[0:00] The Day of the Lord This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:38] Will you pray with me? Dear God in heaven, we thank you for this beautiful day and pray that your blessings would flow down into our lives, that you'd touch us, fill us, and lift us up, that we might experience the presence of God in this place.
[0:50] For we've come to be with you, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I'd like to invite you, if you're able, to stand us. We're going to sing together. Come, Christians, join to sing. We're going to sing together. Come, Christians, join to sing.
[1:27] Alleluia, Amen Now praise to Christ our King Alleluia, Amen Let all with heart and voice Before His throne rejoice Praise is His gracious choice Alleluia, Amen Come lift your hearts on high Alleluia, Amen Let praises fill the sky Alleluia, Amen He is our God and friend To us He'll condescend His love shall never end Alleluia, Amen
[2:28] Praise yet our Christ again Alleluia, Amen I shall not end the strain Alleluia, Amen On heaven's blissful shore His goodness we'll adore Singing forevermore Alleluia, Amen Amen The Lord be with you And also with you Please be seated If we have any children from three to third grade that'd like to go over to junior church, they could go over with Nancy now if they'd like to.
[3:15] We'd love to have them join in that program or stay here. That's perfectly fine, too. Some people have asked about all the storms again. We have a storm that destroyed Puerto Rico. And we have earthquakes that have destroyed Mexico.
[3:27] And while it feels odd to keep having all of these opportunities for giving, the truth is the best way to give to these disasters is through the United Methodist Church. Because every dollar goes to the disaster relief.
[3:40] The Methodist Church pays for all of the administrative costs and such. So we will be making opportunities for helping with Mexico and helping with Puerto Rico. I'm not sure how.
[3:51] But I do also want to mention that if you want to write a check for any of those, just make it out to the church and put in the memo line where you want it to go. And it'll get there. Or if you just want to go to all the disasters, you can write that on there as well.
[4:04] This morning we have a different opportunity, which is to give to our Seneca Street mission, which we've been helping with for years. Our work in Buffalo to feed and help the children and the folks of that area.
[4:14] And we have something to share with you. Our worship is probably not like what you'd expect in the United Methodist Church.
[4:27] We sing songs off the radio. Children lead parts of every service. And we have an informal communion every Sunday as well. We have our dinners on Sunday. And that feeds usually about 70 people.
[4:39] And then the baked goods that have been collected all week are given away. And then during the winter we'll also give away coats. Seneca Street Church has been here for 125 years.
[4:50] At first it was a part of a growing urban neighborhood providing a workforce to factories nearby. As the Rust Belt era came and all the jobs left the area, we went from a church of several hundred to a church of a dozen.
[5:03] But we prayed together every Thursday night for several months until we felt the Spirit saying to us, we need to connect to some children. And we began to talk about the gaps in their lives.
[5:13] We realized they were hungry on the weekend. So we started out with a hot breakfast on Sunday morning and had 21 the first Sunday we did it. We can continue to grow the neighborhood to be different for the next generation.
[5:25] We have a lot of food here that's mostly funded by other churches, other United Methodist churches in the area. We are what engineers call a bumblebee. A bumblebee cannot fly because the body is too big and the wings are too small.
[5:38] But we are flying. And we are flying because United Methodists all over have made it their business to support us. Our church members are very poor. Our offering, unless we have a lot of guests, can be easily under $25 for the week.
[5:52] But I'm here full time. As I said, by the grace of God, it just continues. We figure as long as we're halfway faithful, God is twice as loving and giving and we'll stay here.
[6:03] We're here to live out the gospel. And some stories more than others, one that really catches us is the story of the Good Samaritan. We're not a bunch of Good Samaritans. We're the innkeepers.
[6:15] This church is here for when those who've been bruised by life in one way or another need a place to be to get better, they can come here. They can get fed and they can get loved and they can become a part of a community.
[6:27] It's not just a building. It's a place that wraps its arms around you. And that's why it's so important that we have to continue to be here. And we do thank God for our Seneca Street mission and the ministry that goes on in that place.
[6:44] Wonderful ministry to children and the people of that community. I also wanted to mention to you that Michelle Margarucci wanted to share with you that all of her hearing has returned, which may not seem like much to you, but the doctor said this wouldn't happen.
[6:57] And Michelle said, well, I think so because my church is praying for me. So the doctor said to thank you for your prayers because that seems to have made the difference in her having her hearing returned.
