[0:00] We do welcome you to Pendleton Center Unite Methodist Church and I invite you to sing along with me our call to worship this is the day that the Lord has made. This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:22] Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[0:35] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[0:45] This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:56] Oh Lord, fill us with your presence. Come among your people. May we be empowered as you open our hearts, open our minds to become a new creation. Loving you and praising you.
[1:08] May our worship this day be a blessing to you. In Jesus' name, amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together the Old Rugged Cross.
[1:19] On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross.
[1:48] The emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.
[2:07] So I'll cherish the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last I lay down.
[2:20] I will cling to the old rugged cross. And exchange it someday for a crown.
[2:33] Oh, that old rugged cross. Oh, that old rugged cross. So despised by the world. Has a wondrous attraction for me.
[2:47] For the dear Lamb of God. Left his glory above. To bear it too dark. To bear it too dark.
[2:58] To bear it too dark. Calvary. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross. In the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last I lay down.
[3:12] I will flee to the old rugged cross. And exchange it someday for a crown. In that old rugged cross. In that old rugged cross.
[3:23] Stained with blood so divine. In that old rugged cross. Stained with blood so divine. A wondrous beauty I see. For it was on that old cross. For it was on that old cross.
[3:34] Jesus suffered and died. To pardon and sanctify me. For it was on that old cross. For it was on that old cross.
[3:48] Jesus suffered and died. To pardon and sanctify me. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross.
[4:04] Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will flee to the old rugged cross.
[4:19] And exchange it someday for a crown. The Lord be with you. All with you.
[4:30] Please be seated. Right. We've got no clipboards this morning. Go figure.
[4:41] But. But. There are ministry opportunities all over the church. And we would like for you to be praying about where it is that God would have you serve. How it is that God would have you using your gifts and talents and abilities.
[4:54] All have come from God. Yes. For the service of the kingdom. Out there at the ministry connection site is a sign up on a clipboard. Yeah. For ushers and greeters.
[5:06] There's one for nursery care. And there's one for communion servers. It would be awesome if God is tugging at your heart to serve in one of those ways. If you would sign up out there and the folks who are in charge of those ministries will be in touch with you.
[5:18] And this is also loyalty weekend. If you would sign up on a card like this weekend. That means you've got a card like this in your bulletin. And it helps the church. It really does help us in figuring out how we're going to be handling the coming year in terms of budgets and what we can give to certain ministries and how much we can allow for this and that.
[5:36] If you would indicate on that card what your intentions are as the Lord has placed that on your heart. It is a wonderful thing to be supporting the work of the church.
[5:48] Amen. And that's what God has called us to do in all kinds of ways. We need to talk about those things that we are praising God for. Pastor Tom asked me if I would share something.
[6:01] He is very, very excited about all of these gorgeous, amazing, beautiful new chairs we have. They are so supportive. My back feels good if I've been sitting in them for a while. I'm so glad that we've got them.
[6:13] And he says the finance team has got it all figured out so that all of the rest of the chairs are going to be taken care of soon. But if you want to be a part of that, you are still welcome to designate some funds for that.
[6:26] If you want to be part of making sure that we've got all the chairs that we need in the sanctuary so they all match and stuff. And he's grateful for how beautiful they look. He's grateful for the fact that we have been able to make this happen in our church.
[6:42] What are you thankful for this morning? I know too much stuffing, too much turkey. It's all still, yes, Karen. We're kept your day on fundraisers out there.
[6:56] Please pick up yours. Ah, Karen, okay. We had sales of $2,000 to over $700. And there's more because things were not missed in there.
[7:08] So it's not a process. I don't mean to discuss it in the word sanctuary, but it's not everybody. You ordered something. Karen is saying the Avon orders, all the orders for the Choir Cantata fundraiser are all in.
[7:26] And you can just come and see her. And it did real well this year. So come and see Karen afterward. What else? Yes, Kelly. Kelly's thankful for Karen because Karen takes care of all that good stuff.
[7:42] Yes. A new dog? Yeah. That is awesome for all the creatures in our lives that God has given us to bless us.
[7:55] What other things are we thankful for? Yes. Elizabeth is making new sounds. This is awesome. Elizabeth is moving on in her development. We're just so grateful for that.
[8:06] What else? Hmm? Abigail's surgery went well. What a blessing. Amen. Amen. Praise God.
