Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Speaker A: Us Gates.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: I know. We are just coming through a very tumultuous, wild week.
We are here to worship the Lord together. Amen.
Let us lean into him this morning and sing of his great love for us. Actually, will you join me in prayer for just a moment? God, we thank you so much.
Thank you so much for bringing us here this morning. God, thank you for being you. Thank you for being the God who never fails, who never changes.
We're here to worship you, Lord. It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
[00:00:49] Speaker C: Higher than the mountains that I face.
Stronger than the power of the grave.
Constant through the trial and the change.
One thing.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Remains.
[00:01:14] Speaker C: This one thing.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Remains.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: Your love never fails. It never gives up, never runs out on me.
Your love never fails. It never gives up, never runs out on me.
Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.
Your love.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: And on and on and on and on it goes.
For it overwhelms and satisfies my soul.
And I never ever have to be afraid one day remain one thing remain.
Your love never fails.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: It never gives up.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: It never runs out on me.
Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me. No, your love never fails. It never gives up, never runs out on me.
Love you covered by the power.
Your great love.
My death is made.
There's nothing that can separate my heart from your great love.
Your love never fails.
[00:03:30] Speaker C: And never gives up.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Never run. Sing it out.
Your love never fails. It never gives up, never runs out. It's your love.
Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.
Love and on and on.
Your love goes on and on.
Yes, it goes on and on.
Love goes on and on and on and on and on and on it goes.
Cause it overwhelms and satisfies my soul.
One thing remain.
Am one big remain.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: God, praise this morning.
[00:04:59] Speaker C: Amen.
[00:05:03] Speaker D: You can have a seat. My name is Julie. I want to add my welcome this morning. I am so, so glad that you all chose to worship with us today.
What a sweet gift it is for us to come and fellowship together and just be reminded even in that so of the truth that God, he is love. He is peace and he is our anchor.
And that's just something that kept going through my my mind all week this week just that he is. He is an anchor. His peace is an anchor for my soul. So I'm so glad that you're here.
Hopefully on your way in you grabbed the sermon notes from one of the doors that on one of the entrances, you can also find those in the app. And so whether you are here in the room or whether you are watching online, we're just really glad to have you and we want to connect with you. So if this is your first week, second week, second month, if you have not taken a chance to connect with us, there's a card in the pew in front of you and we would just love it if you could share a little information with us and about you and you can take it to our team out here in guest services and drop it off there. They would have a little something for you.
But we really just, we want to know you. We want to, we want to get connected. And also for even those of who have been family for a while, if you have a burden or a prayer request, you can use those cards for that purpose too. We love the opportunity to carry those burdens to the Lord with you and for you.
So I have a lot of different roles here, but one of them is I actually get to be the receptionist. And this was a lovely week as lots of our Bible studies started. So I got to see so many people walking through the halls. And it's always a sweet time when we get to come together during the week in addition to our Sunday mornings.
So if you haven't plugged into maybe a community or a Bible study, it's not too late, so make sure you check those out. But we also have coming up at the beginning of October for those of you who are interested in following the Lord in baptism.
It doesn't matter how old you are, if you haven't made that decision yet to just publicly declare your faith through baptism. We have a class coming up starting on October 5th. Or if you have kiddos who are also asking questions about baptism, we have a kid faith class that starts that same week and you can sign up for that also through the app or online.
So we have so many wonderful things getting started. Like we had our Bible studies this week. We have more classes coming, but we also have coming up, a women's retreat. And I'm going to invite my friend Melody Palmer to come and tell you a little bit more about that. But before she does, take a look at this video.
Deeper Life Retreat was held at Machindo.
[00:08:05] Speaker E: Conference center last October. And here's what Westgate women said they.
[00:08:09] Speaker D: Loved, loved about the retreat.
[00:08:56] Speaker F: So Westgate women, will you join us this year? We would love to see you there.
[00:09:08] Speaker G: Well, our Westgate Women Deeper Life retreat is so much fun, but I'm here to tell you that it's even more than that.
It's a time to get away, a time to reset and refresh. It's a time to draw near to the God who not only comforts his people, but who desires to have a deep and intimate relationship with us. The purpose of the weekend is to go deeper with him, and so we'll dive into the Word. Our theme this year is Beast, and our speaker, Lisa Miners, will lead us through three different be still passages that will change how we experience our Christian walk and how we spend time with Him.
Developing relationships with our Westgate sisters in Christ is another big part of the weekend. Because this is our goal. And due to limited space, we ask that women who attend Westgate register this year.
The retreat is October 24th through 26th at Machindo Conference center in Hillsdale, Michigan. We're offering a deep discount this year so that it's more affordable to more women.
If you have a heart for this ministry but you can't go for whatever reason, would you consider giving a scholarship so that someone else can attend?
Registration is now in full swing, and I recommend that you sign up soon so that you can secure a spot.
I expect that to go pretty quickly. Now, early bird prices are in effect until October 8th.
Well, this is Linda Loberger, my friend. We met about a year ago at retreat, and she's been coming to Westgate Chapel for about a year.
We have become good friends. Linda, what would you say was your favorite part of retreat?
[00:11:03] Speaker H: Honestly, I loved the content and the information. The topics that were discussed, they helped to deepen my relationship with the Lord on an individual level. But I also love the fact that we could take notes while the topics are being discussed and later have opportunity to reflect and pray about what the information was.
The worship was phenomenal. It was so beautiful, so powerful and moving, and I felt God's presence the entire weekend.
[00:11:32] Speaker G: Okay, so what would you say to someone who's hesitant to go?
[00:11:36] Speaker H: I would encourage the person to go. I did not know anybody at all because I was going specifically to deepen my relationship with the Lord. It didn't matter to me whether I knew others or not.
But through my experience, I was able to establish new friendships with so many women that I continue to have fellowship with today, including with Melody.
And through these friendships, it was just. Everybody was phenomenal to me. I was not treated like an outsider or anything. I was included the entire time. Didn't know anybody at all, as I had mentioned. And I just. I loved it. Everybody was kind, respectful, and authentic.
