The Free Way

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[3:00] Thank you. Good morning. It's good to see you on this wonderful morning.

[3:12] And we're just acting like it's really spring. There are flowers blooming in my front yard. And I'm sure there are some of yours. My husband says, no, we won't hear that.

[3:24] No. He talks about how many times it has snow on the crocuses. I'll just keep that to myself. There are announcements in the bulletin, which I invite you to take a minute with.

[3:38] And we are continuing on with our fish fries. How many do we have left, Carl? Two more. Two more. Two more. Let's bring it home, everybody.

[3:49] It's been a great run. It's been a great run. And we hope that it will continue to be that way. It was like 4.50?

[4:01] 4.38. 4.38. So, and there were times when it felt like it was 500 at least all at one time. But it was a great evening.

[4:12] And we look forward to more of the same. This coming weekend will be our Easter celebration with an egg hunt.

[4:23] And I just want to remind people, if you're bringing children, grandchildren, that registration is required in advance. And so, you can do that at our website.

[4:36] Very helpful for people to do that. And we appreciate it very much. Am I missing anything? Announcements? Announcements, announcements.

[5:02] Naturally. 0u1. Erin Hochstein area.aka. All know. And Europeanolis team idea. Announcements, illustrators, titan vox, technical solutions.

[5:15] And coming forward it's everything that has seven different hands say по kill Andersonau. Oh, we're going to be three, all right. We've got one. This journey is just about a couple things. We need to tell you when our country arrived in the state of Toronto. That were going to be on our Madness andbildi. New điều that really thought that we were really going to work with the pan, the they were absolutely certificated.

[5:28] Thank you.

[5:58] Thank you.

[6:28] Walker of our journeys, in the midst of our harried lives, you call us to lay aside all that entangles us, to follow you in service to others.

[6:40] You may let us ascend into the waters of life and hope, reaching out to draw others to our side, so that together we might enter your kingdom of happiness and joy.

[6:54] When uncertainty fills every block in our daily calendars, you come, grace's companion, to offer that hope which anchors us in God's heart, to place our feet firmly on that rock called peace, to bring us safely to that haven filled with God's steadfast love.

[7:16] God, in the community, holy and one, the prophet of the age, we offer our prayers in your name. Amen. Amen. Good morning, everybody.

[7:42] Good morning. Good morning to those online. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. sing about how deep the Father's love is for us. How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure that He should give His only Son to make a wretched treasure.

[8:31] How great the pain of our searing loss The Father turns His face away As wounds which are the chosen one bring many sons to glory.

[8:55] Behold the man upon the cross Thy sin upon His shoulders Ashamed I hear my mocking voice Crawled out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me by I know that He is in me New heaven�서 dear old God read.

[10:08] They say, duaHAN I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom.

[10:38] But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.

[10:50] Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer.

[11:05] But this I know in all my blood, His wounds the pain I've ensured.

[11:16] Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer.

[11:31] But this I know in all my blood, His wounds the pain I've ensured.

[11:42] His wounds have made my ransom.

[11:53] I cannot give an answer. My blood, His wounds have made my ransom. My blood, His wounds have made my ransom. You may be seated.

[12:15] As we come to this time of offering, and you can see up on the screen ways to give, I want to share that part of our offering this Lenten season as we approach Easter are the services through Holy Week.

[12:39] We will have a Maundy Thursday service where we will gather here around tables to share in not anything that you might expect.

[12:55] It will be tablecloths and candles and bread and grape juice as a part of communion and just remembering in a beautiful way that time that Jesus had with the disciples.

[13:07] And then on Friday, we'll have a Good Friday service after the fish fry. And then Saturday, we'll have an Easter Eve service that will end with a little bit of Easter.

[13:20] And then, of course, Sunday morning, it will be all bright and beautiful and celebrating the risen Christ. Our special offering today is for Kairos Ministry, which is prison ministry.

[13:36] And it's, as Sandy Houck would describe it, it's a ministry of bringing the love of Jesus Christ into settings where so often it's so hard to find.

[13:50] And so I invite you to consider that for a special gift. And also, we know we're doing UMCOR for Ukraine.

[14:01] You can do that at any time, and you can find that through our website. So let us be in an attitude of generosity as we prepare for our offering.

[14:11] I won't deny the worst you could say about me.