[7:09] What other praises or joys or celebrations do we want to offer this morning? Anybody? A new great nephew. A new great nephew. Wonderful. Anybody else?
[7:23] Sunshine. Yeah, it's gorgeous. Is this fall? I believe it is officially fall. See, this is what they call global warming. I didn't say that. Go ahead. Anybody else?
[7:34] One more. For all the new children. Yes, absolutely. Well, we do thank God for the blessings and joys that he gives to us and the opportunities to share with others.
[7:47] So we're going to take a moment to share our tithes, our gifts, and through the clipboards, our service back to God. Thank you.
[8:27] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Old angels in the story, a sinner has come whole.
[8:44] There's a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes it's mine. With my sins forgiven, I am bound for heaven, evermore to roam.
[9:06] I was suddenly kneeling at the cross, hearing that the God's angry frown.
[9:25] And when it opened, and I saw that my name was written down, written down.
[9:38] There's a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes it's mine. And the white-roofed angels sing the story, a sinner has come whole, has come whole.
[9:59] There's a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes it's mine. There's a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes it's mine.
[10:38] Shual saying, oh yes it's mine. When of breasts is gone, praise Him all creatures here below.
[11:03] Raising him above the heavenly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen Dear God in heaven, we pray that you'll bless these gifts and use them for the wonderful work that you're doing in this world.
[11:29] Touch the people of Seneca Street, touch the people of Pendleton and the areas around with your grace and joy through our gifts. Thank you, Lord. We give you our thanks. In Jesus' name.
[11:40] Amen. Please be seated. I have a few concerns to share with you. Jan Spedding passed away, and Dick Roseland passed away this last week.
[11:53] And their funerals will be coming up here at the church, the 7th for the Spedding and 14th for Dick. So keep those families in your prayers. And Donna Virgil's is going for surgery for cancer down at the Moffitt Center in Tampa in a few days on the 4th.
[12:10] So if you know the Virgil's, keep them in your prayers, even if you don't keep them in your prayers, because that's also a concern. Penny Leden-Frost is also going for surgery. What else do we have in concerns that we'd like to share this morning?
[12:22] Do I see a hand over here? Nope. We have a quiet congregation this morning. That's okay.
[12:33] Go ahead, Judy. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[12:46] All right. So we want to keep these three people in our prayers for their needs and concerns. Absolutely. Yes? Kathy with cancer. There's so many people struggling with cancer, aren't there?
[13:00] Anyone else? Yes? She's home. That's what I was told. She's home. So thank you for reminding me of that.
[13:11] That's a blessing. We do thank God for that. All right. Let's turn our hearts and our souls to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Dear God, we do thank you for blessing us in this place and with this place, that we might come to make this a house of prayer.
[13:29] Gather with us, Lord. Touch us in every single need that we may have. We have concerns, Lord, for the people who are in our families.
[13:40] The people that are traveling, the people that are facing surgeries, the people that are struggling with their finances and their work.
[13:50] People who have difficulties with their relationships or people that just have problems, Lord. And people like us.
[14:01] We pray, Lord, that you'll send your healing into the lives of everybody who's struggling and hurting now. That you'd hear, Lord, as we lift up all the people we're concerned about, the people we've mentioned and those that we haven't.
[14:15] The people who are sick. The people who have lost someone they love. The people who need your special touch. Lord, listen as we offer them up in prayer.
[14:31] And, Lord, we pray for the concerns outside of our lives, for our nation, for our world, for the struggles going on in all of our communities.
[14:51] That you'll find a way, Lord, to break through the anger and the hurt and the fears. And bring your peace and your love and your joy. Help us to be part of your work in this world.
[15:05] Take us, Lord, and move us today. That we might have all the brokenness and all the pain lifted from us for a short time. That as we come to worship you, you would fill our hearts. Let your Holy Spirit rain down on our congregation.
[15:19] That we might lift up our praises and songs and prayers and words at the table. That we might meet you. Bless the scripture, Lord. Bless our time together.
[15:30] That in all we do and all we are, we'll be your children gathered. Come, Lord Jesus. And give us your peace. For it's in your name we pray.
[15:42] Amen. And now shall we listen to the word of God. Good morning.
[16:13] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Today's scripture reading is from Acts chapter 16, verses 16 through 34. Once, when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
[16:30] She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.
