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[1:00] Thank you.
[1:30] Thank you.
[2:00] Hello. Hello. Hi. Welcome to Penelton Center Church. We are the Menahem. If this is your first time here, be sure to pick up a welcome bag at the connection site or the Welcome and Information desk.
[2:11] I hope everyone will put their name on the friendship card that is in their bulletin. If you would like to receive the church newsletter or need to update any information, be sure to fill out your address and phone number.
[2:22] On the back, you can write prayer concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff. Please enjoy the service and have a good day. Good morning.
[2:33] This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[2:55] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[3:11] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[3:26] Let us pray. Come, Holy Spirit. Fill us with your presence. That we may know you more and exalt the holy name of Jesus.
[3:39] May this service of worship be a blessing and honor to the glory of you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand, if you're able, as we sing together, Holy, Holy, Holy.
[3:54] Lord and singing our holy name of Jesus. Amen. I bless you, Holy Spirit. Nor will you be aprender, truly by divine faith to the Lord. Let me know you, Holy Spirit. We serenale 역alings of Jesus.
[4:06] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[4:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.
[4:42] Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
[5:01] Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the fancy sea.
[5:17] Cherubim and Seraphim, falling down before Thee, Weak, sweat, and art, and evermore shall be.
[5:37] Holy, holy, holy, holy, Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see.
[5:55] Only Thou art holy, There is none beside Thee, Perfect in glory, Perfect in glory, Love and purity.
[6:11] Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, All our works shall praise Thy name, In earth and style and sea.
[6:32] Holy, holy, holy, holy, Blessed Trinity. Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
[7:00] Do you believe in God the Father? 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.
[7:23] 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.
[7:36] 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. Amen.
[7:53] Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and will come again to judge the living and the dying of sin? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, and will come again to judge the living and the dying of sin? The Lord be with you.
[8:30] And also be with you. Please be seated. This morning, in our opportunities for ministry on our clipboards, we have two. One is for, anybody want to guess? Fish fries.
[8:42] We serve 661, which somebody said sounded low compared to 797 last week. But 661 is like better than all but like one week last year. So that's terrific.
[8:54] And we appreciate everybody's help and everybody coming down to eat dinner. We've got, I think, four more. There's plenty more. So come and join us again. For a fish fry. Also, we have an opportunity to help with all that stuff we were collecting out in Mission Alley.
[9:09] Because what we've done, and I say you've done, really, is we put together an entire household of everything somebody would need to fill an entire house with furniture, dishes, linens, everything, and everything a family would need for a family who's coming over here as a refugee with nothing.
[9:27] So we have a family we're sponsoring. There's a whole house that they're going to fill, which is wonderful. You did a great job. But now here's the problem. We still have all the stuff. So we need some people who are willing to sign up and say, I'll give some time to take that stuff from here.
[9:43] Remember the old days when you'd ask your buddies to come help you move? That's what we're asking you to do. Your mission moment this morning is called the Matthew 25 Fund. And what this is, is this is to help people who are not a part of our church.
[9:56] Many of you know about the Good Samaritan Fund, which is for the people within our church. But we also sometimes need to help people that don't have anything to do with our church. Maybe it's to help them pay their rent, or we put people up in a hotel room when they have no place to sleep at night, or provide them with a meal, or any number of things.
[10:13] When people come to our church, we can't take care of the whole world, but we can help those that God sends to us. And so if you'd like to help reach out to the world around you, to people in our community that are in need and need help, that's what the Matthew 25 Fund is for.
[10:28] Thank you, Pastor Sherry. And I would love to hear from you this morning, what are you praising God for? What is God doing in your life? What would you like to say, thank you, God, you are awesome for this morning?
[10:42] Pastor Lisa. I do have one. A number of you know, I'll give you the back story real quick. About 17 years ago, I took a bad fall, and I tore my ACL in my left knee, and did a whole lot of cartilage damage.
[10:56] We treated it with PT. It's been fine for years and years and years. On March 1st, I fell really nastily, and the knee bent in a direction knees are not supposed to go.
[11:07] All right? When I had it evaluated, they said, damage to the medial collateral ligament, lots of cartilage damage, and probably really wrecked the ACL again. When I fell, I had one of the women I was working with is a devout Christian.
[11:21] And she immediately, before she said, are you okay? She just got down on her knees and put her hands on my leg and started praying. After we got through all of the initial testing and whatnot, I called in a bunch of prayer partners, a bunch of prayer warriors who have been praying for me.
[11:36] We got the results from the MRI on Monday. And the doctor said, medial collateral is fine, and there is absolutely no cartilage damage, no damage to the meniscus at all.
[11:49] That includes from the 17 years ago injury. The meniscus is fine. So praise God for the healing. Amen? Amen. Now, wait, wait. I need prayer for discernment because the ACL is really gone.
[12:06] And I need to discern whether God would have me do the reconstruction surgery or let it be as it is. I'm waiting for discernment and a word from the Lord about what I'm going to do with that.
