[0:00] Good morning, everybody. That's better. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. If any kids want to come up and sing, they're welcome to join us.
[0:19] This is the day that the Lord has made. 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. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:59] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. Hi, I'm Adrian. Usually I'm behind the camera or in the sound booth, but today I'm showing you just how easy a welcome video is. And because Julie said she would mess with my soundboard if I didn't do it. If you're new to our church, we have a welcome bag that you can pick up in the back of the sanctuary, at the connection site, or at the welcome and information desk.
[1:22] And for everybody, we'd like you to fill out your friendship card with your name so that we know you are here. If you'd like to receive our newsletter or have any updates for us, that's also on the front. And on the back, you can write prayer concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff. Welcome to Pendleton Center Church.
[1:41] And we do welcome you to church. And for those of you who listened to that welcome video a couple weeks ago about moving around, you're freaking me out. Stop moving. We don't have any clipboards this morning. How cool is that? But we got great things happening this week. We have our vacation Bible school all week long. Monday night, there's a prayer service. And Wednesday night, we have the last week of our Bible study. So we'd like to invite you to come and join us for that. And there is a dinner over in Niagara Falls, the chicken barbecue. I believe it's next Sunday. And Julie has some tickets for that if you'd like to help them out and support them and get a good chicken dinner next Sunday. She's got the tickets at the Welcome Center. Let's take a moment and turn to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Dear God, we just thank you for this day. And we thank you for the blessings you give to us. We thank you for the sunshine. We thank you for the joy. And we pray that you be in our hearts this morning to touch us, move us, and fill us with your incredible love. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to start our service with an old Wesleyan song,
[2:41] Rejoice the Lord is King. Rejoice the Lord is King.
[3:11] Give thanks and sing and triumph nevermore. Lift up your heart. Lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love. When he had perched our saints, he took his seat above. Lift up your heart. Lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say, rejoice.
[3:49] Rejoice in glorious hope. Jesus, the Savior, reigns. His kingdom cannot fail. He rules all earth and hell. The keys of earth and hell are to our Jesus' give. Lift up your heart. Lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. Rejoice in glorious hope.
[4:18] Jesus, the Lord. Jesus, the Son, shall come. Jesus, the Son, shall come. And take his servants up to their eternal home. We soon shall hear. Young angels' voice, the trump of God shall sound. Rejoice.
[4:40] The Lord be with you. Take a moment if you will and greet your neighbor with the peace of the Spirit. They're all moving around. like to invite the kids to come on up. Kids want to come up and join me?
[5:04] any other kids want to come on down what are these magic lucky charms they're magically delicious right have you ever eaten them you know what I like I like little marshmallow things how about you I like the cereal too but I love a little marshmallow things what do you think would you think it'd be a good thing if you ate these for breakfast and for lunch and for dinner and all day long every day all the time no not only would it not be good for you they probably wouldn't even taste very good would they now we need all kinds of different foods it's good for our body it's good for our our lives and we we need to have all kinds of things in our lives because God has given us all sorts of different possibilities for life and each of you have something that's special about you just like food has got something special so just like food nourishes our body each of you have something God gifted and gave to you so that you could do great things in this world and great things in our church okay so so look for those things because as you get older God's going to teach you more and more about what he wants you to be all right what are you guys thankful for you want to share something raise your hand my mom and dad my dogs my brother and sisters family and friends family and friends okay Lord we do thank you for the blessings you give to us and we pray that you'll always teach us and guide us to be exactly what you want us to be that we might be all that we can for you in this world in Jesus name we pray amen wait don't go away yet because we're gonna sing a song okay you ready all right our God is a great big God our God is a great big God our God is a great big God our God is a great big God our God is a great big God and he holds us in his hands he is higher than a skyscraper and he's deeper than a submarine he is wider than the universe and beyond my wildest dreams and he's known me and he's known me since before the world began how wonderful to be a part of
[7:49] God's amazing plan our God is a great big God our God is a great big God our God is a great big God and he holds us in his hands and he holds us in his hands and he holds us in his hands And if you would like the full version of that song, you're welcome to join us at Vacation Bible School.
[8:44] Cindy Smith is going to come up and share a thankful moment about Vacation Bible School. Good morning.
[9:00] As you know, Bible School is starting tomorrow. It runs all week from 9 to 1230. And it's going to be called Hero Central. It is for children ages 3 all the way through completed 6th grade.
[9:13] And I'm a volunteer this year. And I'm going to be working at the registration desk. Our theme is the kids are going to learn how to be a hero in their own community this week.
