Good morning, well as my wife Sharon would say, good morning y'all.
I'm Sam and this is Sharon and we're going to do a little reading for you this morning and finish off with a prayer.
This is the second Sunday of Advent.
Each week of Advent we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birth by lighting a candle and focusing on different themes of Christ's coming.
Last week we lit the candle of hope.
This week we light the candle of peace.
Like each of us, Jesus was born into a world that knew of war, rebellion and discord.
Jesus came into this world proclaiming peace, blessing the peacemakers and exemplifying what it means to be a man of peace.
Jesus also came to the world knowing that our greatest need was ultimately for peace with God.
Our sin made us his enemies and Jesus came to pay the price for our sins so we could live at peace both with God and with each other.
Please join us in reading this passage from God's word found in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 13 to 17.
The scripture is on the screens behind us.
His purpose.
But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barium, the dividing wall of hostility,
by setting aside in his flesh the law with his commands and regulations.
His purpose.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,
by which he put to death their hostility.
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
Let us pray.
Thank you God for sending Jesus, the one who purchased our peace with you.
Thank you that he came proclaiming peace and that one day he will return to rule all nations with justice and peace.
Please let us live our lives reflecting the peace which we have been given through Christ.
And in Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
Before you guys sit down, could you turn to your neighbor and say hi and just greet one another?
Okay.
If you greeted at least one person, you can sit down.
How are you guys doing?
How are you doing today?
Awesome.
Wow.
Great.
Good job, buddy.
Hey, my name is Tobin and I'm one of the pastors here at Watermark Church.
If you're here for the first time, we want to welcome you during this holiday season.
We realize we have a lot of visitors here and just realize that our church is kind of controlled chaos as kids are with us.
And that's what we think life is about.
So we want to model that for you and try to learn what that means for us to go on a journey together.
I love the holiday season.
I love the songs that we just sang.
I love the tree, even though this is not a real one.
It looks great, the smell of the holiday seasons.
Last weekend, I broke one of my cardinal rules, though, in the holiday season.
And the cardinal rule is never go down to Causeway Bay on a Saturday during the holiday season.
And so I took Caitlin down and we were shopping and it was just chaos.
So we tried to get from Ikea to Times Square and we just, it was just kind of like, and my, Caitlin's like this tall.
And I kept turning around to her and I said, Caitlin, remember, never come down to Times Square on a Saturday during the holidays.
Because I had broken the cardinal rule, right?
And so I felt like you were there with like 10 billion of your closest friends.
And it was out of control.
And so finally, we're sitting in line and no one in line looks at each other.
Do you notice that?
You're purchasing stuff and people, they're not looking at each other whatsoever.
Their heads are down and they're just kind of sitting there.
And so I finally said, well, I said, I tried to make eye contact with people just to talk and no one would make eye contact with me whatsoever.
I think they just felt like I was a weird foreigner, right?
But then all of a sudden, this other lady made eye contact with me.
And I said, hey, Merry Christmas.
And she said, Merry Christmas.
And I just, I said, so how are you doing?
And she looked at me and she said, lonely.
And I said, what?
And she said, lonely.
Isn't it amazing that we can be in such a crowd of people and be lonely?
And I've been thinking about that for two weeks now.
And I went home and I thought about this idea of crowded loneliness.
I don't know if anybody's ever coined that phrase, but I'll just say it here because I like to make up words anyway.
But I think that we had this sense of crowded loneliness.
Do a Google search when you go home today on your internet and you will find at least 50 studies on loneliness within the last month throughout the world.
And it's amazing to see what people are saying.
Chinese University put out one last month.
And they said that 50% of the people they interviewed felt loneliness.
To a point where it was causing them mental anguish and physical anguish.
The statistics said that 70% of people in Hong Kong don't even walk next door to knock on their neighbor's door to get to know them.
And it was amazing as you read survey after survey this idea of loneliness and how it pervades our world, which is so connected in every other way.
But people are walking around with a sense of crowded loneliness.
No one knows them.
So when we come to the passage today in verse 23 and we read the words,
Emmanuel, God with us.
This is the first time in 2,000 years anybody would have heard those words put together.
Because before it was always God is for us.
God is for his children.
God goes before us.
God is there and he's going for us in battle.
But in the advent of Christ's coming,
God becoming human,
coming down to be with us
in the midst of our crowded loneliness.
As we come to communion today,
we celebrate God with us.
I don't know what that means to you.
I wonder what it would have meant to that lady
who I asked how she's doing
if I said God is with you
if you want him to be.
But as we come to communion,
the symbolism,
the truth,
Matthew 1,
Emmanuel,
God with us,
Matthew 28,
the end of that book,
go out and do not fear
because I am always
with you.
I'm going to ask the communion stewards
to come forward right now
as we take communion.
Communion is not a watermark thing.
It's a family of God thing.
So if you're here today visiting us
and you have made a profession of faith,
you've invited Jesus Christ
into your life
for the forgiveness of your sins,
we would invite you
to come and take communion with us
and be a part of our family
because that's what families do.
Now we have little kids here
and little kids are going to come up
and you know where your children are.
You know where they're at
in their spiritual journey.
If they haven't invited Christ
into their life,
we would ask you
not to let them take these elements
but just to teach them.
So far I know
in the history of this church
we've had three little kids
come to faith
because their parents
have used this time
as a teaching moment
instead of allowing to eat it
like it was candy.
You know where your children are.
The Bible also says
that this time
is a time for us
to examine our hearts
and our lives
and to ask that question,
what does it mean today
for me
to have God
with me?
What does it mean
when I walk through the university
and I'm about to take my finals
this week,
next week,
and the following week
even up to December 25th?
What does it mean
that God is with you?
What does it mean
when you walk into your work
on Monday
and you hear
and you think
God
is with us?
The communion students
are going to come up right now
and we'll play
a little background music
and as you think about that
when you're ready
come up and get the elements
take them back
to your seat
and we'll take them together
as a family.
Everybody get a chance
to receive the elements?
Okay.
Crowded loneliness
in the middle of the darkness
in a small backwoods town
of about 130 people
God came
to break the darkness
to shine light
and to free us
from our loneliness.
No longer God for us
but God
with us.
My prayer and hope
is that you would think
about what that means
as we walk through this day.
On this last night
on earth
Christ had one last meal
to teach his disciples
this lesson.
And in this meal
in scripture
we're told
that he takes a loaf of bread
and he blesses it
and he breaks it
and he gives it
to his disciples
and he said
this is my body
which is broken for you
take and eat
the body of Christ.
And a while later
we're told in scripture
that he takes a cup of wine
and he does the same
he said
this wine represents my blood
which is poured out for you
it's a new covenant
that I give you
to bring you back
to the family
the blood of Christ.
