[0:00] Thank you.
[0:30] Thank you.
[1:00] Thank you.
[1:30] Most Sundays, you can find me right here at the Welcome and Information Desk in Mission Central. If you would like more information about our church, please feel free to pick up a welcome folder at the back of the sanctuary at the Connection site or from the Welcome and Information Desk.
[1:43] 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.
[1:57] Welcome to Pendleton Center Church, and have a good day. Good morning. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice in the gladness.
[2:07] This is the day that the Lord has made.
[2:23] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[2:40] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[2:54] Let us pray. Lord, we come here today to glorify you, to exalt you, to experience you. We pray that your Holy Spirit will come and dwell among us and fill us up to overflowing, that we may know you more.
[3:08] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand, if you're able, as we sing together, Great is Thy Faithfulness. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
[3:48] There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.
[4:02] As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness.
[4:16] Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided.
[4:30] Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest.
[4:46] Sun, moon and stars in their courses above. Join with all glitter in manifold witness.
[5:01] To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness.
[5:16] Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided.
[5:29] Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. God in foreseen and a peace that endureth.
[5:45] Thine all dear presence, to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.
[5:59] Blessings, O my, with ten thousand beside. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness.
[6:10] Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
[6:22] All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
[6:40] Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Do you believe in God the Father?
[6:50] I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
[7:12] He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again, He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
[7:26] Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[7:40] Amen. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. We have two clipboards, opportunities for ministry that we have going around.
[7:50] The first one I want to mention is about Shrove Tuesday. Some people don't know what that is. That's the day before Lent. And so we eat pancakes and sausage and all sorts of non-Lent stuff.
[8:01] But it also is a fundraiser to help support our Vacation Bible School. And the men of the church put it on. So if you're a man, come down and help. And if you'd like to help support it, we'd really appreciate it.
[8:11] If you'd just like pancakes, come for that as well. And the second one... The Easter celebration. It's for the Easter celebration. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Mielen. I guess I was wrong.
[8:21] It's for the Easter celebration, which is also very good. That's right. I forgot that. It's for the Easter celebration. I've been gone, you know. I'm on vacation. Got vacation break. And the second one, of course, is for our fish fries, which are coming up.
[8:34] And we do hope you can participate in that. That's right. That's right. Thank you. That's great. Thank you, Mrs. Miele. I enjoy the youth winter retreat because it allows me to grow up closer to God while I also grow closer with my church peers.
[9:26] I love youth group because you get to hang out with friends. They're your built-in family. And get closer to God. I like being a hot chocolate with God and s'mores leader because I get to teach the kids about God.
[9:49] Also I can help out and impact other kids' lives. Being a hot chocolate with God and s'mores leader has also helped me prepare for other activities such as being a weather leader at Star Point and being a swim captain.
[10:00] And I'll see you next time. I'll see you next time.
[10:12] We'll see you next time.
[10:42] Good morning. Do you love that we have such a vibrant and amazing youth ministry in this church? If so, say amen. Whoa! It's awesome. It's awesome. And what I love about it is that it's not just all about the kids getting stuff that they need for themselves, but it's about them learning to give.
[10:59] It's about them learning to minister to others. It's about them learning how to take care of other people and grow in the Lord. What wonderful and amazing leaders these kids are going to be as they're growing up and they're already beginning to do all that stuff.
[11:13] It is amazing. And if you want to get involved with youth ministry, you need to just have a chat with Pastor Sherry or Gidget Meland or Adrian or Adrian, and you'll be able to take part in what's going on with these kids, too. It's a blessing and a wonderful thing.
[11:28] Pastor Bill is home. That's a wonderful joy. We're very, very pleased about that. Pastor Jean is hanging in there with him, and she says she's got help from her kids and all of that, that they're going to be taking care of their dad and looking after him.
