Giving

[0:00] Hi, I'm Julie Maciejewski. Most Sundays you can find me right here at the Welcome and Information Desk in Mission Central.

[0:17] I'm the member of the hospitality team that doesn't walk around the building. I stay right here where you can find me. If you are new to our service, please pick up a welcome packet that you can find at the back of the sanctuary at the Connections site.

[0:32] And for everyone, we would like for you to fill out a friendship card. If you would like to receive our newsletter, be sure to fill in your address. On the back, you can put down prayer concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff.

[0:46] Welcome to Pendleton Center Church and have a good day. Good morning. She's out to welcome us, but actually she's not. So that's pretty amazing how you could do that, right?

[0:58] 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. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[1:28] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[1:48] Let us pray. Lord, we come to you this day exalting your name, coming as people that are in love with you. We pray that this service of worship will glorify you.

[2:00] May we be filled with your Holy Spirit and come to know you and love you even more. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together America the Beautiful.

[2:14] Men are also today present. May we feel tener, therefore, never mind. Hyo Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of rain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.

[3:07] America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

[3:27] Oh, beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country bought, and mercy more than life.

[3:47] America, America, may God thy gold refine, till all success be nobleness and every day divine.

[4:08] Oh, beautiful for patron dream that sees beyond the years.

[4:19] Thine alabaster seed is clear, undid by human tears. America, America, God mend thine every flaw.

[4:39] Confer my soul in self-control, thy liberty in all.

[4:51] The Lord be with you. And with you. Please be seated. It is a gorgeous day today, and I am thankful to be in the house of the Lord, and I'd love to hear from you today.

[5:06] What are you thankful for? Where have you seen God working in your life today? This week? I'm thankful for air conditioning. I'm thankful for air conditioning. Amen. The heat, it's a good problem.

[5:18] It's a good thing, yeah. His son was home from Missouri. Very nice, very nice. Where have you seen God working this week?

[5:29] Where is God working in your life? Yeah. Your dog is recovering from a stroke very quickly.

[5:43] Prayer is moving. Very nice. Yeah. Yeah, Judy. Jesus helped with very powerful, that could have been a terrible mess of the situation. Great peace. He brought the right people in.

[5:55] Everybody has come, and now we're respecting each other. May the peace of Christ come, and God puts people in places at certain times for certain purposes.

[6:06] Yeah. And with friends, absolutely. Relationship is so important. Yeah. Praise God. I don't know if you all heard that. She had a friend who thought she had leukemia.

[6:17] Everyone began to pray, and when she went in for the PET scan, there is nothing there.

[6:36] Praise God. Praise God. And the best part, she's considering God in prayer now, which is what it's all about. Anyone else? Yeah.

[6:47] Thank you. Thank you. We're thankful to see Pastor Suzanne here as well. We're thankful to see Pastor Suzanne here as well. Woo-hoo! Hello! Yeah. Hello. Hello. Yeah.

[6:58] Hello. So, for the group that went down and fed the homeless and had a great opportunity of ministry and healing, wonderful.

[7:11] Yeah. Anyone else? You know, I'm just so excited to see God on the move. God working in our lives, and even more important, that God is always working in our lives. It's whether or not we're attuned to it, whether or not we're seeing it.

[7:24] As we give up our offerings today, offer up our gifts to the Lord, I'd like for you to reflect, reflect on where God's moving in your life, because God is.

[7:37] Let's return our gifts, tithes, and offerings to the Lord. God's finale. I'm so proud of you. Amen.

[7:51] Bahamut and epaminote, if you would like to, and share your拜拜 with total rewards, both of you and of about, as we condol Bands that won't bealey. We pray. We pray. We pray.

[8:04] We pray. Amen. Amen.

[9:09] Amen. Amen.

[10:09] Amen. Amen.

[11:09] Amen. Amen. God, you are glorious, and we are so thankful, and we give back to you a reflection of our gratitude, of our love, of our thanksgiving.

[11:22] Lord, receive these gifts in love and bless these gifts to go out and transform the world into your likeness, that this world will experience your grace, your mercy, and your love to be redeemed in your name.

