[0:00] Thank you.
[0:30] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[0:49] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day.
[1:01] This is the day that the Lord has made. Welcome to Pendleton Center United Methodist Church.
[1:14] I'm Scott Dabb. If you are new to our church, please pick up a gift at the connection site in the back of the sanctuary after worship. And please fill out your friendship card to get on the mailing list, sign up for activities, and for prayers and concerns or notes for the staff.
[1:30] Enjoy the service. This morning, we have a couple of clipboards going around. One is for help for Vacation Bible School. If you're able to help out with that, you can sign up.
[1:41] Also, there's a clipboard for our community dinners down at Niagara Falls where we feed 80 to 100 people every Thursday night at no cost to the people unless they want to donate something.
[1:53] And so we need your help to make that happen. And if you'd like to help financially or by bringing something or coming to volunteer, we'd love to have you do that. There are a couple of other announcements here.
[2:05] We have a mandatory meeting for the youth and their parents or guardians who are going on the mission trip. That meeting is going to be Wednesday at 7 p.m.
[2:15] So if you're involved in the mission trip, you need to come to that. Next week, there's going to be a car wash and a hot dog sale in order to help fund that youth mission trip.
[2:26] So we ask that you would take part in that. As we come together, let's prepare our hearts for worship. O gracious Lord, we are so grateful to be here this day to join together as your family, to bring worship and praises and glory to your name.
[2:49] We ask that your spirit would walk among us to touch our hearts and move us and change us and make us more like you. And when you send us out, Lord, help us to carry your love with us.
[3:02] And this we ask in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Shall we join together in our opening hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory? Amen. God of grace and God of glory God, my people, for thy power From my ancient churches' story Bring her back to her glorious heart Grant us wisdom, grant us courage O'er the facing of this time?
[3:58] O'er the facing of this time? Though the halls of evil around us Scorn by Christ the salvation days Pears and doubts too long have found us Free our hearts to work and raise Grant us wisdom, grant us courage For the living of these days For the living of these days For thy children's warring madness And our pride to thy control Shame our wanton selfish gladness Rich in peace and poor in soul
[4:59] Grant us wisdom, grant us courage Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal Save us from weak resignation To the evil we deplore Let the search for thy salvation Be our glory evermore Grant us wisdom, grant us courage The peace of the Lord be with you Won't you greet your neighbors That's my goal
[6:18] Do we have any of the kids Who would like to come up today? Any of the kids want to come up?
[6:33] I want to do a little science experiment for you You can sit right here if you want See what I have here Yeah, I have water And I put just a little bit of blue coloring in it So everybody could see it really well And I have oil And today I wanted to tell you how When we hear words of wisdom We have to weigh very carefully Where those words of wisdom come from If somebody tells you to do something You have to know whether it's right or wrong Don't you?
[7:09] And so if you're listening to a friend Telling you to do something You have to think about Is that something really good for me to do Or is it not? And sometimes friends or people Will tell you to do something That's not quite right But you'll know in your heart If it's wrong And that's because God has planted in you His spirit to tell you right from wrong And you can go and check with people That you know and love People that you trust And make sure whether it's right or wrong When we try to mix Wisdom that comes from the world That comes from people Who aren't quite on board with God And we try to mix it with God's wisdom They don't mix very well Because the things that are bad to do Are not what God wants us to do And it's kind of like mixing oil and water If you think of the water As the bad advice that you get from some people
[8:11] You can see it there It looks pretty good But the wisdom that comes from God Is like the oil And when you try to mix the two They don't mix so well You can put them in there And it looks like they're mixing But then what happens?
[8:29] It separates out, doesn't it? Isn't that cool? You can even take a spoon And you can try your best to mix them You can try to mix bad advice with good advice What happens after a couple seconds?
[8:42] It separates out again, doesn't it? It looks funny, doesn't it? But that's what happens So you have to be careful to know What good advice is that comes from God And what some bad advice that comes from other people Sometimes might be And not try to mix the two of them together Try to keep pure with God's wisdom in your heart And listen to what God says to you Right?
[9:09] Okay Does anybody have anything that they're thankful for this morning? Let's see if I've got a microphone here that'll work for you I have Nancy's microphone The family My family That's great How about over here?
