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[0:00] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[0:18] This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[0:38] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[0:48] This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us pray. Holy God, we come to you today praising your name and we pray that through this worship experience we will encounter you powerfully.

[1:10] Open up our eyes, open up our ears, open up our hearts to receive you more and draw us closer to you. May you ever be praised. Amen. I'd like to invite you to stand if you're able as we sing together, Savior, like a shepherd, lead us.

[1:25] Savior, like a shepherd, lead us.

[1:45] Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus.

[2:03] Blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.

[2:22] We are thine, though dost be friend, dost be the guardian of our way. Keep thy flock from sin, defend us.

[2:36] Seek us when we go astray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. Hear, oh, hear us when we pray.

[2:51] Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. Hear, oh, hear us when we pray.

[3:02] Thou hast promised to receive us. For as sinful though we be. Thou hast mercy to relieve us.

[3:18] Praise to cleanse and power to free. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. We will thoroughly turn to thee.

[3:31] Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. We will thoroughly turn to thee.

[3:43] Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus.

[4:04] Thou hast loved us, love us still. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus.

[4:19] Thou hast loved us, love us still. The Lord be with you. And also with you. And also with you.

[4:30] Please be seated. We have a couple of clipboards being passed out this morning. The first is for our fish fries. Carl, we have one more left.

[4:41] This is the last one. So an opportunity to serve once again. And I am so thankful and grateful for all the people who have been serving in this ministry. It's a ministry of outreach and yummy food.

[4:54] The other clipboard is also for a meal ministry as an outreach. And that is for Seneca Street. And so our church gathers food, cooks a meal, and brings it out to Seneca Street United Methodist Church.

[5:07] Where they are serving a community in need. And worship goes along with that. And we really appreciate people serving and giving in that ministry as well.

[5:18] I am thankful for all of the ministry and outreach that this church is doing. To be able to proclaim the word of the Lord and bring people to Christ.

[5:30] We have not only the fish fries in Seneca Street and the one in Niagara Falls. But last night we had the fall gathering. Oh my goodness. It was wonderful. So many families.

[5:41] And all these kids all dressed up in cute little costumes. One little chicken. It was so cute. And it was wonderful. And they were having a great time singing and dancing and getting candy.

[5:53] And it was a wonderful, wonderful thing. So I am thankful for all the people that helped out with that. A lot of work. But boy is it worth it. Because our people in the community were reached. And it came to a safe place to celebrate.

[6:06] And I would like to hear from you. What are you all thankful for today? Because I know you came in with thankful hearts. Thank you for my prayers for my husband Nelson. He had, he spit before.

[6:17] He had three of his wisdom teeth removed on Friday. And the great blessing from Jesus is he's on antibiotics. But he has not had to take one pain pill. Nice. Amen.

[6:28] Three wisdom teeth and no pain pills. Amen for that. Yes. Praise God. Anyone else want to share? Mary. Fun fish fry. Yeah. Fish fry. Yeah. Fish fry ministry.

[6:39] And over an abundance of people coming. Yes. And I hear we had someone here from in worship last evening for the first time who came because they came to the fish fry. Yay.

[6:50] Woo hoo. That's what it's all about. Yeah. Anyone else want to share? But God is so good. And we come to worship with grateful hearts, with thankful hearts.

[7:04] I can do that. And we have some great grace and grace. You're welcome. You're welcome. For the Lord. Thank you. And we'll see you all the time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.

[7:15] Yeah. Bye. Yes. acknowledging the many blessings in our lives. And so as we take up an offering this morning where we give back our gifts to God, take some time to reflect on the many blessings in your life.

[7:48] Amen. Lord, let your light, light of your face, shine on us.

[8:19] Lord, let your light, light of your face, shine on us.

[8:33] That we, that we may be saved, that we, that we may apply to find our way in the darkest night.

[8:57] Let your light shine on us. Let your grace, grace from your hand, all on us.

[9:32] Lord, let your grace, grace from your hand, all on us.

