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[1:56] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice Let us rejoice And be glad in it And be glad in it This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made Shall we pray together?
[2:51] Dear God in heaven, you are always more ready to listen than we are to speak Now hear us as we call to you, Lord To send your Holy Spirit To lift us up, to touch us, to bless us To fill this place With the power of your Holy Spirit As we come to worship you For it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen I'd like to invite you, if you're able, to stand As we're going to sing together When morning gilds the skies When morning gilds the skies My heart awakening cries May Jesus Christ be praised All I can work and pray To Jesus I repair May Jesus Christ be praised
[3:54] The night becomes as day When from the heart is safe May Jesus Christ be praised The powers of darkness fear When lives switch and they hear May Jesus Christ be praised Be this while life is mine My catechal divine May Jesus Christ be praised Be this eternal song Through all the ages long May Jesus Christ be praised
[4:56] The Lord be with you And also with you Please be seated This morning we have a mission moment In your bulletin And it's for our Seneca Street ministry Which for years we've seen Brian Rotash here But we have a new face Her name is Deanna Finch And she not only works at Seneca Street But she helps with our teenagers On Wednesday night Hi, my name is Dee Finch And I'm the pastor at Seneca Street United Methodist Church Down on Seneca Street In South Buffalo I have the wonderful opportunity To serve the community there And have followed Brian And Cheryl Rotash Who have been at that church For 23 years It's a joy to serve in the city I'm not a city girl I grew up in Hamburg But I grew up in a church That helped me understand How we are called to help The least and the lost And to love As the church We host worship On Sunday afternoon At 4 o'clock But we appreciate churches Like Pendleton Center Who come down to serve A hot meal
[5:56] Every Sunday About 60 to 70 people Come to receive A fellowship Community And a good meal Our church provides a place For people to come Where people know them by name Or we get to know them quickly Sometimes I think We're a mash unit Where we're there To help the souls And pick up people Off the ground Or as people get out of jail Or whatever situation They are in People are coming Needing love Needing support Needing things But we couldn't do it Without churches Like Pendleton Center And other churches In our district And conference 100% of the income Needs to be brought in From the outside People give an offering On Sunday morning That's usually about $10 Unless we have guests Sitting with us But people bring their quarters Nickels, dimes, pennies Folded up dollar bills Because they do want To give something back We're busy doing weddings And memorial services And worship
[6:57] As a spiritual place That the church is But it really is about healing Giving people second chances And we just thank the churches Who are supporting us And the individuals Who support us Thank you For all that you are And all that you are Yet to become And we're grateful That we have the opportunity To serve many At Seneca Street And also to provide An opportunity For everyone to come down And visit us Amen Supporting the Seneca Street United Methodist Church mission Is just a wonderful way Of reaching out Beyond our doors Reaching out beyond What God has given us To do in this place To help others One of the clipboards That you are receiving Right now Is to sign up To contribute To the Seneca Street Dinner that's going To be happening soon And also our fish fry season Has come upon us Our fall fish fry season And we need all the help We can get Please sign up
[7:58] For wherever it is That you are able to help Let us know That you can be part Of reaching out To the people From this community Who come into our doors And want to hear And share the love of Christ I have a joy This morning And that is that We are right in the middle Of getting ready For the restart Of our adult Sunday school On Sunday mornings That's going to be Starting up next Sunday We're going to be Studying pathways To a praying church Which is a wonderful book About how a church can pray We pray as individuals We pray at home We pray in our prayer closet But when we pray together As a church That's a whole new dimension Of prayer And that's something That we want to be involved in It'll be like 10.15 10.30ish You grab your coffee And what not And we're going to be Meeting in the gym this year We have a whole new setup With our whole new Fellowship hall wing It's going to be A wonderful thing Our prayer vigil Was wonderful We have a number Of prayer cards up there That we will continue
[8:58] To pray over For the next three months If you have a prayer request That didn't make it To the prayer vigil And you'd still like it Prayed over For the next three months There are orange prayer cards In the pews If you want to fill one out And drop it in the offering You're welcome to do that If there isn't one Write it on On your friendship card And just say Attention prayer team Or something like that And we'll get it to them What joys Do you have to share This morning?
[9:29] Everybody's just It's rainy And it's kind of You know Go ahead Debbie Debbie's mom Is home from ECMC Amen Answers to prayer Any others We'd like to share This morning?
[9:42] Alright Well I know that Yeah go ahead Judy I had to spend Yesterday with my mom and dad And I'm always here And I get to spend The day with them What a blessing To be able to spend The day with mom and dad That is awesome And Jan?