[9:27] They're going to be studying about heroes in the Bible. And one of the reasons I like Bible School is because I think it's kind of like it's packed into one week, but it's kind of a microcosm of the larger church.
[9:39] We have all the different things that we do as a church together, but we do them all this week in like a smaller version. We are going to be studying scripture. And I thought I would maybe give you the scriptures we're going to be studying, just list the stories they're going to be learning this week in case you wanted to follow along this week.
[9:56] Monday is Samuel anoints David from 1 Samuel. Tuesday is Abigail saves the day, also from 1 Samuel. Wednesday Jesus goes to the temple, Luke 2.
[10:08] The Beatitudes is in Mark 4 and 5, and Pentecost is on Friday in Acts 2. We have our opening and closings, as you can see with all the music and singing songs about God.
[10:20] We're going to be praying together, fellowshipping, eating, of course, lots of eating going on, snacking, making crafts in the shops in the fellowship hall. We're going to be recreation.
[10:32] They're going to have games. They're also doing a mission this week. It's for Hearts for the Homeless, which is an organization in Buffalo that feeds the homeless. They have a mobile soup kitchen, and they also have a thrift store.
[10:44] So they're going to be collecting juice boxes for Hearts for the Homeless. And I think it's a big outreach for our church also, because we're bringing in families from the community. Some have their own churches, but some of them do not have a home church.
[10:58] And we like to welcome them into our church family. Another thing I like is it's intergenerational. We have people from 3 years old in the building all week to, like, my age, maybe older.
[11:10] I don't know. And we're all working together for one goal, to help these kids learn about our faith. And it's fun. That's the best part. Finally, I just want to thank all of you for everything you've done, signing up on the clipboards, bringing in snacks and goodies for everybody, prayers, what else?
[11:31] Volunteering. We have lots of volunteers this week. Thank you so much for all of your support. We really appreciate it. And this morning, as you consider your gifts to God, we do have an envelope.
[11:46] If you'd like to support Vacation Bible School and all the efforts and the good things it does for the people of our community, you can do so. Let's return our thanksgiving to God with our morning tithes and our offerings.
[11:58] We'll thank you for thoselar and that our thanksgiving is a force. And they'll be happy to see you.
[12:09] All these importante things give you true love. For you, I ax take the grace of your work and yourself to be with you. Thank you so much. I always enjoy your�s.
[12:19] And they'll see you before the sunrise days. There are a laughter of all of you, your eyes and lookuti in your eyes, your eyes and mind... I'm so happy to see you today so. Amen. Amen.
[13:26] Amen. Amen.
[14:26] Amen. Amen.
[15:26] Amen. Mercy for your grace, for your love.
[15:46] And we give back to you a portion of what you've given to us as a reflection of our great love for you, for our gratitude for being in our life. We pray that these gifts will go forward for the transformation of the world, that you may be proclaimed.
[16:04] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. If there are any children that want to go out for church school, they are welcome to do so.
[16:16] For joys and concerns, a joy, I don't know if everybody heard, but there's a prayer service tomorrow at 6 p.m. And that's always a joy, that our church gathers for prayer.
[16:29] It really is. If you have an opportunity, come and pray with your church family. And if you're, you know, you're busy and stuff, take a moment. Take some time to pray.
[16:39] We, because God said that our church should be a house of prayer. And so tomorrow at 6, I invite you to that. Pastor Leetzer leads it. And it's a wonderful experience.
[16:51] And it's a joy. It's a joy that we have all these people involved in VBS. And that we have an opportunity to minister not only to the children, but also to the families.
[17:03] May God's name be praised that the children bring back a joy in their heart that they can share with their families. People say, hey, this God thing, that's pretty cool. We do have some concerns to share.
[17:15] Please pray for Dick Roseland. He's having some health concerns. And also Ed Simpson is going for surgery. So we lift them up in prayer. And I do also know that there's a lot on people's hearts, a lot in people's lives.
[17:27] So let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Gracious and loving Lord, we thank you and we praise you. You are our redeemer, our savior, our creator.
[17:43] Lord, we pray that you will come and dwell among us, fill us with your Holy Spirit, that we may have discernment in our lives. Lord, we pray that you will come and dwell in our lives. Lord, we pray that you will come and dwell in our lives.
[17:53] Open our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts. That we will be able to experience you in a powerful way and have the path that you would have for us be clear.
[18:07] We're facing decisions, Lord, and we pray that you will make it so obvious. Make the planes straight. Make the paths clear. We pray, Lord, for people who are going through any health concerns.
