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[0:00] This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the day That the Lord has made

[1:02] Good morning, welcome to our church We have a gift for our visitors At the connection site Please fill out your friendship card For any prayers or concern Or just so we can get to know you It's fun to be part of the welcoming committee Here at Hamilton Center And we are so glad to have you with us this morning The clipboard opportunities for ministry We're sending around There's really three of them One of them is for our Seneca Street Ministries And there's one of those in each section But the other one is for communion If you want to bring the communion elements And one is for bulletins and flowers And one is starting on that side And the other is on that side So if you see the communion bulletins and flowers Keep passing them around So that we can try and get them through the whole church We can't send around four of those Because then we get like four times as much elements On one Sunday as we need If you follow Okay I just also wanted to mention That most of our programs Are going to begin this week Or over the next couple weeks

[2:02] So take a look at your little good news Especially if you want to have dinner Or something on a Wednesday night You can call the office Breakfast I believe starts this morning It does? Yes Okay Breakfast starts this morning And another thing If you are a teenager Sixth grade and up Or know one Or have one Or whatever it may be We are starting confirmation This afternoon Around 1245 If you'd like to know more about that You can talk to Pastor Sherry or myself Let's take a moment for a word of prayer Dear God in heaven We thank you for this day We thank you for the blessings you send to us And we pray now That you'd pour your Holy Spirit into us That in everything we are And all that we do We might honor you For it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen I'd like to invite you If you're able to stand As we're going to sing together Make me a captive Lord Take you now Take care of yourself My heart

[3:05] Or ever Help me Help me You pray Have more Help me Help me To him help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Help me Hey Help me Captions by Red Bee Media Captions by Red Bee Media

[4:19] Captions by Red Bee Media Its flag can only be ungrowth When thou shalt breathe from heaven My will is not my own Till thou hast made it thine If it would reach upon our throne It must its crown resign It only stands unbent Amid the clashing strife

[5:21] Where not thy bosom it has lent And found in thee is mine The Lord be with you.

[5:33] Take a moment, if you will, and greet your neighbor with the peace of the Spirit. I'd like to invite the kids to come up now.

[5:49] If any children want to come up, they're welcome to join me. Here comes some. Any other kids want to come up?

[6:01] Come on up. Have you guys ever seen these books in the church?

[6:14] Yeah, they're out in the seats in the pews. Do you know what they're called? What are they called? Well, they look like Bibles, don't they? But they're not. They're something else. They're called a...

[6:24] That's exactly what they are. There's songs in them that you can read if you forget them. They're called hymnals because they have hymns in them. And hymns are religious songs.

[6:35] There's all kinds of songs there. You can even read the music and stuff if you know how to read music. This one and this one are the same except for two things. One is the color. One is blue, right?

[6:46] We know that. What else is different about these two? Can you see it? What do you see? Do you see that gold bar down on the bottom?

[7:03] It's not on this one. Do you know why? Because they made a mistake when they made this book. They printed the wrong thing on there. So they covered it up. You ever scratch something out when you make a mistake?

[7:15] That's what they did. They scratched it out and they covered it up. So you know what? When I went to buy this book, it cost me half as much as this one. Did you know that? This one was half as much as this one.

[7:27] And the reason is because it had a mistake in it. But it's still a hymnal. It has the same songs in it. Same exact number of pages. Everything looks the same except this has a gold bar on the front.

[7:38] Now what do you think? Is that silly? Yeah. For a gold bar, they give you half the price and say it's no good. But you know, sometimes people say that somebody's no good because they don't look the same as everybody else.

[7:51] You know, maybe they wear something different or their hair color is different or they're taller or shorter. Or all kinds of things, right? And people actually can even make fun of you. Have you ever had anybody make fun of you?

[8:03] I don't like it. It hurts when they do that, right? So the thing is, is God has made us all the same. Is there anybody here who's not a people? We're all people.

[8:15] So God loves us all, all right? Just like we are. So remember that. Sometimes little things that make us different don't make us different at all. All right? What are you thanking for this morning?

[8:25] If you want to share something, raise your hand. My mom and dad. My family.

[8:37] Friends and family. My dad. My family. My father and dad. Friends and family.

[8:52] My sister named Charlie. My family. My friends and family.

[9:03] My family. I love my family. Friends and family. My, my sister is throwing me a big for all the time.

[9:19] And, and my dad, and I sit down the tail. Give that kid a Bible. He can preach a sermon. Up here, Pastor Terry. My friends and family.

[9:34] All right. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for all the blessings you give to us. We thank you for the good and joyful things. Our friends, our family, our parents, our goldfish, and even the things we don't understand.

[9:46] Bless us in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, you guys can go out to church school. All the kids are welcome to go out to church school this morning. While they're heading out, I wanted to mention to you our mission moment.