[9:53] The joy of the prayer vigil It was It was a blessed time And we did have The whole 24 hours covered Which is an amazing thing By people who came to the church And by people We had a whole Four long lists of people Who said that they would pray From their homes Which is also such a blessing Lots of prayer going up This past This weekend And with these praises And the praises that are in your hearts Let's return to God A bit of our gifts, tithes and offerings Just to bless God back And to let God know How much we love him And want to serve One of these days One of these days I'm gonna leave One of these days I'm going home I'm going home I'm going to take My final journey
[10:54] I'm going to rest I'm gonna rest He's heaven who don't He's heaven who don't Stepping on the clouds We'll see Jesus Christ And meet him in the air Stepping on the clouds He will greet us Hold the door together We will share I'm gonna leave this world behind me Goin' where the devil cannot find me I'm going higher Higher Higher Stepping on the clouds Goin' past the moon Goin' past the moon The stars and the planets The stars and the planets I'm gonna walk I'm gonna walk I'm gonna look you like I'm gonna look you like When old Gabriel Gives us a signal Gives us a signal I'm gonna leave I'm gonna leave For how did you stay For how did you stay Stepping on the clouds We'll see Jesus Christ And meet him in the air
[11:55] Stepping on the clouds He will greet us Hold the door together We will share I'm gonna leave this world behind me Goin' where the devil cannot find me I'm going higher Higher Higher Higher Stepping on the clouds Yes, we'll be stepping on the clouds Yes, we'll be stepping on the clouds We'll see Jesus Christ And meet him in the air Stepping on the clouds He will greet us Hold the door together We will share I'm gonna leave this world behind me Goin' where the devil cannot find me I'm going higher Higher Higher Stepping on the clouds I'm going higher Higher Higher Higher Higher Higher Stepping on the clouds Stepping on the clouds
[12:58] Praise God From whom all blessings flow Praise him, all creatures here below Praise him, all creatures here below Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen Dear Heavenly Father, we do give you thanks and praise for this day And that we may come and worship you together We ask, Father, that you would bless this offering All of the gifts that we are offering up to you this day Bless them
[13:59] Give us wisdom to know how to use them best For the furtherance of your kingdom And bless especially this morning, Lord God The ministry of Seneca Street United Methodist Church And all the work that they do to reach people in need In Jesus' name we pray Amen Please be seated We do have a couple of concerns to lift up This morning And then, of course, you can lift up your concerns Amy Deke has had surgery again And she is at home recovering But she has ongoing health concerns And we do need to keep her in prayer And we want to lift up the family of Linda Dahm And that includes the Anastasi family Linda passed away this week And we want to be lifting up that family in our prayers What concerns do you have this morning to bring Before the body?
[14:50] Judy? Iris Jean is a 20-week-old dreamy that was born That has a lot of health problems Hillary is very sick Leon was hit by a car Oh, dear And Jen, a mother of three A single mom of three Has Westbound disease And she's paralyzed on one side of her body Wow Amen For Tom, also for a job search Amen Alright, so lots of healing From babies to moms And a job search All kinds of things that need to be lifted up Thank you Any others to lift up before the Lord this morning?
[15:27] Hi, Melissa Hi Melissa is in need of healing And she's had a headache for quite some time And we're going to pray We're going to pray for you today And get deliverance from that What else do we have to pray for this morning?
[15:42] Anything you want to voice? Yes Oh, my goodness So this is your co-worker's daughter 27-year-old girl who was in the hospital Because of a stroke And then contracted pneumonia and died We're going to lift that up For the grief that that family must be enduring Thank you Any others?
[16:13] Yes We just did We got her You missed it We love you, Karen We got her She's on the She made the list There you go Any others this morning?
[16:28] Thank you, Karen Yes, Louis Linda Barnas Thank you For Linda Barnas' family She has passed away Yes Thank you Any others?