[14:40] I won't deny the worst you could say about me. But I'm not defined by mistakes that I made because God says of me, I am not new.

[14:51] I was here and made. I am new. I'm chosen and holy and I'm nearly loved.

[15:03] I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new.

[15:17] Who I thought I was. And who I thought I had to be. I had to give them both up.

[15:28] Because neither were willing to ever be. I am not who I was. Being a roommate, I am new.

[15:38] I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new. I am new.

[15:49] Too long have I lived in the shadows of shame. Believing that there was no way I could change. With the one who is waking, everything new Doesn't see me the way that I do He doesn't see me the way that I do I am not who I was, the end remained I am new I'm chosen and holy and I'm here beloved I am new, I am new I'm not who I was, the end remained I am new Dead to the old man, I'm coming alive I am new, I am new I am new

[16:59] I am new I am new I am new I am new Given, beloved, hidden in Christ Made in the image of the giver of life Righteous and holy, born and remained Accepted and worthy, this is our new name Living, beloved, hidden in Christ Made in the image of the giver of life Righteous and holy, born and remained Accepted and worthy, this is our new name This is who we are now This is who we are now This is who we are now Praise God, from whom I see you

[18:00] Praise you, angels and me Praise God, from whom I see you Praise you, angels and me Praise God, from whom I see you Praise God, be alive Praise him, gentle in heaven Fr scientifically, God, be alive He has only ever saw شAроch Through my messenger O God, we come We come to walk the way that you lead us on.

[18:45] We come in wheelchairs with walkers and canes and sticks. We come online. We come to this place. Lord, bring us closer.

[19:00] And Lord, we give thanks for all that you give us. All that you show us. And Lord, on this day, may we lay it at your feet with gratitude.

[19:15] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. It's time to bring our joys and our concerns up to God.

[19:34] Does anybody have any joys or concerns that they would like to raise up today? Dorothy. Yeah. We just got some water in the basement. Okay.

[19:44] We got a lot of people who do yesterday. We can get water in the house. Water in the street on the side. So they can make some sense of the way. Okay. Water in your basement.

[19:55] Carol. Go ahead. So for Liz, who lost her husband.

[20:08] I'm going to share a funny. Some of you know for three years I had this toad who, he wintered over in our house three years ago.

[20:18] And he's been coming back. I've wintered three years. Okay. Time to go. Raking the yard. Popped up. The toad. Thank you, God.

[20:31] Yes. May I ask you to bless the promise. Jesus and my wife. Which are a great blessing.

[20:44] Okay. All right. Please pray with me. Dear God, we thank you for the joys in our life. For the celebrations of friends and family.

[20:57] For the smiles given by a stranger. But there are things that are weighing down our hearts, God. And we bring those to you and we offer those up to you.

[21:08] So that you may help walk us through. That you may guide us. And so that we know that you are always with us. And that you love us. We pray for the people of Ukraine and their families.

[21:24] We pray for the people of Russia who are uncertain. We pray for our military families. May you watch over each and every one of them.

[21:35] We pray for our church and our leadership of our nation. That you may offer them guidance. But God, we thank you.

[21:49] We thank you today. For the ability to be together. And to share our joys. And our concerns. In your name we pray. Amen.

[21:59] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[22:22] Good morning. Look, everybody's doing good this morning. I think that this band needs to cut an album. So this morning's scripture lesson is taken from two books of the Bible.

[22:42] The first one is Isaiah chapter 43, verses 16 through 19. This is what the Lord says. He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick.

[23:07] Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

[23:22] And from Philippians chapter 3, verses 13 and 14. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do.

[23:34] Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

[23:45] This is the word of our Lord. Thanks be to you, God. Came to give me another pep talk, Captain?

[24:00] I came to wish you buen camino, Mr. Avery. And to give you this. This is a good look charm? Something like that.

[24:11] You'll know what to do with it when you get there. You where? Cruz de Ferro. It's on the Camino. You'll be there a month from now. You can read about it in the guide. It's a place of much significance.

[24:26] Mr. Avery, do you know why you're walking the way? I suppose I'm doing it for Daniel. You walk the way for yourself, only for yourself. Well, then I guess I don't have a clue, Captain.