[10:01] We take up an offering at different times of the year to help with things as an extra gift. And that's to give you opportunities to give to missions. We don't expect you to give to all of them.

[10:12] But this particular one we have today is for the people who have been in the floods in the south of our country. And through our umcor, we are capable of going and helping them. In fact, our church is already down there helping people.

[10:25] So what they ask is that we take up an offering to help pay for what they're already doing. So if you want to give to that, we do appreciate that. Did you notice that old song that we were talking about winding?

[10:37] Winding watches. Anybody remember winding watches? Holy cats, that's an old song. I'm thankful for the old and I'm thankful for the new. And all the blessings God gives to us.

[10:48] And we're glad to have you with us this morning. Let's return our Thanksgiving with our morning tithes and our offerings. Thank you.

[11:27] Standing on this mountaintop, looking just how far we've come, knowing that for every step you were with us.

[11:41] Kneeling on this battleground, seeing just how much you've done, knowing every victory was your power in us.

[11:53] Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say, yes our hearts can say.

[12:06] Never once did we ever walk alone, never once did you leave us on our own.

[12:18] You are faithful, God, you are faithful. You are faithful, God, you are faithful.

[12:32] Standing on this mountaintop, looking just how far we've come, knowing that for every step you were with us.

[12:44] Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say, yes our hearts can say. Never once did we ever walk alone, never once did you leave us on our own.

[13:08] You are faithful, God, you are faithful. Every step we are breathing in your grace.

[13:22] And evermore we'll be breathing out your praise. You are faithful, God, you are faithful.

[13:34] You are faithful, God, you are faithful. Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say.

[13:49] Never once did we ever walk alone, carried by your constant grace, held within your perfect peace.

[14:00] Never once, no, we never walked alone Never once did we ever walk alone Never once did you leave us on our own You are faithful, God, you are faithful With every step we are breathing in your grace Never more we'll be breathing out your praise You are faithful, God, you are faithful You are faithful, God, you are faithful You are faithful, God, you are faithful From Deuteronomy 7 verse 9

[15:05] Know therefore that the Lord your God is God The faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love With those who love him and keep his commandments Praise God for the homeless and strong Praise him, all creatures here below Praise him, all the heavenly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen

[16:07] Dear Heavenly Father, we do give you thanks and praise for this day And the opportunity together to worship you What a glorious day you have given us A day that you have made Lord God, we lift up to you all of the gifts That you have so richly blessed us with We ask that you would bless them and give us wisdom To know how to best use them for the furtherance of your kingdom We desire that many would come to salvation in Jesus Christ And that many would grow in the faith that they have Lord God, we ask especially for a blessing On this offering that is going to the work Of helping the folks who are the victims of the floods in Louisiana We just ask in Jesus' name That you would give wisdom too To the people who are helping them To rebuild their lives In Jesus' name we pray Amen Please be seated

[17:08] Isn't it a beautiful day to be back? I'm blessed that we're back to the routine You know?

[17:19] It's wonderful, summer is wonderful And we kind of go here and we kind of go there And then September comes And we come back to a normal schedule The times and the seasons that God has given us Are truly a blessing We have to remember some folks in our prayers With joys and concerns I know you have many on your hearts as well These in particular we're lifting up today out loud We have Tom and Jan Gertz Who are celebrating the birth of their second great granddaughter Whose name is Skyler And was born in Oklahoma this week God bless you and your family Great grandchildren are a wonder Anna Ward and Tucker Smith were married right here In this very church yesterday afternoon And what a blessing to have them join together And we pray for blessings on their family We are in prayer for Ron Elman Whose brother Bruce passed away this week So we're praying for the Elman family And for Ron also Who is suffering from some health concerns

[18:20] There's a lot going on there We need to keep them in our prayers And we want to lift up all of those Who are serving in our armed forces In particular we've had a request For prayer for Sarah Skelton Who is not with her family right now Because of her service And of course We take time to remember in our hearts What happened in our nation 15 years ago On the 11th of September in 2001 We want to keep in prayer All of those who serve All of those first responders Everyone who has had their lives affected By that tragedy And by subsequent attacks and tragedies Where lives have been lost And ways of life have been altered These concerns and those on your heart Are going to turn to the Lord in prayer And for those of you who are not here

[19:21] Over the summer much Or were kind of in and out We have started something a little new During prayer I come to the rail to kneel I always do that If you are feeling led of the Spirit To come forward And pray Either standing or kneeling at the rail You are welcome to join me in that way Or remain in your seats And turn to the Lord in prayer Heavenly Father What a blessing it is To come before you To be able to lift up the joys of our hearts And the deep sorrows of our souls To put before you Those things that we Fear

