[0:00] Good morning, Pendleton Center and First United Methodist Churches. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made That the Lord has made Let us rejoice Let us rejoice And be glad in it And be glad in it This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day This is the day That the Lord has made Let us pray Holy God We come before you today
[1:00] In praise and worship For you are a God of blessing You are a God of goodness You are a God of promise And of victory And we come exalting your name We pray that you will come And fill us with your blessings Fill us with your power In this time As we dwell in your presence In Jesus' name Amen Amen Now I'd like to invite you all to stand If you're able As we sing together A hymn of promise That the Lord has made Mal dens letters piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly
[3:00] In our end is our beginning In our time, infinity In our doubt, where is evil?
[3:12] In our life, eternity In our death, the resurrection At last, the victory Unrevealed Until it's season Something God alone can see The Lord be with you And also with you Please be seated We have a wonderful opportunity this morning That we have three young ladies Who are going to become new members of our church As we baptize them into the Christian faith Brothers and sisters in Christ We celebrate the new birth By water and the Spirit Through the sacrament of baptism As we become members of Christ's Holy Church And so on behalf of the church We present today Everly Jean Stowe Eleanor Ruth Weller And Emma Joy Kinmartin For Holy Baptism
[4:13] So, as a church I'm going to ask you Will you, as a church of Christ Renew your own vows Of commitment to Christ And accept your responsibility To assist these parents In fulfilling their vows If so, answer We will Excellent Shall we pray?
[4:44] Lord, bless this water As a symbol of your sanctifying And renewing grace As you have used water To bless the saints of history Now let it bless these children Pour out your Holy Spirit On this gift of water To bless these children With your grace That leads to eternal life Help us to know That as we die to this world We become alive to Christ And share in his final victory Over sin and death Amen These questions Are for the parents I've got to do this Because we're going to Blow away here Do you reject The evil powers of this world Repent of your sin And accept the freedom And power God gives you To resist Satan If so, answer I do You confess Jesus Christ As your Lord and Savior And promise to serve As Christ's representative Through faithful participation In his church
[5:45] Answer, I do I do Will you nurture this child In Christ's holy church And by teaching an example Lead her to accept Christ As her Lord and Savior If so, answer, I will I will And will you who sponsor this child Support and encourage her In the Christian faith If so, answer, I will I will Everly Jean Stowe I baptize you In the name of the Father And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit May God bless you And be with you This day Forevermore Amen Now I present to you Our newest member Into the family of God Shall we receive our sister Into the church Eleanor Ruth Weller These questions are for the parents Do you reject the evil powers Of this world Repent of your sin
[6:45] And accept the freedom And power God gives you To resist Satan If so, answer, I do Do you confess Jesus Christ As your Lord and Savior And promise to serve As Christ's representative Through faithful participation In this church If so, answer, I do I do Will you nurture this child In Christ's holy church And by teaching an example Lead her to accept Christ As your Lord and Savior If so, answer, I will I will And will you who sponsor this child Support and encourage her In the Christian faith If so, answer, I will I will Okay, Eleanor Hello, Eleanor Hello Hello Hello Eleanor Ruth Weller I baptize you In the name of the Father And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit May the Lord bless you
[7:47] This day And forevermore Amen And now Shall we welcome Our newest member Into the family of God Emma Joy Kinmartin These questions Are for the parents Do you reject The evil powers Of this world Repent of your sin And accept the freedom And power God gives you To resist Satan If so, answer, I do Do you confess Jesus Christ As your Lord and Savior And promise to serve As Christ's representative Through faithful participation In his church If so, answer, I do Will you nurture this child In Christ's holy church And by teaching an example Lead her to accept Christ As your Lord and Savior If so, answer, I will And to you who sponsor this child Will you support and encourage her In her Christian faith If so, answer, I will Emma
[8:49] Hello, Emma You know your name, don't you? Absolutely Absolutely Emma Joy Kinmartin I baptize you In the name of the Father And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit May the Lord bless you And be with you always Amen Shall we greet our newest member Into the family of God What a wonderful joy To have the babies come And join us In our Christian faith Join us in our church family And we welcome them To our church family And we welcome all of you We're so glad that you're Joining us in worship today We ask that everyone Take a moment And fill out your friendship card And if you also have A blessing you'd like to share You can just put that Right on the friendship card And we want to rejoice Along with you And those blessings are projected In the next week's worship service There's also a section on there For prayer concerns So if you have a concern You'd like to have
[9:50] Lift it up in prayer Put it on that friendship card And that is given out To the prayer team And the pastors And we make sure That those concerns Are covered in prayer We want to invite you Also in this time To Peace UMC Fellowship Group For a time of gathering With church community For support and encouragement And discipleship They have music And devotions And prayer And you're all invited Peace UMC Fellowship Group And if you'd like to go A little deeper In your faith journey We invite you to join A small group We're just getting them started And we're looking for people Who want to join In a small group Where you will be able To discuss very closely Your faith journey And support one another And encourage each other In this And so if you're interested In joining a small group Let the church office know And then in worship today We also have a time of offering A time to give back And we give back Reflecting our own gratitude
[10:51] For what God has already given us Because we are so richly blessed And so I ask that you Prayerfully consider The gratitude in your heart The commitment of your life As we give back to God Our gifts, tithes, and offerings To the Lord You are not a God Created By human hands You are not a God Depended On any mortal man You are not a God In need of Anything we can give By your plan That's just the way it is You are God alone From before time began
[11:53] You are on your throne You are God alone You are God alone And right now In good times and fairs You are on your throne You are God alone You are the only God Who is power None can contend You are the only God In His name And praise will never end You are the only God Who is worthy Everything we can give You are God That's just the way You are God alone You are God alone Walking before time began You are God alone You are God alone You are God alone You are God alone
[12:56] You are God alone Right now In the good times and fairs You are on your throne You are God alone You are God You are on your throne, you are God alone.
[13:47] And right now, in those times that's bad, you are on your throne, you are God alone.
[14:00] You're unshakable, you're unshakable. You're unshakable, that's what you are.
[14:35] You're unshakable, that's what you are. You're unshakable, that's what you are.