[16:43] She kept this man who are telling you the way to be saved. She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.
[16:56] At that moment, the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
[17:08] They brought them before the magistrates and said, These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.
[17:20] The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
[17:39] When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.
[17:50] And the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.
[18:07] The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, Don't harm yourself.
[18:20] We are all here. The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
[18:35] They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
[18:47] At that hour of the night, the jailers took them and washed their wounds. Then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them.
[19:01] He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. They were filled with joy because they had come to believe in God.
[19:18] That was Paul's intention. He was on a mission to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, that everyone might find their salvation, which is the goal of life.
[19:33] Our theme verse is from 1 Corinthians 9. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
[19:45] The Buffalo Bills are in strict training. They need a new quarterback. No, I'm sorry. But the goal is if they do right, they train right, they play right, they'll win the crown, the Super Bowl, the title.
[19:58] But that's nothing compared to winning the crown of glory. But not only can we change our own lives and our own destiny, we can change the world around us.
[20:09] First we change ourselves, then we change our church, and then we'll change the world. And so Paul is trying to change the world. He comes to this town, and just a few verses earlier, we have the story about Lydia.
[20:20] Remember, we talked about her a couple weeks ago, where he went to a place of prayer, and Lydia came to God, and that gave him the ability to transform Asia. So what's he doing?
[20:31] He's looking for a place of prayer. I know how this works. I get the formula. I know what I'm supposed to do. Go find a place of prayer.
[20:44] Have you ever been on such an agenda that you forget why you're doing what you're doing? Have you ever been so distracted that you can't enjoy what you're doing?
[20:56] I've been to football games a number of times. Have you ever had one of those people behind you that's just yelling and screaming and making so much noise that you're just not exactly in...
[21:09] Well, like this guy here. Hey, mascot, over here! Hey, mascot! Buffalo! Buffalo!
[21:20] Buffalo mascot! Over here! Buffalo mascot! Hi!
[21:32] Buffalo mascot! Buffalo mascot! Buffalo mascot!
[21:44] Buffalo mascot! Buffalo Master! And I'd love to tell you that's the end of the video, but it's just the beginning for this poor guy.
[21:58] And you know what happens if a Jets fan gets up and complains about a little girl at a Buffalo Bills game? Well, probably what would happen to Paul here, beaten with rods.
[22:12] So Paul is going through the town looking for this place of prayer so that he can bring people to Jesus. And this woman, who it says has a spirit in her that causes her to be able to interpret something of the future.
[22:26] How she does that or what we do is not a part of the sermon today. We'll talk about that another time. But she has something that must be some sort of demon because it's causing her to have lots of troubles.
[22:40] And verse 17, it says, she followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, these men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.
[22:53] Not once. Not for a couple of minutes. Not for an hour or two. It says this went on for several days.
[23:05] These men are servants of the Most High God that are telling you the way to be saved. Okay. What do you do? This woman obviously has problems.
[23:17] But I don't want them to be mine. She's disturbed. She's been taken advantage of by the people who actually own her.
[23:29] In that day and age, slavery was an economic way. You could own a person. And she was owned by her people who used her and abused her.
[23:42] And now she finds herself filled with the demon and she sees the way that she could be saved. And so she follows around Paul and Silas, telling, these men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.
[23:57] Are you annoyed yet? Well, after several days, it says, Paul was annoyed. So he had enough.
[24:08] And he turned around and he said to the woman, demon, demon, come out of her. And the demon came out. And the whole place blew up.
[24:19] Really, the whole place went crazy. The owner said, what are we going to do to make money now? They've taken away. And so they grabbed Silas and Paul and it says that they dragged him into the marketplace and brought him before the judge.
[24:34] You know, innocent until proven guilty? Not in that day and age. You're guilty until proven innocent. They beat him with rods, severely whacked him with pipes and sticks.
[24:44] And the crowd joined in. Paul and Silas don't have any friends in this crowd. And they threw him in a dark, dank dungeon for what he had done.
[25:00] This is a weird story. You see, the problem is, is Paul and Silas have the right message. They have the right goal, but they have the wrong attitudes and the wrong motives.
[25:13] Something we don't like to hear sometimes is that Christianity is not always welcome as a message to people. All you've got to do is go on the internet and you'll find all kinds of trolls that will tell you how bad we are as people.