Father we thank you
for this day
we thank you
that we do not have
to be lonely
because of your son
who's come into this world
to bring us back to you
that you are always with us
your spirit is always with us
as your children
no matter where we go
in the joy
and in the happiness
and in the trials
and in the temptations
and then for most of us
just in the normal
slow
boring day of life
the truth is
that you are there
and that you're talking to us
and that you're with us
and so we come before you
as a family
and we just worship you
we praise you
we thank you
and we pray that we would not
forget this truth
as we walk amongst the crowds
of this day
and realize
that most of them
walk
in loneliness
and they need to hear
the message
that we have
we love you
we praise you
in your son Jesus name
amen
okay
so one of my favorite things
about being a pastor
is to do baby dedications
and so we do baby dedications here
we don't baptize children
at Watermark
we basically dedicate children
we believe that baptism
is for people
who have made a personal confession
and profession of their faith
and so we get a chance
to dedicate two babies today
a boy and a girl
and so I'm going to ask them
to come up
the parents
Aaron and Haley
and Jason and Natalie
so we're going to have
a crazy day here
so let them come on up
so we have
we have little Gracie
and we have Jason Jr
and I'm going to ask
all the kids
will the kids come down
front for me please
can you help me with this
so all the kiddos
come on down
and you guys can sit down
because I need your help
okay
good job guys
how you guys doing
good
are you ready for Christmas
yeah
so what are you going to
get me for Christmas
nothing
what's up with that
okay message
I need that
hey guys
we have a very special thing
that we get to do today
and maybe your mommy
and daddy did it for you
and maybe you'll be able
to do it personally
and so we're going to
dedicate a baby to God
and show the baby
to this new church family
and so who would
Aaron and Haley
you want to come first
come on up
come on guys
and so this is Aaron and Haley
and they've been with us
for almost two years now
right
so it's been great
and little Gracie
how are you doing
yeah
we have a bond going on here
so this is
I feed her diet coke
she had her first sip of diet coke
last week
and we just kind of
connected after that
so when we bring a couple
with their child up
that we ask a couple
two questions
and then we'll ask you guys
a question
so I'll ask you those questions
so in coming today
do you confess your faith
in Jesus Christ
as your Lord and Savior
okay
and is it your desire
to raise up little Gracie
in a household
that always points her
to Christ
and that you too
will walk with her
model her
in the good times
and in the hard times
what it means
and how the gospel
has changed you
okay
can I
can I take
can you
can you come to me
wow
whoa
okay
so I'm going to ask you guys
a question
as a church family
look at that
look at the babies over there
see the babies
okay
as a watermark church family
will you guys commit
to come alongside
little Gracie
to pray for her
to encourage her
to help her
when she gets in trouble
which I know
that will never happen
will it
no
and to point her
to Jesus
for as long as you guys
are here as a community
will you guys commit to that
say we will
that's great
okay
hey can you give me a kiss
okay
that's what Christina did
the first time
I tried to kiss her too
hey let me
let me
let me pray
can I pray with you guys
yeah
Father we just thank you
for this dear family
we thank you for Gracie
we thank you that
what a miracle
just life is
and how you brought them
together and brought them
here to this church
and we just pray
your blessing upon them
we pray for your protection
for your encouragement
as husband and wife
we pray that it would
always be a family
that would love you
that would do amazing
things for your kingdom
as they already have
and just feel your goodness
every day
as they look at this
little girl
we pray for Gracie
that she would come
to know you at an early age
and that she would do
mighty things for your kingdom
we love you
amen
and so then
why don't we
can we
can we clap for that
is that good
I just think that's
yeah
okay
it's organic
right
okay
so Natalie and Jason
hey JR
how are you guys doing
he's feeling a little
under the weather
he's under the weather
okay
so guys
can you help me
is this
what is this right here
wow
I was just expecting
the baby
that's
you know everything
okay
so Natalie
and Jason
I'm asking you
the same question
today
in coming
and bringing
little junior
here
do you confess
your faith
in Jesus Christ
as your Lord
and Savior
and is it your desire
to walk with him
all the days of your life
and raising up
little junior
and all the other juniors
that come
I heard you guys
want like ten
in a house
six
okay
so six
only six
and raising him up
in a house
that always knows
the Lord
and loves him
is that your commitment
okay
so should I try
to hold him or not
you can try
okay
hey come here buddy
I got some Diet Coke
for you
okay
we'll try
oh
hey
hey guys
as a church family
it's your commitment
to help
Natalie and Jason
to be alongside
little JR
to encourage him
to point him to Christ
to speak words of truth
and affirmation to him
to correct him
as he's doing things
maybe he shouldn't be doing
and to be his aunts
and uncles
wherever you see him
will you commit to that
okay
wow
sweet boy
Father
we just thank you
for this dear family
we thank you for little JR
just how you made him
and grafted him
we thank you for
bringing Natalie
and Jason
into our midst
and just how
they've already impacted
this church family
after being here
for such a short time
Lord we pray
that you'd watch over them
protect them
guard their house
guard their homes
and let them be a family
that always knows you
and points them
pray for little JR
that he would come to know you
at an early age
and that he would do
mighty things
for your kingdom
Lord we love you
and your goodness
and we pray all these things
in Jesus name
Amen
Wow
We gave him a little NyQuil
beforehand
or something like that
okay guys
hey guys
will you pray with me
let's pray
Dear Jesus
Thank you for these
little friends
Thank you for these
little friends
Help us to be
good brothers and sisters
to them
Help us to be nice to them
Help us to obey our teachers
Help us to obey our parents
Help us to love Jesus
Amen
Okay
Watermark kids
you are dismissed
Kids
go to class
Thank you so much
Thank you guys
Today's scripture
is found in Matthew 1
18-25
Please follow along
in your bulletin
Now the birth of Jesus Christ
took place in this way
When his mother Mary
had been betrothed to Joseph
before they came together
she was found to be with child
from the Holy Spirit
And her husband Joseph
being a just man
and unwilling to put her to shame
resolved to divorce her quietly
But as he considered
these things
behold
an angel of the Lord
appeared to him
in a dream
saying
Joseph son of David
do not fear
to take Mary
as your wife
for that which is conceived
in her
is from the Holy Spirit
She will bear a son
and you shall call
his name Jesus
for he will save
his people
from their sins
All this took place
to fulfill
what the Lord
had spoken by the prophet
Behold
the virgin
shall conceive
and bear a son
and they shall call
his name Emmanuel
which means
God with us
When Joseph woke
from sleep
he did as the angel
of the Lord
commanded him
He took his wife
but knew her not
until she had given birth
to a son
and he called
his name Jesus
This is God's word
You shall call
his name Jesus
because he will
save his people
from their sins
Every year around
this time
we have lots
of celebrations
lots of decorations
going up
trees with bright lights
and candles
and you know
there's this
strange genre
of music
that starts playing
everywhere
where there's about
20 songs
that have been redone
about 2,000 times each
and anywhere you go
you hear some
random combination
of these covers
of these songs
just playing
and you're like
I've heard this song
everywhere
for the past
three weeks
What's Going On?