[12:18] Why God sometimes will heal part of something and not the rest or heal one thing and not another, I don't know. But I do know that the knee has, I have received healing from God in this instance.
[12:31] And so I'm walking around, I'm good. I can, you know, as long as I don't bend the knee the wrong way, I'm in good shape. What does God want me to do next? I need discernment. So I thank you for your prayers.
[12:42] This is a joy and continued, to continue to pray. Wonderful. Praise God for healing. Anyone else want to share? Sorry if I got a little surly the other night.
[12:55] At the end of the night, things went a little high wire. But thank you for everyone. To everyone, it's a wonderful ministry. Anyone else want to share? So take some time as we take up our offering.
[13:11] The time that we give back to God as a reflection of our love and our gratitude. Take the time to think about how God has moved in your life. How God is blessing you so abundantly.
[13:23] Take some time with the Lord right now. Thank you. The word of God is powerful.
[13:58] As mighty as a soul. It pierces through the ages.
[14:11] Proclaims a loving Lord. It speaks of one who sacrificed.
[14:26] That we might have eternal life. His call to us.
[14:37] His call to us. His call to us. His jowls to lift Him up. Lift up the cross. Lift up the cross.
[14:50] Lift up the cross. Till every eye has seen the Lamb of Calvary.
[15:01] Lift up the cross. Lift up the cross. Sail' pain. To us isorer. Jesus is a beautiful heart.
[15:13] Son and how to find life. additions to life.Please sing the King.
[15:23] The he formations are open and he has opened and created with his broken grace. The many more of our covenant is saved. The message of the cross of Christ is one of peace and hope.
[15:50] The power of the cross is in the sinless blood that flows.
[16:05] How can anyone believe the message they have not received?
[16:16] God calls again, God calls again for us to lift Him up.
[16:30] Lift up the cross, lift up the cross, till every eye has seen the Lamb of Calvary.
[16:46] Lift up the cross, lift up the cross. Exalt the Son of God who died. Take up His cross and lift it high, till every eye has seen the Lord.
[17:04] Lift up the cross, lift up the cross. Till every eye has seen the Lamb of Calvary.
[17:19] Lift up the cross, lift up the cross. Exalt the Son of God who died. Take up His cross and lift it high, till every eye has seen the Lord.
[17:37] Till every eye has seen the Lord. Till every eye has seen the Lord.
[17:52] Lift up the cross, lift up the cross. Lift up the cross, lift up the cross.
[18:11] Lift up the cross. Lift up the bow. Burns up the cross. Gun Vendorek Raise your door by the sea.
[18:34] Lord, we thank you for your abundant provision.
[18:58] We thank you for your goodness and your grace. We give back to you a reflection of our love, that you be blessed to be a blessing in this world. We pray that your blessing will be upon these gifts, that they will be a transformational witness and people will come to know you through us and the way that these gifts minister to others.
[19:20] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you this day exalting your name for you are holy.
[19:36] You are God. And we are your children and we offer up to you the concerns on our hearts. We offer up to you the people who are struggling with physical illnesses.
[19:50] Lord, we pray for your healing touch. We pray for complete healing. Complete healing of people from disease. Complete healing from pain.
[20:02] Complete healing from any of the things that are going wrong with bodies, Lord. From things happening with accidents, diseases, anything, Lord. We pray for people's bodies to be restored.
[20:14] Lord, we pray for complete healing. We especially lift up our babies, Lord, for healing and protection.
[20:27] And we pray for our families. We pray for a blanket of protection over our families, Lord, that you'll infuse our families with your love and your grace. Lord, we pray for your grace. Continue to draw people closer to one another as they draw closer to you.
[20:45] Open up the eyes of our families, Lord, that they will see you as the priority. And may grow in a loving relationship with you as a family together.
[20:57] Lord, we pray for people who are experiencing violence and addiction. And we pray for healing of people's minds.
[21:08] People who are clouded in their judgment. Where they have experienced oppression. And they have become addicted. They are acting out in violence.
[21:19] Lord, we pray for complete healing. That they may instead have the mind of Christ. A softening of heart. A change of mind. A healing of the soul.
[21:30] Lord, we pray for those who are experiencing issues in their mind with anxiety and depression and confusion. Lord, we pray for full discernment and wisdom.
[21:42] We pray that you'll reveal to people that they are a child of God. That their identity is in you. And through you, they are free.
[21:54] And they are whole. We pray for healing of people's minds. Healing of people's relationships. Healing of people's souls. We pray that the hurts that people have been carrying with them will be taken, Lord, and filled instead with your grace for healing to occur.
[22:15] Lord, we pray for healing. We pray for healing of any of the bitterness and resentment that have been being carried around. Lord, we pray for healing in this area.
[22:27] Let it be released to you for healing in all ways. Lord, we pray for healing in all ways. Lord, we pray for people who are struggling with sorrow, grieving hearts.