[25:28] Maybe you've even met some folks that will get all over and up in your face about it. Why? Well, obviously because sometimes there's a problem with them. These guys are more concerned about money than they're concerned about anything else.
[25:41] They not only don't care about their own salvation, they don't care about this young woman that they're taking advantage of. They live a selfish lifestyle, more concerned about what they can get than about the Word of God.
[25:53] But something else is going on here. You see, the city was calm. The city was okay.
[26:04] The city was doing just fine until Paul and Silas came along and did what they did and it disrupted the lives of everyone in the city. It says, these men have disturbed the whole city.
[26:15] And we want to say, no, it's your fault. No, they did. Paul and Silas made a problem. See, we want to blame the greedy owners. But the truth is, everything was going fine until Paul and Silas showed up and did what they did.
[26:31] And the worst part about it is in this particular story, we don't have anything that says that somebody came to Jesus. Even the woman who had the Spirit cast out of her, it doesn't say came to Jesus.
[26:45] No one seems to be getting saved. Paul and Silas are in prison. They took their proverbial eye off the ball and missed the target.
[27:01] What do you go to a football game for? Anybody know? Have fun. Yeah, yeah, that's a simple question, isn't it? To have fun, right? People that go there to get in fights and get beat up and get thrown out of games and get sick and stuff like that, they're missing it.
[27:17] You go to have fun. It's not even to win. I know that's sacrilege, but it's true. It's not even to win. I've been to football games where I've had a great time and not won.
[27:31] You know, one time I was playing football. I was probably about all of 24 years old or so, and I worked for a chem lawn lawn care company. We had a branch in the north and a branch in the south, and we decided we were going to play a game of football, and the winning prize was a case of beer.
[27:46] I'll say it. Case of beer. Okay? So you got a dozen guys on one side and a dozen guys on the other side, and we're just going to play touch football until some smart aleck says, why don't we play tackle football?
[27:58] It's about late November. The ground is cold. You know, the air has got that crispness to it, and we're all young and not really very smart, and so we have no equipment, so we said, yeah, let's do it.
[28:10] Let's do this thing. So I'm playing middle linebacker. Okay? Now, I've played football, so I know how it works, and there's this guy coming up the middle with the ball, and I know what I got to do.
[28:20] I got to take my head and stick it right here. If I hit him right here, he's going down, and he's going down hard. So I did, and I knocked him down, and I said to my teammates, he's not coming back again, not after that.
[28:34] So we lined up, and sure enough, here he comes up the middle again at me. Put my head down. Bam! Right into his chest. Knocked him down. You know, I said, he won't be back.
[28:44] That's for sure. Third time, sure enough, here comes this crazy maniac up the middle. I hit him with my head, knocked him down, and I said to my teammates, if he comes again, he's going all the way.
[28:58] We're playing for a case of beer, which means that I'm going to get, at the most, two beers. This is a buck and a half to break my neck. I don't think so. This isn't fun. This is not smart.
[29:09] This is foolish. Why are we doing this? Besides, we knew we were going to split that case anyway, so I was only going to get one beer for breaking my neck. Hello! The goal was just to have some fun with friends, not to try and knock the life out of this guy.
[29:28] The problem is, sometimes we miss the mark. They proclaimed Jesus. This woman, if you'll listen to her, even proclaimed Jesus. These men are servants of the Most High God, and they've come here to tell you how to be saved.
[29:47] Wow! The Word of God is being proclaimed. A miracle is done and nobody turned to God. Think about that. We would assume if we could go out and do miracles and share the Word of God, the world would turn.
[30:03] But that's not true. It doesn't even mark our condition. This is what Jesus said in the book of Matthew. He said, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
[30:13] And in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform any miracles, and he will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. The goal isn't even preaching the Word and doing miracles.
[30:26] There's something else that needs to go on here. Paul and Silas were on their own agenda trying to do things their way, trying to get God to bless what they were doing and not be a part of what God wanted to bless.
[30:41] And they failed. They failed terribly. This poor, troubled woman is following them around, obviously has problems following them around for several days.
[30:56] Where's the love? Where's the grace? Where's the patience? Where's the compassion? They've forgotten who they are. Things were going completely wrong.
[31:07] They're in prison. They have no idea what they're going to face. Everyone hates them. And then everything changed. Everything changed.