and people start
singing these songs
and people start
using words
you never hear
any other time of year
like festive
and merry
and I don't know
other words like that
and you know
if you come to church
you hear lots of messages
about Mary
and about the virgin birth
and about Joseph
and his response to it
and the shepherds
and it's this great time
of celebration
and so today
we're starting
our Christmas series
here at Watermark
Advent series
and today we'll be
looking specifically
at the name of Jesus
when the angel
tells Joseph
that you will call him
Jesus
because he will save
his people
from their sins
we'll be talking about
the importance of the name
the significance of the name
if you're wondering
my name is Eric
I'm the youth guy
here at Watermark
and my name
actually means
honorable ruler
I looked that one up
to find out
since we're talking
about name meetings
today
it comes from
a Scandinavian background
I guess I was just
born to be a king
or something
and interestingly
I'm named after
my grandmother
her name is
Penny Knudsen
and I know
what you're thinking
I don't see
that connection
at all
but actually
her maiden name
is Erickson
and so when my parents
had me
they wanted to keep
that name in the family
so they named me
Eric after my grandmother
and as you think
about names
names can tell you
a lot
about a person
you know
if someone walks
through that back door
right there
and they come over
and they start
introducing themselves
to us as Lucifer
we probably think
oh don't want to have
my three-year-old
hanging out with this guy
if a three-year-old
kid walks through
that door
and walks up to you
and he's like
hi my name is
Li Ka-shing
you know that his parents
have some very high
expectations for him
in life
and in the same way
the name Jesus
has a great significance
it's actually
it was a fairly common name
back in Jesus' day
it comes from the same
root word
as Joshua
which is a fairly common name
even today
and it means
Yahweh is salvation
for any Israelite
living back in the days
of Jesus
this term
Yahweh is salvation
was a loaded term
it would bring back
images in their minds
that would point them back
to their founding
as a nation
to the core central place
where God had saved
his people in the past
and that is
their slavery in Egypt
now if you don't know
the story
the Israelites were
they had moved to the land
of Egypt
because there was a famine
there was food in Egypt
so they went down there
and they settled there
they started to grow
and then eventually
a pharaoh
a king rose up
who didn't know
the back story
of how the Israelites
had actually saved Egypt
during that famine
and he got scared
said they might
try and take us over
and he made them slaves
to stop them
from having that potential
of rising up
and rebelling
this slavery
lasted
400 years
generation
after generation
was born
lived
and died
knowing nothing
but slavery
for their lives
and it didn't appear
that the situation
was getting any better
anytime soon
actually things looked
to be getting much worse
pharaoh
in his fear
because the Israelites
kept growing
kept getting more numerous
decided that it was
a good idea
to have the
the baby boys
killed
whenever they were born
in Israel
he had laws made
that when a baby boy
is born
they throw him
in the river
and let the baby drown
so that there cannot be
a rebellion
of the Israelites
against the Egyptians
it was a dark
bleak situation
with no sign
of hope
for the Israelites
but in this dark
bleak situation
God appears
to an Israelite
who is living
in exile
from Egypt
as a shepherd
and tells him
I want you to go
to Egypt
and tell Pharaoh
the king
to let my people go
and so this
this exile returns
his name is Moses
he comes to the pharaoh
and he says
God says to let
his people go
and pharaoh
doesn't want any of that
he says
no way
we got free labor
I'm not giving this up
you guys are staying
actually
because you're complaining
about your work
I'm going to make it
even harder
and because pharaoh
does not listen to God
because he stands up
for what he wants
instead of what God wants
God sends a series
of ten plagues
that systematically
destroy the nation
of Egypt
he turns their water
to blood
he sends frogs
that just overrun the land
he sends diseases
he sends a huge hailstorm
that destroys lots of stuff
he sends darkness
on the land
and finally
to top it all off
he kills the firstborn son
in every Egyptian household
yet gives the Israelites
a means of saving
their sons
by sacrificing a lamb
in that son's place
and finally
after
the firstborn son
in every household
in Egypt has died
pharaoh says to Moses
get out of here
we don't want you
your trouble
leave
and the Israelites
after 400 years
of slavery
are free
they leave the land
of Egypt
they're walking
through the desert
towards their promised land
and they're excited
and they're walking along
they're coming up
God has them go
around
another country
so that they don't
have to fight there
they go on a
on a way that will be safer
where they can avoid fighting
but this way brings them
along towards the sea
and right as the Israelites
are getting close
to the sea
the pharaoh
changes his mind
it says
it was a bad idea
to send those Israelites away
we had a good thing
going for us
we had free labor
for hundreds and hundreds
of years
and I have just given that up
that's not okay
we need to get them back
so he takes his army
and goes out there
and chases down
the Israelites
and right as he
catches up
to the Israelites
the Israelites
are against the sea
they are trapped
the Israelites
see the Egyptians
coming
and they are afraid
but God comes down
in a cloud
and sets himself
between
the Israelites
and the Egyptians
and blocks the Egyptians
from being able
to come up
and attack
the Israelites
God parts the sea
and lets his people
walk across
on dry land
and right as they are
finishing getting across
he moves the cloud
forward a little bit
so that the Egyptians
can come in
to the sea
and follow the Israelites
across
and the Israelites
are standing
on the far shore
watching the Egyptians
come across
the same dry strip
of land
that they have just
walked across
themselves
only the Egyptians
don't get to the other side
God closes the water
back in on them
and the dead bodies
of the Egyptians
that have been chasing
the Israelites
wash up on the shore
in front of the Israelites
and they know
that they are
free and saved
once and for all
that God has brought
a salvation
to his people
that they could not
achieve on their own
this is the central
act of salvation
in the mind
of any Israel
then or now
when God took
his people
freed them
from 400 years
of slavery
and brought them
into
ultimately
into the promised land
that would be
their new home
and for any Israelite