[00:12:21] Speaker D: I was included Great.
[00:12:22] Speaker G: Great.
Well, I will be in the cafe area after the service with brochures, so. So stop by to get all the details. And we hope to see you at Westgate Women's Deeper Life Retreat.
Now, will you stand and welcome one another.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: As we continue worshiping together?
[00:13:17] Speaker C: It's so good, I almost can't believe it.
Far beyond what hearts could ever dream the God who set the galaxies in motion Would descend to give his life for me for what could make perfection bleed for sinners one leads a king.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: To pay so great a cause all.
[00:13:56] Speaker C: My life My heart will sing the answer Only the love of God Singing.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: Oh, how great is the love of God he paid our debt on that rugged cross for all our days we will sing our Savior's praise How great is the love of God.
[00:14:38] Speaker C: It'S so kind it leads us to repentance it's so bright the darkness has to flee.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:14:53] Speaker C: Cleared my guilty sentences For I was bound but now I stand redeemed for.
[00:15:04] Speaker A: What could break the chains of any prison what force could rob the power.
[00:15:14] Speaker C: From the grave.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: What would save my.
[00:15:19] Speaker C: Rags for heaven's riches?
[00:15:25] Speaker A: Only the love of God Yes Singing oh, how great is the love of God he paid our debt on that rugged cross for all our debts we will sing our Savior's praise How great is the love of God.
[00:15:59] Speaker C: Though I try My mind can't comprehend it it's so high Too marvelous for words.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: I can sing a million songs about me.
[00:16:18] Speaker C: And barely scratch the surface of your.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Work this all my life this I'll be waving my anthem Cry no matter what may come and when I rise.
[00:16:40] Speaker C: To walk the streets of heaven I'll still be singing this song for everything.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: That you've done how great the love of God Singing oh, how great is the love of God he paid our death on that rocket cross for all our days we will sing our Savior's praise How great is the love of God Singing oh, how great is the love of God he paid our debt on that rocket cross for all our days we will sing our Savior's praise How great is the love of God.
[00:18:02] Speaker C: How great is the love of God.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: Thank you, Jesus.
[00:18:15] Speaker E: Let's give him praise. He's good.
We are going to take the Lord's Supper together. And so if you have your elements, I'd invite you to pull those out. And if you didn't get them on the way in, our ushers will be coming down the aisles, and you can just slip up your hand and they'll bring some of those elements to you.
But as we sing about how great the love of God is, I can't think of anything better to do than to take time to remember all that he has done for us and showing us the depth of his love for us.
You know, as we come to this time, one of the best things that we can do is we reflect on what Christ did in going to the cross and dying, paying the price for our sin, so that we could be reconciled to God.
One of the best ways and things that we can do in our worship is to pause and just to say, God, what are the areas of my life right now where there's sin?
Places where I've been struggling to honor you and to give you honor, to worship you and to use this time to just confess so that as we come and we remember and worship him together, that we come with pure hearts.
[00:19:32] Speaker I: And so I just want to invite.
[00:19:33] Speaker E: Us to take a couple of moments in silence, a silent prayer to ourselves, allowing the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. If there's something that you need to confess to the Lord to get right with him, let's use this time to do so as we worship him for who he is and what he has done for us.
So let's pray.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:20:27] Speaker E: Lord, I thank you for the words that we read in scripture, in Psalm 139 that remind us of just how intimately acquainted you are with all of our ways.
When I read those words, God, it reminds me that there is nothing that I can hide from you, that you know everything about me.
But that's not a fearful thing thing in light of my sin.
It's a beautiful thing because in spite of my sin, you, your love is proved out in how you continue to pursue me and how you continue to pursue us.
And so, Lord, I thank you because that's what enables us even here together today, to just have an honest moment with you, to allow your Holy Spirit to search our hearts, to confess our sin, knowing, as your word tells us us, that if we confess our sin, that you are faithful and you are just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And so, Lord, we want to come to you and worship you as we take the Lord's Supper together and remember what you have done for us. We want to do so with a pure heart, glorifying and worshiping you for the extravagant love that you have poured out over us.
As Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples, we read that as they were eating, he took bread and after blessing it he broke it and he gave it to the disciples. And he said, take and eat, for this is my body.
Let's take together.
Matthew 26 it tells us that he also took the cup.
And when he had also given thanks, he gave it to each of them, saying, drink it all of you.
For this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin.
I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. What a blessed truth.
His blood pay the price for our sin. And that's what this symbol is, a symbol of his blood, but that one day we will drink it with him in his kingdom.
Praise God for all he has done for us. Let's drink together.
We love you Lord.
We love you more than our words could ever say.
For all that you've done and accomplished for us and God. I pray that you would teach us regularly, day in and day out what it looks like and what it means to love you with all of our hearts and all of our lives. For all that you have done for us.
In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:23:39] Speaker F: What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer?
There is no more for heaven now to give he is my joy, my righteousness and free My steadfast love, My deep and boundless peace to this I hold My hope is only Jesus for my life is holy bound to this oh, how strange and divine I can sing all this night me.
[00:24:43] Speaker I: The night.
[00:24:43] Speaker F: Is dark but I am not forsaken for by my side the Savior he will stand I lay around in weakness I rejoice his power is display to.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: This I hope My shepherd will defend me through the deepest valley he will meet all the night has been won and I shall overcome yet not I but through Christ.
[00:25:55] Speaker F: The price it has been paid For Jesus bled and suffered for my body and he was raised to overthrow the grave through this I.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: Hope my sin has been defeated.
[00:26:20] Speaker I: Jesus.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: Now and ever is my King all.
[00:26:27] Speaker C: The chains are released I can sing.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: I am free at night.
[00:26:49] Speaker F: With every breath I long to follow Jesus for.
[00:26:56] Speaker A: He has said that he will bring me home and day by day I know he will know me Until I stand rejoining for the throne to this I hold My hope is only Jesus all the glory ever more to him when the race is complete still my lips shall repeat that I look through Christ in me to this I hope My hope is only Jesus all the glory ever more to him with the race is complete still my lips shall repeat that through Christ in me.