[24:39] Mr. Avery, I have also lost a child. I wish you a good camino. Enjoy your pilgrimage. Both of you.

[24:51] Thank you. Tom. This is the way. Thank you. Where are you on? Thank you. Thank you.

[25:04] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[25:21] Thank you. Thank you. Ahhhhhh Good luncheng monk Dear Lord, may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage, a symbol of my efforts.

[26:55] That I lay at the feet of the cross of the Savior, weigh the balance in favor of my good deeds that day, when the deeds of all my life are judged.

[27:25] Thank you.

[27:55] A lot of moving parts today. Would you join me in a moment of prayer? Loving God, we give you thanks for this precious moment.

[28:08] This time on our journey where you move so gently with us and you pause to give us what you know we need. So open our hearts, Lord.

[28:20] Open our hearts that we might receive your gift today. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen. So, this notion of being on a journey is one we use a lot.

[28:37] Talk about it quite a bit. We've talked about it through Lent. And you will often hear myself or Pastor Kathy or Pastor Jen talk about this idea, what it means to be on a journey.

[28:48] We have used it a lot with Lent because it's easy to connect it to Lent. We use it in terms of our walk with Christ, period. It's this idea of being on the move, going from one place to someplace else.

[29:02] That eventually you get to this place where you might reflect him a little better from where you are. So, this notion of being on a journey is important.

[29:14] Now, I think about this in terms of travel because there was a time in my life I traveled a lot. Whether it was for denominational work, whether it was for professional work, I was on the road regularly.

[29:28] I was always on a plane, always driving somewhere. And to help make this make a little more sense, I brought an old friend with me. This bag has been with me through a lot of this travel.

[29:43] And if you could see it a little more closely, it's showing its age. This bag has been to at least half the states. It's been to Syracuse more times than I can count because of conference-related stuff.

[29:56] It's been to five different continents. We have been through quite a bit together. Now, you may ask why I still have it.

[30:07] I did, you could say, upgrade a while ago. But, you know, partly because we tend not to throw things away the way we should in my house.

[30:18] And also, this is a little bit bigger than the one I got, Jen, a while back. So, sometimes we still bust this one out when we need a little extra space. And so, yeah, it's still here.

[30:31] It's got the little trusty orange tag on it so I could always recognize it. But the thing about traveling, especially when you travel a lot, is that you build a certain set of skills, don't you?

[30:43] You know how you like to travel. And when you were on the road, as often as I was on the road, one of the things you build up is how you like to move through an airport, per se. What time you like to get there, how quickly you get through security, etc.

[30:57] Whether you're going to get coffee or not, those sorts of things. Everybody has their own way of traveling. Even if you're on the road, you know when you like to stop, how often you like to stop, and how you like to stop.

[31:08] Because some folks want to just in, out, go. Other folks like to linger a little bit. Like my girls always love to linger a little bit in a place. Plus, you had to let them out the car and let them run off some energy for a while after I've been in the car.

[31:22] But, see, some of my friends I travel with, they were like, bang, bang, nope, back in the car. But, see, we all have our ways, don't we? However you like to travel. And, if you want to see a funny exposition of that, you also know how you like to pack, right?

[31:40] Yeah, see, I tend to overpack when I travel. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. So, I tend to overpack when I travel. If you want to see a funny talk about travel, Jeff Foxworthy just put out a new comedy special on Netflix and he talks about how he and his wife pack for trips.

[31:59] Hilarious. Hilarious. So that being said, but again, you know how you like the trout. And if you know how you do it and you know what you pack and you know what you choose to take with you, then you start to see how this message matters.

[32:17] Because how you choose to take your journeys, whatever you take on your journeys is key. And one of the things about packing for a journey, one of the ways in which you move through a journey is, as we've said, what do you choose to take with you?

[32:37] What do you choose to take with you? Because there's some things that you bring that you have to have with you on your trip. That it's just not the same.

[32:48] You want to make sure that is in the bag and it's going to be in the bag, whether you need it or not. Sometimes you bring some stuff with you and you're not even sure why you brought it.

[33:02] Now, again with travel, if you travel a lot, one of the things you also know is you never want your bag to be heavier than it needs to be. As a person who has fought with baggage fees and had to pay quite a few in my life, you don't want to weigh your bag down unnecessarily.

