[0:00] Good morning everybody. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:24] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[0:44] This is the day that the Lord has made. We will be glad in the day that the Lord has made.
[1:20] I did also want to mention that today, after the late service, around 1230, quarter to 1, all these shoeboxes are going to go on their journey to the next destination. So if you want to be part of that, packing them up, moving them, shipping them off, carrying them somewhere, come back and join us for that.
[1:35] This Wednesday night, most of our activities are canceled, not all of them. So check with your groups to see if they're going to be meeting. I know our Bible studies, our dinners, line dancing, things like that are not going to be gone.
[1:47] So that you can cook turkeys. That's, I guess, the reason from what I understand. Next Sunday, we're going to have our hanging of the greens. So we're going to decorate the church. We're going to have meals, a meal together.
[1:59] We're going to have some things for the kids. About 4.30 we're going to start. So come down and join us for that as well. And the angel trees are up. So if you want to look at those, take a look at those on the way out of church.
[2:10] Shall we take a moment to turn our hearts to the Lord in prayer? Dear God, this morning we've got lots of stuff going on in our mind. Things that distract us in every direction.
[2:22] But we've come here to be with you, Lord. So help us to focus our minds, our thoughts, our hearts and our souls on just being with you. Bless us. Be present in this place in a powerful way as we pray in Jesus name. Amen.
[2:36] I'd like to invite you to stand if you're able as we're going to sing together. Now thank we all our God. Bless us.
[2:55] Now thank we all our God With heart and hands and voices Who wondrous things has done In whom death's world rejoices Who from our mother's arms Has cleansed the sun our way With countless gifts of love And still lives ours today Oh may this baptist God Through all our life be near us
[3:55] With ever joyful heart And blessed that peace to cheer us And keep us still in praise And guide us when perplexed And free us from all ills In this world and the west All praise and thanks to God The Father now be given The Son and Him who reigns With them in highest heaven The one eternal God Who earth and hell adore For thus it was His name And shall be evermore
[4:57] The Lord be with you Take a moment if you will And greet your neighbor With the peace of the spirit Good morning How are you guys doing this morning?
[5:09] That's good Look at all these shoe boxes This shoe box is for a girl A girl What do you think is inside of it?
[5:24] Let's find out There's some coloring things There's a dowel There's some candy Toothpaste and a toothbrush A couple rings A My Little Pony thing Some crayons Things for her hair This is pretty cool stuff Isn't it?
[5:47] You guys like a box like this? Yeah you'd like to get a box like this? You think you've got all the stuff That's in this box probably? Do you have a toothbrush and toothpaste? Yeah Do you have Do you have Those of you who are girls Do you have a doll?
[6:04] Do you have a toy? How many of you have a toy? How many of you have ten toys at least? How many of you have like a hundred toys or more? Yeah This cat doesn't have any toys Can you imagine that?
[6:20] That's why we make a box up for this girl So that she can have some things But you know what this box is This box really isn't about the stuff inside This box is to tell some little girl somewhere in the world That somebody cares about her and somebody loves her Even if they're halfway around the world where we are That's why we do this you know In fact that's why you give all kinds of gifts Christmas is coming and you're going to be looking for gifts to give to people You want to think about what are the things that you could get That will show you love somebody Not something that's just a toy or something like that But something that will be special That means you really care for them okay Because that's what God does for us He likes to give us all kinds of things He gave us this whole world right But he really wants to give us his love What are you guys thankful for this morning?
[7:07] You want to share something? Raise your hand My mom and dad My dad Jesus My family My family My friends and family My family My mom and dad My family My family My family My family and dad Alright let's pray Lord we thank you for our parents Our moms Our dads Our family We thank you for the things we have We thank you for the blessing you are to us Help us to be thankful Especially this week As we pray in Jesus name Amen Okay you guys can go out to church school now if you'd like to Once a year we take a special opportunity
[8:13] To be thankful for some people who have been with us As members of our church for the longest time And so I'm going to read these names And if you happen to be here If you'd either stand up or raise your hand We'd appreciate that We have something for you Olive Burbidge June Smith Anna K. Anderson Dick Anderson Darlene Brooks Shirley Duchere Carolyn Patterson Jean Beger Jeannie Prendergast Ed Getty Dorothy Getty Jim Riggs Marge Riggs Sam Matina Dick Roseland Sandy Roseland Tom Bush Bob Wurtenberger Marge Wurtenberger Ursula Morrison Rich Anderson Bev Spencer Vicky Spencer Gary Duchere And Claudia Roth These people have been members of our church
[9:18] For so long That I can't tell you how long it's been But I know it's been so long That I would never dare say it Because some of the women Would hit me Their faithfulness Faithfulness is a blessing Shall we have a prayer for them Dear God We thank you for their faithfulness We thank you for people Who make a commitment To their church To you For a lifetime We thank you for their presence All these years Bless them in Jesus name Amen Shall we thank these people For their time With us And as we are thankful to God For all these things We would like to return Our thanksgiving With our morning tithes And our honor Though I may sleep
[10:18] With bravest fire And have the gift And have the gift To all in spite And have not loved My words are made That sound That sound Depressed And hopeless And hopeless Though I may Give all I possess And striving So My love profess
[11:21] But not became My love with him My love with him The prophet's soul Turns strangely thin Come spirit come Come spirit come Our hearts control Our spirits long Our spirits long To be made whole O come spirit come Let love guide every day By this we worship Be our free
[12:24] Amen Amen Amen Amen Beatles fue Praise God from all blessings come.