[18:21] May your hand be upon them, that they may experience your healing. We pray for doctors and nurses and those in the position of caregiving.
[18:33] We pray for those who are weary, that they will have your peace and your comfort and your strength.
[18:47] We pray for those who are experiencing fear and depression, that you will fill the openness and the emptiness within their hearts.
[18:59] Surround them with loving community. Lord, we pray for our church, that your blessing will be upon us, that you will give us your wisdom to know which way to go, to be a further blessing to you.
[19:20] May everything we do in this church praise your name. May we be a beacon of light in this community. And may we all be drawn to grow and become disciples that follow you and grow in you and proclaim your name.
[19:41] We pray for our community, Lord, that it will draw more and more into your community, that more and more people will come to know you.
[19:54] We pray for peace. We pray for your presence. And we thank you for your love. Lord, we pray for our families, for any brokenness that may be in our families, Lord.
[20:13] We pray that you will bind it up, draw our families closer to one another. Father, may everyone examine the plank in their own eye.
[20:30] We pray for families of forgiveness and families of love. And we pray that our families rejoice in you, making you the number one priority in their lives.
[20:46] we pray for our families of God. We pray for our families of God. We pray that you will give parents your words, your ways, that they may minister to their children in their homes, and that all will come to worship you.
[21:04] in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now let's hear from the word of the Lord. Good morning.
[21:34] Our scripture reading today is from 1 Corinthians 12, verses 4-20. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
[21:48] There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them, and in everyone, it is the same God at work. Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
[22:04] To one, there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom. To another, a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit. To another, faith by the same Spirit.
[22:16] To another, gifts of healing by that one Spirit. To another, miraculous powers. To another, prophecy. To another, distinguishing between Spirits.
[22:27] To another, speaking in different kinds of tongues. And to still another, the interpretation of tongues. All of these are the work of one and the same Spirit.
[22:38] And he distributes them to each one just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
[22:52] For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free. And we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
[23:04] Even so, the body is not made up of one part, but of many. Now if the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being a part of the body.
[23:18] And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?
[23:31] If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
[23:43] If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
[23:54] God bless you.
[24:24] God bless you. I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night. He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
[24:38] I need a hero. I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light. He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be true and he's gotta be larger than life.
[24:51] Trust you. I'm holding out for a hero someone who has knowledge and wisdom, someone who can do miraculous things, someone who can understand what the Spirit of God wants, someone who can fix all this trouble, all these problems that in the wave of a hand could make all our disagreements and struggles go away.
[25:14] We need a hero. Amen? What do you think a superhero is? Who do you think a superhero is? If you were given choices, who would you choose? I'm gonna give you that choice.
[25:26] You can take out that piece of paper you grabbed on the way in or a piece of the bulletin or if you're one of those electronic guys, you can use that thing there. All right? And which of these would you say are a superhero?
[25:38] Would it be A. Wonder Woman? B. Jesus? C. Asbury? Or D. King David? All you gotta do is put the letter down. A, B, C, or D and they'll come around and collect up your choices and we'll find out later what you said.
[25:54] So just pass your answers on into the aisles and they'll come around with a basket and pick those up. What's a superhero? Who's a superhero? Who would be a superhero to you?
[26:13] We've been talking this last few weeks about Methodists and some of the things that make Methodists a little different than other church faith traditions. Some of the things that make our church a little different than other churches and faiths.
[26:27] And one of the names you've heard quite often is Wesley. In fact, Charles Wesley, John's brother, wrote that hymn we sang at the beginning of the service and a lot of the hymns we've been singing. John and Charles Wesley started the Methodist church.
[26:41] They formed it. They built it. They created its understanding in England. In England. In this country, there weren't very many Methodists.
[26:53] In 1771, there were a total of 600. We have more Methodists in our church than there were in this country when the Revolutionary War happened.
[27:07] But then a man arrived. It wasn't Wesley. It was a guy by the name of Francis Asbury. Francis Asbury had dropped out of school at the age of 12.
[27:18] But when he went and heard Wesley preach, he gave his life to God and he got himself together. He got his education. He became a pastor and he came to America.
[27:31] There were 600 members of the Methodist church when he came to America and when he died, there were 212,000. He preached 17,500 sermons.
[27:45] That's a lot of sermons. I preached several thousand, but not quite that many. He traveled on horseback, on horseback, 300,000 miles.
[27:57] I would struggle on horseback for one mile. I don't know about you. He changed who we are and what we are.
