Worship

[0:00] Thank you.

[0:30] Thank you.

[1:00] Thank you. We're the Fish Fry Cleanup Crew. Fill out your friendship card to get on the mailing list, sign up for activities, list any prayers or concerns, and any notes for the staff.

[1:15] A welcome gift is available for new visitors and can be picked up at the Connection site in the back of the sanctuary following worship. Welcome to our church. Good morning.

[1:28] Really. Good morning. That's a little better. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[1:48] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[2:05] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[2:20] Lord, we thank you for your presence and we pray that you will come and dwell among us, that we will be able to experience you in a powerful way. May we be blessed in this worship experience and may everything we do be a blessing to you.

[2:35] We sing your name, we praise your name, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together, Lift High the Cross.

[2:45] Lift High the Cross The love of Christ proclaims Till all the world adore his sacred name Come, Christians follow his triumph inside The voice of God in unity combined Lift High the Cross The love of Christ proclaims Till all the world adore his sacred name

[3:52] Each new servant of the crucified best And the cross and the cross The love of Christ proclaims Who died and lived high the cross The love of Christ proclaims Till all the world adore his sacred name Till all the world adore his sacred name So shall our song of triumph Christ will never be Praise to the cross nó fire and hiand e view that house Ja'd

[5:07] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. Hi, my name's Carl Coles. I'm the new Fish Fight Coordinator. A little about myself, about eight years ago, I told my daughters we were going to start going to church, and this is where we were going to go.

[5:24] Now, I was one of those people who wanted to come to church, worship, and get out quietly. But, as a wise fisher of men and baker of fish reminds us, our plan is not always God's plan.

[5:36] Because I met this beautiful, wonderful woman who said to me, you should sign up for the fish fries. Now, not only did that lead to the love of my life, but it also led to Easter egg hunts, and shrove breakfast, and trucker treats, and mother-daughter dinners.

[5:53] They had my number, they were calling. But I realized that the more I was involved, the more I enjoyed being involved, and how important that fellowship was to my faith. But someone did say, don't ever let them give you keys.

[6:06] Now, Elizabeth will tell you, I don't listen very well. So, here I am. I started last fall, and was amazed at what it takes to put on one of these things.

[6:17] And I'd like to thank Debbie Parise and Heather Minor in the office, Lou Bobsine, Pastor Tom, and most importantly, Mary Bobsine, the person I took over for. The years of work that Mary's put in, with organization, and procedures, and record-keeping, has made this job as simple as plug and play, and I am continually grateful.

[6:37] As I am for everyone who's made the fish fry part of their mission here at Pendleton, from setup to cleanup, I've learned that my job is to make sure they have what they need, and they'll take care of the rest.

[6:47] Now, the fish fries are one of our biggest fundraisers, and one of our most important community outreaches. People from outside our church come in, they get a good meal, and they see a warm, friendly faith community.

[7:00] It's welcoming to all, and that's reflective on all of us. Now, I'd like if everyone would sign up for at least one week to work the fish fry. If you sign up, I'll find a place for you.

[7:12] I can't guarantee it's your first choice. That's just the way it works sometimes. But I've learned through my journey, it's not so much what you do, it's that you do. We come here, get our job done, hustle when we have to, but we also find time to enjoy ourselves and fellowship.

[7:32] If your mission is to come and eat with us, we'll bring the family down because we'd love to have you. So we hope to see you on Fridays. Thank you. Nice.

[7:47] Being part of our church community, heart, soul, mind, strength, and we're putting our muscles to use. So I encourage you to sign up for that. Sign up for any ministry. Get involved.

[7:58] Make fellowship with one another, and get our church moving and going because it doesn't run without you. So I thank you for all of your service. This past week, actually, we kicked off the fish fries, and there were 662.

[8:12] Woo-hoo! Right. I just want to draw your attention to a couple different things, like announcement-wise. This afternoon at 1245, we have a class for membership. If you're interested in our church and would like to learn more about membership, it is at 1245 in the expansion area here.

[8:28] Also, the gathering services this evening. And the Easter egg hunt for many years has been the Saturday before Easter, and the date has changed.