[00:28:10] Speaker C: When the race is complete, still my.
[00:28:14] Speaker A: Lips shall repeat not I, but through.
[00:28:19] Speaker F: Christ in me.
[00:28:23] Speaker A: Yet, but through Christ in me.
[00:28:32] Speaker F: Through Christ in me.
[00:28:39] Speaker C: Amen.
[00:28:40] Speaker I: God.
[00:28:40] Speaker E: Praise God is good.
[00:28:47] Speaker C: Amen.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: As we prepare to take this morning's offering, will you join me in prayer?
God, we come to you this morning.
We lay our burdens down at your.
[00:29:01] Speaker A: Feet.
[00:29:03] Speaker B: God, you can take them, the only one who can.
Father, I pray now that as we give to you, God, that we would give out of a joyful heart because of who you are, God, because of what you've given to us, Lord, give us an act of worship to you. Lord, in the midst of this lost and broken world which we see so prevalently on display this week, God, we know you remain and you never change.
And you demand our all.
That is what you require of us. You require us to give us.
To give you our hearts, Lord, give you our lives. And we thank you.
Bring the God who never changed, changes, never fails.
In your holy name we pray.
[00:29:54] Speaker E: Amen.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: Would you please begin passing the buckets.
[00:30:40] Speaker E: Well, good morning church.
[00:30:42] Speaker I: If we have not had the opportunity.
[00:30:45] Speaker E: To meet, my name is Rob Zimmerman, lead pastor here at Westgate.
I don't know why Adam said pass the bucket and I thought bucket of chicken, I must be hungry. So but anyway, wow, weird stuff.
[00:31:00] Speaker I: Hey, I am thankful that you are.
[00:31:02] Speaker E: Here with us and if you were.
[00:31:04] Speaker I: Here with us last week, you'll know.
[00:31:05] Speaker E: That we spent last week talking about the vision that God has given us.
[00:31:10] Speaker I: That we've been in a five year vision together and really talking about the vision for, for this next year that.
[00:31:16] Speaker E: God is calling us to.
[00:31:18] Speaker I: And as we talk about growing deeper roots as a church in Christ again.
[00:31:22] Speaker E: One of the key aspects of that.
[00:31:24] Speaker I: Is that we would get ourselves into, in a large church into smaller environments. And we call those smaller environments life groups, places where we can be in community and fellowship with other Christians that.
[00:31:36] Speaker E: Will encourage us and challenge us as.
[00:31:37] Speaker I: We walk with the Lord, but specifically so that we can grow deeper in him. And if you didn't see as you came in this morning, today is our life group signup event that is happening out in the cafe area, kind of on our vision wall there. And after the service today, again, we will have a number of our life group leaders that are there. And if you're looking to get connected, which we would wholeheartedly encourage you to get connected into a life group, we would love for you to stop by, you can talk to one of the leaders, see if there's or a number of the leaders and see if there's a right fit for you and or your family.
But also if you're like, oh, I'm not sure, we also have a list that is there that if you just say, you know what, I'm interested but I want to specifically jump into a group, you can put your name on a list of interest and Pastor Adam will follow up with you and help.
[00:32:25] Speaker E: You get connected into a group.
[00:32:26] Speaker I: So please be sure to stop by following our service today and check that out. As I mentioned, we are in a series and we've been talking about our vision as a church. And if you were to look on our website or our phone app, you'll see that our vision overall as a church is to be a Jesus centered community that is known for intentional, intentionally sharing God's love with our neighbors and the nations. And this year, as we move into our vision for this coming year, we're specifically focusing on sharing God's love with our neighbors. And as I was thinking about the series that we would do this month to kind of launch us into this vision, you know, in my mind I thought I can think of no better thing than simply to think of using an example like Mr. Rogers. Now, Mr. Roger Rogers had a TV show a number of years ago on PBS and he was known for his love for God. He was a pastor.
When you watched his show, what really came across was the kindness that he expressed, but also his acceptance of every person, no matter their background. And so as I was thinking about Mr. Rogers and all that he stood for, I entitled our series Won't yout Be My Neighbor.
And some of you will remember that that is from his famous song. And I had this really fun plan that I was gonna do this morning where I was gonna walk out, change into a nice cardigan, change my shoes, while singing to you his famous song. And yet there were two things.
[00:33:59] Speaker E: One, a little silly.
[00:34:01] Speaker I: I realized half the people in this.
[00:34:03] Speaker E: Room probably have no idea who Mr. Rogers is.
[00:34:06] Speaker I: I talked to some. How many people don't know who Mr. Rogers is?
[00:34:09] Speaker E: Let me see. Raise of hands. All right, good. We're an old church.
Just kidding.
[00:34:15] Speaker I: Well, praise the Lord. If you don't know, go watch him.
[00:34:18] Speaker E: He's great. But the second reason that I changed plans is cause honestly to do so. This morning felt a little bit tone deaf to me to what's been going on in our world this past week.
[00:34:33] Speaker I: I began the week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
[00:34:36] Speaker E: Doing what I typically do. I kind of come into the office, I spend a Little bit of time, kind of getting. Getting set, spending some time talking to the Lord.
Then sometimes I'll jump into the news, I'll read a couple different news channels to see what's going on in our world.
Sometimes I can use those things for.
[00:34:53] Speaker I: A sermon, and other times it's just.
[00:34:55] Speaker E: To kind of know what's going on.
[00:34:57] Speaker I: But one of the things that hit.
[00:34:58] Speaker E: Me and that was constantly in the news at the very beginning of the week was this young Ukrainian woman named Irana Zyrutska who. Who was senselessly murdered on a train in North Carolina at the end of August.
[00:35:12] Speaker I: And I think what was so hard.
[00:35:14] Speaker E: For me is that I felt like everywhere I looked, they were flashing the video of the actual murder of her.
And I remember sitting there specifically on Wednesday morning in my office, feeling this pit in my stomach, watching it and thinking, how have we gone so far in this world that someone like her, who's come over from a country that is war torn, is just looking for freedom and a place to live her life?
