[0:00] Good morning, everyone. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. If any of the kids want to come up and help sing, that would be wonderful.
[0:18] This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made That the Lord has made Let us rejoice Let us rejoice And be glad in it And be glad in it This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day This is the day That the Lord Has made Hi, welcome to our church. I'm Mike Maciejewski.
[1:03] And I'm Julie. Please fill out your friendship card to get on the mailing list, to sign up for any activities, any prayers or concerns, and any notes you want to send for 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.
[1:19] Thank you for coming today, and welcome to Pendleton Center Church. I wanted to mention two things. First of all, this Wednesday, we've got a gathering for our music people.
[1:32] Right, the music gathering, we're going to have a potluck at 6 o'clock. I'll provide the hot dogs and rolls and drinks, but if everyone can bring a dish to pass, even if it's just chips or something. And then we're going to eat a potluck dinner, and then the choir's going to go up and rehearse, and you'll get to meet all the other music people.
[1:46] Whatever music group you're interested in, just come out and meet everybody and get joined up. And two weeks from today, we start our fall worship times, so we'll be meeting at 8.15, 9.30, and 11.15.
[2:02] What time? 8.15, 9.30, and 11.15. And when does that start? In? Two weeks. All right. Let's pray, shall we?
[2:14] Dear God, we do thank you for the blessings you give to us. Give us this place where we can come and worship and celebrate your presence. Be with us, touch us, fill us. In Jesus' name we pray.
[2:25] Amen. I'm going to invite you to stand as we sing together, God of the Ages. God of the Ages Whose almighty hand Leads are filled with all the starry band A shining world It's splendor through the skies Her able stars Before thy throne arrives Thy love divine Thy love divine That led us in the past In this great land By the arm of his cast
[3:30] He's our ruler, guide and stay By your life, I have our chosen way From waters of life, from deathly pestilence He guides one eye, our ever-assured defense Guide to religion, in our hearts it brings The love is good, let the rest of still be The Lord be with you.
[4:32] Also with you. Take a moment, if you will, and greet your neighbor with the beast of the Spirit. Put it very well. I'd like to invite our children to come on up and join us if they'd like to.
[5:10] Any other kids coming up? Come to the world. Or we'll let them get up. They're coming a little slow, but they're coming.
[5:21] I want to show you a picture. All right? You know who this guy is? That's me.
[5:37] That's me. In high school. Yeah. Yeah, I tried to get it up there, but I guess we didn't get it. That's me in high school. I went to my high school reunion. You know, I haven't been in high school for 40 years. That's a long time, isn't it?
[5:48] And when I went in the room, there were all these people who I knew really well 40 years ago, but I haven't seen in 40 years. And everybody was kind of standing around like, I don't know who anybody is. Nobody's talking to anybody.
[5:59] So I went up to people and said, hi, my name's Tom Kraft. Who are you? They didn't recognize me because this is what I used to look like, right? You see, sometimes we feel awkward and we're waiting for somebody else to say hello.
[6:12] When actually the nicest thing we could do if we feel uncomfortable is go say hello to somebody else, right? Because they're probably waiting for us to do it too because they feel uncomfortable too. See, whatever you're feeling you want to have somebody help you with, you should help them with.
[6:25] That's when the Bible says do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Okay? What are you thankful for this morning? You want to share something? Raise your hand if you'd like to share. My family and friends.
[6:37] Mom and Dad. All right. Lord, we thank you for family, for friends, for our parents, for the blessings you give to us. Bless us this day and always with your grace and joy. Words in Jesus' name we pray.
[6:49] Amen. Okay, you guys go out to church school. All the kids can go out to church school if they'd like to. Come on, I'd like to invite them. Sunkin Kubiak, come on up.
[7:02] We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. Good morning.
[7:13] So I wanted to do the thankful moment today, and I want to share with you a little bit of a funny story, something that happened in my life. It's not a monumental thing, but something that has been very meaningful for me.
[7:25] And through the years has really reminded me of some of the little miracles that God places in our lives and reminds me of God's constant presence in my life.
[7:37] So, oh, and I'm really very nervous. For about 13 years and a few months ago, it was my wedding day.
[7:47] And like, you know, most people, you want it to be really special. And so my fiancee at that time ordered this beautiful limo. So it arrived at our house or at my house, the driveway.
[8:01] And it was this beautiful kind of vintage looking cream colored, just beautiful limo. So my three bridesmaids and I got in the limo and it wouldn't start.
[8:14] So, you know, fortunately, we're still in our driveway. So we jumped it. And one of our bridesmaids thought, well, maybe, you know, I should follow along in the back just in case. And the driver assures us it'll be fine.