[31:19] The end of the story is just the opposite. We have a jailer that's on his knees before Paul saying, what must I do to be saved? We've got a whole household to get saved. We've got a whole bunch of people doing loving, gracious things.
[31:30] What happened? And that's the point of my sermon. I know that was a long introduction, but that's the point of my sermon. What happened was it says in verse 25, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
[31:53] What happened? All that happened was that in the midst of their darkness, in the midst of their troubles, in the midst of their brokenness, they turned to God and worshiped God.
[32:09] What we're talking about is what are the steps we need to take? What are the things we need to practice? What are the things we need to make common in our lives so that we can attain the goal that God has for us to win the prize of eternal life?
[32:21] And I will say to you, worship changes everything. Deuteronomy chapter 5, God says to us, observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy as the Lord your God has commanded you, not suggested to you, because worship is essential to what we do.
[32:39] Worship, in this case, even changed the actions of God. Things were going bad, and now God is acting on their behalf. He makes an earthquake and busts everybody out of prison because they decided to be part of what God wanted to bless, turn it over to God instead of trying to make a plan that they wanted God to bless.
[33:04] Everyone is free, not just Paul and Silas. That's the story of Peter, where Peter's freed and everybody else is still in prison. In this case, it says everybody is freed. God honored their worship by busting the whole jail open.
[33:19] He changed God through his worship, as we can do as well. Worship changed their attitude from fear, annoyance, frustration, pain, to singing, to worshiping God and praying and being filled, it said, with joy because that's the point.
[33:45] we can have different motives. Some people are motivated by anger and fear. They do what they do because they have to. But the real motivation, the most powerful motivation, is what we do what we do because we want to, because we have love and we have hope like we still have hope for the Buffalo Bills.
[34:08] And so there's people that go out to cheer them on. Let's go Buffalo! Let's go Buffalo! Buffalo! What do we got? First down! Let's go Buffalo!
[34:22] Let's go Buffalo! Let's go Buffalo! Let's go Buffalo!
[34:34] So you go from a fan to being a follower when you'll cheer when there's nobody else there. Jesus makes a swimmer shout kick our heels up and shout! Right?
[34:45] Hey! Hey! Hey! Amen! Hey! Amen! See, I'm glad to preach to you today because it's a beautiful day outside which means you guys are real Christians.
[35:00] Fair weather Christians. There's a whole bunch of people that should be here today and would be here today and there'd be a whole lot more folk if we had crummy weather. You see? When there's nothing else to do, let's go to church!
[35:11] So they'd all show up. We'd fill the place out, open up the doors, a place to be packed. But those are the foul weather Christians. You're the fair weather Christians. People think that the worst days for the attendance at the church is when there's a bad storm.
[35:26] It's not! It's when that sun comes out. Especially on an October or September day when we're all going, hey, we got a bonus day.
[35:36] Let's go! Change their attitude. Their attitude now was to turn to God in the midst of their difficulties and their struggles and their darkness.
[35:50] Not to just worry about what's going on with them. Probably most important, worship changed their heart. They remembered whose they were.
[36:02] In Matthew chapter 5, it says to us, you have heard it said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
[36:14] It's amazing what they have happening here. You see, when the doors sprang open and the chains fell off, the guard was ready to kill himself. Do you know why? Because the Romans had a great way of motivating the guards.
[36:28] This is how it worked. If a prisoner gets free, you take their sentence. Wow, do you think anybody would be getting out of prison or jail today if that were the case? If a prisoner gets free, you take their sentence, which didn't just mean Paul and Silas.
[36:42] The whole bunch of them he would have to take the sentence he decided his life might as well end. Rather than to face all of that and what it would mean for his family and everything else.
[36:53] If the doors sprung open to a prison in a town where you just got beat up, where you just got attacked, and where you had no idea what kind of sentence you were facing and all the chains are off, what do you think you'd be doing?
[37:13] Right? We'd be out of there! But even more so, even more so, nobody left.
[37:24] Paul cries out, don't kill yourself. We're all here. You see, Paul loved even somebody who was persecuting him.
[37:38] He could love his enemies because his heart was changed by worshiping God. See, the truth is the biggest change that we have that comes upon us when we gather here is when God touches our hearts and changes who we are.