[11:43] I'm sure she would love a call, and Bill would love a card or a call, and just find out what you can do to lend them a hand. What joys do you have to share this morning? Oh, come on. You must have some. There's a whole bunch of you in here.
[11:58] Joys. Here we go. Amen. Thank you. Thank you for taking care of your dad. That's a wonderful blessing.
[12:09] See what you'll learn as a youth, and it carries into, you know, your life as you go on. Other joys? Yes. Amen. The Wheeling family is all here, and we've got some exciting stuff to celebrate today.
[12:26] Amen. Do we have any other joys anyone wants to share? All right. Yes. Wow. Tom's dad turned 90.
[12:38] Yeah. And I know we're celebrating some birthdays here today, too. That's an amazing thing. Thank you for sharing that. How wonderful. All right. Well, I think what we're going to do is invite the Wheeling family up, because we're going to take care of Thayer's confirmation today.
[12:55] It's a very special time. He's been with the youth for all the years that the family's been here, and he's been in confirmation class. But you know what? They're heading to their new home.
[13:06] So we're going to do Thayer's confirmation today. Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the sacrament of baptism, we are initiated into Christ's holy church.
[13:18] We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God's gift offered to us without price.
[13:29] We present today, Robert Thayer Wheeling for confirmation. I can invite you guys up, too.
[13:47] Thayer, I have a couple of questions for you, which the answer should be up there. You ready?
[13:59] Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord? I accept the grace of Jesus Christ as your Savior and acknowledge my forgiveness for forgiveness. I reject the power of evil, truth at my sin, and promise to serve Jesus.
[14:13] Will you love the Lord with all your soul? I love the Lord with all my soul by praying, attending worship regularly. and supporting the church financially with a soul for healing fighting.
[14:28] Will you love the Lord with all your mind? I will love the Lord with all my mind by committing in the Bible and growing in my understanding of the Christianity.
[14:40] I will participate in opportunities for learning about God. Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart? I will love the Lord with all my heart by caring for others.
[14:52] I will love the Lord with all my heart. I will love the Lord with all my heart. I will be involved in groups and activities. Get to know people and develop friendships at the church.
[15:03] You ready? One last one. Will you love the Lord your God with all your strength? I will love the Lord with all my strength by serving in the ministries of an open sin and a method of the church.
[15:13] You've been given God as given by sharing about Jesus with others. Thayer has been a part of our confirmation class this year, and he has actually gone through about 85% of what he would go through if he was being confirmed, which is as much as some go through for the whole year.
[15:32] Thayer, his class is going to be confirmed in about another month or so, a couple months actually. But Thayer is going on to live in Boston, New York, which is kind of frightening because the Patriots are up to, I don't know.
[15:45] And so we're sending Thayer off as a full member of the United Methodist Church. I would like to invite, as we pray over Thayer, that his confirmation class, if they're present, stand just to support your fellow member in the class.
[16:00] So if you're part of the confirmation class this year, would you just stand up? They didn't know I was going to do this, so they're a little... All right. We're going to lay hands on him. I'm missing a name.
[16:19] Because it's not Thayer. Robert Thayer Wheeling, may the Holy Spirit work within you. That having been born through the water and the Spirit, you will always remain a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
[16:31] Amen. Amen. This is your certificate. There you go. And now let us greet our newest member into our body of Christ.
[17:03] Amen. Amen. I think probably all of our hearts are filled with joy and love to overflowing, to be just welcoming this young man into the church as a full member of the church.
[17:33] And I'm also a little sad to be saying goodbye, but we know that God has great things for this family where God is planting them next. Amen? Amen. Amen. Amen.
[17:43] With joy overflowing, let's give back to the Lord out of our gifts, tithes, and offerings just to show him how much we love him, how much we thank him for all the work that he's doing in our lives.
[17:55] Amen.
[18:09] Thank you.
[18:39] Thank you.
[19:09] Thank you. Thank you.
[20:09] Thank you. Thank you.