[11:40] Amen. Please be seated. As we enter into prayer, I want to share some concerns within our church family.

[12:00] Please pray for Sandy Garrig. She is at Roswell and going through more stuff, but keep her in prayer for healing and encouragement and just lift her up.

[12:13] Also pray for Ken Mayer. That's Sue Mayer's husband. He's also in the hospital with serious health issues. So please pray for him and for Sue for support. And pray for Ellie Drake and her family.

[12:24] Ellie has been entered into hospice care. So please pray for Ellie. Do we have any other prayer concerns you'd like to share today?

[12:35] Anything you'd like to have lifted up? Judy. For healing for Deb, Jill, Nelson, and Carol, and your backbones, muscles, and ligaments. Backbones, muscles, and ligaments.

[12:47] Anyone else? Let's pray. Gracious and loving Lord, we come to you this day filled with your Holy Spirit, knowing your power and your glory.

[13:10] And we pray to you, our Redeemer. Almighty God, we pray that your hand will be upon the people.

[13:23] That you will be with the people who are struggling in every way, Lord. That your healing touch will be upon the people who are in pain. That you will be upon the people who have disease and brokenness.

[13:35] Lord, we pray for physical healing in the lives of people. That you may be glorified. Lord, we pray that you will be with people who are struggling in their relationships.

[13:47] Bring peace and reconciliation. Open their eyes to see one another with your love and your grace. Lord, we pray for people who are struggling with their finances.

[13:59] We lift up finances this day. That people may feel secure, not only in their finances, but in you. Give trust and support.

[14:11] Lord, we pray for those with grieving hearts. People who have worries, concerns, anxieties. People experiencing depression.

[14:23] Lord, we pray that you will come and offer peace. Lord, that you will offer your comfort and support. That you will wrap them in your loving arms. Give them your presence in such a powerful way.

[14:36] Help them to know that you are there and that you do love them. Clear minds, Lord. That anything that is foggy, anything that is broken, anything that is blocking, Lord, be cast away, bound up in Jesus' name.

[14:52] Lord, we pray for our families that you would have protection over them. Fill our families with your love, with your goodness, with your direction.

[15:05] Give us all a spirit to seek you more, that we may live in your wisdom, in your glory, in your power. Lord, again, we offer up people on our hearts.

[15:19] And we pray for those who don't yet know you. People who have turned away. People who have never accepted you. People that would love to be loved and yet haven't accepted that love.

[15:34] Lord, we pray that you will reach out continually. Help us to be a witness. Bring hearts back.

[15:47] Draw people close. Lord, we pray for our country. We pray for our country that you will put leaders into place that will have your way in mind and heart.

[16:03] We pray for reconciliation of our country, that your peace will abound. And Lord, we pray for your wisdom. Lord, we thank you for your glory, for your love.

[16:18] And we pray that you'll continue to reveal yourself to us. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now let's hear from the word of the Lord.

[16:29] Amen. Thanks, wgrunds, пер мечet may be twenty years.

[16:48] Love, tres eg Pero... Good morning.

[17:09] Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 6, verses 6-15. Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

[17:27] Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

[17:48] As it is written, They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed, and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

[18:08] You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

[18:21] This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

[18:33] Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ. And for your generosity in sharing with them, and with everyone else.

[18:49] And in their prayers for you, their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

[19:03] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen. Thank you, Bill. Somebody said earlier that they thought my jacket looked nice.

[19:15] Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I'm not going to enjoy it any longer. It's the only one wearing one. I think it's time for me to get a little more comfortable, too. In the Bible, in the very first chapters of the Bible, God says it's not good for people to be alone.

[19:30] In fact, in the book of Psalms, he says that God places the lonely in families. We're social creatures. And we're talking about what makes a house a home.

[19:42] And while you can have a home that only you live in, we tend to think of home as places where people are. And even those who live by themselves bring those people into their homes.

[19:54] So most homes have pictures of folks because people make a house into a home. But as part of a family, we also find by having more people, we have more opportunities to work together.

[20:12] So I had to mow the lawn, take out the garbage, shovel the snow, wash the dishes. They called those my chores. Anybody else have chores?