[9:30] My family I like my cat Her cat Oh yes I like my cat too Cats are good company You want to say something too?
[9:45] Yeah Yeah? Okay, thank you Anybody else? Alright Well we have lots of things that we're thankful for Daddy Okay, let's have a prayer together Lord, we do thank you for our families For our pets that we love so much And for all the good blessings that you give to us every day Help us to listen very carefully for your voice To hear your wisdom And not get confused by bad advice, bad ideas Help us to remember to look into your word And to pray And to ask you to tell us what to do And we pray for these things in Jesus' name Amen Okay You can go ahead and go It's in here
[10:52] This is Holly Britton And she is a member down at Niagara Falls At First Church At our sister church And she's agreed to share a thankful moment I had to twist her arm a little bit But she's agreed to share a thankful moment with us today This morning I have a lot to be thankful for But I'm going to talk about my gratitude towards music Ever since I was small I could feel and express my feelings through music Where I couldn't do it any other way Either by listening or performing And the song that Pastor Gene and I are going to be singing today Is very special to both of us A while back I was struggling with my faith And with my life in general And God knew that he could relate to me through music So he led Pastor Gene to this song And she related to me And I played it over and over and over And it helped me through some very dark times
[11:55] And started me on the journey that I am on today And I'm very thankful that God pursued me so hard And more importantly that I was willing to listen I thank him for the gift of music And now Not only do I know that God loves me But I feel it in my heart You ready?
[12:31] Just queuing up the music, it's okay Life has been a teacher An enemy and a friend At times I've been a sinner And a saint If I've been known to lose my temper My patience and my pride But I never lost a need to gain Lord, I don't need some truth revealed to me Or some sacred thing to hold All I really need Just a little more faith
[13:35] To believe what I already know You said you'd never leave me You'd walk right by my side Right now all I fear Is alone Cause I can't see your angels Watchin' over me Oh, but Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so I don't need some mountain Move for me Or some miracle Or some miracle To behold To behold All I really need
[14:38] Is just a little more faith To believe what I already know To believe what I already know I know there's much bigger problems than mine Lord, if you'll get the time I don't need the waters To hide for me Or to see those streets I'll know All I really need Is just a little more faith To believe what I already know Yeah, the secret to walkin' down my throat Is to believe what I already know
[15:44] Just wanted to give a little credit to Matt Ash Who recorded the guitar music for us as well What'd you give?
[16:10] Thank you What do you... Fire in star from our never sleep tallek we still have naar which you still heavy apert Praise to the love he has Praise Father, so I will be close Amen Heavenly Father, we thank you for these gifts that we offer to you.
[16:54] We ask that you would bless them and bless the givers and use these gifts to be multiplied throughout the world to glorify your name and to spread the word of Christ everywhere.
[17:07] Amen. You may be seated. Amen. We have a few joys and concerns on our list today.
[17:26] Jim Accord is still healing from surgery, so if we could continue to pray for him. Larry Salino is facing surgery on Tuesday, so we want to be in prayer for him.
[17:39] And one of my best friends here, Becky Heidemann, she's worked with me a lot in Sunday school. Her mom is in hospice care and nearing the end of life, so if we could keep the Heidemann family in our prayers.
[17:54] Will you join with me in praying to the Lord? O Lord, our God, creator of the universe, how great is your name.
[18:05] We thank you, Heavenly Father, for being here with us, for your love, your patience, and your mercy. For the gift of your Son, Jesus the Christ, who gave his life on the cross to cleanse us from our sins.
[18:20] And for the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort, convict, and guide us. Father, we come to you now to offer our worship and praise and pray that you are glorified by it.
[18:30] We thank you for this beautiful weather and the freedom we have to come and worship you openly. Because we know there are Christians around the world who suffer persecution and even death simply because they have put their faith in Jesus.
[18:45] Please strengthen and encourage them and deliver them from the hands of wicked and evil men and the evil one. We pray for our world that those who don't know you may come to know you through those that do.
[18:57] We pray for those who have lost loved ones and have been injured in recent terrorist attacks, both here in America and abroad, and that you would bring comfort and healing.
[19:09] We pray for our own country and our leaders, that they would look to you for guidance. We pray for guidance in the upcoming elections, especially the presidential one, as we have so many concerns there.