[14:49] A blessing to this world as we shine your love.
[15:25] In Jesus' name we pray, amen. A blessing to this world as we shine your love. Morning, Junior Church.
[15:37] Are you already worshiping? Did you sing songs with Pastor Tom and Pastor Sherry? I hope you're having a wonderful day at Junior Church with your family. Now, you know, I have a question for you today.
[15:50] My question is, did you ever have a time when you were very, very happy and at the same time, you were also sad?
[16:01] I had a time like that one time when I had an opportunity to go next door to my best friend's house and I was going to get to play with her and her brother and her sister and all of their toys and we were going to have the most wonderful time.
[16:17] And I was all ready to go and my mother said, no, today we're going to go visit your grandmother. Now, I really, really love my grandmother and I really wanted to go visit her too.
[16:31] But I wanted to go be with my friends. But I wanted to go visit her too. I was sad because I wasn't going to be able to visit my friends and play with them.
[16:42] But I was very happy that I was going to go visit my grandmother because that was a very, very special time that I knew we were going to have together. Well, things change for us when we're growing up, don't they?
[16:57] Sometimes we're used to doing things one way and then we find out we're going to have to do them another way. Like, for example, I remember when I was a little girl and I first started riding a bike.
[17:09] Now, I didn't ride a two-wheeler bike first. At first I rode a tricycle, one with three wheels. How many of you have a tricycle? Or do you remember when you were riding a tricycle?
[17:21] Okay. Well, then I got older and I was old enough to learn how to ride a bike, a bicycle with two wheels. Some of you ride a bicycle already, don't you?
[17:33] I know you do. When you get to ride a bicycle and you get really, really good at it, you really don't want to ride a tricycle anymore because you want that bike. It's part of growing up.
[17:45] Our junior church third graders, remember a couple of weeks ago? We had them graduate and we know that when they come back to the church, they're going to be up in the big sanctuary with the pastor and all the grown-ups.
[18:00] And those of us who are a little bit younger are still going to be down in junior church. We're very happy for our friends because they're going to be upstairs in the big sanctuary and someday we will be too.
[18:13] But we're also a little sad because we're going to miss them. We're going to miss having them in junior church. Well, junior church, there is a happy and sad thing for today.
[18:25] I am very happy because I get to introduce a brand new friend to you. Someone that you've seen if you've been for worship in your living room for the last few weeks, but not someone who's talked to you as the junior church.
[18:41] I'm happy because I'm going to be able to introduce her because she's going to be the pastor who's going to be with junior church now. I'm sad because I'm going to be leaving because it's my last day with you in junior church today.
[18:58] So I'm happy and I'm sad. I hope you are too. I hope you're happy that you're going to meet Pastor Kathy. Pastor Kathy asked me something really, really special.
[19:11] She wanted to know something that you already know how to do really, really well. So I'm going to introduce you to Pastor Kathy and let you see her. And then I'm going to show her how to do something.
[19:24] I bet you know what it is. I'm going to show her how to do something that you already know how to do so that next week when she's being your pastor for junior church, she's going to be able to do it with you.
[19:37] Pastor Kathy is a very good friend of mine. I've known her for a while and she's very nice and she has a very nice smile and she really loves little children.
[19:49] And I know she has lots of wonderful things that she wants to share with you. So Pastor Kathy, can you say hi to the children? Hi everyone.
[20:00] That's great. Now, Pastor Kathy, I'm going to show you something that they know how to do real, real well. And it's about how we share God's love. That it comes from God, that love comes from God, and that we can share it with everyone because God fills us up with love.
[20:17] Ready? First, you have to take your hands like this and make it like a heart. So you put your thumbs down at the bottom and curl your fingers up so that it makes it look like a heart. Right.
[20:28] And then we go, when God's love is in my heart, I can love everybody.
[20:41] That's right, Pastor Kathy. That's terrific. Now we'll try it all together. You try it with me and we'll do it with the children. Everybody do it together. Ready? When God's love is in my heart, I can love everybody.
[20:59] And then we greet one another and we look through our heart, which is the love of God, and we look at each other and we say, Jesus loves you very much. Jesus loves you very much, Pastor Kathy.
[21:12] And Jesus loves all of you very much. Did you tell everyone? Good. Now, Pastor Kathy is going to share a little bit with you just to say hello.
[21:23] As Pastor Lisa said, my name is Pastor Kathy, and I'm so happy to be sharing with you today. I can't wait until we can actually meet and I can get to know your names and everything.
[21:35] I want to tell you a little story. When I was a little girl and growing up, I didn't know anything about the love of Jesus. I didn't know Jesus loved me. I didn't know that Jesus' love could be in my heart.
[21:48] So I sure didn't know how to share it with other people. And I'm so glad that you have learned that because maybe you're going to meet somebody just like me, who doesn't know anything about Jesus' love when I was little.
[22:01] And you get to share it with them. And that will be such a happy, happy thing. So thank you for sharing Jesus' love. I know that today you have to say goodbye to Pastor Lisa and Pastor Tom, and I know that might feel sad.
[22:17] But I hope that you feel happy to have loved them and they loved you. And now we get to love each other and always with Jesus' love in our heart.
[22:28] The Bible has a very, very special book in it. It's called Ecclesiastes. Oh my gosh, can you say Ecclesiastes?
[22:39] Try it, try it again. Ecclesiastes. I know it's a really, really long word. But it was written, we think, by a really, really wise man named Solomon.
[22:51] Solomon was king of Israel. And he had prayed to God to make him wise. So that he would be able to lead the people of Israel really, really well.
[23:04] And Solomon was so wise that he told us about the times and the seasons of life. And how things change. And how we grow.
[23:15] And how sometimes we're happy and sometimes we're sad. He wrote, There is a time for everything. And a season for everything under heaven that we do.
[23:28] A time to be born and a time to die. And we know that's true. Sometimes we get, we have plants or goldfish or something like that. And we have them for a while.
[23:40] And then they die and we need to get a new goldfish, right? Yeah. A time to plant and a time to uproot. Oh, if you have a garden, you know about that one. Did you ever grow carrots?