[33:22] And that's where this idea of you choose what you take with you becomes even more powerful. Because sometimes you have to think pretty purposefully about what's going in that bag.

[33:34] And that's kind of the point of our message today. What do you choose to take with you? Because in a time when it matters how heavy your bag is, you'd wonder why you might take something like one of these.

[33:55] Now, nobody says I'm not going to pack any rocks in my bag. But this is really not about the rocks. When you think about how you move through your life, when you think about your journey with Christ.

[34:13] All of us carry some stuff with us that we may not want to carry. All of us have some things happening or some things that have happened in our lives that stayed with us.

[34:26] And we just choose to bring them with us. That's where we entered the story in the film today. You saw the captain hand the character Tom one of these when he's leaving.

[34:41] And he doesn't get it because Tom doesn't get a lot in this movie. But when they get to that place, and he says you'll know what to do when you get there.

[34:55] He does know what's happening. You see, at the beginning of his journey, he has not even a clue why he's on it. He doesn't really understand. But when we switch to the second scene, it's deeper into the trip.

[35:10] He's made some friends along the way. And they've just been sharing a lot. And he started to open up a bit. And then they hit that place. And when you get to that particular point on the Camino, you're supposed to lay something down that you've been carrying.

[35:32] Something that you've brought with you that you know is not really what you're supposed to have as you continue to journey. Now, for Tom, this is a big deal.

[35:46] Because Tom has lived a life in a particular way. He's made choices. He's chosen to pursue a particular profession. He's chosen to manage his emotions a particular way.

[35:58] He's chosen a lifestyle. The problem is that lifestyle has put him in a particular place where he's not as connected to the people in his life he should be. He knows that he hasn't grieved his wife the way he should grieve his wife.

[36:12] He knows that it created this chasm between him and his son because he has made some choices. And the question that he's asking himself is, are there better choices I could make?

[36:27] Can I let some of this stuff that's weighed me down go so I can be closer to the people in my life I care about? That I can be closer to Christ?

[36:40] For the one woman character in the movie, for her this is a bigger deal because she thinks she's there to give up smoking.

[36:53] But it turns out smoking is just an outward sign of something much deeper in her life. Which is why you saw her when she got to the place. She couldn't actually say the prayer.

[37:04] She choked on it a little bit. She realized that this isn't really just about this sort of superficial thing. So the words kind of got stuck in her chest.

[37:18] She left her stone. But like I said, the whole gesture wasn't there yet. She wasn't quite there. And you could see at the end of the scene, Tom kind of had that epiphany when he let the stone go.

[37:34] And he knew something was happening. And see friends, that's kind of our point today. Because no matter who you are, you probably got something like this in your back.

[37:49] Now let's be clear. We don't want to be unfair. Because sometimes we carry stuff with us that's not really about choices. Some folks have been through some pretty significant traumas in their life.

[38:03] some people may have physical conditions or emotional conditions that are not something they choose freely. And it's with them. So we want to make sure we name that.

[38:15] Because how we feel and how things may impact us is not always just about a choice. But there are things we do choose even related to some of those things.

[38:27] So one of the things we struggle with is will we choose hope? Will we choose joy? Will we choose to hang on as opposed to letting go of what we are capable of letting go?

[38:44] You choose what you carry with you. You choose what you carry with you. And that's why this becomes so important.

[38:55] Because if we serve a God who wants to do powerful things for us, if we serve a God who wants us to be free so that we might experience life in all the great ways that God has intended, it's kind of hard to reach out and receive what God has given if you're holding on to something.

[39:20] And if you'd say, I'd really love to be free of this thing, but to what degree are you just simply keeping it in your bag?

[39:39] That's what our scripture passages are trying to remind us about today. You know, we hear that voice, that verse in Isaiah in different contexts.

[39:51] That thing about doing a new thing. I want us to hear it again. I'm going to read a little bit more of the passage. And I want you to hear something. So I'm going to be reading from chapter 43.

[40:04] I'm going to read verses 15 through 21. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King.

[40:15] The Lord said, Who makes a way in the sea? In a path in the mighty waters? Who brings out chariot and horse?

[40:28] Army and battalion? They will lie down together and will not rise. They will be extinguished, extinguished like a wick.

[40:41] Don't remember the prior things. Don't ponder ancient history. Look, I'm doing a new thing.