[20:22] Asking for your comfort Asking for your strength And your assurance As we follow you Father There are many Who are sick And infirm This day We pray for them And ask for you To touch them With your healing power That they would be made whole From the tops of their heads To the soles of their feet Be made whole In their spirits And their souls And their bodies Father We pray in Jesus name For those who are grieving losses We just ask Lord God That you would bring comfort Into their lives Bring that peace That passes all understanding And pray as we And others In their lives Minister to them With a kind word

[21:23] Or a touch Or a meal Or a visit Whatever it is Lord That you call us to do We ask that you give us The words to say And Just a sense of your presence In us And through us As we come to them Be a presence In their time of need We pray Lord God With thanksgiving For all new life That has been born Into our midst Into our community Into our world We pray for families Lord God For those who have been Joined together And bonded With love That you have provided For them We ask that you would Strengthen families Lord God Draw them close to you Help them to know How important it is

[22:24] To stay tight With you Lord In whatever ways They can Lord God We pray for All people In this world Who are the victims Of natural disasters Floods And fires And drought Famine And for those who are The victims Of human violence Father Father we pray In Jesus name For mercy We pray that many Would be drawn To you Lord God We pray that those Who are sent To minister In those places To those people Would have All that they need To be able To help To be able To show them Who you are As they minister Your love Remind us to pray

[23:26] For them Lord To hold them up And to not let them Be abandoned Or forgotten We pray for those In our military Lord God We pray also For those first responders Who are so faithful To what you have Called them to do So faithful In the face Of danger That some of us Cannot even imagine We ask Father For your strengthening Power for them We pray for wisdom For them We pray for their families Now Lord God As we Continue in our worship Hearing your word Spoken And hearing the message That you have given Pastor Tom For us this day As we sing the songs As we celebrate

[24:27] Our life in Christ With you And with each other We just ask That you would Transform us Make us into the people You have called us to be Help us to step out Gravely By your strength And power Into those things You've led us To be Bless Pastor Tom As he brings the word Bless all of our worship That is why we came To worship you In Jesus name we pray Amen Shall we hear from the word Of the Lord Or O Guardian Let's pray instructions Here is God We are Good stuff Come on Huawei Ask you wil lo

[25:37] Good morning.

[25:55] Today's scripture lesson is from 1 Samuel 16, verses 1-13. The Lord said to Samuel, Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do.

[26:35] You are to anoint for me the one I indicate. Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him.

[26:46] They asked, Do you come in peace? Samuel replied, Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.

[26:58] Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord.

[27:12] But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at.

[27:23] People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Then Jesse called Abedadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen this one either.

[27:37] Jesse then had Shema pass by. But Samuel said, Nor has the Lord chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to him, The Lord has not chosen these.

[27:51] So he asked Jesse, Are these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest, Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel said, Send for him.

[28:04] We will not sit down until he arrives. So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, Rise and anoint him.

[28:18] This is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. And from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

[28:30] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. So when I'm lying in my bed And the furniture starts creeping I'll just laugh and say, Hey, cut that out And get back to my sleeping Cause I know that God's the biggest And he's watching all the while So when I get scared, I'll think of him And close my eyes and smile God is bigger than the boogeyman He's bigger than Godzilla Or the monsters on TV God is bigger than the boogeyman And he's watching all for you and me Everybody!

[29:30] God is bigger than the boogeyman The things that scare us The things that frighten us The monsters in the closet The creatures under our bed Those needles they use at the dentist's office Clowns or flowers All kinds of weird things people are afraid of Sometimes we're a little embarrassed by it Because they're sort of kind of like Eh, not a big deal to everybody else But they creep us out Sometimes they're serious things 9-11, 15 years ago They said it changed the way Especially our young people looked at life They feel like there's something dangerous lurking Behind every shadow, every corner They watch everyone carefully We've all had fears We all grow up with some kind of fears My generation grew up with the idea That we had to hide under our desks in school

[30:32] Because it might drop an atomic bomb on us Now, how was this desk going to do anything? I never did understand that But some of these fears are real And they're serious And they affect our lives So for the next few weeks We're going to talk about facing our fears Fears like We're afraid we'll be humiliated Or we won't be good enough Or we won't be appreciated or loved Or we'll not have enough Our lives won't be meaningful or relevant Or this morning we're going to talk about Our fear to commit Which can lead to a failure to launch Real problems, real fears And we're going to look at the life of David In the Bible And what his life can teach us About facing our fears First thing we need to recognize From this passage Is that God chooses us God has a purpose for us Before we even realize it