[8:27] Once it's started, you know, as long as I don't turn off the engine, there's no reason why it should stop. So we all get in. We start driving to the church. We're driving, driving. And then we get onto the thruway ramp.
[8:40] And just as we're reaching the top of the thruway ramp, we hear a little poof, poof, poof. And then it just goes totally dead. And so we're there at the top of the thruway ramp.
[8:51] And, you know, me and my bridesmaids were in our high heels so we can't really walk anywhere. And also remember, this was 13 years ago. And I don't know if you remember, but at that time, cell phones were not very common.
[9:05] And even people who had cell phones didn't really keep them on. And, you know, we didn't have it loaded with all of the, you know, phone numbers of our family and friends and emergency numbers or anything. And so we really couldn't call anyone.
[9:18] One of my bridesmaids did have a cell phone. And she called the church and left a message there. So because the church was closed, it was only open with the pastor there for the wedding.
[9:29] And so she left a message. We had no idea when anyone would actually hear this message. And so we, and the limo driver, I mean, he did contact his company. But it was sort of a little ways away.
[9:43] And he was told that they may be able to get another car out there maybe in about an hour or so. So, I mean, not a, you know, not a huge disaster. But still, everyone's waiting at the church. My fiancee's waiting, wondering what is going on.
[9:55] Is she coming? And I'm feeling very anxious. And we all got back in. And my bridesmaids are talking, talking, trying to, you know, problem solve. And I remember a moment when I just got very, very quiet.
[10:10] And I knew they were talking, but I really couldn't hear them. And I remember sitting there, and I just looked out the window. And I felt really helpless. And then I remember just kind of looking out and saying, oh, dear God, I don't know what to do.
[10:26] I need your help. Please send someone. And I said that a few times. And actually, I actually did expect someone to come by.
[10:39] But in my mind, I was thinking, okay, you know, he's going to make it so that someone hears the message at the church. And someone will be by in about 20 or 30 minutes or so. But actually, just a few minutes after that, a little blue Honda Civic pulls up in front of the limo.
[10:58] And a man that I've never seen gets out. And it turns out this man worked for the limo company. And he recognized one of their cars. And so he stopped to see what was going on.
[11:08] And he gave us a ride to the wedding. And as we were riding, he was telling us, he was kind of excited because he thought this was a pretty cool coincidence.
[11:20] Because he said, you know, I never come out this way. He lives in the south towns. And he doesn't remember the last time he was on that thruway. But that day, there was a particular errand that he had to run.
[11:33] And there was other road work going on. And so this was really the only way that he could get there. And so on his way back from the errand, he happened to be right there. And I really do believe in my heart that God placed this person there on that thruway.
[11:51] You know, not because I'm anything important in life. But because that was his way of showing me, hey, I'm here. I'm watching. I see what's going on.
[12:01] And I have things planned out for you. You can trust me. And I'll be here when you call on me. So, and I remember another instance kind of like this about three years prior.
[12:19] And it was a time in my life when I was feeling pretty stuck and starting to feel a little bit hopeless that something that I wanted so much in my life may not actually happen for me.
[12:30] And again, I was in a car. I was driving my car at that time. And I remember, again, having this quiet moment and just feeling resigned, resigned.
[12:42] And I remember saying, oh, God, I can't figure this out. I can't figure this out. I need you. Please send me someone. And please help me to see him when he's there.
[12:57] Help me to recognize what you've placed in front of me. And as it turns out, that night, I was going to my first community education volleyball class. And my future husband was there.
[13:10] And although it took me about a year to kind of recognize it, in fact, God did provide. And the other interesting thing is, is that my husband actually is nothing like the ideal image of the person that I thought I would end up with when I was young.
[13:31] In fact, in many, many ways, he is probably the exact antithesis of that. But it turns out that he actually is really perfect for me.
[13:46] He is good for me. And I think he would say that I'm good for him as well. And so, you know, God made me wait.
[13:59] He made me wait until I was ready to let go of my own assumptions and my own expectations and desires and ready to accept the perfect gift that he had waiting for me.
[14:12] And so, you know, I think back on these two things because it really reminds me, again, God is really there for me. He hears me.
[14:23] And it also is a reminder. I really think that God has sort of said, hey, son, hold on. Remember who you are.
[14:35] Okay. Remember, you're mine. And I have my own particular plans for you. And it may not look anything like what you thought it would be. But it is perfect for your needs.
[14:47] And I will provide it as you need it, when you need it. So I just want to share that with you. Thank you. And we are grateful to God for all of the blessings that God pours into our lives.
[15:10] Let's return to our Lord, out of devotion and worship, our gifts, tithes, and offerings. Let's return to our Lord, out of devotion and worship, our gifts, and offerings.