[22:39] Lord, we lift up to you people who need your comfort. Lord, we ask that you wrap them in your loving arms and reveal your presence to them. Lord, we pray for healing in all ways. Lord, we pray for healing in all ways to heal your wrath in youlesia.
[22:51] Lord, we pray for a healing in your morning. Lord, we pray for healing in all three ways in relation to pergi. And so we pray for healing in all ways to heal. Lord, we pray for healing in all ways to heal. Lord, we pray for heart for healing, rushing to heal, and 방법 for healing in all ways to heal. Lord, we ask that you may love your healing in all ways to heal. That we pray for healing in all ways to heal. see you, to experience you, to trust in you more. Lord, we thank you for what you're doing in your people, and I pray for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit that you will create within us a desire, a hunger, and a thirst for you that will not be quenched until we seek and we find that we may grow more and more as a disciple. I pray for this church, Lord, that we will be on a mission and we will live into the mission that you have set for us. Open our eyes to see where you would lead and help us to be firm and bold and strong to go forward no matter where you lead. We thank you, Lord, for what you're doing in all of our lives, and I pray that you'll continue the healing, the healing among your people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now let's hear from the word of the Lord. Good morning. This is Matthew chapter 17, verses 1 through 13. After six days,
[24:16] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased. Listen to him. When the disciples heard him, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. Get up, he said. Don't be afraid. When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, Don't tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. The disciples asked him, Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? Jesus replied, To be sure Elijah comes and will restore all things. By telling you Elijah has already come. And they did not recognize him, but had done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.
[25:25] That the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John Baptist. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Madeline. I think it was yesterday morning. I went out to get my newspaper. I still get a newspaper.
[25:46] And I'm walking out and there's just white stuff on the ground. I'm thinking, Really? Still? Anybody else feel like we're counting off? It's like it's got to be gone sometime, right? It's supposed to be beautiful today. And then cold again tomorrow.
[26:03] They're making me crazy. Sometimes it feels like time is ticking by so slow. It says after six days they went up on the mountain. Six days is the time they spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Just walking through life. Doing laundry, doing your chores, going to work.
[26:30] Day in, day out. Going through the patterns of life. Day in, day out. The Greeks called that chronos time. Sometimes it can feel like it wears us down. In the midst of it we have our desires and our sicknesses and our evil and our pain. It can be difficult. In fact, it can even attack our faith itself. It says in this passage in verse 12 that the Son of Man even had to go through the suffering at the hands of people who didn't love him, rejected him. There's a little parable Jesus tells about seeds, which talks about our faith and where we can end up in the progression of becoming what God wants us to be. It's about a farmer who sowed seeds.
[27:26] We're going to be doing that pretty soon, right? I'm waiting to sow seeds on that moat over there by my house. Now this farmer wasn't the best of farmers because he threw some seeds on the path, some in the rocks, some in the weeds, and some in the good soil. And anybody who knows, knows that's just wasting a lot of seed. The seed on the path, Jesus said, is like the birds coming down and taking it right away. Like the people who believe in Jesus and are all excited and then it's gone.
[28:00] The next day, Satan plucks it away because it was just built on a momentary experience. We need those momentary experiences. We need to go up the mountaintop. After six days of trudging through the valleys and the chronology of life and the tick-tock of everyday existence, we need to go up the mountaintop and experience the living God. Amen? And that's why we come here. The Greeks call that Kairos time. The time when God reaches into our world in a special and amazing experience where we just feel our spirits totally lifted, like the lady pulls and the men pulls one. Yes! I'm sorry, just, just, you know, you may not have the same experience as I do about that.
[28:56] But it's more than that. It's when God transforms in our lives. Jesus is changed. The transfiguration is Jesus going from being the Son of Man, fully human, to the Son of God, fully divine, right in front of their eyes. And that's what worship does for us. It gives us the opportunity to take that everyday living and have it infused with the power of God God just for a little while in our lives. That great theologian Matt Kofall once said, the only thing that makes a church different from some other social organization is worship.
[29:50] I had to think about that. He was right. It's the only thing that makes us different. We do all sorts of things as Christians, but the thing that transforms us and changes us from just being some social organization getting together for a good cause is that we come together like this and worship God.
[30:11] Worship changes us. Peter says in verse 4, Lord, it's good for us to be here. Worship is good. Most people, when they come out of worship, feel better than when they went in. Even if the sermon is boring and the music is no good and everything else, which never happens in our church, of course, but we feel better.
[30:38] That somehow our life has been changed for that short investment of time. Amen? Just feel re-energized. We feel like we've done the right thing. It's good for us to be here. It helps us remember who God is.
[30:54] They went up on the mountaintop and they met two characters. You remember who they are? Moses and Elijah. Moses went up on the mountain and on top of the mountain he received the Ten Commandments, the law of God. And Elijah went up on the mountain and he heard the still small voice and received the Holy Spirit of God.