[31:32] It's what's called Provenient grace The grace that goes beforehand That reaches out into our lives Before we're even aware of it In the book of Jeremiah In the first chapter God said to Jeremiah Before I formed you in the womb I knew you Before you were born I set you apart I appointed you as a prophet To the nations Before you're even able to form The first word in life God has already chosen What he thinks you should be What he's designed you for What he's giving you The unique gifts and abilities And attributes to make happen God chooses us We tend to think we pick God We make a decision for God But God chose us Before we even realized There was the possibility And God chooses us For all sorts of things In this case God is choosing To make David King over Israel Kings are chosen by God

[32:33] The prophets go and anoint them Throughout the centuries That's the way it works The church would say Who was a king or a queen Dictators would take the crown For themselves Nowadays we have democracy I'm not sure which works better To be honest with you But I'm not going to argue That we go back to kings and queens But God's hand Is in the choosing Of the leaders Because God looks at us In a different way Than we look at people In verse 7 It actually ends by saying But the Lord Looks at the heart Of a person To see whether or not We have the faith We have the understanding We have the commitment To live into what God Has decided to do with us In this story We have David David is a member Of a family Where he had Seven or eight Six or seven brothers We're not really sure Exactly how many And a couple of sisters His father's name Was Jesse And God came

[33:33] To the great prophet Samuel And said I'm not happy With Saul the king I'm going to anoint A new king So I want you To go down To Jesse's household And anoint the one That I choose Samuel goes down To Jesse's household And all the boys Come parading in front of him First one looks handsome And strong and tall And Samuel says That's got to be the guy And God says No not that one And then the second one And God says No not that one And the third And the fourth And the fifth Right on down the line And he runs out of sons And Samuel says To Jesse Is this all your sons Because God's not Picking any of these And he says Well there is David The little one He's out watching Cheating Samuel says Don't come here We're not going to Finish this thing Until he comes And so Samuel Is waiting for David And waiting for David And David finally Comes in from the field

[34:34] And God says That's the one Anoint him And this is how David was anointed To be king Of Israel God chose You see God chooses us And then we have to Choose how we will Respond That's the choice We have We can respond By making a commitment To God Or we can respond In fear Fear Fear often keeps us From our life mission It often keeps us From what God wants For our lives We're afraid We're afraid Of a lot of things And in some ways Fear keeps us From what we need To do Because we're afraid God really isn't God God really can't do What God Says he can do Samuel was afraid To go down And anoint David Because he was afraid Of what Saul The king would do He was more afraid

[35:35] Of the king At that moment Than he was of God Who he was talking to How many of us If God was talking Right to us Would say Yeah But you know There's a king out there I'm not sure Maybe more of us Than we think When Samuel showed up They were afraid Of Samuel We're afraid Of a lot of things Because we don't Want to get hurt We see things happen And we know People can't get hurt And so we're afraid Some people are afraid Of Because lightning's scary Lights up the sky It shakes everything It got all this noise Anybody out in the Thunderstorm last night Yeah We're driving down The road In our car And boom And the whole world Is exploding around us You know It can be a little Creepy Right

[36:36] So we We get afraid Because we forget Who controls The lightning Who controls The kings Who controls This world Who do we fear What do we fear Are we afraid Are we afraid Of God Or someone else David was a shepherd boy He lived out Taking care of the sheep Out in the fields And while he was Out in the fields He didn't Have much to do You know Sheep just kind of Like walk around Eating grass So he would make up Songs All kinds of songs You may not know it But David was a Huge songwriter There's like Dozens and dozens Of them in the bible We call them Songs But those are songs And you sit out In the field And I picture him Writing the one song Where he said The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want He makes me lie down In green pastures He leads me beside The still waters He restores my soul He makes me to walk

[37:37] In the path of righteousness For his sake Even though I walk Through the valley Of the shadow of death I'll fear no evil For God is with me His rod His staff They comfort me He prepares a table For me In the presence Of mine enemies My cup runneth over He anoints my head With oil Surely goodness And mercy Will follow me All the days Of my life Now dwell in the house Of the Lord Forever It's a powerful song We still say it And sing it today It creeps into our lives Because of its power Why?

[38:12] Because David Had the time To listen To hear God And you know He didn't put it On YouTube Right away So it wasn't like He became An overnight hit You know In fact There was no America's Got Talent He couldn't Like shoot to the top Right away So he sang To the sheep And he sang To God And he learned To get to know God Who God is What God was And because he knew him He wasn't afraid I will not fear He wrote Do we hear God?

[38:54] Do we even take the time To listen? Do we ever go beside The still waters? Do we ever Lay down And just listen To the voice of God?

[39:05] And if we hear it Do we make a commitment Or do we still Live in fear? There's a lot of fears We live in And one of them Is the fear That we won't measure up And you know Why we feel We won't measure up?