[19:21] We pray for all those who have been the victims of severe weather outbreaks and fires, including those affected by flooding in West Virginia and the California wildfires.
[19:32] Please comfort those who have lost loved ones and properties and help them to rebuild their lives. Father, may those who have been affected by these tragedies come to know you if they don't.
[19:44] And if they do, may their faith grow stronger, because it is often through these trials that our faith is tested. We also pray for those who are experiencing drought, and that in your mercy, you would bring beneficial rain, especially here in the western New York area that went to moderate drought last week.
[20:03] For some of us have been hearing rumblings regarding the need for a return to a morality and a return to you. We're excited to hear that your spirit is moving in the land, and we pray that you would bring about revival, because the heart of all the issues facing us is a spiritual one.
[20:22] May people realize that you're not a threat, that you love us, and that you're our salvation, and our answer to all that life throws at us. You are our absolute fruit.
[20:34] Lord, we pray for those seated here, as some have needs for healing, such as Jim and Larry. For comfort, guidance, employment, financial, family, and personal issues.
[20:48] Some are just yearning to hear you, or need reassurance that you are there for them, Lord. Please hear your people now, as they lift up their concerns to you in this moment of silence.
[20:59] And now, Lord, since our prayer is a two-way conversation, we pause momentarily to hear from you in this moment of silence.
[21:22] Lord, thank you for hearing us and answering our prayers in the way that is in our best interest.
[21:39] Please continue to speak through us through our worship. Teach us through the message you have given Pastor Gene today, and let us take what we've learned and put it into practice.
[21:50] Help us be the people of God you have called us to be. And in Christ's holy name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[22:01] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[22:13] Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning.
[22:29] Good morning. Today's reading is from Matthew 7, verses 21 through 29. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[22:45] Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?
[22:56] Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
[23:10] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
[23:21] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
[23:37] When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority and not as the teachers of the law.
[23:48] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing the scripture with us this morning. I do have one more prayer that I'd like you to keep in your heart as we go about worship this morning.
[24:04] My husband, Bill, is leading worship at his brand new appointment, his very first church at this very hour. And he happens to be at Royalton United Methodist Church, where Pastor Bob served until he retired recently.
[24:25] So we're keeping it in the family. As we wind up our sermon series today, I'd like to start out with a question for you. What blessings would you like to share with your children and grandchildren, with all the future generations?
[24:43] Have you thought about that as we've been going through this short series of sermons? As I get a little bit older, I sometimes wonder what my kids and my grandkids, there they are, my three daughters and my two grandkids, I sometimes wonder what they might have learned from me.
[25:00] What are they carrying with them? What have I left behind that's important? As parents, we do provide our new babies with space to live in, in their houses.
[25:13] We give them the cradle and the blanket and the bottle and the toys. We meet their most basic needs. But what do we give them that has a lasting impact on their lives, especially in regards to their faith?
[25:26] One of our goals as Christians should be to share blessings from God, to share with future generations the things that we would want them to know about God.
[25:38] What will those blessings be and how will we ensure that others, especially our children, receive them? I did a quick survey on Facebook recently and I asked that question.
[25:48] What kind of blessings would you want to share with the next generation? Here's some of the answers I received. One person said that they would like their children to have an understanding that everything begins with your own integrity.
[26:03] You have to respect yourself and be true to yourself, first of all. I thought that was a pretty good thing. Another person said that they thought it was really important to tell our kids to listen before you say anything to another person.
[26:19] Really listen and to always show kindness. Another person said that it all begins and ends with God, his laws, his love, and his grace. And someone else who happened to be from this church said, I want my kids to know that they should love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength.
[26:39] Love their neighbors as themselves. Have we heard that before? It's a little bit familiar, right? And the last person said that they would like to share with their children the importance of church family, the importance of memories of their grandparents, stories about their families, how important the bond of siblings is.
[26:58] And also that they would like their children to remember the words of wisdom that they've shared with their kids. These all seem like blessings that I would want to share too, but I wanted to focus today especially on the blessing of wisdom.
[27:15] One of the things that many people want for their children and for others that they care about is to have wisdom to live by. Wisdom that will help them to know their true inner character, their needs.