[9:44] Let your grace, God, let us, that we, that we, that we may be saved. Let we, that we may apply to find our way in the darkest night.

[10:06] Let your grace, God, let your grace, God, let your grace, God, all on us.

[10:18] Lord, let your love, let your love with no end, come over us.

[10:30] Lord, let your love, love with no end, come over us.

[10:44] That we may be saved, that we may have time to find our way in the darkest night.

[11:10] Let your love come over us. Let your grace fall on us.

[11:26] Let your light shine on us. Shine on us, O Lord.

[11:45] Shine on us, O Lord.

[12:07] Shine on us, O Lord. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

[12:36] Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above the heavenly host.

[12:48] Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen.

[12:59] Amen. Amen. Lord, we thank you and we praise you for the light that you shine into our lives. For the blessings you have given us. For the abundance that we receive.

[13:11] And we give back to you with gratitude. With thankful hearts. We pray that you'll bless these gifts. To be in ministry to the world. That they too may experience your light, your love, your grace.

[13:23] For the transformation of the world in Jesus as Christ. In the name we pray. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you this day with open hearts to receive you more.

[13:40] Knowing that when we call upon you, you said you would listen. You said you would answer. You said you are there for us. And so we reach out to you.

[13:50] We call out to you with the concerns on our hearts. Lord, we pray for all of the people that have been named today. And all the people who have been unnamed but are still on our hearts.

[14:01] The people that are struggling physically, Lord. We pray that your healing hand will be upon them. That in the name of Jesus Christ, disease is gone.

[14:12] In the name of Jesus Christ, pain is gone. We bind up and we cast out all the infirmities of the body in Jesus' name. Lord, we pray for those who are experiencing oppression.

[14:26] Oppression in their mind. Oppression in their soul. We pray that whatever is blocking them. Whatever is attacking them. That it be cast out in the name of Jesus. And they be set free.

[14:38] Lord, we pray for those who have drifted. Those who need to hear your word and respond. Those who heard it and walked away, Lord, with heavy hearts.

[14:49] We're lifting that burden up to you. Knowing that with your prevenient grace, you are reaching out to them. And we're trusting in you. Help us to be witnesses in their lives. Draw people.

[15:00] Draw our families. Draw our friends. Draw the people that are not yet in relationship with you. That they may experience you powerfully. That they may see your signs and wonders.

[15:12] That they may know your forgiveness. And your salvation. Lord, we pray that you'll be with our families. I pray for protection upon all of us.

[15:24] And especially our families, Lord. That the evils of the world will not penetrate. A hedge of protection over our families. Around our families. Fill our families with your grace and your love.

[15:35] That this culture will not, will not be able to get through. That our families will stand strong.

[15:45] And firm foundation in Jesus Christ. I thank you, Lord, for filling our families with your abundance. And your love and your grace. And I pray for forgiveness to abound in all of our lives.

[15:59] Lord, if there are any broken relationships, I pray that you will bring them to mind. Bring them to mind. And help us to know how to repair what you would have us to do.

[16:13] For you want us all to be in relationships with love and peace. Take away any bitterness. Take away any resentment. Take away any of the things that we've been holding on to.

[16:25] That have been weighing us down, Lord. Lord, give us instead your light and your peace. Lord, we want to hear from you boldly.

[16:37] And we want to experience your mercy. And we come to you knowing that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just and will forgive us. And so hear us as we confess.

[16:48] Lord, I have sinned. I've not always followed you. But by you I'm saved. Cleanse me.

[17:01] Wash me clean. That I may walk in your victory. Continually sanctified. By your spirit.

[17:13] In your grace. By your love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So hear the good news.

[17:23] Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. This proves God's love for you and for me. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.

[17:37] Glory to God. Amen. Now let us hear from the word of the Lord. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. I'm reading from Luke chapter 10, verses 38 through 42.

[17:53] As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

[18:09] But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?

[18:24] Tell her to help me. Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one.