[21:09] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[21:23] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[21:35] Dear Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day and for the opportunity to gather together and worship. We thank you for the youth and the wisdom that you have given the leaders to know how to bring them up well, Lord God.
[21:48] We thank you for the movement of your Holy Spirit among each and every one who is involved in that ministry and for all who are praying for those children and for their leaders.
[22:01] Lord, we pray in Jesus' name that you would bless this offering. It's one part of what we offer to you, Lord God. We offer our whole selves to you. Give us wisdom to know how to use everything we offer to you.
[22:15] For the furtherance of your kingdom, that Jesus Christ may be praised and glorified throughout the world, that many would come to know him as Savior and Lord. Lord, in Jesus' name we pray.
[22:28] Amen. Please be seated. And I do want to lift up, as we turn to our time of prayer, Scott James, who has already been lifted up, we want to pray for his continued healing.
[22:45] That's a very, very significant thing to pray for. Cindy Smith is going to be going in for surgery this week. That surgery's been bumped and rescheduled a couple of times. So let's pray for her and her family as she's, you know, just getting a little bit, you know, you know how when you're waiting for something like that.
[23:01] So we want to pray for her to have a calm spirit and all that she needs. And we've been asked to lift up Gidget, Meland, and her children. In particular, they've suffered another significant loss to their family.
[23:15] That's two in just a little over a week. And we want to keep them in our prayers so that God will be with them. Amen. Any other concerns that you want to bring up today?
[23:29] Everybody's in pretty good shape. Aha! Here we go. Yeah, you got to wave. There's this many people in here. You just got to wave and jump up and down. Yes.
[23:41] Amen. For protection and safety for everyone through the storm. Yes. We will definitely lift that up. Thank you, Becky. Others? Yes. Yes. Yes.
[23:53] Amen. Amen. Yes.
[24:08] Amen. Thank you. Safe travels for the Wheeling family and for all that they need to continue to be a blessing in the world. Any others this morning? Scanning, scanning, scanning.
[24:21] Okay. Then let's turn to the Lord in prayer. You're welcome to join me from your cedar at the rail. Thank you. Gracious God.
[24:39] Creator of everything there is, we are in awe of you and in awe of all that you do in us and through us in this world.
[24:50] That you love us and care for us is an amazing thing. And that we can come before you in prayer. We are so blessed.
[25:05] Father, we pray right now for those who are in need of healing. For those who are facing surgeries, for those who are recovering from surgeries, for those who have sickness and disease that is harming their bodies and causing them trouble.
[25:23] We pray that your hand of healing and restoration would be upon them. We pray that your peace that passes all understanding would be with them and guard them.
[25:34] We pray for those who care for them. That they would be upheld. That they would be strengthened. That they would have the patience and compassion they need.
[25:47] To care well for those who are in need of a loving touch. We pray, Father God, for those who are grieving losses. We just ask in Jesus' name for your comfort.
[26:02] We pray, Father God, for rest. We pray, Father God, for rest. We pray, Father God, for rest. We pray, Father God, for rest. That those who are grieving, Lord God, would be drawn into your presence.
[26:13] And enveloped in your arms of love in a way they never have before. That they would be so close to you. That they would have the hope of eternal life in you.
[26:29] And hold on to that hope in the midst of missing their loved ones so deeply. We pray for healing in their lives where healing is needed.
[26:42] We pray that they would turn and see you. And know that you hold the answers that they are seeking. Father, we pray now for traveling mercies for all of those who are traveling wherever it is that they may be going.
[27:08] Traveling involves separation, Lord God. And that sometimes involves mixed feelings of joy and anticipation as well as loss and uncertainty.
[27:21] We just pray in Jesus' name for your presence to be abundant among all who are traveling, Lord. And we pray for protection.
[27:33] Lord God, we pray knowing that this storm is coming, that it's predicted to be bad. We pray for protection for all the people of this area. If power goes out, let it be restored quickly.