[16:50] Thank you Well, with these concerns And those that are on your heart Whether you join me from your seats Or at the rail Let's turn to the Lord In prayer Gracious God of all creation You have made everything that there is And without you Nothing that has been made Would have been made We're grateful That you invite us to pray That you're concerned about all of those things That we are concerned about And that you rejoice in everything we rejoice in Lord God We pray now For those people Who are sick and infirm Who are in need of a healing touch from you Those with cancers Those recovering from surgeries Those in need of Just all kinds of help, Lord
[17:51] We pray that you would give wisdom to their doctors and nurses We pray That you would give compassionate hearts And patient hearts to those who are caring for them Touch them with your healing power, Lord God And bring them to wholeness in their spirits Their souls and their bodies Help them to know That you are there with them Help them to know That they only need to call on your name And they will have your peace Father, we pray for those who are grieving losses Oh, Lord Lord When one of us is gone from our lives It is such a hard thing The sadness that we feel The missing The place of emptiness inside
[18:52] We just pray in Jesus' name, Lord God That you would be with all of those who are grieving Bless them Remind them Of the hope of eternal life That is in you And draw them even closer to you And closer to one another As they share memories As they share love Father, we pray for The work of the Seneca Street Church We pray for each and every person Who comes to that church Who receives blessing Who receives ministry And who offers of themselves Whatever it is that they can Help them to continue to grow And Father, we pray for those who have not yet Walked into that church Who have not yet known The healing
[19:53] And the blessing that they can receive from you Through the ministry that happens there Draw them, Lord Draw them, Lord, by your Spirit Let that place be a shining light Of your love and mercy Be with the leadership there and bless them And pray, Father, for our nation And for all that is happening We just ask, Lord God That your spirit of guidance Be operating throughout That justice prevail That those who are in need Lord God Of healing and of help As they are recovering From the storms that have happened From the fires, Lord And from the storms We just ask in Jesus' name That you would be with these folks Lord, there are so many other things
[20:57] That are needing prayer You know what they are You know our needs Before we even ask There are so many, Lord It's too many to voice sometimes But you know And we trust you with them all And even in our own community, Lord God We trust you to make us able Make us able to speak words of hope And peace and grace Wherever we go Make us to be a shining light Transform us into the image of your Son In ways that we have not known Up until now Make us well able, Lord God To represent you To the wider world To be ambassadors for Jesus Christ As you call us to be Help us to share your love and your peace Be with us as we worship Allow the words spoken
[21:58] And the songs sung To be a blessing to us To transform us Even as we just sit here and worship Be with Pastor Tom As he delivers the message You've given him for us this day Let it be a blessing to him And a blessing to us And make all of our worship To be a blessing to you, Lord For that is why we came In Jesus' name Amen Shall we hear from the word of the Lord Good morning Today's scripture is from Exodus
[23:00] Chapter 3, verses 9-14 And chapter 4, verses 1-7 And 10-13 And now the cry of the Israelites Has reached me And I have seen the way The Egyptians are oppressing them So now go I am sending you to Pharaoh To bring my people The Israelites out of Egypt But Moses said to God Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh And bring the Israelites out of Egypt And God said I will be with you And this will be the sign to you That it is I who have sent you When you have brought the people out of Egypt You will worship God on this mountain Moses said to God Suppose I go to the Israelites And say to them The God of your fathers has sent me to you And they ask me What is his name?
[23:51] Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses Moses, I am who I am This is what you are to say To the Israelites I am has sent me to you Moses answered What if they do not believe me Or listen to me And say The Lord did not appear to you Then the Lord said to him What is that in your hand?
[24:15] A staff, he replied The Lord said Throw it on the ground Moses threw it on the ground And it became a snake And he ran from it Then the Lord said to him Reach out your hand And take it by the tail So Moses reached out And took hold of the snake And it turned back Into a staff in his hand This, said the Lord Is so that they may believe That the Lord The God of their fathers The God of Abraham The God of Isaac And the God of Jacob Has appeared to you Then the Lord said Put your hand inside your cloak So Moses put his hand Into his cloak And when he took it out The skin was leprous It had become as white as snow Now put it back Into your cloak He said So Moses put his hand Back into his cloak And when he took it out It was restored Like the rest of his flesh Moses said to the Lord Pardon your servant, Lord I have never been eloquent
[25:17] Neither in the past Nor since you have spoken To your servant I am slow of speech And tongue The Lord said to him Who gave human beings Their mouths?
[25:28] Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight Or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go I will help you speak And will teach you What to say But Moses said Pardon your servant, Lord Please send someone else This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Out the door Just in time Head down the 405 Gotta meet the new boss By 8am The phone rings In the car The wife is working hard She's running late Tonight again Well, I know what I've been told You gotta work to feed the soul But I can't do this all
[26:29] On my own No, I know I'm no Superman Ever feel that way? No Superman!
[26:41] Give me a break! Moses! Moses! Moses! He's just a shepherd He's an 80 year old shepherd For 40 years He's been a shepherd He just wants to hang out And cruise out The end of his days And an angel appears In a burning bush God calls to him Moses!