in Jesus' day
when they heard
the name Jesus
when they heard
the name Yahweh
is salvation
this story
is the one
that would come
to mind
and throughout
the Old Testament
God had made
many promises
to his people
that he would send
someone who would
be a savior
he made amazing
promises about
how this savior
would be a king
about how this savior
would rule justly
how he would rule
over the nations
how he would
he would take
the line
the royal line
of David
the greatest king
of Israel
and he would
sit on that
and reign on that
throne forever
after the line
of David
and any Israelite
in Jesus' day
would have known
about these promises
they would have
been waiting
for this savior
to come
so they had
an understanding
of the way
that God
had saved
in the past
they had an
understanding
of the promises
that God
had made
about the savior
that was to come
but then
there's a third
ingredient
that sort of
blended together
and gave the Israelites
a very clear
mental picture
of what they thought
would come
when this messiah
when this promised
one came
the third ingredient
was their current
political situation
now for the Israelites
in Jesus' day
their situation
actually
very closely
resembled
what had been
happening
in Egypt
the Israelites
in Jesus' day
had been
political captives
to foreign nations
for hundreds
and hundreds
of years
in the Old Testament
the nation
of Israel
actually split
into two nations
the northern kingdom
disobeyed God
and got dragged
off to captivity
and never came back
but the southern kingdom
in about 587 BC
was dragged off
as captive
by a country
called Babylon
Babylon was the world's
superpower at the time
they came in
they destroyed
Jerusalem
the capital
they tore down
the temple
where the Israelites
believed the presence
of God dwelt
the nation of Israel
was destroyed
the people were
taken captive
and brought away
as slaves
in a foreign land
a few years
after that
a country
called Persia
came in
and took over
Babylon
the Persians
were still
rulers over Israel
although they were
nicer than the Babylonians
the Persian kings
actually gave the Israelites
money to go back
and rebuild their temple
and rebuild the city walls
and the Israelites
had a little bit more
freedom under them
but they were still
not free
they were still
under a foreign power
this lasted
for a couple hundred years
until a country
called Greece
came in
and took over Persia
and the Greeks
came in
and they wanted
to unify
all the world
that they ruled
so they
one of the aspects
of unifying the world
was getting
the whole world
to follow
the same religion
and to do this
they had to destroy
the religious practices
of all of the places
that they conquered
so the Greeks
came into
this newly rebuilt
temple
that the Israelites
had
and built
an altar
to Zeus
in the temple
of God
and to make matters worse
they took pigs
into the temple
and sacrificed them
which for the Israelites
was a big no-no
it made the temple
unclean
and unusable
for the worship
of God
the Israelites
were so upset
about this
that a family
called the Maccabees
actually raised
a rebellion
against the Greeks
and were successful
in kicking them out
for a few years
and so the Israelites
actually had a brief window
where they had
freedom
but not long after that
another world superpower
arose
and Rome came in
and took over
the nation of Israel
and as Jesus was born
Rome was ruling Israel
which had been
under captivity
to foreign rulers
for hundreds
and hundreds
and hundreds of years
with only a short break
of their own independence
and the presence
of Rome
was one
that would have been
felt daily
by the people
the Romans had
people stationed
around the world
to enforce
their rule
on the people
that they conquered
they had tax collectors
who would be
in each city
and these tax collectors
would collect
taxes from the people
to send
to the Roman government
so that the Roman government
could continue functioning
but the tax collectors
also charged
a little extra
so that they could
put some in their pocket
and keep it also
and
in addition to tax collectors
there were soldiers
stationed all around
one of the things
that the soldiers did
is if you couldn't afford
to pay your taxes
the tax collectors
would have the soldiers
come in
and beat you up
a little bit
to make you want
to pay more next time
the soldiers
maintained peace
which meant
crushing any
potential rebellions
against Rome
they were able
to enlist people
to help them
with carrying their equipment
in general
the presence of Rome
was not a good thing
in the eyes
of the Israelites
for their lives
and the people
in the days of Jesus
would have been
ever presently aware
of the need
for salvation
from this Roman rule
and one night
in a manger
in a small town
of Bethlehem
there's a baby born
this baby
carries a name
that means
Yahweh is salvation
and he is born
into a nation
that is waiting
for salvation
he is born
into a nation
that knows
of the ways
that God has saved
in the past
they know
of the promises
that he will do it again
and they see
a situation
that they are
very aware
that they need
to be saved from
and as this baby
grows up
he starts doing miracles
he starts healing
the sick
raising the dead
making the blind see
and people
start following him
and realizing
there's something
special about this guy
he starts teaching
about a kingdom
that is not of this world
a kingdom of heaven
and people think
this is it
this is the savior king
that we have been waiting for
he's coming to bring
a new kingdom
crowds of people
start following him
to remote places
even when he tries
to get away from the crowds
they follow him
at one point
the crowds even decide
they want to make him
their king
but he slips away
and escapes
before they're able
to do that
and as long
as his message
sounds to the crowd's ears
like what they want
to hear
they follow him
but eventually
they start to realize
that the savior
that they're expecting
and the savior
that they want
is not necessarily
what they're seeing
in this man
they realize that
rather than
affiliating himself
with the politicians
and the religious leaders
he's hanging out
with tax collectors
and sinners
and prostitutes
the people that no one likes
the people that no one
wants to hang around with
he's not raising up
an army
and starting rebellions
he's
he's traveling through
from town to town
just healing people
and teaching
and then
he starts talking about
how he's going to suffer
and die
these are things
that are unthinkable
for the Jewish mind
for their Messiah
to do
for this promised one
who was to come
and as he starts
saying these things
and doing these things
the people realize
that he's not
the man
they thought
he was going to be
and they reject him
as their savior
and in one of
the greatest ironies