[13:07] Praise Him, all preachers here below. Praise Him above all the heavenly host.
[13:19] Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
[13:33] Dear Heavenly Father, we do give you thanks and praise for this day, for the opportunity to gather and worship you. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to give of our gifts, tithes, and offerings to you.
[13:45] You have blessed us so abundantly, Lord. Bless this offering. Give us wisdom to know how to best use it for the furtherance of your kingdom.
[13:58] Bless all of those who bring their gifts before you. The gifts of their time and their talents. The gifts of just everything that you've poured out into their lives as they give back to you.
[14:14] And Lord God, bless all of these shoeboxes, each and every one, not just the ones that are here, but all those that are going to be going to the children who are so in need.
[14:25] We thank you, Father, for the opportunity to give. And we ask that when each shoebox is delivered, that those children would see your light and your love.
[14:36] That they would know that there is a God in heaven who cares for them and loves them very much. And let them rejoice in that. And let them rejoice as they receive these gifts.
[14:48] And it is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. And this time we'd like to invite Alan and Mary Pogel and their sponsors and our lay leader, Jan Hodge, as we have a time of celebrating membership.
[15:09] New members, come on up. Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the sacrament of baptism, we are initiated into Christ's holy church.
[15:21] We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the spirit. All this is God's gift offered to us without price.
[15:31] As a representative of this congregation, I present Alan and Mary Pogel for membership. Thank you. These questions are for our newest members, but they're also for our other members to affirm their membership vows as Alan and Mary received theirs for the first time.
[15:55] So if you could join, in other words, in answering with them, that would be appreciated. Will you serve Jesus Christ as your...
[16:06] No, I'm too far. You acknowledge your need for grace in Jesus Christ as your Savior. And acknowledge that I'm a sinner. You acknowledge grace. For the death and power of the Lord.
[16:18] You have to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Will you serve Jesus Christ as your Lord. I will serve Jesus Christ as my Lord. You have to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord.
[16:31] I will serve Christ as your Lord. I will accept Christ in many two. You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord. Yeah. You have to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord. You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord. I will serve Christ as your Lord. I will kinds of prayers that have just been peace that will do that.
[16:44] I will obey Jesus Christ as your Lord. others Alan Pogo may the Holy Spirit work within you seven been born by the water in the spirit you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ Mary Pogo may the Holy Spirit work within you that having been born by the water in the spirit you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ shall we greet our newest members into the family of God and we will be having reception for our newest members and our oldest members out the fellowship hall at church today so come and greet them it is to welcome new new members into our into our congregation have them here and just be part you know be a part of what we're doing it is a blessing as we move into our joys and concerns we do have we do have a wonderful joy besides the Pogles joining us as members 132 Thanksgiving dinners were served at First
[18:14] United Methodist Church our church in the Falls and that was on last Thursday evening so thank you they thank you over there at the church who did the serving and all the folks who received thank you for your support in that ministry it is a blessing during this Thanksgiving time we do have some concerns Daniel Heath is having testing for some medical concerns and Jim and Sue Phillips are in need of prayer Jim may be needing a kidney transplant we're not sure yet we're waiting on finding out about that we need to be in prayer for the family of Al Patterson who passed away on Monday Tim and Carolyn and all of the family we want to keep you guys all in our prayers the service was yesterday morning correct at 11 o'clock but continue to pray for them and uh-huh let me see who else is up here we did celebrate Ron McMorris's life also on yesterday afternoon we want to keep in prayer the family of Kurt Schreiber
[19:15] Kurt died suddenly at 58 years old he is Betty Gemeinder's nephew and June Smith's cousin calling hours are today from 2 to 4 30 or so at the Carlton Ulrich funeral home on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore the service is tomorrow morning at 11 at the funeral home with these concerns and those concerns that are in your hearts let's turn to the Lord in prayer you our Heavenly Father we go into this week so many things to do so many things to prepare we want to give thanks and praise to you you are so good to us you have poured out such rich and abundant and wonderful blessings into our lives we are grateful Lord and Lord even in the midst of our gratefulness our celebrations and thanksgivings we know that you have called us to pray for those who are in need even for ourselves as we are in need we are in need of a touch from you we are in need of your grace and your love and your mercy to continue in our lives so that we can be a vessel for