[8:17] Praise God for healing. Are there any others? Well, as we continue with grateful hearts, thanking God for all God has blessed us with, let's return some of that blessing back in our gifts, tithes, and offerings.
[8:30] We may find at the organ Thank you.
[9:30] Thank you.
[10:00] Thank you.
[10:30] Thank you.
[11:00] Thank you.
[11:30] Thank you. Thank you. Amen.
[12:30] Amen. Amen. I'll catch that up for you guys. There you go. Please be seated.
[12:40] And now it's time to talk about all those things that we need to ask the Lord for because God is so good. God has blessed us so abundantly. And God invites us to pray.
[12:52] And God invites us to pray. See, it overflows. What a blessing. Amen. What things are you in need of prayer for or that you know of? Yes.
[13:12] Yeah. Amen. Amen. Amen, amen. Judy is asking for prayer for her parents and also for those who don't know Jesus, that they would know Jesus in their hearts.
[13:29] Other folks who have a need. Yes, certainly, absolutely. We will lift up your wife. And what else? Everybody else is good, everything's good.
[13:46] Yes? How about all those folks who are traveling back and forth? How about we lift them up too? Yes? And Pat McDonald's granddaughter was actually attacked by a dog.
[13:56] And she's kind of torn up and she's in need of our prayers as well. Karen. Amen.
[14:11] Karen wants us to lift up that we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and that we spread that around, that we make sure people know the love of God during this holiday season that we're entering into.
[14:23] Advent, right? All right. With these concerns and those that are in your hearts, let's turn to the Lord in prayer, either from your seats or join me at the rail. Heavenly Father, as we bow our hearts before you this morning, we are grateful that you call us to pray, that you know our needs before we even ask, and that you invite us to participate with you as we speak forth prayer, calling things that are not yet as though they are until your will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
[15:13] How grateful we are, Lord God, to have this opportunity. We lift up all of those who are sick and infirm, Lord God.
[15:25] We lift up those in need of a touch from you, whether it be in their spirits, their souls, or their bodies. We ask that you would be with them and touch them with your power, Lord God, that they would be whole from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet.
[15:46] Lord God, we pray in Jesus' name for all of those people who are medical professionals, who are caring for the sick and caring for the infirm and caring for the injured.
[15:58] We pray that you would give them wisdom beyond their human learning and understanding, beyond anything of this natural realm. Let them know that you are the one who is guiding their hands and enabling healing to come forth through them.
[16:17] Father, we pray in Jesus' name for all those who are grieving, those who have lost loved ones, who have gone on from this world.
[16:30] We pray in Jesus' name, Lord God, that you would bring comfort and peace. We pray that you would bless them, help them, Lord, to remember those things that are lovely and beautiful and to look forward to eternal life with you.
[16:55] Lord God, we pray in Jesus' name for all those who do not know. Your saving power who don't know of the possibility of eternal life with you, who don't know the great love that you have for all of your creation, that you desire to set them free from evil, to set them free from powers of darkness that would seek to overcome them.
[17:23] Help them, Lord. draw them by your spirit that they would turn their eyes toward you, soften their hearts, and let them know your love.
[17:38] Lord, we pray in Jesus' name during this season that each one of us here who calls ourselves Christians, who claim to be members of the body of Christ, that we would be open to whatever it is you want to work in us and through us for the furtherance of your kingdom.
[18:00] We pray, Lord God, that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts and minds to understand and receive what you have for us so that we can pour it out to others.
[18:16] Help us, Lord, to know what to say, to know what to do, to know how to be your hands and feet and your voice among those people who don't know you.
[18:33] Lord, as we worship this morning, be with us as we hear from your word, as we sing songs of praise, as we hear prayers and participate in them.
[18:43] let them be transforming forces in our life. Let them make us more like Jesus so that we can accomplish those things you've called us to do because you have called each of us.
[19:04] Lord, we pray in Jesus' name for the message that Pastor Sherry will be bringing to us this day. we ask that it would be a blessing to her and a blessing to us and pray that all of our worship would be a blessing to you this day, Lord.
[19:22] That is why we came. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Shall we hear from the word of the Lord?
[19:33] Amen.
[20:01] Amen. Amen. Good morning. Our scripture reading this morning is from the book of Luke, chapter 1, verses 5 through 25.
[20:16] In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
[20:28] Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
[20:42] Once when Zechariah's division was on duty, and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by Lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
[20:55] And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
[21:08] When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard.