[18:40] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. This is the word of our Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen. Amen.

[19:24] Amen. Looks like everything's ready. This familiar story of Mary and Martha and Jesus is told to us only in Luke's gospel.

[19:44] It's a brief account, but it teaches us something very important about God's plan of redemption that applies to all God's people, whoever we may be.

[19:59] The story Luke tells gives us a glimpse of the contrast between what it is like living in a broken world versus living in God's kingdom with everything fair and right and good, the way God intended from the beginning.

[20:20] Martha is making all kinds of preparations because she has invited Jesus into her home. When we put the stories of all four of our gospels together, we realize that this family also includes Mary and Martha's brother, Lazarus, the one Jesus raised from the tomb after he had died.

[20:44] In that story, we are told of Jesus' great love for Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, how he wept when Lazarus died.

[20:59] The Mary in this story is the same Mary that three different gospels tell us came into a room where Jesus and his male disciples were having dinner.

[21:15] Notice the table is low and there aren't any chairs. They would have been reclining at the table, sitting each on some kind of a cushion and kind of leaning back against each other around the table, sharing their meal.

[21:30] Well, Mary came into one of these dinners and anointed Jesus with oil. Now, not the way that we anoint with oil here. You know, you come to the rail and we'll put a little bit of oil on our finger and make, you know, a little bit of a cross and anoint you.

[21:48] She took this jar of oil and poured it all over him onto his head and it flowed down, much the same way that the ancient kings of Israel would have been anointed.

[22:07] And she did this at the dinner table. When his disciples objected and rebuked her for wasting such expensive perfume, Jesus said she had done a beautiful thing and would always be remembered for it.

[22:25] In the story we heard today, it is her sister Martha who is rebuking her for wasting, for wasting precious time.

[22:37] While Martha worked. Mary had a relationship with Jesus that went beyond the ordinary. She entered into Jesus' presence where only men were allowed.

[22:52] She didn't ask whether it would be okay. She apparently had received no official stamp of approval for her ministry. But she had the kind of relationship with Jesus that let her know she could enter in and be with him no matter what anyone said.

[23:12] How did she know this? And where did she receive the boldness to do these things? Mary had a kingdom relationship with Jesus.

[23:24] And there are some important clues in today's story about what that means and about how all of us today can experience the sacred, redeeming power of God in our own lives.

[23:39] The scripture tells us that while Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to what he was saying, Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

[23:51] Isn't that how it is? When we want everything to be perfect for a special visitor or some important occasion that we're in charge of?

[24:03] But there are some key things Jesus says when he responds to Martha's cry for help that show us that show us Jesus is not as concerned with his surroundings as he is with the people who are surrounding him.

[24:23] Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset by many things. What are the things in the world that upset us?

[24:35] I don't know about you, but I can become very upset and worried when there are deadlines and expectations, whether about work or a family occasion or a church function that has to go just right.

[24:52] In the past, it was not unusual for me to spend all of Thanksgiving Day in the kitchen, cooking and fetching and serving everyone else.

[25:04] By the end of the big meal, which, by the way, everyone else enjoyed very much, I was too exhausted to enjoy anyone's company and the dishes still needed to be done.

[25:20] Then there's the reality for all of us. We have to provide for our households by doing the work that's necessary. We have to pay the bills and put the food on the table and attend to our health care needs and a hundred other things.

[25:34] In the 21st century, the 40-hour work week is for many of us a thing of the past, if it ever was a thing in the first place.

[25:46] And did you know today there's a malady known as FOMO? Have you heard of it? FOMO, F-O-M-O, fear of missing out.

[26:01] This is a state of being in which people feel like they have to do absolutely everything, be a part of all that is going on around them, get involved in all the possible activities there are, and if they don't, they are missing out on something that is absolutely essential to their well-being.

[26:21] This FOMO thing takes our 20th century keeping up with the Joneses to a whole new level. It keeps children from becoming really good at anything because they have to be involved in everything.

