WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:07.860 Eugene Peterson, who paraphrased the Bible into what's now called the Message, 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:14.280 wrote this about Old Testament prophets. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:22.740 We humans keep looking for a religion that will give us access to God 00:00:22.740 --> 00:00:25.879 without having to bother with people. 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:34.960 We want to go to God for comfort and inspiration when we're fed up with the men and women and children around us. 00:00:36.219 --> 00:00:42.399 We want God to give us an edge on the dog-eat-dog competition of daily life. 00:00:43.739 --> 00:00:49.560 This determination to get ourselves a religion that gives us an inside track with God 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:54.320 but leaves us free to deal with people however we like is age old. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:01:02.240 It's the sort of religion that has been promoted and marketed with both zeal and skill throughout human history. 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:04.500 Business is always booming. 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:11.359 It's also the sort of religion that the biblical prophets are determined to root out. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.299 They are dead set against it. 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:22.280 Because the root of the solid spiritual life is embedded in a relationship between people and God. 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:31.200 It is easy to develop the misunderstanding that my spiritual life is something personal between God and me. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:42.400 A private thing to be nurtured by prayers and singing, spiritual readings that comfort and inspire and worship with like-minded friends. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:52.860 If we think this way for very long, we will assume that the way we treat people we don't like or who don't like us has nothing to do with God. 00:01:53.900 --> 00:02:06.439 That's when the prophets step in and interrupt us, insisting that everything you do or think or feel has to do with God. 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:11.139 Every person you meet has to do with God. 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:26.800 It is basic to our humanity that we perhaps try to make that separation between what is going on between ourselves and God spiritually and what we do with other people. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:32.660 But in scripture, both Old and New Testament, there can be no such separation. 00:02:34.040 --> 00:02:39.400 Remember, Jesus himself was cornered over this when he was asked, what's the most important commandment of all? 00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:46.880 Jesus said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:50.060 And love your neighbour as yourself. 00:02:50.480 --> 00:02:52.320 And he said that second one is like the first. 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:55.900 In other words, we can't separate, we must not separate those two things. 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:56.900 They're part of the whole. 00:02:57.219 --> 00:02:58.920 You can't do one without the other. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:00.599 You can't have one without the other. 00:03:01.980 --> 00:03:04.460 And yet, how often we try. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:12.819 Isaiah got into a lot of trouble for saying the words that have just been read now. 00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:16.300 Because they were considered a scandalous claim. 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.640 Let's hone in on one thing in particular that he says. 00:03:20.420 --> 00:03:25.400 Your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:31.599 He is claiming that this is what God is saying to God's people as God's people offer their worship to God. 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:36.140 I hate your appointed festivals with all my being. 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:39.540 Even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. 00:03:41.540 --> 00:03:47.379 Now that seems like a totally black and white contradiction with what we read elsewhere in scripture. 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:48.579 Where it is precisely God. 00:03:48.579 --> 00:03:49.159 Where it is precisely God. 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.680 And God alone who instigates those festivals. 00:03:53.079 --> 00:03:55.299 And God who invites his people to pray. 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:59.780 And yet, here, Isaiah is saying that God wants nothing to do with it. 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:01.379 Why? 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:12.419 Well, the point is, is that all the while the people were offering their religious activity to God in organized worship, 00:04:13.299 --> 00:04:22.240 there was corruption, there was oppression of the poor, tolerance of the most profound injustices, 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:28.779 a preoccupation with material prosperity, a disregard for the marginalized and violent crime. 00:04:28.779 --> 00:04:36.459 Now this was targeted to the context of the people of Israel at that point in time. 00:04:37.239 --> 00:04:40.679 But you know, whatever group of people we are talking about, 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:43.519 whether collectively, at any time in history, 00:04:44.059 --> 00:04:45.779 or whether we're talking about us as individuals, 00:04:46.619 --> 00:04:49.139 the same universal truths apply. 00:04:49.139 --> 00:04:57.800 That worship means nothing if we disregard our relationships with those around us. 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:03.620 We cannot separate, and we must not separate, even though we try to, 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:11.319 our relationship with God with the relationship that we have with those around and about us. 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:13.259 We can't. 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:18.699 There was a Peanuts cartoon a few years ago, Charlie Brown. 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:21.879 Charlie Brown was in conversation with his sister, 00:05:22.039 --> 00:05:23.279 and his sister says, 00:05:23.659 --> 00:05:24.759 I hate everything. 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:28.240 I hate everybody, and I hate the whole wide world. 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:30.259 And Charlie Brown replies, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.599 But I thought you said you had inner peace. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:36.820 And his sister replies, 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:38.360 I do have inner peace, 00:05:38.760 --> 00:05:41.800 but I still have outer obnoxiousness. 00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:48.620 Isaiah presents us with this challenge and calls us back to this challenge, 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:50.420 that to love God is to love people, 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:51.700 to love people is to love God, 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:53.140 and you cannot separate the two. 00:05:55.200 --> 00:05:57.100 And it is born out of a vision. 