Love Like God

[0:00] D Thank you.

[0:41] Thank you.

[1:12] Fill in your address to receive newsletters or update your info. On the back you can write prayer, concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff. Then place it in the offering plate. If it's your first time at our church, please pick up a welcome bag.

[1:25] At the connection site or at the welcome desk. Welcome to our church. And enjoy the service. Good morning.

[1:38] This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day.

[1:52] This is the day. That the Lord has made. That the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. Let us rejoice.

[2:03] And be glad in it. And be glad in it. This is the day. That the Lord has made. Let us rejoice.

[2:15] And be glad in it. This is the day. This is the day. That the Lord has made.

[2:27] Shall we pray together? Dear God in heaven, we pray a special blessing on us this morning. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here. And help us to be filled with your wonder.

[2:38] With your joy. With your amazing love. We thank you, Lord, for giving us the opportunity to be here. We pray that you'll bless us. In Jesus' name. Amen. I'd like to invite you to stand if you're able.

[2:50] As we're going to sing together. Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing. My great Redeemer's praise.

[3:12] The glories of my God and King. But I am some of His grace. My gracious Master and my God.

[3:25] Assist me to proclaim. This bread through all the earth, Lord, The honors of Thy name.

[3:38] My gracious Master and my God. Assist me to proclaim. This bread through all the earth, Lord, The honors of Thy name.

[3:54] He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the freezer free. This blood can make the foulest clean.

[4:07] This blood of the world for me. Harlots and clobble, kids and thieves. In holy, giant joy.

[4:20] Saved is the sinner that needs. A prize as great as mine. Murders and all the hellish crew.

[4:33] These sons of lust and pride. The Lord be with you.

[4:49] Please be seated. As the frogs come up to share with us, we're going to be sharing in a video about children's ministries at our church. We're celebrating our children's ministries this morning.

[4:59] I like coming to England because I like being with my friends and learning about God.

[5:10] Because we learn about God and because we serve Jesus and he serves us. Serving Jesus and serving God and doing Valentine's for other people.

[5:23] Sending money to nursing homes. Because we do stuff for homeless people. We make linkage for homeless people. We serve dinners.

[5:35] At the night of God's church. We talk about God. I like High Chocolate with God and Smorch because the games we play, they help us learn about God and they're fun.

[5:55] I like High Chocolate with God because you can learn about God and have fun with your friends. I like our small groups because we learn more about God and the Bible. I really like High Chocolate with God because I've met a lot of new people and I've made new friends.

[6:08] Because lawyers are nice. I like the egg drop challenge. I like the dancing. The fun way to spend my Friday evening. I learn about God while having fun at the same time. могут God and why not the people are nice.

[6:21] I play naturalurity and mercy. Those who are just asked for other people to spend your time at the same time. Hope is getting ready. I recommend aère skikennt Stillman when you get a list of luck. Can you bring him in the same time? I'm going to bring your time at the same time. I like the house where I am. My gym online and got like bibliotody when you are connected. I want to see some of the better friends so you can look for those videos.

[6:31] But to be able to jump on the same time. I want to do great work. Hope is pretty much fun. That's pretty much fun. So challenges and like I oh my gosh classe is braling phone when asking could you be fun, what is really important. Goodbye Why?

[6:43] I can't stop you.

[6:54] I can't stop you.

[7:24] Isn't he? Isn't he wonderful? Wonderful.

[7:38] Isn't he? Christ the Lord. Almighty God. Isn't he? Isn't he?

[7:51] Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he?

[8:06] Beautiful. Beautiful. Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he?

[8:18] Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he? Isn't he?

[8:29] Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, isn't he? That's a Lord, almighty God, isn't he?

[9:06] Thank you. And if you have children that are from age three to third grade, and you'd like them to go out to junior church, please follow Pastor Tom in the back.

[9:24] He's waving his hand. And that's it. Hopefully follow him out. So, my name is Mike Clifford, and I'm new to this, so I got my notes.

[9:35] So I'm good. But any praises today? Anybody have some praises? The Cliff Notes. The Cliff Notes, yes. So I got a praise, and that is at the fish fry, we had 613 people our meals served, which was great.