[26:41] It keeps people from developing deep relationships with others because we just don't have the time to sit and listen, to enjoy each other, to enjoy time together.

[27:02] Knowing all Martha was busy doing, Jesus said to her, only one thing is needed. What did he mean?

[27:15] Of all the things that might have been needed in that household at that moment in time, what was the one thing that was truly needed?

[27:26] I wonder why Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help.

[27:38] Why didn't Martha just ask her herself? Or, better yet, why didn't Martha and Mary have a conversation about what they had to get done in this situation and come to some agreement about how it would be taken care of before Martha got so upset about having to do all the work?

[28:01] What does that say about the kind of relationship those two sisters probably had? If Martha had the same kind of experience with Mary that I used to have with family in my house on Thanksgiving, I would have said that Martha had every right to be very upset.

[28:23] There were important people in her house who expected proper hospitality, including a good meal, and she was the one doing all the work. But Jesus said, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.

[28:43] Ouch, Jesus. You mean, maybe just because I think something has to happen in a certain time frame and a certain way according to my expectations or the expectations of people around me, it might not necessarily be so.

[29:03] Mary chose. So did Martha. But Jesus said what Mary got was better.

[29:15] Why didn't Martha? I think in Martha's desire to please her guests, to make them comfortable, she missed the essence of true hospitality.

[29:28] In her hurry and busyness, she didn't take the time to give of herself in relationship to anyone there. Mary didn't just spend time around where Jesus was.

[29:47] Mary spent time in his presence, listening to him, learning from him, allowing what she received from him to change her life.

[29:59] Martha spent time around where Jesus was, but she missed out on how Jesus wanted to change her life too. She was distracted by many things that Jesus characterized as not being needed at that time.

[30:20] the things that need to be done in life really do have specific times and places, don't they? I mean, when the baby cries, the diaper has to be changed right now.

[30:34] When the newspaper arrives, it can be set aside for a time when it's more convenient to read. But when the toilet is overflowing, the water needs to be shut off and the toilet needs to be fixed right now.

[30:52] When you're out raking the leaves and a neighbor runs over in need of help, the leaves can wait. How do we know what is needed at any point in time?

[31:07] Some things, like the baby's diaper and the neighbor's need, are obvious. To Martha, getting the house ready and making sure her guests were provided for must have seemed obvious.

[31:21] But Jesus said, no, Mary made the better choice. Could Martha have made that choice too? I think so.

[31:33] I don't think this was the first time Martha was ticked off at Mary for not helping her when Jesus was around. Bold actions the Gospels tell us about Mary going in and sitting at Jesus' feet with the men and anointing him even though she faced the disciples' criticism indicate Mary had a relationship with Jesus.

[31:55] The kind of relationship that let her know if she chose to take time to put him first in her life, she would have time for other important things as well.

[32:07] each of those things would be taken care of in its own time according to the urgency that would have been appropriate as Jesus saw them.

[32:22] The way Jesus spoke to Martha, I can almost hear the words, Martha, who told you you have to do that? Why aren't you interested in hearing what I have to say?

[32:38] My words. Martha, my words will change your life. Martha was focused on the what. What preparations had to be made?

[32:51] What food to serve? What a woman should be doing? She had not considered why Jesus had come into her house. He had come to her for the same reason he had come to everyone there, men and women, to redeem her, to allow her experience, her to experience a sacred and beautiful time with him that would help her understand there's more to life than what she chose to be important.

[33:25] The writer of Luke's gospel doesn't tell us what Jesus said to Martha next. I wonder if it was something like, you know, Martha, it's not too late for you to join us.

[33:42] Or maybe he just gestured to her with his hand, indicating there was room for her to sit down too. Knowing what I know of Jesus, I believe that was probably the way the story went on.

[34:00] Jesus came so that we would have abundant life, forgiveness of sin, and a new way of being in the world, the redeemed kingdom way. What I notice here, too, is that Jesus did not condemn Martha for her choice.