And yet an individual who has no idea who she is would just kill her in cold blood, senselessly on a train.
I sat with a pit in my stomach going, is that what our world is?
And then later that day, we know that we heard there was a school shooting, another one in Colorado, where, thank God, the students that were being shot at, no one died. There were a few that were wounded.
The young man who was doing the shooting himself took his life.
But again, senseless, like what is happening in our world.
And it was within one minute of this event that Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a follower of Jesus Christ, was assassinated on a campaign campus in Utah.
And our computer screens, our TV screens, our phones were filled with news of what happened, even more filled with videos of the actual moment.
And I remember sitting at my desk just wanting to weep.
How is it that this world has.
[00:36:56] Speaker I: Gotten to a place.
[00:36:59] Speaker E: Where this type of senseless killing is okay, of hating.
[00:37:04] Speaker I: People for no reason other than they're just sitting on a train or going to school or simply sharing their ideas that might differ? How have we gotten here? And I found myself in this place of grief, not because I knew these people intimately, but because it just was.
[00:37:21] Speaker E: So real to me of the violence and the. The chaos and the hate that defines our world today.
[00:37:29] Speaker I: And I thought it would be appropriate.
[00:37:30] Speaker E: This morning to begin with this.
[00:37:32] Speaker I: If you have your sermon notes, you.
[00:37:33] Speaker E: Can look with me.
[00:37:34] Speaker I: But I want us to think about.
[00:37:35] Speaker E: How do we respond as Christians when violence and tragedy, erupt all around us.
[00:37:43] Speaker I: The first thing that I see as I look in Scripture is this number.
[00:37:46] Speaker E: One that we grieve and we lament.
[00:37:50] Speaker I: Sometimes we think as Christians, we're supposed to walk around with this idea that, nope, it's okay, God's in control, we'll be good, and we just go on with our day. But no, Scripture gives us very clearly that it's actually good and healthy and right for us as humans to grieve and to lament the brokenness that we see around us. I think of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, where Jesus, as he's in his very beginning, beginning of his earthly ministry, says these words in verse four.
[00:38:18] Speaker E: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[00:38:23] Speaker I: You see, when Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn, sometimes we like to interpret it as, oh, so those who are sad, blessed are they. They'll be comforted. No, what Jesus was talking about was those who mourn are those who feel the heavy weight of the brokenness of our world, the brokenness of sin that all of us accept, experience the effects of. Blessed are those who mourn the broken condition of this world. Why? For they will be comforted.
Paul says in Romans 12:15, to rejoice.
[00:38:53] Speaker E: With those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn, to come alongside those who are grieving and mourning and to carry their burden with them, to show them compassion and love.
And in 1st Thessalonians 4:13, continuing and.
[00:39:11] Speaker I: Saying, brothers and sisters, we don't want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do.
[00:39:16] Speaker E: Not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.
When I read these words, it reminds me that we are given permission in Scripture to grieve the brokenness.
But we don't grieve like a world that has no hope. For our hope is Jesus, and he will over.
[00:39:36] Speaker I: And so, as followers of Jesus Christ.
[00:39:38] Speaker E: When brokenness and violence and tragedy erupt, the first thing we do is we can grieve and we can lament. And it is good and healthy. But Even more number two, we should pray.
Psalm 147:3 says, God heals the brokenhearted and he binds up their wounds.
Philippians 4:6 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And probably one of my favorite passages in scripture, Psalm 46, wrote a song using this verse when I was in high school.
God is our refuge and strength.
He is an ever present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear, Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
[00:40:28] Speaker I: Though its waters roar and foam and the mountains mountains quake with their surging.
[00:40:32] Speaker E: In verse 10, he says, Be still and know that I am God.
That in the midst of a broken world where chaos and evil abounds, God is still in control.
And so as believers, we grieve, we mourn, we lament, but we turn our hearts in faith and trust to the One who is in control of all things. And we seek Him.
[00:41:01] Speaker I: And this morning, before we dive into.
[00:41:03] Speaker E: Kind of the heart of our message, I believe it would be wise and good for us to begin there today to take a look and to understand everything that has gone on in this past week and the feelings that maybe we carry into this room. I know that not every person is in the same place with the same with the things that happened this week. There are some people that are grieving at heart. There are some people that go, well, yeah, it happened, but those things happen.
But as the church we're called to view these things through the lens of the brokenness of this world and to recognize that our hope and our trust is in God. And so I want to call us just to pray together as a church family this morning for a few moments. Nick is going to start playing for us. And what I would love to do is just ask you to take a few, whether it's by yourself as an individual or maybe with a couple of people that are around you, to pause and to pray.
I want to ask you to pray for people that are hurting and mourning this morning over all of the things that we have been seeing because of the brokenness in our world, to pray for the families that are impacted, this Ukrainian family, for these parents, and for these young children who will have to go to school, living with the fear of what they experienced in this past week.
But even more, praying for the family as well, of Charlie Kirk and those friends that are around them as they mourn the senseless violence? Can we pray for them and for God to draw near to them?
Would we pray for each other, that God would shape our heart to love and to care for those who are hurting, especially those in our midst?
But would you as well pray for our country?
Would you pray for humanity?
And would you pray that God would come quickly and restore all that is broken?
Let's go to the Lord together. Let's seek Him. Let's give him our hearts and declare our trust and dependence upon Him.
Just do that silently, together for a few moments.
Lord, as we pray, we declare our dependence upon you and our need for you.
And Lord, as we pray, I pray that God, you would truly break our hearts for the things that break yours in this world.
Because I'm convinced as our hearts come to touch with what grieves you, it is their God that we learn to love in the same way that you love us and even love those who are deeply broken in this world around us.
And so God, would you make our hearts tender this morning to receive your word?
Would your Holy Spirit have space to speak, and most of all, God, would you help us know what our response is to be as your followers in the midst of a broken world that at times shows its disdain and hate for us, Would you teach us to love that people would know your son, Jesus Christ, we pray this together in your name. Amen.
As I mentioned with this series that we are in and entitled won't you be my neighbor?
We are seeking to share God's love this year with our neighbors, understanding who it is that God has placed in.