if not the greatest
irony of history
the people
reject Jesus
as their savior
and kill him
yet through
that rejection
he is able to accomplish
the ultimate salvation
that he came to bring
for them
because as God
looked down
on his people
he saw that they had
a very real need
for salvation
from the Roman rule
but he saw
that they had
an even greater need
for salvation
from their sin
the Bible teaches
that sin
is our rebellion
against God
that each of us
on our own
says in effect
to God
you don't know
what's best for me
you don't want
what's best for me
I know better than you do
I'm going to follow
what I think is best
instead of what you say
is best
I'm not going to trust
you to rule
I'm going to rule
and be the God
of my own life
and we rebel
and we disobey God
and God saw this
and God knows
that he created us
to find our ultimate joy
our ultimate fulfillment
our ultimate purpose
in life
through a relationship
with him
and that because
of this sin
because of this rebellion
that relationship
is broken
and the worst part
about it is
that we are so blinded
to this slavery
that we have
to sin
that we don't even
realize that we're slaves
with the Israelites
they were constantly
aware of the oppression
of the Roman rule
in their lives
they had daily reminders
of the fact
that they were not free
that they were
under someone else's rule
there were soldiers
marching down the streets
there were tax collectors
knocking on their doors
they knew
that they were captives
to another nation
and yet with sin
far too often
they and we
are blind
to the fact
that we are captives
yet God was not
and so he sent
a savior
to save them
from their greatest
captor
from their sin
and to allow them
to have
a new relationship
with him
and because
that did not fit
their expectation
of a savior
they rejected him
they killed him
and he accomplished
their salvation
in that moment
of rejection
and as I think
about this story
of the Israelites
and how
they rejected
the savior
who came
to fulfill
their needs
yet didn't fulfill
necessarily
what they wanted
him to do
it made me start
thinking about us
how in our world
today
in our lives
are we like
these Israelites
obviously
each of us
has problems
in our lives
you know
it's different
for everyone
but they're there
for some people
it may be
that they're
in broken
relationships
that they want
healing
they want
God to be
their savior
who will bring
healing
in these
broken
relationships
for some
maybe work's
not going
too well
and they want
God to step
in and be
their savior
by changing
their situation
at work
for some
maybe they're
sick
they have
a disease
and they want
God to heal
them
and be
their savior
from this
disease
and in each
of these
situations
we have
a picture
in our minds
of the type
of savior
that we want
God to be
for us
and we often
pursue him
as that
savior
rather than
as the savior
for our sins
I was thinking
through and I
realized that this
is something
that I do
often
actually
especially last
year
last Christmas
time
it was the
first Christmas
where I didn't
get to go
home
now growing
up Christmas
was a huge
fun
important holiday
in my family
we would have
you know mom's
side of the family
get together on
Christmas Eve
dad's side got
together on
Christmas Day
we would have
parties with
huge amounts
of food
and we would
have presents
that we would
exchange
and we get to
spend the day
with family
and it was a
great time
for making
memories
and last
year I
didn't get
to go
home
and I
looked back
and I
remembered
all of these
past
Christmases
and all of
the wonderful
times that I
had had
during these
past
Christmases
and rather
than being
thankful for
all of the
great opportunities
that I've had
to spend this
awesome time
with my
family
it just
made me
sad
because I
was like I
don't get to
make those
memories this
year
I have to
miss out
I don't
know what
I'm doing
for Christmas
all I know
is that I
won't be
with my
family
and it
was sad
and it
was tough
and I
looked to
God
to heal
me from
my sadness
you know
I'd read
in the
Bible
and it
talked
about how
in God's
presence
there's
fullness
of joy
and I
was like
I am
not
feeling
this
right now
I am
sad
I want
God to
make me
happy
and rather
than pursuing
God
as a
savior
for my
sin
I
pursued
him
as a
savior
from
my
sadness
and here's
the thing
it's
absolutely
very
100%
true
that in
God's
presence
there is
fullness
of joy
but
that
fullness
of joy
is found
in a
renewed
relationship
with God
not
necessarily
in having
the life
circumstances
that we
prefer
and because
I was so
blinded to
this fact
I just
wanted him
to change
my
circumstances
to make
me have
life
the way
that I
wanted
life
and so
I
wanted him
to do
that
and when
that didn't
happen
I thought
God must
be upset
with me
or I
must be
doing
something
wrong
because
I'm not
feeling
the way
that I
think
I'm
supposed
to be
feeling
I'm
not
seeing
God
as the
type
of savior
that I
want him
to be
for me
and I
think that
in some
way each
of us
does this
in our
lives
it may
not be
in that
exact
situation
but each
of us
has ways
that we
look to
God
as a
savior
to save
us on
our terms
from the
things that
we want
salvation
from
rather
than
from
our
sin
and
really
when we
do
this
we
are
turning
God
into
an
idol
we
may
think
that
we
are
following
him
that
we
are
obeying
him
that
we
are
serving
him
but in
reality
we're
following
ourselves
obeying
what we
want
serving
ourselves
and trying
to transform
God
into a
puppet
that we
can
control
by doing
the
right
things
that he
gives
us
what
we
want
we
view
him
as a
vending
machine
if
I
put
in
this
much
prayer
this
much
Bible
reading
this
much
church
attendance
this
much
service
in
church
activities
then you
better
send
something
out
when I
click
the
button
and we
turn
God
into
an
idol
even
though
we
think
that
we
are
obeying
him
we
think
that
God
that
we
are
doing
the
right
thing
we
are
not
and so
I
thought
through
what
are
some
symptoms
in
our
lives
that
we
are
doing
this
that
we
are
seeking
in
God
the
savior
that
we
define
that
we
want
rather
than
the
savior
that
he
has
promised
to
be
and
the
first
sign
that
I
came
up
with
that
we're
doing
this
is
that
we
are
willing
to
follow
and
obey
him
only
as
long
as
the
ways
in
which
we
are
following
and
obeying
contribute
to
the
end
that
we
desire
we're
willing
that
leads
in
a
direction
we
don't
want
to
go
we
say
forget
about
it
this
is
exactly
what
happened
with
the
Israelites
in
Jesus
day
he
comes
along
he
starts
talking
about
a
kingdom
he
starts
doing
miracles
the
people
start
following
him
and
then
he
starts
talking
about
how
if
you
want
to
follow
him
you
have
to
take
up
a
cross
and
follow
him
you
have
to
take
the
instrument
that
was
used
for
the
death
sentence
for
executions
and
follow
him
why
would
you
want
to
do
