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[0:00] The Present.

[0:24] Thank you.

[0:54] Thank you.

[1:24] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:56] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[2:13] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[2:25] This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us pray.

[2:35] Lord, we pray thanks to you for your goodness. And we pray that this service of worship will be a blessing to you. As we honor and praise you this day, we pray that you will come and dwell among us, fill us up, and share with you your revelation that we will know you more.

[2:53] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand, if you're able, as we sing together a word of God incarnate. Amen. Always. Amen. Amen.

[3:03] Amen. Amen. Amen.

[3:19] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And remember, we pray. O Word of God incarnate, O wisdom from on high, O truth unchanged, unchanging, O light of our dark sky, We praise Thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps shines on from age to age.

[3:57] The church from you, our Savior, received the gift divine, And still the light is lifted for all the earth to shine.

[4:13] It is the sacred vessel where gems of truth are stored, It is the heaven-drawn picture of Christ the living Lord.

[4:29] It is the future is a banner before God's host unfurled, It is the shining beacon above the darkling world, It is the chart and compass that all life-searching tie, With mist and rocks and wigs and to you, O Christ, we'll guide.

[5:03] Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Do you believe in God the Father? I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

[5:15] Do you believe in Jesus Christ? I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died, and was buried.

[5:31] He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, And is seated at the right hand of the Father, And will come again to judge the living and the dead.

[5:43] Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, The communion of saints, The forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

[5:57] Amen. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. These are going to the whole congregation, so they've got to get all the way around.

[6:16] This is about signing up to provide communion bread and juice, and also altar flowers and bulletins. So we need to just make sure that it gets through everybody, and we should get through this real quick today.

[6:27] Here we go. All right. What a blessing it is to be in the house of the Lord. Amen? Amen. It is a wonderful and joyous thing to join together in worship.

[6:40] And the Lord said, where two or more are gathered, that God would be in our midst. And we have way more than two or more here. And it's a blessing. What joys do you have this morning to share?

[6:52] I know you must have some, because you're here. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[7:03] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Amen.

[7:17] That is wonderful to have the people serving at the rummage sale from all generations. That is an amazing thing. Thank you for sharing that. Other joys. All our chairs match.

[7:29] All our chairs match. That is a wonderful thing. That is a wonderful thing. Others? Hmm? Behind you. Hi, Sue.

[7:40] Hi. My grandchildren, Edwin and Charlotte, are home from the hospital. And my son, Tim and Sarah, are now learning what it takes to be parents of twins. Amen.

[7:51] Praise God. That is a blessing as well. That is a blessing. Do you have any other joys you want to share this morning? All right. Well, I know there are joys in your heart.

[8:02] I know we have the joy of the Lord in us who is our strength. Let's continue. Who, who, who, who, who? Hi. Which wedding anniversary?

[8:12] Fortieth. Fortieth. That is amazing. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you so much for sharing that. That is a blessing. All right. And with these, the joys that are in our hearts, the joys that God has blessed us with, let's return our gifts and tithes to the Lord in prayer.

[8:28] In prayer and worship and all that. Thank you. God bless you.

[9:28] God bless you.

[9:58] God bless you.

[10:28] God bless you. Thank you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[10:41] Amen. Dear Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise for this day, for this opportunity to worship, and for all the blessings that you give us, that you pour out into our lives.

[11:25] As we return just a small portion of those gifts to you for the work of your kingdom, we ask that you give us wisdom to know how to use them well, that many would come to salvation in Jesus Christ, and that those who are saved would go on growing in you because of your great blessing.

[11:46] We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. I do have some concerns to share.

[11:57] Carmen Falbo was in the hospital, and I understand he's home now, but we want to keep him in our prayers for healing, and also Gloria as she's caring for him in all the ways that she does.

[12:11] Sandy Garrig had her bone marrow transplant this past week and is doing well. We're just continuing in prayer for her, for her healing. And Teresa Zimmerman had knee surgery, and she is also doing well.

[12:24] She's hanging in there. I understand it's going to be a long road. Knees are tough. If you know people who have had them, knees are tough. But we're going to keep in prayer so that she will continue on that road to recovery.