[00:45:55] Speaker I: Our circles that are far from him.
[00:45:56] Speaker E: And to share the good news of his love with them.
[00:46:00] Speaker I: And as I was thinking about that in preparation for the series, which by the way, I did not write this.
[00:46:04] Speaker E: Message this week, just on Wednesday, might have gotten a few additional tweaks, something that God has been putting in my heart as we move into this coming year.
But as I think about the love that we are to share with the world that surrounds us, there are two essential truths that I believe God's Word.
[00:46:24] Speaker I: Has to teach us that are foundational.
[00:46:27] Speaker E: To us, showing that love to the world.
[00:46:30] Speaker I: And so if you have your sermon notes, you can pull them out, I'd.
[00:46:33] Speaker E: Invite you to follow along with us. Me?
[00:46:35] Speaker I: But one of those foundational and essential truths that I see, the very first one is this, is that God's word begs us to consider how we respond.
[00:46:45] Speaker E: To each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
[00:46:49] Speaker I: Specifically, when there's tension or when there is hurt or difficulty, how do we respond to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ?
I want us to look together at John, chapter 13, verses 34 and 35.
[00:47:03] Speaker E: For just a moment.
[00:47:04] Speaker I: If you have your Bibles, you can turn there, it'll also be on the screen.
But Jesus gives this command to his disciples and he says these words, he.
[00:47:13] Speaker E: Says a new commandment, I give you.
[00:47:17] Speaker I: That you love one another, just as I have loved you also.
[00:47:24] Speaker E: You also are to love one another.
[00:47:27] Speaker I: For by this all people will know that you are my Disciple, if you have love for one another, this command that Jesus gives to his disciples, love one another. What does it mean? How do we define it? There's so many different ways that we can think about love in our own culture. And the same was true in the culture of Jesus day. In the Greek language, there were multiple words that were used for the word love. There was word like phileo. It was a friendship talk type of love. The type of feeling that you have towards someone that is your friend. And they would use phileo for that purpose. The word storge, which was a familial type of love. It was the affection or feeling that you had towards a family member that was unique and that was special.
Of course, the word that our culture would be probably most familiar with, at least in definition, is the Greek word eros. It was a romantic love between two people.
But the word that Jesus uses here when he says this commandment, this new commandment I give you, is that you love one another. The word love here is the word agape.
It is unconditional love.
And here's the deal. This word agape stood out from all of the others in this sense. It transcended emotion and it transcended feelings of affection.
[00:48:48] Speaker E: Affection.
[00:48:49] Speaker I: It was so much deeper than that. Let me give you an example, because in our world today, we use love pretty casually.
Like many of the Greeks would have used all of these different words.
I used to tell people I loved rice. I love fried rice, brown rice, white rice, any kind of rice, loved rice until I went to Cambodia for two weeks, and I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, right? Over time, I had so much that I remember the first time I came back from Cambodia and Rochelle made rice. I was like, I am not eating that right. I have zero love for that. For over a year, I rejected rice.
[00:49:26] Speaker E: I'm back to loving it.
[00:49:27] Speaker I: But I used to love playing basketball. Basketball was one of the loves that I had. I used to spend all of my time as a high school student out on my driveway with a basketball hoop, playing basketball with my friends. I got into a church league when I was older, and then I tore my acl. I don't love basketball anymore. I don't love it. It reminds me that I'm getting old, that my body doesn't do what I used to be able to do, and I don't want to get hurt.
[00:49:51] Speaker E: My love changed.
[00:49:53] Speaker I: I look at Hollywood relationships where people get married and they say, we love each other for about maybe a year or two, if they're lucky. And all of a sudden it's gone. You see, what I see is this. Is that the way that our world uses love in so many different ways really reflects an emotion or a feeling.
[00:50:10] Speaker E: Of affection that can be quickly given, but also very quickly taken away.
The word agape was very different.
[00:50:19] Speaker I: It transcended emotion and feelings of affection.
It wasn't about what you felt for an individual, whether it was family, friend or lover. What it did is it defined a way of life.
It was unconditional. It was not based on merit or reciprocity. It wasn't about what someone could do for you. Or it wasn't, hey, I will love you only if you.
It was given fully, unconditionally.
Agape love was defined as self sacrificing. It put the good of others before oneself, always thinking of their good and better before one's own self.
And I think most importantly is it was intentional.
It was an act of the will.
[00:51:05] Speaker E: A choice, not just a feeling.
[00:51:08] Speaker I: And this is the love that Jesus speaks to his disciples and says a new commandment, I give you that you love one another unconditionally. What does that mean? Letter A. When Jesus says this, it means that this love, in this love, we reject division.
I want you to think about what Jesus disciples were going through at the moment that he gave this teaching.
They had been going through a time where Jesus had been predicting that his death was coming and that he would be leaving them. There's no doubt in their own life with this person that they loved. They felt the tension rising the more that Jesus spoke about it. Right before this passage in this teaching that Jesus, Jesus gives to his disciples. He's in the upper room with his disciples, walking them through the Lord's supper. This is my body which is broken for you. This is my blood poured out. Can you imagine how that made them feel even more in that moment, Jesus says that one of his disciples would betray him. And Judas runs up and leaves. Could you imagine how the disciples felt going, what is going on here?
Could you imagine the panic that must have been ensuing? The feelings of hatred towards Judas, the fracturing over the many opinions about what should be done.
[00:52:29] Speaker E: And in the midst of this, Jesus looks at his disciples as he can see the pressure, pushing in the pressure that the world would put on them. And he says these words, I give you a new commandment that you love one another.
You see, the word agape was the word used to translate the Old Testament Hebrew word that described God's covenantal love for his people. It was unending and now Jesus uses it as the self sacrificial love of God experienced through himself.
In a world full of tension that seeks to divide us, Jesus calls us to love unto us unconditionally.
It rejects division, but also b we are called to love as Christ loves us.
Love one another just as I have loved you.
This is a radical concept when you think about it.
[00:53:30] Speaker I: I want you to think about the.
