Looking In

[0:00] Alright, chapter 15 quindi appropriati attravi un bel gli Amen.

[0:53] Amen. Amen.

[1:35] Good morning, church. May the grace and peace of the risen Savior be with you. It is a wonderful day to be gathered together for worship.

[1:48] Whether you are joining us here in sanctuary or online, we are thrilled to have you with us as we come together to praise God. My name is Scott. I'm one of the pastors here, and it's a thrill to welcome you to worship today.

[1:59] I want to share a few announcements before we begin. We had a wonderful celebration for Pastor Kathy's retirement last night, even though she is still working for a while. Let's not forget that. But it was a wonderful time.

[2:10] Thank you to all who were able to join us last night, and especially to those of you who contributed to making it such a successful event. There are also some things in the bulletin. I'm going to trust you to have read all of those, but I do want to highlight one, which is coming up on the 20th, which is next Sunday, that you want to be available for Shoebox Sunday.

[2:30] If you can, stay after the 11 o'clock service so that we can get those loaded up and packed up as they head out. And we also want to be mindful that next Sunday is also a time for the gathering service.

[2:41] So keep that in mind. Set your calendars. And with all of that, let us open our hearts. Becky wanted us to announce that the blood pressure clinic is not going to happen today.

[2:53] Ah, okay. So Becky Heideman wanted to share that we had a blood pressure clinic scheduled, and that is not going to be happening today as scheduled. Okay? So that said, let's move into our time of praising God together.

[3:06] Good morning. As we open our eyes and come out of any avoidance we have regarding our feelings about money, we illuminate a candle and ask God to be with us on this journey, giving us fresh perspectives that can shift any disease that holds us back from a courageous vision about our money pass.

[3:34] We have compassion for ourselves and each other because the systems of money we live in are not easy to navigate. This week, our scripture speaks of storing up treasures in heaven.

[3:47] We will see that the treasures that Jesus speaks of are the riches that come with the outpouring of relationships, love, grace, and hospitality. These things are uncorruptible rather than the acclimation of things that can become false kids.

[4:04] How we spend our treasures of time, energy, and money indicates what we love, what we value, and how we want to impact the world. This week, we're invited to become more courageous, intentional, and visionary about how we serve the world and through what we spend.

[4:27] Would you please sing the first verse with us? Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart Not be all else to me, save that thou art Thou my best, thou art by day or by night Waking or sleeping My presence, my light We light this flame to affirm that where there is light There is understanding Where there is understanding There is compassion Where there is compassion Where there is possibility

[5:27] Where there is possibility There is transformation Holy and living God, transform our fears into awe-inspired wonder Open us to this light And to the rich possibilities And to the rich possibilities For a wonderful life I'm going to invite you to stand as we lift up our praise with our first two songs Forward through the ages And from the inside out Forward through the ages In unbroken line Move the faithful spirits

[6:30] At the call divine Give sin differing leisure Hearts in one accord Man if understandable Manifold the service Manifold the service Manifold the service Manifold the service Manifold the service Manifold the service From the sure reward Verse with one through the ages in unbroken line move the faithful spirits at the call divine wider grows the kingdom reign of love and light for it we must labor till our faith is sight prophets have proclaimed it on earth's trust divide though it sung its glory heroes for it died forward through the ages in unbroken line move the faithful spirits at the call divine again on earth's trust she toavat when the chưa urged consig

[8:29] SARAH at the time the esperographer will give his91Sí había hello A thousand times I've failed Still your mercy remains Should I stumble again Still I'm calling your praise Everlasting Your light will shine When all else is never ending Your glory goes beyond all vain And above all else

[9:45] My purpose remains Not a glimpse of myself In bringing you praise Everlasting Your light will shine When all else be Everlasting Your glory goes beyond all vain My heart and my soul Forgive you control Consume me from the inside of the Lord That justice and praise Become I embrace To love you from the inside of the Lord Everlasting Your light will shine When all else is never ending