[12:37] Do you have any concerns that you want to lift up this morning in particular? I don't see anyone.

[12:47] Okay, well, then things must be going okay. And if they're not, God knows what you have in your heart that you're lifting up in silence to him as well. So you're welcome to join me as we turn to the Lord in prayer from your seat or at the rail.

[13:07] Heavenly Father, we come before you knowing that you are the God who hears and answers our prayer. You never slumber nor sleep. You are always there for us.

[13:20] All day long and in the late watches of the night, we can always count on you to be there for us, to be pouring out your grace into our lives and the lives of all those in this world.

[13:37] We pray, Lord God, right now for all of those who are sick and infirm, who are in need of a healing touch from you. We ask that you would touch them. We pray, Lord God, bring them healing in their spirits, their souls, and their bodies according to what you know they need.

[13:58] We pray in Jesus' name that all of their troubles and afflictions would draw them closer to you, teach them to rely on you in ways they have never relied on you before.

[14:10] We pray also for their caregivers, Lord God, that they would continue to be touched by you, empowered by you, enabled by you to have the patience they need and the wisdom to care well for those in need.

[14:30] We pray, Lord God, for those who are grieving losses. We ask that by your Spirit, they would be comforted and brought into a place of peace. We pray that they will be able to move on for as long as you would keep them in this world.

[14:49] We pray, Lord God, for all of those who do not know you, that they would see you, Lord God. Your word says that all creation speaks of your majesty.

[15:04] It cries out and sings forth your praise so that we would know who you are, that you are there, that you love us and care for us and seek to redeem us.

[15:20] We pray, Lord God, that by your grace, people would be stirred in their hearts, touched in their minds, that they would know that you are there and that they can call out to you, that you are the God who is mighty to save.

[15:40] We pray, Lord God, that we would be your instruments in this world, that you would work in us and through us to share God's love wherever we go, to be an example of Christlikeness wherever we go.

[15:58] Thank you, Lord, that you have brought us here safely. We pray that you will fill us this day afresh with your Holy Spirit. Give us wisdom to know how you want us to proceed in this world in every situation we encounter.

[16:16] Lead us and guide us by your grace and help us to grow in you. We pray that you would bless our worship. We pray that you would bless Pastor Tom as he delivers the word you have given him for us.

[16:32] We pray that the songs we sing, the prayers we pray, the sense of your presence among us would all bless us abundantly, Lord. And transform us, making us able to do your work in the world, to grow in grace.

[16:51] And Lord, we pray that our worship and every action we do, every word we say in the coming week will bless and glorify you.

[17:05] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Shall we hear from the word of the Lord? God bless you, Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[17:15] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning.

[17:47] Good morning.

[18:17] Good morning.

[18:47] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

[18:59] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Good morning.

[19:10] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

[19:22] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. for battle, but they had no clue how to fight.

[19:36] Ill-equipped to face a professional army. They were between the devil and the deep blue sea. And God stepped in.

[19:49] God stepped into their brokenness. God stepped into their mess and was with them. We're working our way through the creed we call the Apostles' Creed.

[20:01] I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.

[20:12] Who is this Jesus Christ? He's God himself becoming incarnate. Stepping in to our world.

[20:25] Away in a manger, no crib for a bed. The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. I plan to sing that before this, you know.

[20:37] Just so you know. Jesus. We know the story. I don't need to preach the Christmas message because you've heard it again and again, right? Jesus, born as a baby in Bethlehem.

[20:51] He grew and lived 33 years. He taught and he walked and he wept and he laughed. He lived life. And then he was hung as a common criminal.

[21:04] And he died. In the Christian faith, we believe that Jesus was fully human. He was like you and me. He felt the things we felt. He experienced the pains.

[21:16] He experienced the worries. He even experienced the temptations we experienced. He wasn't some sort of God who was pretending to be human.

[21:30] He was human. He stepped into who we are, into our lives as mixed up, messed up, and confused as they sometimes are.

[21:45] But he also was the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the Son of the living God. He was, in fact, the God that was there in the beginning, as John says.

[21:59] Yes, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He's divine. He has the power of God. And he's existed throughout time.