[8:40] So please check it out in your little good news, and mark it on your calendars, and pass that along, because it'll just be rote for everybody to come that day, and it's not that day.

[8:50] So we need to let everybody know it's not that day. But the Easter egg hunt is another one of those things. Get involved, and let's do some ministry together. So I'd love to hear what you all are thankful for this morning.

[9:04] Yeah. So your friend came through surgery. He's doing very well. Excellent. Anyone else?

[9:17] Yeah, Pat. Jan is here today. Jan is here. Very nice. Yeah. Judy Schultz asked me to pass on that the woman we've been praying for, who's having wounds that have not been healing, one of the wounds has been healed.

[9:31] Please continue to pray for her. Any other things? Yeah, Jen. Lazy family time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I miss those days.

[9:46] Those are good times. Yeah, Becky. Yeah, because it's not just an Easter egg hunt. It's an Easter egg event now, and it's going to be really, really wonderful.

[9:59] So, yeah, we're excited about that. What else? Oh, come on, folks. Let's see. God is good, right? All the time.

[10:09] So let's hear it. We had another successful men's breakfast yesterday. Yeah. Third Saturday, 9 o'clock. Third Saturday, 9 o'clock is the men's breakfast, and it was a successful time for men to be in fellowship with one another and grow in their faith.

[10:22] Yeah. Yeah. So Caitlin and her husband are going to be stationed.

[10:36] They made safe travels, and that's wonderful. Yeah. Okay. Well, as we reflect on the goodness of God this morning, because I know you are all just bubbling up with the goodness of God, and you just have so much to share.

[10:50] So we're going to share it with God this morning. As we give back our gifts, tithes, and offerings, think about it, pray about it, rejoice in it, how good God is, just how much you are blessed.

[11:01] Let's return our offerings to the Lord. Let's return our offerings to the Lord.

[11:33] Let's return our offerings to the Lord.

[12:03] Let's return our offerings to the Lord. Let's return our offerings to the Lord.

[12:33] Amen. Amen.

[13:33] Amen. Amen.

[14:08] Amen. Amen.

[14:20] Amen. Lord, we thank you for your mercy. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for the blessings you've given to us. We give back to you a portion to reflect our gratitude and our praise.

[14:36] You are so good, Lord. We pray that you will continue to bless us and bless these offerings, to go out and transform the world through your blessing, through your mercy, and through your grace, that they may be transformed in your image, light in the midst of darkness.

[14:53] In your name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. We have some prayer concerns to lift up this evening, or this evening, today, this morning.

[15:08] Went to laser trine with the youth yesterday. Ernie Rose, we've been praying for Ernie Rose. He had had heart surgery, and he's back in the hospital with complications with infections.

[15:22] He's home. Never mind. But still, pray for Ernie. Oh, he's home, but, you know, he's having a rough battle with it. Kathy Hill and Chris King are both home, but they're recovering from surgery, so please pray for them.

[15:37] Pray for the family of Butch Bacon, who passed away Thursday. That's Bonnie Frank's brother. That's Pastor Bob's wife, Bonnie, her brother, who passed away.

[15:47] And the calling hours are at the Saber Funeral Home on Sunday. I also have a need here to give to you. There's a family from Tanzania, and it's a father and six children, and they're in need of a full-size mattress and a bunk bed set, because as of right now, all of them are sleeping on box springs and floors and such.

[16:11] So if anyone can help with that, that'd be wonderful. So are there any other prayer concerns we'd like to have lifted up today? What's on the heart of our church family?

[16:26] Wow, so we're all good. Yeah. Everything's good. Everyone? All right. Okay. Yeah, Sean. Thank you.

[16:40] Yes, the school shooting, all the families involved with that. Such tragedy. Two teenagers from Wheatfield, bad car accident last week.

[16:59] Anyone else? Carl? My daughter, Liga. So Liga moved to New York last week, so pray for a job and just in general and for Dad.

[17:14] Yeah. Yeah. Anyone else? Okay. Oh, yeah, Becky. Becky. Becky. Becky. Becky. Becky. She's got a job.

[17:38] So pray that God will start to take action in our schools, in our societies, in our homes, that the horrible tragedies will have at least an impact with that, with God being raised up.