[40:53] Now it sprouts up. Don't you recognize it? I'm making a way in the desert. The beasts of the field, the jackals, the ostriches will honor me because I have put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness to give water to my people, my chosen ones, this people whom I formed for myself, who will recount my praise.

[41:22] There's a lot going on in that passage. And what the prophet is trying to get the people to remember as he talks about God reminding them of basic truth is that there's three different levels on which this story hits to the people of Israel.

[41:38] because at the time they get this message, they are about to be liberated from their exile. So he's saying, in the back of their minds, he's appealing to their history because their story is connected to the exodus.

[41:56] Time they were slaves in Egypt and they were set free, led through the Sea of Reeds and into the desert for 40 years. So when he talks about making a way through the desert, when he talks about who calls out of the sea, who puts army and horse and extinguishes them like a wick, that rings a lot of bells for them.

[42:17] Rings a lot of bells for them. And now, he says, hey, you remember that? I'm about to do something else. Something the world has never seen.

[42:31] Because, remember what's happening here, a group of people that has been conquered by an army, conquered by a foreign power that was bigger and more powerful than them at the time, is about to just let them go home.

[42:45] That doesn't happen in history. We're a group of people. We're a nation that had been conquered by another nation just simply gets to go back to their territory. They don't have to fight for it.

[42:57] They don't have to fight and win it back. It's like, no, Jerusalem is still there. Just go on home. And that's what happened. And God is saying, even on a deeper level, I'm about to do a new thing.

[43:17] That thing that you're really afraid of, that stuff that really sits in the core of your soul, that stuff that you can't touch, and that stuff that you can't overcome, sin and death, for example, I'm about to break those two.

[43:37] I'm going to do a new thing. I'm going to set you truly free in a way that you can't even see coming.

[43:49] But you're going to have to trust me. You're going to have to trust me. Because it's not going to look like what you think it's going to look like. And that's where we end up, right?

[44:05] Because we're a people who know we need new things. We know that as we walk through this life, we are making mistakes.

[44:15] That we hear the messages of the world, and the messages of the world don't solve our real problems. That in our own striving, in our own working, that we try to be what God calls us to be.

[44:28] But we don't always get there. And while we have this thing called Lent, that gives us a little marker on the calendar, where sometimes we ponder, how might I take a step forward in faith?

[44:40] We have these times. Every single day, though, is an opportunity to take a step forward. Every day is an opportunity to get closer to Christ.

[44:51] Every single day, we could be striving to do that. Lent is a nice marker on the calendar for us. But we don't need these sorts of benchmarks.

[45:01] We just need to keep striving. But even if we're conscious of our need to keep striving, even if we want to do this out of the love for Christ that we know flows in our hearts, we fail, we fall, we keep messing up, because we are human.

[45:17] And that's where the passage from Polyphians becomes so powerful. Because what you heard Amy read is this message from the Apostle Paul, trying to get them to understand why it's important to follow Christ, why it's important to stay on the path, to keep working on the journey.

[45:43] Because what he's telling them is like, look, you guys need to understand something. I was a pretty important dude.

[45:55] I had really good stuff going on. I had money, I had position, I had power, I had education, I was doing all the good things. I had life right. However, I met Jesus.

[46:12] And when I met Jesus, all this stuff the world said I was supposed to have, all these things that I thought I knew, they weren't what I thought they were supposed to be. And here's what he says as he tries to explain it.

[46:25] I'm going to read a little bit more than you heard Amy read. I'm going to read from verse 7 through verse 14. These things were my assets. But I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ.

[46:38] Beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. I've lost everything for him.

[46:55] But what I lost, I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ, I have a righteousness that is not my own and does not come from the law, but rather from the faithfulness of Christ.

[47:16] It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection and the participation in his suffering.

[47:30] It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. It's not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose.

[47:56] Brothers and sisters, I don't think I have reached it, but I do this one thing. Forgetting about the past, forgetting about the things behind, and I reach out for the things ahead.

[48:14] The goal I pursue is the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus. Now, I want you to think about that because what Paul is saying is I'm reaching for the goal that God set for me.

[48:28] I'm trying to be what I know God wants me to be, and I'm working for it, and I'm trying, and yeah, I mess up, and I forget, and I fall, but I'm still reaching.