[31:20] The law and the prophets, the word and the Spirit came on the mountaintop. The mountain of the Lord is is not a place we can go to. Nobody has ever found Mount Sinai. Nobody has ever found Mount Horeb. Nobody has ever found the mountain of God.
[31:35] If they're looking for a physical place because the mountain of the Lord is something that happens within us. We go and experience the living God in an amazing, powerful way. And God joins us as we join him. It says a voice came from heaven and said, this is my son whom I love with him. I am well pleased. Listen to him. And we're transformed.
[32:13] But when we come off the mountain it can be so hard to believe. It can be difficult. It can feel feel like like we get stuck down in the valley. And we can't even see what's going on around us. And the mountain top seems so far away hidden behind clouds and everything else. So that we can't see what's right in front of us. A few weeks ago I was in Florida and I went to a store called Bell's down there and I bought myself a pair of new shoes. And I like them because they're brand new. That's really kind of cool. So I wore them a lot. I thought I'd break them in a little bit. Wore them all the way home for a couple of weeks. I wore them to church. I wore them in worship with you guys. You know. I wore them in front of hundreds of people. And then a couple of weeks ago my wife decided that I needed a new suit after a number of years not having to buy one. So I went over to the men's warehouse and Elizabeth was wonderful and we picked out the suit. Very nice, right? And as I'm having it tried on she says, Dude, you've got two different shoes on. That can't be! I bought these brand new in Florida.
[33:23] I took them in the box and put them on my shoes. I've been wearing them on my feet for... This is impossible. How could I... How did I get two shoes that aren't the same? And nobody, none of you noticed.
[33:36] Or maybe you're just that kind that you didn't tell me. Old man's losing it. He's got two different shoes on. Jesus is God. But they can't see it. They need to get away. They need to take some time to be transformed. In verse 11 it says to us that Elijah will come and will restore all things. And they recognize that he was talking about John the Baptist. Because what John the Baptist did was he called the people away to the wilderness. Not the mountaintop, but the wilderness. Again, another place where they could meet with God and get refocused so that they could be transformed into remembering who they are and what they're about. He called them to repent and turn their life back towards God.
[34:26] And we all need to do that because otherwise we get lost in the valley. We get lost in the tick-tock, the chronos of every day. We get stuck. And we can forget who God is and what we're about.
[34:40] The United Methodist Church says that the purpose of our church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That's pretty simple, isn't it?
[34:51] Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But it isn't always easy to be a disciple. Even though we know it's good for us, we don't always want to go through the effort.
[35:07] I own a cottage on a lake with a boathouse. A little dock that goes out. You know what's missing? A boat. Now you know why I don't have a boat? Because a cottage is a hole that you dump your money and work into next to a lake and a boat is a hole in the lake. But my brother has offered to give me his boat. Give it to me! You don't have to buy it. Don't even have to go get it. He'll deliver it.
[35:36] Give me a boat. He offered to do this two years ago. He offered to do this a year ago. He offered to do this a month ago. I gotta say yes somewhere in here, you know, but I'm thinking, do I really want the work of a boat? I know you're all going, yeah, that's cool. You get a free boat. I got lots of things to do with my life. I don't need another thing. People want to believe, but they struggle.
[36:06] They struggle to put in the time it takes to be a disciple. They're like the seed that fell among the rocks. This time of year it's cold and the sun shines down on those rocks and warms up the seed and it grows faster than some of the other seed. It comes up quickly. It looks like it's going to be wonderful until the hot sun of the summer beats down on it and burns it out and that's what we're like when all we do is live with a mountaintop experience. When that's our entire faith experience is that we come occasionally to experience the power of God and worship and then that's all we are.
[36:38] There's no death. There's no roots. There's no roots because it's too much work. You take them up on a mountain. Has anybody here ever been on top of a mountain? I've been up on the top of a mountain. I went up a white face mountain.
[36:59] Anybody here ever climb a mountain? I mean like, you know, on your feet? That's crazy. You follow? I'm not saying you're crazy. I'm saying that's a lot of work. I drove up white face mountain climbing up a mountain. Jesus, we couldn't do this on a hill. You know, you couldn't pick some some nice place along the stream somewhere to be, God, you're going to take us to climb up a mountain?
[37:25] That's a lot of work. That's a lot of work. And being a disciple sometimes is hard too. It's difficult. It means that we have to put aside other things and focus on what God wants us to do and be. Some of the seed fell amongst the weeds. It was actually seed that Jesus described as being like people who believed in God. They had a faith in God. But the problem was there were so many worries so many troubles, so many things pulling at them. Anybody feel like that? That every time you turn around something else is pulling at my time, my effort? That their faith was choked out like the seed in the weeds.
[38:12] Discipleship takes work. Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets. It means studying and learning and growing in our faith. We write words on some parts of our building.
[38:25] Right behind this wall, it says, love the Lord your God with all your Very good. You've got that down. Heart, soul, mind. What does that mean?