your grace and love and mercy to others help us Lord help us to know how to be with the people in this world who don't know who you are so that we can shine that light for them and let them see your love help us Lord to see the needs of others and be able to take care of them be with all those who are sick and infirm those who are waiting to hear what the doctors would say about their conditions and how they can be handled bring healing to them Lord touch them in their spirits their souls and their bodies make them whole be with those Lord God who are grieving losses of all kinds help them Lord especially during this time as we enter into holidays and celebration help them to be at peace help them to sense your comfort as you send your Holy Spirit to them be with them Lord be with us Lord as we hear from your word as we hear the message that's been prepared give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts and minds to understand and to receive all that you have for us this day transform us Lord we pray so that we can be a blessing wherever we go even as we have been blessed anoint Pastor Tom to deliver the message that you have called him to deliver today anoint all of us in our worship in our music and our prayers in our hearing and our listening let all of our worship be a blessing to you it is in Jesus name we pray
[23:15] Amen shall we hear from the word of the Lord to me in our US to live to another Good morning.
[23:54] Today's scripture reading is from John chapter six, verses 28 through 42. Excuse me. Then they asked him, what must we do to do the works God requires?
[24:10] Jesus answered, the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. So they asked him, what miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?
[24:22] What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth.
[24:35] It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
[24:46] Sir, they said, from now on, give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
[25:00] But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away.
[25:13] For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
[25:27] For my father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. At this, the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven.
[25:42] They said, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, I came down from heaven? This is the word of the Lord.
[25:54] Thanks be to God. Jeff, it's Thanksgiving week. That's why we've got all this harvest theme and everything, the blessings of the bounty that we're all thankful for.
[26:10] We all have images around Thanksgiving, don't we? In fact, it's why we eat the same food. It's why we sit down the same way, so we can bring back all those good memories of years past.
[26:21] I remember one Thanksgiving, we were down in New Jersey at my cousin's house, and they said to us, do you want to go to the parade? How many of you watched the Macy's Day Parade on TV on Thanksgiving?
[26:34] We went to the parade. Not only did we go to the parade, we were in the grandstand, you know, where they do all the stuff in front of the Macy's store. It was so cool, until the balloons attacked us.
[26:46] Now, on TV, you don't know how big these things are. It takes like 50 people to control them, and for some reason, there was a wind in New York City that day that was pushing them right on top of us in the grandstands.
[26:58] These things are massive, they're huge. They weigh I don't know how much. I could just picture the obituary killed by Bullwinkle the moose on Thanksgiving Day.
[27:10] You know what I mean? Really? Who wants to go out that way? But it builds a memory of something special that happened, because when amazingly good things happen to us, it builds up a memory in our mind and our heart that we treasure and hold on to.
[27:28] This chapter 6 of John has one of those episodes. Jesus was teaching to a crowd of people, and they were hungry. And Jesus took a few loaves and a couple fish, and he turned it into enough to feed thousands.
[27:46] Imagine the day when it just seemed like food was coming out of nowhere. Everybody remembered that day. And so, they go to Jesus, and they say to him, what do we need to do to do the things that God wants us to do?
[28:08] It's a simple question, isn't it? What do you want from us, Jesus? What would make you happy?
[28:19] What would please you? And Jesus says, believe in the one who God sends, meaning himself. We've talked in the past couple weeks about what believing really is.
[28:32] Believing is better broken down as be living. Live for God is the answer he gives. They want to know what to do.
[28:43] Because God has blessed them, and they want it to happen again. We all do, don't we? It's hard not to ask God for things.
[28:54] I mean, after all, he's God. So, he can heal. He can forgive. He can give us blessings. He can make life after life.
[29:04] He can make something out of nothing. So, it's normal that we would want to know what we need to do to make God happy. What must I do?
[29:15] He says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. We talk about that a lot. We focus on heart, soul, mind, and strength.
[29:27] This is love the Lord your God. Love to us is a feeling. Love to us is something that we have as an emotion. But this love is a self-giving, sacrificing love.
[29:42] We usually use the word agape to describe it. But this is agapeo, because it's a verb. Do loving things. Demonstrate your love. How do we love God?
[29:54] Doing the things that make God happy. How do we know what they are? He says, well, I'll give you 10 rules. How's that? I'll give you 10 rules. And you know what most of us say?