[22:13] Jesus Christ, fully divine. That messes with our sense of logic, doesn't it? A lot of things about faith we struggle with because we can't get our heads around them.

[22:26] But if Jesus wasn't fully human, he really didn't experience what we do. And if he wasn't fully divine, he really didn't have the power to save us and transform us from this world.

[22:39] Anybody here ever been to the Allentown Art Festival? Anybody ever go to that? Yeah. Oh, my God.

[23:05] Food, food, food. Food. There it is right there. That's classic Buffalo.

[23:16] We take an art show that's designed around the most unique and amazing ways of expressing the highest art we have. And we mix it up with funnel cakes, right?

[23:29] Because that's who we are. We know how to do high, and we know how to do low, and we know how to do it well both ways. And we embrace both aspects of it.

[23:39] It's what makes us who we are. Some cities aren't like that. Some people have enclaves where a certain group of people live and other enclaves where other groups of people live. We mix it all together.

[23:51] The highs and the lows. The amazing things of the most refined society that you can find are in Buffalo. And at the same time, we can get right down and dirty with all of them.

[24:07] That's what God is like. He left glory. He had all that there was. He was God himself. And he left it to come here with us.

[24:22] To be with us in the midst of our struggles. We have these people facing a real crisis. The Pharaoh let the people go, but God didn't lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shorter way, because he said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.

[24:45] God knows that we always have temptations to go back to Egypt, to go back to slavery, to go back to sin, to go back to brokenness. We're always tempted. And so God decided not to do this God thing from far away.

[24:59] God the Father we talked about last week, but to do it right up close and step into our world. Jesus Christ, our Savior.

[25:10] That's why he's referred to as the Son of God. God the Father. God the Father. God the Son. Because the relationship between God the Father and God the Son is so close that it's similar to the bond we have as a parent and a child.

[25:24] The connection is so close that Jesus the Christ can intercede with God the Father. Like a child interceding for us.

[25:37] In Romans chapter 10 it says, If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Jesus our Lord, who is the Messiah, the Christ.

[25:51] That's the ABCs. That's the essential part of our faith. Is that God is not a God out there to rule over us. He's a God who's reached out to us to be with us, to save us, and to bring him into connection with him.

[26:04] Joseph even understood that. He says, God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place. He knew that they were going to get in trouble.

[26:15] In fact, if you read the story of Joseph, he's setting it up because he knows that the Egyptians will do something to these people someday. But he also knew that God would reach out to save them.

[26:26] He knew that God. He understood that God. Jesus is the bridge between us and Almighty God. And his relationship to God the Father is what gives us access to his glory and his perfection and his salvation.

[26:47] So, there was a story about Todd Lincoln. Anybody know who Todd Lincoln is? He had a pretty famous father. One day he was in Washington wandering around, and he saw a Confederate soldier.

[26:59] Now, Todd was only about this big. He saw a Confederate soldier who looked pretty forlorn and upset sitting on a bench. And he said, what's up? He says, well, I've been trying to see President Lincoln, but I can't get in.

[27:10] Every time I go, they just put the bandits in front of me, and that's it. No way they're going to let me in. And Todd says, well, come out with me. So, he took the soldier by the hand, and he went up to the doors, and the guards opened up their guns, opened the door for him.

[27:26] He walked right in to President Lincoln's office and said, Dad, I've got a fellow here who needs to talk to you. Access, right?

[27:37] Access that we couldn't even imagine, but the son of the president has that access. It's just like the son of God has that access for us. He's perfect.

[27:49] He's the only one born perfect since Adam, who is also referred to as the son of God, by the way, and has the opportunity to undo the damage that Adam did in the garden, by choosing to do what's right and what's good and overcoming evil.

[28:07] And that's why in John chapter 14, it says to us, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. No one overcomes evil except through the aspect of God, the reaching out of God, that we often call Jesus, but we also call Jesus the Christ.

[28:29] Christ isn't his last name, by the way. It's his title. The Christ, the Messiah, the one who is and was and always will be. People confuse that verse when it says, No one comes to the Father except through me.

[28:44] They tend to think that that means Jesus. But I would suggest to you that it means through the second person of the Trinity, the one that was there in the beginning from the start.

