[0:00] This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. It's a lot better day than last week's day, and so we're thankful for that. Amen?
[0:14] Amen. Amen. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[0:48] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[1:08] Shall we pray together? Dear God in heaven, pour out your blessings. Pour them down on us that we might celebrate in worshiping you. Let this be a day that the Lord has truly made in our hearts that we might come before you and celebrate your presence. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
[1:24] I'd like to invite you, if you're able, to stand as we're going to sing together. Hail to the Lord's anointed. Hail to the Lord's anointed.
[1:35] Hail to the Lord's anointed.
[1:57] Hail to the Lord's anointed. Great David's greatest son. Hail him the time appointed.
[2:09] His reign on earth begun. He comes to break oppression. To set the captive free.
[2:21] To take away transgression and rule in equity. He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth.
[2:39] Love, joy, and hope like flowers. Begin his path to birth. Before him on the mountains shall peace the herald go.
[2:56] And righteousness in fountains from hill to valley flow. To him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows of sand.
[3:15] His kingdom still increasing, a kingdom without end. The tide of time shall never his covenant remove.
[3:33] His name shall stand forever. And name to us is love.
[3:44] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. This morning in your bulletin you'll find an envelope for a special offering. And it is a special offering for our church. This is what we call our Good Samaritan Fund offering.
[3:57] And it is to help people in the pews that sit next to you. Right in the chairs alongside of you. People who are a part of our congregation. All the proceeds from this go to people who are struggling. That have particular needs in our church.
[4:09] So if you can help out someone in your church. This is a way for you to do that. Thank you for all that you might do for this important effort. And as we read our Advent reading we invite our candle lighters to come forward.
[4:25] This is from Luke chapter 1 verses 46 to 55. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
[4:36] For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. For the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
[4:48] His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
[5:01] He has brought down rulers from their thrones. But has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things. But has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel.
[5:12] Remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever. Just as he promised our ancestors. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
[5:23] Thank you Julie. This morning we do have two opportunities for ministry on our clipboards. One is with cookies. And the other is with caroling. They kind of go together. Cookies and caroling.
[5:34] That seems like a Christmas celebration. Thankful moments. Things that you're thankful for. Last night Pastor Bob Frank announced to us that he went for his test.
[5:45] And found out he was cancer free. So we were all celebrating in that. We're glad that he came through that. We keep hearing the opposite. All the people struggling with it. It's good to hear somebody have victory over it. So what else do we want to celebrate this morning?
[5:58] What other joys do we have? Right over here. Okay. One second. I got one over here. Yes. My brother had successful lung surgery to remove cancer.
[6:09] Great. Over here. All of you prayed for Pete who was dying. He had sepsis and he was on the deathbed. They gave him every last break. And he is fine. He stopped his way to his healing. And he is thankful for every prayer that was lifted. Isn't that wonderful? That's great. Thank you for sharing that.
[6:20] Yes. And you already have pictures. I know that you have pictures. I know that you have pictures. I know that you have pictures. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
[6:31] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Today's video. I already have pictures. I know. Because I saw them from your sister last night.
[6:42] Yes. Absolutely. Anybody else have a blessing they want to share? Join the retirement club. You joined the retirement club. Good for you Randy. Good for you.
[6:53] That's a blessing. Anybody else want to share? These are good joys. It's a good thing to hear good news. All right. As God has given us blessings and good news in our lives.
[7:05] return our thanksgiving with our morning tithes and our offerings. Thank you.
[8:05] Thank you.
[8:35] Thank you.
[9:05] Thank you.
[9:35] Thank you.
[10:05] Thank you. Thank you.
[10:37] Thank you. Thank you.
[11:07] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[11:19] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[11:31] Thank you. Thank you.
[12:03] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[12:15] Thank you.
[12:47] Thank you. your power in this place, Lord, pour into our lives with your grace and your peace, that in all we do and all we are, we might be your servants.
[13:01] Lord Jesus, hear our prayers as we turn our hearts, our souls, our lives to you this morning, Lord. Fill our place of worship. And now, dear God, lift from us our concerns and fill us with your peace and your understanding.
[13:24] Send your Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us in all that we do and all that we are, that we might be your servants. Let your Spirit be upon the Word of God, that it might bless us this morning in a special way as we offer our prayers in Jesus' holy name.
[13:40] Amen. It's me. I got a new cell phone and I turned it off. I turned it all the way down and it still rang on me, you know.