[28:09] And shortly after Wesley's death, the Methodist church actually for a time was the largest church in America. This one man did amazing things. Do great people make great events happen in history or do great events make great people appear in history?
[28:27] That's been a question that they've studied in the history departments of colleges and universities across America for years. Which came first? World War II or Winston Churchill?
[28:40] Which made the difference? Which created the other? sometimes when we hear these great names it seems to suggest that the rest of people don't matter.
[28:56] We have Moses and Joshua Deborah and David Esther and Daniel Mary and Peter and Paul and Mary that's a rock group isn't it?
[29:11] the great people that did great things. I was way on a mission trip with the teenagers a couple of weeks ago and people have asked me what did you do?
[29:25] One of the things I did was I lifted up a house. Five and a half inches I lifted up a house. Pretty amazing isn't it? The great things that people can accomplish.
[29:37] the difficulty is that in our country we've created a myth of rugged individualism that you can do anything you put your mind to you can accomplish anything that you want because the whole of life is about you.
[29:55] What do you want? What do you want to be? Where do you want to go? Where do you want to live? Who do you want to be with? It's you you you you society our schools our media they all tell us that if we're individually pleased if we're individually successful if we have accomplished great things somehow for ourselves that's the point of living.
[30:29] This myth began a long time ago around the time of Francis Asbury Europe Europe was in upheaval they not only had wars going on all over the place but they were so full of people there was no room for people to even grow food people were literally dying of starvation in Europe so people got on boats and came to this country only to find crowded cities like New York City and other places where they barely could scrape by and were were dying from too many people in one place so they decided to go out into the frontier you know the wilderness places so so uninhabited like you know Wyoming and Genesee counties and Buffalo New York and Tennessee and Kentucky those distant frontiers for a new way of life those rugged individuals carved out a little space for themselves built homes out of logs dug up the stumps and planted crops they made their own way of life
[31:39] Davy Davy Crockett king of the wild frontier anybody remember that? that guy could do with a bowie knife what MacGyver could do you know he could do anything he could make anything he could create anything he alone could do everything but they were alone we see him as heroes but they were isolated and the book of Genesis in the very beginning of the Bible says it's not good for people to be alone God has a plan and we're all part of it in verse 14 of this passage it says to us even so the body is made up of one part not one part but of many as the body of Christ the church of God we're made up of many many many people church is not about one person showing up and praising God by themselves people say well I meet with God out in the wilderness by myself out in the nature with a tree
[32:47] God did not make you to worship a tree with God he made you to worship with the people of God because the many come together and do amazing things and so God had a plan and Francis Asbury was willing to step into the plan he got on a horseback and he rode out to these wilderness places and he found people that were so scattered that their nearest neighbor was a couple hours away that they were living in isolation can you imagine being so alone that you don't see anybody but the people in your own household for weeks and in this isolation he stepped in and he brought the church he brought God and he brought them together so that they could see one another and Methodist churches started popping up all over the place you know there's over 40,000 of them in this country people say why do we have all these little churches because people lived all over the place and didn't see each other wasn't a day when you get in a car and you could drive down the road in short order so Asbury brought them together in a church and so because of that
[34:08] Francis Asbury is in many ways considered the hero of the Methodist church in America that's why you see places like Camp Asbury or you'll see a church named Asbury or you'll see streets and even towns Asbury Park in New Jersey all sorts of Asbury's because Bishop Asbury changed the face of our church so are we ready let's see who your heroes are Wonder Woman there you go Wonder Woman yes 30 of you said Wonder Woman all right I like Wonder Woman I really do I watch the old Wonder Woman at 8 o'clock on Saturday nights it's a two parter it's driving me crazy I want to know what's going to happen next week Jesus 78 of you think it was Jesus nobody thinks it's Asbury oh come on King David got 14 two said all of above and one of you got a little distorted idea of a hero or maybe not ultimately the only superhero the only one that really has the power to transform and change our lives and our world is
[35:23] Jesus Jesus can do anything God can be anything God can create anything God can accomplish anything but God chose in the midst of all that power and greatness that he didn't want to be alone either so he created us and then when we created a problem for him and when we became difficult for him and when we started to do things that hurt him and caused him pain he didn't send down bolts from heaven he came down in the form of Jesus and he died that we could be together with him that's what they call the atonement in the bible to become at one with Jesus the power of God our only real superhero that drew us together as the body of Christ he's our head we're the body
[36:27] Ephesians talks about it in chapter 5 where it says we are members of his body for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one this is a profound mystery but I'm not talking about marriage that's just an illustration we're talking about Christ and the church God wants to be so intimately connected with us that he created this community so that he could be with us and we could be together and God gives us gifts for that purpose in verse 7 it says each one to each one the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given for the common good we're given gifts abilities talents each one of you was given an incredible gift from God an ability you may not even be aware of that God gave you for a specific purpose not for yourself but for the common good for the church for God for what he intends because in verse 4 it says there are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit distributes them