[28:56] Otherwise, we start ending up with that same kind of private religion, our God, that the Jews had a problem with when they turned away from Jesus himself.

[29:08] You know, why am I even preaching on this passage from the Old Testament to talk about Jesus the Christ? That seems almost incongruent, doesn't it? But you see, that's the whole point.

[29:20] God has been incarnate not just in this life but in all of history, right from the very beginning, the word at creation, according to John.

[29:32] He walked in the garden with Adam. He met Abraham out in the desert as Melchizedek, and they celebrated what we call communion. They had the title of Prince of Peace, King of Salem, King of Peace, the high priest of God.

[29:51] With no beginning or end, he wrestled with Jacob. He spoke with David. He gave the laws to Moses.

[30:07] And he was a still, small voice to Elijah. Who is this Jesus the Christ? If we only see him as Jesus, then we miss the whole scope of his revelation to us.

[30:22] Yes, it culminated in Jesus. Jesus is the perfect example of what we call the second person of the Trinity. But he's not the only example. And we are not the only ones he speaks to.

[30:34] In the Bible, he speaks to Persian kings. He speaks to Balaam. He speaks to people who have nothing to do with our faith. He spoke to a Roman centurion.

[30:47] He told wise men from the east who weren't Jewish to travel to see him. So Jesus is important.

[31:00] He's essential. He's the lens. He's the way in which we define what is a revelation of the Christ. How do we know if this is the Christ?

[31:11] But he's not the only one in creation that demonstrates his presence. In John chapter 3, it says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

[31:31] It didn't say God so loved the Christian church. It didn't say God so loved the people who call themselves after Jesus. It says God so loved the whole world. And maybe there are other ways that people can find God.

[31:45] Is Christianity the only way to find salvation would mean that we're so ethnocentrically obsessed that we think we're the only people that could find truth?

[31:55] And then we actually are blasphemous, suggesting God can only reveal himself the way we see it. Does that mean that all religions are the same? Of course not.

[32:06] We know we have the truth. We know we have the way. We know what is the pathway to salvation. So we only preach what we know. But God can be incarnate in so many ways.

[32:20] As a pillar of smoke and fire to lead the people through the desert. To help them see the way to truth. It is the mixing of God Almighty with the humanity that is the power of Jesus.

[32:41] And by the way, it's the same kind of mix we have in Buffalo that we don't take one and not the other or push one element of who we are aside and not consider the other. But we as an area are actually very unusual because we put it all together in one piece.

[32:58] Like this. At a time where everywhere in America looks like anywhere in America, Buffalo has managed to embrace its place in history and to enhance and leverage its very significant natural, architectural, and historic resources to create a very unique space.

[33:16] You know, you go and you visit some other places and everything's the same because everything's new. Here we have a mixture of old and new. And we have the mixture of the opulent and the very simple.

[33:28] It all comes together here and I think that also helps us be who we truly are as Buffalonians. Buffalonians. So unlike the homogenized landscapes of America that we hear about so much in urban studies classes, this is a place that doesn't have any homogenization within the city.

[33:47] It remains this very original, vernacular, indigenous kind of place where people who came here, this is the way they developed because they were creating lives here. You know, we have...

[33:58] At a time where everywhere in America... We're a mix. A mix of some amazing things from the past and amazing things from today.

[34:10] You don't see that in most cities. And you know why, by the way, because we were poor. When all the rest of the cities were tearing down all their buildings and building new ones, we couldn't afford to do it so we kept the old ones. And now we still have them.

[34:22] And they all look and say, it's so unique. It's so unique to blend culture. It's so unique to blend people together. So unique to hold the new and the old in one place.

[34:33] The poor and the rich together. You go to Allentown and you walk along the streets and you have no idea who you're walking with. They could be the leaders of our culture or they could be people at the lowest level.

[34:48] All mixing together. Jesus understood that the power of our faith is to take the great, almighty, divine essence of God and bring it right to who we are in Jesus the man.

[35:05] And that is what God wants us to do too. Because Jesus isn't just our Savior, the Christ, the Messiah, the one who brings us salvation. He's also our Lord.