[39:20] Because other people Tell us we don't It's hard It's hard To see what God wants When other people Are saying all sorts Of other things When Elam came by Elia came by Samuel thought This must be The right one And the Lord Said to Samuel Don't consider His appearance Or his height For I have rejected him The Lord does not Look at things People look at People look at The outward appearance But I look at The heart We judge by What we see Don't we?

[39:56] And if we've been If we've been Picked last For the baseball team We will never believe We can play baseball If somebody has told us That we aren't very smart We believe it When people tell us We're not attractive We assume Nobody would like Looking at us It destroys Our whole sense Of who we are Because we listen To what the voices say All around us Most of us Have experienced that At some point in time When I was a teenager I was lanky And geeky I was awkward I didn't do very many Physical things right I stumbled over My own feet I had a weird haircut Because you know My mom would cut my hair With those You know those Trimmer things?

[40:44] It was fast It was cheap It was easy And she had four of us boys And it all went like this Reep! Reep! And we were done Didn't matter what it looked like She didn't care We got the clothes we got Because that's what my parents Could afford And we wore those Big black Geeky glasses Because that's what You could get For the cheapest ones On the rack I always thought I wasn't very smart I didn't think I was Very attractive in any way I really hid from everybody And you know When people say that to us We start believing at it In this passage God chose the one That the rest of them Didn't even think Mattered enough To be invited To the party What do you think about that?

[41:40] David wasn't even good enough To come to the party And there's some reasons for that Let's look at a couple Of David's own songs In one he says Surely I was sinful at birth Sinful from the time My mother conceived me We're not sure exactly What this means But there's a lot of Suspicions and beliefs Especially in the Jewish Traditions That David was somehow Believed to have been Conceived in sin We're not exactly sure how Somebody had an affair Or what?

[42:09] All we know is people Believed it about him In Psalm 69 It said his family Treated him often He said I'm a foreigner To my own family A stranger To my own mother's children And the word foreigner Can also mean The same word We wouldn't use in church For an illegitimate child They would accuse him Of stealing They would play tricks On David And give him crummy food David was considered By the family Not worthy to even Be at the party He should be happy That we even give him The opportunity To work for us We picture David As a strong, handsome Powerful, successful guy And that's what he became In fact this passage says David was good looking But the problem was People around him Didn't say that And God picked the one

[43:12] Rejected by others Sometimes we have to Reject the rejection We have to forget What other people say About us And remember that If God chose us That we're good You know when God Made you It says in the book Of Genesis He looked at you And said you were Very good He said you're awesome You're incredible Exactly what I wanted I made this person Exactly how I wanted Them to be And I think They're fantastic Only reason We feel bad About ourselves Is largely because We listen to what Other people say As if what the Lord of the universe Says matters less Than what some kid In school said About us years ago Reject the rejection Sometimes it's what We have to do And not listen to What the words Around us say But listen to what The God inside us Tells us Rejection hurts

[44:13] And sometimes We are rejected We're even humiliated And believe it or not Sometimes the rejection Actually comes from God I want you to think About those other brothers They were strong They were successful They were healthy people And God's going to Anoint one of them To be a king And all of them Walk by And it says That they were Rejected Wow They were rejected And God chose Someone they didn't Even think Matter Hurts What would you feel like Sometimes God rejects People God turns them down For what they want To do for God And chooses someone else And it hurts See one of the reasons Why we have fears Is because

[45:14] We've been hurt before And we don't want It to happen again Nobody likes To get hurt And when you've Experienced hurt And you've experienced The pain and fear That comes with it You don't want it To happen again Like this guy here All I say Gus The truth is It can't get any worse Hey Joe Joe Hey Joe It just got worse What?

[45:57] What do you mean What? You saw a lightning You know what happens Joe What a chance You get hit by lightning again Hey Gus What were the odds The first time I got hit And what about the odds The second time I got hit Hey Joe If I could fix the car I'd do it myself Besides That's the worst place You can be Is behind a tree Hey Gus It hurts to get hit By lightning You know You don't know What it feels like Hey Joe Watch Look Hey Hit me Hit me See See See See See Here I am Get a free shot Take it Right here Hit me See See See See See See

[47:02] Uh-huh It hurts to get hit by lightning!

[47:21] And you don't want it to happen again! But the problem is, is we can't live in the hurt and the brokenness.

[47:32] Or we'll be frozen. Anybody here ever been hit by lightning? We had a couple last night. I was hit by lightning once.

[47:43] We were driving down the road and it hit our car. Knocked my hands off the wheel. Scared the bejeebies out of me. I had my family in the car and it was like, bam! Everything went nuts!

[47:57] But you know what? I still drive cars. Last night we were out in a lightning storm in the middle of it and I wasn't going, ah! Sometimes we have to figure out what the hurt is for and how to face it down.