[17:55] Anyone else? Okay, let's pray. Gracious and loving Lord, we come to you this day praising you, loving you, proclaiming your name.

[18:12] We come to you, Lord, trusting in you for all things, and we place in your hands the burdens that have been on our hearts, the people who are struggling with their health, Lord, people who are recovering from surgery or suffering with diseases.

[18:27] We pray that you'll take pain away, take disease away, heal them, make them whole and well. Place your healing hand upon them. We pray for those who are mourning, mourning family members, and Lord, we pray especially for those who are mourning after the shooting, Lord.

[18:46] We pray that your hand will be upon those families, upon that community. We pray that you'll keep us safe, that you'll put a blanket of protection over us, keep our families safe, keep our schools safe.

[19:01] We pray that you'll open up hearts to come to know you, that you'll make fertile ground, that the people will come to know you and experience you and lives changed.

[19:19] Lord, we pray for those who are hurting. We pray for those who are struggling in not only their body, but in their minds, anxiety, depression, mental illness.

[19:30] We pray that your hand be upon them. And we pray for those who are in caregiving services, whether it be a family member or caregiving as doctors and nurses and police officers and fire people.

[19:48] Lord, we pray that all these people that are put in positions of caring for others or that they be lifted up and held and cared for as well. Give them your discernment.

[20:04] Lord, we pray that you'll continue to guide us as a people of faith, that we will be able to walk firmly and boldly in your name, proclaiming who you are by the lives that we live, that who we are may be love toward one another.

[20:22] Lord, we pray for our families to draw closer to you, closer to one another, and that our church family will do the same, that our likeness as a body of Christ will be that of you.

[20:38] We pray for our country. We pray for our leaders. Lord, we pray for our families to draw closer to you, continue to spread your light, spread your goodness, spread your love, and that people will become open to receiving it.

[21:02] Help us to be a part of that blessing. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Now let's hear from the word of the Lord.

[21:41] Good morning. This morning our scripture reading is from the book of John, chapter 15, verses 1 through 11.

[21:58] I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.

[22:12] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine.

[22:25] Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

[22:36] Apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

[22:49] If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

[23:01] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.

[23:16] I have told you this so that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be complete. This is the word of the Lord. Praise be to God.

[23:29] Thank you, Jan. This morning we're continuing a sermon series on what the church is supposed to be. What do we as a church here think are the important parts of our faith, and what do we need to do as Christians?

[23:41] So essentially the elements that are essential to a Christian faith. And today we're going to talk about worship. In the book of Psalms, which is really the book of songs in the Bible, we read a lot about worship.

[23:52] In chapter 95 we read, we read, bring it back guys. Come let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

[24:09] Worship is the one thing that distinguishes the Christian church from other communities. There's lots of places we can do things to help people through social agencies. We have clubs where we go and make friendships.

[24:21] There's lots of places we can learn and grow in our knowledge about all sorts of things, including God. But the church is the one place where people gather to worship together.

[24:32] In fact, that's why we changed our Sunday morning worship schedule to make sure our young people are with us during worship, because it's such an essential part of our faith. How many of you have ever binge-watched a show?

[24:46] Anybody here? I won't ask how many of you have no idea what I'm talking about, so let me explain. The old way of doing things is we would watch the shows, and then the season would end, and then along would come about a year later a continuation of the show.

[25:02] And of course, over the course of that time, we don't remember what went on a year ago. That's crazy, right? So they'd run reruns so we could re-watch them. That's what we did.

[25:14] We didn't have a whole lot of choices back then. Today, you just wait until the series ends, and then you sit down and you watch the whole thing from beginning to end, and you don't have any gaps.

[25:25] So you can remember what was going on. You don't get disconnected. We worship God so that we don't get disconnected from God.

[25:36] It says in here, some of the branches are pruned, some of the branches are cut off. Some of the branches that are in Christ are cut off because they haven't remained in the vine.

[25:49] Throughout this passage, it continues to say that we can make a choice whether we will stay connected to the vine or not. And sometimes, it's very easy for us to find reasons to get disconnected and not do what we know we ought to do.