[23:51] If you grow carrots, you know that you plant them. And then later on in the season when the carrots are ready, you pull them out and you get to eat them, right? So it's good. You plant them and then you uproot them.
[24:03] Even with like tomatoes and things. With tomatoes, you plant them and they grow up on that great big stalk. And they get big and ripe and juicy. And then you pluck them off the plant.
[24:14] So you can eat them up. So there's a time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to weep and a time to laugh. See? Happy and sad.
[24:25] Sometimes it's time to be sad and sometimes it's time to be happy. And a time to mourn. That means be sad about something that you've lost. And a time to dance.
[24:37] And we're going to dance in a minute, aren't we? Solomon was telling us that there are different times and they're all times that are okay for us to have in our life.
[24:48] It's okay for us to feel sad. And it's okay for us to feel happy. That's important. Pastor Kathy is very wise too. I think you're going to find that out over the next few weeks.
[25:01] She's very wise and she knows lots about the Bible and she knows Jesus really well. God has told me to move on to another church where there are children who need me.
[25:15] Pastor Kathy was told by God to move to this church where you all need her because I'm going.
[25:26] It's a very important thing for us to go where Jesus goes. To go where Jesus tells us to go. I want you to know that I want you to remember every move you make needs to be the way Jesus would have you move.
[25:44] Every move has to be in him. I try to make every move I make in Jesus. So I'm going to another church where Jesus has told me to go. Pastor Kathy, she always wants to be doing what Jesus is telling her to do.
[25:59] She wants to move with Jesus. So she's coming here. Every move we make, we make in Jesus. We hope every move you make, you make in Jesus too.
[26:12] Bye friends. Bye . Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.
[26:23] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.
[26:34] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Every move I make, I'm making you You make me move, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Every step I take, I take in you You are my way, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Every move I make, I'm making you You make me move, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Every step I take, I take in you You are my way, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Waves of mercy, waves of grace
[27:40] Everywhere I look, I see your face Your love has captured me Oh my God, this love, how can it be?
[27:54] Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na na na na na na na na Every move I make, I make it move You make me move Jesus, every breath I take, I breathe in You Every step I take, I take it move You are my way Jesus, every breath I take, I breathe in You Waves of mercy, waves of grace Everywhere I look, I see Your grace Your love has captured me Oh my God, this love I can't defeat Na na na na na na na Na na na na na na na na
[28:59] Na na na na na na na Na na na na na na na Na na na na na na na na na haw-鉢-ka-omnus Throughout this time, the prayer team has been putting together prayer prompts prayer prompts. We're asking for people to partake in a prayer vigil to lift up the situations of the world, situations around us, situations within us in this time to cover everything in prayer. And the prayer team has put together different prayer prompts for us to focus on. And this one today is from Leslie Wagner and she starts off with a couple scriptures. The first is Psalm 91 4 which says, he will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. And from Exodus 33 22 through 23 it says, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back but my face must not be seen. And Leslie writes, these verses remind me that at times when faced with illnesses, fear, unknown outcomes and adversity, our God is tender and protective. He too is fiercely mighty in power. While we do everything humanly possible to make things right, sometimes we need to get out of the way, allow ourselves to be put in a cleft in the rock and covered by his hand while he makes things right in his own way and in his own time. We can then emerge from the cleft in the rock and say, there he goes, that was our God. The pandemic we've been experiencing has shown us that we need that cleft in the rock and the comfort like soft downy feathers to calm and reassure us that our Abba, our Father God, will guide and protect us. And so that is our prayer prompt submitted today by Leslie Wagner and ask that all of us consider in what ways we're going to step back out of the way, trusting in God that God has this and God will cover us and protect us and give us power. And so this morning we're going to be praying together and I want to draw attention to a concern that was that happened last week on Sunday. Ed Gminder passed away so please pray for Betty and her entire family and for many many others who are recovering from surgeries, who are going through so many struggles in this world. As you take time, I ask that you take time to pray every day in prayer, lifting up people, lifting up our world. And now in worship let us all pray together.
[32:04] O Lord, we thank you for who you are, for you have given us so much. You have showered us with your grace more than we can ever even imagine. Lord, you have blessed us and we thank you and we praise you. Lord, we come to you humbly, trusting in you for you are good. And we ask that you will have your hand upon us as we go through these times. We pray that you will comfort those who are mourning, whether it be the mourning because they've lost a loved one or because they've lost a job or there's broken relationships. Lord, we pray for your comfort and your peace. We pray for healing in relationships, Lord, as broken relationships have been causing harm, Lord. We pray that your healing hand will be upon them and your peace will shine through and people will be brought together once again.
[33:12] Lord, we pray for healing in all ways. We start with healing in the body, Lord. We pray that people will receive healing in their bodies because you are master physician. And we pray that for people who are struggling with pain, that pain will be gone and they will be set free. We pray that they will have healing in their bodies, Lord, from all the different diseases, all the ailments, all the things that are holding them back from being who you created them to be. Lord, we pray for healing in the body, that people will be restored, completely healed in the name of Jesus. And we pray for an eradication of this coronavirus, Lord. We pray for a cure. We pray that your glory will be seen as the land is healed from this virus. Lord, we pray for healing in the mind as people are experiencing anxiety and depression, that you will lift up our minds and you will set us free. Give us the power, Lord, to take every thought of us to be able to walk captive and to be able to walk firmly in your power, in your strength, in your victory,
[34:24] Lord, in this way. Because we trust in you and we know that we can do all things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will come and fill us, indwell within us to overflowing.
[34:40] Lord, we pray that you would continue to draw people and we would be a witness to your love. We pray that there are people that have not heard you and we pray that we will be part of that journey, that people will be drawn to you, that we will be grace-filled worshipers in this world, that draw people into your covenant by reflecting who you are. Lord, we pray, we pray that you will make us a holy witness of your name with boldness for your glory.