[34:16] He knew she was doing what was expected of her, in her time and place to provide hospitality in her home. What Martha needed to learn, what we so often need to be reminded of, is that there is more to life than doing more and more out of our own strength and understanding.

[34:38] There's a time for everything in life that truly matters. I think Martha didn't realize she could be spending that time with Jesus because she hadn't taken the time to get to know him.

[34:55] Mary did. This doesn't make Mary better than Martha. They were different people and saw the world in different ways, but Martha's lack of time with Jesus, of being truly in his presence, not just in the same location where he was, caused her to develop resentment for her sister Mary that we could hear in the way she asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her.

[35:26] I used to get angry like that at my family for sitting around in the living room enjoying the holiday while I was stuck in the kitchen and serving them all day. I did it to myself and then I got mad at them.

[35:43] Jesus did not condemn Martha for not doing as Mary had done, but he did point it out and in doing so, he invited her into a new way of being in the world.

[36:00] We have the opportunity to go deeper into this kingdom way of being. when Jesus ascended to his Father in Heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to lead us, to guide us, to remind us of everything Jesus taught.

[36:16] As I learned to take time to spend in Jesus' presence, I learned to relate differently to the people in my life that God had given me to love.

[36:28] I also learned to take care with other choices I make about how to use my time. I think that is something many in the church need to recover.

[36:41] God did not make us to constantly work or to do anything to excess. We do so many things that we get lost in it all, so lost in overwhelming busyness and activity that we lose ourselves.

[36:58] There's a balance of work and play and rest that is inherent in all life on earth. It's guided and nurtured by God's love for all God created.

[37:14] And as God's people, we need to honor that. And that's it. That's what Jesus meant when he said only one thing is needed.

[37:26] In that moment, in redeemed kingdom time, the only thing needed was to honor the time to sit at his feet.

[37:37] That time that Jesus had made available for all the people in Martha's house, including Martha. Mary knew the better thing to be doing because she sat at Jesus' feet and had already discovered what a precious blessing God had granted her in that.

[38:01] I'll bet she also knew that as she learned from being in Jesus' presence, she would know when and how to get everything else done that needed doing.

[38:11] She would have the wisdom to know what things to do and what things to leave for someone else to do. She would definitely not be experiencing FOMO.

[38:24] because she knew who she was in relationship to Jesus and she knew who Jesus expected her to be.

[38:36] We can know those things too. In our lives today, the Holy Spirit is available 24-7, 365, 366 in the coming year, which will be a leap year.

[38:50] He's available to be our source. of God's amazing blessings. How many of the things of this broken world do we put ahead of receiving this wisdom from God?

[39:05] How many hours full of tasks and activities do we put ahead of sitting at Jesus' feet? We could be so blessed by spending time simply seeking and honoring God's presence with us, getting to know ourselves as well as God intends us to be, not the way we've been shaped by the world.

[39:34] Jesus said, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

[39:45] nowadays, not only are we laboring and heavy laden in our work but so overwhelmed in what are supposed to be leisure activities, we don't have enough time to get everything done.

[40:02] God wants to redeem our understanding of time and how we should use it, what is and is not valuable in God's kingdom.

[40:17] The church of John Wesley's day had lost sight of this as well in all kinds of ways. They were missing the connection they needed to know what was truly necessary for their lives and for the good of their community.

[40:34] John called people back to sitting at Jesus' feet to rediscover why God had called them to the church in the first place. Every great revival in the church has happened when people first sought to connect with God.

[40:53] When we connect with the one who established why we're the church, we'll know what to do to be the church. all living creatures are created by God to live according to rhythms and cycles of life in time.

[41:15] Rhythms of day and night, the changing seasons, life, growth, decline, and death are all part of who we are.

[41:30] We honor God when we choose to regularly take time each day to spend at Jesus' feet in prayer, seeking wisdom for the day's activities.

[41:40] We honor God when we remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Whatever day of the week we need to set apart to rest and reconnect in a substantial way with God and with those we have been given to love.