[00:53:31] Speaker E: Depth of Christ's love for us. Paul describes it the best, I think, in Philippians chapter two.
[00:53:36] Speaker I: He says the these words complete my.
[00:53:38] Speaker E: Joy by being of the same mind, having the same love. That's the Greek word agape.
Being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility. Count others as more significant than yourself.
[00:53:57] Speaker I: Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but to the interests of others. Like he gives this beautiful definition of agape love, but takes it a whole nother step when he defines how it is seen in the life of Jesus himself.
Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing.
[00:54:21] Speaker E: To be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, men.
[00:54:30] Speaker I: And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the.
[00:54:35] Speaker E: Point of death, even death on a cross.
[00:54:39] Speaker I: This call to love one another, but even so, to love in the way that Christ has loved us was a radical concept. And when lived out with that type of humility, of self sacrifice, of giving fully of oneself, when lived out the way that God designed it in our lives, it looks like foolishness to the rest of the world.
The world looks at that type of love and goes, what are you doing?
How could you love someone unconditionally? Especially those who have hurt you, who have done harm against you.
And yet, while it looks like foolishness, it's the very thing that draws others who are far from God to faith in him. Why?
[00:55:21] Speaker E: Because the world has never experienced in itself a love that is that amazing.
And when you taste it, you can't get away from it.
Why is it that Jesus calls his disciples and his followers to love, to love one another within the body of Christ and to love in the fashion of Christ? He says, because by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Another let her see. Why is this so important?
So that the world would know Jesus.
You know, the most vivid memory I have of this truth was when I was in Israel a number of years ago on a trip with Biola University. I remember standing with a friend of mine. We were staying at a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee, just a few steps from the sea. It was incredible.
And Becky and I were talking to this young man. He was. He was a kibbutz worker. And he shared with us that he was an atheist. And we were like, an atheist. How can you be an atheist? Like, number one, you're Jewish. Number two, like, here you are in Israel and like, you get to see the sea that Jesus walked on. You get to see all the places where he performed these miracles. Like, how in the world could you not believe in God?
[00:56:38] Speaker I: Do you know what his answer was?
[00:56:41] Speaker E: Because he said, what I see is Jews and Christians and Muslims and all sorts of other faiths tell me that they serve a God of love, and yet all they do is hate one another.
And because of that, the love of God was not real.
It was striking to me when I heard those words from this young man and it hit me square between the eyes. To bring this truth to life is that our lives serve as a testimony to this world so that they would know Jesus. And if we don't display the love of Jesus, they cannot know him.
[00:57:24] Speaker I: There can be all types of things.
[00:57:26] Speaker E: That divide us as followers of Jesus Christ.
But notice what Jesus doesn't say.
[00:57:31] Speaker I: He doesn't say that we're always going.
[00:57:33] Speaker E: To think the same, or that we're always going to agree on everything together, or that there be will never be hurt in our relationships. Jesus said, though these words, your life.
[00:57:42] Speaker I: Is a follower of him, your unconditional.
[00:57:45] Speaker E: Love of each other is a living testimony of who he is to this world.
[00:57:51] Speaker I: And it begs us to ask ourselves this question. Does the testimony of my life in the way that I love the brotherhood even within the church, reflection Jesus and His love to an unbelieving world.
Do I strive for unity where there is brokenness?
Do I strive for reconciliation where relationships are fractured?
Do I forgive others unconditionally and with great humility in the fashion of Christ?
Does the way that I speak to others or about others reflect the grace that God has shown to me?
Does my care for others, do I care for others in a way and in such a way that I clearly.
[00:58:34] Speaker E: Put them before myself?
Or does my life more clearly reflect worldly values that don't set me apart, but they enjoin me with the rest of the system of this world?
If there is nothing that is different about our love, then there will be nothing that is appealing about our faith.
The church is called to model what the world desperately needs to, that love is stronger than hate, that unity is possible in diversity and difference.
And there is a better way, and it is only found through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus Christ is the one that enables to love one another with this type of humility, with this type of unconditional love, so that the world would know Him.
It's not just our relationships with each other, but it's also in how we show this love to the world that's around us.
[00:59:41] Speaker I: I began by saying that there are two essential truths that I think God's Word has to teach us foundationally to this idea of sharing God's love with others. And the first is it begs us to consider how we respond to each other and love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. But secondly, His Word tells us, and.
[00:59:58] Speaker E: It even commands us to display God's love to the unbelieving world that is around us.
[01:00:04] Speaker I: And I would ask that question this morning. How do we respond to an unbelieving world, a world that is hostile, a world that doesn't hold our values, a world that. That will persecute us even for what we believe.
I want to turn to another passage of scripture. Matthew, chapter 5, Matthew, chapter 5, verses 43 through 48. Again, this is during Jesus teaching, known as the Sermon on the Mount. Very early in his ministry with his disciples and a huge crowd of people.
[01:00:32] Speaker E: That are following Him.
[01:00:34] Speaker I: And as he teaches, he says these words. He says, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same.
[01:01:14] Speaker E: You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
[01:01:20] Speaker I: Now, as Jesus spoke these words to this crowd, they would not have landed lightly with the disciples or the crowd. His teaching here was provocative and radical for that day. Here's why.
He begins by saying, you have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. This was actually a fairly decent common teaching of the religious leaders of that day. They believed that the instruction of Scripture was that you Love your neighbor. But they defined your neighbor as your fellow Jewish brother or sister.
And so it was confined to that love your neighbor. But then they would also teach alongside of that something that has never been found in Scripture, that you are to hate your enemy.
Hate your enemy.
And it seemed logical to them that this would be okay. Because who was their greatest enemy at this time? It was Rome. They looked at the Romans as Gentiles. They were dogs in the eyes of God's people.
They oppressed and persecuted the Jews. They levied heavy tax burdens on the people that pushed them into deep levels of poverty.
They worshiped numerous other gods, and they engaged in all sorts of licentious sin. Of course, in their minds, it would be okay to hate people who don't love their God. And yet, what does Jesus say? He sets the record straight. He says, your religious leaders have been teaching you wrong all along, because your neighbor is not just your fellow Jewish brother or sister. Your neighbor is anyone and everyone that.