[13:55] Finally broke down and got the broken cell phone replaced and it also says that it's 9 o'clock in the morning and I don't know, you know. I would have said the brand, but I won't.
[14:08] Let's hear from the Word of God, shall we? Thank you.
[14:41] Thank you.
[15:11] Thank you.
[15:41] Thank you. Thank you.
[16:13] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[16:25] Thank you.
[16:57] May your word to me be fulfilled. Then the angel left her. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Tim. Thank you.
[17:08] So the most embarrassing time that ever happened to me was not actually here. I was at a military ball. You may not know what that's like, but this is when everybody dresses up in their dress uniforms.
[17:21] And it's a very formal event. And I went as arm candy for my wife, the lieutenant colonel, who's up on the podium saying the prayer in front of the whole gathered assembly of all the officers.
[17:33] I'm sitting at the head table. And the stupid phone rings. Not only does it ring, I silence it. It rings again. Not only does it, do I silence it.
[17:43] It rings again. I hate those things. The necessities that are hard to do without. This time of year, I receive Christmas cards.
[17:56] Maybe some of you still get those old. I don't mean the ones that come on an email. I mean the real ones that people took the time to fill out, right? Years ago, they used to just sign their name and maybe pen a small note.
[18:08] Now they enclose a letter. Have you noticed this new thing? And I actually like the letters. Some people find them very annoying. I think they're really great. Now some people use the letters to brag about how they've been going skiing in Aspen or something.
[18:21] But I find that they share with me lots of news. Like if I got one from Randy, he would say, I'm retiring. I've joined that group. And that's a great blessing, right? If I got one from another person, they would say that someone passed away and I didn't know about it.
[18:35] Or a child was born. Or any of the other great blessings that we receive by hearing from these letters. By someone taking the time to share that with us.
[18:48] You know, we need to do the same thing with God. God wants us to take some time and set it apart so we can share and be present with him. And that's what prayer is.
[19:00] To catch up with God. To listen to what God might have to say to us. And Mary took such a time. We don't know what she was actually doing that day.
[19:11] But she took a time to set aside to hear from God. To listen to what he had to say. Which is so different from what we do when we talk to God. Because when we talk to God, it sounds something like, I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.
[19:26] Only a hippopotamus will do. And we're like, what? Right? You can picture God up there as we're going, I need, I want, I want. Give me, give me, give me, give me. Please God, if you would, just give me.
[19:38] And God wants to share something special with us. But we don't take the time to listen. At Christmas, we share gifts with one another.
[19:49] In some ways, it can become a kind of narcissistic celebration of greed. But I suspect for many people, we take a moment to think of, what is that special gift we want to give to someone? We take time to look for it.
[20:01] And God has that same special gift for us. And particularly at this time of year, if we were to listen to God, we would find what God wants to give us.
[20:12] Rather than what we want God to give us. God does offer us grace. Forgiveness for our sins. A new start. A fresh beginning.
[20:23] He offers us His presence. That wonderful warmth. And that feeling that God is with us. He said He won't leave us even to the end of the age. But God also has a plan.
[20:37] Something special designed for just us to experience. And those plans are essential to life. Because God's plan gives us a purpose.
[20:50] Gives us a reason to go from this day to the next. Gives us something we call hope. And without hope, we have no reason to live for tomorrow. But with hope, no matter what we're experiencing now, we can live for what can happen tomorrow.
[21:10] Mary was visited by an angel, an archangel, Gabriel. And afterwards, she sang a song that we heard during the lighting of the Advent wreath. And part of it said, The mighty one has done great things for me.
[21:24] Holy is His name. Great things for her. Because He did great things through her. God has a bigger dream for you than you have for yourself.
[21:41] God has a bigger dream for you than you have for yourself. Most of us aren't much different than Mary. Mary was a young woman pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.
[21:57] She had a plan. She was going to marry this prominent carpenter in the village. She had a job. Important thing in looking for somebody to marry.
[22:08] He had a job. He could pay for the income. He had good bloodlines and a good family. This was going to be her life. And out of all the young women in that little town of Nazareth, there probably weren't that many.
[22:26] Joseph chose Mary. Going to have some kids. Build a little home. Try to have a life together.
[22:38] And be good. Be the kind of person God would be proud of. But God can do more through us than we even realize.
[22:49] In verse 37, the angel says, No word from God will ever fail. God can do things that we would think are impossible. And God invited Mary to do something absolutely amazing.
[23:06] So significant that it would be transformational, not just for her, but for the entire world. That's a pretty big thing. But the blessing wasn't for her.