[27:03] Moses! He says Here I am Here I am And he has no idea What he's just gotten himself Into Because God is planning To rescue His hurting people Just as God Plans to rescue Each and every one of us When we're hurting God hears The cries I've indeed seen The misery of my people In Egypt I've heard them crying out Because of their slave drivers And I'm concerned About their suffering So I've come down To rescue them From the hand Of the Egyptians And bring them out Of that land Into a good and spacious land A land flowing with Milk And Honey God has a special plan For each and every one of us A great thing That God wants to do With our lives We're all created For some Particular special Purpose And if we get there We feel a satisfaction For our soul
[28:04] That's like the promised land Butterflies And sunshine And milk And honey But there's something That seems to be in the way For each of us And we're going to talk about Those things that block us From what God intends What God wants to do God's plan Is His plan God Makes all things work for good For those who love the Lord And are called according to His purpose That was a verse We had a couple weeks ago His purpose And it's for everyone Acts chapter 2 tells us In the last days God says I will pour out my spirit On all people Your sons and daughters Will prophesy Your young men Will see visions Your old men Will dream dreams Even on my servants Both men and women I will pour out my spirit In those days And they will prophesy God Will send his spirit God will send his calling To everyone Regardless of who they are
[29:05] Doesn't matter Doesn't matter if you're a man Or a woman Doesn't matter if you're young And old Doesn't matter if you're An 80 year old man Watching sheep Doesn't matter if you don't Have the education Doesn't matter if you're rich Or poor God has something particular Written into your spiritual DNA From the beginning of life But it's his purpose And that's so counter cultural In our world today Where we think life is about Our world And what we're going to gain And what's going to make Our lives better And make us happy Self actualization Is the goal of each person To get to that dream And what we see As our promised land Is to have a camper The size of Kansas That we can travel Around the country And to live in a little park Down in Florida Where there's a guy at the gate That won't let in all the creeps You know what I mean?
[29:59] You deserve a break today They tell us that every day You deserve this You deserve a TV You deserve a new car You deserve a new phone You deserve everything We're selling you Until we fill our house With so full of junk We can't even move around That's not God's plan God's plan is to do What he designed us for That will satisfy our soul If God spoke to you In a burning bush Would you do what God said?
[30:29] I think most of us say Of course we would I mean obviously dude That just makes sense Didn't make sense to Moses In fact it says in here He was afraid to even look at God He didn't even want to look at God Now people say that's because They were worried they would die If they looked at God But I've got to tell you the truth I think he didn't want to look at God Because he didn't want to do What God wanted him to do He didn't want to look Into the face of God Into the plan of God Because he didn't feel He was up to it Today what we're going to talk about Is what keeps us from getting Where we need to be Is insecurity Poor self-esteem I sense that somehow We just don't measure up Moses says Well who am I supposed to say Sent me And God gives him his name I am who I am He says Well they won't believe me
[31:29] So God does some tricks for them Turns a stick into a snake Turns his hand white By putting it in his coat He says But I don't talk well God There was a guy Who was asked to drive a truck From Buffalo To Erie, Pennsylvania And he said Well I don't have a rope So I can't do it The guy looked at him and said What's a rope got to do with anything He says When you don't want to do something Any excuse is as good as another He doesn't want to do it He even says it Get somebody else I'm no Superman I kind of understand this I always felt that my call Was a lot like the call of Moses Only I thought God must be talking To the guy next door to me Because he certainly Couldn't be talking to me I'm a kid from Cheek the Waga I drove a truck for a living I didn't come up in a world Where I was prepared In any way To be a pastor Or a public speaker
[32:30] Or anything like that I'm the grandson Of an illegal alien Do what you want with that My father My grandfather Jumped the ship In New York Harbor And swam to shore He got us to be legal But that's who I am My father worked for a living While I did A lot of things That were wrong In fact I can't even tell The young people All the things I did wrong Because I don't want to Give them ideas I've got lots of ideas And none of them were good Actually if there was A caption in the yearbook That said Least likely to ever Be a pastor It would have been Under my name You can ask anybody Who went to school with me Not me I'm no superman Pastor Lisa Announced that Linda Dahm passed away She did not pass away It was Linda Barnas Thank you Louis Thank you Louis For sharing that Because I gave her The wrong name There's too many names
[33:31] In my head And I picked the wrong Linda Don't call Linda up Or her family Linda Dahm is fine But Linda Barnas Kristen Anastasi's aunt Passed away It's not that I Screw up On little things Sometimes I mess up On things that matter Moses says Who am I?
[33:58] Who am I That I should go to Pharaoh? Who am I That I should go to the king? Who am I To stand before him? And bring the Israelites Out of Egypt I'm an old man I've been a shepherd For 40 years Watching sheep Do you know I'm wanted For murder down in Egypt?
[34:23] I stutter I have no motivation I'm watching my father-in-law's sheep My self-esteem is on the floor Get somebody else God That's what Moses said That was what Moses felt Moses had peaked At the age of 40 Now for some of you 40 seems like It's a little distance Off in the future For some of us It's way in the past 40 doesn't seem like The place we want to peak We want to peak around 78 Right?
[35:01] You know? We want to believe That the best days Are always ahead of us Can you imagine? He was the prince of Egypt And now He's watching his father-in-law's sheep For 40 years He got used to it He had no motivation He didn't feel anything About himself And God calls to him From a burning bush Because Moses Looked at himself And he saw An old shepherd Who couldn't speak well And was way past his prime God looked at Moses And saw a savior A man trained To lead a nation A prince of Egypt An Israelite Among Israelites A man of faith In God What do you see When you look in the mirror?