[30:06] How about 8 1⁄2? Can we go for 7? He says, give gifts to the poor. Give gifts to God's work that will demonstrate that you truly love me.
[30:20] Give me a gift that would show that you're really sincere about this love. And we say, can you get that more exact? It's like you're going to get a gift for somebody you love and care for.
[30:34] Maybe your spouse. And they say, well, give me a gift that will show your love. And they say, well, what dollar value would you put on that? Take care of the people.
[30:48] Look after those who are hurting. Honor your mother and father. Go to worship every week. And we say, you know, but that might make things kind of difficult for what we had planned.
[31:07] I have a friend of mine who has a mother-in-law who's approaching 100. She's in her late 90s. And his wife now has cancer.
[31:19] And he's retired. And he said to me one day, he says, you know, we spend most of our time taking care of mom or going to the doctors. This isn't what we planned for our life at this point.
[31:34] We thought we'd be traveling. We thought we'd be doing things. This is what we thought would happen. But instead, we're doing these things. Now, the thing is, he did what he's supposed to do.
[31:45] And he didn't do it really in a miserable way. He smiles through it. But it wasn't convenient. And oftentimes, doing what we need to do to show love is not easy.
[31:56] It's not convenient. It's not something that works out simply for us. By the way, I understand there's a lot of people in our church that are in that, what they call the sandwich generation.
[32:08] Your kids are becoming adults and your parents are becoming, I won't say what they're becoming, but anyway. They're having their stuff that they're working through. And is there a group meeting tomorrow night or something about that?
[32:18] So, come and join them if you're striving with that. I want to do what I'm supposed to do, God. But what's our motive?
[32:31] Do we really want to please God? Or are we looking for a handout? They came to Jesus and they said, what do we need to do? And he says, believe in me.
[32:43] And they said, well, you know what? Years ago, God gave us bread from heaven. Man, it just dropped down out of the sky. How about if you do that for us? How about another fish sandwich, Jesus? Can you imagine that?
[32:56] See, for us, it's a little difficult because having a bunch of bread, actual bread would not be like really all that spectacular to us. So let's just assume that that was what they needed.
[33:06] Everything you needed, you'd make a list at night. You'd write it down and you'd leave it there for God. And in the morning, it would show up in your backyard. Would that be cool or what?
[33:18] You know, like Star Trek. You'd just put in the request and take out whatever you want. Better than a 3D printer. Give us a free lunch. We all like a free lunch.
[33:28] We all do. Everybody likes a free lunch. In fact, you know, sometimes they'll give out a free lunch, like the veterans or something like that. You can't get near those restaurants. People will drive and spend $8 in gas to save themselves $5 on lunch.
[33:41] We like stuff for free. We like free stuff. But the problem is, is what we need is not always what we want. And Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
[33:53] Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. He offers them something to satisfy their souls and their hearts.
[34:09] Later, he goes on to say, for my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life. Just be living for God and you'll get eternal life and I will be with you.
[34:22] And I will give you all you need in your hearts and souls. God offers to satisfy their deepest needs.
[34:35] But it's not what they really want. Did you know Thanksgiving is a secular holiday? It was established by our government. And yet on Thanksgiving, that's the day that we tend to thank God, right?
[34:48] For all the good blessings God gives to us. Did you know Christmas is a holy day? And yet we tend to spend most of that day glorifying ourselves and trying to show off what we can give to each other and how great we are.
[35:03] It's a fascinating thing, isn't it? That we have this kind of conflict of holidays coming up at us. And we've come to the point where we're not sure exactly what these holidays are supposed to be.
[35:18] Some people think things need to change. Who is? What we have this kind of holiday? What are the holidays becoming? Who is reading and tweeting? We wait for you to be這裡 basically.
[35:30] Well, just go for Martyn and Tomaszczko series! If you have any questions and read and write any and join moments in Ottoman voi, welcome to another mastermind group of what these holidays have been discussed...
[35:48] Thank you.
[36:18] Thank you.
[36:48] Thank you.
[37:18] I know some of you are saying, really, Christmas already? You're doing Christmas before Thanksgiving? If I talk about this next week, you already have spent half your money or more.
[37:28] It's called Black Friday. Yeah, now it's Thursday. We can't even eat our Thanksgiving dinner anymore. Worship fully.
[37:41] Spend less. Give more. Love all. What is it all about? What is it that God wants from us? What is it that we need for our lives?
[37:51] Jesus offers himself. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. A bread that sustains him and sustains us.
[38:06] He offers who he is. And they're not interested. What's Thanksgiving about?
[38:19] Is Thanksgiving about turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and squash and a big salad and pumpkin and apple pie for dessert?