[23:21] It was through her. And the thing about God's plan is God's plan will bless us because it will touch a part of our soul that we didn't even realize could be touched.
[23:33] But it's not to give us a hippopotamus. It's to give us a purpose, a reason for God to be here.
[23:44] Jesus was the gift that God gave to Mary. But the gift was for other people to receive the love of God.
[23:57] City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style. In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas.
[24:11] Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile. And on every street corner, you hear. Yeah, you know that song, don't you?
[24:24] You know, I got to tell you the truth. I always thought that that was about church bells ringing. I don't know why. I just thought that's what it was about. It's got nothing to do with church bells. You know what bells it is? Them Salvation Army kettle people.
[24:39] Ring-a-ling, hear them sing. It's Christmas time in the city. You can't miss one of them. They're everywhere. Everywhere you go.
[24:50] Ring-a-ling, a-ling, a-ling. Ring-a-ling, a-ling, a-ling. You could do something to help somebody besides you. That's what those silver bells are telling us.
[25:03] Because those people don't stand out there for their benefit. They're volunteers trying to help other people who are in even more need.
[25:14] Actually, the Salvation Army is a church. I don't know if you do that. But they're a church with a unique commitment to help people that are struggling and poor. Now, we help people that are struggling and poor, but they take it to the nth degree.
[25:30] So they ask us to throw a little change. Maybe a couple of those pieces of green paper into the kettle. Change a life.
[25:41] Many people offering a little bit to lift somebody up who's struggling. See, God made us to be a blessing. And when we become the blessing of God, when we become the purpose of God, then we receive the blessing of God.
[26:00] The Bible says it's better to give than to receive. When people are struggling and hurting and having a problem, and they're saying, I just feel so down. I just feel so hurt.
[26:11] My life is falling apart. I tell them, go help somebody. And they look at me like, what are you, nuts? I'm the one who needs to be helped. Now, go help somebody. Because the more you're feeling stressed or down or hurt or broken or put upon, the more you need to go help somebody else.
[26:29] Because that will make you feel like you have value. Because you do. God has value for this. For you. Through you.
[26:41] So Mary asks this question. Very reasonable question, right? So how is this going to happen? You might have noticed. I'm a virgin, right? You know? You see, God gives us power and ability to do the things he wants us to do.
[26:58] He will gift us with gifts that we can't even imagine. He will actually give us abilities that are greater than what we ever thought we would have the ability to do. I can attest to that personally.
[27:10] I can't believe some of the things God has given me the ability to do. Just a kid from Chikawaga. I don't belong here. But God gifts us for what he uniquely designed us to be.
[27:26] In verse 30 it says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, Mary. Have courage. Just because you don't understand it.
[27:39] Just because you can't explain it. Just because you don't know exactly what it is. Doesn't mean that God is not in that plan. God is in the plan so it will succeed.
[27:49] None of God's plans fail. That's what the angel said. Take courage. God's got a plan for your life. And it says in verse 36, go see your cousin Elizabeth.
[28:07] You know the lady who's old as dirt? She's about to have a baby. You want to talk about impossible? That's impossible. Go see her because right now you're going to feel a lot of confusion, a lot of struggles, a lot of difficulties.
[28:22] And you need somebody who's loving and caring that will support you through this. Go and see Elizabeth. Not Joseph, by the way. We'll talk about that next week.
[28:35] God leads us to the relationships we need that will support us in the journey that he's designed for us. And then in verse 28, he has this wonderful thing. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored.
[28:48] The Lord is with you. The Lord is with you. God is with us. God will not leave us alone. God is our presence. You know, people will eventually fail us often.
[29:03] Sometimes by their choice. Sometimes by our choice. Sometimes by circumstances. Sometimes by the natural order of things. If you live long enough, you will see that there are people that whether they want to or not will not be there.
[29:18] But God will always be with you. Even to the end of the age. You will not have to face this journey in life alone. But even more important is this part that we don't understand from the English.
[29:33] Because it's not very properly interpreted. It says, you're highly favored. And it said that Mary was troubled by that. What does that mean? Well, the word is cherto, which means graced.
[29:47] You're highly graced. You have been given a special gift from God. You have been given a gift, a unique and amazing gift to fulfill the intended plan that I have for you.
[30:00] He's not just saying that to Mary. He's saying that to you too. Now the difficulty is, is we're not happy with the gifts God gives us. We want the gifts God gave somebody else. But don't worry about what somebody gave somebody else to do.