[10:48] Your glory goes beyond all vain Your glory goes beyond all vain When the cry of my heart Is to bring you praise for me Inside I want the soul Rise out My heart and my soul Lord I give you control Consume me from the inside of the Lord Lord Let justice and praise Become I embrace To love you from the inside of the Lord Everlasting Your light will shine When all else is never ending Your glory goes beyond all vain

[11:51] When the cry of my heart Is to bring you praise for me Inside I want my soul Rise out to me Inside I want my soul Rise out to you You sounded wonderful You may be seated Come now to our time of sharing together Time where we give a little bit Of what God has given to us

[12:53] We know that we serve a God Who is generous by nature That love is made real In what we share So let the spirit move in you today As you consider what you might share For the glory of God Through God's work on our world So let the spirit move you Amém Amen.

[13:52] Light of the world, you step down into darkness.

[14:10] Open my eyes, let me see. Beauty that made this heart adore you.

[14:23] Hope of all life spent with you. Here I am to worship.

[14:34] Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.

[14:56] Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship.

[15:08] Glorious and heaven above. Hungry you came, earth and created.

[15:19] All for the safety came for. And here I am to worship.

[15:30] Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.

[15:52] And I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross.

[16:06] No, I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross.

[16:19] I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross.

[16:32] I'll never know how much it costs.

[16:44] Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.

[16:56] You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.

[17:09] Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.

[17:21] You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.

[17:34] Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.

[17:55] Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship. Here I am to worship. Thank you.

[18:32] Thank you.

[19:02] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Let's take your seats. Amen.

[19:13] Amen. So we come now to our prayer time. Time where we open our hearts and we talk with God together. And there is so much, I'm sure, on people's minds, so much that is weighing down hearts as well as that which lifts hearts up.

[19:29] And so as we come together, we know that our shared prayer can move our God. So with that on our hearts, does anybody have anything they want to lay before us this morning that we can be church family together?

[19:43] I rescued a cat that might be pregnant. I'm praying that it's not pregnant so I can keep her. Okay. So Melissa rescued a cat, and she's worried that there might be more than one cat.

[19:57] And so she wants to make sure she has that under control. Angela? We have a praise report. The prayer chain had been praying for a family member, and the six-month spinal fusion report came back.

[20:10] There was a year's worth of bone growth at the six-month mark. Oh, wow. That's great. So Angela had shared for a family member who had gotten some spinal surgery that they wanted to pray for their healing.

[20:24] And Angela says the progress is really good. In fact, it's a year's worth of recovery only in a six-month span. That's huge. So we want to pray for that. There was a hand over here. Heather? Heather has chemo treatment on Monday.

[20:38] She goes in for her full body scan on December 1st. Okay. Okay. So little Abby, who we've been praying for, for her cancer treatment. She had her last treatment, is what you said? I think her last treatment.

[20:49] Okay. She goes in for her full body scan on December 5th. Okay. So she's had her last treatment. She goes in for another scan in December. Anything else? I want to be mindful of Nancy's celebration of life yesterday.

[21:04] For those who are still feeling that loss, we want to pray for those who are grieving. And not seeing any more hands, let's open our eyes. Let's open our hearts together as we go to our Lord. Almighty and eternal one, we come to you full of awe this morning.

[21:21] Full of awe because you are the one who is worthy. Full of awe because you continue to pour out grace upon grace into our lives. Full of awe as we see nature continuing to do what only you can make possible.

[21:34] The joy of the fall colors giving way to the mystery of winter. We are so thankful, Lord, that you are who you are and you work in our lives as you do.

[21:45] We know that we are feeling sometimes so limited. We see so much happen in our world that is bigger than us. People whom we love who need surgery.

[21:57] Parts of the creation who are homeless and need shelter. People who are battling mysteries of the body that are just too much for us sometimes.

[22:08] But you are in it with us. You don't promise us no storms will come. You promise us that you are with us in the storm. So however it feels.

[22:20] Whatever may be coming at us no matter what seems to overwhelm. We are grateful for the ways you make yourself known. Grateful for the ways in which you pour strength into us when the way feels too heavy or too steep.