[38:36] I mean, you say it, but what does it mean? Love the Lord your God with all your heart means that you're going to make relationships with people who are Christians, that you're going to care for each other. You're going to love each other. Pastor Sherry put out a card. She's trying to get together a team of people who just care for each other. Love on each other.
[38:52] Love God by how you put your heart into this world. Love God with all your mind. Studying about God, learning about God.
[39:04] When's the last time you just sat down and read the Bible? Or went to a Bible study? Or went to Sunday school after church? To learn and grow and develop your faith and make it a little stronger?
[39:20] And love the Lord your God with all your soul. You got that down. You're here today. That means come and worship God. Fill your soul with God.
[39:30] By being what Christians are, people who worship God. But it's not easy. It takes work. And it takes something more than just work.
[39:42] Because I don't know if you've ever done work without any inspiration. You stop doing it really quickly. That's why we need to come back again and again to the mountaintop. To be inspired.
[39:55] I've been on the mountaintops. It's great. The air is thin. You get kind of lightheaded. You got this gorgeous view. Nobody around to bother you. No distractions.
[40:07] You just get inspired. Which is what God calls us to. It's inspiring. I thought it was pretty powerful.
[40:25] I don't know about you. I'm like, the angels are singing somewhere, Lord. I can hear them. Oh my gosh. Sorry.
[40:40] But the mountaintop is for inspiration. We can't live there. Some people might think you could live in the church, but you can't live in the church. I know some of you would try. And we do have bathrooms.
[40:51] We do have some food. But we're not meant to live here. We come here to get inspired. Just like we don't live on the mountaintop. Peter says, and I love Peter. Because he always says, you know, these kind of things that are off the charts, right?
[41:03] I feel like him sometimes. You know, just says stuff like, Hey, Jesus, how about if we build some houses and stay up here? You can just imagine Jesus giving them a look like, Seriously, dude?
[41:13] We're not meant to live on the mountaintop. We need to go back in the valley. There's one I left out. Did anybody pick up what it was?
[41:24] Heart. Strength. Strength. Love the Lord your God with what you do, with what you are, with what you're about. Every one of you in this church has something particular God called you to be, designed you to be, created you to be.
[41:40] You have a spiritual DNA that's been written into your heart and soul. And if God has brought you to this church, that means that whatever that is, God wants you to do here.
[41:53] He wants to make that happen here. Some people ask me, what's our plan for ministry? I say, I don't know. It depends who God sends us and what their ministry is. Because God has called us to step into this world to change things.
[42:06] It depends. They didn't stay up on the mountaintop. They came down. There's nothing up there. I've been up there. It's just rocks. You can't live on a mountaintop. Life is in the valleys.
[42:21] And I know in the valleys there's brokenness, there's pain, there's disappointment, there's suffering. After they came down from the mountain, they ran across a man who had a young boy who was suffering from seizures.
[42:34] And he said, you know, Jesus, my boy's been suffering with this. And when he gets these seizures, they cause him to be thrown into the fire, into the water.
[42:46] You know, that's not a normal seizure. I've seen people with seizures. They don't deliberately go in any particular direction. This is something demonic, destructive in this young man's life. He says, I took them to your disciples to have them healed, but they couldn't do it.
[43:03] They couldn't do it. Can you help me? This is what Jesus answered. Now remember, you're Peter, James, and John, and you just went up the mountaintop.
[43:16] And this is what Jesus says afterwards. You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Wow.
[43:27] That's a downer. That's what I want to hear from God. Really? What a bunch of them. Because it's tough.
[43:39] It's tough in the valley. In the valley, we struggle. The three of them that went up, Peter, James, and John.
[43:50] James and John were brothers. The sons of Zebedee. They also had a different nickname. Do you know what it was? Sons of Thunder. Sons of Thunder. Somebody knows it. Yeah, the Sons of Thunder. Do you know why?
[44:01] Because all they ever did was argue with each other. And you know what they argued about? I'm the greatest. No, I'm the greatest. No, I'm the greatest. Jesus, he'd say all kinds of things to him like, bring me a kid.
[44:13] They're greater than you. I mean, you do all sorts of stuff to try to get, I'm the greatest. I'm the greatest. I'm the greatest. Because that's what we do in the valley. We argue. We compete. We fight. We worry about who is the most important one.
[44:25] We have different opinions. And so we tear each other down. Last week I went to a meeting with our bishop and some of the people in our church who may have heard that the United Methodist Church doesn't agree on some things.
[44:42] That's always been true, you know. Right now we're discussing how we feel about LGBT persons.
[44:54] I think I'm saying that right. You can correct me because. And we're not sure. We really just don't know. And that's a difficulty for people because people want clarity.
[45:07] They want to say, I'm right. No, I'm right. And so we argue. I asked my Bible study. I said, would it be okay this Wednesday if I invited everybody to come?