[9:53] Which was a lot more than I thought we did. But I do know that the silverware, I do the silverware, and there was a lot of that. So any other praises? You want to thank God for something?

[10:04] Over here. Yes, there's a little boy, 11 months old, who had a third heart operation, and this one worked. He got a pacemaker. And praise Jesus, he's doing really well. Thank God for that.

[10:14] Amen. Amen. Anybody else? Other praises in the back? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[10:26] Amen. Amen. Angel Wings did well at the talent show. Praise God for that. Yes, sir. Chris King found out he's cancer-free. Thank God for that. Chris King's cancer-free. That's great.

[10:39] That's great. Anybody else? I saw another hand. Okay. Okay. Okay. My grandson, Alan Davis, his son and his wife are moving back to Rochester as they're going to be lost after 20 years in San Diego, Oregon.

[10:54] Oh, that's great. Thank God for that. I fled California, too, 20 years. I saw my first Robin yesterday, but the Lord is in control and he's taking care of all the things that are coming down.

[11:17] Yep. Amen. I saw my first Robin yesterday, too. Whether they hung out all winter, I don't know. I don't know. So, we got... Any other praises before I stop?

[11:29] I'm sure there's a lot of praises going on here, and that's good. So, we're going to go ahead and have the... Oh, I wanted to mention... That's it.

[11:41] We're just going to go ahead... Yeah, I got to say this. Sally... This is concerns of the people. Those will be coming later. Sally Accord, surgery Monday, we want to pray for her.

[11:52] Bill Tubbs is slowly healing. David Frank for healing and others recovering from surgery or flu. We want to keep that in mind when we pray. But at this time, we're going to go ahead and have the offering. Thank you.

[12:24] Bless the Lord, Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name.

[13:01] Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name.

[13:13] The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning.

[13:23] It's time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, And we be singing when the evening when the evening comes.

[13:44] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name.

[13:58] Sing like never before, my soul, Worship Your holy name.

[14:09] Sing like never before, Your holy name. Sing like never before, Your holy name. Your rich in love, And your soul to anger.

[14:20] Your name is great, And your heart is kind. For all your goodness, I will keep on singing, Ten thousand reasons For my heart to find.

[14:41] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name.

[14:55] Sing like never before, O my soul, O my soul, I worship Your holy name.

[15:19] And on that day, In my sacred's name, When God's near and my time has gone, still my soul will sing a praise unto thee.

[15:39] Ten thousand years and then forevermore. O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name.

[16:01] Sing like never before, O my soul. I worship your holy name.

[16:17] I worship your holy name. I worship your holy name.

[16:40] Thank you. Thank you.

[16:54] Thank you. Thank you.

[17:09] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[17:20] Thank you. Lord, we pray and we thank you for the ability to give. And we ask that you'll bless the givers.

[17:30] We ask that you'll take these funds and put them to the use that you have in mind for winning souls to Christ and helping people grow in Christ for missionaries, for the needs of poor people and those that are needy.

[17:43] And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Now is the time when we ask for prayer requests.

[17:54] Anybody have a prayer request or concern that we'd like to that you'd like us to pray for or with together? Yes. Okay. Your teacher's mother passed away last week.

[18:09] Okay. Thanks. Okay. Jen? Who is that? Your brother-in-law Dick Reed was just diagnosed with cancer. Okay.

[18:20] All right. Yes. Bill. A 13-year-old son of a associate with my daughter who was hospitalized with depression and suicide.

[18:37] Okay. Depression, thoughts of suicide. Yep. Anybody else? Somewhere in the back I saw. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Oh, man. That's bad.

[18:48] And their big 4-H families. What's their name again? Massey. Massey family's barn burnt down. They lost their livestock. That's terrible. Anybody else? Let's pray. Oh, one more. Yep. Okay.

[18:59] Okay. Let's pray. Oh, one more. Yeah. Standing the lever. Surgery. All right. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you and the Lord, we come to you, and the Lord, God, give me some questions and the Lord, and the Lord, we come to you and the Lord, and the Lord, and Stenilever?

[19:23] Surgery? All right. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you and we... You've heard all these requests, things that I can't all remember, but basically, Father, we know that all the folks that have had surgery are going into surgery.