[26:06] Oftentimes, on Sunday morning, it looks like Pooh Bear. As the sun rose over the hundred-acre wood, Pooh leapt out of bed and greeted the day with much enthusiasm.

[26:22] Honey. Uh, Pooh? Gosh. More honey, please. I say, Pooh? Pooh?

[26:34] Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! I was having the most wonderful dream. Pooh!

[26:45] Yes, but it's time to wake up. You have a very important thing to do today. Oh! Aaaah! Like what? Ha ha! Well, if I told you that, I'd ruin the rest of the story.

[26:56] Wouldn't I? Oh, of course. What could be more important than a little something to eat! Pooh!

[27:07] Pooh! Or perhaps a little large or something. Oh, not to worry, tummy. I always know what to do. A Pooh Bear takes care of his tummy.

[27:19] The Pooh has a knack for finding a snack. Unless all the honey is gone. You know, this morning I have to admit I felt like Pooh Bear.

[27:33] The alarm didn't go off, but I looked at it and said, I don't want to get out of bed. You know that feeling? I just want to stay there, lay there, and just do whatever.

[27:46] We have so many things that distract us. We live in the most distracted society that has existed. We have thousands and thousands of choices. You had many things that you could have done, good things that you could have done this morning.

[27:59] And sometimes there are things that we would consider to be priorities in life. We'd have to work, or we have some family engagement, or we have something we feel that has to get done today.

[28:11] But we make a choice to be here so that we don't become branches cut off. By our own actions, we don't find ourselves choosing to be disconnected.

[28:22] Hebrews tells us that we need to remain connected. Not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day approaching.

[28:35] This passage is about vines. I had a huge vine in my backyard. A grapevine. I mean, it stretched for probably a thousand feet in every direction.

[28:45] It was on everything. Everywhere I looked, I'd see this grapevine. I'd pull off a branch. I'd cut off a branch. I'd pull at it here and there. It was killing everything in the yard. Taking over.

[28:57] Finally, I crawled under all the bramble bushes, and I found a trunk this big. I put away my pruning shears, and I got out my chainsaw. It died all over the yard.

[29:09] And as I was pulling it all out, incredible amounts of branches and leaves I wasn't even aware existed. But there was one thing the vine didn't have. Grapes.

[29:21] Grapes. Grapes. A huge, large vine. Without what it was intended to produce. In verse 8, it says, This is my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

[29:37] We are intended to bear fruit for God, so that we can glorify God, because the purpose of life is to glorify God. And the purpose of worship is partly to remind us to do that.

[29:49] Worship reminds us who we are and who we're not. We're not God. The vines are the connection.

[30:01] It's the way in which we reach back to God so that we can gain strength from God and remember where our purpose, where our life comes from. But the purpose of the vine is producing fruit, is to glorify the vineyard who takes care of it.

[30:17] And it says, If we remain in Christ, remain in His Word, His glory, whatever we ask for, it will be done for us.

[30:30] And so we instantly sing that song from Janice Chaplin. Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz? Right? I want a TV. I want a big house.

[30:43] I want all the money you can give me. And I want it now. Right? Because we've been taught for the better part of our lives that whoever has the most toys wins.

[30:59] And so we struggle in life to make sure that we have gotten more stuff than our neighbor. And we wonder sometimes when we ask God for these things, why we don't receive Him when He promised it.

[31:13] Well, we haven't remained in Him. We haven't remained connected to God. James, the brother of Jesus, talks about it in his book. And he says, You do not have because you do not ask God.

[31:25] And when you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. The purpose, the purpose of our asking God for anything is to make us stronger so we can produce more what?

[31:42] Fruit. Fruit. Our problem is is we become obsessed with thinking that the goal of life is to make us look better. This isn't anything new, by the way. There was a story in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis way back in the beginning of the Bible where there were a group of people that decided they were going to build the biggest tower in the world.

[32:00] A tower so big it would reach up to heaven so that nobody would ever forget them. Everybody would know who they were because they had a huge tower with their name on it. Okay?

[32:10] So they built this huge tower. And it says that God came down to see it. Well, actually, this is kind of what it really said. Is that God got down and said, What are they doing?

[32:23] Oh, it's a tower. I see. The thing that they thought was absolutely huge. God could barely see.