[30:15] God gifted you. As he gifted Mary. You are highly graced. Specially gifted for a special purpose.
[30:27] And God is with you in it all. You will never be alone. The snow is snowing. The wind is blowing. But I can't weather the storm.
[30:40] What do I care how much it may storm? I've got your love to keep me warm. Yeah, I'm sorry. But you know, that's what I had hoped I'd someday be a singer.
[30:52] So if I was a professional singer, I'd be singing in front of 20 people that probably had too much. Instead, I'm a professional pastor, so I abuse you all. We can tap into the power of God.
[31:08] Into the wisdom that God can give us through the Holy Spirit. Into the power of God's miracles. Into his presence. No wonder Mary says, my soul magnifies the Lord.
[31:24] She didn't say, my body magnifies the Lord. That's what we're all obsessed with, aren't we? You know, we spent a fortune on this thing here.
[31:34] It's amazing. Like, one-fifth of our economy goes for health care. That's not even counting for food and everything else we do. To just take care of this thing. Because we're so obsessed with it.
[31:46] It's really not that good. I don't know about you. But I find that, you know, all that investment isn't necessarily well spent. She didn't say, my body magnifies the Lord.
[31:59] I'm young and healthy and look at me. She didn't say, my mind magnifies the Lord. Fascinating. She could have said that. I understand your plan, God.
[32:10] And I will follow it to every detail. She didn't even say, my heart magnifies the Lord. God, I will commit my relationships and my love.
[32:22] And she said, my soul. Deep calls to deep. And when we talk about God's purpose and God's plan. And what God wants to do for us. It's a soul thing.
[32:34] And nothing transforms our lives more than when God speaks to our soul. And we listen. And he transforms us.
[32:48] Changing us. In what God intended us to be. Now, some would say, if this is what God offers, then thanks, but no thanks. I was thinking, a hippopotamus, Lord.
[33:02] But obedience to God is about God. It's not about what we expect or what we plan for. It's about what God expects. And he expects us to make a commitment.
[33:14] In fact, God expects us to choose to be chosen ones. God calls us to make a choice to be specially chosen by God.
[33:29] It isn't necessarily what we want to do. Just look at Gabriel. You think Gabriel really wanted to come down from glory to hang around here on earth?
[33:40] If you read about the angels in the Bible, you'll find out they don't like being here for the most part. They're not even very polite about it often. Did you remember Zechariah last week? Now, Gabriel was very gentle with Mary.
[33:51] I noticed that. He's very kind and nice. That's not the common thing. When he got Peter out of jail, it's like, get up out of there. Smacks him in the head. The angels don't like being down here.
[34:03] They know what the alternative is. And by the way, it's better. They know what glory is. But they come here not because they want to, not because they like to, but because God sent them.
[34:21] And so he came down to deliver the message of God. Not his message. And Mary says, let it be with me as you have said.
[34:31] I'm the Lord's servant. May it be filled in me. She did it because God wanted her to do it.
[34:44] Regardless of what her life plan is, she let God plan her life. You see, life is not about avoiding struggles. It's not about making our plan. It's not even about our glory.
[34:56] It's about fulfilling what God intended. And that's not always what we want, is it? Nice of you to offer, Lord, but I was thinking something else.
[35:11] Big, round, fat, wanders in the water. You know? It's very difficult when you give a gift to somebody who's honest.
[35:22] I mean, truly honest. My brother's like that. So I remember we'd gather around the Christmas tree, and there's my daughter. She's only like, you know, nine or ten years old, right?
[35:33] So she went out and in her nine or ten year old mind tried to figure out what her uncle would want, which isn't that easy to do for a young woman. So she's trying to figure out what it could possibly be, and she wraps it up in a package, and she gives it to him, and she even spent her own money to get it.
[35:52] And he'd open it up, and he'd say, what'd you give me this for? I don't want this. I'm like, really? Really? Jerk. My yada. Right?
[36:04] I got three brothers, so you don't know which one I'm talking about. But the truth is, sometimes if we were honest, that's what we'd say to God.
[36:16] Thanks, but no thanks. I didn't want this. Mary, in her song, says, My soul magnifies the Lord.
[36:29] My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed. The most amazing, most blessed woman, most incredible woman that ever walked the face of the earth was named Mary.
[36:49] Mary. What an amazing person she was. But at what cost? Mary agreed to do what the angel said, and after she said yes, everything went south.
[37:03] Imagine going and telling your fiancé, by the way, I'm pregnant. You know. And, oh, it's okay, because it's God's child. Yeah, try to get that one across. We'll see that next week, how that went over.