[19:40] You know, we pray that you be with them, that you help the doctors, that you give them wisdom, that you're the great physician, so we ask that you give them the wisdom that they need. And those that lost barns and health, we ask, Father, you know, and livestock.

[19:55] We ask that you replace, if it be your will, Father, that you replace the livestock to that family and that you meet their needs financially. We pray for the teacher's mother that passed away.

[20:08] We pray that you'll give her comfort and that you'll help her and her family. I know it's got to be a hard time. And thank you for this young man that was interested enough to be able to make a prayer request.

[20:21] Thank you for this congregation, Lord. We ask that you'll bless as we continue on with the service. We pray that you'd be with pastor, that you'd fill him with the Spirit of God. Help us to listen and to listen to what the Holy Spirit has for us.

[20:36] We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[20:55] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[21:06] Amen. Amen. Today's reading is from Matthew 9, verses 9-17.

[21:19] As Jesus went from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

[21:29] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked their disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

[21:46] On hearing this, Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

[22:00] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Then John's disciples came and asked him, How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?

[22:16] Jesus answered, How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them.

[22:27] Then they will fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.

[22:39] Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst. The wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

[22:51] No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

[23:03] Thank you, Judy. So, this morning we're in the midst of a series about what's the church supposed to be? What is our church supposed to be?

[23:14] What are we supposed to be as Christians? Good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners. All right, we're all here. That's good. You know, when I was about 22 or 23 years old, I was visiting some friends of our parents, and for some odd reason, we were talking about life, and this woman looked at me and said, You know, you'll never be able to own a house near Delaware Park.

[23:41] I thought that was random. And I also was trying to understand how she knew what I was going to be later on in life. You're never going to amount to anything.

[23:52] You do not have the ability to become the kind of people that we consider to be the right people. Sticks and stones can break my bones.

[24:05] Names will hurt me for the rest of my life. That was almost 40 years ago. I remember it like yesterday. When people say things about us that rip us down and cause us to feel less than, it tears us apart.

[24:22] We have a lot of people in the world that are feeling broken somehow. They feel like somehow someone has said or done something, and they will never be able to measure up.

[24:33] Sometimes it's people at a distance. Sometimes it's people that are so close to us. As a church, we say that our mission, our purpose, is to go out and reach the least, those who don't have anything and are struggling in life, the lost, those who don't have Jesus, don't have a relationship with God, and the little ones because we're concerned that our children and our teenagers need a particular care, a particular opportunity to succeed in the world we live in.

[25:02] And in the midst of it, we try to be the right church. But there's a struggle that churches have. All churches have this struggle. And it's a struggle between whether or not we are going to be a called-apart community that look different, smell different, talk different, act different, so it's so clear that everybody can see that Jesus is in our lives, but where people don't feel like they're welcome to come.

[25:26] Or are we going to be a congregation that's loving and open and invites people in and makes them feel so comfortable because they can't even tell the difference between us and anyone else?

[25:39] It's a struggle. It's the same struggle we talked about last week when we talked about the law and the grace. There is a purpose for the laws and the rules that God gives to us.

[25:50] There's a purpose in that it points to our need for grace, but it also points to what we're supposed to be. In this passage, some people called Pharisees show up. The Pharisees in the Bible are picked on all the time, and rightfully so.

[26:05] They were self-righteous, judgmental people. But sometimes I felt really bad for them because they really were trying their best to do what God wanted them to do. They were trying to obey the law of God, and that's good.

[26:20] In Romans, Paul says to us, What shall I say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace might increase? By no means. We are those who have died to sin.

[26:31] How can we live to it any longer? We're not supposed to use the fact that Jesus will forgive any sin as a license to go and do anything we want and break the heart of God.

[26:45] We're not meant to be people that live in the old wineskins. We're supposed to take a grace-filled, a person who's been forgiven, and put them into new wineskins, a new life, one that lives to represent and honor God.

[27:03] But on the other hand, we're supposed to be people of grace. I have people that will talk to me from time to time, and they'll say, Well, you know, I'm basically a good person.

[27:15] Or I'm not really bad. Well, the problem is the Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And that means everybody, me too. You follow?