[32:35] And our problem is we get so caught up in us, so caught up in what we've accomplished and what we've thought that we actually think we've uncovered the secrets of the universe that we know all knowledge. And we don't need God anymore so we become disconnected.

[32:49] The older I get, the more I realize how little I know. Not because I know less than people who haven't lived as long as me. Not because I've lost my mind or something.

[33:00] But because what I've discovered is that in comparison to the amount of knowledge that exists out there in the universe, what I know is a speck. So worship helps us to remind ourselves we're not God.

[33:15] We're not the purpose of life. God is the center of the universe. Worship also keeps us connected to one another. Keeps Christians connected with each other.

[33:30] These days, it seems as if we have a lot of people in the world playing a game of gotcha. Waiting for somebody to say or do something in some way so that they can attack them and say how bad they are.

[33:41] And what bothers me the most is that I see Christians playing this game with each other. I gotcha. as if life is about figuring out a way to make others look bad or feel bad or seem less.

[33:55] This passage actually goes one verse further and says my command is this, love each other as I have loved you. Or in other words, we're supposed to live out the love of God and worship reminds us of that and helps us to remember that we're supposed to bear fruit.

[34:12] Now we've talked about fruit a lot. You know what the fruit of the Spirit is, right? Love, joy, joy.

[34:29] See, there's the problem. If we don't know what the fruits of the Spirit are, how are we going to live them out? And God calls us to do that with each other. All the parts of the vine twist around each other and support each other and hold each other up and that's what God calls us to do as well.

[34:47] As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, Jesus says. Now remain in my love. Connected. Connected like family. Close to one another.

[34:59] Worship reminds us to stay connected to each other and connected to God. And worship also reminds us of our original purpose. Why we were originally made and what our destiny will be in life.

[35:12] In the book of Genesis, in the very beginning of the Bible, God tells us to be fruitful and multiply, right? Now you notice he didn't say just be fruitful and he didn't say to multiply.

[35:23] And sometimes we think multiplying and being fruitful is the same thing. But you can multiply and not be fruitful and you can be fruitful and not multiply. God wants us to be both.

[35:35] He wants us to increase the number of people that are connected to God. But he wants us to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit as well. That's our purpose.

[35:46] It's a purpose we have before we were even born. God infused in us like the vine infuses in the branches the strength and the power and the ability to bear the fruit to the world.

[36:03] It's something we have. The vine connects to the ground as a source of life to feed the branches to produce fruit and God connects us to our very purpose and we come to worship to remember that purpose.

[36:18] Have you ever seen an old grapevine in a vineyard? We're in grape country. Some of you should have seen them. How many of you have ever seen a commercial good grapevine? You know what they look like?

[36:30] Sticks. I should have had a picture for you. They look like sticks. They have hardly any leaves. They're just like a big stump with barely any branches, hardly any leaves and a bunch of grapes because they have been pruned back so that all the stuff that's useless is removed and only the best remains.

[36:54] And the gardener is a master pruner. They know exactly where to cut. Now me, I prune with those big shears. You know the ones I'm talking about? That's how I prune. My wife can tell you exactly where to cut.

[37:06] She uses the little pear, right? And because the idea is not to kill the vine but to cut back the things that are useless that keep us from our original purpose and help us to bear the fruit of the Spirit which is love.

[37:36] A little better. A little better. You might have to give you a hint the next time. In worship we connect. Reconnect to that original call. It's a place we can come to push those distractions aside.

[37:50] It's why we come here. We come here to worship because here we think of God. God reaches out to you everywhere. You do know that.

[38:00] God is available to you wherever you go. The difference is you're not available to God. God is out on the golf course but you're thinking about the ball.

[38:11] God is at the football game but you're not thinking about God. God is in the movie theater and God is in your house and God is in your school and God is in your work. But we're not with God.

[38:24] We come into this place. We have set aside a room. We even call it a sanctuary. And believe me it takes a lot for a church to provide a room simply for worship but it's so that when we walk in the door we go God.

[38:39] And we become available to God. And the distractions of life go away and we reconnect to why we exist and where we come from and what our purpose is.