[35:16] And as our Lord, He tells us what we're supposed to do which is to live incarnationally. We're supposed to live like Jesus just as God led these people in the desert with a pillar of fire and a pillar of smoke.

[35:31] He leads us today. And He knows what's best for us even if we don't. And so we're called to live as Jesus lived. As it says in Philippians, Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and one in mind.

[36:01] Bringing God to the world, reaching into the world with the hope and the love of God. God calls those of us who have experienced the divine presence to share that with those in the world that are struggling and don't have it.

[36:18] Are we willing to step into someone else's life, into their brokenness to bring Christ? Are we willing to be the people of God in a culture that so desperately needs God?

[36:32] The other day, I was sitting with a friend. He's lost his wife, his partner, his companion through life. All he wanted me to do was to stay there and talk to him.

[36:45] Can you stay for dinner? No, I have to go home. My family's waiting for me. Ten minutes later, can you stay for dinner? I've got spaghetti. I need to go home to my family. All he wanted was for me to sit and be present with him.

[37:00] That's not that hard. We can do that. We can step into the life of people who are struggling and bring them something they otherwise wouldn't experience. That's what we do in this area, by the way.

[37:13] The Philharmonic will play at Kleinhans Music Hall, but then they'll do a free concert someplace where other people can hear them. You don't have to go and pay a lot of money to hear them. Shakespeare, where do we do it?

[37:24] In the park, where anybody can come. We mix our cultures together naturally and bring them to the whole world.

[37:35] Festivals and markets. Just as the great people of faith did. You know John Wesley, who started our movement, was a doctor in the church, as was Martin Luther.

[37:47] They both were highly educated, and they came from wealthy communities. And the power of their faith was that they stepped into the brokenness, and John Wesley actually started his very first church.

[38:00] It was in a run-down, old manufacturing plant where they used to manufacture armaments. Father Baker. How many of you have ever heard of Father Baker?

[38:13] Yeah, because when you were kids they said, if you don't behave, I'm going to send you to Father Baker's, and most of us didn't even know what that meant. But Father Baker came from the Baker family, and he was a wealthy man.

[38:24] The bakers were very prominent people in the city of Buffalo, and they had a lot of money. He walked away from his privilege to work with the poorest, the people who had no one, the people who had nowhere to go.

[38:37] He made a place for them. Anybody ever been to St. Luke's in Buffalo? St. Luke's was started by two people who sold everything they had. One of them, Amy, owned a little restaurant named Amy's over on Main Street.

[38:51] She sold it. So she could buy an old, run-down Roman Catholic church and take care of the people who are poor in Buffalo, and they just give it all away. It's who they are.

[39:02] Go to community missions. Go to the Buffalo City mission. Go over to our Niagara Falls dinners. When we step into the brokenness, when we step into the pain, when we step into the people who are in need, we bring the power of God, and we become Christ incarnate.

[39:17] We live as people who see God as our Lord. But oftentimes we don't because we're afraid. We're afraid.

[39:29] The people were afraid of the Egyptians, too. In fact, this is what they said to Moses when the army appeared. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them.

[39:40] They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

[39:51] Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians? It'd be better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. I think sometimes that's how people feel.

[40:06] Leave me alone, God. Don't make me go places I'm not comfortable. Don't send me where I don't want to be. Don't ask me to do what feels like it doesn't fit my life.

[40:21] But Jesus calls us to follow us. Christians follow Christ. That's what's in the word, right? Christians, Christ. He said it himself. Jesus said, he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.

[40:41] That's amazing. Statement to the people of that day. To you and I, it doesn't mean a lot because we think of crosses as some pretty jewelry we wear and such. Think of it this way. Take up your electric chair and follow me.

[40:54] Take up your instrument of death and follow me. Radical. Deny your life to follow God. Do whatever it takes.

[41:05] Do we really, really follow God? Or do we feel like we're not ready? Dressed for battle but unable to fight.

[41:17] God knows who we are. He knows what we are. And he actually took them the long way around for their own good. God won't lead us to what we're not equipped for.

[41:28] He'll only lead us to what he has already decided will give us the victory. He won't even let us be foolish in our own way. He'll give us the power to be what we're supposed to be.