[37:15] And then when she's nine months pregnant, finally Joseph accepts the child. She finds herself having to travel all the way to Bethlehem, pregnant, and give birth to her child in a barn with a bunch of dirty shepherds as the midwives.
[37:32] not exactly a young woman's dream of how their first baby would be born. And yet, it led to the transformation of the world because Mary said yes to God.
[37:50] It's not always easy to do what God wants. You know that Salvation Army's been in the news lately. It's been interesting because the news has been this.
[38:02] Certain celebrities that have supported the Salvation Army are now being banned from performing in certain locations. Certain businesses that have given money to the Salvation Army are now being told that people won't go to their establishments anymore because they supported the Salvation Army.
[38:21] Because I've told you before, the Salvation Army is a church. And some people don't like what churches think, what churches say. But somewhere along the line, we have to decide that we don't care what people say, we care what God says.
[38:44] Paul told us this in Philippians. He says, I want to know Christ, yes, the power of his resurrection, and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, so that somehow attaining to the resurrection of the dead.
[39:00] Participating in his sufferings? How many of you want to suffer? Certainly, how many of you would want to suffer like Jesus did? Not me. How many of you want to hang on a cross?
[39:13] Not me. How many of you want to be criticized and abused and mocked and attacked and assaulted? Not me. They don't want this.
[39:29] I want a Buffalo Bills win for Christmas. Only Buffalo Bills win will do. Go Bills. Beat those Ravens. That'll change everything.
[39:39] Right? If at 4 o'clock this afternoon we beat the Ravens, man, we are all going to be dancing. And if we lose, we're going to be like, yeah, yeah, figures.
[39:51] It's what happens to us. We're losers. We're from Buffalo. Fascinating. How a football game can change our very personalities as an entire community.
[40:03] Walking around. Oh, we lost. So what? It's a football game. I love the Bills. I want them to win. Don't misunderstand. It doesn't matter. I know it might be you. But in the scheme of things, it isn't at the level of what God wants us to do.
[40:20] God wants us to choose to be chosen to be the blessings of God. Hope is a very powerful word. It takes us from this life, no matter how much it's a struggle, no matter how much we sometimes have problems, and gives us a desire to live into tomorrow because God has an amazing plan for us in the future.
[40:42] Even if we can't see it, even if we don't understand it, even if it doesn't make sense to us, even if we think it's impossible, the fact that God has this great plan for us, takes our present reality and pushes it aside and gives us hope and a desire to move into what God has in mind for us.
[41:03] And God's word, God's word will never fail. That's what the angel told Mary, and that's what they're telling us today.
[41:14] And even though Jesus was born to an unimportant woman in an unimportant town, in a stable, in a kind of side district, that birth changed the world.
[41:29] So God is calling you to do something that will also change the world. If we're open to God's plan, God's gift for us, what does God want to give you this Christmas?
[41:43] Are you willing to open up a card from God and find out what He has in mind for you? Because God can do anything.
[41:56] He can make our life filled with miracles, give us possibilities beyond our understanding. And that's what the Christmas gift is.
[42:11] I wish for each of you, today. Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
[42:21] He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things through me.
[42:33] Holy is His name. That's good news. That's a great joy that we can live. For every woman of the Lord I'm so happy to be first.
[43:04] We lose the great joy For every woman and every man Who's plenty of sight to you A baby born in Bethlehem Come and worship Do not be afraid Company of angels Born in the highest And in his heart Those of you who has never rest Come and worship Do not be afraid My soul, my soul Magnifies the Lord My soul Magnifies the Lord
[44:07] He has done great things on me Great things on me Once you a child is born Unto us the sun is blue Every heart we carry strong And every nation under her I'm worship Can I be afraid My soul, my soul Magnifies the Lord My soul Magnifies the Lord He has done great things on me Great things on me And there will be no end
[45:10] Till he's finished with his righteousness And he shall be God's name And he shall be God's name He shall be Wonderful Counselor Never last Father Wonderful Counselor And he shall be And he shall be Ever last Father My soul, my soul Magnifies the Lord My soul Magnifies the Lord He has done great things on me
[46:11] Also Great things on me 전�ieme And he shall be I command lives Kart אז Ter owningく S I love you.
[47:08] Eternally in your hand You sport the earth into motion My soul now to stand You stood before my failure And carry the cross for my shame My seal laid upon your shoulders My soul now to stand What can I say?