[35:21] And Lord, we pray for healing of this nation, healing in so many ways. We pray for healing physically through the coronavirus, but also healing with all of the pain that people are having through the difficulties that people are having with all of the struggles and the concerns, the uprisings, the injustice. Lord, we pray against injustice and we pray that you will set people free from anger and from hatred and from violence. Lord, we pray against all forms of oppression and we pray that you will show us the way to make this land free as you intend, that all of us will have hearts that love and accept as you intend. And Lord, we pray that our faith will be so full, so firm that we will reflect your kingdom and spread your love, that there will be a forgiving heart with open eyes and open hearts to see you in the midst. And we rejoice in what you are doing, looking forward to you, looking forward to what you are doing and moving in the hearts of people.
[36:40] And we pray, Lord, that you will have your hand upon Pastor Tom as he moves into retirement and as he gives the word today, the final word for our worship today, that you will bless him and cover him and protect him in this time.
[37:10] And be with him and Pastor Jackie, that they may experience your blessing. And we pray for Pastor Lisa as she moves on to Elmall United Methodist Church, that you will shower her with your blessing and protect her as well.
[37:27] And we pray for Pastor Kathy and Pastor Scott, that they may feel welcomed through your spirit and that you will give them your strength and your wisdom by your spirit.
[37:40] That this flock, this family of faith may be shepherded by your spirit to do your will in Jesus's name.
[37:53] And in his name we pray. Amen. Hi, everyone. Before I begin the liturgy, I just have to thank Pastor Tom for his Bible-based spiritual leadership for us here at Pendleton for 30 years.
[38:09] It's been an amazing, God-filled ride for all of us, our family, our friends, even our entire community. Thank you so much for all you have done.
[38:23] May God continue to bless you and your family. And congratulations on your retirement. Amen. So now, I'm going to turn to the liturgy, which comes from Luke chapter 4, verses 4 through 24.
[38:44] Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
[38:57] He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
[39:11] He set the scroll and listened to Mary'sASH. Let me sort of read up, and the prophet Peter says to Jesus, that there's a way to frame a prayer in which you've canon. He sent to Jews, because of the Sabbath day, to mourn up the訓aries of all and everythings of all, and God, shає neither è a LP atau through the enemy hath he gave ibnUn He sent me to proclaim till age of theumm colon,ì œï¿½ him to pass the pi hacer of the cross and heaven, to tame Gem Int ê±° dizer.
[39:25] He sent me to Wearing Love- He sent me to Providence And recovery of Sai for the blind. To set the oppressed free. Xana, in which he walked through the stone in our ceremonial grind and called us.
[39:37] He served as the spr embry yet to grow the seventh-round and in the night. the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. Isn't this Joseph's son, they said. Jesus said to them, Surely you will quote this proverb to me, Physician, heal yourself. And you will tell me, Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum. Truly I tell you, he continued, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. This is the word of our Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you, Louis. Got the tux on.
[40:38] My daughter said to me, Dad, you missed Christmas Eve and then you missed Easter. I haven't worn this all year. So I thought for my last sermon I'm going to wear this. But for the big celebration out in the parking lot, I'm not wearing a black tuxedo on an 80 degree day. So expect me to be a little less formal. I don't expect you to dress up either. Love the Lord your God with all your strength. Love the Lord your God with all your strength.
[41:04] It says, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. And news about him spread through the whole countryside. Jesus arrived with power. And amazing things were happening all over the region. Miracles in Capernaum. Many years ago, I arrived at this congregation. And even at the congregation in Niagara Falls, I found churches that were broken. They were a shell of what they had been. Myself, I was just a young, very inexperienced pastor who had just recently got out of seminary. And even though I pretended to know everything, I really knew hardly anything.
[41:59] The son of a firefighter, a truck driver turned pastor. And all I really had was the Holy Spirit.
[42:15] And that's all I needed. My very first sermon I preached from this passage. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
[42:42] God anoints everyone. The poor, the broken, the shackled, the least, the lost, the little one.
[42:56] We've been talking a little bit about King David. There was a time when King David was out in the fields watching sheep. He was really no much more than maybe a teenage boy. And the prophet, Samuel came down to anoint a new king. And he was told that it would be someone from Jesse's household.
[43:15] And so he went to the oldest brother. And God said, no, not that one. And he proceeded to go down the line to each of the brothers, strong, burly, full-grown men. When he got to the last one, he said, is there nobody else? And they said, no, there's nobody else. Well, except the runt. You know, the teenage boy out watching sheep, but you can't mean him. He's just, he's just a kid.
[43:43] And when he appeared, God said, that's the one. That's the one I chose. Along the course of life, God chose me.
[43:55] And God chose you. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is. People have asked me over the years, why does a church grow? How do you make a church grow? I said the Bible is very clear in 1 Corinthians.
[44:14] It says, one plants, one waters, and God gives the growth. God gives the growth. God makes miracles and amazing things happen like he did with Jesus. He does with us. He breathed life into our congregations. And we changed. Niagara Falls went from a church that was struggling, had bitterness and hurt, and a feeling of fear that they were collapsing. And now, they're reaching out the community and transforming the people of LaSalle. And the people of LaSalle see that church as a place of love and nurture and caring. Pendleton, my firstborn.
[45:03] It grew more than any United Methodist church in New York State in the last 50 years. Think about that. Somewhere around 2,000 churches.
[45:15] And this congregation grew more than any other church in the last 50 years. In fact, the last one to grow like this one was a church called Christ Church in Snyder. It's where I grew up.
[45:27] And my pastor, Glenn Aldy Crafts. Now, that's kind of just an interesting coincidence. God gave it the growth. Even though we were broken, we were small, we were struggling, we were hurting.
[45:40] God does amazing things. The poor have hope. The broken are released. The blind see. The ones who are weighed down are lifted up. And God gives a year of favor.
[45:57] I have seen what God's favor is like. I feel that I have been the most blessed pastor there ever was.
[46:07] Certainly the most blessed pastor I've ever known. The great fortune and blessings and wonderful experiences and the great ride that we've had together is amazing.
[46:21] And I could never ask for any dream. Whatever dream I ever had, our life together through the power of the Holy Spirit exceeded it.
[46:34] It's a fascinating thing that often when we read the scriptures, we get caught up in the past. What happened back then instead of thinking about what can happen now. I remember, and I've talked to you before about a man named John Wimber.