[38:51] And we remember what our destiny is. Because all of us face the same destiny. All of us someday will stand before God as our judge.

[39:03] And we need to live a life prepared for that day. This Wednesday I'm going to start a study in the book of Revelation. Everybody's afraid of what that book says. They're confused by it.

[39:15] Well it's not that difficult. Basically it says in the end God wins. And we want to be on the winning side with God. Amen? Worship reminds us of that.

[39:26] In the book of Romans Paul talks about the nation of Israel and he says consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God. Sternness to those who fell but kindness to you.

[39:37] Provided that you continue in his kindness otherwise you will be cut off. The branches that are cut off are thrown into the fire. And while people don't always want to hear it there is a judgment that the Bible talks about and we don't want to face that.

[39:55] We live our lives as if the focus of life is ourself. As if the accumulation of toys is the whole purpose. As if finding pleasure for ourselves is the whole reason for existing.

[40:07] The more we can get the better off we are and yet the one who has the most very often is the one who loses. Pooh even discovered that.

[40:21] What a pleasant surprise. How about lunch? Oh thank you rabbit. And help yourself Pooh.

[40:31] Would you like condensed milk? Or honey on your bread? Both. Never mind the bread please.

[40:43] Just a small helping if you please. There you are. Is something wrong?

[40:55] Well I did mean a little larger small helping. Well perhaps it would save time if you took the whole jar. Thank you rabbit. So Pooh ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate until at last he said to rabbit in a rather sticky voice I must be going now.

[41:22] Goodbye rabbit. Well goodbye if you're sure you won't have any more. Is there any more? No there isn't. I thought not.

[41:38] Oh help and bother. I'm stuck. Oh dear. Yes we can get so full of stuff that we get stuck.

[41:51] We spend all our time taking care of our stuff watching over our stuff collecting our stuff cleaning our stuff putting it in storage units and closets and cupboards and garages and basements until we have stuff everywhere and we live for our stuff.

[42:10] And we don't live the life God intended. A life intended for joy. Truth of the matter is the Bible tells us we can gain everything and lose what really matters.

[42:22] In the book of Matthew it says to us whoever wants to save their life will lose it but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul and what can anyone give in exchange for their soul so we come to worship to remember why we're here in the first place and to remember where we're going to go and be prepared for it.

[42:48] And we seek God's pruning to cut us and convict us of the things that we don't need to have in life and remember what really matters.

[43:00] God doesn't want us to have a miserable life. God doesn't want Christians to be sad and sorrowful. It's not that God wants to take away our joy God wants to give us joy.

[43:11] Instead of seeking out little moments of happiness God wants to give us real joy. In verse 11 he says I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

[43:26] And the joy of God is what transforms us. So we come to worship to be spiritually recharged. Most people when they come to worship they come in thinking I could have stayed in bed and they leave saying well that felt good.

[43:44] It's an experience that recharges our batteries gives us another bit of energy to get through this life because life is difficult where we turn back to God and turn away from brokenness.

[44:00] I felt a little bad that I cut that grapevine. I really have to tell you I mean that thing had been growing magnificently for who knows how long and I cut it off as if it was nothing after all that work it had done because actually all the work it was doing was to destroy every plant around it and produce nothing of value.

[44:28] And God calls us to be cut back like the good vines not cut off like the bad ones. In fact the word in there is kithereo which means to be cleaned to be cleansed and so God calls us to repent so that we can be cleansed and changed and transformed.

[44:53] This world we live in is hard and it seems like it's getting harder. We read about this school shooting and we feel helpless like what are we supposed to do?

[45:06] We want to do something to make it better. This young man had his father die when he was young. His girlfriend decided not to stay connected to him.

[45:19] His mother died and all his friends ditched him. I'm not going to give him an excuse for doing something evil. I'm not going to say therefore he's a poor sad person but I wonder what would have happened if instead of being surrounded by pain he was surrounded by the fruits of the spirit.

[45:37] You know what I'm talking about? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

[45:52] What might have happened and even more important at this point what might happen to those around us? The change. what we could stop from happening in the future.

[46:06] I don't know that we have a way to stop evil people. I don't know that we have a way to keep people who are intent on being broken and who have cut themselves off from God and are intent on nothing more than evil.