[15:44] Giving all I am to seek your face. Lord, all I am is yours.
[16:01] My whole life I place in your hands. God of mercy, humbled, I bow down.
[16:13] In your presence at your throne. I called, you answered.
[16:31] And you came to my rescue. And I want to be where you are.
[16:42] My whole life I place in your hands.
[17:02] God of mercy, humbled, I bow down. In your presence at your throne.
[17:14] I called, you answered. I called, you answered. I called, you answered. I called, you answered. I called, you answered. And you came to my rescue.
[17:28] And I want to be where you are. And I want to be where you are. And I want to be where you are. I called, you answered. I called, you answered. I called, you answered.
[17:39] I called, you answered. And you came to my rescue. And I want to be where you are.
[17:51] I want to be where you are. And I want to be where you are.
[18:22] In my life, be lifted high. In my world, be lifted high.
[18:33] In my love, be lifted high. In my life, be lifted high.
[18:48] In our world, be lifted high. In our love, be lifted high.
[19:02] In our lives, be lifted high. In our world, be lifted high.
[19:13] In our love, be lifted high. I called you answer.
[19:27] And you came to my rescue and I want to be where you are.
[19:41] I called you answer. And you came to my rescue and I, I want to be where you are.
[20:02] And you came to my life. And you came to my rescue and I want to be where you are. And you came to my rescue and I want to be where you are.
[20:15] Thank you.
[20:45] Thank you.
[21:15] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you.
[21:26] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[21:38] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[21:50] There's something to london in Folge. X-Brother Richard is at Roswell. He's having chemotherapy treatments, and we need to keep him and his family in our prayers.
[22:03] And Jan Fay, I don't know how many of you remember that a couple of months ago, maybe even a little longer than that, she had broken her leg, and it's not healing properly.
[22:14] And so she's going to be needing additional treatment for that. They're not sure what they're going to do at this point, but they are treating her to try and stimulate that bone growth. So we need to keep her in our prayers.
[22:25] She was able to be here for a few weeks, and now is not. So please keep her in your prayers, and, you know, give her a call. I know she'd appreciate that.
[22:36] Let's take these concerns and the concerns and the joys that are on your heart to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day.
[22:56] We are grateful that you call us to pray. Remind us, Lord, each and every day. Put in our hearts and our minds those people in those situations that you would have us pray for.
[23:12] Help us to be a people of prayer who do trust you to hear and answer in whatever form those answers come for.
[23:25] Help us to grow in our trust in you. And now we lift up these folks who we have named and those who are in our hearts who have not been named, who are sick and infirm, who are in need of a touch of healing from you, Lord.
[23:40] Make them whole from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet. We pray also, Father, for those who are grieving losses of all kinds. We ask that you would touch them as well and bring them comfort and bring them peace.
[23:58] Lord God, we are grateful for your individual touches on each one of our lives and the lives of those we love. And we are grateful, Lord, for those times when you touch us in ways that seem to be more far-reaching.
[24:16] We thank you for calling us to be your people and reach out and touch others through all kinds of ministries and all kinds of ways of being, all kinds of ways of giving.
[24:35] Lord God, be with all of those who are in trouble, who don't have a place that they can call home, who are hungry, who are under threat of harm, who are under threat of death, or calling on your name, Lord.
[25:02] And Lord, we pray for all of those in this world, in our nation and in our communities who don't know you. We pray that you continue to draw them to yourself and make us to be your voice, sharing your love with them.
[25:19] Now as we come to hear from your word, Lord, we ask that you would open our hearts, open our minds, open our eyes and ears, open our whole being to receive what you have for us this day.
[25:33] Bless Pastor Tom and anoint him to deliver the message that you have called him to share with us. Make all of our worship to be a blessing to you, Lord God, even as you so faithfully bless us in all things.
[25:50] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Shall we sing from the word of the Lord? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[26:00] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[26:35] Amen. Good morning. Good morning. Today's reading is from the book of Luke, chapter 13, verses 1 through 9. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
[26:51] Jesus answered, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
[27:04] Or those 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no.
[27:16] But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Then he told this parable. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
[27:30] So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, For three years now, I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down. Why should it use up the soil?
[27:42] Sir, the man replied, leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down.
[27:53] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Elizabeth. Well, I don't have a fig tree in my yard, but I have an apple tree. And I have to tell you that last year, that apple tree, for all of the effort and all of what it was, produced two apples.
[28:12] And actually, these are nicer apples than it produced. You know, sometimes what we plan in life doesn't work out, and sometimes it feels like life itself is broken.