[21:20] Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
[21:32] He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
[22:00] Zechariah asked the angel, How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years. The angel said to him, I am Gabriel.
[22:11] I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.
[22:29] Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them, but remained unable to speak.
[22:46] When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. The Lord has done this for me, she said, and these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.
[23:03] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Jan. So did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? Yeah, wonderful Thanksgiving.
[23:14] Everything was just perfect. Everyone got along. The children were on their best behavior. Nobody brought up politics, right? You know, holidays, they can either be the most wonderful time of the year or they can actually create a lot of anxiety and people will have conflict.
[23:34] And conflicts like that, they're actually, every day we run into people, and the more we run into people, the more there's a possibility of having conflict, of people getting hurt because people are people.
[23:47] And, you know, this past week, David Cassidy passed away from the Partridge family. And I'm a girl of the 70s, and he actually sang my favorite song of all time.
[24:01] I know I should be having some sort of holy song, you know, God is, you know. But I Think I Love You is for me my favorite song of all times. It's one of those songs that when I hear it, I have to crank it and start dancing around, Hey, I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of?
[24:18] And I was like, yeah, I love that song. And I've been singing it all week long, and it kept running through my brain in relationship to this scripture.
[24:30] I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of? What am I afraid of? I'm afraid of getting hurt. Really. Because when we reach out in love, there's a great possibility of that.
[24:42] In fact, it's a probability of that. And we're in the middle of a sermon series where we're saying we expect to experience God and to love others as God loves us.
[24:56] But we have to be prepared for that. So are you ready to experience God today? Are you? Because we've kind of lost in our society the ability to be aware enough to be able to do that, to be able to be prepared internally to be able to do that.
[25:15] So if you have your cell phone out, I know you might get an important call, but turn it over at least, because you don't need to know right at this time whether or not somebody liked your Facebook thing. You don't need to know if somebody sent you an email.
[25:28] You don't need to know if somebody, you know what I'm saying? Set yourself in a steady place. Open yourself up. And as we wrestle through things this morning, I ask that you be aware of any of the things that might come to mind, any of the people, any of the situations that might come to mind.
[25:47] Be aware of that within yourself, because God is speaking. And we're talking this morning about Zechariah and Elizabeth. And just for history's sake, Elizabeth is Mary's cousin.
[26:00] And so this scene happens a few months before Mary is told that she's going to have a baby. So this is before Jesus, before the whole thing. And names in the Bible mean things.
[26:14] Zechariah means God has remembered. Not that God had forgotten, but God is honoring the promise that he had made throughout the whole Old Testament that he would send a Messiah, that the people would be redeemed.
[26:28] And Elizabeth's name means God is my oath or God's promise. And the climate of the time, the Romans were in charge, and people were pretty depressed about that.
[26:41] And God was perceived as being silent for 400 years. 400 years of people not experiencing God. 400 years of not hearing anything.
[26:54] So they kept going through the motions. We're going to keep going. We're going to keep doing this. We're going to... But it's 400 years of a silent time. And they would continue to pray for redemption throughout this whole process.
[27:09] And it says that Zechariah and Elizabeth are both from priestly families, kind of like preacher's kids. But they're more than preacher's kids. This goes all the way back to Aaron, meaning it's like great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather.
[27:24] They're on both sides, priests. This is in their blood. This is what they do. They know the routine. They know the rules. And they got the rules down. We are following this religion.
[27:36] Right? We're following the rules. We got it. They say that they were righteous and blameless. Why would they put that in there?
[27:48] What's the point of that? The point they were making at that time, if you look at the next verse, is when they say, But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
[28:05] So the reason they had to say that they were blameless was to make a point, because in that age, women did not have any value at all unless they had a child.
[28:19] They were considered worthless. In fact, it was considered by the people that if you as a woman did not have a child, that you were somehow cursed, that you had done something so terribly wrong that you were not blameless.
[28:39] You were to blame. Women were always to blame for that, and women were to be cursed for that because they were so horrible in some way. It's not what Scripture teaches.
[28:51] It's not what God teaches, but that's what the people thought. And that's the way Elizabeth and Zechariah lived, under a disgrace from the people making judgments on them because they didn't have a child.
[29:06] The reason they had to say they're blameless, because she didn't have a child. And they're saying, No, she really was. She was blameless. So Zechariah is a priest and is going through the motions and doing all this stuff.
[29:22] And even when Elizabeth, going through this, has her child, at the end, she ends it by saying, Finally, you've taken away the disgrace, my disgrace, among the people.