[27:50] Let people be wise, Lord God. Give them a witness or just some kind of a nudge in their hearts to know whether they should go out or stay put. Help them not to do anything unwise, Lord God.
[28:04] Keep us all in your loving care. I just pray in Jesus' name for all of us who are growing in the wisdom and knowledge of you.
[28:16] Children and youth, confirmands, adults. Those who have been in the church forever and those who are brand new. And everyone in between, Lord God.
[28:27] We pray that we would all continue to be drawn by your spirit. To be touched by your grace. That you would cause us to desire to be closer to you.
[28:39] To look into your word. To pray. To praise you. To serve you in whatever ways that you call us to. We pray that this service of worship, Lord God, would bless you.
[28:53] Even as it brings transformation to us. Help us to be open to all you have for us this day. Bless Pastor Thomas. He brings the message you've given him for us.
[29:07] Help us, Lord. Help us to see your face. And to carry your love wherever we go. In Jesus' name. Amen. Shall we hear from the word of the Lord?
[29:20] Amen. Amen. Today's reading is from Luke chapter 7, verses 18 to 35.
[29:53] John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, Are you the one who is to come? Or should we expect someone else?
[30:06] When the men came to Jesus, they said, John the Baptist sent us to ask you if you are the one to come. Or if we should expect someone else. At that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
[30:25] So he replied to the messengers, Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight. The lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cleansed.
[30:36] The deaf hear. The dead are raised. And the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John.
[30:52] What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes?
[31:03] No. Those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxuries are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you. And more than a prophet.
[31:14] This is the one about whom it was written. I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you. I tell you, among those born among women, there is no one greater than John.
[31:27] Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right because they had been baptized by John.
[31:41] But the Pharisees and the experts of the law rejected God's purpose for them because they had not been baptized by John. Jesus went on to say, To what then can I compare the people of this generation?
[31:56] What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other. We played the pipe for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not cry.
[32:09] For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine and you say, He has a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking and you say, Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
[32:22] But wisdom is proved right by all her children. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I started a joke Which started the whole world crying But I didn't see That the joke Was on me Oh no I started to cry Which started the whole world laughing Oh if I don't listen That the joke
[33:24] Was on me So some of you older people are having flashbacks right now, aren't you? Anybody remember who that was? From the Bee Gees Before disco Yes I remember this song when I was a teenager When I felt like whatever I did, it didn't work right Whatever I tried, somehow I was a little out of sync From the rest of the world I felt awkward I felt confused And sometimes I felt defeated Because it seemed no matter what I did I was wrong Much like this passage ends Doesn't matter whether we play the flute or we Do a dirge Either way People aren't happy John Is in prison This is John the Baptist The greatest religious figure of his day Even greater at the time Than Jesus A person of great faith
[34:25] He knew Jesus He was close to Jesus And he's waiting for Jesus Jesus in the meantime Has gone in the opposite direction To Galilee Where he's having a good old time Being on a miracle tour He's curing the lame He's giving sight to the blind He's raising the dead Miracles are happening everywhere And John the Baptist is saying Dude, just come over where I am Wave your hand And the prison walls will come down Are you the one?
[34:58] Or should we be looking for someone else? We want miracle workers We want miracles to happen I was down visiting my friend Chuck Some of you remember Chuck, pastor And Chuck has got a difficult life these days He lives in a room off his daughter's house And he really just can get around in a wheelchair And the light of his life Was a little dog named Mac And Mac got cancer And Mac was 15 years old So they said it's really You can't do an operation on a dog that old So they prayed about it And they were trying to make a decision So they went back into the vet To see how it had progressed And the doctor says I don't understand it It just went away I said, I understand it I get it Even dogs can have miracles Amen?