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:58.700 Isaiah chapter 1 begins, 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:01.860 we're saying that this is a vision that Isaiah has had. 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:03.540 We see that in more detail, 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:05.819 explained a few chapters later on, 00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:07.500 in Isaiah chapter 6, 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:13.100 where Isaiah has this vision of the Almighty God. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.100 He is engulfed with a sense of the presence of the holiness. 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:20.120 And to bring it back to our series now, 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:20.980 Names of God, 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:24.480 here we hear that the words, 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:26.920 Holy, Holy, Holy God. 00:06:28.340 --> 00:06:30.020 But what does that word mean? 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:33.680 It's too hard to put into words, 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:36.039 but it's trying to describe through language, 00:06:36.479 --> 00:06:38.379 something that you can't describe through language. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.439 It's just that Isaiah's experience 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:45.139 was one of just being confronted with the presence of God, 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:46.899 with a dazzling light, 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.159 a sense of the presence of utter, utter holy otherness. 00:06:52.099 --> 00:06:54.240 But God is so pure and so loving, 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:55.799 so perfect and so brilliant, 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.500 that if he dared to look upon God, 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:00.480 he would be consumed. 00:07:00.960 --> 00:07:04.579 And in that vision that is spelt out in more detail in Isaiah chapter 6, 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:07.860 we're given this picture of how God's presence 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:09.759 is surrounded by heavenly beings 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.000 who have to cover their own eyes, 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:13.600 because even the heavenly beings 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:15.280 cannot look on God and live, 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:17.220 because God is so perfect 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:18.800 and so holy. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.160 Think or try to think of what 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:26.740 the most absolute sense of perfect love is. 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:30.420 And we begin to get onto that track 00:07:30.420 --> 00:07:31.960 as to what we're talking about here. 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:35.759 Such perfect love 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.920 that were we to meet it face to face, 00:07:39.580 --> 00:07:42.060 we'd go up in a puff of smoke. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:45.620 And yet by grace, 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:47.100 the message of Scripture 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:48.939 is that we can encounter that. 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:50.560 And Isaiah encounters 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.620 the holiness of God, 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:54.199 and it's with that vision that he knows 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:55.920 that you cannot encounter 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.459 that 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:00.860 absolute love of God 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:03.920 and yet hate those that are around you. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:06.959 And so that call to holiness 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:08.000 is that call 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.480 to love those around us 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.060 unconditionally. 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:17.420 And yet the problem 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:19.860 Isaiah says 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:21.720 in the words of prophecy 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:22.339 is that 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:24.519 in verse 4 of this chapter 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:25.199 he says that 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.740 the people had turned their back 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:29.819 on God's holiness. 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:31.920 You know, 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.019 we live thousands and thousands of years 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:35.299 after these words were written 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:35.740 and yet 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:37.320 the same truths 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:39.039 of our humanity remain. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:41.460 We can have an encounter 00:08:41.460 --> 00:08:42.440 with the living God 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:43.019 and yet 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.080 almost unwittingly 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:46.320 we can turn our backs 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:47.240 on that reality. 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:49.139 We can even come to church, 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:50.120 we can be involved 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:51.299 in our worship services, 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:52.139 involved with church 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:52.799 during the week, 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:54.120 we can read our Bibles, 00:08:54.259 --> 00:08:54.779 we can pray, 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:55.379 and yet 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:56.220 and yet 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:58.200 it's all too easy 00:08:58.200 --> 00:08:59.279 for us to turn our back 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:00.560 on that fundamental truth 00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:01.080 that 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:02.220 the one 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:03.259 who we 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:04.399 claim to love 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:05.840 and who loves us. 