[37:35] God is the one who gives the gifts for his purpose for his plan to build his body and he decides which gifts you're going to get you don't like the gifts you've been given you know whose fault it is it's God's fault God chose you for a purpose not necessarily even to make you happy you which is what we think is the purpose of these things but to make you what God intended you to be so that your life would have purpose would have a reason for existing God gives us all these individual gifts so that we have a value not anyone can do everything there's all sorts of things we're not capable of no one is a superman there's a lot of things I can't do there's things I can't do because my body isn't like yours have you ever gone on one of those things at the amusement park they go round and round and they drop the floor out and you stick to the wall
[38:41] I don't stick I don't know why I don't stick but I don't stick I just slide down the wall and sit on the bottom and look at y'all having a good time that tells you when I say my body's weird it's weird it defies the normal laws of science because we aren't made to do everything and you know why because God wants us to need everyone each one has a different gift from God they list some of them in verses 7 through 10 but they list even more in the Bible like preaching or serving or teaching or encouraging or giving or leadership or mercy wisdom and knowledge and faith and healing and miracles and discernment speaking in different languages they even have one called helping God gives us all sorts of gifts and I don't think his lists are intended to be exclusive there's other gifts we all need and we all participate in somehow we start to think one is more than another and the
[39:47] Bible says if a foot should say because I'm not a hand I don't belong to the body it would not for that reason being part of the body the body isn't about one part but all the parts working together in an incredible amazing way I didn't lift the house I'm sure you realize that I can't lift the house there's actually a whole team of us working on lifting that house we had we had about six or seven of us there we had to knock down a concrete wall I didn't knock down that concrete wall we had to haul the concrete away I hauled some of it but I don't want to haul all of that we had to crawl under this trailer is what it really was on both sides and jack it up in two or three different places you can't do that by yourself and by the way we didn't have any jacks the neighbor gave them to us and he gave us boards and he gave us stones and there were some of the young people who went under the trailer and some that didn't and the ones that were outside
[40:50] I think they felt like man I didn't do anything important believe me when you're underneath the trailer and you say I need a board right now being able to reach out and have it and know it's there is amazing not only that it's good to know there's somebody out there help we don't do things alone we do them together together we make amazing things happen which is what God intended God makes our gifts work he gives them to us so that they can be a success so we can give glory back to God which is why we come to worship to praise God for everything he's ever done amen because when you're successful it means God was successful through you but for a purpose God didn't give us all the gifts he gave us only part of the gifts he made us without intentionally God chose your gift he places you in this church he called you to this place
[41:58] I believe everyone who comes here is a particular gift from God that he sent to us because there's something special about you that we need that we need Jesus said on this rock I'll build my church and the gates of hell won't prevail against it the way in which we keep hell out of our lives the way in which we keep hell out of our community out of our children's lives out of this country out of this world is not by going off and finding our own individual successes somewhere in glory but because we pull together as the people of God and in the name of Jesus Christ those demons have no power everyone has some special gift Asbury didn't change the church alone he went in and brought the word of God and then there were local pastors lay pastors who taught the word of God taught the word of God while he went off to some other place he got a lot of the credit but there were people there teaching classes somebody built the building and I'm sure it wasn't
[43:05] Francis that built those 40,000 church buildings somebody turned on the lights somebody put on the heat somebody taught the children in our generation we like to talk about Billy Graham the great evangelist somebody taught Billy Graham about Jesus and I bet it was somebody in a Sunday school classroom somewhere that nobody ever showed any attention to but God used them for amazing things Cindy was going through the list of vacation Bible school things oh my gosh there will be a couple hundred two or three hundred kids and teenagers here this week but there's also going to be I bet you at least a hundred adults here the teenagers are the ones who are going to take care of all those kids and the adults are going to take care of all those teenagers and sometimes all they're doing is putting a little pickle in a little cup and they'd say what does that mean about anything it means everything everything because the little special things we do that we sometimes think matter the least are the things that make it all work make it all happen it's true for every aspect of our lives the difficulty is that somehow we've come to believe in hero worship
[44:21] God designed a church a community of faith to work with each other even though we're not perfect intentionally made it so that we wouldn't have all the gifts so that we would require one another because when we go it alone when we try to do it by ourselves when we go out there and say we're going to conquer the world and we don't need anybody else it doesn't take very long before we find out that those heroes don't really exist hey melissa the whales need your help i love whales go melissa let's forget those whales hey melissa now the trees need you the ice caps are in trouble
[45:26] I'm not going to hear it till the morning light. Ever feel like that?