[22:35] Grateful for the ways you give us knowledge that shows us how to solve problems when they present themselves. Grateful that you took upon yourself the ability to save us when we could not save ourselves.

[22:48] That you have shown us that your ways are not our ways. And when the world speaks some things that sound really smart. We know that your truth is always what abides.

[23:00] Your truth is always what is right. And so, Lord, we come full of awe today. We are awestruck at the ways in which you choose to show us love.

[23:12] So with so much on our hearts. That which weighs us down and that which we lift up. Feel that worship today, Lord. Know our joy. Know how much we come full of shouts, full of praise.

[23:27] Because you has shown yourself so worthy. And your people gather today to worship you. With so much in our hearts, we say thank you, Lord.

[23:39] Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. All of which we lay before you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. He who makes all things possible. Amen.

[23:50] Amen. We live an incarnational faith.

[24:15] The belief that, like Jesus, our faith is not just an idea. But it gets lived out in our actions in the world.

[24:25] This week, we integrate money and meaning by looking in at the courageous vision for our presence and impact in the world.

[24:38] In the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey gets a wonderful gift of seeing what the world would have been like without him in it.

[24:49] Clarence Oddbody, the angel sent to help George, tells him this. You've been given a great gift, George, a chance to see what the world would be like without you.

[25:07] Strange, isn't it? Each person's life touches so many others' lives. And when they aren't around, it leaves an awful hole.

[25:21] Doesn't it? Like George Bailey, we sometimes need some help to see our true value.

[25:34] This is not the net worth we have, but the worth we give. In the form of our offerings of love and presence and relationships.

[25:48] Let us prepare our hearts for the scripture this day. Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word.

[26:11] I am with thee and thou with me, Lord. Heart of my own heart will ever befall.

[26:29] Still be my vision, O ruler of all. Today's scripture is from Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 24.

[26:49] Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

[27:12] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

[27:28] But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

[27:42] No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

[27:57] You cannot serve both God and money. This is the word of our Lord. Thanks be to God. Look, who are you?

[28:12] I told you, George, I'm your guardian angel. Yeah, I know. You told me that. What else are you? What are you...

[28:23] You a hypnotist? No, of course not. Well, then why am I seeing all these strange things? Don't you understand, George? It's because you were not born.

[28:34] Well, if I wasn't born, who am I? You're nobody. You have no identity. Oh, what do you mean, no identity? My name is George Bailey. There is no George Bailey. You have no papers.

[28:46] No cards. No driver's license. No 4F card. No insurance policy. They're not there either. What?

[28:57] Zuzu's petals. You've been given a great gift, George. A chance to see what the world would be like without you.

[29:13] Wait a minute here. Wait a minute here. No, this is some sort of a funny dream I'm having. So long, mister. I'm going home. Home what home?

[29:24] Now, shut up. Cut it out. You're crazy. That's what I think. You're screwing. You're driving me crazy, too. I'm seeing things here. I'm going home and see my wife and family.

[29:35] You understand that? And I'm going home alone. Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?

[29:46] He has asked us.

[30:06] An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

[30:17] Inside the small boat were several large yellowfish tuna. The American complimented the man on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

[30:30] The man replied, only a little while. The American then asked, why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The man said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

[30:44] The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The fisherman said, I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos.

[31:05] I have a full and busy life. The American laughed, I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you, he said. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat.

[31:20] And with the proceeds from that bigger boat, you could buy several boats. And eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you could sell it directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery.

[31:37] You could control the product, processing, and distribution, he said. Of course, you would have to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, and then to Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.

[31:56] The fisherman asked, but how long will this take? To that, the American replied, oh, 15, 20 years, no problem.

[32:10] But what then? Asked the fisherman. The American laughed and said, that's the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich.

[32:24] You would make millions. Millions. Then what? The American said, then you could retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.

[32:46] Today, we hear a part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and we're invited to take a look at wealth from a different point of view.

[32:57] We are challenged to look inward at our hearts and take a look at what's important to us and why. We spend so much time, so much time, trying to accumulate what the world sees as valuable.