[45:19] We'll just talk about it. Anybody who wants to talk about it can come this Wednesday night at 630 and we'll talk about it. If it's something that's on your mind or heart. Because our problem is we're not trying to find the truth.
[45:32] We're just trying to win like the sons of thunder. And so the demons win. The demons start breaking us down and tearing us apart. We're so busy running around.
[45:46] We're so worried about getting somewhere that doesn't matter. That we miss everything. I bought these shoes brand new in a store in Florida.
[45:59] How did I get two different shoes? That's just not right. And of course it's somebody else's fault. Can't be that I didn't look in the box and see that the shoes weren't the same.
[46:12] Can't be that I didn't notice when I put them on that they weren't the same. That can't be my fault. Somebody took one of my shoes. It's a hard world.
[46:25] And it's a world that needs people who've been to the mountain. It needs the church. It needs people that will bring something different into it.
[46:36] A different understanding. In fact, just understanding in and of itself. Making disciples of Jesus to transform the world.
[46:49] To bring the mountaintop into the valley. To change the world is what God calls us to do. Amen? We also write on the walls back there.
[47:00] I don't know how many of you have ever read it. That the mission of our church is to reach the least, the lost, and the little ones. That comes right out of the Bible, by the way.
[47:12] We talked about it in the Matthew 25 fund. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, from mine, you did for me. This church does it a lot of good.
[47:23] You know, we take up offerings all the time for people outside our church. We help in dozens and dozens and dozens of missions all over the world, all over this country.
[47:35] Because it's important to take people that aren't as fortunate as us and give them a hand up. That's who we are as a church. The lost comes to us from Luke chapter 19.
[47:49] The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. There are people that just don't know about the mountain. They don't know about God. They don't know that God can transform their lives. They don't know about peace and love and hope.
[48:01] So we need to step into the middle of this darkness. And bring them the transforming power of God. And the little ones. And the same way your father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
[48:20] And neither are we. I don't know why, but this church has always had this kind of weird obsession with making sure that children and teenagers find their way for God.
[48:31] We don't always do it perfect. But it's who we are. Now why does that matter? Because every church has their calling as well. We all do. Every congregation does.
[48:41] Some have it to this, some have it to that. Our Niagara Falls congregation has a different calling than this congregation. But our calling is to reach the least, the lost, and the little ones. That in our own way we can transform this world.
[48:59] I don't know if you noticed. It says that they brought the boy to Jesus' disciples and they couldn't heal him. That's our problem. We're looking for healing in the hands of people.
[49:13] You don't have the power to heal. I don't have the power to heal. Not the real healing. We don't have the power to totally transform someone's life. They brought him to Jesus and Jesus healed the boy.
[49:26] God calls us to bring the world to Jesus. So we can transform the world. You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
[49:36] And then you can transform the world as a disciple of Jesus. Some of the seed fell in good soil. And it says it produced a crop, 10, 50, 100 fold.
[49:49] We can do amazing things. Gremlins. Okay.
[50:00] Okay. You see, the problem is we need to be able to go up the mountain. To be empowered, to be inspired by the mountain. But all too often we get stuck in the valley.
[50:14] Years ago, the year was 1968, the Democratic Party held their convention in Chicago. The mayor of Chicago was a Democrat. Protesters showed up from around the country who were, by and large, Democrats.
[50:30] This was a family gathering. All right? It really was. And this is how it turned out. They're not a Democrat. They're not hitting a Democratic Party. They now hit And if we're out of every country, people are Bisbee'sivo06.
[50:42] angry, angry, they are literally coming in the way. I didn't mean to meet this guy. If you are a president of the verify파 vielleicht ... Ghost in Kings All right.
[51:45] It's hard to hear what you're shouting in the background. Anybody pick it up? Peace now. Peace now. Peace now as the peace officers were sent in to bust a few heads.
[52:03] Most of you aren't even old enough to remember that. I do. That's what I grew up on. And in the midst of that, I also grew up on a voice that said, I have a dream.
[52:15] I have a dream that someday my four children won't be judged by the color of their skin, by the content of their character. In the midst of that, we had voices that were calling us to a higher life.
[52:31] In fact, Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his last famous speech where he said, I've been to the mountaintop.
[52:46] I've seen the promised land. And I believe that we can get there if we do God's will. And then they shot him.
[53:02] Dead. Shot Bobby Kennedy. Shot Jack Kennedy. Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham? Can you tell me where he's gone?
[53:17] That's a long time ago. That's a long time ago. We don't need to get to the place where we're beating each other. As brothers and sisters.
[53:30] As family. To prove I'm right. I'm right. I'm right. I'm very excited the Buffalo Bulls are winning. I really am.
[53:41] It's cool. And if they lose, life goes on. Our world doesn't spin on whether or not these guys win or lose.
[53:54] It's cool. What are the things that make a difference in our world? In that same year, we heard on the radio, what the world needs now is love.
[54:09] Sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little love.
[54:19] We need to go up on the mountain. Probably more than I remember in my adult life, we need to go up on the mountain. We need to remember whose we are.