[47:56] What can I do? And offer this heart of love And believe to you I want the consolation The Spirit alive in me My life to declare your promise My soul now to stand What can I say?
[48:40] What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?
[48:55] What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?
[49:06] I'll stand with arms I'm heart abandoned In honor of the one who created all I'll stand My soul now to surrender I'll stand with arms I'm heart abandoned In honor of the one who created all I'll stand I'll stand with arms I'll stand with arms In honor of the one who created all I'll stand my soul Lord, you surrender all I am, it's yours All I am, it's yours You know, probably like Mary
[50:14] Who was troubled by the fact That God called her highly graced She struggled with the fact That she didn't feel she was good enough I mean, who are we?
[50:27] We're the servants of God Who are we? But God makes us good enough God has said that if we confess our sin And repent of our sin He will remove them From our lives So that we will also be highly graced So let's take our sins to God And prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord Shall we?
[50:52] Dear God in heaven I have sinned By what I've done By what I've refused to do Forgive me, Lord Guide me in your way Guide me in your path Help me to be a part of your plan Help me to be a part of your plan In Jesus' name we pray In Jesus' name we pray Amen Jesus wants us to have an absolutely new beginning It doesn't matter what happened yesterday Yesterday is yesterday in God Tomorrow is where hope lives And God wants us to be people of hope With a fresh and new beginning So in the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven Glory to God Amen And now as forgiven children of God Let's greet our neighbor with the Holy Spirit of Christ
[51:52] Jesus Christ Lord let's seek out It's at the end Amen Amen Amen Amen Thank you.
[52:29] Thank you.
[52:59] Thank you. Thank you.
[53:59] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[54:11] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[54:23] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. above and he leads his children on to the place where he is gone Jesus Christ invites you to receive his presence this morning the table is set by God himself and all those who seek after Christ are welcome to come to the table regardless of who you are what your age, where you've been or where you belong God invites you and calls you to come and join us at this table the Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the Lord our God it is right, it's a good, it's a joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to God who has given us all the blessings of life itself he's given us our reason to live he has given us the bodies we live in he's given us the air we breathe he's giving us his son Jesus Christ and so with
[55:41] Gabriel and all the angels in heaven we praise his name and join their unending hymn saying 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 who came from glory to this earth of ours to share with us the message of salvation and grace that takes us to glory he came as a little baby so that we wouldn't be frightened born in a humble stable so we wouldn't be afraid to trust in him he walked the places we walked he lived the life and the temptations we lived and he went to a cross that we might live again and on his last night with his disciples he gave this gift he took the bread and he gave thanks to God he broke the bread and he gave it to his disciples and he said take and eat this is my body which is broken for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins eat of this remembering me when the supper was over he took the cup he gave thanks to God and he gave it to his disciples and he said drink from this all of you this is my blood of the new covenant it's poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin drink of this remembering me and so in remembrance of these mighty acts in Jesus Christ we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith
[57:38] Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again pour your Holy Spirit into us gathered here Lord poured into our lives in such a powerful way that we know who we are help us to choose to be the chosen ones help us to be blessed to go out into this world and bring the joy and the wonder and the transformational power of God into this broken world let us be instruments Lord of your grace magnify our souls that deep might call to deep bless us to be a blessing for we offer all these prayers in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit Amen and now as Jesus taught his disciples to pray let us join together in saying our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven 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
[58:56] Amen and now will those who are assisting at the table come forward please moon Thank you.
[59:58] Thank you.
[60:28] Thank you.
[60:58] Thank you.
[61:28] Thank you.
[61:58] Thank you.
[62:28] Thank you. Thank you.
[63:28] Thank you. Thank you.
[64:00] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[64:12] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[64:24] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[65:00] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[65:14] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven.
[65:32] Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all.
[65:44] Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all. Lord of all.
[65:58] Lord of all. Lord of all. I don't want a hippopotamus for Christmas.
[66:12] I wouldn't even know what to do with the thing. I want a Buffalo Bills win for Christmas. Absolutely. I do want that. I will say that. Yes, I do. But that won't touch my soul.
[66:25] What I want is God to do whatever it is that he wants to do with me. And my hope is that God will give you that same gift. Reach into your very life, your soul, your heart.
[66:38] And touch you to be what God has intended you to be. Go and live into the amazing life God has got planned for you. For your life. For this world. God has got his hope and his peace.
[66:50] Amen. God has got섭. To be from theipples all who falls down.
[67:02] To be from the Rams. Thank you.
[67:37] Thank you.
[68:07] Thank you.