[28:25] This passage raises what we call the problem of evil. If God is so good, and if God is so powerful, why is there evil, and why do bad things happen? In this passage, the people coming to Jesus want to blame it on the people themselves.
[28:40] Were they bad sinners, and that's why they got punished? Unlike us good people? You know, the problem is, is that this is a real difficulty for our lives, because it's not about apples.
[28:53] It's about cancer, and it's about pain, and it's about automobile accidents, and it's about children or parents who are suffering and struggling, and there's not a dang thing we can do to fix it.
[29:05] It's about the real hurts and failures and disappointments of life. There's real problems. Truth is, some of them are caused by our decisions, aren't they?
[29:17] Some of them are caused because there's some people out there that are really nasty, mean, and hurtful, and they do nasty, mean, hurtful things to others. Or they're just incompetent. Maybe the people who built the tower didn't build it right, and so it fell on people.
[29:31] Sometimes it's the decisions of others, because God has allowed them to make choices, and they make the wrong ones. Sometimes it's our own choices. We make the wrong choice. We do the wrong thing. We find we suffer, or others suffer even worse.
[29:46] Sometimes it's just the natural occurrences of life. You know, this world that we live in has all sorts of things going on that sometimes we don't understand, so we can't predict really where a hurricane is going to appear or when an earthquake is going to happen, and we try to live in this world which is not perfect.
[30:05] The world that is perfect is the one to come. This is a broken world where sin and corruption and destruction have created all kinds of problems, and so sometimes we're just running into the natural order of things because we're really not meant to stay in this world.
[30:21] This is a broken world. Somebody asked me about cancer the other day. Why did God put cancer here? I said, well, you know, I really believe, and I don't know that this is a good answer, but if we cured cancer, another disease would come up to take its place, don't you?
[30:39] I don't think God wants us to be here forever because this world is broken. But these people want to say, it must be that those people over there are bad, and that's why this happened.
[30:51] Right, Jesus? Jesus says, no. No. In this world, good people and bad people suffer a lot.
[31:04] Sometimes even when we try to do something right, we can suffer. That fellow, that soldier on the train who rescued those people from that terrorist, right? I don't know if you read about it. He had his thumb practically cut off.
[31:16] He had a slice below his eye. His arm is all messed up. He's cut all over the place, and I know what it's like to have an injury on one of your fingers. It'll never work right again for the rest of his life because he did something right.
[31:28] So the problem is, even doing right, we can sometimes run into suffering. Of course, part of the problem is is just our definition of what is good life.
[31:39] What does it mean to live in the God's blessings or God's miracles? We tend to see people who have problems like these people who were caught up in a revolution in the temple and found their blood mixed with the sacrifices or the people who the tower fell on or people who make mistakes or people who get in problems.
[31:57] They must be bad, right? And it's the people where everything is going right and the people who have no problems, no difficulties, no struggles. Those are the good people. But it's not as simple as that.
[32:11] And in fact, we've even gone to the point of determining that a blessed life is one without any suffering. The pursuit of health, wealth, and happiness has become the goal of our culture.
[32:26] And if you don't believe it, look at the pains we go to to avoid pain. We have pills. We have medicines. We go to doctors. We get therapies. We've got to make our beds so that they have this comfort on one side and another comfort on the other side.
[32:40] And some move and wiggle and jiggle and do all sorts of stuff to you just so you won't feel any discomfort because the goal in life is for you to be comfortable, right? Well, that's what we've been told and it's really kind of what we've come to believe.
[32:56] We spend our money and our time on this. But avoiding suffering isn't the point of life. Jesus points out and says, you've got to get your life in order or you're not going to get to the next one.
[33:08] That's what this life is about is to get to the next one and live for God. Miracle life. A blessed living.
[33:21] It's not a life without suffering. It's a life that's filled with the power and the purpose of God. And if you've ever read this book, you would know that.
[33:32] If you knew anything about the prophet Jeremiah, they called him the suffering servant because his entire life was lousy. I mean, terrible. He was told he couldn't marry because his life would be so bad by God.
[33:46] When he got done doing God's work, they kidnapped him and took him to a foreign land where he died. Really? Peter was hung upside down on a cross. Paul had his head chopped off. People suffered and hurt and struggled.
[33:58] Would you want to live the life Jesus lived and die the way Jesus died? Struggles are a part of life. In fact, I believe that God sends us a glimpse of heaven and a glimpse of hell so that when we see the best of life, we'll say we want to go to that place forever.
[34:18] And when we see the worst of life, we see the place we don't want to go. Amen? But then life feels capricious, like it really doesn't make any difference what we do then.
[34:31] We just kind of wander through life. What we do does matter. It demonstrates what's important to us, what we care about.