[48:41] I'm still working. I get up every day, and I keep trying to be better. Now, here's the thing, guys. Don't hear that in a way that causes you to think you've got to beat yourself up.

[48:51] That's not what it's about. It's not about pointing out that you're just junk. That's not what Paul's saying. What Paul is saying is that you can, out of the love you have because you know how much God loves you, keep trying to be more Christ-like.

[49:11] And when you understand that, that it's not about you feeling terrible about yourself. It's about loving God because God loves you. and then you try and reach out this idea that we've been talking about.

[49:30] What are you still holding on to? What are you still choosing to carry? What are you still choosing to put in your bag and bring with you?

[49:42] I still choose to try and reach out for the goal with your hands full. Remember, church, you choose what you will take with you.

[49:59] You choose what to carry. Now, will you choose this thing that's weighing you down or will you choose the hope?

[50:13] Will you choose the promises? Will you choose the one who has made all things possible for you? To the degree that you can choose, which will you choose?

[50:31] That's our challenge today. And so, we have an opportunity. You know, there was this song we used to sing in the church I grew up in.

[50:47] It said, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Just like we saw the characters in the movie do.

[50:59] You have an opportunity today. I want you to think about just that one thing. Just one thing that you know is weighing you down. One thing that you've been holding on to.

[51:12] One thing you keep in your bag that you know doesn't have to be there. And just like Tom, will you take it to the Lord and leave it there?

[51:30] It's an incredible opportunity. It's a choice sometimes we have to make every single day. But to the degree that you can choose to let it go, let it go.

[51:49] Remember, Jesus did this on purpose with you in mind. Jesus did this on purpose with you in mind so that you could be truly free.

[52:07] Not kind of free, not a little bit free, but totally, truly, completely free. so don't choose to hang on to what God says you do not need.

[52:27] Today, you have an opportunity to bring this thing, whatever it is for you, and simply leave it at the foot of the cross.

[52:42] When Pastor Kathy invites you forward for communion, you're invited to bring your stone with you and simply leave it at the foot of the cross. Simply let it go.

[52:54] because Jesus has handled it. Hear that again. Jesus has handled it.

[53:06] Don't you choose to bring and keep carrying what Jesus says you don't have to have. So, bring your burden to the Lord, whatever it is.

[53:24] to the degree that you can put it down, choose to put it down. Let's pray. Loving and gracious God, thank you for the gift that is who you are.

[53:39] The fact that you have shown us that in spite of our continuing to trip and fall, that in spite of the ways in which we are continuing to grasp and not let go of the things that weigh us down, you invite us time after time, day after day, to remember that we can and are free.

[54:08] So, Lord, give us the strength, give us the courage to let just one thing go, one thing that weighs down our bags, one thing that weighs down our souls, one thing that keeps us from experiencing life in its full joy, life in its full freedom, life the way you intend.

[54:33] We know that you set us free on purpose. You set us free because your love is that big, that wide, and ready and available for everyone.

[54:47] Give us the courage to follow wherever you lead. Give us the courage to set our burdens down, that we might free you with a new lightness of, we might follow you with a new lightness of spirit, with a new spring in our step, with a new sense of burdens being gone.

[55:11] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. As we prepare to come to this table, may we be mindful of those that they do not deserve to come to the table, those who do not have a table to come to, those who do not have a place at the table.

[56:04] I invite you in a moment of silence to lift up the barriers between there and here that you might prepare yourself to come to this place.

[56:26] Let us pray. hear this good news.

[56:43] God has loved you from the very beginning. The invitation of Christ is never ending. The Holy Spirit is transforming us even now, whether we know it or feel it or not.

[57:01] So know this, in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. glory to God.

[57:11] Amen. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of all that was and is and is to come.

[57:37] You formed us in your image, creating us in goodness, and you asked us to walk with you in love. When we held back from your invitation, you came to find us, encouraging us on our way time and time again.

[57:55] You led those who could not even see the road through to the places they did not know. You have turned night time before them into light.

[58:09] You have smoothed out rough places and made them plain, released prisoners from the dungeon. You have made all things new. And so, with your people on earth and the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.

[58:27] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

[58:38] 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.