[27:25] Well, every one of us have failed. So somewhere in the course of life, because of that, we need to remember the importance of grace and remember that we ourselves have failed.

[27:40] There's a parable Jesus tells in the Bible where he says that there was a man who owed, like what would be today, about $20 million. And he came in to the boss, and the boss says, You know, you pay up right now or I'm throwing you in jail.

[27:52] And he says, Please have mercy on me. I've got kids. I've got a family at home. There's no way. Give me some time. I'll pay it back. And the boss looked at him and had pity and said, You know what?

[28:03] Forget about it. I can afford it. You ask for it, forget it. Your debt is gone. And the guy skipped out of there, feeling real good about himself until he saw a guy who owed him $20.

[28:17] And he grabbed him by the neck, and he choked him, and he said, You better pay me that $20 you owe me, or I'm going to put you in prison. See, the difficulty is we remember our need for grace.

[28:28] Dear God, forgive my sin. And get that guy. Right? Take out those bad people over there. And in doing that, we find ourselves in the seat of the Pharisees.

[28:41] Who are complaining. Because Jesus is eating with generic sinners and tax collectors. People who obviously must be sinners, they can tell by what they look like and tax collectors.

[28:56] Well, nobody liked tax collectors back then because they worked for the Romans, you know. I don't know how much you like tax collectors. They're just doing their job. But something wrong with these people.

[29:09] And the difficulty is there's something wrong with all of us. When I remember my feelings, when I remember what I've done wrong, when I remember the things I've done that hurt people, and so many times because I didn't even know I was doing it, it tears at my soul.

[29:26] So we need to remember our sin too because otherwise we become like the Pharisees. And I've seen it. People will say to me, that person's not dressed right. That young person's acting inappropriately.

[29:38] Pastor, you need to have a conversation with that one. I've even had them say, you have to have your pastor, your wife talk to them. Like I'm going to tell my wife to go talk to somebody. That's not happening.

[29:48] And I look at these people and I know. I know that they're not wrong, that there are faults in these people. But I start to think about the passage where Jesus said, stop worrying so much about the splinter in somebody else's life and worry about the log that you have in yours.

[30:10] The church's ministry is not a gathering of saints alone. It's a gathering of sinners becoming saints.

[30:23] People who are broken realizing that they need to become better. And as soon as, by the way, you figure out how to become better, God will show you something else wrong with you. Amen? That's how it works.

[30:35] So that the longer we go in this Christian journey, the more we go, really? I've been doing this all my life and I didn't know it. Because God can't reveal all the brokenness to us at once.

[30:46] It would crush us. So we're supposed to be a ministry of grace, but we're also to understand what it means to live to holiness. Good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners.

[30:59] We're all here, aren't we? The beginning of healing in our lives is conviction. The beginning of healing is recognizing that we are not perfect, that there's something wrong with us.

[31:14] The Pharisees could see the sin in others, but they couldn't see it in their own life. And it's so much easier to see what's wrong with somebody else. But God wants conviction to be for ourselves.

[31:28] The Holy Spirit will work on you. The Holy Spirit will teach you. The Holy Spirit will guide you. Maybe people close to you would have the right to share a couple words or thoughts, and that's not a bad thing to say, you know, you might want to consider.

[31:41] But the main conviction and the purpose of it is for our own souls. We talk about living inside out.

[31:55] Inside out means we take the love and the joy and the wonder that we have as people of Christ to love each other, and we share that with the world, and we use the conviction on ourselves.

[32:06] The hard part is meant for us. The rules and laws are meant for people of faith. How can you condemn people who don't even believe in what you believe in by your rules? The rules that are meant for us, the gathered congregation.

[32:22] Conviction. Holiness simply says we can live better. Somebody heard about our mission statement that our goal is to reach the least, the lost, and the little ones.

[32:33] And they said, I don't think I'm the least, and I don't think I'm the lost, and I don't think I'm the little one. I don't even know if I like being described that way. And I get that. I get that. Right? The goal is not that we're going to become the least, the lost, the little ones, but that we're going to reach them so that they might become better.

[32:48] Amen? Not so that everybody will become just as messed up as the rest of the world around us. That's conviction. In verse 11, the Pharisee said, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

[33:09] Have you ever heard that kind of saying that says, you're known by the people that you associate with, you hang with? Right?