[36:03] What do you see When you look at yourself? Maybe you've seen this video You can see all sorts of things Time Naheed grabbed your smart Withers If you touch To watch Jesus Park I'm Up Up Up Up In a world where we let other people define us, we've got a problem with our self-esteem.
[37:06] God wants us to live into the future. We're stuck in the past or even the present. I was talking to somebody just yesterday and I said, God wants you to move past yesterday.
[37:24] God is a God of the tomorrows. Grace is about putting yesterday and its brokenness behind us and living into a future of God's promise for you.
[37:35] Each one of you. I've spent a couple days in the last week laying down pavers. You know those blocks? I'm too old for this, right?
[37:47] But I need a path built. It's like 50 foot long and about 5 or 6 feet wide. Have you ever laid pavers? I guarantee you, even if you prepare the bed perfectly, even if you get the right stone and sand, even if you lay it down perfectly, when you walk across it, they will wobble.
[38:11] You'll walk across it, and even worse yet, my wife will walk across it and she'll say, well, this one's not right. I don't. I don't. There's a bunch that won't be right.
[38:22] And I can promise you that next year I'll have to fix them again. And in five years I'll have to fix them again. Why does God do that to us?
[38:36] Why can't you lay a paver and it just lays? But really the question is, what do we learn in that? Working with things like that teaches me patience.
[38:49] Teaches me how to line things up the right way. How to prepare. How to plan. And even when I plan, when things don't go right, not to freak out and pick up the stone and chuck it across the lawn, but to just patiently get a little more sand and put it down again.
[39:08] And why does that matter? Because it's like dealing with all of you. You know, just when you think you've got something fixed or working right, you pop up and wiggle around on me.
[39:21] If you're going to work with a group of people, you've got to learn how to be patient, especially if you're working with a bunch of blockheads. I didn't say that. Only kidding.
[39:32] That was a joke. You know that. Wonderful people. You see, the point is, is what we look at as a problem or a difficulty or just our lot in life, God sees as preparing us, teaching us what we should be and what we should do.
[39:50] And every piece of life is a lesson for us to figure out how to become what God wants us to be. Sitting in school as a young person, I hate that.
[40:08] But it teaches you lessons and you learn about life to prepare you for what you can be. We, losing at football, our bulls lost.
[40:19] Oh, gosh. I was so excited to say five and up. Tire me. Teaches us how to fall flat on our face and get up again.
[40:32] And Moses needs to learn those lessons. So Moses says, I need proof. God says, what do you got? You got a stick? Throw the stick on the ground. So Moses throws a stick on the ground.
[40:44] God turns it into a snake. So Moses freaks. This is like a six-foot snake. I don't know about you, but I don't like six-foot. So God says, pick up the snake.
[40:55] Seriously? I'm not going near the snake. That's not what Moses said. Moses picked up the snake, which turned back into a staff.
[41:08] And Moses learned to believe. He learned to trust. He learned that if you're going to get over your insecurities, your sense of not feeling you're good enough, you have to really, really, really believe in the God we say we believe in.
[41:29] Moses said, I'm no Superman. I can't do this. Who am I? And God says, why are you worried about this, Moses?
[41:41] I am. I am. In the book of Luke, it says to us, what's impossible with God, with people, rather, is possible with God.
[41:53] What's impossible for you, Jesus tells us, is possible with God. The problem we have is our God is too small.
[42:04] That name of God, I am's who I am's, it comes from Popeye. Remember that? I am's who I am's, and that's all that I am's? You didn't know Popeye was quoting God, did you? They sneak that in on us.
[42:17] I am. Not I was, or not I could be. I've always been. Moses, I am. I made the whole thing. There is nothing that is, that I didn't create.
[42:30] I can make something out of nothing. I can make a mountain appear if I want to. I can make your life work. Believe. Trust God.
[42:43] And God can take your life on an amazing journey that he designed to satisfy our soul. The verse for today comes from the book of Philippians, chapter 4, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and it says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
[42:59] Say that with me. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Yeah. Short verse. You can remember that, right? You can do anything God designed for your life if you look to God.
[43:15] God gives his abilities. It's not dependent on your talent. It's not dependent on your education. It's not dependent on your connections. It's not dependent on your physical attributes.
[43:28] It's not dependent on your age. Because if that were the case, what do we need God for? Believing in God is to believe that there's something that is greater than what I am.
[43:39] Something I can do beyond what I could do myself because of God. And God uses the common. What do you got? You got a stick? I'll work with a stick. Hey, stick your hand inside your coat.