[48:13] I wouldn't recommend carrying a ratchet around in a lightning storm. We need to learn from it. And the truth is, sometimes we need to reject the rejection.

[48:24] But sometimes we need to embrace it. So that we can understand the rejection. So we can face our fears. We're called to do what God wants.

[48:36] Not what we want. God doesn't exist to make us happy. We exist to serve and make God pleased. John chapter 15.

[48:46] Jesus said to his disciples, You didn't choose me. I chose you. And appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last. So that whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you.

[48:58] People think that means that they can ask for a portion. Get it. It means if you want to do what God wants, he'll make sure it works. But you've got to play God's game. Not your game.

[49:11] You see, we don't volunteer for God's work. We agree to the assignment. God has a plan for each of us. But all too often, we don't want our plan.

[49:25] We want somebody else's plan. We want somebody else's family. Maybe God gave you these kids on purpose because you're the right one for it. We want somebody else's parents. Somebody else's spouse.

[49:36] Somebody else's life. Somebody else's job. Somebody else's mission. Somebody else's way of looking. But God made you to do what he wanted you to do, not what he wanted somebody else to do.

[49:47] He already has them doing it. You follow? We don't want to play God's game. And because of that, we find ourselves in brokenness.

[50:00] God himself rejects us. Just like he did in this passage. He rejected King Saul. Because King Saul wouldn't do things God's way.

[50:11] He couldn't wait for God. And so God rejected him. Anybody here ever play Monopoly? You play Monopoly, and the whole idea is that you're supposed to get as many properties and as much money and have more than everybody else, right?

[50:31] But what if God told you that the rules of Monopoly is really that everybody passes go? That would really bother you if you own a boardwalk and park place, right? You're like, wait a minute.

[50:42] I own all the properties. It doesn't matter. If you pass go, you win. Everybody who passes go wins. You'd be like, oh, this isn't fair. He only owns one of those foolish little utility things or a railroad.

[50:52] I mean, who cares? Come on, seriously. I got the big stuff. And God is saying, you don't understand. In my game, everybody who passes go wins. It doesn't matter if they're a dog or a hat or what they are.

[51:05] If they pass go, they win. Because you see, here's the thing that's hard for us to understand. In God's world, he wants everybody to pass go. And so his purpose is that we will all get everybody pass go and out of glory.

[51:20] You see? We think it's somehow about winning the game as we're going around the board. When God says, it's really just about whether you pass go.

[51:33] That just doesn't seem right to us. But see, that's because we're trying to play by our rules. We ask our kids, what do you want to be when you grow up?

[51:44] It's not the right question. The question is, what do you think God wants you to be when you grow up? That's the right question.

[51:55] What do you think God wants you to do? We all have to live a life. We all have to earn a living and all this kind of stuff.

[52:06] But you see, God only expects us to accomplish what he designed and not what other people do. We don't like that. So we change the rules.

[52:17] Saul got in trouble because he couldn't wait for God. He couldn't wait for God. In this passage, we read that Samuel had to wait for David.

[52:29] And I don't know if you noticed what he said to him. He said to everybody, we will not sit down until he gets here. Seriously? The dude is way out in the field. He's dirty. He's a mess. It's going to take a while to get out there and get back.

[52:40] And we said, no, you are going to stand up until he gets back here. Wow. You people argue and complain when you've got to stand up for 10 minutes and worship. Imagine you've got to wait until the guy comes back in from the field.

[52:55] But they had to wait patiently, doing what God asked for. Otherwise, they'd find that they would be rejected, not just by the people, but by God himself.

[53:08] And if you're accepted by the people and rejected by God, you've lost. If you win all the properties and monopoly and you don't pass go to God, you've lost. You've lost. You've lost.

[53:22] And it hurts to lose, too. It says in the passages that foul, Saul became empty. The Holy Spirit had left him.

[53:33] And instead, he had an evil spirit. Actually, God gave it to him. A tormenting, terrible feeling of emptiness and brokenness about going the wrong way.

[53:44] If he would have turned back to God, I believe God would have removed that. But he didn't. He stayed in rebellion. And the only time he felt good is when David came and played music for him, believe it or not.

[53:56] So David showed up with his little lyre, which is like an old-time guitar, sang songs, and it soothes Saul's soul. Because religion can soothe our soul.

[54:08] The idea of God can make us feel better. Even people who don't believe much in God or don't really have much of a commitment to God, when they come to church, they go out saying, I feel better. But if we want it to last, we have to actually change who and what we are, repent of who we've been.

[54:27] We're afraid. We're afraid. But see, it's not because God has stopped being faithful. Kelly sang that song, didn't she, today? It's not because God stopped giving his promise, God stopped giving his purpose for you.