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:08.100 That relationship 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:09.399 cannot and must not 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:10.559 ever be separated 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.379 from the relationships 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:13.120 that are going on 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.000 all around us. 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:16.079 Let's just think 00:09:16.079 --> 00:09:17.240 what might 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:18.740 we need 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:20.480 to be very careful of 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:21.779 as we think about 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:22.679 what this means 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:24.459 in our ordinary lives. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:25.759 What might be 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:27.240 some of the warning signs 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:28.879 where almost unwittingly 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:30.460 we turn our backs 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:31.019 away 00:09:31.019 --> 00:09:32.199 from the one 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:32.879 who is holy 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:33.560 who calls us 00:09:33.560 --> 00:09:33.920 to love 00:09:33.920 --> 00:09:34.840 not just him 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:35.480 but those that are 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:36.020 around us 00:09:36.020 --> 00:09:36.480 because they're 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:37.100 inseparable. 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:39.200 The first thing, 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.500 the first warning sign 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:41.180 here is this, 00:09:41.640 --> 00:09:42.500 that we must beware 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:43.020 the danger 00:09:43.020 --> 00:09:44.060 of divorcing 00:09:44.060 --> 00:09:47.020 our everyday life 00:09:47.020 --> 00:09:48.740 from our worshipping 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:49.680 Christian lives. 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:50.480 Faith 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:51.820 and everyday life 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:52.840 belong together. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:53.860 They must never 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:54.620 be separated. 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:57.259 There's a story 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:58.620 about an old story 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:00.320 from the American West, 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.140 the old West 00:10:02.140 --> 00:10:03.340 where a minister 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:05.640 was placed 00:10:05.640 --> 00:10:06.840 in a frontier town 00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:08.660 and he was 00:10:08.660 --> 00:10:10.100 down by the river 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:10.800 one day 00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:12.580 and saw 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:13.400 a number 00:10:13.400 --> 00:10:15.040 of people 00:10:15.040 --> 00:10:16.400 hauling logs 00:10:16.400 --> 00:10:17.180 out of the river 00:10:17.180 --> 00:10:19.220 and then saw 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:20.080 that they were 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.520 cutting the ends 00:10:21.520 --> 00:10:22.580 of the logs off. 00:10:22.640 --> 00:10:23.060 On the ends 00:10:23.060 --> 00:10:23.480 of the logs 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:24.040 were stamped 00:10:24.040 --> 00:10:24.740 the names 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:25.540 of the owners 00:10:25.540 --> 00:10:26.300 of these logs. 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:28.280 But he was horrified 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:28.980 that it was actually 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:30.459 his own members 00:10:30.459 --> 00:10:31.600 of his own congregation 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:33.259 that were doing this, 00:10:33.819 --> 00:10:34.399 cutting the ends 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:34.939 off the logs. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:37.480 So the next Sunday 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:38.860 he was just going 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:39.839 to preach a sermon, 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:40.939 really, really 00:10:40.939 --> 00:10:42.299 powerfully focused 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:43.620 sermon on the message 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:45.240 Thou shalt not steal. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:47.039 And he did. 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:48.659 And just as they 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:49.600 were leaving church 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:50.159 each member 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:50.939 of his congregation 00:10:50.939 --> 00:10:51.860 walked past, 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:52.620 shook his hand 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:52.939 and said 00:10:52.939 --> 00:10:54.399 fantastic sermon 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:54.879 pastor. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:57.559 He thought 00:10:57.559 --> 00:10:58.200 this message 00:10:58.200 --> 00:10:58.860 is clearly 00:10:58.860 --> 00:10:59.700 not sunk in. 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:00.539 So the next week 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:01.159 he not only 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:02.580 preached his sermon 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:03.419 pretty much 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:04.039 word for word 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:04.639 the same 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.200 on the message 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:07.419 Thou shalt not steal 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:08.299 but also 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:08.980 he worded 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:09.919 all of his prayers 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:10.820 around that theme 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:11.740 and as much 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:12.220 as he could 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:13.019 try to grab 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:13.500 as many 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:14.759 of the words 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:15.980 through the hymns 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:16.299 and the way 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:16.840 he introduced 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:17.460 those hymns 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:18.039 that were all 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:18.860 around this theme 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:20.059 you must not steal. 