[20:24] Yeah, yeah. They make a list of them. You got a list right over here. Oddly enough, I'm still getting a list. I don't know about you, but I still get a list from time to time.

[20:36] My father assigned the chores. He had the gift that they talk about in the Bible called administration, the ability to organize and to say, okay, I have five kids.

[20:48] I'm going to deploy them in all sorts of different ways to get everything done so that he didn't have to do it all. It was a good gift.

[21:00] And he was good at organizing. You can tell a person who has the gift of administration because they're the people, when you go into the house, everything has a place and everything is in its place.

[21:12] Do you know what I mean? Not everybody has that gift of administration. Many of us need somebody with it. My father had it. God also administers, right?

[21:24] He gives us the gifts. As we're talking about the Holy Spirit this summer and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we need to remember that all the gifts that are given are assigned by God.

[21:36] In 1 Corinthians 12, it says, in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as God wanted.

[21:47] Not as you want, not as I want, as God has decided. I've been using some clips from time to time from a show I like in the summer.

[21:59] I should get royalties for how much I talk about this show called America's Got Talent. I don't know if you've ever seen it. It's kind of an interesting little show that showcases all kinds of strange talents.

[22:12] But the word talent actually comes from a parable in the Bible. Some of you may know that. There's a story about a man who had a large estate and he had three servants.

[22:23] And the servants came to him and he gave one servant five talents. Now, a talent is a piece of money, actually, in the ancient days. We've turned it into something else because of this parable.

[22:36] But originally, talents was actually a sum of money. And he gave one five talents and he gave another one three and he gave another guy one. And then he went away, it says, for a long, long journey.

[22:49] When he come back, he came to the three servants and the one with five said, Master, I took your five talents and I put them to work and here's five more. And he said, Well done, good and faithful servant.

[23:01] You've been faithful with much. I will put you in charge of more. Enter into my rest. The one with three came and a similar thing. He said, I have three more. And the master said, Well done, good and faithful servant.

[23:14] Enter into my rest. The one with one came back and he said, I knew that you were a cruel master. Reaping where you do not sow and harvesting where you do not plant. So I took your talent and I buried it in the ground.

[23:27] Here's your talent back. The master said, You wicked and lazy servant. That's harsh, isn't it? You wicked and lazy servant.

[23:39] You knew that I sow where I don't, I reap where I don't sow. Excuse me. And that I harvest where I don't plant. You should have at least taken that talent and put it on deposit with the bank so that I would have gotten .0005% interest on my money.

[24:02] Toss him out. Into the outer darkness and take his talent and give it to the fellow who has 10. Because those who have will have more. And those who don't, what little they have will be taken away.

[24:16] I always thought that was harsh. You know, the guy's only got one. He's only got one. So he's not sure what to do. And the guy calls him wicked and lazy.

[24:29] But you see, the purpose of our lives is to add value. We're supposed to plant into the world and into the people around us.

[24:40] Remember, it says in this passage, this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. The difficulty for many people in our world is we have the wrong attitude.

[24:55] We have the wrong goals. We have the wrong priorities. In the Bible, it says, seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness and everything else will be added to you.

[25:07] But we have to start with God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But do we? Do we love God truly?

[25:18] Or do we love all sorts of other things? Are we more worried about our possessions? Are we worried about how much money we have in a bank account? Are we worried about our security?

[25:30] Are we worried about the people around us? About feeling comfortable and happy? What are the things that we live day to day to work for?

[25:40] It's interesting that in verse 10, he says, he who supplies the seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

[25:54] Fascinating. If you do what God wants, he will give you more righteousness. And I can hear the crowds cheering, can't you? Give us more righteousness.

[26:07] That's what everybody works so hard for every day. That's what everybody struggles for. That's what everybody goes out into the world and makes an effort for so they can have more. Righteousness doesn't seem to come to mind to too many people, does it?

[26:23] And yet God promises his righteousness and if we live into his righteousness, we will find actual happiness. Contentment for our soul.

[26:36] Otherwise, we'll be striving after the wind, as Ecclesiastes tells us. Always trying to get more of what doesn't satisfy us. But God gives us something that will fill up our lives.