[29:36] It's got to be so hard. And Zechariah is a priest. And there's about 18,000 priests.
[29:47] And they would cast lots because they believed that the lot would determine, based on God, who would go in. And he was selected for the honor of doing the offering, the second blessing of the day, the offering of incense.
[30:02] And he would only be allowed to do it once in his lifetime. And this is a huge, huge honor. The incense would be like the smell going up to God, saying, Smell our prayer.
[30:13] This smells mean things. You smell the turkey. You think Thanksgiving. You smell the cookies. You think Christmas. You smell garbage. You think something's wrong. Okay? It's a smell.
[30:24] And so he's selected for this. And the way that the thing would work is that the worshipers would all stand outside, and they would pray. And he would go into the inner sanctuary alone.
[30:38] And he would stir up the coals, play the spices on top of the coals, so that the incense would go up. And while he did that, he would be offering up the prayers of the people.
[30:49] It was right in front of the Holy of Holies with the veil that protected that. And he'd go in alone. And it's not in Scripture, but it's a rabbinical tradition, that they would actually tie a rope around him and have it go in there.
[31:03] So when he went in alone, just in case he actually did encounter God and he died, they could yank him out. That's how seriously they took this, you know? So he's going in there.
[31:14] And in theory, he's expecting to meet God. In theory, he's expecting to get this wonderful knowledge from God. And he sees an angel.
[31:27] I would think that's encountering God. And yet it says he was terrified. Well, yeah, every time they say bring up angels in the Bible, it's that people are afraid.
[31:37] But luckily, Gabriel said, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. But although Zechariah's whole life pointed to hearing from God, Zechariah wasn't ready to hear the message that he was going to be given because of everything that had happened in his past.
[32:02] Gabriel means the power of God. He is one of seven archangels. He delivers messages. And he's there as a messenger of God saying, I've got this message for you. And Zechariah is saying, I don't know about that.
[32:15] And he starts off by saying something incredibly powerful. He says, your prayer has been heard. Wow. If we could just ingest that.
[32:26] Our prayer has been heard. His prayer was heard. You know, it's kind of hard to imagine it sometimes because it's almost like we think of God as saying, oh, yeah, they're just still jabbering down there.
[32:41] No, God actually hears our prayers. And it's a lost art, a lost need in our society for us to actually start hearing, hearing not only from God but hearing from one another.
[32:54] We need to hear. You know, in our society, we've gotten to the point where we just have a tendency to just acknowledge that people are speaking. But while people are speaking, we're just really thinking about what we're going to say.
[33:07] And we're not hearing. We're not really listening. And because of that, there's so much hurt. There's so much misunderstandings. And we're distracted.
[33:19] And so we end up becoming distant. We end up using text messages. Well, I'll be clearer that way. And yet we're distancing ourselves. We're living in an edited world where everything is prepared.
[33:32] And did you ever send a text message? And, you know, if you've got an iPhone, you can tell when they're responding back. So you send this text message out, and you're expecting this response. And you get, you can see it going.
[33:42] They're typing, typing, typing, typing. Pause. They're thinking about it, okay? Type it, type it, type it, pause. And then after a long while, you get, okay. Okay?
[33:55] And you saw that they were writing. You saw that they were thinking. So then your brain goes, and starts thinking all sorts of things. And there's misunderstandings. And some people get hurt. It's like we need to regain the ability to talk to one another, to listen to one another, to hear one another, and to hear God.
[34:13] It's something that we do as an act of love for one another, is to be open and listen and hear one another. Well, Gabriel says, your prayer was heard.
[34:24] And this is a prayer of repentance for the people, a prayer of redemption. And Gabriel says, your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
[34:35] And the name John means God is gracious, offering mercy and kindness. Anybody know who John is going to end up being? John the Baptist. That's right.
[34:46] And he says he will bring many back to God and work on relationships, turning the hearts of parents to their children and drawing people who are disobedient to wisdom and back to God.
[34:58] It's going to be repentance and redemption. And your son is going to pave the way. This is like a win-win. And not only am I answering your prayer about redemption, but I'm answering your prayer about the kid, too.
[35:11] It's all good. And one would think that Zachariah's response would be, sweet! This is awesome! Thank you so much! And instead he's like, no.
[35:25] I don't know about this. And he has serious doubt. Now, what would ever cause that kind of doubt? You're standing in there with the intent purpose of experiencing God, the express purpose of praying for redemption.