[41:42] We need to trust God even though we don't always understand God. In Isaiah chapter 55, he said, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

[41:53] As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth.

[42:13] It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. We don't understand God completely. We don't fully and completely comprehend God.

[42:26] But we know that if God sends us, that if God sends us with and through the word of God into this world, that what we do when we go into this world will not come back empty.

[42:38] And so God calls us to fill the world up, be the light that that pillar was to the world and to people living in darkness. And it's not as hard as we think.

[42:49] It just means putting our selfishness aside. When I was a very young man, I had a family and I had an income that was ridiculously low. So low that we really couldn't afford food so we borrowed money to buy our groceries for the week.

[43:04] That meant we didn't have any money to buy clothing for our child. It just was not possible. We hoped somewhere along the line we'd get enough for her to wear. Well, I worked in a clothing company and I had two bosses.

[43:18] The one boss who owned the company, he'd have me clean his car from time to time. So as I'm cleaning his car, I'd come across invariably tickets. Tickets to sporting events, tickets to concerts.

[43:31] He got free tickets all the time from people. He didn't go to them. You could see, they weren't even used. But he wasn't going to give them to anybody else because they were his tickets. And he told me that once.

[43:43] They're my tickets, they were meant for me and if I'm not using them, nobody's going to use them. I had another boss. He was the vice president.

[43:55] He was a nice guy. He lived in a nice house. He had nice income. And every once in a while he'd come in to the place with a bag full of little girls' clothing.

[44:08] Now, these weren't just clothes from like Walmart. These were Carter's. Now, maybe you don't know what that means. But boy, I'm going to tell you what, when our little girl was young, Carter's was like, oh my gosh, you went and bought Carter's?

[44:21] Who can afford Carter's clothes? The kids won't even ever wear them out. Why would you buy them? They're just like so expensive and beautiful that nobody bought Carter's.

[44:33] Let me bring us bags of these. He didn't have to give us something that he needed. Just give us from his leftovers, his abundance. Stepped into our life that was struggle and that was difficult and gave us something he could give simply because he had it in abundance.

[44:54] When God calls us to live incarnationally, incarnationally, when he calls us to bring the living God into this world, he doesn't ask us to do what's impossible.

[45:10] He doesn't ask us to go into battle when we're not prepared for it. He asks us simply to follow him to where he takes us and he will make sure that he always will provide a way. The problem with our lives is our God is just too small.

[45:27] We got a God that's based on a wimpy faith. We don't trust God. We're more afraid of the Egyptian army. We're more afraid of the deep blue sea.

[45:38] We're more afraid of all the things in life that we think will keep us from what we want. But those fears, those inadequacies, those worries, if we allow them to possess us, we'll end up in the wilderness just like the children of Israel did.

[45:56] We won't even know where we're going and we won't even know how lost we are. God says that he'll go with us by day and by night.

[46:08] He will never leave us. Who is Jesus, the Christ, the second person of the Trinity? He's God with us now and always willing to lead us through the darkness and help us to find a way to connect back to God leading us to the home he was always intending for us to have.

[46:31] That's who the second person of the Trinity is. He's the Son of God taking us by the hand to the Heavenly Daddy and taking us home. Are you far away from home this dark and lovely night?

[47:04] Tell me what best would help to ease your mind. Don't want to give direction for this unfamiliar road.

[47:21] The one who says follow me and I will lead you home. how beautiful, how precious the Savior of old to love so completely so lonely as told How gently, how tenderly face as to one and all Child, you can follow me and I will lead you home Trust me and follow me and I will lead you home Be near me, Lord Jesus

[48:27] I ask thee to stay close by me forever And love me I pray Bless all the dear children In thy tender care And take us to heaven And take us to heaven To live with thee there Take us to heaven To live with thee there O of all the earth There'll rain on high Every mountain stream

[49:29] Every sunset sky But my one request On my own leave And you reign in me again Lord, reign in me Reign in your power Over all my dreams In my darkest hour You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Over every call Over every word May the Lord have said The beauty of my Lord As you be born to me Than any other things And you reign in me again Lord, reign in me Reign in your power Over all my dreams In my darkest hour