[54:31] We need to remember who we are. We need to remember what drives our passions, what we're called to, what God created us for. We need to be inspired by the living God.
[54:41] Not so that we can win, but so that we can transform the world into what God wants us to be.
[54:51] Heal of brokenness. It only comes when we worship together. I see people who have completely opposite ideas, different opinions, different thoughts in every which way.
[55:02] And when they come to worship, they forget about all those differences. And we remember who we are. Servants of the living God.
[55:15] Life can feel like we're trampled on the path. Can feel like we're stuck in the rocks or choked by the weeds. They felt this way too. Even on the mountain top, when the disciples heard God's voice, they fell face down to the ground.
[55:30] They were terrified. I feel terrified and confused sometimes, don't you? I have no idea what to expect in this life anymore.
[55:42] But it says that Jesus came and touched them. He said, get up and don't be afraid.
[55:55] When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Sometimes God gets frustrated with us. He said so, right?
[56:07] How long do I have to put up with you people? How long will it take before you'll get it? But his promise is he'll be with us.
[56:18] According to Matthew chapter 28, even to the end of the age. So he answers his own question.
[56:28] He won't give up on us. Let's not give up on Jesus. It's interesting. It says that he touched them.
[56:42] And all their fears disappeared. And when they looked up, there was, did you hear it?
[56:53] Nothing but Jesus. That's what we come to worship for. So that when we leave this place for just that period of time, there's nothing but Jesus.
[57:10] And we let the world melt away for a little while. So that we can be true disciples of Jesus Christ. And going down in the valley to transform the world.
[57:22] I invite you to pray with me if you're willing. Dear God in heaven. Dear God in heaven. I have sinned. I have sinned. I worry about myself. I worry about myself.
[57:32] I get caught up in the agendas. I worry about being right. I forget about being loving. I worry about being loving.
[57:45] Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. Cause me to repent. Cause me to repent. Transform my life. Transform my heart. Transform my heart.
[57:56] Transform my mind. My mind. My soul. My soul. My soul. And my strength. Teach me how to transform your world. Be your disciple.
[58:09] Be your disciple. Be your disciple. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You know, the prayer of confession means that after we've confessed our sins.
[58:20] And I've absolved you of your sin. You're brand new. That's pretty cool, isn't it? For a little while, you're perfect. At least until you get to the parking lot or something, right?
[58:31] But you'll be perfect. I want to show you something. My wife got on the telephone. It took her a couple hours. But she discovered that down in Florida, there was a matching pair.
[58:46] So instead of having two worthless shoes, I've got two pair of shoes. Thank you, Jackie. And instead of living in a broken world, you now live in the perfection of God.
[59:01] In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. Thank you, Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. He touched me.
[59:13] He touched me. Oh, He touched me. He touched me. He touched me. Oh, He touched me.
[59:27] And all the joy that was my soul. He touched me. He touched me. Oh, He touched me. Oh, He touched me. Oh, He touched me.
[59:39] And all the joy that was my soul. Oh, He touched.. Some day happened, and now I know, He touched me. And made me whole. And now I know He touched me and made me whole.
[60:00] Shedded by a heavy burden, made the load of guilt and shame.
[60:12] Then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same.
[60:25] He touched me, oh, He touched me, and oh, the joy that floods my soul.
[60:40] Something will happen, and now I know He touched me and made me whole.
[60:55] Since I met this blessed Savior, since He cleansed and made me whole, I will never cease to praise Him.
[61:13] I'll shout it while eternity rolls. He touched me, oh, He touched me, and oh, the joy that floods my soul.
[61:35] Something happened, and now I know He touched me and made me whole.
[61:50] Before the day, before the night, before the world rebounded down the sun.
[62:19] God in mind stepped down into time, and wrote the story of His love forever one.
[62:34] He has filled our hearts with wonder. He loves me and made me whole. So that we'll always remember.
[62:48] You and I are made to worship. You and I are called the one. You and I are given and free.
[63:02] When you and I will be so well, when you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see who we were meant to be.
[63:19] All we are and all we have is all the gift from God that we receive.
[63:35] God to life, we open our eyes, we see the majesty and glory of the King.
[63:50] Be it till our hearts in wonder, so that we always remember.
[64:05] You and I are way to worship, you and I are all to love, you and I are forgiven and free.
[64:16] You and I are grace to find, you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see who we were meant to be.
[64:34] Even the hearts of my love, even the heavens shout at the sound of His holy name.
[64:48] So let your voice be out, and let your keep the doubt, He's worthy of all our praise.
[65:00] You and I are made to worship, you and I are called to love, you and I are forgiven and free.
[65:14] When you and I embrace love, when you and I choose to believe, then you and I will see.
[65:25] You and I will see.
[65:55] You and I will see. We come to the table of grace to celebrate who Jesus has made us to be.