[33:20] It's true. And the Pharisees are worried that if Jesus hangs around with sinners and tax collectors, he might become one. And so there is something to us that says, we need to be protective of ourselves, and particularly our children and vulnerable ones, that we need to be careful that they're not exposed to all that's wrong and bad in our world because we don't want them to be influenced by the bad, but we also somehow need to be an influence of good and have enough of a holiness in ourselves that we can walk into those settings and bring healing.

[33:58] Sanctification is a part of grace. The thing we talk about when we accept Jesus' grace is justifying grace, which means that we are made perfect, we are made holy again, we are made good again by God's grace.

[34:13] But sanctification says, then we take that new wine, that new life, and pour it into a new world, a new life. And we change and we transform ourselves and we become better.

[34:28] Not that we're perfect, but we can at least be on the way. So we have a chart that we use at our church, and this is not anything perfect.

[34:38] We just created this. It's based on the idea of loving God with our heart, which is our relationships with others, our soul, which is our worship and prayer, our mind, which is what we're learning, and our strength, which is what we do, and then to go out and love our neighbor.

[34:53] And what we do with this chart is we just kind of give a general idea of what would somebody look like who's at the beginning of the journey a seeker. They may not even have decided for God at this point.

[35:03] And what would it look like if they were a follower? And what would it look like if they were a disciple, someone who says that they centered their life on God? And what if they said they were actually at a point where they were ready to go and bring this to others?

[35:18] Now, the truth is, some people might be farther along in soul than they are in mind or strength or whatever. Some people were right to the top on one and they're still kind of low on the other.

[35:28] The purpose of this chart is not to judge you or not to give you the right to say, I am a Pharisee and better than everybody else. It's simply to say, where am I in my journey? And where do I need to work?

[35:40] Do I need to work on my heart relationships? Do I need to work on my strength? Do I need to work on my soul? How do I need to work on loving God? There's some of these in the back. You can take one if you'd like.

[35:52] We center our ministry around the idea of providing you opportunities to love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor because it is the commandment of God to live a better life.

[36:10] So conviction is an essential part of our faith. We need to learn to be convicted ourselves and say there's something wrong with us so that we can start living like saints.

[36:25] But we also need to love like God. Who though being perfect was willing to give up his perfection so that others might have hope.

[36:38] In Corinthians it says he became sin for us. He was willing to love us in spite of who we are to accept us in his presence. So that's why we talk about living inside out. Remember this?

[36:51] You know? Take that shiny soft stuff that you like on the inside and give that to the world. Because that's what people are going to be attracted to.

[37:01] Not the harsh stuff. That's for us, you see? That's the judgment on ourselves. That's the conviction we keep out here. And the stuff that's soft and kind and loving is what will draw sinners to Christ.

[37:15] By the way, it's also interesting to know when we do that, we take our most prized possessions and put them out here where everybody else can get a hold of them too. It's kind of a frightening thing. It's not easy to live inside out.

[37:28] It's risky. But Jesus said, I didn't come for the people that are already perfect. But I came as a physician to heal those who are sick.

[37:40] And I require mercy and grace. Now, Jesus said not sacrifices. Of course, he requires sacrifices.

[37:50] Of course, he desires sacrifices. But the purpose of sacrifices in the Old Testament was to demonstrate people's faith so that they would be forgiven. So they brought those sacrifices to say, see, God, I really, really am sorry.

[38:05] So that they could receive grace. Jesus did away with that system. He became the sacrifice. He made the offering for us.

[38:15] So our gifts that we bring to God now are different. They're a thanksgiving for what God has done. They're an emblem of saying, nothing in my life is more important than you, God.

[38:27] And we'll talk about that in a few weeks. You know, whatever you put above God, God will ask for from you. Just look at Abraham and Isaac. God wants us to give our gifts as a sacrifice, as a gift for what he's already done.

[38:46] But we need to understand that the original purpose of the sacrifices was to lead to mercy. So without mercy, the sacrifices are just gifts.

[38:57] And not even the best ones. Why do your disciples go and eat with tax collectors and generic sinners? I call them generic sinners because I have no idea what they mean by sinners.