[26:52] The goal of life is not for God to bless what you want. That's what we do, don't we? Dear God, I've decided to do this. Bless me.

[27:03] Dear God, I want this. Bless me. Dear God, this is what I would seek. Bless me. And God says, why do I want to bless you for what you want?

[27:14] God will bless you for what he wants. So the goal of life is to be a part of what God has already decided to bless in your life. You know that before you were born, God decided to bless an amazing thing in this world with you.

[27:32] and to make you a blessing to the whole world. And if you find what God wants to bless, what God has created you for, what God has assigned you, what God has gifted you with, not only will you have a harvest of righteousness, you will have joy and peace and contentment.

[27:53] But if you keep going after the things that don't satisfy, you end up with emptiness. In verse 11, it tells us, you will be enriched in every way.

[28:09] But we always focus on the things that we want, not every way that God wants. You get out of life what you sow into it. What you plant is what you will receive.

[28:24] There was a potato harvest in Ireland many years ago. That's when a lot of people with Irish heritage started coming to this country because there just wasn't enough food. Their primary staple was potatoes.

[28:37] And this is what they discovered. That a lot of the farmers in Ireland would get their potato harvest and they'd take the big ones and eat them and plant the little ones as seeds.

[28:50] Now that might sound smart, when you're hungry, right? But the problem is, is if you keep planting smaller and smaller potatoes, you know what you get? Smaller and smaller potatoes.

[29:01] So imagine that they said to a country of hungry people without enough food to eat or to properly feed their children, you need to take the big potatoes and put them in the ground and eat the crummy little potatoes.

[29:17] They said, we'll go to America. That's crazy. But see, the truth is, as they planted bigger and bigger potatoes, their potatoes grew. And the famine came to an end because what you plant into this world is what you will receive out of this world.

[29:36] Whoever sows generously will reap generously. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. We keep putting in less expecting more.

[29:51] In Philippians, Paul says to us these wonderful words. And by the way, the fourth chapter of Philippians is one of the chapters of the Bible that you should know. It's a wonderful chapter.

[30:01] I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content. Being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

[30:23] If we get our focus on God and we are looking to harvest a harvest of righteousness and to be part of what God wants to bless, we will find that we won't be seeking after the wind that we cannot ever grasp.

[30:39] We won't be seeking after things that will never satisfy. We won't be trying to finish every single project at our house knowing we can never do it. We won't be trying to accomplish goals we weren't made for.

[30:55] God has given us principles to live by and the reason why many of us are unhappy is because we don't want to live by God's principles. You want some secrets to financial prosperity. How many of you would like to, you know, it's not bad to be financially well off.

[31:09] I don't know if you're aware of this or anybody remember a guy by the name of J. Paul Getty? He had the distinction of being the wealthiest man in the world.

[31:20] Can you imagine that? The wealthiest man in the world. So somebody went and asked his wife, does money make happiness? She says, well, of course not. That's a ridiculous question.

[31:32] She said, but I'd rather be happy with money than without it. Money is not bad. Wealth is not not a bad thing. The more we have, the more good things we can do.

[31:42] So I'll give you some biblical secrets on how you can also be wealthy. First of all, in the book of Proverbs, it says to us, all hard work brings profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

[31:56] We've got a lot of people who want to talk a lot, but the people who actually do something, put in the effort, gain more. Another one is very simple. You remember the commandment that says, thou shalt not steal?

[32:09] So don't steal from your bills. If you make a bill, pay it. Otherwise, they take your stuff. And then you've got to pay more to get it back. So don't steal from your bills. Don't steal from your future.

[32:20] Put some away. Now. For the time when you won't be able to work. And you'll be happier when you're older. And don't steal from God. Because God has said that he wants to bless you.

[32:32] He doesn't ask for everything. He just asks for some. And when we give that to God, it shows that we are responsible people and can be trusted with a lot. Give generously.

[32:45] And you'll reap generously. When God learns that you can be trusted, that you're faithful, that you can administer wealth and abilities and talents, he'll give you more.

[33:01] Those are just principles principles in the Bible. But the real reason we should give is because we want to. Because we want to. Each of you should give what you've decided in your heart to give.