[35:53] Amen And people have miracles And people have miraculous healings And amazing things happen And I've seen it And I've talked to you about it I believe in miracles No doubt in my mind Jesus did miracles Amazing miracles He says in here Go back and report to John What you've seen and heard The blind receive sight The lame walk Those who have leprosy are cleansed The deaf hear And the dead are raised And the good news Is proclaimed to the poor Jesus Is doing miracles Everywhere he goes They just seem to be pouring out of him Like this wonderful healing storm A glimpse Into glory to come Where there'll be no more pain Or sorrow or death For that will have passed away Which gives us faith To go through this world But John John is sitting in prison In chains
[36:54] Facing death There's no rescue for him There's no miracle for him Because sometimes God doesn't do The miracles There's a book in the Bible Named Job I don't recommend you read it Unless you're in a very good place Because it's very depressing Job had a lot of bad stuff Happen in his life And at one point He got so discouraged And so depressed That he said this Why is light given to those in misery And life to the bitter of soul To those who long for death That does not come Who search for it more than hidden treasure Who are filled with gladness And rejoice when they reach the grave Life can be so hard That people could prefer To think that death would be better Than living here And I hear about it I hear about it pretty much all the time Every week I talk to
[37:54] To people who are going through struggles Problems in relationships Where they feel their heart is being torn apart Problems in their health Where they feel as if their life is fading away Worries and troubles And disappointments Discouragement Overworked They feel broken every week And they say to me Pastor Tom Sometimes I feel like God doesn't like me That God doesn't care about me And I wonder Is God really God?
[38:28] Are you the one Or should we be looking for Someone else? John knew Jesus He was his cousin And it was clear that he believed in Jesus Remember the story at the baptism He pointed to him and said Behold the Lamb of God That takes away the sins of the world He preached and proclaimed Jesus But he struggled Because when life gets so painful Doubt starts to creep in And doubt is a great enemy of faith Even for the faithful In verse 23 Jesus continues and says Blessed is anyone who does not stumble On account of me That's kind of an odd verse, isn't it?
[39:15] Stumble because of Jesus? Sometimes we stumble Because we don't understand The ways of God And we don't understand Why we don't all experience The miracles all the time And why God doesn't seem to always care John Wesley started The Methodist movement Over a couple hundred years ago He was an Anglican priest In England And he had this great passion For the Native Americans Of this country And so he came on A missionary journey To Georgia And he preached The gospel of Jesus Christ And the Native Americans Didn't like him But not only Didn't they like him The woman that he fell in love with Ditched him And went and married Somebody else Which it was John's fault By the way And then the people Of the church Turned against him They accused him Of trying to drown their babies He would baptize little babies By immersion Three times
[40:16] In the name of the Father The Son And the Holy Ghost Dip them all the way under It's like Dude you're trying to kill our babies He had to escape Georgia On the midnight boat Before somebody Strung him up That's the truth So on his way back to England John was burned out He was defeated He was failure And he says How can you preach About God When you have no faith How can you preach about God When you feel like life Is ripping you down And life is hopeless Are you the one Are you the Messiah I want a savior How about you Amen I want something to fix me You know I went to Florida And I saw a chiropractor I love this woman She figures out What's wrong with me And she gave me This cool belt It helps to Make my back stronger Somebody thought it was
[41:16] A you know WWW Whatever it is Wrestling belt But it's not This kind of gives support In my back here It's really cool My back still hurts But I want to believe That the belt will heal me It just makes me feel A little better I take pills For the sugar We go to all sorts Of lengths To try and fix Our lives And what we're really Looking for Is all the pain To go away Because we confuse Pleasure With the blessings Of faith It says That Jesus Spoke out And said Why did you come out here Why did you come out Into the wilderness What did you want to see A man dressed in fine clothes Expensive clothes And luxuries Those are things for palaces You came out to see John the Baptist What impresses us What do we spend