[39:11] You know what I mean. Those people. You probably have an idea in your mind. I've tried to describe sinners, but when I do, I seem to describe you people and myself.

[39:22] Well, that's not the answer, is it? Who are these generic sinners? And why in the world would Jesus be eating with them? Because the world around us needs mercy.

[39:36] It needs the healing power of God. Because people are broken. People are feeling somehow less than. People are feeling that someone has pushed them down or hurt them or broken them.

[39:49] Especially sometimes people closest to them. And they need grace. They need to know that God loves them. They need to know that people love them.

[40:00] They need to be invited. Who do we invite to dinner? You know, who we invite to dinner will oftentimes describe who we care about.

[40:14] Who do we eat with? Why do your disciples eat with generic sinners and tax collectors? Who would we eat with?

[40:26] What might they look like? It's an interesting thing that Matthew was probably rich. I mean, he was a tax collector. That was the reason you became a tax collector.

[40:37] Nobody liked you, but you made a lot of money, okay? And so that made some people like you. You know, generic sinners and other tax collectors, right? And he probably was well-dressed, had connections.

[40:49] He lived in a big house, had a good education. He liked to throw parties. This is the kind of guy most of us would like around us. Would we invite him to our dinner party?

[41:01] Would we eat with a tax collector like Matthew, a generic sinner? Why do we do that? Because we want to love the world and save the world by giving that love to them.

[41:17] And if we don't know people, we won't love them. Part of our problem is we're separating. We're living in our own little islands with all kinds of land around us.

[41:29] We live in our own little rooms, cocooned with our little machines to keep us entertained. We live in a world where we really don't know our neighbors. We don't know the people that are around us.

[41:40] And so we don't trust them. And we assume there must be something wrong with them. And we look at them and say, dangerous, dangerous people. That happened in the 100-acre woods when a new animal showed up as well.

[41:55] Roo? Roo, dear? Here I am, Mama. It's an invasion. Do you think they're fierce? What does fierce look like?

[42:15] That's what fierce looks like. She swallowed him whole. He'll be eaten for sure.

[42:29] Oh, are you all right? Don't eat me! Why, you must be Piglet.

[42:40] I'm Kanga, and somewhere around here is Baby Roo. I'm not a baby! See? I can do this!

[42:51] It's very nice of you to go out of your way to welcome us. Oops. Sorry. Oh, Roo. Piglet, it's almost breakfast time.

[43:04] Would you like to come in for a little bite, perhaps? Ah! It didn't take very long for the friends to realize how very nice Kanga was.

[43:15] And with Rabbit, Roo appeared to be making quite a... Splash! Let's do it again! Mama, look at me!

[43:27] Roo! Kangaroo! I like you, Rabbit! I like you, Rabbit! I like you, too, Roo! I like you, too, Roo! So, in short time, they all became the very best of friends and remain so to this day.

[43:40] All in a place called the Hundred Acre Wood. That kangaroo eats people! You could see it when that little one jumped in the pouch! We look at people and we say, they must be bad.

[43:54] They must be wrong. There must be something wrong with them. I've watched my neighbors. I see what they do. They're weird. Don't trust them. I'm looking around to see if my neighbors are here right now.

[44:08] The truth is, is we need to give them the inside, outside. We need to love the grace of God into them.

[44:21] From time to time, there are people that need to have the hell scared out of them. But I find that most people need the love. They're given into them.

[44:34] Matthew chose to follow Jesus, but he didn't leave his friends behind. He invited them to dinner with Jesus. He said, why don't you come along with me and meet this guy?

[44:49] When I grew up in the church, and I did go to church from the time I was little all the way through, I was what I would refer to as a church pagan. I thought the Christian religion was a lot like what the Pharisees talked about, all these rules and regulations that you had to do so that God wouldn't smite you and smack you and beat you up, not to mention the scary pastor and all the other people that went to church.

[45:14] Until some people decided to reach out and love me, invite me to dinner and care for me.

[45:25] And all of a sudden I saw what grace really was through the love of other people. People need love. You know, John's disciples came to Jesus' disciples and said, why don't you guys fast?

[45:40] Why aren't you walking around looking miserable and being good religious people? Because religious people are supposed to be stern-faced and never smile and never do anything that's happy or fun.