[27:30] Wisdom that will help them to make good decisions. And wisdom that will help them to treat other people the right way. And to me, this is a godly kind of wisdom. Wisdom that will help them to help them to help them.
[28:10] We've all heard those things that go around inside of our heads all the time, right? And I'm sure all of you have some favorites that someone has shared with you. And if you're looking for more of those wise sayings, you can look in the book of Proverbs inside the Bible.
[28:23] It's full of these wise sayings and it was written by a very wise man named Solomon. You know there are a lot of really smart people in our world. Many of them have earned degrees from seminaries or colleges.
[28:39] And I truly admire people who have accomplished high educational goals. I think that's an important thing to do. But being smart and having a diploma doesn't necessarily mean that a person has wisdom.
[28:53] Especially godly wisdom. There's a difference between the two. And the two different kinds of wisdom are described in the Bible. There's a human worldly wisdom.
[29:05] And there's also a godly wisdom that's spiritual. And I think that these two types of wisdom have two different focuses. Human wisdom very often wants to gain power over others.
[29:20] Maybe it wants to make oneself look better than others. Perhaps it wants to gain material wealth? Status? James in chapter 3 describes it this way.
[29:31] Who is wise in understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life. By deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
[29:47] Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
[30:03] We have to remember sometimes that the prince of this world is the prince of darkness. The prince of evil. Satan or the devil we sometimes call him.
[30:15] Yes, he's been defeated by God, by Jesus Christ, yet still some of his influence lingers. And so we have to be careful to look at what kind of wisdom we're going after.
[30:29] There's this worldly wisdom, and you can see how it works on people, how it destroys relationships with God and with other people. God's wisdom, however, is very different.
[30:40] It has a whole different focus. James 3.17 goes on to describe it this way. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
[30:57] We can see how the two different kinds of wisdom oppose each other. We can be self-serving and material-minded and envious and ambition, but that doesn't mix very well with being peace-loving and considerate and submissive and full of mercy.
[31:14] It's like mixing oil and water. You just can't get them to stay emulsified no matter how hard you try. It's important that we allow the godly wisdom to rise in our lives and influence us the most.
[31:30] You know, Jesus was always trying to teach godly spiritual wisdom to the people that he met. He preached a gospel of forgiveness and kindness and grace, and he taught lessons about sharing and mercy and sincere faith, and he ran into opposition for it.
[31:48] There's a story in the gospel from Luke in chapter 4, and it tells about a time when Jesus returned to his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, and he was allowed to stand up and teach.
[32:03] It would be sort of like me going back to Emmanuel, United Methodist up in Lockport and being allowed to preach up there. Everybody would be watching and saying, Oh, how's this homegrown child?
[32:15] How's she doing? I can imagine all the family and childhood friends and neighbors, all the people that Jesus knew best were there listening to him and judging him as he spoke.
[32:28] Now, at first, they really liked what they heard. The congregation was all excited. They were amazed that their hometown boy, this son of Joseph the carpenter, could speak with such eloquence.
[32:40] And they thought for sure Jesus would also perform some of those miracles that he was starting to do around the region of Galilee. But when he reminded them that all of the great prophets were despised in their hometowns, and when he really started to speak God's wisdom and truth to them, they became angry, and they drove him out of town, and they tried to throw him over a cliff, and they probably were planning to stone him as well.
[33:09] But somehow, Jesus walked right down through the center of that crowd, and that was the miracle. But the people missed it entirely because of their anger. It can be hard sharing God's truth, God's wisdom, with people who are not ready to hear it.
[33:27] But the Holy Spirit will still compel us to share what we've learned from God. Why is that? Don't you think maybe it's because God is using us to reach other people, to help open up their hearts?
[33:44] I think God wants us to try. God wants us to try. And so he compels us because he's hoping to get closer to people. He's hoping to bring them in alignment with his will and to teach them about his love.
[34:00] How many of you know what an intervention is? You've heard of those. Have you ever taken part in one? To intervene means to come between two things, to interrupt and change the course of events.
[34:14] And very often we think of an intervention as a group of friends gathering around someone to confront them with their destructive behavior and encourage them to get professional help and to change.