[33:12] Not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver. This isn't, by the way, just about money. This is about all of life. If you give of yourselves, you should be giving because you want to.

[33:25] Because you can really help people. There's a lot of people out there that need some help that you can give. A neighbor of mine came over yesterday out at the lake.

[33:37] I was supposed to go out with my wife and she was waiting. I knew that. But he had a problem with electricity and he needed my advice. Because he's afraid if he hooked it up wrong, he would burn his house down.

[33:51] That's important. I'm not an electrician, but I know enough so that you don't burn the house down, right? So I took the time to help him out. You know, we can actually help people in so many ways.

[34:06] You might say, well, what can I do? Do you know how many people would just love a phone call? How many people would like a note in the mail? How many people would just like somebody to be friendly with them? Some of you have skills and abilities that you could share with all sorts of folks.

[34:21] But we keep our gifts and our abilities to ourselves. We can really do some good. How many of you know the golden rule? What is it?

[34:36] Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. But the problem is I know how you treat yourself sometimes, so I'm not quite sure that I want you to do unto others the way you treat yourself. Okay?

[34:47] So the golden rule has some flaws in it. So I want to rather live by the platinum rule. Does anybody remember the platinum rule? I shared it with you a while ago. Do unto others as you would have God do unto you.

[35:01] Right? Do unto others the way you'd want God to treat you. But we don't.

[35:13] And the reason we don't is because I think we're afraid. You remember that guy with the one talent? You know, and he hit it in the ground.

[35:25] He hit it in the ground because he had a lack of faith. You know, in the Bible, faith is another spiritual gift. The ability to trust, the ability to take a chance, the ability to risk sowing out into a world to see what might happen.

[35:41] He's afraid to do it. So he buried his talent in the ground. That's a hard thing. And we can understand it.

[35:53] I might be afraid too. But you see, part of our difficulty is we're afraid because we don't believe, we don't trust in God. But God, God gives us an ability.

[36:07] In 1 John, it says, perfect love casts out all fear. In 2 Timothy, it says that we don't need to be afraid because God, through the Holy Spirit, doesn't give us a gift of timidity but gives us power.

[36:23] Love. Self-discipline. Faith and trust in God and his love. And in verse 8, it says, God will bless us abundantly.

[36:36] God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. When you do the work of God, when you do the work of God, God will give you everything you need.

[36:53] God has already gifted you with all that you need to do what he created you for. Not what you want to do. See, there's where the problem is. Not what somebody else tells you, but what you were designed and created for.

[37:07] And the difficulty we have is that so often our gifts are misplaced. We're trying to do something in the wrong place, in the wrong way, and we need correction.

[37:20] And we don't like correction. We don't like somebody else telling us what's right or what's wrong.

[37:31] In America's Got Talent, there's a guy named Simon. Anybody ever watch the show? Simon, I discovered, has the gift of administration. Now, you wouldn't think that, except that Simon sometimes know when things are just wrong.

[37:45] Watch what he did to one poor guy a couple weeks ago. Can I just stop this for one second?

[37:59] What's your second song? You got another song? No, I don't. You can't come out on a show like this and say you haven't got a second song. That's what live auditions are all about.

[38:11] You have a very good voice, but normally it's about connecting with the right song. I always want people with talent to do well, but just singing that song, that's not enough.

[38:22] there is a song. I actually would be amazing if you wish you'd sang it. What song was it?

[38:33] You can't just say that. What song? Tell me. Well, I don't think you would know it. It's just the song. It's the song I know. No, you won't know it, but it's a beautiful, beautiful song. So only Simon knows about the song.

[38:44] Can I ask a question? One second. Jason, Simon, can I ask a question, please? He won't know this song, but there is a song that I think we'll get more later on.

[38:55] Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. All right, we're going to do something unusual as well. I think that you deserve another shot. We're going to tell you later on what this song is and I ask you to come back and sing it later on.

[39:06] Okay. Yes. All right, well, thank you so much. Thank you, guys. Really? Really? We want you to go learn a song you've never heard before that nobody knows and come back and sing it later.

[39:18] Are you, like, crazy, Simon? Or is he gifted? Gifted with the ability to discern.