[38:30] Perfect如果是我的辣椒煮時олж what guests eat,áb limits, Hitrich Judd上位, Senior Miracle, Fabrum Probably Dankeon,î당, 至儿子的乗houses, 三大府haus 賀辣 Lovel子 藺… Good evening. Could we do Thanksgiving with a pizza? My wife's gluten-free.
[38:49] My daughter's a vegetarian. My grandson doesn't like turkey. I don't know where my house is. I've actually had Thanksgiving dinner three times already with my church family.
[39:02] Thanksgiving, believe it or not, is not about turkey. The reason we make that meal is because it reminds us, it helps us to relive the experience of every Thanksgiving past.
[39:16] In the Greek they call it aminesis. To not just remember, but to actually re-experience the event. Are we re-experiencing it so we get the meal just right?
[39:27] The setting has to be the same. We have to be in the same room. We don't. But that's not what Thanksgiving is. Thanksgiving is about being with the people we love.
[39:40] Years ago for me, Thanksgiving was 25 people in one room. We had the adult table, we had the kids table, and we had the table for the people that weren't quite small enough to be kids, but there wasn't any room for them at the adult table.
[39:53] The junior adult table. Sometimes you could be 27 years old sitting at the junior adult table. But now Thanksgiving is getting together with three people for me.
[40:07] That's really Thanksgiving. Spending time with them. Maybe we'll go to the falafel bar. I don't know. Maybe we'll have pizza. It doesn't matter. I'm thinking Denny's.
[40:20] I know you're going, really? That's that Thanksgiving? See, we've gotten caught up in the stuff of it. We forget what it's about. These people grumble at Jesus.
[40:33] They say, who's this guy? He's nobody but Joseph's son. Son of a carpenter. Who's he to talk to us about this stuff? He's not even impressive. Do something for us. Show us a sign. No flash.
[40:49] Nothing fancy. That's what we want. You know, we have this summer home out at Silver Lake. Most of you know we built it with my parents. It's a wonderful place.
[40:59] We plan to retire there. We expect to have an enjoyable life there in many ways, except one thing. We've been wondering, where are we going to go to church? There's no church that's anything like this out there. We won't have the music we have.
[41:12] We won't have the activities and events. We won't have communion every week. They just don't do that stuff there. But the truth is, is they will get together and they will worship God.
[41:23] And that's really what it's about. I know that because we go to church out there every year, several times, and we worship God, even if it isn't all that spectacular. Because that's really what you come here for.
[41:35] You don't come here for the show. We do our best, but I'm going to guarantee you there's a better show somewhere else. Go down to shades. They'll prove it to you. We come here to meet God, to worship our God.
[41:50] So Jesus turns to him, and towards the end of chapter 6, he says this, I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
[42:02] Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Now we know what that is. For us, we're just saying, oh, he's talking about communion.
[42:14] That's our hominesis, where we gather to remember who we are and who we are with all the saints who have ever worshipped before and relive that experience. Why it needs to be done in just such a way so that we re-experience that again and again, the grace of God entering our lives.
[42:29] To them, they're going, what? What? Yesterday, we had a couple of funerals and we were serving communion. And one of them had a little child come up. And obviously, they hadn't been to communion very much.
[42:43] Because I took the cup, I said, the blood of the Lord poured out for you. And they looked at me like, dude, I ain't drinking blood. That ain't happening. This is not going to occur on my watch. I know that's not a good thing.
[42:57] Well, that's basically what these guys said. This is weird. This guy's kind of creepy, sort of like, you know, what does he want us to be, you know? Cannibals? This is a hard teaching.
[43:08] Who can accept it, they said. Jesus said to them, I told you, you have seen me and still you don't believe. We think seeing is believing, but it's not.
[43:19] Believing is accepting things. Accepting things that need to be. Not looking for the things we want to have happen. What's the last thing that happens in the Macy's Day parade?
[43:34] Now, that's the second last thing. Santa Claus is the second last thing. The last thing they do is they open up all the doors to Macy's. So all those people can go in and, do you think Mr. Macy pays for that parade because he's just a nice guy and wants you to have a good time?
[43:51] Imagine if the Macy's Day parade ended with a nativity scene and they encouraged everybody to go to church. How long do you think Macy's would be sponsoring the parade anymore? Santa Claus is designed to get you to realize it's all about you.
[44:08] What can you get? What's in it for me? What can I have? How does it fit my world? What's the blessing for me? What's the bottom line for me? Jesus has a little different idea.
[44:20] The meaning of Christmas is actually wrapped up in one word. Emmanuel. God with us. God with us. Jesus says in this passage, I will do everything I can to keep those people that God has given to me so that they might have eternal life.