that
so
they
rejected
him
they
stopped
following
him
and
in
a lot
of
ways
we
can
do
that
too
we
look
at
God
and
we
say
oh
you
know
in
God
there
is
fullness
of
joy
in
God
there
is
healing
and
so
I'm
going
to
follow
him
because
I'm
sad
or
I'm
sick
or
I
have
this
broken
relationship
or
I
have
kids
who
won't
obey
and
I
want
him
to
fix
these
problems
for
me
so
I'm
going
to
do
what
he
says
I'm
going
to
read
my
Bible
I'm
going
to
church
I'm
going
to
pray
all
of
those
are
good
things
but
ultimately
if
we're
doing
them
for
our
results
rather
than
for
his
we're
using
him
as
an
idol
we're
pursuing
him
and
when
he
says
to
obey
in
a way
that
doesn't
go
in
the
direction
that
we
want
we
stop
and
we
say
I'm
going
to
go
back
because
you're
not
giving
me
the
results
that
I
want
the
second
sign
that
we're
following
God
as
the
savior
that
we
want
rather
than
as
the
one
that
he
has
promised
to
be
is
that
we
view
something
other
than
sin
as
our
primary
problem
in
life
now
don't
get me
wrong
like
there
are
a
number
of
other
legitimate
real
big
problems
in
each
of
our
lives
it was
the
same
back
in
Jesus
day
the
people
had
they
were
poor
they
were
hungry
they
were
under
the
oppressive
rule
of
the
Romans
they
had
these
real
needs
and
they
saw
these
real
needs
but
they
saw
these
real
needs
at
the
expense
of
recognizing
the
problem
of
their
sin
and
so
rather
than
seeing
Jesus
as
the
savior
for
their
sin
they
wanted
him
to
be
the
savior
from
all
this
other
stuff
because
they
saw
something
other
than
sin
as
their
primary
problem
they
turned
they
tried
to
turn
Jesus
into
a
savior
that
was
different
than
the
type
of
savior
that
he
had
come
to
be
and
this
can
happen
very
easily
in
our
lives
as
that
I
came
up
with
that
we're
trying
to
transform
God
into
the
savior
that
we
want
rather
than
the
one
that
he
has
promised
is
that
we
place
conditions
on
whether
we
believe
that
God
truly
loves
us
in
the
Bible
in
Romans
chapter
8
it
says
that
Jesus
is
the
ultimate
proof
that
God
loves
us
that
there
is
a
tangible
event
that
happened
in
history
where
the
son
of
God
came
down
became
a
man
lived
a
perfect
life
died
the
death
that
we
deserve
for
our
sin
and
rose
again
that
this
is
something
we
can
historically
look
back
on
and
see
as
proof
that
God
loves
us
because
he
has
saved
us
and
that
ultimately
it's
nice
when we
have
convenient
life
circumstances
but
when
circumstances
don't
go the
way
we
want
that's
not
grounds
for
questioning
whether
God
loves
us
because
God
proved
his
love
for
us
in
sending
Jesus
because
even
if
I
don't
get
to
go
home
for
Christmas
even
if
we're
sick
and
God
doesn't
heal
us
even
if
we
have
a
job
and
we
don't
have
a
job
and
we
can't
find
one
even
if
we
have
this
messed
up
relationship
and
things
just
are
not
getting
better
God's
love
for
us
is
not
dependent
on
changing
those
God's
love
for
us
is
dependent
on
the
finished
work
of
Christ
on
the
cross
and
so
we
don't
need
to
question
whether
God
loves
us
we
have
the
evidence
of
that
in
the
cross
and
yet
when
we
try
and
transform
Jesus
into
the
Savior
that
we
want
we
begin
to
question
these
things
that
God
has
already
proven
and
demonstrated
to
us
and
as
we
begin
to
understand
this
as
we
begin
to
see
the
type
of
Savior
that
Jesus
truly
is
we'll
begin
to
see
that
in
being
this
type
of
Savior
he
doesn't
ignore
our
other
problems
in
life
he
actually
works
in
those
situations
as
well
but
often
he
does
it
in
ways
that
we
never
ever
would
have
expected
so
going
back
to
Jesus
day
the
people
wanted
freedom
from
Rome
they
wanted
Jesus
to
come
in
to
raise
up
an
army
to
march
in
to
kick
out
the
Roman
soldiers
to
sit
down
on
the
king's
throne
and
to
rule
them
and
Jesus
did
not
do
that
but
he
did
give
his
people
who
did
follow
him
a
freedom
from
Rome
but
in
a
way
totally
different
than
they
would
have
expected
as
he
came
in
he
started
teaching
about
this
alternate
kingdom
he
called
it
the
kingdom
of
God
or
the
kingdom
of
heaven
he
started
teaching
about
what
life
in
this
kingdom
looks
like
how
people
who
live
in
this
kingdom
act
how
they
conduct
relationships
how
they
deal
with
their
money
and
their
time
and
every
aspect
of
life
and
he
called
his
followers
to
live
life
in
this
alternate
kingdom
following
him
life
in
this
kingdom
did
not
mean
that
you
stopped
being
ruled
by
Rome
but
it
meant
that
at
your
deepest
most
foundational
level
of
identity
you
were
defined
by
this
kingdom
of
heaven
rather
than
by
the
Roman
empire
and
so
the
followers
of
Jesus
they
did
not
automatically
get
set
free
from
having
the
Roman
guards
marching
down
their
streets
and
the
tax
collectors
knocking
on
their
doors
but
they
had
a
knowledge
and
an
understanding
that
their
submission
to
Rome
did
not
define
them
their
submission
to
Christ
did
and
this
is
a
theme
that
is
repeated
throughout
the
New
Testament
that
there
is
this
alternate
kingdom
that
Christ
followers
are
in
this
kingdom
free
from
the
other
kingdoms
of
the
world
that
try
to
define
us
Paul
talks
about
this
in
Philippians
chapter
3
he
says
our
citizenship
is
in
heaven
and
from
it
we
await
a
savior
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
who
will
transform
our
lowly
body
to
be
like
his
glorious
body
by
the
power
that
enables
him
even
to
subject
all
things
to
himself
now
this
isn't
written
to
a
tough
at
times
living
in
this
world
it
may
be
tough
having
these
other
people
rule
you
but
our
citizenship
the way
that we
are
defined
is
not
by
these
earthly
rulers
it
is
by
God
and
his
kingdom
and
even
if
we
suffer
in
this
life
even
if
things
go
miserably
in
this
life
we
still
have
the
hope
that
we
can
cling
to
throughout
this
difficulty
that
he's
going
to
step
in
that
external
situation
as
well
but
he
doesn't
promise
that
he
will
he
doesn't
guarantee
that
he
will
but
he
promises
that
he
will
be
with
us
like
Tobin
was
saying
earlier
he
will
be
with
us
through
any
situation
I
was
brainstorming
what
it
could
look
like
for
this
type
of
a
situation
today
where
someone
has
a
problem
they
step
in
they
trust
in
Jesus
and
then
they
see
an
alternate
solution
from
what
they
would
have
expected
I
thought
of
our
university
students
they
have
exams
coming
up
soon
and
so
I
want
you
to
picture
a
university
student
been
having
rough
grades
this
semester
he's
got
the
exams
coming
up
and
he
knows
he
needs
to
do
really
well
on
these
exams
last
night
I
was
walking
by
a
restaurant
and
there
was
some
university
students
having
a
super
pass
party
because
they
don't
want
to
just
pass
their
exams
they
want
to
super
pass
their
exams
and
so
he
is
attending
the
super
pass
party
he
is
getting
excited
because
he
really
needs
to
super
pass
his
exams
in
order
to
make
it
through
this
semester
and
he
feels
that
if
he
does
not
do
this
then
he
has
no
worth
or
value
as
a
student
and
he
has
no
worth
or