[46:20] I don't know that we have a way to stop everyone and we have people in places to try and do that but I do know that there are people that are on the margins and could fall either way especially young people and how we treat them may determine their destiny.

[46:39] God doesn't want us to be cut off. Anyone. And God is a God of second chances. He says in verse 3 you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

[46:51] Do you realize before you came into this sanctuary God already forgave you. God already decided to make you perfect. He is just waiting for you to reconnect with the vine. To turn back to the source of life.

[47:07] In Romans chapter 11 we did read consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God. Sternness to those who fell but kindness to you provided that you continue in his kindness otherwise you will be cut off.

[47:20] And if they do not persist in unbelief. That's a double negative by the way. If they do not persist in unbelief or in other words if they persist in belief they will be grafted in.

[47:31] For God is able to graft them in again. You know what grafting is? How many of you have noticed the weird tree out front of our church? We have this bizarre looking tree.

[47:44] It's half one kind of tree and half another kind of tree. It's a spruce on top, a beautiful tree but somehow on the bottom it ended up growing out of a bush. It's an ugly old bush but without that ugly old bush that tree that's grafted in would have no opportunity to grow.

[48:04] And some people have said we should cut that thing down, it's ugly. I said no, that is the symbol of our church. That our goal is to go out there and find all those people that could have a beautiful, wonderful life and graft them back into the vine of God, into the power of God.

[48:24] God doesn't want to give up on anyone. Amen? God's already forgiven us. He's already broken the power of canceled sin.

[48:35] That's something we come to worship to celebrate about. What he wants us to do is to take that power out into our world and use the fruits of the spirit to tip the balance in the direction of God.

[48:52] So we come to worship. Psalm 100 says to us, shout for joy to the Lord all the earth. Boy, that's something we don't hear much in church anymore. Shouting, right?

[49:03] Amen? Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It's he who made us. We are his.

[49:15] We are his people. The sheep of his pastors. Amen. Amen. Amen. Before the day, before the light, before the world revolved around the sun.

[49:58] God on high, stepped down into time, and wrote the story of his love for everyone.

[50:09] God on God. He has filled our hearts with wonder, so that we always remember.

[50:25] You and I are made to worship. You and I are called to love. You and I are forgiven free.

[50:36] You and I are forgiven free. You and I embrace surrender, when you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see who we were meant to be.

[50:54] all we are and all we have is all the gift from God that we receive.

[51:11] brought to light, we opened up our eyes, to see the majesty and glory of the King.

[51:29] We have filled our hearts with wonder, so that we always remember, you and I are made to worship.

[51:44] You and I are called to love. You and I are forgiven and free. When you and I embrace surrender, when you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see who we were meant to be.

[52:10] and even the rocks cry out, and even the heavens shout, at the sound of His holy name.

[52:23] So let every voice sing out, and let every name bow down, He is worthy of all our praise.

[52:35] you and I are made to worship, you and I are called to love, you and I are forgiven and free.

[52:48] When you and I embrace surrender, when you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see.

[52:59] who we were meant to be.

[53:46] We are meant to praise God because God is good all the time. is good. Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever.

[54:17] Lord, you are good and your mercy endure it forever. People, our memory, nation, and tongue, from generation to generation, we worship you.

[54:38] Hallelujah, hallelujah, we worship you, who you are. We worship you.

[54:53] Hallelujah, hallelujah, we worship you, who you are. You are good.

[55:04] Lord, you are good and your mercy endure it forever.

[55:18] Lord, you are good and your mercy endure it forever. People, from memory, nation, and tongue, from generation to generation, we worship you.

[55:36] Hallelujah, hallelujah, we worship you, who you are. We worship you.