[45:40] I'm trying my best. But I need some help. I need somebody to walk alongside me. I need somebody to hold the rope. I need somebody to hold on to my heart.
[45:52] Now, the church itself has become infected with this idea. The idea that we exist so you can be pleased.
[46:05] People will say, well, what's in it for me at church? It's not about you. It's about God. People will say, but I don't like that.
[46:16] It doesn't matter what you like. It's not about you. It's about God. People will tell me, but you're not making me happy, pastor.
[46:29] You're saying things I don't like to hear. It's not about you. It's about... Starts with a G, ends with a D. This isn't that hard, okay? It's about God.
[46:41] If we can get to understand that, then God will turn loose the power of his Holy Spirit in your lives. And even though you don't realize it, you will become a hero.
[46:54] All the people around you. As you give to them. And you let them give back to you. I don't need anybody. I don't need nothing.
[47:05] I can do it all myself. You live long enough, you'll find out that's just a lie. You can do anything you want and you put your mind to. If you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything you'd like.
[47:18] How many of you believe that? It doesn't work. It doesn't work. You can do anything that God has made you to do.
[47:28] Because if you do what God created you for, you cannot fail. Amen? That's the truth. You cannot fail if you do what God made you for.
[47:40] And the only reason we ever fail is because we're trying to do something that's not for God. We're gifted for each other because life is made up in relationships.
[47:55] Just as a body, though one has many parts, all of its many parts form one body. So it is with Christ. We're not individuals.
[48:09] It doesn't matter if you have a hand without a body. There's no purpose to a foot without a body. An ear without a body is useless. And people without the body of Christ will fail.
[48:23] The key to a lot of the things we've been talking about changing around here is exactly that. What we need to be as a church is not about what you want. And it's not about what I want.
[48:36] It's about what God wants. And living for God is what this world used to do. People used to choose where they lived based on where they worshiped God.
[48:49] They used to choose who they were based on God. And what they felt God was doing. And God touched them. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 has some very, very depressing words.
[49:03] I saw something meaningless under the sun. There was a man all alone. He didn't have a son or a brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
[49:14] For whom am I toiling, he asked. And why am I depriving myself of enjoyment? This, too, is a miserable, meaningless business. This is a miserable, meaningless business to be all alone and have no purpose at all.
[49:30] Francis Asbury stepped into the isolation, the brokenness of his day. People who had somehow found themselves stuck out in the middle of nowhere with nobody around them.
[49:45] And were hungering just to have someone to be with. And that's what grew the Methodist church into what they are. And I've got to tell you, we're on a new frontier.
[49:56] It's a new world. And if you are my age, you know this world we live in doesn't look anything like the one we grew up in. People seem to be prosperous.
[50:07] We have these huge houses. My gosh, they're twice the size of the houses I grew up in, but there's nobody in them. We used to have tons of people in little tiny houses. Right?
[50:20] So you had to share a bathroom. You got to know your family a little bit. I shouldn't have said that. Strike that from your mind. Strike that one out. We had communities.
[50:33] We had neighborhoods. We had villages. We had churches. We had places. We lived together and loved together and did stuff together. And when we died, all those people turned out.
[50:47] Even if they didn't know us. But now we live in a new world. People are isolated in their houses.
[51:01] Young people think that the closest friend they have is somebody they're playing a game with 2,000 miles away. People are little by little sinking into cocoons and sinking into their own little lives and sinking into isolation.
[51:17] And we need a new church. A new way to reach into this brokenness, this isolation, and bring the people of God together. Because God has a new mission, a new purpose for His church today, which is the same.
[51:35] Two are better than one, Ecclesiastes says to us. Because if one falls down, they can pick the other one up. But pity anyone who falls and there's no one to help them up.
[51:47] Also, if two lie down together, they'll keep warm. But how can one keep warm all by themselves? The one may be overpowered. Two can defend themselves.
[51:57] And a cord of three stands is not quickly broken. And a cord of hundreds and thousands can never be defeated. The gates of hell cannot stand against God's church.
[52:11] But they may destroy ours if that's all we have. We need to step into the loneliness. Why do we have vacation Bible school?