value
as
a
human
being
and
he
has
exams
coming
up
soon
but
in
the
process
of
studying
for
the
exams
someone
comes
along
and
tells
him
about
Jesus
and
he
recognizes
his
need
to
have
his
sin
forgiven
he
trusts
in
Jesus
studies
as
hard
as
he
can
goes
in
and
totally
bombs
the
exam
like
he
fails
miserably
not
even
close
to
super
passing
not
even
close
to
passing
forget
that
he
gets
his
results
back
as
he
looks
at
his
results
he
realizes
that
he
still
has
worth
that
he
still
has
hope
that
his
life
is
not
defined
by
the
grades
that
he
has
gotten
but
by
the
fact
that
Christ
loves
him
regardless
of
his
grades
that
his
forgiveness
in
Christ
that
his
identity
in
Christ
is
not
found
in
being
a
straight
A
student
but
it's
found
in
the
fact
that
Christ
loved
him
and
died
for
him
as
we
see
that
Jesus
is
the
savior
for
our
sins
we
see
that
God
works
in
the
other
situations
in
our
lives
too
and
sometimes
he
does
change
our
tangible
circumstances
sometimes
people
pray
for
people
and
people
are
physically
healed
diseases
go
away
relationships
are
restored
God
works
and
gives
us
jobs
but
ultimately
the
definition
of
his
love
for
us
is
not
found
in
these
circumstances
it's
found
in
this
baby
who
came
who
lived
this
perfect
life
as
Yahweh
is
salvation
who
died
the
death
that
we
deserve
to
purchase
us
freedom
from
our
sin
and
to
give
us
this
true
hope
that
will
not
change
based
on
our
life
circumstances
but
that
is
a
tangible
guarantee
of
God's
love
for
us
and
the
fact
that
God
is
with
us
as
long
as
we
live
let's
pray
father
we
thank
you
for
your
love
for
us
we
thank
you
for
this
time
of
year
when
we
can
celebrate
the
birth
of
this
baby
Jesus
when
we
can
celebrate
the
fact
that
you
are
salvation
that
you
have
come
to
your
people
to
save
us
from
our
sins
and
that
just
as
Jesus
came
to
save
his
people
then
that
he
comes
and
offers
us
salvation
now
we
pray
that
each
of
us
would
see
you
as
the
savior
for
our
sins
that
we
would
recognize
the
problem
that
our
sin
is
and
that
we
would
trust
in
you
and
that
through
that
trust
we
would
see
the
hope
that
you
give
in
all
other
areas
of
our
lives
as
well
pray
all
these
things
in
Jesus
name
Amen
thanks
Eric
hey
we
I
just
want
to
share
something
things
really
quickly
so
I
just
need
your
attention
for
like
three
minutes
three
minutes
and
then
I'm
going to
pray
for
us
and
we
have
Starbucks
is
open
in
the
back
so
just
grab
back
there
it's
going to be
open
all
December
so
if
you
want
to
come
early
it's
open
at
930
get a
cup
coffee
and hang
out
then
that'd
be
great
a
couple
things
one
is
as
we
think
about
going
forward
what
we've
said
as a
church
is
we're
here
to
give
everyone
an
opportunity
to hear
about
Jesus
to
break
out
of
the
loneliness
that they're
walking
into
to give
them
hope
and what
that
means
in
our
life
in
next
Saturday
there
are
a
couple
huge
events
I
just
want
you
focus
with
me
really
quickly
from
2
to
5
at
the
community
center
we
have
Michael
Ramson
coming
and
Michael
is
one
of
the
best
communicators
in
the
world
in
apologetics
he's
been
spoken
to
UN
spoken
to
many
countries
and
heads
of
states
and
he's
going
to
be
at
the
community
center
from
2
to
5
next
Saturday
and
we're
going
to
do
a
seminar
on
how
to
engage
and
reach
your
neighbor
with
the
message
of
the
gospel
so
to
get
into
limited
seat
engagement
because
we don't
want to
pack
it
out
but
we
want
people
to
be
able
to
engage
ask
questions
and
all
that
so
these
tickets
right
there
are
out
there
at
the
table
so
Sylvie
has
these
so
get
one
of
these
because
you're
going
to
want
to
go
to
that
you're
welcome
to
invite
friends
to
that
people
who
are
wherever
they're
at
in their
journey
with
Christ
you're
welcome
community
center
into
a
home
we're
going
to
bring
in
four
or
five
turkeys
and
have
Christmas
meal
Christmas
music
Christmas
gathering
there
and so
it's
going
to
be
a
great
time
to
take
a
break
if
you're
in
university
come
eat
or
anybody
grab
some
friends
but then
at
six
to
nine
and
then
about
7
15
or
so
Michael
is
going
to
share
a
message
about
20
minutes
about
the
meaning
of
friends
who
are
not
believers
yet
we
actually
don't
want
you
to
come
unless
you
bring
some
friends
you've
been
praying
with
and
engaging
with
and
so
we
want
you
to
think
of
people
pray
with
people
you've
been
talking
about
and
invite
them
to
this
great
meal
great
time
of
fellowship
hangout
time
there'll
be
games
there'll
be
presents
there'll
be
all
these
things
there
at
7
10
or
so
Michael
is
going
to
give
a
talk
on
the
true
meaning
of
Christmas
and
why
it's
there
and
afterwards
he's
going
to
open
up
for
about
40
minutes
of
Q&A
so
if
any
of
your
friends
have
questions
about
why
should
they
believe
or
what
is
the
meaning
of
Christmas
or
is
it
valid
or
was
Jesus
really
born
all
of
these
things
he's
going
to be
able
to engage
in
those
things
and
so
to
sign
up
for
that
you
need
to
go
online
on the
front
web
page
watermarkchurch.hk
and you'll
click on
the little
flash
that shows
up
and
you'll
get
one
of
these
and
so
you'll
need
to
sign
up
online
for
this
because
again
we
have
a
limited
number
of
seats
available
we
want
to
make
it
an
intimate
gathering
but
where
everybody
can
engage
everybody
in
that
does
that
make
sense
so
that's
six
to
nine
and
we
want
you
to
come
and
bring
friends
in
your
workplace
or
at
school
or
people
you've
been
talking
to
and
just
trying
to
figure
out
what
is
another
thing
I
can
engage
them
with
in
their
world
so
they
can
hear
about
Christ
and
what
it
means
to
me
and
what
it
can
mean
to
them
so
go
online
click
on
the
front
webpage
and
get
that
so
that's
on
next
Saturday
okay
so
then
on
next
Sunday
when
you
come
in
here
at
915
we've
been
having
this
foundations
class
at
915
and
1215
we
guys
Chris
has been
leading it
with
Alfie
and
so
today
was
the
second
session
of
that
and
it
will
be
a
session
at
1215
immediately
following
this
we
want
everyone
in
the
church
to
go
through
this
foundations
class
what
915
next
Sunday
we
have
one
of
the
top
communicators
and
speakers
from
Oxford
coming
in
with
Michael
and
he's
going
to
do
a
session
and
a
seminar
on
engaging
your
neighbors
and
people
specifically
in
the
issue
of
pain
and
suffering
his
name
is
Vince
Vitale
I've
heard
him
he's
amazing
he's
like
28
he has
two
PhDs
he's
an
excellent
communicator
that's
at
915
Sunday
morning
we're
going
to
be
meeting
in
the
theater
so
you'll
come
in
there
again
this
is
a
great
opportunity
for
you
to
hear
from
some
of
the
best
in
the
world
to
be
able
to
understand
how
you
can
engage
people
one
of
our
we
think
our
responsibilities
as a
staff
is to
help
you
be
successful
as you
talk
to your
neighbor
about
Jesus
and
so
these
are
just
great
opportunities
for that
to
happen
immediately
following
church
out
you
gotta
go
out
this
door
because
we're
gonna
have
a
city
church
wide
meal