[37:54] and changes our whole condition. We have meetings at the church and I always start with Bible study and prayer and some people say you can't do that, it'll take long.
[38:09] I said, no, it makes it shorter. Because if you don't start with Bible study and prayer, then people come in with all their anxieties, all their frustrations, all their angers from the life they've been living that day and dump it on each other.
[38:21] Oh, could you? But when they remember that we are all sisters and brothers in God, it's hard to be hateful, hurtful, and arguing.
[38:31] What do you need me to do for you? That's why we changed our schedule this morning. Why do we have worship the way we have it now is because we found that our young people were not coming to worship.
[38:45] We found some of our adults were not coming to worship because they were so involved in Sunday school, which is a great thing. But we were losing the most important thing, their opportunity to come before God.
[39:00] And by the way, we were also losing an opportunity for our adults to go to Sunday school. We had a great time last week. What do we have? About 60, 70 people out in the fellowship hall. Pastor Lisa did a great job putting together a Sunday school lesson for us adults.
[39:14] I hope you'll join us today again. But it's not about the program. It's about the people. Because when you change their hearts, you change their lives, which changes this church, which changes the world.
[39:29] It makes all the difference in who and what we are. I've had a lot of people say to me that after worship, they feel energized or recharged.
[39:39] Anybody feel that way? Say amen. All right. Now, if you don't feel that way and you feel miserable and depressed and things are really not so good and so good after worship, then maybe it's you or maybe it's us.
[39:52] I don't know, but we've got to work on that, right? Because worship is supposed to lift us up, to give us the strength, the ability, the energy to get through the week and to change how we approach the world.
[40:11] They had a young woman that was crying out to them, even crying out the words of how to find salvation to them. They just couldn't see it because they were so focused on doing something for God, they weren't seeing what God wanted to do with them.
[40:29] One of the problems we have as people of God is we're always asking God to bless what we want to do when what we should be doing is asking God to show us what he wants to bless.
[40:41] Because why would God bless your stuff? But I guarantee you if you go find what God has decided to bless in your life, you will not fail at anything.
[40:52] And see, that's what happened. Worship changed their efforts from failure to success. I don't know why we have angry, hurtful, frustrated, annoyed Christians like Paul was acting in this world.
[41:10] I don't know why we have them. Have you ever met somebody like that who just seems to want to be angry about God? God is someone who's supposed to give us the ability to love where love normally isn't.
[41:24] He went from pushing people away to drawing people in. The jailer, his household, the other prisoners, because he focused on the love of God.
[41:38] 1 Corinthians chapter 13 says, if I speak with the tongues of men and angels but have not love, I'm only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have faith that can move mountains but I don't have love, I'm nothing.
[41:56] Nobody's going to be impressed because you're smart. Nobody's going to be impressed because you can even do miracles. Nobody's going to be impressed about any of that stuff unless they see the love of God. That's what changes the person's heart.
[42:09] See, it's not so amazing just that the jailer came to Jesus. That would be pretty cool in and of itself but the other prisoners were so impressed with Silas and Paul, they didn't run away.
[42:24] Think about it. You know, they would be, I'm out of here. That's what we expect and they're all still there.
[42:39] Everything turns upside down. The jailer kneels before the prisoner. Recognizes the power of God. Wants what they have.
[42:52] What must I do to be saved? Believe. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe or be living in such a way that God shows through who you are so that annoying woman becomes a person you turn to and love.
[43:15] So that little girl screaming in your ear is not a distraction but an opportunity. So those people that beat you with a pipe and a pole are not hateful enemies.
[43:28] a possible people that could be transformed by the power of God. We won't fix the world until we fix ourselves.
[43:40] Stop praying for God to bless what you want and start praying that God will make you a part of what he's already decided to bless. You're fair weather Christians.
[43:51] the best this church has got. If you transform your lives by the power of Jesus and let God soak into you as you come here today for worship you can change everything.
[44:07] 1 Corinthians chapter 9 says to us everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
[44:18] Change your heart change your church change the world by letting the amazing grace of God pour into your life and transform you and everyone around you.