[33:15] Bigger boats, a newer house, the latest electronics, that new car, lots and lots of stuff. But we know that in time, those things will break, they'll become unusable, and we'll begin again with the next toy, the next new car, the next gadget.

[33:38] Jesus tells us that our treasures are stored up in heaven, beautiful, incomprehensible treasures that come from being in a relationship with him.

[33:49] Things like love, grace, generosity. These are the treasures that Jesus invites us to acquire. He challenges us to invest in the fruits of the Spirit to help us create a community, one that in Christ that will watch out for one another and make sure everyone is taken care of and each person has enough.

[34:16] But our society isn't set up to take love. Our economic monster that we have created where we feel that we have to work all the time to be able to live.

[34:28] We buy and store so much that we don't need, thinking it will make us healthier, that we'll live longer, we'll be more likable, we'll be happier. Our problems will all be solved.

[34:42] We even try to escape death. We're bombarded with marketing that promises us happiness and love. Try this. Buy that. It will make your life better.

[34:55] That marketing is so in tune to what we think we need, sometimes even more than our churches do. If we work longer and harder, then one day we will have time to rest.

[35:10] We will have time for that vacation, time to slow down and read that book. Time to live and do what we want to do. Somebody asked me yesterday, they said, you're so busy, when do you slow down?

[35:26] And I said, my grandmother taught me you slow down when you're dead. And then I thought about that. There's a man who had worked all of his life and saved all of his money.

[35:40] He loved money more than just about anything. And before he died, he said to his wife, now listen, when I die, I want you to take all of my money and place it in the casket with me because I want to take my money to the afterlife.

[35:59] So he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put the money in the casket with him. So one day when he died, he was stretched out in the casket and the wife was sitting there in black next to her best friend.

[36:16] And when they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, his wife said, wait, wait a minute. She had a shoebox with her and she came over with the box and placed it in the casket.

[36:29] Then the undertakers locked the casket and rolled it away. Her friend said, I hope you weren't crazy enough to put all of that money in there with that stingy old man.

[36:42] And the wife said, yes, I promised. I'm a good Christian. I can't lie. I promised him that I was going to put that money in the casket with him. You mean to tell me you put every cent of his money in the casket with him?

[36:56] I'm sure did, said the wife. I got it all together, put it in my account and wrote him a check. So regardless of what you think, you can't take it with you.

[37:15] Your treasures are not here on earth, but up in heaven. I know a lot of you are retired already, but we're living longer. And those systems that we thought were here to help us are running out of money or moving just out of reach.

[37:33] And we have fears over whether we saved enough or if what you worked for will last. We want to make sure our spouses, our children are taken care of amid the price increases and the housing market and education and just life.

[37:50] Parents are forced to work more hours to ensure that their children are taken care of. Or maybe sometimes you rely on shopping therapy to help you when you're down or depressed.

[38:03] So how do we look inward and find this wonderful life that Jesus wants us to have? I invite you to be curious.

[38:15] We all have our own thoughts, our energy about money that we can learn from the characters in It's a Wonderful Life. How many of us would give all we have to spend one more day with someone?

[38:30] One more conversation, one more laugh, one more hug, one more chance to say, I love you to someone who is important to us.

[38:42] God has given us wonderful gifts and the treasures of time and energy and money. And how we spend those treasures shows what we love, what we value, and how we want to leave our mark on the world.

[39:00] How we want to be remembered. What if we were given the awesome gift that George Bailey was given to see what our life would be like if we weren't in it?

[39:12] What if we could see the good things that we bring to each other's lives just by being in it? How many people we don't realize that we've touched?

[39:25] Last night at Pastor Kathy's retirement party, there was someone here from the dinner that Kathy met in 1989. And she said, I never realized the impact that I had on this person.

[39:45] What if we knew that we only had a short time left? How would you spend to choose your time? This week when we're talking about looking in, we're invited to shift our thinking.

[39:59] change those internal voices from judgment to curiosity. I wonder why I have a habit of retail therapy when I get upset.

