news And daily Their numbers grew Because Of God's love Isn't it a wonderful thing That before we even knew That we were in need Of saving God did save us God loves us so much
[62:17] In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven Glory to God Amen Amen The streets of every village Every city soaring tower Empty people live in darkness Every minute, every hour Hear the cry of desperation From a building broken house With a need so great where we even start Let it start with me Open up my eyes Fill my heart with your compassion Free my mind from all distractions
[63:20] Use my hand Set the captive for me Fill my feet to follow and deal Oh, change the world and let it start with me You're giving us the orders There's a place for everyone I don't want to miss my mission And the plans that you've begun You have promised to go with me To the edges of it all Change everything that keeps me from your call Let it start with me Let it start with me Open up my eyes Fill my heart with your compassion
[64:22] Fill my mind from all distractions Fill my head Set the captive for me Put my feet to follow after you Lord, change the world and let it start with me Take my life Take my life Take my life All that I have called my own Everything I am Destroy is low Let it start with me Open up my eyes Fill my heart with your compassion Fill my heart with your compassion And my mind from all distractions Use my hands Set the captive for me Put my feet to follow after you Put my feet to follow after you
[65:25] Lord, change the world and let it start with me Open up my eyes Fill my heart with your compassion Fill my mind from all distractions Use my hands Set the captive for me Open up my eyes Put my feet to follow after you Lord, change the world and let it start with me Let it start with me Let it start with me It is simple to do what God has called us to do But it isn't easy We can't go out there and share God's love with people Without God's empowerment We have to have God to do this
[66:26] If we go out out of our own strength And we try to just do it the way we think it ought to be done The world will stomp right over us They think we're nuts But with God Our all in all Our strength when we are weak With God filled inside us The world can't resist that Because God is God in heaven Amen Amen Nobody Nobody Overrides God So you can trust If you go with God's strength That you will Fulfill God's purpose God is our strength You are my strength When I am weak You are the treasure That I see You are my all in all Seeing you as a precious jewel
[67:31] Don't you give up I'd be a fool You are my all in all You are my all in all Taking my sin My cause My shame Fights me not Can I bless your name You are my all in all You are my all in all When I fall down When I fall down You take me up When I am dry You fill my cup You are my all in all Jesus Jesus Lamb of God Lord He is your name
[68:38] Jesus Lamb of God Lamb of God Lamb of God Lamb of God Lamb of God Lamb of God Lamb of God Holy is our heaven You are my all in all You are my strength When I am weak when I am weak.
[69:06] You are the treasure that I seek. You are my all in all. Jesus is a precious tool.
[69:25] Lord, you give up my fear for you are my all in all. Lord, you give up your name.
[69:38] Lord, you give up your name. Please be seated.
[69:51] You know, when we come to the table, we can come expecting. We come expecting to receive Jesus, to receive God's power and God's love.
[70:01] When we come in faith to this table, receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion, it is God who comes into us in a very special, very unique way.
[70:15] So come expecting to receive the blessing from God, just the blessing from God that you need to accomplish what God has called you to do. everyone is welcome.
[70:26] Everyone is welcome. In the United Methodist Church, if you love God, earnestly repent of your sin and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are welcome to come to the table.
[70:38] You don't have to be a member. You don't ever have to have been here before. This can be your first time coming. If you want to make that commitment to Christ, to follow Jesus as a disciple, you are welcome at the table.
[70:53] Come. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Blessed are you, our Alpha and Omega, whose strong and loving arms encompass the universe.
[71:11] For with your eternal word and Holy Spirit, you are forever one God. Through your word, you created all things and called them good. And in you, we live and move and have our being.
[71:23] When we fell into sin, you did not desert us. You made covenant with your people Israel and spoke through prophets and teachers. In Jesus Christ, your word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
[71:37] 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.
[71:52] 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, who called you Abba, Father.
[72:06] As a mother tenderly gathers her children, you embraced a people as your own and filled them with a longing for a peace that would last and for a justice that would never fail. In Jesus' suffering and death, you took upon yourself our sin and death and destroyed their power forever.
[72:22] You raised from the dead this same Jesus who now reigns with you in glory and poured upon us your Holy Spirit, making us the people of your new covenant. On the night before meeting with death, Jesus took bread and gave thanks to you.
[72:37] And he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
[72:50] When the supper was over, he took the cup and he gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples and he said, drink from this, all of you.
[73:03] This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
[73:17] 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.
[73:34] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here. And on these gifts that in the breaking of this bread and the drinking of this wine, we may know the presence of the living Christ and be renewed as the body of Christ for the world, redeemed by Christ's blood.
[73:57] As the grain and the grapes once dispersed in the fields are now united on this table in bread and wine, so may we and all your people be gathered from every time and place into the unity of your eternal household and feast at your table forever.
[74:15] Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen. Shall we pray together as disciples of Jesus Christ the prayer he taught us?
[74:30] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[74:41] Give us this day our daily bread. give us our trespasses. Forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[74:55] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Will those serving please come forward.共 rear temptation, who is unable to beكمhow and hear and to be may have the and the voice of thy and they will be or may repent that Thank you.
[76:00] Thank you.
[76:30] Thank you.
[77:00] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[77:12] Thank you. I'd like to invite you to stand if you're able as we sing the closing hymn, Something Beautiful.
[77:30] I will be back. Something beautiful, something good.
[78:09] All my confusion, he understood. All I had to offer him was brokenness and strife.
[78:27] He made something beautiful of my life.
[78:41] The people of the world need that beauty. That beauty God's poured out into you, that he's made your life beautiful and precious. Go out, share his love.
[78:53] I got a name too. So we're all going. As you go, may the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. May the Lord be gracious unto you and lift up his countenance upon you.
[79:06] May the Lord grant you love and joy and peace as you go and share his love and mercy. In Jesus' name, amen.