[54:41] It's because we've stopped being faithful to God, not following what he wants. I don't know. We're afraid. What if we fail?

[54:53] What if we fail? In verse 5, it says, everyone in this place was consecrated. Everybody was consecrated. David was anointed to be king, but everybody was consecrated.

[55:05] Everybody, all the brothers, all the people there, were consecrated for what God wanted them to do. Every one of you has something you can do. You cannot fail with God.

[55:18] God has already decided that you will be blessed if you do what he wants you to do. We're gifted to succeed at what we're called to do.

[55:29] In Proverbs chapter 19, it says, many are the plans in a person's heart. Don't we have plans? We probably have plans for today.

[55:40] But it's the Lord's purpose that prevails. What God wants us to do will succeed, no matter what, because God makes a way.

[55:52] God makes a way when it seems like there isn't any way. God makes a way when it seems like it's impossible. God makes a way when we don't understand it. God makes a way. Samuel says, how can I go down and anoint them?

[56:02] I might get killed by Saul. And God said, I'll take care of it. Just make a sacrifice to me and don't worry about it. I can take care of this. We need to learn to trust that God has something particular for us.

[56:16] And it doesn't really matter what everybody thinks about what we're doing as long as we're doing what God wants us to do. Don't worry about what other people are doing. That's what God called them to do. Do what God made you to do.

[56:29] You will find amazing blessings. It said, David had the Holy Spirit poured into him in a powerful way. God will not only give you your ability, which is our problem. See, we're trusting in our ability, our attitudes, our possibilities, our intellect, our strength.

[56:45] God wants to give us something way beyond that. Abilities we didn't even know we had through the Holy Spirit. Romans chapter 8. You know this verse. Say it with me.

[56:57] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.

[57:08] That's the key. Not your purpose, not your idea, not your plan, not your design. God's purpose will always work. God will make it work. If God chooses us, we can't fail.

[57:19] So we shouldn't be afraid. We shouldn't be afraid to make a commitment to God. We shouldn't fail to launch for God. We shouldn't be afraid of what God wants to do with us.

[57:33] But it begins by knowing and understanding God and listening to God. And to do that, we have to spend time with him. And we'll find we won't be afraid. It's true even about lightning. I have two dogs.

[57:43] Now you know what happens usually when there's thunder and lightning with dogs? They run in the bathtub. They hide under beds. All kinds of stuff. Not my dogs. I had two dogs. They were part husky and part wolf.

[57:54] And they lived outside. When the lightning and thunder started, they ran into the middle of the yard to watch the show. Hey, cool! Look at that one! Oh, hey! Pretty neat!

[58:05] Seriously, two dogs sitting in the middle of the yard watching the thunderstorm like nothing you would ever see. Why? Because we've trained our dogs to be wusses. We've trained our dogs that they have to hide in the house.

[58:19] These dogs lived out there. They knew God. They knew what lightning was. They knew what thunder was. They knew it was cool. Fun! This is a show for us! And they never actually got hit.

[58:32] Probably don't. God wants us to know him, to live with him so that we won't be afraid. God said to Abraham, don't be afraid to leave your house.

[58:44] and your home and go to a place where nobody knows you. I'll be with you. God said to Hagar, don't be afraid to be a single mother. I will take care of you and make a great nation out of you.

[58:55] God said to Joshua, don't be worried about those big armies out there and what looks so powerful. I'll make the walls fall down on their own. God said to Elijah, I know you feel alone like there's nobody in the world that cares, but I care and there's others that do too.

[59:11] God told Daniel, don't be afraid of the fire or the lion's den. I can take all of those things out. God said to Mary, don't be afraid to have the child that will be born to you because it's the child of God.

[59:24] God said to Joseph, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Even if people make all sorts of stories about you. God told the disciples, the apostles, don't be afraid.

[59:35] God told Peter, you can walk on water. And the only time Peter started to sink is when he was afraid of the winds and waves.

[59:47] Jesus took him by the hand and said, don't be afraid. We'll walk out of the water together. God will make a way. Even if it doesn't appear to be there, he'll make it happen.

[59:58] God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

[60:21] He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. He will be my guide.

[60:36] Hold me close to his side. With love and strength for each new day, he will make a way.

[60:51] God will make a way. He called me out upon the waters, the grave unknown, where feet may fail.

[61:28] And where I find you in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.

[61:44] And I will call upon upon your name. Keep my eyes above the waves.

[62:01] When oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace. grace, for I am yours.

[62:12] You are mine. I am yours. You are mine. I am yours.

[62:24] → A decoration for carberry for making of the 2nd trees lh and according θα to command the Lord and therefore you are mine.

[62:41] For amazing goes on of the grace, all peace, Lord, if only when your trust, With even there and fear surrounds me, you never live and you won't start now.