[42:18] Our time And our energy And our life Trying to make happen Why did you come here This morning What were you hoping Would happen You know what I did When I was on vacation I went to a cowboy church I really did This was kind of cool While the guy is preaching He's also taking a horse That's never been ridden And he's working With the horse So that at the end Of the sermon He actually gets up On the horse And rides it And we're like Whoa And there's like 500 people there Because not only Was it really cool To watch him Work with this horse While he's preaching to us But we got a free Barbecue afterwards Now you can't get Better than that Right Dinner and a show Man if we did Dinner and a show Every week You'd all be here I don't want you To say amen Why'd you come for Yeah Exactly What did you come for It's not just The miracles
[43:18] That Jesus talks about It says that he's Proclaiming the good news To the poor The struggling And the hurting Because people don't Live on bread Alone I had a lot of people Say I should have Stayed in Florida Weather was like 85 degrees What'd you come home For to this I brought a hurricane With me You like that Why'd you come home Well it all comes down To this verse 30 In this passage Where it says The Pharisees And the experts Of the law Rejected God's purpose For themselves Because they had not Been baptized by John John's baptism Was one of repentance Of turning your life Around Of focusing your life On God And turning away From the brokenness Of life And the Pharisees Had rejected Did you hear it God's purpose For their lives Because they were Not willing to repent And turn their life Back to God
[44:19] Are you the one Or should we Put our faith In someone else If God Doesn't measure up To our expectations Of him The people Of our culture Cast God Aside People who don't Want to believe Find all sorts Of reasons To say why They don't We played the pipe You didn't dance We sang a dirge You didn't mourn John he's too harsh All that fire And brimstone And rules And fire And damnation We can't have that We want a loving Jesus But not too loving Not too nice Because after all You know Jesus was As far as they were concerned A glutton And a drunkard Because he went To too many parties I've got to tell you The truth I go to about A hundred plus parties A year You want to know Why I have a sugar problem Hello You can't imagine The amount of parties I go to
[45:19] And I like parties Parties are fun But you can get criticized No matter what you do The Pharisees Are looking To criticize Looking To hurt someone Does that sound familiar?
[45:35] We have people In our culture That are not seeking The truth They're not trying To find the truth For God Or any other reasons They're just looking To get the other side Get the people That are against them And God help you If you happen To somehow imply You're not on their side People are really hurting My friend Chuck Is locked in a little room In a wheelchair I used to tell All kinds of stories About Chuck But now There's not much To say anymore We have enough hurt Without inflicting it On other people But you see That's not what This passage is about The real question From this passage Is What's our life about?
[46:31] Why are we here? What are we doing? What is our purpose? The Pharisees Turned away From the purpose of God We need to turn Towards the purpose of God I gotta tell you the truth Sometimes I just wanna live A carefree Life Where I don't feel guilty About anything So many times I feel like I'm expected To be in so many places Doing so many things In so many ways That I I assume That I'm gonna disappoint One of you Every day And I know I disappoint God Every day It's not cause I try to It's not because My goal is to do Something wrong It's just It just feels like That's gonna happen When you're dealing With a couple Of thousand people I just like that To go away I don't wanna feel Responsible I don't wanna worry About everybody's problems But you see
[47:33] The problem is Is we've turned Our life Goals Into a Pursuit Of narcissistic Pleasure And the Difficulty is When we're We're struggling Only For simple Pleasures We're guaranteed Disappointment Because we live In a broken world And even when Something goes Incredibly right Chuck's little dog Was cured of cancer And about Two months later Decided to eat About 15 or 20 Acorns For some reason Who knows And he died And he died Chuck doesn't know About the acorns Don't tell him If you know him He just knows His little friend Died John wasn't Rescued He died For his faith He died For his belief In a Messiah And a Jesus And in verse 28 Jesus says About him I tell you Among those
[48:34] Born of women There is no one Greater than John No one Greater than John And yet He wasn't rescued I wanted to preach A sermon When I saw this passage I wanted to preach A sermon about You can believe In miracles Because I do You can have A miracle today Because you can But unfortunately John didn't get one And so that leaves me Wrestling with the Reality of Life And even our faith In God That it's not Always about The miracles I believe in them Jesus did them They happen But God is God Not Santa Claus God is The ruler Of the universe God is the one Who is supposed To be our master And we serve him