[35:40] And you're being told it's going to happen, and yet you still doubt what's holding that back. And I believe it's the hurt that he's been carrying inside of him all along and the bitterness that that has created in him that he didn't let go.
[35:55] Because what's supposed to happen next is, he's supposed to be in there for just a short time, and then he's supposed to go out and tell all these people, these people that have judged him, these people that have looked down on him and his wife, which is even more painful.
[36:11] And he's supposed to tell them what God told him. And he doesn't want to look like a fool. I don't want to be made fun of anymore. I don't want to be disgraced anymore. You're going to make me go out there and tell them I'm going to have a kid?
[36:23] I'm going to be the laughing stock. I've had enough hurt. I don't want to do this. How do I go on and do that? How do I accept this? He ends up making excuses because, you know, he had already determined in his mind that God was powerless in this situation.
[36:42] He decided ahead of time, I'm too old. In fact, he was quite diplomatic as he was explaining it. He says, I'm an old man and my wife.
[36:52] Well, along in her years. Well, along in her years. Meaning, we prayed. We prayed when we first got married.
[37:04] We prayed when we were a little older. We kept praying. We kept praying. We kept praying. And now I'm old. Give me a break. I stopped praying a long time ago. God has no power. God has no power.
[37:14] God has no power. This is broken. And that comes from holding in a hurt. It comes from holding in bitterness and pain. You know, pain that's unresolved can cause a seed of bitterness that will block us.
[37:33] And it will block us from living into loving possibilities. Now, Gabriel's response to this was like, dude.
[37:45] He didn't say dude. But seriously, dude. I'm Gabriel. I am like there with God. I talk to God. I've been here sent specifically to give you a message from God.
[37:59] And really? I've sent to give you good news. Healing. Restoration. Peace.
[38:09] It's all coming. And guess what? You're going to be a part of it. Are you going to be a part of it? Healing. Restoration. Peace. God was telling him he was going to be a part of it.
[38:20] And God tells us we're going to be a part of it too. We have a video about that. We have a video about that.
[38:46] Everything is done. We're going to be a part of it. We're going to be a part of it. We're going to be a part of it.
[38:57] Thank you.
[39:27] Thank you.
[39:57] Thank you.
[40:27] Thank you.
[40:57] It hurts your child. Something happens and you're like, how could you have done that to me? How could you have done that? It hurts so badly.
[41:08] And we hold on to that hurt and that pain. And the wounded spirit blocks us from experiencing God, blocks us from fully receiving God's blessing.
[41:23] And we carry it around from relationship to relationship and hurt people hurt people.
[41:34] You know, when we carry around shame and anger and hatred and bitterness and victimhood, hopelessness, unforgiveness, desire for revenge and judgment, all of these things, we end up having fists.
[41:50] And we're either using them to protect ourselves or we're using them to fight. But these things have to be let go of. We can't hold on to this and be in right relationship with God.
[42:04] We can't hold on to this and fully love God. We can't hold on to this and love others. To forgive means to release. To release.
[42:15] To release. All these things, all these pent up emotions from the hurt we've received, we release it. Forgiveness is not a restored relationship. Restored relationship requires confession and repentance.
[42:28] And forgiveness does not mean that I'm saying that what you did was okay. In fact, it's just the opposite. I'm saying that was not okay. And that hurt.
[42:39] But I'm not going to hold on to that. I'm not going to let that control me. I have the peace and love of God in me. And I am going to overcome this so that I can move on.
[42:50] Because Jesus bears wounds so we can be free. So we can be whole, our open, loving arms reaching out to others.
[43:02] And will we be hurt again? Yeah, we will. I wish I could say we weren't. But you know what? We're going to be part of the solution and not the problem.
[43:13] Because if we don't let it go and we don't release it, we become part of the problem. Now the angel's response to Zechariah saying, I'm not going to do this.
[43:24] I'm doubting all of this. Was to say, you're not going to speak again until the appointed time. And in one way, people will say, well, that's his punishment. But I think it's far more than that.
[43:37] It's a constant reminder. I think it's a gift, honestly. It's a constant reminder that God is in control. God does have a plan. God does hear.
[43:49] God does love. And it gave Zechariah time to heal. Time so he could wait with hope. And get rid of that bitterness.