[63:02] And I will fall upon the grave, keep my eyes upon the waves.

[63:17] When oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace. And I am yours, and you are mine.

[63:33] Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.

[63:53] And we walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.

[64:10] And I will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior. Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.

[64:26] And we walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.

[64:42] And my faith would be made stronger in the presence of my Savior. And I will call upon your name.

[65:11] And keep my eyes above the waves. When oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace.

[65:28] I am yours, and you are mine. And every time you have yours, I am mine.

[65:41] My own vào, my Event City health. כ Beautiful Lord, wonderful Savior, I know for sure.

[66:18] All of my days are held in your hand, crafted into your perfect plan.

[66:31] You gently call me into your presence, guiding me by. Your Holy Spirit, teach me, dear Lord, you live all my life through your eyes.

[66:55] I'm captured by your holy coming, set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself.

[67:09] Lead me, Lord, I pray. Take me, hold me, use me, fill me.

[67:27] I give my life to the Father's hand. Call me, guide me.

[67:44] Lead me, walk beside me. I give my life to the Father's hand.

[67:56] You gently call me into your presence, guiding me by.

[68:07] Your Holy Spirit, teach me, dear Lord, to live all my life through your eyes.

[68:20] I have to find your holy coming, set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself.

[68:33] Lead me, Lord, I pray. Take me, hold me, use me, fill me.

[68:51] I give my life to the Father's hand. I give my life to the Father's hand.

[69:21] You know, sometimes when we think of sin, we think it's that thing we do, you know, that action.

[69:51] Or that mistake we made along the line, and that is a sin. But that's still being manipulated like each board piece on the board in each spot is the point of the game.

[70:02] The point of the game is to get past go. And the way we get past go is by having our lives aligned with God. When people say, I've got to give my life to Jesus, it means give your life to Jesus, you follow?

[70:14] Give your heart to God. Give your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Give all of you to what God wants to do. And then we get past go. And the things that happen along the way in the game, they're really kind of incidental.

[70:27] Because we just need to make sure that we're doing what God wants so we can get to where God wants us to be. And the glory that God has promised. So let's turn our prayer of confession over to God in a different way this morning.

[70:40] Dear God in heaven, I have sinned. But not just the things I do. The things I follow.

[70:51] The things I chase. What I worry about. What I'm afraid of. What I'm afraid of. Forgive me, God. Lead me to do what you want me to do.

[71:02] Mold my life into what you want it to be. That I might be a blessing before you. In Jesus' name we pray.

[71:17] Amen. So today you start new. Brand new. Beginning. Today. What you did before doesn't matter. It's like we're starting all over in the game of Monopoly.

[71:28] Alright? We're at go. Let's get past go. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God.

[71:39] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Erik Thank you VON D movie starts in solitary edition.

[71:56] Definitely because after you want my unclean there is the baby again and even that you are chosen before your heart of a seed.当然 While I am waiting, yielded and still.

[72:21] Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Hold on my being, absolute sway.

[72:35] Fill with thy spirit, till all shall see. Christ only, always living in me.

[73:11] Christ, we are welcome at the table to receive into ourselves Jesus Christ and all that God has for us.

[73:22] Come to the table this morning. Even if it's the first time you've ever been here, you are welcome at the table.

[73:33] 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.

[73:48] We give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.

[74:02] You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets. So, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.

[74:19] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

[74:30] 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. Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight, the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce the time had come when you would save your people.

[74:53] 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.

[75:12] On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and he gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat.

[75:23] This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. When the supper was over, he took the cup.

[75:36] He gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples. He said, Drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin.

[75:52] Do this as often as you drink it. In remembrance of me. So, in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, 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.

[76:16] Christ is done. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, gather 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.

[76:39] 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.

[76:50] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.

[77:02] Amen. So we pray together with the confidence of children of God. The prayer Jesus taught. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

[77:16] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Amen. 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.

[77:33] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

[77:45] Amen. Will those who are serving please come forward? Nothing. God cuma. Godサ ilbutomo.

[77:59] Is으로. Amen. If you are not only the 코�hi's on your kingdom, is to pray to me need another spirit as to pray.

[78:10] If you am gonna have your klarm, do you dare, by the spirit of my holy Spirit? Do you feel alive? Thank you.

[78:44] Thank you.

[79:14] Thank you.

[79:44] Thank you.

[80:14] Thank you.

[80:44] Thank you.

[81:14] Thank you.

[81:44] Thank you.

[82:14] Thank you.

[82:44] Thank you.

[83:14] Thank you.

[83:44] Thank you. Thank you.

[84:44] Thank you. Thank you.

[85:44]  Thank you. Thank you.