[34:43] How many of you have ever said the prayer, the little blessing before dinner, God is great, God is good. God is good. And what God plans, what God wants to do, is what matters.
[34:58] He defines what's good. We don't define what's good. What's good, He does. In Mark chapter 10 and verse 18, when they were talking to Jesus, they called Him good, and He said, no one is good except God alone.
[35:13] No one is good except God alone. God defines what's good, not us. God decided on a little blue Honda, not a limousine.
[35:28] That was good. It served a purpose and took care of what was needed and gave someone faith that they could share today, and that's good. If you would have gone off in the limousine, it wouldn't have been anything but a plain old normal story of a wedding.
[35:44] Right? You see, we don't think of it that way, do we? God has a plan that sometimes we can't see when we're in the midst of the struggle. Self-righteousness.
[35:56] A sense that we think we're about what's making good. It takes away from the miracle power and the possibilities God wants to make happen.
[36:07] We start to think we deserve something because we're good people. How many times have you read or seen a story or something about somebody who did something awful, like killed people or this or that, and they interview their friends or family and they say, yeah, but they're a good person.
[36:23] No, they're not. Don't you want to say, no, they're not. They're not good people. And you see, that's what these folks in this story were trying to do because if they could point to these people and say they're bad, if they could say that these people are the ones who are the lowlife, then they could feel okay about themselves.
[36:43] But here's the point. No one is good except God alone. Which means, whether you like hearing it or not, you are not good.
[36:56] I'm not good. I've told you that before. Not because I've got some secret I'm trying to set you up for that is going to, you know, cause some great scandal. Because ultimately, I know my failings.
[37:10] I know there's something wrong with me. You know there's something wrong with you. You know there's things you struggle with that are broken in your lives. And so do these people. And that's why they're pointing at other people. Make themselves feel they're not so bad, but they are.
[37:25] Ultimately, Christianity is a gift. Even though we don't deserve it, God gives us grace. Even though we don't deserve it, God gives us power.
[37:35] Even though we don't deserve it, God gives us miracles. And until we recognize that they're a gift, God doesn't want to give them.
[37:46] How many of you want to give a gift to somebody who thinks that they deserve it? I give a gift because I want to feel good about giving the gift. You think God is any different?
[37:59] What we do and how we act has an impact on whether we're going to experience miracles. We're going to talk about miracles in the next few weeks. And what we do for God will make a difference in whether miracles will occur around us.
[38:19] The apple tree that we have planted in our backyard is part of an orchard. This entire property was an orchard years ago. And there aren't very many of those trees left. There's two or three in my yard.
[38:31] One was this apple tree, which was actually buried in the jungle. I mean, it was in 30 feet of just tangle and mess until a guy with a bulldozer who was working in our church, I asked him to clear the area out.
[38:42] He starts going through and he sees the apple tree. He says, you want me to save that apple tree? I'm like, dude, that's so cool that you could pick that out. Blows it away. But for over 20 years, that apple tree sat buried in a jungle producing no value to me or anyone else.
[39:01] In this story, we've got a big tree. It produces no fruit. The owner says, cut it down. What's the point? You know he's not talking about a tree here, right?
[39:14] What's the point of people if they produce no fruit for God? At some point, they become worthless. They might as well be cut down. There's a parable that Jesus told called the parable of the talents.
[39:30] Now, a talent was a piece of Roman money. And he said that one person was given five talents, another three, and another one won. And they were told to go out and do something with it.
[39:42] And then they brought it back to the owner after a whole long period of time. And the one with five came back with five, and he said, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into my rescue. You've been faithful. And the second one came back with three, and he said the same thing to him.
[39:56] The third one, we had one, came back and said, I know you're kind of a rough and tough master. So I took your talent. I buried it in the ground. Here it is. I'm giving it back to you. And he says, dude, seriously?
[40:08] You could have at least put it in the bank and gotten 0.50% interest, right? Or whatever it is. Now, that story isn't just about money.
[40:19] It's about life. To understand the story, because we sometimes feel bad for the guy with one talent. One talent today would be worth $600,000. Give me $600,000, and I'd do something other than bury it in the ground.
[40:33] Amen? I mean, at least get interest, even if it's hardly anything. But he buried it in the ground. And we know this isn't about money. This is about what do you do with your life?
[40:45] What do you do with all the talent? What do you do with all the abilities God's given to you? Is it all about you? Or is it about God?
[40:58] The owner of the fig tree said, why should this tree take up ground? Why should it take up the soil?
[41:10] You know, if I have a tree that doesn't give me what I want, I cut it down. I told you last week I took out a grapevine because it gave me no grapes, right? You think this tree's going to get any mercy from me if it's going to keep producing two apples?