[44:02] Get rid of that anger. Get rid of the things that bound him up. So when the baby was born, in Luke 1, starting with verse 57, it says, When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
[44:16] We knew that was going to happen. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy. Yeah, they're still with it. They're the same people.
[44:27] The Lord had shown great mercy. But they shared her joy. On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child. And they were going to name him after his father, Zechariah.
[44:39] But his mother, Elizabeth, spoke up and said, No. No. He used to be called John. And they said to her, There's no one among your relatives who have that name.
[44:53] Kind of like woman. And so they went to his father. Because, you know, the little woman. They went to his father and said, What do you want to name the kid?
[45:07] And Zechariah grabbed a tablet and he wrote, His name is John. Yeah. And it says immediately his mouth was opened.
[45:18] And he became so filled with the Holy Spirit that he came praising God. So overpowered because he was open to it then.
[45:31] He was open to it and finally acknowledging it. He became open over a time of healing. And they said, What then is this child going to be? And Zechariah began to sing.
[45:42] It's called Zechariah's song. And I encourage you to look it up. And he talks about Jesus coming. And how he's going to save the world from our sins. And then he goes and he turns to his child and says, And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.
[45:59] For you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. To give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God.
[46:13] By which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness. And in the shadow of death. To guide our feet into the path of peace.
[46:25] And when we're hurt, we need to remember that Jesus died on a cross for us. And that Jesus loves us.
[46:36] And in our lives, we need to be led to that cross. So that we can release whatever is holding us back. Lay down our pride. Lay down the things that we've been carrying around.
[46:51] That hurt and pain. And experience God's love through his sacrifice. We're led to the cross. Breaking down every barrier. So that we can receive God's love and God's forgiveness.
[47:04] A new blessing. As a new creation. Redeemed by Christ's blood. So we ask our Savior to quiet our souls. And make us ready.
[47:17] Really ready. To experience the love of God. For the love of people. Amen. Amen. Savior, I come.
[47:45] on kasih. Quiet my soul, remember. Redemption's here, where your blood was filled.
[48:05] For my ransom, everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss.
[48:24] Lead me to the cross, where your love for love. Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay me down.
[48:39] Bring me of myself, I belong to you. Oh, lead me. Lead me to the cross.
[49:00] Doer as I tended and tried.
[49:19] Human. Human. Human. Human. Human. The word became flesh. For my sin and death.
[49:30] Now you're risen. Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss.
[49:47] Lead me to the cross, where your love for love. Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay me down.
[50:00] Bring me up, my soul. Bring me up, my soul. I belong to you. Oh, lead me.
[50:11] Lead me to the cross. To your heart.
[50:22] To your heart. To your heart. To your heart.
[50:36] Lead me to your heart. Lead me to your heart. Lead me to your heart. Lead me to your heart.
[50:49] Lead me to your heart. And your love for love. Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay me down.
[51:01] Bring me up, my soul. I belong to you. Oh, lead me. I belong to you. Oh, lead me. Lead me to the cross to make your love go down.
[51:17] Bring me to my knees, Lord, I'll lay me down. Rid me of myself, I belong to you.
[51:31] Oh, lead me. Lead me to the cross.
[51:44] He became sin, who knew no sin that we might become.
[52:04] His righteousness, He humbled Himself and carried the cross. Love so amazing, love so amazing.
[52:25] Jesus Messiah, name above all names. Bless the Redeemer, Emmanuel.
[52:46] A rescue for sinners. A ransom from heaven. Jesus Messiah, Lord of all.
[53:08] His heart, the bread, His blood, the wine. Broken for love, all for love. The whole earth trembled when the bread was torn.
[53:26] Love so amazing. Love so amazing. Jesus Messiah, name above all names.
[53:45] Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel. Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel. The rescue for sinners.
[53:59] Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel. Jesus Messiah, Lord of all. Jesus Messiah, Lord of all.
[54:16] All our hope is in you. All our hope is in you.
[54:27] All our peace. All our glory to you and I. All our glory to you and I. All our glory to you and I. To that of the world.
[54:39] Jesus Messiah, name above all names.
[54:49] Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel The ransom for sinners The ransom from heaven Jesus, Messiah Lord of all Jesus, Messiah Lord of all Lord of all Lord of all Praise God.
[55:51] We have, through Jesus Christ, an ability to be fully healed, fully well, fully loved, and to be loving. But you know, every time we come here, we can say, matter of fact, we have sinned this week in our lives.