[01:02:55] Speaker E: God would bring into your life or into your circle.
Jesus said, love your enemies.
Love your enemies.
And what does that mean when Jesus utters those words? Letter A.
We reject any notion of retaliation against our enemies.
I will say this. Aside from the tragedy and demonic evil that led to the assassination of Charlie Kirk or the senseless killing of this Ukrainian woman or any of the other things that happened this past week, the most discouraging thing that I have witnessed is I have looked at social media as the response of some who claim Christ.
It did not take long on Wednesday afternoon for social media to begin to flare with hatred for the other side.
People on one hand were celebrating, celebrating his death, posting things on social media whose only purpose was to create deeper wounds and create deeper division.
And yet I saw from Christians calls for retribution against those who think differently and who oppose their own ideas.
And I want you to understand something.
I actually understand the feelings that many people are wrestling with.
And I feel them deeply.
[01:04:20] Speaker I: As I sat at my computer and was scrolling through, the last thing that.
[01:04:25] Speaker E: I wanted to see was the actual video of Charlie Kirk being shot. And yet there it was, just as.
[01:04:31] Speaker I: I scroll and I see this image and my heart was flooded, flooded with.
[01:04:37] Speaker E: A temptation for hatred.
[01:04:39] Speaker I: And I thought to myself, how can this world get to a place where simply because a guy goes out and shares ideas that are different, that somebody considers his life unworthy?
A person who is a husband, who is a father, a child of God?
How have we gotten to a place in our world and culture where not only could somebody do that but it would be celebrated by other people.
And I want you to know that even in my own heart, I felt the temptation to feel hated, hatred to sit and to go, we should do likewise to these people.
It sat there.
[01:05:20] Speaker E: Yet, God, as I struggled and I lamented and I grieved, I was so.
[01:05:27] Speaker I: Reminded by this message that God had.
[01:05:29] Speaker E: Me preparing that even in the midst of the deep wounds and darkness, darkness and brokenness of our world, that we're called to respond differently.
Not to respond with hate or revenge, retaliation, but with love.
And that while it is true, I will confess, is a hard pill to swallow in our human this. And yet what we see is that Jesus says, you can do this through me.
It's unconscionable that people would celebrate the death of a person. And in my opinion, it is flat out demonic, and yet equally demonic that a Christian would be moved to the idea of retaliation against others for their different thinking or for their hateful action.
Why do I say demonic? I don't say that lightly. I say it because the Bible tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.
[01:06:42] Speaker I: And my friends, it is Satan himself that sows this type of divisive hatred.
[01:06:47] Speaker E: In the hearts of men.
[01:06:48] Speaker I: It is not of God.
And so when it is sown in the hearts of people that are far from God, or when it is sown in the hearts of Christians, it is flatly demonic. It is the evil that is in this world that pushes us towards hate. God pushes us towards love.
Jesus said, love your enemies.
He rejected any notion of retaliation.
And also letter B. He rejected any notion of division to remove this idea of us against them that is so prevalent in our world today and even that many in our churches wrestle with in our individual Christian lives.
Notice again the word that Jesus uses when he says to love your enemies. It's agape.
We're to love our enemies unconditionally in.
[01:07:40] Speaker E: The same way that Christ has loved us when we pitted ourselves as enemies of Him.
We are to love our enemies unconditionally. And he goes a step further and says to pray for those who persecute you.
Let me ask this question. Can you pray for those who persecute you? Can you pray blessing on their life?
Can you pray that God would invade and change their hearts, that they would come to know him and be transformed?
You see, what our world teaches us is this idea of retribution.
But what he teaches us is to love unconditionally to the point that our Hearts would be turned towards their good.
Not only do we, when we love our enemies, or to reject a notion of retaliation or reject division, but letter C, we are called to seek justice, but not in the world's version of justice. Can I give you an example of the world's version of justice, which is retribution?
Yesterday I was sitting at home enjoying a wonderful day. Nobody was there. My wife was working, my kids were all gone.
I love you guys. You know I love you.
[01:08:58] Speaker I: I'm gonna be in trouble.
[01:09:00] Speaker E: Oh, gosh, it was so great.
[01:09:03] Speaker I: College football was on.
[01:09:05] Speaker E: It was quiet in the house. I ordered myself some nakama.
[01:09:09] Speaker I: I got a little bit of rice.
[01:09:10] Speaker E: And veggies and chicken. It was great. And I was sitting there just eating my meal, watching college football.
I got even a little extra box of broccoli, which is also known as the tree of life, by the way, and it's so good.
And I got about halfway through it.
[01:09:24] Speaker I: And I realized, oh, I gotta go pick up Gracie from a friend's house and get her to another party. And so I set my, you know, empty bowl aside, but I had my.
[01:09:31] Speaker E: Little extra box of half eaten broccoli, and I left it there and I took off and I got her where? And then I came home and I realized when I got to the house that the dog had gotten to my broccoli.
[01:09:45] Speaker I: Yes, had licked the entire bowl completely clean of any liquid. And there my box of broccoli was, completely empty with not even a little.
[01:09:55] Speaker E: Grain inside of it.
[01:09:58] Speaker I: Do you know how much I love broccoli people? And I was having a beautiful day and I went and found that dog. And can I be honest? There was retribution to be had.
That dog got a little bit of whoop, whoop, and right out the door, right? I look at that dog. Lap dog, loves sitting in the house. You're outside for an hour, don't even bother me, right? And of course, then my wife comes.
[01:10:20] Speaker E: Home and she's like, what did you.
[01:10:21] Speaker I: Do to the dog? I'm like, great, retribution. It's coming for me now, right?
[01:10:26] Speaker E: I use a funny example.
The version of justice in our world is retribution.
We pay people back for the wrong that they have done.
What does Jesus say? If you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Don't even the tax collectors do that?
Sinners.
If you greet only your brothers, the people that are like you love them, what more are you doing than others do? Not even the Gentiles do the same.