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:22.179 End of the service 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:23.480 exactly the same response. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:24.399 People walked past 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:25.360 smiled and politely 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:25.959 shook his hand 00:11:25.959 --> 00:11:26.220 and said 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:27.439 fantastic service 00:11:27.439 --> 00:11:27.879 pastor. 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:30.639 The third week 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:31.399 he did exactly 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:32.199 the same thing 00:11:32.199 --> 00:11:32.620 again 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:34.120 with Thou shalt not steal 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:34.919 right at the centre 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:35.879 of not just the sermon 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:36.480 and the prayers 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:37.579 but the whole service 00:11:37.579 --> 00:11:39.740 except at the very end 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:41.179 he concluded 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:43.360 Thou shalt not 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:45.159 cut the ends 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:46.620 off thy neighbour's 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:47.100 logs. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:51.419 They fired him. 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:56.299 The point is 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:58.559 is Christian faith 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:59.659 is not an abstract 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:00.439 concept. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:01.459 Well it can become 00:12:01.459 --> 00:12:02.319 one and there's 00:12:02.319 --> 00:12:02.759 the problem. 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:04.899 We totally miss 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:05.259 the point 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:05.979 if we think 00:12:05.979 --> 00:12:07.000 that Christian 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:07.659 discipleship 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:08.299 being a follower 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:08.839 of Jesus 00:12:08.839 --> 00:12:09.360 is just 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.339 something we can 00:12:10.339 --> 00:12:11.099 do in abstract 00:12:11.099 --> 00:12:11.719 terms 00:12:11.719 --> 00:12:13.259 when we detach 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:13.979 it we remove 00:12:13.979 --> 00:12:14.539 it from our 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:15.299 everyday lives 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:15.879 whatever we're 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:16.120 doing. 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:19.539 The second thing 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:20.060 that we need 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:20.799 to watch out 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:21.620 for is the way 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:22.779 that we talk 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:23.940 with people 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:25.740 with all people 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:27.440 all of the time. 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:30.779 The story I'm 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:31.480 about to tell you 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:32.379 is a true story 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:33.340 it happened a long 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:34.299 way away from here 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:35.179 and I'm pretty 00:12:35.179 --> 00:12:35.940 confident that you 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:36.460 would not know 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:38.060 anybody in this 00:12:38.060 --> 00:12:39.639 story so I'm safe 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.480 but it was a 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:42.980 number of years 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:43.539 ago and I was 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:45.060 at a Christian 00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:46.939 gathering with a 00:12:46.939 --> 00:12:47.359 load of other 00:12:47.359 --> 00:12:50.379 ministers and we 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:51.119 had a keynote 00:12:51.119 --> 00:12:52.599 speaker who was 00:12:52.599 --> 00:12:53.519 presenting through 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:54.659 the course of the 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:55.219 afternoon. 00:12:55.939 --> 00:12:56.639 I can't remember 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:57.739 what he was 00:12:57.739 --> 00:12:58.579 speaking on now 00:12:58.579 --> 00:12:59.939 it was that good 00:12:59.939 --> 00:13:01.959 but I can remember 00:13:01.959 --> 00:13:03.259 he led the whole 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:03.859 of the afternoon 00:13:03.859 --> 00:13:04.379 session. 00:13:05.699 --> 00:13:06.799 The day ended 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:07.319 and I went to 00:13:07.319 --> 00:13:08.019 get the train 00:13:08.019 --> 00:13:08.839 back and I was 00:13:08.839 --> 00:13:09.799 sat on the bench 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:10.319 at the station 00:13:10.319 --> 00:13:10.919 the train was 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:11.619 running late 00:13:11.619 --> 00:13:12.559 everybody was 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:13.159 frustrated 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:15.120 and I could 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.299 overhear and the 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:16.779 reason I could 00:13:16.779 --> 00:13:17.579 overhear was it 00:13:17.579 --> 00:13:18.179 was particularly 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:19.139 loud and vocal 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:20.759 somebody on the 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:22.019 platform really 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:23.259 laying into a 