[66:16] Forgiven, loved, free, a child of God. As we prepare for the table where we celebrate that grace. Let's greet one another with the peace of the Holy Spirit.
[66:30] Peace, brother. You're all set with that. Holy ground. Holy ground. Yeah, but it's a combo, right?
[66:43] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[67:08] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[67:20] Amen. This is holy ground We're standing on holy ground For the Lord is present And when He is, He's holy This is holy ground We're standing on holy ground For the Lord is present And when He is, He's holy These are holy hands He's given our holy hands
[68:23] He works through these hands And so He's had the holy These are holy hands These are holy hands He works through these hands And so these hands are holy We are standing on holy ground And I know that there are angels All around Let us praise Jesus' name
[69:28] We are standing on holy ground And so these hands are holy ground It's amazing to know that you're in the presence of the Lord Isn't it amazing That as we come to this holy time in our service That everyone is welcome You are welcome to come to the table I am welcome to come to the table If we love God If we love God Repent of our sin And seek to live in peace As disciples of Jesus Christ He has made a way For us to be welcome So come God invites you To share in all that He has done
[70:30] To make peace in your heart And peace with Him The Lord be with you And also with you Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord our God It is right and a good and joyful thing Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth You brought all things into being And called them good From the dust of the earth You formed us into your image And breathed into us The breath of life When we turned away And our love failed Your love remained steadfast When rain fell upon the earth For forty days and forty nights You bore up the ark on the waters And saved Noah and his family And made covenant With every living creature on earth When you led your people To Mount Sinai For forty days and forty nights You gave us commandments And made us your covenant people
[71:31] When your people forsook your covenant Your prophet Elijah Fasted for forty days and forty nights And on your holy mountain He heard your still small voice 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 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 When you gave him to save us from our sin Your spirit led him into the wilderness Where he fasted forty days and forty nights To prepare for his ministry When he suffered and died on a cross for our sin You raised him to life Presented him alive to the apostles During forty days And exalted him at your right hand
[72:31] 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 Now when we your people prepare For the yearly feast of Easter You lead us to repentance for sin And the cleansing of our hearts That during these forty days of Lent We may be gifted and graced To reaffirm the covenant You made with us through Christ On the night in which he gave himself up for us He took bread and he gave thanks to you He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples He said, take and eat This is my body Which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me And when the supper was over He took the cup He gave thanks to you And said, drink from this all of you This is the cup of my blood
[73:32] The blood of the new covenant Poured out for you and for many For the forgiveness of sin Do this as often as you drink it In remembrance of me And so in remembrance of these Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ We offer ourselves In praise and thanksgiving As a holy and living sacrifice In union with Christ's offering for us As we proclaim the mystery of faith Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit On us gathered here And on these gifts of bread and wine Make them be for us The body and blood of Christ That we may be for the world The body of Christ Redeemed by his blood By your spirit Make us one with Christ One with each other And one in ministry to all the world Until Christ comes in final victory
[74:33] And we feast at his heavenly banquet 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 with the confidence of children of God Shall we pray the prayer Jesus taught us Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory forever and ever Amen Will those who are serving Please come forward Amen Amen
[75:45] Amen? Amen Thank you.
[76:24] Thank you.
[76:54] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[77:06] Yeah, be fine. Please stand if you're able. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[77:20] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[77:32] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[77:44] I want to praise the wonders that you're mighty doing I comfort, I shelter, tower of refuge and strength Let every breath, all that I am, ever since the world shall be made Shout to the Lord on the earth and the earth and the earth Power and majesty praise to God King Round and bow down in the sleeves of all At the sound of my name I think the joy and the time of it has Forever alone, forever outside
[78:49] Something compared to the promise I have in you My Jesus, my Savior, the wonder is done by you One of my days, I want to praise the wonders that you're mighty I comfort, I shelter, tower of refuge and strength Let every breath, all that I am, ever since the world should be Shout to the Lord on the earth and the sea
[79:50] Power and majesty praise to the King I think the joy and the time of it has forever I love you forever, I stand I think the joy and the time of it has forever I am, ever since I am, forever I am, forever I am I am, forever I am, forever I am Nothing compared to the promise I have in you You know, I have people I know from other United Methodist churches They've been asking me a curious question lately They say, are people in your church fighting with each other?
[80:40] I've got to tell you the truth, I've been here 30 years I don't remember ever us fighting together There's a phrase sometimes people use I'm living the dream I'm living the dream And it's not because everybody agrees It's not because we're all on the same page We've got Bulls fans, we've got Bonneys fans We even have some people that follow Duke, I mean really Good Methodist school, by the way We have Democrats, Republicans We've got all different peoples of different races We've got progressives and traditionalists So long as we remember That we're here to become disciples of Jesus Christ And to transform the world And discern the truth of God All those difficulties will melt away We can live Live The dream God wanted to Thank you for coming to the mountaintop May God bless you to go into the valley And live With the calling that he's given to you Go in his peace Amen How are you Wegños of ceilingした afternoon
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