[41:22] Out it goes. Why should it take up my yard? I'm not going to rake its leaves. Why do you think God would be any different with us if we give nothing to God?
[41:41] It's not just self-righteousness that keeps us from the miracle power of God. It's selfishness. Selfishness. It's fascinating that they came to Jesus and they said, aren't those people bad?
[41:54] Aren't those people over there kind of really bad people? And Jesus turns it completely around and says, you know, first of all, the fact that the tower fell on them doesn't mean they're bad and you need to change or you're going to hell.
[42:07] Whoa! Didn't see that coming. Talk about reversing it and turning it right around. He says, listen, you have a responsibility. It isn't about what your neighbor's doing.
[42:18] It isn't about what somebody else is doing wrong. It's about you. What are you doing with your life? When you stand before God on that day of judgment, is there anyone that's going to be there that's going to stand as a witness and say, God, this person changed my life for you.
[42:38] They made a difference. They deserve mercy. We've come to think that the purpose of life is to take up the soil.
[42:49] The purpose of life is to get the limousines. There's nothing wrong with limousines. The purpose of life is big houses and a comfortable life.
[43:02] How does it benefit me when Jesus is saying, love your neighbor as yourself?
[43:13] I'm going to get in trouble here, I imagine, with somebody because I rarely get into this kind of stuff, but I'm going to anyways. They've got this natural gas pumping station they want to put into Pendleton.
[43:26] There's some flyers out in the back of the sanctuary if you want to read about it. And I've had people come up to me over the last two or three months to ask me what I think about it. I'm not a scientist.
[43:36] I'm not an engineer. I'm not a city planner. I'm a pastor. What do I think? I don't think it belongs in this community. I think, you know, we live in the industrial wasteland of America.
[43:48] There's got to be some other place for it to go in western New York. That's what I think. I think that they've got to have some other place. We all know what we live in in this community. There's got to be some brownfield, some dead spot.
[43:59] Put it in Lovkinality. You know, put it somewhere where it bothers no one. I don't know. But here's the problem I have. I understand the argument against it. I already told you I'm not in favor of this.
[44:12] But I have people who have said to me, do you know we're not even going to get the natural gas that's going to go to Canada? So what are you saying? People in Canada should freeze, eh? They shouldn't have natural gas.
[44:26] Why do they deserve natural gas? Shouldn't go to the area of Bellic, Toronto, right? I mean, come on, really. You know somebody's got a pumping station in their neighborhood that's pumping gas to your home.
[44:38] You know that, right? How many of you are disconnecting your natural gas over this? I don't think so. Because the honest-to-goodness truth is it's not a question of is this good for us compared to our neighbors?
[44:52] It's a question of it doesn't belong here. And I agree it doesn't belong here. But when we start thinking about what's in it for me, I mean, so if this pump gas to Pendleton, would then it be the right thing?
[45:03] We want it now. Do you see the point? Maybe you don't. Jesus says repent. Stop being selfish.
[45:15] Being self-focused. Have a different focus. One that's positive. One that's loving. One that's not looking for blame and saying everybody's bad except me. Try to help somebody.
[45:25] Grace and thanksgiving. Holy Spirit. Eternal life. Blessings. This is the language of God. If we want different results, we need to engage in different actions and a different attitude.
[45:43] Jesus says repent, which means to turn around, change. Do something different. Don't live the same. If you want different results, do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
[46:00] You know, the hero in this story is this guy who's out there with the boss and he says, cut down this tree. Why is it taking up the soil? It's producing no fruit.
[46:11] You know, if my boss told me cut down a tree, I'd be out at the shed getting the chainsaw. Wouldn't you? Okay, boss. No problem. Down goes the tree. What do I care about the tree? I wouldn't be arguing with the boss over a tree.
[46:26] But he actually pleads for mercy. Give it a little time. Let me work on it. Maybe if I do a little something, I can make a difference. See, that's what God's looking for us to be.
[46:41] We're not the people who are pointing at those who had a tower fall on them. We're not even the fruit tree. We're the guy in the vineyard. We're the guy out there in the orchard who's supposed to say, let me help somebody.
[46:53] Go make a teenager's life better. Go do something to raise our children the way God would want our children to be raised. Go help somebody who's sick or struggling or having a problem.
[47:05] Go do something good with your life. And I'm not talking like it has to be spectacularly amazing either. You know, I have a lot of people who help me in my life.
[47:16] But I got a lot of little tasks that I have to do just like all of you that drive me crazy. Out at Silver Lake, I had a clever idea on how to put our deck into the water.