[46:50] He was in a rock and roll band. Righteous Brothers, you remember that? You never close your eyes. Anyway, it's another story. And John Wimber became a Christian and he started going to church.
[47:04] And he went to church week after week. And finally, one week, he went up to the ushers and he said, when do we get to do the stuff? The usher said, what are you talking about? What stuff?
[47:15] He said, you know, like the miracles and the healings and all the stuff we read about in the Bible. And the usher said to him, oh, well, you know, we don't do the stuff. We believe the stuff happened, but we don't actually do the stuff.
[47:32] And John Wimber said, when I was with Satan, he let me do his stuff. Now you're telling me with God, I can't do God's stuff? And we went on to form an entire denomination where people saw the miracles, the powers, the wonders of God happen.
[47:48] Much like we have seen in this great ministry. It says in verse 20 that they were all watching him. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.
[48:05] Eyes black as coal and when he lifts his face, every ear in the place is on him. Remember that song, Brother Love? They're waiting, anticipating.
[48:19] And I know we come to church with anticipation and over the years, I've seen you watch me. In fact, I said to someone, as much as I don't like preaching to a camera, this sermon, I'm glad I'm preaching to a camera because I don't think I could look in all of your faces watching me.
[48:40] You draw from me my spirit. I can feel the Holy Spirit go out into the congregation. You wait to see what I will do. and what God will do through me.
[48:55] And now people say to me, what are we going to do without you, Pastor Tom? Which I understand. It's been a long time we've been together. They were watching Jesus and Jesus says that they're waiting for him to do miracles like he did in Capernaum.
[49:15] They're waiting for him to do something special because their faith depends on the miracles, on the incredible things.
[49:28] They're focused on the man, Jesus, and not the God who's bringing the good news. There's another story about King David, but it starts out with his brothers.
[49:45] They're in a war with the Canaanites and all of a sudden the enemy brings up a giant of a man. His name was Goliath. You've heard this story, right? And Goliath was huge.
[50:00] He was the kind of guy that just by the sight of him you're like, oh my gosh, he's bigger than dead, Putney, what are we going to do? And they were all afraid. And every day he would come out and he would call out to the Israelite nation, Send out your champion.
[50:18] Send out somebody to fight me and if you win, we lose. And if I win, you all lose. And everybody knew who the champion was. The champion was Saul, the king of Israel.
[50:30] It said in the scriptures that he stood a full foot taller than everyone else. I mean, he was tall. He was a big guy. But he didn't want to face Goliath.
[50:43] He was afraid. And fear, fear can drive us to many things. A fear about our lives, a fear about our finances, a fear about our families, a fear about our health, a fear about our churches, a fear.
[51:00] We have so much fear in our culture today. We're tripping with it. We're afraid to go out. A giant is calling us out. Come on.
[51:12] We're afraid. After Jesus died, the church faced fears too. For a while, they were up in an upper room, afraid to go out for fear that they might end up with the same results that Jesus had.
[51:30] They struggled. Jesus is gone. What do we do? In Acts chapter 4, it talks about how the nations rage and then they prayed.
[51:45] The people of God prayed and this is what they said. They said, Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. And after they prayed, it said, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
[52:00] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, the power of God, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
[52:17] The people sitting with Jesus had great expectations. We all have great expectations. God is going to do something amazing.
[52:29] Are you ready for a miracle? But it's hard to believe in miracles. When the giants are facing us and when it feels as if the world is crushing us, it's hard.
[52:45] So the whole Israelite army cowered in fear. David's brothers were in the army and they just stayed back too. David, watching the sheep, was sent by his father with a lunch for his brothers.
[53:02] So he came up with a lunch and he said, Why is everybody just sitting here? And some of the people there told him about the giant. He said, A giant?
[53:12] Are you talking about some pagan giant? Is calling out our God and we're afraid? Of course, you're all like, Yeah boy, easy for you to say. Most of you know this story.
[53:27] David volunteered to go up against the giant. King Saul offered to put his armor on him. It swamped him. He was too small. It didn't fit him. So he went out with a slingshot and a rock.
[53:41] A few stones to face a giant with a huge sword. And you know the story. The rock flew.
[53:53] The giant fell. Not because David was so powerful. Not because David was so skilled. But because God was with him.
[54:06] The spirit of the Lord is on me. Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners.
[54:17] Recovery of sight to the blind. To set the oppressed free. And to proclaim the year of God's favor. Seems like we have giants everywhere.
[54:31] Fear, guilt, doubt, death, despair. fear. I was known for many years as the pastor that grew a big church.
[54:44] Filled the place with people. People would actually come from other places to hear what I would say. And now I've come to the end of my ministry and I can count one, two, three people.
[55:03] It's worse than what I got here. It's empty. It's all been stripped away. Almost as if to say everything I did the last 30 years dust in the wind.
[55:23] in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel says the hand of the Lord was on me. He brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley.
[55:35] It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley. Bones that were very dry. He asked me, son of man, can these bones live?
[55:49] And I said, sovereign Lord, you know. I love that. You know. Then he said to me, prophesy to these bones, preach to these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord and this is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones.
[56:06] I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin and I will put breath in you and you will come to life and then you will know that I am the Lord.
[56:22] You will know I am the Lord. The Holy Spirit is what anointed me to be a pastor.
[56:34] I was a truck driver and became a preacher. I was a sinner who was called by God to preach to saints. I was the least qualified of anyone.
[56:53] But the Holy Spirit gave me the power to be your pastor and now he's giving you that power.
[57:05] Love the Lord your God with all your strength. Now with all of mine, with all the strength that comes from within you by the power of the Lord, the Holy Spirit to transform what you do, what you may not even think is amazing, into something absolutely astounding.
[57:29] And God will do great things. I know for some people they feel to some degree that this is like a betrayal.
[57:42] of me. Why now? Why here? You still could do this longer, Pastor Tom. Why are you leaving us, especially in the midst of this crisis?
[58:01] And it's hard. Over the course of the ministry I've had, I made a lot of mistakes. mistakes and if I've hurt people because of the feelings I have as a person, I apologize.