Jesus version of justice is not retribution. It is restorative. And it is redemptive. Write that down. Jesus version of justice is restorative, and it's redemptive.
He came and restored the marginalized by society, the lepers and the sick who were cast out. He went to them to restore them, to bring justice to the sinner, to the tax collector, to the proselyte.
He went to them to share the love of God with them. His version of justice was not punitive, it was restorative.
He called for repentance, not revenge.
He sought forgiveness because he knew that forgiveness would break cycles of retaliation.
And he gave us the great example that this world has ever seen of restorative and redemptive justice. When he went to a cross to die for our sin, he died on a cross for you and for me. He paid our price, took our place.
And he calls us to share the same restorative love with the world that surrounds us, not just with our words, but with our actions.
And I think the greatest question is, when the rubber meets the road and the world hurts us, can we still show the love of Jesus?
There is a world out there today that is broken.
And I jumped ahead, letter D. Fill this in.
We have to love actively because it is the greatest testimony of Jesus that we have to this world.
The greatest response to hate is the love of God.
And there is nothing greater that can melt the coldest of hearts. But there is a world that is broken.
There is a world out there that is deceived.
It is bound in sin by the demonic realm. And their only hope is Jesus and Jesus. Words in this passage beg us to ask ourselves these questions.
Will we remember what Jesus has done for us?
That we ourselves were once separated from God in our sin, yet by his love and grace and mercy, our lives are being transformed.
Will you remember what he's done for you? And will you allow your heart to be filled with compassion for those who are far from God, especially those who think differently and maybe even who hate you?
And would you show them Jesus unconditional love, no matter what the cost?
What I believe Jesus does is that in his call for us to share his love with the world, as he knows that the most powerful thing is not just us saying it, it's us living it out.
But that begs us to ask the question, can we see the world differently?
Are we only going to see the ways that they hurt us or the ways that they think different and try to reject that and to push them away?
Or we allow ourselves to remember who we are as broken individuals and to see those who are Far from God with his eyes as his beloved creation of whom God sent his son into the world to die for the most vile of human being so that they would know Jesus.
Jesus says the way you love them is how they will see me.
Church we have much to consider in this world we are living in, especially over this past week.
How will we respond so that the world sees Jesus love through us?
God as I said earlier, we all come in in different places with different feelings about what has happened.
But if there's one thing that I believe all of us can agree on is this world is horrifically broken and it desperately needs you in the same way that we do.
And so God, as we seek to reach reach our neighbors, not just those who are like us, not just those who think the same as us, but anyone and everyone that you would bring across our path, whether that is in our home, in our workplace, in our school, or God forbid, even on social media.
You have told us to share the love of Jesus and be different from this world.
So teach us Father, what it means in these difficult days to love others unconditionally. That they would know you.
In Jesus name, Amen.
[01:16:26] Speaker C: When our homes are hit by heartbreak Let your presence meet us there when the pain seems overwhelming we hold on to you when the streets are torn by chaos we will be your hands and feet when the darkness brings division may we be your light we know our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the burning and the broken Let our lives align with every word you say when the nation take from violence we will be your blessed peace Amen when the headlines scream and justice.
[01:18:00] Speaker A: May we shout your name we know our world needs Jesus and we we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the hurting and the broken Let our lives align with.
[01:18:29] Speaker C: Every word you say.
[01:18:34] Speaker A: We know our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom so give us eyes to see the burning and the broken Let our lives alive with every word you say.
[01:19:17] Speaker C: Fix our eyes on Jesus this.
[01:19:18] Speaker I: Morning.
[01:19:26] Speaker C: Let every heart turn to Jesus.
[01:19:33] Speaker A: Let every voice sing of your great Let all the earth know your freedom we believe for more yes we do Let every heart turn to Jesus Let every voice sing of your great name Let all the earth know we Freedom we believe for more oh God we believe for more we know our world needs Jesus and we know our world needs freedom Come give us eyes to see the burning and the broken Let.
[01:20:42] Speaker C: Our lives alive with every word you.
[01:20:46] Speaker A: Say we know our world needs Jesus we know our world needs freedom.
Leave us lives to see the burning and the broken.
Let our lives alive with every word you say Jesus.
[01:21:22] Speaker C: I need you Jesus, I know his heart needs healing from my needs. I live this prayer to you, my.
[01:21:36] Speaker I: Savior.
[01:21:39] Speaker C: For my life and for the world. You are the answer.
[01:21:45] Speaker A: Jesus.
[01:21:49] Speaker C: She is a method.
[01:21:51] Speaker I: Can we agree with that truth this morning?
[01:21:55] Speaker E: For my life and for the world, he is the answer.
As we close our service today, our prayer team is here at the front and as always, if you have any prayer needs, they would love the opportunity to pray with you as we close our service today. And so I just invite you to come forward.
[01:22:13] Speaker I: But Church as we go out into.
[01:22:14] Speaker E: This week, coming off of a week of a lot of pain and difficulty in the world that surrounds us, as.
[01:22:22] Speaker I: I spent time walking through moments of.
[01:22:24] Speaker E: Grief and lament, I also came to.
[01:22:28] Speaker I: A place where the Lord put this.
[01:22:29] Speaker E: Scripture on my heart. From 1 Psalm 139 these words are this Search me God, and know my heart.
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
[01:22:44] Speaker I: See if there is any offensive way.
[01:22:47] Speaker E: In me and lead me in the way. Everlasting Church as we go from here this morning with the word that we have received from God's Word, I think that the best thing that God calls us to is a point of reflection in our own hearts and our own lives to understand what we're feeling, what we're going through, but even more to say, God, how is it that you want my heart to align to yours and this is a season for deep reflection that our hearts would be bound to him and follow his desire for our lives so that we live righteously as we go out into this world and are able to share God's love with those who are far from him, that they would see him and and know Him.
Take some time today, take some time this week to reflect on this passage Psalm 139, 23 and 24 with the Lord. Allow him to transform your heart that you would be a conduit of his love to all that he brings into your circle. God bless you as you go out and you serve him this week. We'll see you next Sunday.
[01:24:00] Speaker A: Sam.