[43:50] See what happens. He can work with anything. God could have done something huge and amazing that we all, wow. Wow. Instead, he said, and we would have said, oh, and we don't have that.
[44:02] Instead, he said, you got a stick? I'll use a stick. What have you got? I'll work with that. Who are you? I'll work with you. In verse 12 of chapter 3, he says, I will be with you.
[44:18] I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who sent you. When you brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. Now, it was interesting because all these years, I've read that verse and I found it confusing.
[44:33] How is it a sign to the people that they worship? It's not a sign to the people. He said, this will be a sign to you, Moses. This will be for you, Moses. You will be different when you worship God because it's when we worship God, we remember who we're not and who God is.
[44:51] Amen? That's what we come here for. We don't come here to learn something clever from Pastor Tom. He's not that clever. We don't come here to be amazing.
[45:02] We're not that amazing. We come here to experience the amazing, living, incredible God. And remember, we're His.
[45:13] And we believe in a God greater than all of us together that can do things that are absolutely astounding. You see, grace. Grace is letting go of self-esteem, insecurities.
[45:27] Grace is not worrying about what we accomplish and holding on to God's esteem. Remembering that it doesn't matter what other people believe because it's not about us and it's not about them.
[45:40] It's all about God. We live in a crazy world right now. Where we've come to believe that the only way we can succeed is if we're perfect.
[45:52] We have to go through life and not make one simple mistake anywhere. Can you imagine the burden, the weight we're putting on our children teaching them that if they make one little mistake we will cut them down as quick as we can.
[46:09] They look in the mirror and all they can see is their imperfections, their problems, their struggles. And worry that somebody will someday catch them and find out they're just not perfect.
[46:22] But that's not grace. That's not the good news of God. The good news of God is I'm no Superman. I'm not perfect. In fact, I'm a fairly messed up individual.
[46:34] I know you don't want to hear that from your pastor. I'm not saying I'm bad in the way the world talks about it. But I'll tell you, you'll find that I make mistakes. That I don't walk perfect because I'm human just like everybody else.
[46:50] And grace makes me better. And I believe in that God. I'm no Superman, but I can do all things, all things through Christ who gives me strength.
[47:05] Who walked on water? Did anybody ever walk on water? I'm not talking about ice in the middle of the winter. Some people said, I heard Jesus.
[47:16] Yes, Jesus walked on water. But somebody else walked on water. Peter. Yeah, Peter's sitting in the boat and watching Jesus taking a stroll across the water.
[47:27] And he looks at Jesus and says, hey, dude, can I do that? And Jesus said, sure, come on ahead. Jesus gets, or Peter gets out of the boat and he starts walking on water.
[47:39] Does anybody remember the Roadrunner cartoons? You know, and they'd be running off the cliff, right? And they're doing fine until they realize, oh my gosh, I'm up here in the air.
[47:51] And then, boom, down there. That's what happened to Peter. He looked at the wind and the waves and he started to worry about what would people think or what would they say or what's going on or am I capable?
[48:02] He started to feel his insecurities and it says he started to sink. And Jesus reached his hand to him and pulled him up. And they walked across the water back to the boat.
[48:16] If we keep our lives, if we keep our hearts, our focus on God, we can do things so amazing that you'd be astonished what imperfect people can do.
[48:31] People like Moses. God has an amazing plan. And his plan is to love the world. Not judge the world. Not hurt the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.
[48:53] We believe in God. If we trust in God, if we hold on to God, we can be a part of that mission to bring love to the world.
[49:06] And oh, let me tell you, in all my life, I don't know if the world has needed love more. Oh, we're not in any more war. We had more wars when I was young. We probably had more violence when I was young.
[49:17] But right now, there's just a hurt and a pain that people are causing each other that God doesn't want. We need to rescue them. We're more to God than we often realize.
[49:33] You are so special and have such a particular, peculiar purpose from God. Moses says, Who am I?
[49:46] Who am I? He's the prince of Egypt. He's the chosen one of God. God called him. He is the one. And he gave the right answer in the beginning.
[49:59] Here I am, Lord. Here I am. And then he saw the winds and the waves and he started to sink. Have you ever heard of a, I think it's called a true mirror?
[50:13] This is interesting. That's heavy. What does it mean to see your true self? Isn't that why everyone's here?
[50:26] Come look. Come look at the true mirror here. It's the world's only mirror that doesn't reverse your image. So for the first time you're seeing yourself without that flip.
[50:37] The big thing is that we have so much information about who we are in our eyes. And our eyes change when you flip them. They change to where they actually stop working. Like when we're smiling there's light in our eyes and it's light with meaning.
[50:51] And it's like, it sparkles. It's beautiful. It's lovely. It's like, wow. You know? And you get to see that in the true mirror because you see the meaning behind the sparkle. And then I show them the backwards mirror and then I go, yeah, that's who you've seen your whole life.