[56:08] And so we're going to do something a little different with the prayer of confession. What I'd like for everybody to do is make a couple fists. And at the end of the prayer, when I say amen, I want you to release it.
[56:21] Release it. An offering of forgiveness. Okay, so let's have our fists. Lord, I'm a sinner.
[56:33] I need your grace. I have hurt other people. I've carried around hurt. Heal me from shame.
[56:47] From anger. From hatred. From bitterness. From victimhood. From hopelessness.
[56:57] From unforgiveness. From my desire for revenge. For judgment. For judgment. For judgment. Show me, Lord, the people I need to bend relationship with.
[57:29] Give me your strength. Give me your power. Give me your love. Give me your peace. Forgive me as I forgive others.
[57:45] For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let it go. Let it go. Released.
[57:58] Set free. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God.
[58:10] Amen. Now don't pick it up again. And as we prepare ourselves for the table of the Lord, let's become a body of people together, greeting one another with the peace of the Spirit.
[58:24] Part card. Let it fall. I konline it. It's ama.
[58:35] Earth. Do you feel man? Thank you. Do you feel all right? Do you feel all right? Do you feel all right? Do you feel all right? And then you will yes. Are you okay? Come on.
[58:48] Stelle my eyes are forgiven? Nice. Come on. Give me help you. Goodall right? Thank you.
[59:22] Thank you. Because God lives, because Jesus rose him from the dead, we can face tomorrow, whatever it may bring.
[59:33] Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
[59:52] Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future.
[60:07] And life is worth the living just because He lives. God sent His Son.
[60:21] They called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive. He bled and died to buy my pardon.
[60:41] And empty grace is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
[60:55] Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future.
[61:11] And life is worth the living just because He lives. And this is the table.
[61:24] This is the place where we celebrate the pardon that Jesus bought for us. The blessing that He poured out for all people.
[61:36] He bled and died to buy my pardon. But He bled and died to buy the pardon of all those people that I needed to forgive too.
[61:47] We all come to the table. We are all welcome at the table. What a blessing that is. And as we come, let's remember, it's not just me.
[62:01] It's everyone in the world that God sent His Son for. So you are welcome to come to the table this morning. You are welcome to come and meet with Jesus.
[62:15] You are welcome to come expecting that God is going to bless you in an amazing way. If you love God, repent of your sin, and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ, come to the table this morning.
[62:33] You don't have to be a member of this church. You don't have to be a member of any church. If God has touched your heart today, and you know you need to come and meet with Him, to come and receive from Him, that's what we're coming for today.
[62:50] Come to the table. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
[63:04] It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to You, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. By Your appointment the seasons come and go.
[63:15] You bring forth bread from the earth and create the fruit of the vine. You formed us in Your image and made us stewards of Your world.
[63:26] Earth has yielded its treasure, and from Your hand we have received blessing on blessing. And so with Your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise Your name and join their unending hymn.
[63:39] Holy, holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
[63:52] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor.
[64:06] When hungry and tempted, he refused to make bread for himself that he might be the bread of life for others. When the multitudes were hungry, he fed them.
[64:18] He broke bread with the outcast, but drove the greedy from the temple. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
[64:36] And on the night in which he gave himself up for us, Jesus took bread and he gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples. He said, take and eat. This is my body which is given for you.
[64:53] Do this in remembrance of me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup. He gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples.
[65:06] 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.
[65:18] 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.
[65:32] 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.
[65:48] 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.
[66:03] 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.
[66:15] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.
[66:26] Amen. Shall we pray together the prayer that 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.
[66:42] 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.
[66:58] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are serving please come forward. Amen. Amen.
[67:26] Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.
[68:24] Thank you.
[68:54] Thank you.
[69:24] Thank you. The table is ready.
[69:38] Come, worship God. You're welcome to stop by the rail for prayer and anointing with oil. Pastor Sherry and I will be there. You're welcome to light a candle in remembrance or in honor of your prayer.
[69:50] Let's come and meet with God and receive all he has for us. Thank you.
[70:24] Thank you.
[70:54] Thank you. Thank you.
[71:24] Thank you.
[71:54] Thank you.
[72:24] Thank you.
[72:54] Thank you.
[73:24] Thank you.
[73:54] Thank you.
[74:24] Thank you.
[74:54] Thank you. Thank you.
[75:54] Thank you. Thank you.
[76:54] Thank you. Thank you.
[77:26] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[78:02] Thank you.
[78:34] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[78:46] Thank you.