[52:23] We have vacation Bible school because somewhere out there there's some children that are alone. Now they need to be around some other kids. They need to feel other kids. They need to have some idea that there's people out there in the world that care about them and are willing to take time out of their week to spend time loving them.
[52:38] Why do we have fish fries? Yes, we make money for the church, but the money is a side benefit. We have fish fries because it gives people who are out there living by themselves, eating a meal all by themselves, alone and wondering if anybody in the world would even say hello to them.
[52:54] A place where they come and they have to sit at a table full of a bunch of people and some goofy pastor goes around and says hello to them and bothers their meal. And they come by the hundreds. Because our world is lonely.
[53:06] We're making these new faith communities. And you know where most of them are showing up? Senior citizens places. Nursing homes. Places where nobody even bothers to walk in the door and say hello to anyone.
[53:21] Because you see, when you get to a certain age and a certain place, we decide life just doesn't matter anymore. I went to a funeral yesterday for a friend of mine. Got three funerals this week to go to.
[53:33] It's sad. Tomorrow's for the daughter of a friend of mine and Wednesday's for the mother of a friend of mine. But yesterday I was at this funeral and they were talking about this fellow who was a lion in our church.
[53:45] He was bigger than life in the western New York area of the Methodist church. And if he had died when he was my age, there was not a church in the area that could contain the people.
[53:57] But he lived a little longer. And when you live long enough, everybody forgets who you are. Nobody seems to pay attention to the fact that you even existed.
[54:09] But there were a couple hundred people there for Bob. And somebody said that they had talked to Bob just a few months ago and he said, well, it's time for me to die.
[54:21] Because my work is done. God will decide when your work is done. Don't tell me you're too old, you're too young, you're too busy, you're too anything. God will decide when your work is done.
[54:32] God will decide when he's had enough of you. God will decide when there's nothing for you to do. People say to me, but I can't even get out of the house. I'm shut in. Write letters. Make phone calls. There's lonely people out there all over the place that would like a card.
[54:44] When was the last time you got a personal note in the mail? Wow, that would be like, who is this person loving on me? God is not finished with you.
[54:55] He's not finished with this church. And he's not finished with this world. It doesn't matter who we are. The biggest, the greatest, the smallest, the least, or the last, or the lost.
[55:11] God has a place in his kingdom for amazing things to happen with you, through you, and for you. God has a place in his kingdom for amazing things to happen with you.
[55:33] The Lord is a place in his kingdom for amazing things to happen with you.
[56:03] God has a place in his kingdom for amazing things to happen with you.
[56:33] God has a place in his kingdom for amazing things to happen with you.
[57:03] God has a place in my heart. I'm not已經 for many things to happen with you.
[57:33] of the cross. And we all bow down.
[57:50] Kings will surrender their crowns and worship Jesus.
[58:00] Worship Jesus. Worship Jesus.
[58:12] For he is the love, unfailing love. He is the love above.
[58:30] He is the love of the cross. He is the love above. He is the love above. He is the love of the cross. He is the love of the cross.
[58:41] He is the love of the cross.
[59:14] He is the love of the cross. He is the love of the cross. Why are his arms reaching? Why are his hands healing?
[59:28] Why are his words teaching? Why are his hands healing? Why are his hands healing?
[59:40] Why is his hands healing? Then there is a way. There is a way.
[59:51] The traveler is far away from home.
[60:03] He sheds his gold. Why am I rę tambour?
[60:18] His fountain and His chances are better out of the road. But if we are the body, what are His love's preaching?
[60:35] What are His hand-sealing? What are His words teaching? What are His words teaching?
[61:12] What are His hands-sealing?
[61:26] What are His words teaching? What are His words teaching?
[61:59] may be seated if we're the body of Christ if we're the body of Christ why are we so worried about what we think and what we do when we have a God who is willing to give up everything for us if we serve a Lord who gave up all of paradise to be with us in our brokenness why would we ever ever think that we're the center of the universe God calls us to reach out to the broken the lost the people that are messed up and confused the people who are deficient and not heroes in other words people just like you and me and make his church thrive unfortunately we are people and so we come with our own brokenness you've got yours I've got mine fortunately we have a God who says he'll take it away so let's give it up to God dear God in heaven I have sinned you know what I've done listen to me pray
[63:08] Lord forgive me for all my sins and especially when I think it's about me help me to help me to focus on you to live for your purpose to love for your love and to bring the grace of God to the least the lost and the lonely in Jesus name we pray amen God forgives you and I not because of how good we are but because of how good he is and he's decided to be with us so that we could be with each other and make amazing things happen in this world in the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven glory to God amen the love ofなく one można
[64:33] One body, one Lord of all. One God, a blessing which we bless.