[42:00] We honor God when we spend time in prayer and fasting and worship and searching the scriptures and hugging and kissing little babies.

[42:16] We will be blessed if we seek first the kingdom of God. If we turn our eyes upon Jesus and experience him.

[42:27] when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in the choices we make about how we use our time we will be free to grow in relationship with God and to learn to love each other better.

[42:41] You know when Jewish families prepare for the weekly Sabbath rest everyone participates in the work. Then when the Sabbath comes everyone rests together.

[42:58] I think if Martha did respond to Jesus' invitation to join him and Mary and the others later on she would have experienced everyone working together to take care of whatever preparations were needed.

[43:14] After all in another story Jesus did require his disciples to help him distribute food to feed over 5,000 people.

[43:26] When we spend time with God God gives us everything we need to accomplish his will and good purpose for our lives. I am proof.

[43:38] The closer I've gotten to God the more my family relationships have been blessed and I've been helped even with Thanksgiving dinner. God's kingdom life is for us all now.

[43:54] As we sing praise to God let's consider how we will choose to regularly spend some of our time with God to become blessed in discovering God's priorities God's priorities not ours for how we spend the rest of our time in ways that honor him and bring about redemption in our own lives and in the world.

[44:23] Let's sing let's stand let's worship God. Amen. Amen.

[45:26] Amen. Oh Jesus, come and fill your land.

[46:10] Oh come and sing with gladness as your hearts are filled with joy.

[46:20] Lift your hands in sweet surrender to his name. Oh give him all your tears and sadness.

[46:35] Give him all your tears of pain. And he'll enter into life in Jesus' name.

[46:47] Jesus, oh Jesus, come and fill your land.

[47:06] Jesus, oh Jesus, come and fill your land.

[47:25] Amen. Lord, we offer ourselves to you this morning because we just want to be with you. Your presence, Lord, fill us.

[47:36] Lord, my life is an empty cup.

[47:59] Oh, please my heart, would you fill me up. I'm raised to the ground. Saving my pride.

[48:12] Leaving my will. My burden has been high. All I want. All I want.

[48:23] All I need. Just to be with you. Just to be with you. Here I am.

[48:35] At your feet. Just to be with you. Just to be with you. I have come to the end of me.

[48:53] And there's nothing I have to bring. But you said I belong. You say I am yours. Nothing compares to knowing you more.

[49:09] All I want. All I want. All I need. Just to be with you.

[49:22] Just to be with you. Here I am. At your feet. Just to be with you.

[49:33] Just to be with you. You made a way for me. Oh, Savior. I'm yours forever.

[49:45] Oh, Lord. You made a way for me. Oh, Savior. I'm yours forever.

[49:57] Oh, Lord. I'm yours forever. Oh, Lord. All I want.

[50:11] All I need. Just to be with you. Just to be with you. Here I am. At your feet.

[50:24] Just to be with you. Just to be with you. Here I am. At your feet. Just to be with you. Here I am.

[50:35] All I need. Just to be with you. Just to be with you. Just to be with you. Here I am. At your feet.

[50:48] Just to be with you. Just to be with you. There is no greater thing than to be in the presence of our Lord.

[51:05] No greater thing. Seek God. Be with God. Live with God. Walk with God. And we come here as a community of faith to do that together.

[51:16] To support each other in our faith and to worship our Lord. And so as we come to our table of mercy this morning, a table of grace, let's greet one another with the peace of the Holy Spirit.

[51:28] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[52:26] Open your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

[53:00] Next week, next week we're going to be celebrating Memorial Sunday, which means during Holy Communion we will be lifting up the names of our loved ones who have passed over the past year.

[53:18] So if you have the name of someone in your life who's passed over the past year and you would like their name lifted up during the Lord's Supper next week, please contact the office, email, call, whatever, but let us know.

[53:33] We want to honor those who have gone before. The table is set for everyone. God's grace is available for everyone. If you're seeking God in your life, if you're seeking to be in a restored relationship with Christ, you are welcome.