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:24.779 member of staff 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:25.959 now everybody 00:13:25.959 --> 00:13:27.219 was frustrated 00:13:27.219 --> 00:13:29.059 and I don't think 00:13:29.059 --> 00:13:29.759 anybody would have 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:30.600 disagreed with 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:32.039 the person's sense 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:33.000 of frustration over 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:33.620 the fact that the 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:34.299 train was running 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:34.620 late 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:37.480 not that there was 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:38.620 necessarily anything 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:40.199 inherently wrong with 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:42.080 expressing dissatisfaction 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.940 but the way this 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:45.840 particular individual 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:46.780 was speaking to 00:13:46.780 --> 00:13:47.440 this member of 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:48.920 staff was as 00:13:48.920 --> 00:13:49.759 though he was 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:50.740 talking to the 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:51.320 scum of the 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:51.640 earth. 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:53.740 It was cringeful 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:54.820 and it was very 00:13:54.820 --> 00:13:55.740 very loud 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:59.379 and it was so 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:00.640 so bad that it 00:14:00.640 --> 00:14:01.320 caused me to look 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:02.379 up and it was 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:03.160 at that point that 00:14:03.160 --> 00:14:04.040 I thought I 00:14:04.040 --> 00:14:04.800 recognised the 00:14:04.800 --> 00:14:06.500 voice and to my 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:08.240 horror it was the 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:09.220 same keynote 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:10.860 speaker that had 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:11.560 just been speaking 00:14:11.560 --> 00:14:12.259 to us as a group 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:12.940 of Christian leaders 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:13.320 for the whole 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:13.840 afternoon. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:18.620 It simply won't 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:22.220 do if we feel 00:14:22.220 --> 00:14:22.779 that we can 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:24.320 separate the way 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:25.920 we talk when 00:14:25.920 --> 00:14:26.379 we're in a 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:27.200 Christian gathering 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.000 with the way we 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:29.800 talk with others 00:14:29.800 --> 00:14:30.580 throughout the week 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:32.279 in our ordinary 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:33.800 everyday lives. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:36.060 And one of the 00:14:36.060 --> 00:14:36.860 ways we need to 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:37.879 keep a really 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.299 close focus on 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:42.439 not turning our 00:14:42.439 --> 00:14:43.759 backs on the 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.799 holiness of God 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.240 is no matter how 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:48.460 frustrated we might 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:50.340 feel in our 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:52.139 everyday lives 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:54.059 to see the 00:14:54.059 --> 00:14:54.860 presence of God 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:56.360 before us in 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:57.039 each and every 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:57.799 conversation. 00:14:58.460 --> 00:14:59.320 No matter how 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:00.200 frustrated we might 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:00.679 be feeling. 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:06.120 The third final 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:06.699 way I just want to 00:15:06.699 --> 00:15:07.399 share with you 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:08.000 that I think is 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.599 really important 00:15:08.599 --> 00:15:09.000 that we need to 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:09.579 keep an eye on 00:15:09.579 --> 00:15:10.620 in the widest 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:11.199 sense is our 00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:11.739 lifestyle. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:12.639 Now I realise 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.019 it's a really 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:13.659 broad thing 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:15.439 but it can mean 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:16.000 all sorts of 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:16.539 different things 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:17.099 for each one 00:15:17.099 --> 00:15:17.759 of us and 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:18.620 each of us 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:19.019 will probably 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:19.599 struggle with 00:15:19.599 --> 00:15:20.279 something or 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:20.959 another in our 00:15:20.959 --> 00:15:22.079 lifestyle but to 00:15:22.079 --> 00:15:22.939 pay really close 00:15:22.939 --> 00:15:23.839 attention to those 00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:24.559 things, those 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:27.120 patterns of our 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.000 own behaviour that 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.759 can slip in in 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:31.100 our everyday life 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:32.679 whereby we can 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:33.519 without even 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:34.319 realising we're 00:15:34.319 --> 00:15:35.059 doing it turn 00:15:35.059 --> 00:15:36.620 our backs on the 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:37.439 holiness of God 00:15:37.439 --> 00:15:37.919 and the presence 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:39.100 of God who is 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:40.600 there in each and 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:41.740 every hour of our 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:42.319 lives. 