so
we're
bringing
in
food
gathering
we do
it
about
every
five
weeks
it's
about
I
usually
say
a
picnic
they
always
give me
a hard
time
it's
not
a
picnic
it's
just
we're
shipping
food
in
here
we
usually
have
about
300
people
and
we're
gonna
be
hanging
out
there
just
kind
of
fellowshipping
eating
and
spending
time
with
each
other
so
immediately
after
church
you
can't
get
out
that
door
we
electrified
it
you
can't
get
out
that
door
you
gotta
go
out
this
door
and
so
we
want
you
to
come
invite
a
friend
who's
never
been
to
church
don't
invite
people
at
other
churches
they
need
to
be
at
their
church
and
serve
in
their
church
we
don't
want
people
from
other
churches
we
are
reaching
people
who've
never
been
in
church
and
that's
the
heart
of
water
mark
that's
why
God
allowed
us
to
be
here
every
Sunday
and
we
want
to
be
faithful
to
that
so
invite
a
friend
who's
not
in
church
already
and
then
don't
go
out
that
door
go
out
that
door
and
there'll
be
a
meal
and
food
and
Vince
will
be
here
later
on
for
the
meal
and
people
don't
bring
any
more
clothing
because
we
were
packed
out
it's
amazing
it was
humbling
to see
how much
clothes
came in
the
guy
said
we
don't
need
more
clothes
we
need
food
so
next
Sunday
is
going to
be
the
last
Sunday
we're
going
to
collect
food
so
if
you
bring
just
a
can
a
can
of
beans
whatever
noodles
there's
noodles
there's
rice
there's
fried
noodles
there's
spaghetti
noodles
there's
beans
there's
pork
there's
hot
dogs
all
of
this
bring
that
and just
put
one
can
there
and that
will go
to
feeding
people
homeless
people
and refugees
in our
area
as a church
that don't
have
food
to eat
so
that
ends
next
Sunday
so
please
bring
that
at
the
book
table
there's
some
great
books
they're
all
sold
at
probably
like
a
20%
loss
but
for us
it's
more
important
to get
them
into
your
hands
for
the
some
of
you
thinking
they're
like
accountants
you're
like
okay
don't
do
that
they're
giving
away
as
gifts
but
there's
some
great
devotionals
this
is
blackabees
experiencing
god
day to
day
devotional
actually
christina
reads
that
every
day
and
we
mentioned
this
jesus
calling
devotion
if
i
had
the
money
i'd
buy
this
and
give
everybody
in
the
church
one
of
these
as
a
gift
it's
brand
new
it's
a
great
tool
for
devotion
i just
got
a hundred
of them
in my
house
yesterday
this
book
called
sticky
faith
is
actually
i think
the best
book
i've
ever read
or heard
about
that talks
about
how you
engage
youth
and help
them
children
walk a
lifetime
with god
and so
the youth
department
uses it
in our
church
the
pastors
use it
the parents
were training
on parenting
use it
i bought
a whole
bunch
extra ones
there
and there's
a great
book
on just
teaching
your
children
and how
to let
them walk
with the
lord
for a
lifetime
not
kick
out
their
faith
once
they
go
off
to
university
and this
is one
of the
best
books
there's
a survey
of about
30,000
people
and several
hundred
churches
so please
pick that
up
this book
is one
of the
best
books
i've
ever
read
about
engaging
people
who
have
a lot
of
questions
in their
faith
and so
if you're
working
with people
in the
workplace
or business
place
and they
have
questions
about
pain
and
suffering
questions
about
is
Christianity
relevant
what about
science
is there
questions
about
all
these
things
this is
Keller's
book
the reason
for god
and we
have a
whole bunch
of these
for sale
again this
is a
great tool
to engage
people in
your
workplace
and finally
these are
for free
and these
I think
cost like
50 Hong Kong
and this
is just
manga
messiah
it's just
the story
of the bible
written in
comic book
form
and kids
love this
and so
I just
pick up
don't pick
up like
70
like
Angeline
did
last time
because we
need to
have enough
for everybody
but if
you're going
to give
out 70
that's
great
I'm giving
you a hard
time
but you
can pick
70 up
but I
just give
these away
in my
neighborhood
we have
Christmas
programs
and food
parties
and we
give
these
away
to kids
kids
love
these
things
and both
of these
there's a
series
of like
six
of them
they're
a great
way
to engage
children
in your
neighborhood
or your
children
with the
message
of the
gospel
and so
again
these are
just tools
that are
available
so that
you can
be
successful
as you
walk with
the Lord
and present
the hope
that we
have as a
church
is that
clear
kind of
okay
good
is that
clear enough
yeah
okay
so this
one is
for the
two to
five
the teaching
time
you can
invite
anybody
this one
online
turkey dinner
tickering meal
click on that
and sign up
for that
and with
that
let me
just
pray for
us
father
we just
thank you
for this
day
we come
to you
and we
just realize
that we
come to
you
and we
offer
nothing
everything
that we
need
you've
already
given
your son
and so
we come
to you
as beggars
that your
throne room
and you've
given us
the most
precious
gift
the cure
for our
disease
which is
going to
kill us
and not
only kill
us
but separate
us
from you
for eternity
you've
given us
the cure
to sin
and lord
we just
come before
you
and we
just worship
you
and we
thank you
we realize
in our
world
that the
people
that we
engage
in
they walk
in darkness
they walk
in loneliness
they will
try to be
consumers
and worship
things all
around them
this season
it's amazing
how much
people will
fight over
a 20%
sale
but when
they hear
of true
life
true
hope
truth
that takes
away
loneliness
often
they just
walk
in darkness
so lord
I pray
as a church
that we
would be
a church
that would
share this
with our
neighbors
the 70%
that we
never go
next door
and knock
on their
door
pray that we
would pray
for one
to two
people
to invite
to these
outreaches
this next
week
into the
church
launch
on Sunday
lord
help us
even as
we are
imperfect
we don't
have all
the answers
and I
know that
you don't
expect us
to
but your
son does
help us
to present
Jesus to
them
help us
to allow
them to
deal with
him
in a way
that opens
their eyes
to the truth
of your love
your mercy
and your grace
we thank you
for this venue
that you've
given us
we pray for
the offering
that we're
about to
whatever we
receive
we know
that whatever
comes in
here
that you
would
multiply
it
and it
will be
used
towards
all of
these
outreaches
that are
about to
happen
and all
that will
continue to
happen
through
Christmas
more importantly
lord we
just worship
you
and we look
forward to
when we get
to heaven
and we see
just a glimpse
of what's
happened here
and how we've
been faithful
and how you've
used that
faithfulness
and sometimes
even our
unfaithfulness
to grow the
kingdom of
God
so lord
we love
you
we need
you
and we pray
all these
things for your
son Jesus
holy name
amen
god bless
you
we'll see you
saturday
at the
community
center
saturday night
for turkey
and we'll see
you here
sunday
oh
we have
one more
thing
look at your
bulletin on
the way out