[58:49] Your spirit anointed him to walk with the poor, the captive, and the oppressed, and to proclaim freedom and abundance in your name. On dusty paths and lakeside shores, he encountered friends and strangers and enemies, inviting them to journey with him and to eat with him.

[59:11] He offered newness of life and renewed covenants of love by water and the spirit. On the night he gave himself up for all, he was at the table with his friends.

[59:26] He invited them, he invites us, to pause in our quest for getting to the destination and savor the company that we have with one another.

[59:39] He took bread, he broke it, he gave thanks, and he shared it, and he told those at the table, take this and do this in remembrance of me.

[59:53] He took the cup, he poured it, he blessed it, and he said to those at the table, drink this in remembrance of me.

[60:06] He invited them, he invites us all, to keep walking together, keep offering this bread, remembering his body in the breaking and sharing of the bread for the grace and love for all.

[60:22] He invited them and he invites us all to offer this one cup of forgiveness and grace made known in his blood shed for us.

[60:34] And so, in remembrance of God's mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ, in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

[60:50] Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. pour out your Holy Spirit upon all of us gathered here and those who are with us online and on these gifts of bread and cup.

[61:06] Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ so that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one on this Lenten journey with one another until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

[61:27] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in this and all your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty God, now and forever.

[61:39] Amen. Let us pray together the prayer that Jesus taught. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[61:55] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And deliver us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

[62:09] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. as we prepare to offer this to all who are gathered, no matter whether it's your first time, whether it's over week after week after week, we will give you a piece of bread, you dip it into the grape juice and come down the center and out the side aisles.

[62:42] there'll be stations for gluten-free over here and prepackaged for those who want that extra layer of security.

[63:12] would the servers please join us.

[63:36] will the or 지민 be enough to deliver to Engineers or adoreoni請 Amen.

[64:33] Amen. The table is prepared. Please come.

[65:11] Amen. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

[65:33] That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found.

[65:52] Was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear.

[66:09] And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear.

[66:29] The hour others believed. My chains are gone.

[66:40] I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me.

[66:54] And I confided. His mercy reigns. My unending love.

[67:06] My amazing grace. My unending love. My unending love. My unending love.

[67:18] The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. His word my hope secures.

[67:38] He will my shield and caution be. He will my shield and caution be. As long as I endure.

[67:50] My unending love. My unending love. As long as I endure. As long as I endure. My unending love.

[68:02] My unending love. Our unending love. My unending love.

[68:13] My unending love. And like the night, His mercy reigns An ending love, amazing grace My tears are gone, I've been set free My God, my Savior, has been so near And like the blood, His mercy reigns An ending love, amazing grace The earth shall soon dissolve like snow

[69:36] The sun forbear to shine But I who hold me here below Will be forever mine Will be forever mine You are forever mine You are forever mine You are forever mine You are forever mine

[70:43] You are forever mine I am forever mine I am forever mine I am forever mine I am forever mine You is forever mine Some of us come to know Christ, and in that experience, we find that burdens are lifted, and we're cleansed, and we lose things unnecessary to the journey.

[71:28] Some of us find a burden thrust upon us, and we come to know Christ. And we choose the promises that God has for us. So our final song is an opportunity for us to sing about those promises that we choose.

[71:42] I'm going to invite you to stand as we sing Who You Say I Am. Who am I that the highest king would welcome me?

[72:07] I was lost when He brought me His love for me. Oh, He wrote for me.

[72:20] Yes, He died for me.

[72:59] Oh, He wrote for me. Oh, He wrote for me. Oh, the sun sets me. Oh, He's free in me.

[73:10] I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. I am. I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me.

[73:26] I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. I am. I am. I am. I am .

[74:00] You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. I am who you say I am.

[74:14] The sun sets free. Oh, it's free indeed. I'm a child of God.

[74:26] Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me.

[74:39] I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me.

[74:55] I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. Who the sun sets free is free indeed.

[75:19] Do me a favor, take a look at your hand. It's gone, isn't it? Be free indeed. Live like it. Now in the name of God, our creator and king.

[75:32] In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. And in the name of the Holy Spirit, our comforter and our sustainer. May God bless us now as we leave to love and serve God and all God's children.

[75:44] Amen. Amen. Amen.

[76:45] Amen. Amen.

[77:45] Amen. Amen.

[78:45] Amen. Amen.