[34:27] Interventions are sometimes performed for those who have drug or alcohol addictions, and they can be pretty effective. There's a simpler form of intervention that we experienced in my family.
[34:39] There was a teacher who called one time. My daughter's grades were slipping in math. And this teacher really did hope to help my daughter learn to do better, and so he intervened.
[34:52] She was doing really, really well in every single subject except algebra. For some reason she just couldn't grasp it. She couldn't comprehend it, and her teacher didn't seem to be able to get it across to her.
[35:03] And so he got in touch with us to let us know that she was headed towards failure. So Bill and I ended up getting a tutor for her. And he did a great job.
[35:13] And pretty soon my daughter was caught right up with the rest of her class, and she was doing really well. But what if that first teacher had not intervened by calling us?
[35:23] What if he had just let her go on her way and failed? I was really grateful that he came to us. Nobody likes to hear from the teacher that their child is doing poorly, but I was glad in the long run that this teacher intervened for our daughter.
[35:39] Have you ever seen somebody really struggling in life, and you just wanted to step in and share with them and give them your advice in order to help them? Sometimes that can be our own personal desire, a desire to share our worldly wisdom with them, to show that we're a little better or a little smarter, maybe we can fix things if they'll just listen to us.
[36:02] But that's not the right reason to go to people to help them. It could be the Spirit of God is actually urging you to humbly share God's wisdom with the person that's in trouble in order to intervene and help them find their way.
[36:18] We have to be really cautious about our motives, and we have to be very gentle in our interventions. It is essential to prepare our hearts and our minds so that we're sure we're bringing God's wisdom to the situation and not just the world's wisdom.
[36:35] So how do we prepare? Well, of course, prayer is the biggest help of all. Praying earnestly to receive God's wisdom in any situation is always a good thing, and having others pray with you is also a good idea.
[36:50] God is very gracious, and when we seek God's wisdom, he will give that to us. Again, in James, I really like the book of James. Have you noticed? In James 1, verse 5, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
[37:10] God really wants to share his wisdom with us, and the Holy Spirit is sent to us from the heart of God to share what God wants us to know. When Paul first went to the Corinthians, he spoke to them, and he brought the gospel message, but he told them he didn't come to share human wisdom with them, but he came to share the wisdom of the Spirit of God.
[37:34] And anybody who doesn't have God's Spirit can't fully understand God's wisdom. So we should be praying continually for the Spirit to fill us, to come to us, to teach us, to lead us and guide us.
[37:48] And then we need to listen very carefully to what we're told and do it, because God will give us directions. There's this wonderful book, and I think some of you have it in the pew.
[38:00] I don't have one in my hand, but there's this book. I think it's called the Bible. That's another good place to look for wisdom. How many times have you turned to the Scriptures in order to get some guidance and to seek answers to life's dilemmas?
[38:14] I know I look there all the time. In the Old Testament, we have all the words of the prophets. We have stories about people of faith that struggled and how God helped them along.
[38:26] Sometimes he had to discipline them a little, and then he would help them along again. And the prophets pointed to the New Testament, to Jesus Christ and his life. And there we read about, not only about Jesus' life and death and resurrection, we read about the teachings of the early leaders of the church and all that the Holy Spirit helped them to do.
[38:45] And we can be inspired and helped by the wisdom we find in Scripture. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 reminds us, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.
[39:06] The people Jesus spoke to in the New Testament times were intrigued by the wisdom that he shared because he spoke with great authority. He spoke with an authority that was greater than their own religious leaders.
[39:19] But the people weren't exactly sure where that authority was coming from. It didn't seem to come from the current religious establishment. In fact, the leaders of the Jewish religion at that time really disliked Jesus immensely.
[39:35] He was threatening their power over the common people, and he threatened their very sense of who God was and how they ought to relate to him. But the wisdom and the teachings of Jesus challenged people to do religion differently, to do life differently.
[39:52] Even the ones who were starting to understand Jesus, starting to believe in him, were challenged when Jesus told them that not everyone who would perform good works in his name would be accepted into the kingdom of God.
[40:07] I wanted to read again Matthew 7, starting in verse 22. Do we have that? There we go. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?
[40:22] And then he will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. And doesn't that surprise us? Doesn't that shock us a little bit? If we're doing miracles and casting out demons in Jesus' name, we can still risk missing out on salvation.