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:44.779 Because the thing 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:46.539 is that to use 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:48.700 that word in 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:50.740 scripture sin which 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:51.200 is an old 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:51.939 fashioned word but 00:15:51.939 --> 00:15:52.519 is a word that 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:53.139 goes right to the 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:53.720 heart of what the 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:55.919 problem is, that 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:57.819 sin does not come 00:15:57.819 --> 00:15:58.939 with flashing lights 00:15:58.939 --> 00:15:59.500 of warning. 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:00.779 it's so much more 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:01.639 subtle than that 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:02.960 to the point that 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:04.120 we can engage with 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:04.620 things that we 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:05.440 don't even realise 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.039 in a way that 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:06.620 we're not even 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:07.980 aware of doing. 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:10.360 I probably shared 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:10.980 this story before 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:11.399 but I'm going to 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:12.000 do it again because 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.080 I think it's a 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.059 helpful picture even 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:15.740 though it's a 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:16.419 slightly gruesome 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:16.700 one. 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:19.659 Years ago apparently 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:20.539 there was a way 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:22.580 that in some parts 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:23.840 of the world wolves 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.460 were captured in 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:26.820 very cold climates. 00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:28.200 Apparently what they 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:28.840 would do is they 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:31.940 would take a blade 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:33.840 and they would 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:35.040 kill another animal 00:16:35.040 --> 00:16:36.820 and get its blood 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:37.580 somewhere and then 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:38.580 they would dip this 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:39.500 blade in the blood 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:40.320 and freeze it so 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:40.980 you've got like a 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:42.340 layer of blood frozen 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:43.680 around this blade. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:44.879 And then they do it 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:45.580 again, they dip it 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:46.379 into some blood and 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:47.280 refreeze it and then 00:16:47.280 --> 00:16:48.060 again and again and 00:16:48.060 --> 00:16:48.700 again building up 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:49.680 frozen layer upon 00:16:49.680 --> 00:16:51.300 frozen layer of blood 00:16:51.300 --> 00:16:52.440 around this knife 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:53.639 until eventually you 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:54.400 are left effectively 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:55.280 with a block of 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.699 frozen animal blood 00:16:56.699 --> 00:16:57.659 with a knife in 00:16:57.659 --> 00:16:57.959 the middle. 00:16:58.779 --> 00:16:59.399 And they would put 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:00.159 this in the snow 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:02.159 and leave it overnight. 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:03.779 A wolf would come 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:05.399 along, catch a whiff 00:17:05.399 --> 00:17:07.619 of the blood and 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:08.599 begin to lick. 00:17:09.180 --> 00:17:10.079 As the wolf would 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:11.319 lick the blood, the 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:12.059 more it got, the more 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:12.480 it wanted. 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:13.579 The more it wanted, 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:14.259 the more it got and 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:15.420 so it would just lick 00:17:15.420 --> 00:17:16.500 away, lick away, 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:17.720 lick away at the 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:19.319 frozen blood just 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:21.359 craving for more all 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:21.740 the while. 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:22.399 The more it got, 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:23.280 the more it wanted 00:17:23.280 --> 00:17:24.200 and yet it could 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:25.680 not actually satisfy 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:26.640 because the more it 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:27.860 got, the more it 00:17:27.860 --> 00:17:29.300 wanted and it would 00:17:29.300 --> 00:17:30.640 lick away layer after 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:31.620 layer after layer 00:17:31.620 --> 00:17:32.660 of the frozen blood 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:34.259 until eventually all 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:35.120 of the frozen blood 00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:36.440 was gone and the 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:37.340 wolf was licking 00:17:37.340 --> 00:17:38.660 away at the animal, 00:17:39.100 --> 00:17:40.620 not at the animal 00:17:40.620 --> 00:17:41.540 blood but at the 00:17:41.540 --> 00:17:42.920 blade inside. 