[44:42] I will give everything I have. I will hold on to them. But Jesus is going out of his way even to the point of death to hold on to you.
[44:56] In Romans, in chapter 3, it talks about the atonement and it says this, We've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God and we're all justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
[45:09] He paid the price. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance, he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.
[45:23] He doesn't punish us for our sins. He forgives them. Why? Because that sin and that brokenness in us would keep us from God. And what does God want to do?
[45:34] He wants to be with us. Atonement. At one with. That's what the word says. Break it down. Atonement. Atonement. Atonement. Atonement.
[45:44] Atonement. Hey, look, I'm getting confused. You saw me at the membership house. It's kind of like, I don't know. We're supposed to be at one with God.
[45:57] That's his goal. To be with us. And for us to be with him. I saw some ladies the other day and they were talking about how their churches that they go to are struggling.
[46:11] They were so impressed walking around our church and just looking at things. A lot of churches are dying. It's not just churches that are dying.
[46:22] A lot of families are dying. A lot of marriages are dying. A lot of relationships are dying. And there's a reason for that. My wife is a fantastic partner.
[46:37] She contributes tremendous things to our marriage. She contributes to the life and health and wealth of who and what we are. But I don't stay with my wife because of what she gives to me.
[46:53] Anybody remember that group called the Beatles? I know that's a long time ago but there's this group called the Beatles. I know we used to name music groups after bugs and animals and all kinds of weird things.
[47:03] We were sort of strange people back then. But they had a song that they sang when I was a teenager. I was probably 14, 15 years old. When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
[47:24] If I've been out till quarter to three, would you lock the door? Will you still need me? Will you still feed me when I'm 64?
[47:38] I'm going to tell you, when I first heard that song, 64 was like a half a century away. It ain't so far away anymore. But you know, I heard that song as a teenager and I thought, I want somebody in my life that isn't in my life simply because of what I can do for them.
[47:57] I want somebody who wants me in their life. Even when I'm out the quarter to three, even when I do dumb things, even if my hair falls out, God help me.
[48:08] And God wants the same thing. Why are we having trouble in our relationships?
[48:21] Because we're thinking that our relationships are somehow tools to answer our desires. We come to church and we come to God for what we can get.
[48:32] Give me another fish sandwich, Jesus. Fix this, Jesus. God, do this for me. God, I need. God, I want. God, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me. I hear people telling me they don't want to stay married any longer because their spouse isn't really all that interesting or useful anymore.
[48:53] Families scatter across the globe and around the world and don't talk to each other. Don't even care if they see each other.
[49:03] churches preach about what God can give you and he can. But that's not the point.
[49:17] They said to Jesus, give us proof. Show us a sign. You do something for me and I'll follow you. And when Jesus said, I'll give you myself, they grumbled.
[49:29] That's not a fish sandwich. What does God want from you? It's interesting because in Micah, he says this.
[49:42] Micah, go back to where you were. There you go. He has showed you, oh man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
[49:53] And then in Matthew, he says, go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners. Does this mean God doesn't want you to give your gift or your tithe or God doesn't care if you go to worship services or God doesn't care about any of that stuff?
[50:13] Of course he does. But he's saying, those are the things we do to show our love. Those are not love. The stuff we do, we shouldn't do to try to gain something.
[50:26] We should do it just because we love. We love God. We love the people. We love our families. 2 Corinthians, Paul says it this way.
[50:38] Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or out of compulsion.
[50:51] But God loves a cheerful giver. Not because the neighbors did it, not because you think there's a price line, not because of something like that, but because it reflects who we are. I love to give gifts.
[51:03] I even like getting gifts. But I want a gift. I don't want a present. You know what a present is? People exchange them all the time. I give a present to somebody and then they present one back to me.
[51:16] If their present is of less value than my present, I'll reconsider what kind of present they'll get the next year. It's like the Christmas card lists.
[51:27] I didn't get a card for three years. They're not on the list because I don't care about talking with them unless I get a card in return and they're not getting anything. They're not getting anything. The present is just an exchange.
[51:43] When I was young and we were first starting out and we had no money, our parents would give us a check and believe me, at that time, that was the best present, the best gift they could give us.
[51:54] We needed money. But I got to a point in life where I didn't need money, really. I mean, I'm not saying I was independently wealthy, rich or such, but I didn't need my parents who made less money than me to give me money.
[52:05] Do you know what I'm saying? So one year, they gave me the check and I wrote a check and gave it back to them. Don't ever do that. Don't, don't, don't ever do that.
[52:18] It's not a good idea. You smart-ass. No, don't do that. My mother actually said to me, you know, Tom, I don't give you those checks because you need them.