[40:40] How is that possible? I believe it all has to do with motivation and the condition of our hearts. If we do miracles in Jesus' name to impress other people, then we're doing it for the wrong reason, and so we will be judged for that.
[41:00] But if we do miracles in response to God's calling to love others, then we'll be blessed. It is in our humble obedience to God that we find both blessing and wisdom.
[41:17] And this is something we have to learn for ourselves before we can share it forward with future generations. In his little parable about the wise man and the foolish man, Jesus clearly taught the need not only to listen to his wisdom, but to live it out.
[41:33] In Matthew 7, verse 24, Jesus taught, Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And then what happened?
[41:46] You all know the kids' song, right? The rains came down and the floods came up. The rains came down and the floods came up. The rains came down and the floods came up. And the house on the rock stood firm.
[42:00] It stood firm. When the storms of life assailed that house, nothing could shake it because it was built on the rock of Jesus Christ. We all will face storms at some time.
[42:13] There'll be times when we'll face broken relationships, we'll have a devastating illness, we'll have a financial collapse, and yet it won't take us down.
[42:26] None of us is exempt from these things if we're living on this planet, but a person who is trusting in Jesus Christ, building their life on the rock of Jesus Christ, will not be moved, will not be swept away and destroyed.
[42:42] But what about that person who ignores God's wisdom? What about the one who only gives lip service to it without actually living in obedience to what God tells them?
[42:57] They may build a house that appears to be exactly like the house that the wise man built, but there's something fundamentally wrong with it. In verse 26, Jesus tells us, but everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
[43:19] And the rains came down and the floods came up, and the rains came down and the floods came up, and that house on the sand fell flat. The two houses appeared exactly the same.
[43:32] However, the foolish man made a poor choice about where to build his house. He may have heard God's wisdom, but he didn't know deep in his heart where he should build his house.
[43:48] It's like the song we sang. You've got to know it in your heart. Instead, that foolish man chose to build his house on shifting sand. It may have looked like a really great location.
[43:58] He had a great view of the world. The land didn't cost him very much. All his friends were building there. But when we build our houses or when we build our lives on shifting sand, foolish choices, we can expect that disaster will follow.
[44:17] We already know what God expects from us. We just need a little more faith to believe and do it. And the way to godly wisdom is just not always the easiest way.
[44:29] Sometimes the choices we have to make will be hard. There's a well-known church leader and author. His name is Len Sweet. And he tells us this. When we have to make a hard, hard decision, we should always choose the way that makes us feel most nauseous.
[44:49] He calls it the way of nausea. And I thought that was pretty good. It's just another way of saying sometimes you need to choose the harder path in order to make the better choice.
[45:03] It might be riskier. It might be scarier. But in the long run, the reward is going to be so much greater. We may want to take the easy way in life, the most scenic route, the way that all our friends are going, the way that makes us look good, the way that makes us most popular or gains us money or power.
[45:22] But when we choose that way, we risk losing some of the most important things of life, things like compassion and integrity and faithfulness.
[45:33] Jesus didn't choose the easy way. He didn't suffer and give up his life for us so that we can just have an easy time in this life. He gave up his life for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins.
[45:48] And he gave up his life for us so that we could gain eternal life. He gave us godly wisdom so that we could make the right choices and how to live here and know how to get to the next life.
[46:05] And this is a blessing that is so, so precious that we definitely want to share it in the future generations. We want to share it with our children and our youth. We want to share it with everybody that's precious to us.
[46:19] But it means you might have to live a life that demonstrates God's wisdom. And you might have to make hard choices and follow through with your actions.
[46:30] Are you up to the challenge? Is this something that you want to share with the next generation, the blessing of God's wisdom? If you do, the rewards are going to be very, very great for all of us.
[46:44] Amen? The wisdom that comes from God in the scriptures comes straight from the heart of divine love. And those are ancient words that are passed down to us from previous generations and words that we long to share with those who come behind us.
[47:04] O'er the purge ofause Old and birds is long-reserved For our walk in this world They premi yüz endors'd or thought afford All of the ancient birds in town God.
[47:33] Words of life, words of hope, give us strength, help us come. In this world where ever we roam, ancient birds will guide us home.