[51:03] And they go, whoa. And I say, that's how it's been for the whole human race. I go, whoa. So there's really deep and profound significance to this experience. Okay. Oh my God, it's so different.
[51:14] Right, right. So that's what you're praying because you have to do this. So that's what you're praying. He and I had this relationship, this me and the guy on the mirror. And it was like looking at my best friend, my double.
[51:29] And he looks just like me. He is me. Some people are really moved, either positively or negatively in where they see things and they start crying and it's because they kind of get shaken.
[51:42] There's your smile the way it actually is. He's not even joking. No, just look. But other people, like immediately, there's a huge amount of joy. Like, oh my God, now I know why people like me.
[51:54] You know? And then they start crying because they finally see something that's beautiful and special that they never saw. Beautiful. And special.
[52:06] Not mixed up and broken. I want to look in the true mirror, don't you? I want to see myself the way other people see me. I want to see myself the way God sees me.
[52:18] Because we're looking at a backwards image. We're looking at an image that's all twisted and turned around that's really wrong. And because we've got that image of ourselves that's broken and messed up, we start to reflect that to the world around us too.
[52:36] I'm not a bricklayer. But I'll put down a stone path and it'll work for the next 20 years. I'm not an electrician, but I've rewired houses and they're safe.
[52:51] I'm not a carpenter, but I've built houses and I even teach our young people how to do construction. I'm not a born leader. I wasn't even born or raised to be a leader.
[53:03] I was raised to be a worker. Not the son of a preacher. The son of a buffalo firefighter. I'm far from a perfect guy.
[53:17] And God gave me somehow a strange gift to build the house of God. If God can do that with a kid from Cheek to Walker, imagine what he can do with all of you who have far more raw material than I ever had beginning.
[53:33] If you can believe in somebody like me and actually listen to what I say. I find this astounding every week. I really do that you're actually paying attention to me.
[53:44] Alright? You can listen to somebody like me. Imagine what God can do with you. Philippians.
[53:55] I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Say it.
[54:06] I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. We need to believe in that. We need to trust in that grace. We need to have a hope in something that's so powerful that it overcomes our brokenness, pushes all that rejection in the past, forgets about the backwards image, and moves into the grace and the glory and the wonder that God intended for us.
[54:30] If God spoke to me through a burning bush, would I do whatever He wants? I did.
[54:42] I believed in that voice and it changed my world. People are waiting a lifetime for that special thing to happen.
[54:55] I have to believe Moses, even watching those sheep, it's got to be the most boring job in the world. I had to have daydreams from time to time about what if? What if?
[55:07] I hadn't killed that guy in Egypt. What if? I was still back there in the royal throne room. What if? I hadn't done this. What if?
[55:18] I didn't watch sheep for a living. What if? And God gave him another chance as God is giving each of us.
[55:31] And he said, Moses, Moses, just as he says, Charlie, Charlie, Linda, Linda, Mary, Mary, Bill, Bill, to each and every one of us.
[55:43] And God wants us to just say, here I am. Here I am. Here I am, God of the universe. Work with me.
[55:55] Who am I?
[56:11] Who am I? That the Lord is on the earth. Who cares to know my name? Who cares to hear my hurt?
[56:25] Who am I that could cry and mourn in his love To choose to fight the way Oh, my ever-wandering heart Not because of who I am Not because of what you've done Not because of what I've done But because of who you are I am a flower with wind Rebading here today and all tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean A wave burning away Fill in the air When I'm calling Lord, you catch me when I'm calling
[57:27] And you told me who I am I am yours I am yours Who am I that the eyes that see my sin You look on me with love And watch me rise again Who am I that the voice that comes to me That comes to me And comes to me Not because of who I am But because of what you've done Not because of what I've done
[58:28] But because of who you are I am a flower with wind We've made it Here today and God's tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean A paper in the wind Still you hear me when I'm calling Lord, you catch me when I'm calling And you told me who I am I am yours I am yours I am yours I am yours All catalogued
[59:37] Falling down upon the waters, the great unknown, where feet may face.
[59:51] And there I find you in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.
[60:07] And I will fall upon your wings, and keep my eyes upon your wings.
[60:22] And oceans rise, and so will rest in your wings. For I am yours, and you are mine.
[60:37] In grace abounds and leave us waters, the sovereign hand will be my guide.
[61:04] And your feet may fail, and your ears surround me. You never fail, and you won't start now.
[61:19] And I will fall upon your name. Keep my eyes above the waves.
[61:33] And oceans rise, and so will rest in your wings. For I am yours, and you are mine.
[61:49] Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders.
[62:08] I will fall upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.
[62:25] My faith will be made stronger, and my faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior. Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders.