[52:31] I give you that check because I give your siblings who need it a check. And I can't give them a check if I don't give one to you. So please take the check. Do what you want with it.
[52:44] Gifts reflect love. They demonstrate love. But they're not love. You really love God. Does your life reflect a person committed to God?
[52:59] Or is it just that you're looking for the benefits? What can I get out of having God in my life? Jesus offered himself.
[53:14] Sometimes we don't understand how important that is. I was talking to some people the other day about parents. I don't have my parents in this life anymore.
[53:25] And there are some advantages to that. I have a little more time. I have a little more money. But I'll tell you a dream I had three or four years ago. I was at that summer home with everybody I ever loved.
[53:41] My grandparents were there. My friends were there. The house was filled with laughter and fun and joy. And I was standing in the kitchen having a beer with my old man next to my wife the best friend I had in the world.
[54:01] We were looking at the refrigerator. And we opened up the refrigerator. And we've got to understand we own this house together. So at the end of the season we had to decide whose stuff in the refrigerator belonged to who.
[54:12] Right? And so he opens the refrigerator and he looks at the stuff and he says So Tommy whether this is yours and whether this is mine who's going to take what?
[54:23] I looked at him and I said It's all mine old man you're dead. Bam! Woke up like that. I said Daddy please come back. I'd love to go back to that dream.
[54:39] I gave it up for some condiments. Some stuff in a refrigerator. We can't control our dreams but we can control who we are and how we live out this life we have with each other and with God.
[54:57] They came to him and they said Give us give us some bread. And Jesus says Dude, really? All I need you is fish sandwiches? You want a fish sandwich?
[55:09] Go down to McDonald's man I'm offering you something a lot more than a fish sandwich. God said it was hard. There's no benefit in it for these people.
[55:24] Eat his body drink his blood we're not listening to this stuff and it said many of his disciples turned away and left them that day.
[55:35] He turned to the twelve his closest and he said You want to go too? Peter said God bless Peter where would we go?
[55:50] You have the words that lead to life. He didn't say what you're saying isn't hard. He didn't say I want to do this. He just said I don't know where to go because this is the place I've got to be is with you God.
[56:06] And that's what love is. My wife's schedule has radically changed. She gets up now and goes to work at seven in the morning or she's got to be at work at seven in the morning and she comes home around 5.30.
[56:22] So sometimes I see her as she's walking out the door Have a good day honey! We used to have coffee in the morning. We had Mondays off she works Mondays now. She has weekend talk Yeah!
[56:36] That helps. I've taken vacations my wife hasn't had a vacation in six months. I don't want anything from her.
[56:49] I just want to be with her. I don't care if she's even talking on those full cell phones or we're watching TV together or we're both sitting in a recliner sleeping.
[57:03] I don't care what we're doing. I just want to be with her. Because that's what love is.
[57:17] I've been doing this now for 40 years. To pick some things up. There's things I can do and I will buy gifts for my wife and there's things that I'll do at Christmas to try and show my love but what really matters is that we're together.
[57:34] In the Psalms 40 it says I desire to do your will oh my God your law is in my brain my heart what does God want to be?
[57:50] With you. That's all God wants just to be with you. Just to live with you. To hear what you have to say to him. Just to spend time with you.
[58:03] Just to love him. Lord my life is an empty cup here's my heart would you fill me up?
[58:32] Thank you. Let's try this again. That's all right. Lord my life is an empty cup it's my heart we are okay ready let's go here we go ready here we go there you go you're singing my just to love just to love there you go you got it oh my God oh my God oh my life is an empty cup here's my heart could you fill me up I'm faced to the ground forsaking my life leaving my will my burdens behind leaving my will my burdens behind all I want all I need is just to be with you just to be with you here I am at your feet just to be with you just to be with you
[59:54] I have come to the end of the heat and there's nothing I have to bring but you said I belong you said I am yours nothing compares knowing you more knowing you more all I want all I need is just to be with you just to be with you here I am at your feet just to be with you just to be with you you made a way for me oh you made a way for me oh oh you made a way for me oh oh you made a way for me oh you made a way for me oh
[61:05] Lord All I want, all I need is just to be with you, just to be with you.
[61:21] Here I am at your feet, just to be with you, just to be with you.
[61:31] All I want, all I need is just to be with you, just to be with you.
[61:42] Here I am at your feet, just to be with you, just to be with you.
[62:01] He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness.
[62:15] He humbled Himself and carried the cross. Love so amazing, love so amazing.
[62:31] Jesus, Messiah, the name of all names.
[62:43] The rest of the dealer, Emmanuel. The rest of the dealer, the rights of the dealer.
[63:01] Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all.