[47:28] We have a deck that folds. And rather than doing it the proper way, lowering it gently into the water, I got a couple of guys and we picked it up and we threw it down into the water. Thinking, ah, that'll go quick.
[47:39] Bam! One of the posts popped right through the board, broke the board. One more little project to fix. Walked away. Now I got more work than I had before. And I saw my neighbor, Jerry, and Jerry says, I see that your deck broke.
[47:52] I said, yeah. I said, I'm just going to get my little jigsaw and I'm going to cut around it and screw it down. I'll get it fixed. He says, you don't want to do that. That's going to look terrible. I said, Jerry, I don't have time. I don't have the energy.
[48:03] I'll get it next week. Don't worry about it. I came back next week with my jigsaw and some screws and all. It was fixed. Jerry fixed it. I'm like, how cool is that?
[48:14] But then I see this mess on the deck. And he says, well, there was this huge rainstorm and all this junk washed all this out from underneath your steps. I said, really? I'll get a shovel.
[48:24] I'll get it fixed. I'll clean it up, Jerry. I know you don't want to look at this. Don't worry. I'll get it by next week. Came out next week with my shovel and my broom. You know what happened, don't you? Jerry cleaned it up.
[48:37] Jerry cleaned it up. Now, this is not big stuff. This didn't take Jerry like six days to do. But you have no idea how much it made me feel good that somebody bothered to help me in life somewhere.
[48:51] Sometimes we think it's all these huge things. You are incredibly talented people. I know you. You have talents that are amazing.
[49:03] Don't hide them in the dirt. Don't bury them away in a jungle. They're given to you to give to others. Look for the possibilities. And if you look, you'll likely see them.
[49:16] All right. Let me see. You gone deep, get over. Take it.
[49:30] Oh, I know my death will not come Till I breathe all the air out my lungs Till my final tune is sung But all is bleeding Yeah, but all is good And my love is my whole being And I've shared what I could But if you give a little love
[50:32] You can get a little love of your own Don't break his heart Yeah, if you give a little love You can get a little love of your own Don't break his heart My heart is bigger than the earth And though life is what gave it love first Oh, life is not all that it's worth Cause life is fleeting Yeah, but I love you And my love surrounds you like an ether
[51:35] In everything that you do But if you give a little love You can get a little love of your own Don't break his heart Don't break his heart If you give a little love Don't break it.
[52:23] Don't break it.
[52:53] Don't break it.
[53:23] Don't break it.
[53:53] So they watch to see whether you live it or it's just a show. And God will give you opportunities.
[54:04] God will send you Honda Civics. And you can complain about having shoved your wedding dress inside you. It got dirty. Or you can change your attitude and look for where you can see blessings and be a blessing.
[54:22] And I can tell you, that's what God wants to bless. You want miracles to start happening around you. Start living the way God wants you to live. Romans chapter 8 verse 28 says it this way.
[54:37] We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. You know, I've often been called an optimist.
[54:49] And that's because I know that positive thinking is more likely to give you a better life. Negative thinking guarantees you're going to have a bad life. So why not go with what has the possibilities?
[55:00] If you live for what God wants you to live at, you are more likely to have miracles. It doesn't guarantee it. But it makes it far more possible.
[55:12] This year I looked out at my poor apple tree. It was that hot, dry spell. And I could see its leaves starting to droop. So I went out and I put fertilizer around it.
[55:23] And I put the sprinkle on it and let it run for hours. We have more apples this year than I've ever seen before. And they taste better. My wife made quarts and quarts and quarts of applesauce.
[55:37] Because we invest. We invest in blessing. And God sees the investment. And God changes His plan.
[55:49] Because we've changed. Our behavior. Our behavior. I see the King of glory.
[56:11] Coming on the cloud with fire. The whole earth's sheds. The whole earth's sheds.
[56:23] I see His love and mercy. Watching over all our sins.
[56:35] The people sing. The people sing. Hosanna Hawaii. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna.
[56:46] Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna.
[57:03] Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. I see a generation rising up to take their place with selfless faith, with selfless faith.
[57:26] I see a new revival stirring as we pray and sing. We're on our knees. We're on our knees.
[57:44] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
[58:06] Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Heal my heart and make it clean. Open up my eyes to the things I see.
[58:18] Show me how to love my view. And love me. Break my heart, oh my grace is yours.
[58:34] Everything I am for your kingdom's heart. As I walk from earth into eternity.
[58:49] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
[59:03] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.
[59:16] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.