[58:17] I never truly intended to. But one thing that wasn't a mistake was that sometimes I followed what my heart and my soul told me instead of what my mind and my soul told me instead of my heart.
[58:35] there are times when I knew because it was what had to be from everything I could understand what I should do.
[58:51] And there were times that I took that same thing to the Lord in prayer and my soul told me what I should be doing. and there are times that it took me a long time to make a decision.
[59:05] Some people would say too long because my heart would hold me back. If I listened to my heart I'd be doing this until you'd be saying when can we get rid of the old doddering guy?
[59:17] I know that because I would love to spend the rest of my life with these people that I've spent half of my life with. I'd love to.
[59:31] But a couple of years ago my mind told me no. It's time. But God told me not yet.
[59:43] So I waited. Last October my soul said I was released. My time here was finished.
[59:55] And even though my heart wants to hold on I know what's right. And sometimes it feels wrong. But we know it's right.
[60:08] There's a passage in the book of John where Jesus is talking to his disciples and in the midst of that I've always understood it theologically that this was Jesus' way of saying it's time to go.
[60:21] It's time for me to leave so that you can receive the Holy Spirit. but until I went through this experience myself I didn't feel the pathos of Jesus saying I have to leave you even though I've loved you.
[60:34] We've walked together. We've worked together. We've eaten together. We've cried together. We've laughed together. But I have to go. And so these are the words Jesus said.
[60:47] I am going to him who sent me. None of you asked me where are you going. Rather you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you it's for your good that I am going away.
[61:02] Unless I go away the advocate will not come to you the Holy Spirit. but if I go I will send him to you.
[61:16] You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Now I have to tell you I've done a lot of shtick over the years and I kind of thought that somewhere in here I even talked to Adrian that maybe we get this little scene from the Wizard of Oz where I'd be going away in the balloon or down the yellow brick road.
[61:34] But you know that would make me seem like I'm just a showman. Instead I'm going to do something I shouldn't do and I'm going to try to cover a song that I shouldn't try to cover especially after Whitney Houston.
[61:50] This was written by Dolly Parton many years ago and actually Elvis wanted to cover it but she said no to Elvis so well you do whatever you want with that.
[62:01] But the words of this song express what I really feel. If I should stay well I know I would only be in your way so I'll go yet I know that I'll think of you each step of the way and I love you love you love you love you love you I'll always love you bittersweet memories all I have so goodbye please don't cry I'm not what you need yet I embody yes I yes I will always love you all of you yes you
[63:20] I'll always love you and I hope life will treat you kind.
[63:33] I hope you have all that you've dreamed and I wish you joy and happiness. But above all, I wish you love and I will always love you.
[63:59] Love you. I'll always love you. Jesus didn't leave his disciples because he wanted to go.
[64:14] He left because he had to. And I don't want to go. I want to stay. I want to stay here until I breathe no more on this earth.
[64:30] You know, in life, people ask, what's your legacy going to be? But the problem with the legacy is it's about the past. And even though we look at the past of our faith and what happened in the scriptures, it's not that we believe in what happened in the past, it's that we have faith in what God is going to continue to do.
[64:52] We have a living legacy. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. People ask me, what are you going to do? I don't know, but I know, I know that the God I serve has something in mind for me.
[65:08] New blessings. A new calling for all of us. The spirit of the Lord is upon you. He has anointed you to proclaim good news to the poor.
[65:22] He has sent you to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. Recovery of sight to the blind. To set the oppressed free.
[65:37] And to proclaim the year of God's favor. So receive the Holy Spirit. Receive life and purpose and power and miracles and live into it.
[65:53] Don't even be afraid. Don't be afraid. It's an old saying. Don't be afraid to go out on the limbs because that's where the fruit is. Live your life fully.
[66:05] Live your life completely. Be the church of God. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you remember me at all, remember the power of God that can transform you.
[66:19] They were waiting for Jesus to do something. And he said, today, today, today this is being fulfilled.
[66:31] You don't have to wait. You don't have to wait. Scripture is filled today and you with a God that is a dream maker for you, for me, for our church, for the world around us.
[66:51] be a hope giver. Be a tomorrow maker. Be a miracle liver. Be a good news bringer.
[67:05] And be a change breaker. And set the world free from fear. Conquer the giants. Live into the hope that God has made for you. and we will see each other again.
[67:18] Thank you.
[67:48] You've been walking the same old road for miles and miles. You've been hearing the same old voice tell the same old lies. If you're trying to build the same old holes inside, there's a better life.
[68:09] There's a better life. You've got pain. He's a pain taker. You feel lost. He's a way maker.
[68:24] Any dream of the saving is a prison-shaking savior. You've got shame. He's a chain breaker.
[68:37] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We've all found ourselves One hour for a single time We've all run to things We know that just ain't right And there's a better life There's a better life We've got pain He's a pain taker If you feel lost He's a pain taker If you need freedom For saving He's a prison-shaking savior If you've got a chance He's a chain breaker If you need it
[69:39] If you receive it If you can feel it Somebody testify If you believe it If you receive it If you can feel it Somebody testify Somebody testify If you believe it If you receive it If you can feel it Somebody testify If you believe it He's a pain taker If you feel lost He's a way maker If you need freedom For saving He's a prison-shaking savior God's shame He's a chain breaker If you need freedom
[70:40] For saving He's a prison-shaking savior God's shame He's a chain breaker He's a home He's a bond He's a prison-shaking Wha- cue In order to escape You discuss On the way For saving They do A hell A hell He's a captive-shaking油 A school And you trzy To be free God'sested I'll You Familie Search To be sixty trusts McDonald's chambers Pot работатьех wondering Howitar Podcast Seiten Dear os We're the Word at the beginning One with God, the Lord most high
[71:44] Hidden glory in creation Now revealed in you, our Christ What a beautiful name it is What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus Christ, my name What a beautiful name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful name it is The name of Jesus You didn't want an end without us Jesus, you brought heaven now My sin was great to love, most of us
[72:46] What could separate us now? What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Christ, my name What a wonderful name it is God, the contrast to this What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus Who is the love ofimAPYPYPYPYPYPYPYPYPYPYPYPYP YEPMUbUE W song I'll see you next time.