[62:42] And you are mine. I will fall upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.
[62:58] My faith will be made stronger. In the presence of my Savior. I will fall upon your name.
[63:24] I will fall upon your name. Keep my eyes above the waves.
[63:37] In oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace. For I am yours, and you are mine.
[63:54] I will fall upon your name.
[64:09] You know, the amazing thing about God is that we bring our brokenness to Him. And He fixes us. He's a God of the future.
[64:20] Before we even came in this place, He decided to change us, transform us, and make us into something new and special. That's what our God wants to do for us. Now that's not an excuse that we keep on living in brokenness, because God wants us to repent as well and change.
[64:37] But don't let the past hold you. Don't let the brokenness keep you back. Because that's yesterday, and God is a God of tomorrow. He changed Moses.
[64:48] He can change us. Let's pray, shall we? Dear God in heaven. I have sinned. I've done things wrong.
[64:59] I haven't lived as you want me to. I don't always answer your call. I don't even always think about you.
[65:13] Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Move me into Your promise. Move me into Your promise. Change my life. Change my actions. Change my actions.
[65:24] Teach me to love. Teach me to love. And teach me to love again. Teach me to love again. Until I become like you.
[65:35] Forgive my sin. And make me new. Make me new. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.
[65:49] In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. And now as forgiven children of God, let's turn to one another and share the peace of the Spirit.
[66:00] Peace, brother. Remember to pull off that magic trick. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother. Peace, brother.
[66:15] This guy can have a extra copy of it. Well, I brought it and I realized it's the guitar part. I had him, yeah, in flats.
[66:53] This is holy ground, we're standing on holy ground. For the Lord is present, and where he is, he's holy.
[67:12] This is holy ground, we're standing on holy ground.
[67:26] For the Lord is present, and where he is, he's holy. He's our holy hand, he's given us holy hands.
[67:50] He works through these hands, so these hands are holy. He's our holy hand, he's given us holy hands.
[68:14] He works through these hands, and so these hands are holy. Amen.
[68:28] Amen. Aren't you glad Jesus followed his call? Aren't you glad that when God sent his son, even when his son was in the garden of Gethsemane, weeping and sweating droplets of blood, that he said, nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done.
[68:55] Wow. We remember that every time we come to the table, amen? Amen. Amen. Amen. We remember that Jesus gave up all of himself so that we might have a way to know the Father, to be with God, and to be available to be with you.
[69:13] And to be available to follow that call God's placed on our lives. Everyone is welcome at the table. You're welcome to come to remember. You're welcome to come to receive what God has for you.
[69:24] And God has much for you. And God has much for you, my friends. God has much for you. If you love God, repent of your sin, and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter if this is the first time you've ever walked into a church in your whole life.
[69:42] If you are sensing God calling you, you come to the table. If you are sensing that you need a touch from God, you come to the table. Come and receive. You are welcome.
[69:54] Not by my invitation, but by the invitation that comes from the Most High God. Jesus invites you to share at his table.
[70:05] The Lord be 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.
[70:23] You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets.
[70:41] 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.
[70:55] 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.
[71:07] 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 the time had come when you would save your people.
[71:21] 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.
[71:37] On that night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples. He said, Take and eat. This is my body which is given for you.
[71:55] Do this in remembrance of me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples, saying, Drink from this, all of you.
[72:07] This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
[72:23] And so, in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves, in praise and thanksgiving, as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
[72:39] 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.
[73:00] 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.
[73:12] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty God, now and forever. Amen. Shall we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us?
[73:25] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[73:37] 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.
[73:52] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are serving please come forward. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[74:04] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[74:14] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[74:32] Amen. Amen.
[74:48] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.
[75:19] Thank you.
[75:49] Thank you. Jesus Christ invites you. Invites you to have an experience with him. Come and receive him into your life.
[76:02] Commit your life to God if you wish. Have prayers for healing at the real light of candle. Come and join us with God. Amen. Amen.
[76:23] Thank you.
[76:53] Thank you.
[77:23] Thank you.
[77:53] Thank you.
[78:23] Thank you.
[78:53] Thank you.
[79:23] Thank you.
[79:53] Thank you.
[80:23] Thank you.
[80:53] Thank you.
[81:23] Thank you. Thank you.
[82:23] Thank you. Thank you.
[83:23] Thank you. Thank you.
[84:23] Thank you. Thank you. is what God thinks of you. Because God can give you God esteem. And all that brokenness and all that pain and all that backward stuff you see in the mirror goes away.
[84:37] And all that stuff other people say about you just diminishes and doesn't matter. Live the life that God called you to. Live into the dreams that he plans for you. And watch your life be transformed into something amazing, something that will make your soul sing.
[84:53] May God go with you and take his dream in your heart. Amen. Amen.