[39:29] My father would make a list up because he knew which of us were best suited for which chores. God knows what we're gifted for, too. Some people can do that.

[39:41] In the book of Ephesians, when it talks about the gifting of the Holy Spirit, chapter 4 is the best to turn to. And it says, instead, speaking the truth in love will grow to become in every respect the maturing body of him who is the head that is Christ.

[39:54] Speaking the truth in love is what leads to maturity. It doesn't help us when people tell us the wrong thing. I read another article in the newspaper recently about a lady who does karaoke.

[40:08] And her husband was saying, the problem is that she goes out with her karaoke buddies and they all tell each other how wonderful they are. He said, but they're not. He said, including my wife. And she thinks she has a professional quality voice but she's really not that good.

[40:23] And she's got her whole life wrapped around the idea that she can become a professional singer and she isn't good enough. And nobody will tell her the truth. God will tell us the truth.

[40:37] God will speak to us in our hearts to help show us where we belong. And if you listen carefully to the people with the gift of administration they will also help guide you.

[40:49] They will help save you. Things like, maybe you want to try a different line of work. Or maybe, maybe that's not what you're best gifted at.

[41:00] Or maybe you would want to try this over here. We think Simon is so mean. But actually Simon's just trying to help this young man. God knows what he's doing.

[41:13] He gifted you specifically for something important. And regardless of what anybody told you, your guidance counselor in school, your boss at work, your friends, your family, your parents, what you're gifted at was decided by God, not by people.

[41:35] And God will give us all we need to accomplish his work. He promised that. And he can make something out of nothing if he needs to us for his work, not ours.

[41:50] In verse 9 it says they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor and so their righteousness endures forever. It's our goal to live into the gifts that God has given to us.

[42:04] My parents gave us great gifts. They gave us food to eat every day. They gave us a house to live in. They gave us clothes to wear. They gave us a lawnmower and gasoline and snow shovels so that we could do what we were meant to do.

[42:25] But to do so we have to have the gift of faith. And while the gift of faith is specific that some people have even more faith than others, we all have a general gift of faith.

[42:35] Remember our sermon on 1 Corinthians 13, faith, hope, and love, these three remain. We all have the gift of faith to live faithfully in what God wants us to do.

[42:52] And if we don't, why would God want to keep us? Ephesians chapter 4 says, Instead speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is Christ.

[43:08] From Him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament. grows and builds itself up in love. Say the last part. Each part does its work.

[43:18] And if each part doesn't do its work, it collapses. If a family has people who refuse to do their part, the family fails.

[43:30] If a church has people who refuse to do what they're gifted at, the church fails. If a nation has people that refuse to do what is their part, the nation fails.

[43:42] Why was this guy with the one talent considered to be wicked and lazy? Because he didn't even try.

[43:57] He failed because he didn't even try. They call it failure to launch. Never tried. And that was the only reason why he failed.

[44:10] You know, if you do what God gifted you for, you cannot fail. Did you know that? It is impossible for you to fail at what God made you to do. If you keep trying to live to what other people are saying, if you keep trying to live to some myth you've created in your mind about what your talent is, you will fail.

[44:28] But if you only live for what God made you for, you cannot fail. Say it, I cannot fail. Not with God. It's impossible for you to fail.

[44:39] The guy with three didn't fail. The guy with five didn't fail. If we had another guy, they wouldn't have failed either. The only one who failed is the one who refused to even try. And by the way, you're afraid for him, poor guy with only one coin.

[44:52] Does anybody know how much a talent is worth today? About six to seven hundred thousand dollars. They gave him six to seven hundred thousand dollars and he hid it in the ground.

[45:08] God has given you something even more amazing. A lifetime worth of possibilities. Things that can change the world. And the things that we do, they're essential.

[45:25] Some people would think that my father was just taking advantage of us kids. That's what kids tend to think. We were cutting the lawn. We were doing the dishes.

[45:36] We were taking care of the snow. Well, because my mother had polio and so for her to do the dishes meant she had to get up out of her wheelchair and stand in front of that sink to wash dishes that we were easily capable of doing and she had already made our meal.