[44:33] amazing grace grace that taught my heart that saved a red like me I once was lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see the trace that taught God my heart to fear and grace my tears relief how precious did that grace appear beyond
[45:48] I first believed my dreams are gone I've been set free my God my Savior has ransomed me and like the Lord His mercy brings unending love amazing grace created a high The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope still holds He will my shield and caution be
[46:56] As long as I've been yours My chains are gone, I've been set free My God, my Savior, has ransomed me And like the Lord, His mercy reign Unending love, amazing grace My chains are gone, I've been set free My God, my Savior, has ransomed me And like the Lord, His mercy reign Unending love, amazing grace
[48:00] The earth shall soon dissolve like snow A sun for men to strive But God who called me here below Will be forever mine Will be forever mine You are forever mine One of the most amazing things about the Bible
[49:03] Is that it doesn't just show us the success stories Believe it or not, it shows us when people fail too Because we've got to learn how to do things right When we do things wrong, amen?
[49:14] And because God can use any situation The good things in life, the bad things in life To turn us around, to change us So in everything we do, in everything we are We'll be blessed to be part of what God wants to bless Blessed be your name In the land that is plentiful Where your seeds of abundance fall Blessed be your name Blessed be your name When I'm found in the desert place So I walk through the wilderness Blessed be your name Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
[50:15] When the dark crystal is in love Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be your name When the sun's shining down on me When the world's all magic should be Blessed be your name Blessed be your name Blessed be your name Blessed be your name On the road On the road One's rich offering No one's green in the offering Blessed be your name Blessed be your name Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in love
[51:16] Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name Blessed be the name Of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be your name Blessed be the name Of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name Blessed be the name Of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be your glorious name Give and take away Give and take away My heart will choose to stay Blessed be your name Give and take away Give and take away My heart will choose to stay
[52:17] Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name Please be seated So Paul and Silas, the great, great preachers, leaders, apostles of the Bible messed up I don't know about you but that makes me feel good Not good that they are a mess up but good because if they can mess up well then maybe I'm not quite so far off the mark myself or you See the truth is we all need God
[53:18] That's what worship reminds us of We're not God We need God So we come here to turn to God to have our lives turned around and changed I invite you today I invite you today if you will to join me in prayer of confession that we might get ourselves back on track with God Will you pray with me?
[53:35] Dear God in heaven I have sinned I've broken your laws I've not done what I should I've forgotten what you want to bless Change my life Change my direction Fill me with your wonder Fill me with your joy Your joy And especially your love For others For people who hurt Be with us this morning Lord And change us Forgive us And help us to find what you want to bless In Jesus name we pray Amen The good news is this God decided to forgive you before you even walked in these doors God wanted to do that He's just waiting for you to get yourself on track
[54:35] You have In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven Glory to God Amen And now as forgiven children of God Let's stand and greet our neighbor With the peace of the spirituuuu am As the dear panther fall The waters of my soul Are yet left to thee
[55:37] You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship thee You alone are my strength, my shield To you alone am I spirit yield You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship thee Amen Amen You know in spite of all of our struggles In spite of all of those things that we do And that we forget to do God still loves us so much We celebrate that at the table
[56:38] When we come to the table each week We celebrate the work of salvation That God has done on our behalf Being invited by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Let's us know that we're forgiven It lets us know that we can count on God To be the one who takes care of everything we need Who makes us into the people we need to be Amen Everyone is welcome at the table If you love God Repent of your sin And seek to live in peace As a disciple of Jesus Christ You are welcome to come and share In all God has done For all of us So come to the table this morning Come expecting to be blessed 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
[57:41] Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth 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 You delivered us from captivity Made covenant to be our sovereign God And spoke to us through your prophets 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 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 To set at liberty those who are oppressed
[58:45] 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 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 At his ascension You exalted him To sit and reign with you At your right hand On the night in which he gave himself up for us He took bread and he gave thanks to you He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples Saying take and eat This is my body which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me And when the supper was over Jesus took the cup And he gave you thanks and praise
[59:45] Then he gave it to his disciples 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 and for many For the forgiveness of sin Do this as often as you drink it 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 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 his blood
[60:47] 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 And your holy church All honor and glory is yours Almighty Father Now and forever Amen Shall we pray together With the confidence of children of God The prayer Jesus taught us Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom
[61:48] And the power And the glory forever and ever Amen Will those who are serving Please come forward Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you I love your honesty Thank you Too good Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you.
[62:56] Thank you.
[63:26] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[63:38] Thank you. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, no matter how long you've been a Christian or how recent you've decided to believe in God, come to the table.
[63:54] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[64:06] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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[69:46] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.