[45:51] You know what I'm talking about. They're supposed to be miserable people. And Jesus said, dude, I'm with them. How could they possibly be miserable when I'm with them?

[46:05] If I'm taken away, then they can be miserable. But right now, we're going to celebrate. Fasting is an important part of our faith.

[46:17] But fasting is, again, one of those things meant for us. It says in the Bible, Jesus tells us, if you're fasting, nobody should even see. So maybe the disciples were fasting. That's their own personal business.

[46:28] And each of us have our own personal business, our own walk with God, our own deficiencies, our own problems. Every one of us has something wrong with us. Amen? I don't need to know yours and you don't need to know mine.

[46:42] We just need to know that we're traveling on the same road toward the same God with the same Holy Spirit trying to change us. And that in the process, we can celebrate God.

[46:55] And share the fruit of what God has given us. Right? You know what I mean. Love. Joy. Peace. See how patient I was?

[47:14] I practiced that one. Because a life like that will attract people to God. Attract people to anything. And so, we pour the new wine, the new life in God into new wineskins.

[47:31] And yes, of course it's good that we're becoming better. And of course we have to have principles. And I hope that we look better after a few years. And I pray that if you look at my life and say, He's a little better off than he was 28 years ago when he came here.

[47:46] I would hope that that's what you would see. But that's on me. That's not on someone else. We get a new perspective. It doesn't matter if I ever own a mansion on Delaware Park.

[48:01] Because I'm going to own a mansion in glory. Amen? And that's not going to come because I earned it. It's going to come because of grace. And if I remember what God did to change my life, it will give me the ability to offer mercy as God has said, and change the world.

[48:19] Who would you invite to dinner? They say that the church is the most segregated community in America. That on any given Sunday morning, we go to our different places.

[48:30] Some go to this church. Some go to that church. We're divided by race. We're divided by economics. We're divided by even whether we think we're holy enough. We're divided by what songs we like to listen to.

[48:43] We're divided, divided, divided, divided. One of the things that I will say to you is, in this church, you're all welcome.

[48:57] I don't care where you've been or where you are. I don't care who you are or what people might think of you. God accepted a sinner such as me.

[49:08] He accepts one like you too. So the feast was open to anyone, even generic sinners and tax collectors.

[49:19] And so is the table. In the United Methodist Church, everyone is welcome to come to the table of the Lord. It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter what your wealth is.

[49:29] It doesn't even matter if you're a member of this church. This could be the first day you've ever come in the doors of our congregation. You're welcome at the table because it's God's table. And Jesus set a table for everyone.

[49:42] We all need a fresh start. We need a new life where we're forgiven. And we all need to grow and become sanctified. In the Bible, Paul addressed his letters to the churches.

[49:57] And he would say, to the saints at Ephesus, to the saints at Corinth. And if he were writing to us, believe it or not, he would call you all saints. Kind of cool.

[50:08] I'm St. Tom, by the way. So, good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners. I'm glad we're all here. Thank you. Prince's and daughters, sons and daughters, kneel at the throne of grace.

[51:05] Users and winners, saints and sinners, One day will see his face. And we all bow down.

[51:20] Kings will surrender their crowns And worship Jesus, For he is the love, Unbearing love, He is the love of God.

[51:51] Summer and winter, Mountains and rivers, Whisper the Savior's name.

[52:01] Awesome and holy, Offemptive love, Friends and pirates, We are the one day later, Nine days later, Allаков rebirth and macaroni, Jesus let us pray.

[52:28] For he is the love, Unbearing love, He is the Lord of God He's the light of the world And Lord of the cross And we all bow down Angels surrender that crown And worship Jesus Worship Jesus Worship Jesus For He is the love Unfailing love He is the love

[53:29] Of God It's my end in worship today As she slips in Trying to fade into the faces The girl's teasing laughter Is carrying farther than they know Farther than they know But if we are the body Why are His arms reaching?

[54:24] Why are His arms revealing? Why are His words teaching? Why are His words teaching? And if we are the body Why are His deep knowing?