[45:53] My father worked 70 hours a week and you know what he did for a living? He ran into burning buildings to rescue people. He was a hero on every level. And because he didn't have to come home from work and mow the lawn and shovel the driveway because he had five healthy kids, each part did their work so that the whole family could succeed and so that we could show we really love the people that we have pictures of.

[46:26] What we do matters. And what we don't do matters just as much. To those who are given much, even more will be required, the Bible says.

[46:41] God has gifted you in so many ways that if you listen, God will bless you. Verse 11 says, you will be enriched in every way. Yes, you will probably be enriched with money but even more so, if you're not able to handle money, you'll be enriched with joy.

[46:58] You'll be enriched with possibilities. You'll be enriched with talents and abilities you can't even imagine because God will enrich you in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and through your generosity, it will result in thanksgiving to God.

[47:17] You know, in verse 14 it actually says, people will pray to God a prayer of thanksgiving for you. Don't you want somebody to be praying every day that they are thankful that you exist in their lives?

[47:30] Somewhere, someone, you matter so much that they thank God for you every day. Sometimes we need to open our hearts to hear what God is trying to say to us.

[47:45] Maybe directly through the Holy Spirit or maybe through someone else. Like that poor guy who was told to go back and sing a different song. I'm excited, but I'm freaking out.

[47:58] I don't have a lot of time and I don't know what's going to happen. I will try not to mess it up. Oh my goodness. Wow, this is exciting. Okay, well let's do it.

[48:12] I will try and that's a great quella che non va che non va che non va Ac Mc철נו Now but a good

[49:22] What do you do? Because you've lost it inside And you'll only remember you You'll only pass it on You'll only pass it on He not only told him to go learn a new song But a song in another language For goodness sake, seriously?

[49:56] And I have no idea what he was singing But it moved my heart, didn't it? It just touched my soul Whatever he was singing You know, it's an amazing gift That God can give to us If we're doing it the way God wants Last night I sang a song We haven't sang it in a long time And I butchered it I don't mean I messed it up I butchered it It was awful We should have just stopped And said forget it It's not working at all Simon should have been here And said shut it all down I have the gift of messing up Alright?

[50:36] Some of you have noticed that That from time to time I kind of goof up and mess up And that shows that We can have grace No matter what, right? You see, God gives us All kinds of possibilities If you're singing the right song God will make you sound like an angel If that's what you're meant to do If you're helping someone God will make you an angel To that person In fact, this passage ends by saying Thanks be to God For his incredible gift And his gift Is you You when you remember That why we come here Is for God Why we live here Is for God Why we worship Is for God All our life Is to do the list That God has put before us It's the heart of our life And when we find it We will harvest Amazing righteousness

[51:37] When the music fades All is saved away And I'm simply gone Longing just to pray Something that's of work That will bless your heart I'll bring you more than a song For a song in itself Is not what you have required You search much deeper within Through the way things appear You're looking into my heart I'm coming back to the heart of worship

[52:41] And it's all about you All about you, Jesus I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made When it's all about you All about you, Jesus Even in this world No one could express How much you deserve No one weak and poor All I have is yours Every single breath I'll bring you more than a song For a song in itself For a song in itself

[53:42] Is not what you have required You search much deeper within Through the way things appear You're looking into my heart You're looking into my heart I'm coming back to the heart of worship And it's all about you All about you, Jesus I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made When it's all about you All about you, Jesus I'm coming back to the heart of worship And it's all about you All about you, Jesus I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made When it's all about you When it's all about you, all about you, Jesus

[54:48] It's all about Jesus All about Jesus And so we have been given gifts through the Holy Spirit To glorify Jesus To be able to move in the world for God's kingdom For God's purposes And too often we tuck it away out of fear Or out of our own self-doubt Or times when we just are believing lies about ourselves And about God Let's pray a prayer of confession Lord, I am a sinner Lord, I am a sinner I need your grace I need your grace Forgive me, Lord Forgive me, Lord Open up my heart Open up my heart Open up my eyes Open up my eyes That I may see you That I may see you That I may receive your Holy Spirit That I may receive your Holy Spirit That I may embrace your gifts That I may embrace your gifts For your glory For your glory For your kingdom For your kingdom Take away my fear Take away my fear Take away my fear Take away my doubt Take away my doubt Put me on firm foundation