[47:51] Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you.
[48:02] We have come with open hearts, open the ancient birds in heart. Holy words, all the pain handed down to this age.
[48:30] Faith to offer sacrifice only the faithful words of Christ. Holy words long reserved for our all in this world.
[48:51] Faith to offer sacrifice only the faithful words of God. Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you.
[49:11] We have come with open hearts, open the ancient birds in heart. Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you.
[49:29] We have come with open hearts, oh, let the ancient birds in heart. Jesus, Lord of my soul.
[49:48] Jesus, Lord of my soul.
[50:01] Jesus, I will never let you go. You've taken me from the barry clay.
[50:14] You've set my feet upon the rock and now I know. Jesus, Lord of my soul. I love you. I love you. I need you.
[50:26] Know my word when wrong. I'll never let you go. You've taken me from the barry clay.
[50:37] I need you. I need you. I need you. I need you. I need you. You need you. I need you. Jesus, Lord of my soul. Jesus, Lord of my soul.
[50:49] Jesus, Lord of my soul. Jesus, I will never let you go. You've taken me from the barry clay.
[51:03] You've set my feet upon the rock and now I know. I love you. I need you.
[51:15] Know my world may fall. I'll never let you go. My Savior, my closest friend.
[51:27] I will worship you until the very end. The word of God is a lamp to our feet and light to our path.
[51:57] Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[52:18] When I feel afraid, faith has lost my way. Still you're there right beside me.
[52:29] And nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be here, meet till the end.
[52:43] My word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[52:54] Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[53:06] I will not forget your love for me and yet. My heart forever is wandering.
[53:18] Jesus, be my guide and hold me to your side. And I will love you till the end.
[53:32] My word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[53:45] Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[53:57] God really does want to share his wisdom with us. He wants us to know what to do in life. He wants us to know how to live, how to love one another, how to care for one another, and how to give our hearts to Jesus Christ.
[54:13] There's no more precious gift than you can give than the wisdom that comes from above. As we come to the table, we realize that sometimes we don't listen to that wisdom.
[54:26] Sometimes we aren't obedient to what God tells us. Sometimes we fail. And yet God is always willing to hear our confession and to receive us back again.
[54:38] And so I ask that you would pray with me. Gracious God, you are holy and you are just and you are merciful.
[54:52] You send your wisdom to me, but I don't always listen. Sometimes I do the things that I'm not supposed to do.
[55:07] Sometimes I fail to do the things that you want me to do. I'm sorry, Lord.
[55:18] I ask you to forgive me. Wash me clean. Fill me with your spirit. And help me to be a faithful disciple.
[55:32] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Hear the glorious good news. Even though we are sinners, even though we fail, God loves us and proved his love for us by sending his son Jesus Christ into the world to live and die and be raised again for each one of us.
[55:52] And so I can say to you with confidence, in the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen.
[56:03] Won't you please be seated. Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary.
[56:33] Pure and holy, tried and true. In thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you.
[56:57] Lead me on, Lord, from temptation. Lord, purify me from within.
[57:09] Fill my heart with your Holy Spirit. Take away all my sin.
[57:29] Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary. Pure and holy, tried and true.
[57:45] In thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary.
[57:57] For you. We'll join together in the great thanksgiving. The Lord be with you. And also with you.
[58:08] Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks to Christ. It is right and good and a joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[58:25] You formed us in your image and breathed into us the very breath of life. And when we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets, who looked for that day when justice shall roll down like waters and righteousness like an eff-flowing stream, when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore.
[58:56] 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, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
[59:11] Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ.
[59:22] Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people.
[59:39] He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. And 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.
[59:57] On the night in which he was to give himself up for us, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to God, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples. And he said to them, this is my body, which is given for you.
[60:11] Eat of this in remembrance of me. After the supper, he took the cup and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples and told them, this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.
[60:30] Drink of this, as often as you will, in remembrance of me. And so, in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving, as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
[60:54] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and cup. 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.
[61:14] Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with your Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forevermore. Amen.
[61:35] And now, as his faithful people shall we pray the prayer which he taught us, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[61:50] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[62:04] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are helping to serve please come forward.
[62:29] goosebumps 끝나kt so Thank you.
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