[64:49] And we, the many throughout the earth, We are one body in this world, Lord.
[65:12] Gentile or Jew, servant or free, Woman or man, no more.
[65:26] One breath, one body, one Lord of all.
[65:37] One cup, a blessing which we bless. And we, the many throughout the earth, We are one body in this one Lord.
[66:06] Many the gifts, many the works, One is the Lord of all.
[66:22] One breath, one body, one Lord of all.
[66:33] One cup, a blessing which we bless. And we, the many throughout the earth, We are one body in this one Lord.
[67:03] One of the greatest reasons why I'm a United Methodist Is because we have an open table.
[67:26] A table of grace that is open to everyone. Doesn't matter who you are, Where you come from, what you've done. If you've been a member here forever, Or you're brand new and just want God in your life.
[67:42] This table is offered for each and every one of us, And it's open to everyone. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
[67:56] It is good and, It is right and a good and a joyful thing, Always and everywhere, to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[68:12] You formed us in your image and breathed into us The breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, Your love remained steadfast.
[68:26] You delivered us from captivity, Made covenant to be our sovereign God, And spoke to us through the prophets. And so with your people on earth And all the company of heaven, We praise your name and join their unending hymn.
[68:42] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
[68:53] 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. Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, To proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind.
[69:12] To set at liberty those who are oppressed, And to announce that the time had come When you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, And ate with sinners.
[69:26] 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.
[69:40] When the Lord Jesus ascended, He promised to be with us always In the power of your word and Holy Spirit. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, He took bread.
[69:53] And he gave thanks to you, Father Almighty, And he broke the bread. And he said, This is my body, broken for you, For the forgiveness of sins.
[70:08] Eat of this often, remembering me. And when the supper was over, He took the cup, and he gave thanks to you, And he said, This is the blood of the new covenant, Poured out for you, Poured out for many, For the forgiveness of sins.
[70:32] Drink from this, all of you. Remembering 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.
[70:56] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, And on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, That we may be for the world, the body of Christ, Redeemed by this blood.
[71:15] By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, One with each other, one with the world, Until Christ comes in final victory, And we feast at his heavenly banquet.
[71:27] 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.
[71:39] Now let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
[71:53] 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.
[72:08] For thine is the kingdom, And the power, And the glory, Forever and ever. Amen. For those who are serving, please come forward. Goodnah Pального Came forward.
[72:26] Thank you.
[72:56] Thank you.
[73:26] Thank you.
[73:56] Thank you. And now you're welcome at the table. At the rail for prayers for healing and anointing to light a candle. Come and join us with the Lord. Thank you.
[74:08] Thank you. Thank you.
[74:20] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[74:55] Thank you.
[75:25] Thank you.
[75:55] Thank you.
[76:25] Thank you.
[76:55] Thank you.
[77:25] Thank you.
[77:56] If you're able, I'm going to invite you to stand as we're going to sing together, We Are One in the Spirit. We Are One in the Spirit.
[78:07] We Are One in the Spirit. We Are One in the Spirit.
[78:27] We Are One in the Spirit. We Are One in the Spirit. And we pray that we pray that we pray that we are one day we will sing. We are one in the Spirit.
[78:39] We are Christians by the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit.
[78:53] We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit.
[79:05] We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Spirit. We Are One in the Spirit. We're one in the Spirit. Remember we are two in the Spirit.
[79:17] Through our Spirit. our love. We will work with each other. We will work side by side. We will work with each other.
[79:31] We will work side by side. And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride. And they'll know we are Christians by our love.
[79:45] By our love. Just they'll know we are Christians by our love. All praise to the Father from whom all things come. And all praise to Christ Jesus his only Son. And all praise to the Spirit who makes us one. And they'll know we are Christians by our love.
[80:17] By our love. Yes and no. We are Christians by our love. I can't stick to walls.
[80:28] I can leap tall buildings in an airplane. I can see through walls if the doors open. I'm not a superhero and neither are you, but God is.
[80:41] And God can make absolutely astounding, amazing things happen in your life if you live into the plan that God designed for you. Which is to do what God wants. Because life is not about you, it's about you got that one.
[80:55] So go out and live that life and watch how God opens up amazing things for your world. And does amazing things in your life. Go in his peace and his grace and may God be with you now and always.
[81:07] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.