[49:34] He doesn't exist To serve us In fact Even the song That we're going To sing At the end Of my sermon Haunted me And I said What's this got To do with my sermon God It's supposed to be About miracles And he said No it's supposed To be about Me Romans chapter 8 Verse 28 You should know This verse We know that In all things God works For the good Of those Who love him And have been Called according To his purpose His purpose But then it goes On to say For those God For knew He also predestined To be conformed To the image Of his son That he might Be the firstborn Among many Brothers and sisters And those he Predestined He also called And those he Called he also Justified And those he Justified He also glorified We serve God It leads to good It leads to grace It leads to glory The purpose Of this life
[50:34] Is to get To the next One But the way We get to The next one Is by serving God And living To the purpose He put into Our lives Are you the one Or should we Look for Someone else Are we just Seeking the Pleasures of life Are we just Looking for What will Make us Happy Are we Looking for God's purpose In our lives I came back From Florida Because this is Where I belong And I came Back to work Because this is What I do And people Tell me all Their problems Because for some Reason God Has given me A weird capacity That I can Listen to all Your pain And suffering And struggles And hurt And not collapse Emotionally Myself I don't know Why It's not that I don't care Because I do It's that God Has given me Some way Of being an Emotional shock Absorber My wife said When you tell People this In the sermon You're going to Get a hundred More calls This week And because
[51:37] I wasn't Called to be Happy I was called To be Responsible And faithful To what God Called me To be God Made John And John Was going To die That's hard Remember Job Job said This He said Though God Slay me Yet I will Hope in him I will surely Defend my ways To his face Job said Even if I Die In prison In chains God Is My God He is The one Can we Live to God's Purpose Even if we Don't see The results Jesus says That wisdom Is proved By her Children At the end Of this Verse It might Take a Generation It might Take two Generations It might Be a long Time before You see The fruit Of what You've Been Doing Serving
[52:38] God Is not About Seeing Results Today I believe That we're Sharing the Seeds of God That will Plant And grow Into the Future of Tomorrow Maybe in Teenagers We know Maybe in Their children Or their Children's Children God doesn't Even call us To necessarily See success Today But to be Faithful No matter What John Wesley Was on that Ship back to England And feeling Completely And entirely Defeated And he Said to Peter Bowler How can I preach When I Have no Faith And he Said What you Need to Do is Preach Faith Until you Have it Preach Faith Until you Have it It almost Sounds crazy Doesn't it But somehow We need to Live into Our faith Even when We don't Feel it If you're Feeling right Now that Somehow your Faith is Questionable That somehow You're wondering If God Is really The one If somehow You're not Sure if What you've Said you Believe in You believe In Believe In faith And God
[53:40] Will make It happen That's a Promise Jesus is In a Resort Town In Galilee The Opposite Of John It Seems So Somehow Wrong But so Somehow Necessary I Looked At the Sky Running My Hands Over My Eyes And I Fell Out Of Bed Hurting My Head From Things That I Said Till I Finally Died Which Started The Whole World Living Now people Think that Jesus was A joke He Wasn't Jesus Was The Answer And Do we Begrudge Him That Just Before He Was Going To Go To The Cross In Jerusalem He
[54:40] Decided To Go On A World Wind Miracle Tour They Decided To Have A Little Joy In The Midst Of His Life Because He Was Facing The Cross Where He Was Going To Die So That We Could All Start Living Lent Is Coming A Time Not Intended For Us To Celebrate But For Us To Turn To God In Repentance And Examine Our Lives And Consider Who We Are And What We Doing So We Can Prepare For Easter To The Grave But To Get To Glory Expect A Miracle Expect A Miracle I Seen Them They Do Happen But More Importantly Remain Faithful To God No Matter What Because He Is God God Is God Jesus Is The One He Always Has Been Right From The Beginning He Always Will Be No Matter Who We Are
[55:40] God Is The One That We Came Here To Expect Red By The glory in creation Now revealed in you, our Christ
[56:46] What a beautiful name it is What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus Christ is mighty What a beautiful name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus You didn't want heaven without us Jesus, you brought heaven down I see it was great, your love was greater What could separate us now?