00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:44.940 And as its tongue 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:46.660 would lash away at 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:48.920 the naked blade of 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.040 this knife, so the 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:53.399 wolf without realising 00:17:53.399 --> 00:17:54.500 would be consuming 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:55.599 not the frozen blood 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:56.980 but its own blood 00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:58.359 as it choked to 00:17:58.359 --> 00:17:59.980 death on its own 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:00.460 blood. 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:02.480 And then the people 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:02.940 would come along the 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:03.839 next day and find 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:04.920 one knife in the 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:06.599 snow next to one 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:07.500 dead wolf. 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:09.200 And I know that 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:09.839 whenever you hear 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:10.920 this story you never 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:11.680 ever want to go 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.700 near one of those 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:15.460 strawberry flavoured 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:16.379 split ice creams 00:18:16.379 --> 00:18:17.159 again. 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:24.240 That's how sin works 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.980 in that it's always, 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:28.660 always subtle. 00:18:30.040 --> 00:18:31.940 Whatever type of sin 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:33.060 we're talking about 00:18:33.060 --> 00:18:35.060 and that is why we 00:18:35.060 --> 00:18:36.320 need to pay such 00:18:36.320 --> 00:18:37.340 close attention to 00:18:37.340 --> 00:18:37.960 our lifestyle. 00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:39.759 It's so easy for us 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.100 to think to ourselves 00:18:41.100 --> 00:18:42.720 you know, I can just 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.519 slow down on this 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:46.379 rather than stopping. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.339 But that never works. 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:53.259 I read of a story of 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:54.039 another part of the 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:54.879 world where somebody 00:18:54.879 --> 00:18:56.119 was out driving their 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:56.740 car and they were 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:58.779 meant to stop at a 00:18:58.779 --> 00:18:59.420 stop junction. 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:00.220 They didn't, they 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:00.859 slowed down. 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:01.980 They didn't realise the 00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:02.879 police car was behind 00:19:02.879 --> 00:19:03.019 them. 00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:03.900 They were pulled over 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:04.420 for it. 00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:05.819 They were pretty cocky 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:07.019 and as a police officer 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:08.180 came over there and 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:09.139 said you should have 00:19:09.139 --> 00:19:10.240 stopped there but you 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:11.400 just slowed down. 00:19:11.879 --> 00:19:12.720 They came back with 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:13.420 all this stuff, oh 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:14.560 come on, you know, 00:19:14.800 --> 00:19:17.640 there's no big deal 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:19.560 between slowing down 00:19:19.560 --> 00:19:20.200 and stopping. 00:19:20.360 --> 00:19:20.900 I mean, give me a 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:21.580 break, go after 00:19:21.580 --> 00:19:22.480 somebody who deserves 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.120 to be arrested. 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:24.580 There's no real 00:19:24.580 --> 00:19:25.759 difference after all 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:27.320 between slowing down 00:19:27.320 --> 00:19:28.380 as I did and coming 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:29.460 to a complete stop. 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:31.340 At which point the 00:19:31.340 --> 00:19:32.300 officer yanked them 00:19:32.300 --> 00:19:32.840 out of the car, 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:33.840 threw on the cuffs, 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:34.980 threw them up against 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:37.660 the wall and they 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:38.740 shouted back stop. 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:41.460 The officer said, 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:42.300 well do you mean 00:19:42.300 --> 00:19:43.279 stop? 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:44.000 Or shall I just 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:44.779 slow down? 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:51.720 It might seem 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:53.120 a subtle distinction 00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:55.019 but it's a vital 00:19:55.019 --> 00:19:57.080 one for us to pay 00:19:57.080 --> 00:19:58.279 attention to those 00:19:58.279 --> 00:19:59.259 areas in our 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:01.259 lifestyle and I guess 00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:02.180 for each and every 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:03.480 one of us there will 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:04.440 be something that we 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:05.300 struggle with, 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:07.840 whatever it might be. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:11.079 and to know that 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:11.839 there is a difference 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:13.419 between just doing a 00:20:13.419 --> 00:20:14.359 bit less of something 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:17.000 and actually stopping. 