[55:51] Hallelujah, hallelujah, we worship you, who you are. You are good all the time You are good We worship you Hallelujah, hallelujah We worship you Who you are We worship you Hallelujah, hallelujah

[56:52] We worship you Who you are You are good You are good, God is good All the time Yes, all the time God is so good And God offers to us His very self God offers life And love and peace God offers it to us And too many times we say God, I'm in control And I'm not going to accept that from you Because I want to be in charge instead And that's why we come to worship We come to worship to remember That God is good That God is in charge That God is the one to be revered And that we are to surrender to that And so I invite you to a prayer of confession Along with me as we prepare for a table of grace Lord, I am a sinner I need your grace I surrender to you My very life

[57:54] Forgive me For the times that I've thought of myself Instead of others Instead of you For my selfishness For my ego For my own wants My own desires Lead me, Lord In your way Through your grace And through your love In Jesus' name we pray Amen Hear the good news Christ died for us While we were yet sinners And this proves God's love For you and for me So 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 a forgiven body of Christ Let's greet one another With the peace of the Holy Spirit And now as a forgiven body of Christ

[59:09] Amen Come upon our sin Amen Amen And now when a God We get 정도 At kings of join In your quarters At kings of heaven inspector and�� sh Ke Dad Hu V'r Waiting In In vacuum Let's Let's Into Lin It As the deer panteth for the water, So my soul longeth after Thee.

[60:08] You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship Thee.

[60:21] You alone are my strength, my shield, To you alone may my spirit yield.

[60:35] You alone are my heart's desire, And I long to worship Thee.

[60:50] As we continue our worship, we've been invited to the table. Isn't that a great way to end a celebration? To get to come and have dinner with Jesus?

[61:03] That's where we've been invited. We've been invited to the supper of the Lord, To join together with God in receiving What God has for us.

[61:14] Salvation. Through his precious body and blood. Everyone is welcome to come to the table. If you love God, repent of your sin, And seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

[61:28] You are welcome at the table. When you come, Come expecting to receive from God. Come expecting that God is going to meet with you In a special way, Just as if you were sitting down to dinner.

[61:44] We come together. We come together. We come to worship. We come to share God's love. And to allow God to share God's love with us.

[61:59] That's why we come to the table. What a wonderful way to worship the Lord. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts.

[62:11] Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere To give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

[62:24] You brought all things into being And called them good. From the dust of the earth, You formed us into your image And breathed into us the breath of life.

[62:35] When we turned away and our love failed, Your love remained steadfast. When rain fell upon the earth For forty days and forty nights, You bore up the ark on the waters, Saved Noah and his family, And made a covenant With every living creature on earth.

[62:54] When you led your people to Mount Zion For forty days and forty nights, You gave us your commandments. And made us your covenant people.

[63:04] When your people forsook your covenant, Your prophet Elijah fasted For forty days and forty nights. And on your holy mountain, He heard your still, small voice.

[63:21] 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.

[63:36] 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.

[63:47] When you gave him to save us from our sin, Your spirit led him into the wilderness, Where he fasted forty days and forty nights To prepare for his ministry.

[64:01] When he suffered and died on a cross for your sin, You raised him to life and presented him alive to the apostles During forty days. And exalted him at your right hand.

[64:15] 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.

[64:28] Now, when we, your people, prepare for the yearly feast of Easter, You lead us to repentance for sin And the cleansing of our hearts That during these forty days of Lent, We may be gifted and graced To reaffirm the covenant you made with us Through Christ.

[64:51] 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. He said, Take and eat.

[65:02] This is my body, Which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

[65:20] And when the supper was over, He took the cup. And he gave you thanks and praise And gave it to his disciples. He said, Drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of my blood.

[65:30] 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.

[65:43] 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.

[65:57] 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.

[66:08] 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.

[66:25] By your spirit, Make us one with Christ And 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.

[66:38] 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.

[66:49] Shall we pray together The prayer Jesus taught us. Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

[67:01] 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.

[67:14] And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever.

[67:25] Amen. Will those who are serving Please come forward. dance with us.

[67:40] Amen. Apostle Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Jesus Amen. Amen.

[67:52] Thank you.

[68:22] Thank you.

[68:52] Thank you.

[69:22] Come and join us. Receive the Lord. You're all welcome. To the table, the rail for healing and anointing, to light a candle. Come and join us with God. Thank you.

[70:07] Thank you.

[70:37] Thank you.

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[71:37] Thank you.

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[72:37] Thank you.

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[73:37] Thank you.

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[74:37] Thank you.

[75:07] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[76:13] Thank you.