[50:29] You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Lord, reign in me Reign in your power Over all my dreams In my darkest hour You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Lord, reign in us God incarnate through us We have that opportunity And God is our light A beacon saying Come this way Come this way And we're in a broken world So we have things Darkness that kind of guides us In a wrong direction sometimes But God is always there And always available If we just turn to him So as we prepare For a table of grace I invite you To a prayer of confession Along with me Lord, I am a sinner Lord, I am a sinner I need your grace I need your grace

[51:30] Forgive me my sins Forgive me my sins Set me on the right path Set me on the right path Guide me Guide me Lead me Lead me Guide me Lead me Fill me with your light Fill me with your light Fill me with your light That I may be a beacon In this world That I may be a beacon In this world In Jesus' name I pray In Jesus' name we pray.

[51:50] Amen. Now hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and this proves God's love for you and for me.

[52:00] So in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. And now as a forgiven body of Christ, let's greet one another with the peace of the Holy Spirit.

[52:18] Good morning. Peace. Peace, sir. Peace.

[52:49] Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace.

[53:00] Peace. God, prepare me Be a sanctuary Pure and holy Tried and true With thanksgiving I'll be a living A sanctuary For you Lead me on, Lord From temptation Purify me

[54:03] From within Fill my heart with Your Holy Spirit Take away All my sin Lord, prepare me To be a sanctuary Pure and holy Tried and true With thanksgiving I'll be a living Sanctuary For you Christ was offered for all

[55:09] Christ is offered for all And if you accept Christ You are welcome at the table The Lord be with you And also with you Lift up your hearts Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord Our God It is right To give our thanks and praise It is right And a good and joyful thing Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth You formed us in your image Breathed into us The breath of life When we turned away And our love failed Your love remained steadfast You delivered us From captivity Made covenant To be our sovereign God And spoke to us Through the prophets And so with your people On earth And all the company Of heaven We praise your name

[56:10] And join their unending hymn Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heaven and earth Are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he Who comes in the name Of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Holy are you And holy is your son Jesus Christ Your spirit anointed him To preach good news To the poor To proclaim release To the captives And recovering of sight To the blind To set at liberty Those who are oppressed And to announce That the time had come When you would save Your people He healed the sick Fed the hungry And ate with sinners 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

[57:11] When the Lord Jesus Ascended He promised To be with us Always In the power Of your word And Holy Spirit On the night In which he gave himself Up for us He took bread He gave thanks To you He broke the bread He gave it To his disciples And he said Take and eat This is my body Which is given For you And when the supper Was over He took the cup He gave thanks To you And he said This is my blood The blood Of the new covenant Poured out for you Poured out for many For the forgiveness Of sins Drink of this Often Remembering me And so in remembrance Of these Your mighty acts In Jesus Christ

[58:11] We offer ourselves In praise And thanksgiving As a holy And living sacrifice In union With Christ's Offering for us As we proclaim The mystery of faith Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit On us gathered here And on these gifts Of bread and wine Make them be for us The body and blood Of Christ That we may be For the world The body of Christ Redeemed by his blood By your Spirit Make us one with Christ One with each other And one in ministry To all the world Until Christ comes In final victory And we feast At his heavenly banquet Through your Son Jesus Christ With the Holy Spirit And your Holy Church All honor and glory Is yours Almighty Father Now and forever Amen Now let us pray The prayer that Jesus Taught us saying

[59:12] 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 At a temptation But deliver us From evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever Amen We'll be having Two stations Plus gluten free So I'll need five servers If I could have five servers Come forward at this time Amen How过 God God Thank you.

[60:41] Thank you.

[61:11] Thank you. Thank you.

[62:11] Thank you.

[62:41] Thank you.

[63:11] Thank you.

[63:41] Thank you.

[64:11] Thank you.

[64:41] Thank you. Thank you.

[65:41] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[66:17] Thank you. Thank you.

[67:17] Thank you. Thank you. Bring the power of God into the powerless. Bring the love of God into the people that are lonely and just want somebody to sit and talk to.

[67:30] And be the blessing of God. Be the son of God to the world. Go out in peace. Go out in grace. And drive safely.

[67:40]  Amen.