[59:27] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul Worship His holy name Seen like never before O my soul I'll worship Your holy name The sun comes up It's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass
[60:30] And whatever lies before me Let me be singing When the evening comes Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before O my soul I'll worship Your holy name You're rich in love And you're slow to anger Your name is great And your heart is kind For all your goodness I will keep on singing Ten thousand reasons
[61:30] For all my heart To find Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before O my soul O my soul I'll worship Your holy name And on that day When my strength is failing The end draws near And my time has gone Still my soul Will sing Your praise Unending Ten thousand years And then forevermore Bless the Lord, O my soul
[62:33] O my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before O my soul I'll worship Your holy name I'll worship Your holy name I'll worship Your holy name You know, God decided to bless you And forgive you Before you walked in the door Of this place All He's waiting is for you To turn to Him That's what repentance is Turn to Him Turn to Him and ask Shall we pray?
[63:16] Dear God in heaven I have sinned I don't always do what You want I get too focused on myself Forgive me, Lord Guide me to Your truth In Jesus' name we pray In Jesus' name we pray Amen 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 Fuck He has sinned Amen Amen Amen Glory to God Amen Grace Lord Thou In the name of Jesus Christ For he is sanctified For His son Blessed is the name of Jesus Christ And his son Will Give Me Blessed is the name of Jesus Christ Blessed be your name when I'm found in the desert
[64:19] Thanks to my wall in the wilderness Blessed be your name Every blessing you pour out of Turn back to praise When the darkness grows in the air Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be your name With the sun shining down on me The world's all as it should be Blessed be your name Blessed be your name On the road, my heart is suffering No, there's a pain in the offering Let's you be your name
[65:20] Every blessing you pour out of Turn back to praise When the darkness grows in the air When the darkness closes in the air Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be the name of the Lord Let's be the name of the Lord.
[65:55] Let's be the glorious name. Give and take away.
[66:06] You give and take away. My heart will choose to say. Lord, blessed be your name.
[66:22] You give and take away. You give and take away. My heart will choose to say.
[66:37] Lord, blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name.
[66:50] Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name.
[67:03] Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name. Amen. Amen.
[67:13] Please be seated. Amen. What a blessing. What a blessing to serve a God who loves us so much. Who loves us so much that he knew, God knew that we needed saving before we even knew what a sin was.
[67:32] Amen. When God sent Jesus and he went to the cross for our sins, what a blessing that he did for us.
[67:44] What a blessing that we can come to the table and meet with him in person. I love that. We meet at this table, at this supper table, with God to receive all that God has for us.
[68:02] When we partake with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, we receive that gift. If there was nothing we could do to earn, everyone is welcome.
[68:14] If you love God, earnestly repent of your sin, and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are welcome at the table this morning. It doesn't matter if this is the first time you ever walk through the doors.
[68:29] It doesn't matter. You can come and receive from God. So come. Have supper with Jesus.
[68:41] The Lord be with you. Also with you. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Just give our thanks and praise.
[68:52] Thanks and praise, glory and honor are rightly yours, our Lord and God. For you alone are worthy. In time beyond our dreaming, you brought forth life out of darkness, and in the love of Christ your Son, you set man and woman at the heart of your creation.
[69:11] You loved the world so much that you sent your only Son to bring us life eternal. Dying, he destroyed our death. Hallelujah.
[69:23] Rising, he restored our life. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so we praise you with the faith of every time and place, joining with the choirs of angels and the whole creation in their eternal hymn.
[69:41] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
[69:52] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. We thank you that you called a covenant people to be a light to the nations.
[70:03] Through Moses you taught us to love your law, and in the prophets you cried out for justice. In the fullness of your mercy, you became one with us in Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us on the cross.
[70:17] You made us alive together with him, that we may rejoice in his presence and share his peace always. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and he gave thanks to you.
[70:31] He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
[70:44] And when the supper was over, he took the cup, and he gave you thanks and praise, and he gave it to his disciples, and he said, Drink from this, all of you.
[70:55] 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.
[71:14] 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.
[71:31] Christ has died. Christ has 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 his blood.
[71:51] 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.
[72:05] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.
[72:15] Shall we pray together, with the confidence of children of God, the prayer Jesus taught us? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[72:26] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[72:42] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
[72:53] Amen. Will those who are serving, please come forward. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[73:35] Amen. Amen.
[74:03] Amen. Amen. and now you're invited to come and join our Lord at the table come to the rail prayers for healing and anointing to light a candle come and join us and now you're invited to come and join us
[75:32] Thank you.
[76:02] Thank you.
[76:32] Thank you.
[77:02] Thank you.
[77:32] Thank you.
[78:02] Thank you.
[78:32] Thank you.
[79:02] Thank you. Thank you.
[79:34] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[80:10] Thank you. Thank you.
[80:42] Thank you. May God walk beside you and before you. And may God always bless you to be a blessing. Go in Jesus' name. Amen.