[74:01] I'll see you next time.
[74:31] Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the glory. Yours is the name of the Lord. What a powerful name it is.
[74:46] What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ. What a powerful name it is.
[74:59] Nothing can stand for death. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is.
[75:12] The name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus. The name of Jesus.
[75:32] It's time to say farewell to Pastor Tom. Hebrews 13 7 says, Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
[75:47] I don't know about you, but hearing this verse, I see Pastor Tom all over it. Hi Pastor Tom. We just wanted to say congratulations. And good luck.
[75:58] Hi Pastor Tom. It's your backup praise singer here just wanting to say thank you for your many years of leadership at PCUMC and First Church. Hello Pastor Tom. Bud Mayer here.
[76:08] And I just wanted to say how sorry I am that we won't be able to spend your last week together in worship. PCUMC will never be the same with Pastor Tom's departure.
[76:22] I am here today to give a quick rundown of what your ministry has meant to me and my family, Sam, Sammy, Hannah, and Adrian, over the course of the 24 years that we've been members of Pendleton Center.
[76:38] So it's hard to condense 24 years into a minute or two, but I'll try. Here goes. Pastor Tom, we thank you for speaking God's word to us, for preaching the Bible for so many years.
[76:54] Thank you for leading this flock. Thank you for teaching us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank you for reminding us to take care of the least, the lost, and the little ones.
[77:10] To love our neighbors as ourselves. Pastor Tom, first I want to thank you for all of your relatable sermons over the years and all the little mini history lessons that you've given us within those sermons.
[77:21] I've always enjoyed them, and it has made the Bible much more relatable for me. I also want to thank you for making us part of the praise team and giving us the opportunity to praise God with you through music for the past 10-plus years.
[77:35] We've really had a blast doing that. We're going to miss our times together in worship, your sermons, your insight, and your music.
[77:48] We had some really good musical times together. He saw the best in us and reminded us that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. In fact, we're so far from perfect, it's hard to imagine what perfect is.
[78:01] But that's God. Perfect, patient, forgiving, loving, just waiting for us to love Him as much as He loves us. and wanting us to love and accept others with all their imperfections as He loves us.
[78:16] I've always been so grateful to be a member of a church that's so loving and caring and dynamic, and that has so much to do with your leadership and your vision. You have accepted each of us just as we are.
[78:28] You've loved the heaven into us, occasionally scared the hell out of us, but always encouraged us to grow deeper in our faith and to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ. I still remember when you first came to Pendleton 30 years ago.
[78:42] There was no getting used to the new pastor. It was just like, wow, how did we get so lucky? You were our pastor and you were our friend. You've taught us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
[78:57] You've been our teacher, our spiritual leader, our preacher, and along with Pastor Jackie, and most importantly, our friends. But when it comes to you, I think the biggest thing for me was weekly.
[79:13] Every week, you'd get up there on a Sunday morning, and you'd open the Bible, and you'd read from the Bible, and you'd preach from the Bible, and you'd always give it a twist and a joke with your sermon, and you made it relatable to the everyday person.
[79:31] Okay, Pastor Tom, you've been a wonderful pastor, and I'll always remember Bible school with you, and you're making it fun for the children, rise and shine, and you would hide on them and jump up and make the children all laugh and sing more.
[79:49] I will miss all your fun ties and seeing you at vacation Bible school. Definitely ties and singing at King of the Greens. One of my favorite memories was how you brought in props and made the lessons and us learning about God more fun.
[80:07] My favorite memory is the Superhero Series. Thank you for letting all of the kids' activities go on in church. I remember when you baptized me and my brother.
[80:20] I love you and I miss you. I look back at your time in ministry, and I'm thankful for your support and encouragement as I and so many others found their way to leadership in the church as we were able to grow in our own faith through your preaching and your teaching.
[80:41] Dan and I came to Pendleton Center nearly 20 years ago because we just moved back to the area and we were looking for a church home and a place to raise a family. Under your leadership, we found that and so much more.
[80:56] Pastor Tom was always a beacon of wisdom and faith who was passionate about what he does. He has taught me great things throughout the years I've been going in the church. I will never forget all the laughs and memories I've made with you, Pastor Tom.
[81:09] Thank you for the opportunity for me to work with you for your spiritual guidance and my spiritual growth through you and through working with Pendleton and First Church.
[81:24] It's been a great experience. We started attending Pendleton after going to a fish fry, of course. We attended your Sunday service after that fish fry and we got hooked right away and we never looked back and we haven't stopped coming since.
[81:42] Thank you for being such an important part in our lives and for all of the fun memories we've made on the mission trips. Thank you for letting such a young kid play in the praise band and enjoy himself there. I was in your Bible class Wednesday nights for many years and learned so much.
[81:55] Through your ministries with the mission trips, I have learned so much and been able to have so many different opportunities that I just wouldn't have had anywhere else. You've deeply impacted me and you've made me build a very strong relationship with God that I hope to have for the rest of my life.
[82:11] We are going to miss you and I just can imagine that you are collectively holding us in your heart and wanting us to know that it's going to be okay, that God is good all the time and all the time God is good.
[82:25] We wish you all the best in your retirement. The verse I have picked for you to go along with you for the rest of your life outside of the church is Matthew 25, 23.
[82:37] It says, His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness.
[82:49] I appreciate it, all you've done and you'll be always remember you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. And I thank you for many good years of laughs and knowledge and friendship and all the times.
[83:07] And you're wrong when you say that we won't remember you because the Fulbys are always going to remember you. Always. Always be in our hearts and our lives.
[83:18] We have been so blessed to have you and we thank you. And now we wish you and Jackie a wonderful and blessed retirement. God knows we're going to miss you but you'll be forever in our hearts.
[83:33] I wish you well and I hope that you and Jackie have a wonderful time in your retirement and you'll come back and see us sometime. I'm going to miss that.