[63:12] His body of bread, His blood of wine. Broken and poured out all for love.
[63:24] The fall was tremble, then the bear was torn. Love so amazing, love so amazing.
[63:38] Jesus, Messiah, the name of all names.
[63:49] The rest of the dealer, Emmanuel. The rest of the dealer, the ransom from heaven.
[64:08] Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all. All our hope is in you.
[64:29] All our hope is in you. All our hope is in you. God, the light of the world, Jesus Messiah, name above all names, Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel, the rescue of sinners, the ransomed from heaven, Jesus Messiah, Lord of all, Jesus Messiah, Lord of all, Lord of all,
[65:34] Lord of all, Lord of all, Please be seated.
[65:49] At this time in the service, we often do a prayer of confession where I say something and you repeat after me. Somebody said something to me a little while back.
[66:00] They said, you know, I wish you would just take a little time during that prayer, just be quiet, so we could talk to God. I said, well, that seems reasonable. But I thought today maybe we just do that, you know.
[66:11] I can start us off and end us, but I won't really be saying much. Just take a little time and be with your God. Share with him what you need to share.
[66:23] Confess what you need to confess. Say what you need to say. And just be with him. Shall we pray? Dear God in heaven, we are here for you. Listen to your children pray.
[67:00] In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. I know it's hard to change habits, isn't it? We just don't know what to do if we mix things up.
[67:13] It's okay. It's okay. In fact, you know, it's okay. Because we're used to being with each other and we want to be with each other.
[67:26] Amen. Because we're okay with each other. Even if we don't get it right. In fact, that's the idea. Because God takes away what we don't get right.
[67:37] 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. Amen.
[67:55] A charter of God Amen. Amen.
[68:11] Amen. Thank you. You serve me. You know my way.
[68:23] Even when I fail you, I hope you love me.
[68:35] Your holy presence surrounding me.
[68:48] In every season, I know you love me.
[69:00] I know you love me. At the high side of my feet, when I push it on me, there's no greater love than I need.
[69:18] You are the trumpet of me. Your glory fills the highest place. What can separate me now?
[69:30] You go before me.
[69:49] You shield my way. Your hand upholds me.
[70:02] I know you love me. And when the earth fades and falls from my eyes, and you stand before me, I know you love me.
[70:32] I know you love me. And when I pass that hour by me, where your blood was shed for me, there's no greater love than I need.
[70:50] You are the trumpet of me. You are the trumpet of me. Glory fills the highest place. What can separate me now?
[71:01] You draw the highest place. For what, be on your mate, there's no more love than I need.
[71:13] You draw the veil. You made a way. May you tell that it is done.
[71:23] At the cross I bow my knee Where your blood was shed for me There's no greater love than me Here with all the comfort of me Glory fills the highest place What can separate me now?
[71:49] I know you love me I know you love me That he gave his son His only begotten son Just so God could be with us So we could be restored to that relationship And the friendship and the love and the mercy That God has for us When we come to the table We re-experience it Pastor Tom is saying We re-experience all that God has done for us Every time We come and we meet with Jesus
[72:50] In the bread and the juice His body and blood Come to the table And re-experience what God has for you Come expecting to receive All the blessings That God wants to pour out into your life Come and be with God Everyone is welcome 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 Isn't that a blessing?
[73:34] The Lord be with you Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord our God It is right and a good and joyful thing Always and everywhere to give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth By your appointment The seasons come and go You bring forth bread from the earth And create the fruit of the vine You formed us in your image And made us stewards of your world Earth has yielded its treasure And from your hand We have received blessing on blessing 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 Hosanna in the highest
[74:35] 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 Though he was rich Yet for our sake He became poor When hungry and tempted He refused to make bread for himself That he might be the bread of life For others When the multitudes were hungry He fed them He broke bread with the outcasts But drove the greedy from the temple By the baptism of his suffering Death and resurrection You gave birth to your church Delivered us from slavery to sin and death And made with us a new covenant By water and the spirit And on the night in which he gave himself up for us He took bread And gave thanks to you He broke the bread And gave it to his disciples And he said
[75:35] Take, eat This is my body Which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me 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 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 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 Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again
[76:37] 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 By your spirit Make us one with Christ One with each other And one in ministry To all the world Until Christ comes In final victory And we feast At his heavenly banquet Through your son Jesus Christ With the Holy Spirit In your holy church All honor and glory Is yours Almighty Father Now and forever Amen Shall we pray together With the confidence Of those loved by God Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day
[77:38] Our daily bread And forgive us Our trespasses As we forgive those Who trespass against us And lead us not Into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever Amen Will those serving Please come forwardoe
[78:50] Thank you.
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[85:54] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[86:06] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.