[57:45] What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Christ is mighty What a wonderful name it is Nothing compares to this What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Death could not hold you The mantle be for you The silence of folks Of sin and grace
[58:46] The heavens are roaring The praise and new glory For you are raised to life again You have no rival You have no evil Now and forever Now and forever Now and forever God you reign Yours is the kingdom Yours is the glory Yours is the name The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus Christ my King What a powerful name it is Nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus Christ my King
[60:00] What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus Bless the Lord Oh my soul Oh my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul Oh my soul I'll worship your holy name The sun comes up It's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass Set whatever lies before me
[61:03] Let me be singing When the evening comes Bless the Lord Oh my soul Oh my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul I'll worship your holy name You're rich in love And you're slow to anger Your name is great And your heart is kind For all your goodness Yes I will keep on singing Yes I will keep on singing Ten thousand reasons For my heart to find Bless the Lord
[62:07] Oh my soul Oh my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul I'll worship your holy name And on that day When my strength is failing The end was here And my time has come Still my soul Still my soul Will sing your praise Unending Ten thousand years And then forevermore For my heart to find And if I'm ever before That's the Lord Oh my soul Oh my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before
[63:09] Oh my soul I've never before, oh my soul, I'll worship your holy name.
[63:22] I'll worship your holy name. I'll worship your holy name.
[63:32] I'll worship your holy name.
[64:02] This isn't going the way I want. This isn't going the way I think it should go. Where are you, God? And we turn our back on God. And so it's a temptation that we need to always resist, knowing that God is good and God loves no matter what is going on.
[64:18] God is there for us. So as we prepare our hearts for the table of the Lord, a time when God says, I am offering my love and grace to everyone freely, I invite you to a prayer of confession along with me.
[64:31] Lord, I am a sinner. I need your grace. Forgive my sins. Open my eyes to see your glory, to see your goodness, to trust in you, even when life is hard.
[64:53] In the name of Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
[65:03] 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.
[65:14] Glory to God. Amen. Amen. And now as confident children of God, let's greet one another with the peace of the Holy Spirit. All right. All right.
[66:22] All right.
[66:52] All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.
[67:04] All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.
[67:16] All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.
[67:28] All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.
[67:40] All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.
[67:52] All right. All right. All right. All right. with my soul.
[68:05] It is well, it is well with my soul. The table of grace is open for everyone, whether this is your first time here or you've been here all along.
[68:27] If you're seeking Christ in your life and you want to make a commitment to God, you are welcome at the table. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
[68:40] It is right to give our thanks to the Lord. It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[68:51] Before the mountains were brought forth, where you had framed the earth from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. You created light out of darkness and brought forth life on the earth.
[69:05] 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.
[69:21] And so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
[69:37] 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, in whom you have revealed yourself, our light and our salvation.
[69:54] In his baptism and in the table fellowship, he took place with sinners. 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.
[70:13] 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.
[70:25] On the night in which Jesus gave himself up for us, he took the bread. He gave thanks to you. He broke the bread. He gave it to his disciples and said, take and eat.
[70:37] This is my body, which is broken for you. Eat of this, remembering me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup.
[70:51] He gave thanks, and he poured out the cup, saying, this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
[71:04] 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's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
[71:28] 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.
[71:47] 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.
[71:58] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. Now let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[72:17] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as is in heaven. 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.
[72:38] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are serving please come forward. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[72:48] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.
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