[55:50] Put me on a firm foundation For it's in Jesus' name we pray For it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen 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 For God is holy The Prince of Peace Amen You are holy You are holy You are holy You are mighty You are mighty You are mighty You are worthy You are worthy You are holy You are holy You are mighty You are worthy

[56:51] You are worthy Worthy of praise Worthy of praise I will follow I will listen I will love you All of my days You are Lord of glory You are mighty You are worthy I will love them Love them I will bow down Be glory You are the living God You are my saving grace You will reign forever You are ancient of things You are the Alpha Omega Beginning and End I will bow down Be glory You are my Prince of Peace And I will live my life for you

[57:52] Here you are holy You are holy You are holy You are holy You are mighty You are mighty You are worthy You are worthy Worthy of praise Worthy of praise I will follow, I will listen, I will love you, I will love you, all of my days, all of my days.

[58:31] And I will sing for the heart of the Lord, the mighty God of every King, you're Emmanuel, you're my Savior, praise you, you'll make forever you will raise your voice.

[58:47] I will be the Lord and sing and sing The Savior and the Savior And the Savior and the Savior I will live my life for you I will bow down and sing it for you My Prince of Peace And I will live my life for you You're my Prince of Peace And I will live my life for you I'm just singing just anything.

[59:22] It's like, I'm singing glory, Lord. You are the living God, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, King of Kings. It doesn't matter what we're singing as long as we're glorifying God. Right? So we are going to be coming to the table of victory.

[59:37] And as we come to the table, I want you to rejoice in your hearts looking around at this community of people embraced in that love and peace. So let's prepare ourselves for the table of victory by sharing the peace of the Holy Spirit with one another.

[59:51] I don't think that turned out too bad. Well, without drums, that's a tough one. Good morning. Good morning. All right.

[60:12] It's a joyful noise. Yeah. Yeah.

[61:13] Yeah. Seek and you will find.

[61:46] God is always available and there. We just need to seek God. And the mystery of God is revealed, unraveled for us to become one with God.

[62:00] And so I invite you to the table, whether this is your first time here or you've been here all along. Let's celebrate the great mystery of God. The Lord be with you.

[62:11] And also with you. 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.

[62:31] You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.

[62:44] You delivered us from captivity. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God and spoke to us through the prophets. And so with your people on earth and the earth and we praise your name and join their unending hymn.

[63:01] Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest holy are you and blessed is your son Jesus Christ your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at Liberty those who are oppressed and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people he healed the sick fed the hungry and ate with sinners by the baptism of his suffering death and resurrection you gave birth to your church delivered us from slavery to sin and death and made with us a new covenant by water and the spirit when the Lord Jesus ascended he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and Holy Spirit on the night in which he gave himself up for us he took the bread he gave thanks to you he broke the bread said take and eat this is my body which is given for you eat of this often remembering me and when the supper was over he took the cup he gave thanks to you and he said this is the blood my blood of the new covenant poured out for you poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins drink 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 offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine make them be for us the body and blood of Christ that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood by your spirit make us one with

[65:47] Christ one with each other and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet through your son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church all honor and glory is yours Almighty Father now and forever amen 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 and 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 me for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever amen with those who are serving please come forward time and conclude and so

[67:07] Thank you.

[67:37] Thank you.

[68:07] Thank you.

[68:37] Thank you. Jesus Christ invites all those who seek after him to come to the table of God, to come and experience the presence of God himself.

[68:48] Whether you're a member of our church or this is the first time you've walked into our congregation, if you seek God in your life, you're welcome at our table. You're also welcome at the rail for prayers for healing, anointing, or to make a commitment, or to light a candle.

[69:00] Come and join us with God. Thank you.

[69:15] Thank you.

[69:27] Thank you.

[69:57] Thank you.

[70:27] Thank you.

[70:57] Thank you.

[71:27] Thank you.

[71:57] Thank you.

[72:27] Thank you.

[72:57] Thank you. Thank you.

[73:57] Thank you. Thank you.

[74:57] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Amen.

[75:09] Amen. Amen. Amen.