[53:52] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts, Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Give thanks to the Lord our God. Blessed are you, our Alpha and our Omega, whose strong and loving arms encompass the universe.

[54:10] For with your eternal word and Holy Spirit, you are forever one God. Through your word, you created all things and called them good.

[54:22] And in you, we live and move and have our being. When we fell into sin, you did not desert us. You made covenant with your people Israel and spoke through prophets and teachers.

[54:36] In Jesus Christ, your word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. And so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.

[54:51] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

[55:02] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you. And blessed is Jesus Christ, who called you Abba, Father.

[55:14] As a mother tenderly gathers her children, you embraced a people as your own and filled them with a longing for a peace that would last and for a justice that would never fail.

[55:26] In Jesus' suffering and death, you took upon yourself our sin and death and destroyed their power forever. You raised from the dead this same Jesus who now reigns with you in glory and poured upon us your Holy Spirit, making us the people of your new covenant.

[55:48] On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread. He gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples and said, Take and eat, all of you.

[56:03] This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup.

[56:23] He gave thanks and said, Drink from this, all of you. This is the blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

[56:38] 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.

[57:01] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts, that in the breaking of this bread and the drinking of this wine, we may know the presence of the living Christ and be renewed as the body of Christ for the world, redeemed by Christ's blood.

[57:28] As the grain and grapes once dispersed in the fields are now united on this table in bread and wine, so may we and all your people be gathered from every time and place into the unity of your eternal household and feast at your table forever.

[57:47] Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 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.

[58:06] 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.

[58:21] 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.

[58:32] For those who are serving, please come forward. Withicaid has given us may 20,000 people come forward. Amen.

[58:42] With underside, Alistair, Obligatory. So selencio, please shuttle unse Dad, go and get back to the heart. And death is the Kap infinity day if we now in the holding office. And third, it is no dance.

[58:54] We would avoid heartless water. It is no devotion to us, depending upon us, if it is not that we will, it is not that we will, but that we will die anybody through America. Amen. Amen.

[60:00] Amen. Amen.

[61:00] I'd like you all to stand if you're able as we sing together. Take time to be holy.

[61:30] Take time to be holy.

[61:48] Speak up with the Lord. Abide in Him always and plead on His word. Make friends with us children.

[62:02] Help those who are weak. Forgetting in nothing His best thing to see. Take time to be holy.

[62:16] The world rushes on. Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus like Him now shall be.

[62:34] Thy friends in Thy conduct His life we shall see. Take time to be holy.

[62:45] Let Him be thy guide. And run not before Him whatever be died.

[62:57] In joy or in sorrow still follow the Lord. And look into Jesus.

[63:07] Still trust in His word. Take time to be holy. Be calm in thy soul.

[63:19] Each thought and each motive beneath His control. Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love.

[63:34] Thou soon shall be seated for service above. Take time to be holy.

[63:46] Wow. God wants me to be holy. That's a tall order, don't you think? But, you know, it kind of is, but it kind of isn't.

[63:59] Because being holy simply means being set apart. And when we seek Jesus, we are set apart.

[64:11] Mary was set apart. Martha was called to be set apart. For what? To know Jesus so well and understand the redemption that comes from God.

[64:25] That we can be part in working in the world to bring about the redemption of God. That God has called all the world to.

[64:38] We have that hope. We have that possibility within us as followers of Jesus Christ. We will continue as we take time to be holy.

[64:48] Here's the thing about that. The more we take time to be holy, the more holy we become. The more set apart from the things that are not redeemed that we become.

[65:01] And we become an example of that hope. The hope of redemption to everyone who calls on God.

[65:12] Let that hope be in you. Let that hope shine through you. As you go in his peace, trusting that God has redeemed you and God desires to redeem through you.

[65:24] In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[65:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[65:46] Amen. V cosmic stirred. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.

[66:26] Thank you.

[66:56] Thank you.