[54:38] Why is His love not showing? Then there is a way There is a way A traveler is far away from home He sheds His call And quietly And quietly And quietly He sends Him to the back row The way of their judgmental glances Tells Him And tells Him that His chances Are better out on the road But if we are the body Why are His arms reaching?

[55:29] Why are His hands stealing? Why are His arms teaching? And if we are the body Why are His arms changing?

[55:42] Why are His feet going? Why is His love not showing? That there is a way Jesus, we are much too high a price For us that we can choose who should come And we are the body of Christ But if we are the body Why are His arms reaching?

[56:14] Why are His hands healing? Why are His words teaching? And if we are the body Why are His feet going?

[56:29] Why is His love not showing? Then there is a way Jesus is the way Every week we come here to gather to worship God And in the midst of that we are faced with God's majesty God's glory God's holiness And in the face of that we worship And still in the face of that we say humbly I'm not living up to the call You've given to me To who you've called me to be Who you created me to be And so as we prepare for the table of grace I invite you to pray a prayer of confession along with me Lord I am a sinner Lord I am a sinner I need your grace I need your grace Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins But he times Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins ownerлег

[57:49] Hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were sinners. And this proves God's love for you and for me. So in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.

[58:02] 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.

[58:13] Amen. Amen. Amen.

[59:19] Amen. Amen.

[60:19] Amen. Amen.

[60:52] Amen. What a wonderful name it is. Nothing compares to this. What a wonderful name it is.

[61:02] The name of Jesus. What a wonderful name it is. The name of Jesus. The name of Jesus.

[61:19] Death could not hold you Veiled for before you Silence of all So sin and grave Heavens are roaring Praise of your glory For you are raised To life again You have no rival You have no evil Now and forever God you reign Yours is the kingdom Yours is the glory Yours is the name What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is

[62:20] The name of Jesus Christ my King What a powerful name it is Nothing can say against What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus As Pastor Tom said All are welcome God loves everyone God created everyone God loves everyone God wants to be in relationship With everyone And so you are all invited If you are seeking God in your heart

[63:20] You are welcome at the table of grace 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 Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father almighty Creator of heaven and earth You formed us in your image, breathed into us the breath of life.

[63:49] 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 the prophets.

[64:04] 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.

[64:20] 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.

[64:32] Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people.

[64:49] 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.

[65:09] When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and Holy Spirit. On the night in which Jesus gave himself up for us, he took the bread.

[65:22] He gave thanks to you, and he broke the bread. And he said, take and eat. This is my body, which is given for you.

[65:35] Eat of this often, remembering me. And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's sacrifice for us.

[66:21] 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.

[66:34] Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world, the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit, 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.

[66:57] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.

[67:09] And now let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

[67:24] 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.

[67:38] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are serving, please come forward. Amen.

[68:41] äss of quien god negative is, people but forget agree. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[68:51] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Especially though, with your children, . Amen. дер emotion as the glory, you can follow. Amen.

[69:01] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.

[69:40] God invites you to come and join us at the table. Not us, not the church, not people. God himself says you are welcome, you are invited, you are desired to be here at the table of God. Come and join us at the table at the rail for prayers for healing, to light a candle as your prayer. Come and join us with God.

[70:10] God bless you.

[70:40] God bless you.

[71:10] God bless you.

[71:40] God bless you.

[72:10] Thank you.

[72:40] Thank you.

[73:10] Thank you.

[73:40] Thank you.

[74:10] Thank you.

[74:40] Thank you.

[75:10] Thank you.

[75:40] Thank you.

[76:10] In Jesus' name, and in Jesus' name, I come to you to share his love as he told me to.

[76:23] He said, freely, freely, you have received, freely, freely gave.

[76:37] And because you believe, others will know that I live.

[77:37] And I don't think that means we believe in everything and anything. We don't. We have principles. We have values. We have things we're trying to grow towards. But nobody's going to care what we know until they know that we care. And so we need to love people first.

[77:48] And so we need to love people first. And so we need to love people first. And then we can change everything else. Good morning, saints. Good morning. Good morning, sinners.

[77:59] Good morning. I'm glad we're here. I'm glad we're all here. Now go out there and go in peace. Amen. Not for a welcoming person.

[78:16] You should be not I'm joining. Service is basically All the best ones that you have learned how far will it go.