[40:11] By looking at things through a different point of view, we can discover the false ideas we have about that power of things that we think are supposed to make us happy versus what truly, truly makes us happy.

[40:28] we're invited to use things, spiritual practices such as making a gratitude list instead of shopping. Looking in requires a deepening self-awareness that sometimes we're not ready to do.

[40:45] We need to look at what feels truly life-giving and what fills us with dread. And that will give us clues about our heart's true desire desire and what God wants us for the long haul.

[41:01] Think about your life. Imagine you have a limited time left and what would your spending habits for your time and money be? How would you change the time that you have left?

[41:16] Looking death squarely in the face is one of the oldest spiritual practices. some of the earlier mothers and fathers would sit in caves staring at skulls contemplating that reality of death.

[41:32] Now I'm not saying that you need to go do that. I'm not saying sit a skull and stare at it. But think about how you can affect the world by offering your time, talents, money, and energy more generously.

[41:50] Would you spend more time with friends and family preparing and sharing meals together? Or would you choose to work continuously? Would you take time to stop and smell the roses?

[42:04] Gandhi said, live simply so that others may simply live. There's so much that we can share with each other. is what you're doing right now what you truly value?

[42:20] What if we kept asking ourselves like that fisherman, what now? Because money and the ways that we spend our time and our expectations of others show where our heart truly lies.

[42:36] Martin Luther said, wherever your heart clings to and confides in, that reality is your God. When we open ourselves up to those tough conversations with God, the what then?

[42:52] We may find that God is leading us on a different path than the one we thought we should be on. The one where we feel more fulfilled and full than going in the direction that we thought or maybe that we wanted to go to.

[43:10] We can make changes in our attitudes, our choices, our hearts. We'll discover the compassion and the empathy and the love and the generosity that God wants us to see.

[43:25] We all share stories about how we're stumbling and we get lost sometimes in the many challenges of our ever, ever changing world. We're trying to find our best way through it.

[43:38] today, we are asked to follow in Jesus' footsteps and be grateful for the life that God wants us to live, a wonderful life.

[43:50] We know that by feeling each heartbeat, we know that that's where we're called to. This week, I pray that you'll take a look at your gifts, your time, your energy, your money, and how you're spending them.

[44:09] And look at how God asks us to step into the vision that's God's light each and every day. This week, consider, if you had one week to live, what would you do with your time?

[44:26] Please pray with me. O Lord, thank you for investing so heavily in each and every one of us and in the world in which we live.

[44:41] There's no one who can love us like you do. Please help us focus our priorities and our thoughts on heavenly things and on placing our treasures in heaven and not here on earth.

[44:56] Help us to realize how many people our lives touch and what that impact has in another person's life.

[45:09] In your holy name we pray. Amen. Amen. As we prepare to come to the Lord's table, today our liturgy is going to be a little different than our regular rhythm, so I invite you to make sure you are following along with the screen as we ready our hearts to receive what God has freely given.

[45:50] Our God be with you, now lift we our praise. Let us give thanks to God, so right to do.

[46:05] All of you may hear give back to you. At the beginning of everything you took what was nothing and made it into something.

[46:17] You multiplied goodness through the years, breathing life into the void. You created us for love and then kept drawing us back in when we knew not what to do with such abundance.

[46:32] When life seemed to turn against us, you lifted us up and gave us hope. You promised to remain with us and spoke encouragement through the ages.

[46:42] and so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven. We praise your name and join their unending hymn. Holy of holies of power and might.

[46:56] the holy glory and your glory and your life. Blessed are those who come in your name. Praise him and the glory and the glory and glory are you and blessed is your son Jesus Christ.

[47:12] He offered the spirit's economy that defied human systems, preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, setting at liberty those who were oppressed and announcing that the time had come when you would save your people.

[47:35] He healed the sick, fed the hungry and ate with sinners for no other reason that God's grace is affluent, profligate and knows no bounds.

[47:48] By the baptism of his suffering death and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death and made with us a new covenant by water and the spirit.