[83:44] I'm going to miss our times together playing music and I would love to play music with you again sometime. So keep that Elvis voice going and we'll see each other again soon.
[83:56] You also taught us that the purpose of this life is to get to the next. So instead of saying goodbye we say until we meet again good and faithful servant.
[84:09] We are so grateful for the wonderful legacy that you're leaving us and we pray that you and Pastor Jackie always remember how much you are loved by all of us at PCUMC.
[84:21] And how could we forget one of the biggest lessons you ever taught us? God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. Thank you Pastor. Thank you.
[84:31] And so we have a liturgy that's given to us by the Methodist Church. I thank you members and friends of Pendleton Center and First United Methodist Churches for the love and support that you have shown to me while I have been a pastor among you.
[84:51] I am grateful for the ways my leadership has been accepted and I ask forgiveness for the mistakes I have made the many mistakes that I have made. As I leave I carry with me all that I have learned here.
[85:06] We receive your thankfulness offer forgiveness and accept that you now leave to retire. We express our gratitude for your time among us.
[85:20] We ask your forgiveness for our mistakes. Your influence on our faith and faithfulness will not leave us with your departure.
[85:31] And I accept your gratitude and forgiveness and I forgive you. Trusting that our time together and our parting are pleasing to God. I release you from turning to me and depending on me and I encourage your continuing ministry here and we'll pray for you and your new pastors Kathy and Scott and your continuing pastors Sherry and Bill and Mike and Bob.
[85:56] Let us pray together. Eternal God whose steadfast love for us is from everlasting to everlasting we give you thanks for cherished memories and commend one another into your care as we move in new directions.
[86:12] Keep us one in your love forever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Pastor Tom your family of Pendleton Center United Methodist Church and First Church would like to give you a gift in appreciation for your years of service your guidance and all your love.
[86:35] Thank you. It is a blessing to have been the pastor of these congregations for these many years and I thank you not just for the gift but for just being you and all you have done to make this church and the ministry of God an amazing thing in this community in the communities around and to the ends of the earth.
[86:57] God bless you. In the United Methodist Church Holy Communion is open to everyone who seeks after Christ. You are welcome at the table of the Lord. It's been quite a while as a church since we've used those words.
[87:11] We're gathered to receive the table. Today I'm consecrating the communion elements during our worship service so that this afternoon at one o'clock when we have our gathering in the parking lot our church can receive communion together.
[87:25] What we will be doing is we're going to ask you to stay in your cars and there'll be someone offering the communion elements on both sides of the car. To receive the bread you simply put your hands like this.
[87:37] If you want to receive the cup we do ask that you bring your own cup and it will be poured for you if you'd like to receive it. Some people prefer only to take the bread that is considered communion as well.
[87:49] If you do not wish to take communion you can just simply wave or roll up your windows and they'll understand what you're doing. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts.
[88:00] Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right it's a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to God who blesses us in all times in all circumstances even in this time we gather together as a church in some form of exile we know that God is still with us and God blesses us and God offers to take away all the brokenness in our life.
[88:30] Just so you know while they were setting up the communion elements I was over washing my hands counting 20 seconds so that my wife would know I washed them properly and I'm also used a hand sanitizer so that you can know that we are being safe as we can when we gather together at the table.
[88:49] But God also cleanses us from all the brokenness and sin on the inside of us. As we come to God in confession so that he might take away all our brokenness all our sin shall we pray.
[89:01] Dear God in heaven I have sinned. I've done things wrong either intentionally or not even knowing it.
[89:14] Forgive me God. Open up my mind open up my heart to see the brokenness in my life that I might repent and change.
[89:30] Help me to have a forgiving heart for others and forgive my sin. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
[89:43] The good news is that God loves us and loved us before we were even born. And he has offered to us his blessing and his hope and his forgiveness so that I can say to you in the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven.
[90:02] Glory to God. Amen. And so with all the people on earth 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 blessed is your son Jesus Christ who gathered with us and brought us his saving presence taught us what we should know and was even willing to go to the cross and die for our sins on the night in which he was betrayed he took the bread he gave thanks to God and he broke the bread he gave it to his disciples and he said take and eat this is my body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sin 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 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
[91:26] Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again pour out your Holy Spirit on us Lord fill us with your presence and grace and help us to experience the wonder of God in this place in this life now and forevermore Lord let us be the Holy Spirit let us be the power of God renewed by your power and your strength that we might bring joy and wonder hope possibilities and dreams to the world we pray Lord that you will hear our prayers and bless them as we offer them 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 say together 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
[92:36] Amen We'll see you later on this afternoon as we receive the Holy Table of the Lord you shall cross the barren desert Lord you shall not die of thirst you shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way you shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand you shall see the face of God and live be not afraid
[93:54] I go before you always come follow me and I will give you rest if you pass through raging waters in the sea you shall not drown if you walk amidst a burning flame you shall not be harmed if you stand before the power of heaven and death is at your sight know that I am with you through it all I go before you always come follow me and I will give you rest you know often times when a person is transferred to the eternal church
[95:25] I'll say to their family and friends that are gathered together that it can feel as somebody's carved a hole in our heart where that person was whenever we have somebody who's missing from our lives we feel a pain and a loss but we fill that hole up with the memories with the blessings with the joys you have given me a million memories a million blessings to fill my heart I pray that I've added a few into yours God will bless you forever and ever it's okay God is with you now and God will be with you forever and I'm not going away to the eternal church yet just off to Silver Lake for a little while and we probably will see each other someday may God bless you may God be with you may God empower you with the Holy Spirit and may God hold you in the palm of his hand until we meet again either here or in glory go in his peace
[96:26] Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen.
[97:34] Amen. Amen.
[98:34] Amen. Amen.
[99:34] Amen. Amen.
[100:34] Amen. Amen.
[101:34] Amen. Amen.
[102:34] Joy unspeakable, faith unspeakable, love unstoppable, anything is possible.
[103:04] Just to know you and to make you known we've lived your name on high.
[103:16] Shine like the sun, big darkness, sun and light. We know we were made for so much more than ordinary life.
[103:31] It's time for us to know that just the light we were made to drive. Hey.
[104:03] You