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:20.399 I'm going to finish 00:20:20.399 --> 00:20:21.339 as we come to pray, 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:23.299 as we reflect on what 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:24.179 that might be. 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:26.359 I'm going to finish by 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:27.259 really a quotation for 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:28.240 somebody called Josh 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.419 Billings, who really 00:20:30.419 --> 00:20:32.220 in these few words 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:34.380 highlighted the danger 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:36.019 when we allow things 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:37.579 to just roll on in 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:38.420 our own lives 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:40.839 without having the 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:41.860 courage to grasp the 00:20:41.860 --> 00:20:43.160 nettles and invite the 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:44.839 sheer holiness of God 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:46.059 to take command. 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:47.620 Here's the quote, 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:48.559 listen carefully. 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.480 It is much easier 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.259 to repent of sins 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:57.359 that we have committed 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:01.519 than to repent of those 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.740 we intend to commit. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:09.559 Let's pray. 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:18.139 Let's take a few moments 00:21:18.139 --> 00:21:18.960 of stillness. 00:21:23.639 --> 00:21:25.099 And in the stillness 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:27.299 we hold the reality 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:28.940 of our lives before God. 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:32.099 Knowing that each 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:33.419 and every one of us 00:21:33.419 --> 00:21:34.019 is broken. 00:21:34.379 --> 00:21:35.679 Nobody is perfect. 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.000 God knows our hearts 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:41.779 and he knows 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:43.379 the patterns of our lives 00:21:43.379 --> 00:21:44.700 and he knows those things 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:45.980 that we struggle with. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:48.399 And that invitation 00:21:48.399 --> 00:21:49.919 to confess our sin 00:21:49.919 --> 00:21:50.319 to God 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:51.639 is not an invitation 00:21:51.639 --> 00:21:53.159 to be condemned. 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:55.960 It's an invitation 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:57.720 to be transformed 00:21:57.720 --> 00:21:58.980 by his holiness. 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:01.200 To know that you are 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:02.480 loved unconditionally 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.519 and in the presence 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.379 of his holiness 00:22:05.379 --> 00:22:07.539 to be transformed 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:08.460 and to go on 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:09.379 being transformed. 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:10.779 and to know 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:11.799 that there is nothing 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:12.799 that is beyond 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.799 the transforming power 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:15.639 of God's love 00:22:15.639 --> 00:22:16.220 and holiness. 00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:18.440 So in this moment 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:19.279 of stillness 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:20.919 let's be courageous 00:22:20.919 --> 00:22:23.179 and bring our whole lives 00:22:23.179 --> 00:22:23.960 before God 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:25.899 including those bits 00:22:25.899 --> 00:22:26.940 that we would perhaps 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:28.359 pretend were not there. 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:33.720 Bring before God 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:34.720 our relationships 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.679 the ones that we struggle with. 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:39.179 Bring before God 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:40.620 our thought life 00:22:40.620 --> 00:22:43.799 our habits 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:46.920 the workplace 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:49.880 our homes 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:56.940 in the stillness 00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:57.620 of this moment 00:22:57.620 --> 00:22:58.400 I invite us all 00:22:58.400 --> 00:22:59.180 to join together 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:01.120 in the words 00:23:01.120 --> 00:23:01.780 of confession 00:23:01.780 --> 00:23:03.360 that are on 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:04.280 the screens. 00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:07.260 Let's pray 00:23:07.260 --> 00:23:08.040 together 00:23:08.040 --> 00:23:09.340 this simple prayer. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:11.720 Holy 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:12.860 everlasting 00:23:12.860 --> 00:23:14.300 and forgiving 00:23:14.300 --> 00:23:14.840 Lord 00:23:14.840 --> 00:23:16.580 have mercy 00:23:16.580 --> 00:23:17.320 on me 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:19.059 deliver me 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:20.139 from my sin 00:23:20.139 --> 00:23:21.980 and renew 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:23.159 a right spirit 00:23:23.159 --> 00:23:24.200 within me. 00:23:25.059 --> 00:23:25.659 Amen. 00:23:29.659 --> 00:23:31.059 May the God 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:32.039 of love 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:33.899 and power 00:23:33.899 --> 00:23:36.220 forgive us 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:38.720 and free us 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:39.859 from our sins 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:42.399 and restore us 00:23:42.399 --> 00:23:43.559 in his image 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:45.339 to the praise 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:46.319 and glory 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.439 of his holy name 00:23:48.439 --> 00:23:51.079 through Jesus Christ 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:51.919 our Lord. 00:23:51.919 --> 00:23:53.759 Amen.