[48:01] When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and Holy Spirit. And on the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and gave thanks to you.

[48:15] He broke the bread and he gave it to his disciples and he said, take and eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. When the supper was over, he took the cup, he gave thanks to you and he gave it to his disciples and he said, drink from this, all of you.

[48:35] This is my blood, sign of the new covenant which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Every time that you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.

[48:49] Therefore, taking the bread and lifting the cup, the path of salvation, a full meal of grace.

[49:03] And so, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer our lives and our love as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

[49:17] Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Come, Holy Spirit, pour out the riches of your blessing on us and on this meal this day.

[49:32] Just as these elements of bread and wine are gifts from your earth to our bodies, let them become the gift of your peace in and through the offering of our lives for the sake of the world.

[49:44] Make us one, multiplying your love by the strength of yours until all have everything they need in the feast of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

[49:57] Amen. And let us pray together. Give us your vision. The world cries in need. Let us make room for all, casting out greed.

[50:09] Open our hearts and our hands and our eyes. prayers lift to unceasing our hope in you lives. And let us pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.

[50:22] 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.

[50:41] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

[50:51] Amen. Those who are serving today, please join us.

[51:51] Amen. Amen.

[52:51] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[53:02] Amen. Amen. Amen. The Lord Jesus Christ invites all to his table. There are no rules. There are no boundaries. You don't have to have done anything special. You don't have to have said anything special.

[53:14] Because the table is opened by his love and his grace, not by your worth. So we invite all to come and share in what God has freely given. We ask you to use the center aisle. Come to the front.

[53:25] A server will hand you a piece of bread. Move to the cup. Dip it into the cup and receive both elements together. Exit by the sides. We have a prayer station over here if you'd prefer to light a candle so that you can offer a silent prayer of your own.

[53:38] There's a gluten-free station here on this side of the sanctuary. If that is your need or your preference, you can also receive pre-packaged elements. Simply ask a server to give them to you.

[53:49] Because communion is a gift from our Lord. So as the Spirit beckons you, please come and receive what the God of our fathers has freely given. Thank you.

[54:00] So, Lord, our ownickiups, our second half-killingAUM, and rule. So, Lord, I give you this prayer. Just, give your hand, We understand. How are you. You are auditing the heart of our children?

[54:12] Amen. Amen.

[55:12] Amen. Amen.

[56:12] Amen. Amen.

[57:12] Amen. Amen.

[58:12] Amen. Amen.

[59:12] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. As we take the time to look in, may we see with God's eyes, and our closing song will lift up that prayer request that he open the eyes of our heart.

[59:47] So I invite you to stand for our final song, Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[59:58] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:09] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:20] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:30] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:41] Amen. Amen. I want to see you See you, I've left it all Shining in the light of glory Oh, I should power the heart Please sing, holy, holy, holy Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you

[61:42] See you, I've left it all Shining in the light of glory For I should power the heart Please sing, holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy I want to see you I want to see you Holy, holy birthday Oh, your heart Oh, your heart Holy, holy Oh, your heart

[62:43] Oh, your heart Oh, your heart the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you, Lord.

[63:06] In the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, there's a toast that serves as our blessing during this series. George and Mary generously help an Italian family. The Martinis move into their new home in Bailey Park, where four-room frame houses have been constructed for immigrant families. Mary and George offer a brief speech at the Martinis' doorstep during a housewarming party, symbolically holding up a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and a box of salt. Bread that this house may never know hunger, salt that life may always have flavor, and wine that joy and prosperity may reign forever. All of these symbols carry messages from our faith journey. The bread of life is the true sustenance that God provides. The fruit of the vine is the love poured out by Jesus, a sign of the never-ending grace that is ours for now and for always. And we have been called, each of us, to be the salt of the earth so that all might savor the spice of life that is the Holy Spirit's presence among us. You have been reminded of these things here in our time together, so it's your chance now to go out and do likewise in the world, for it is a wonderful life.

[64:33] Amen. Amen.

[65:00] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[65:11] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[65:23] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.