We're in the midst of a series called Gorilla Letters or Gorilla Sermons.
And the idea behind it is that, you know, so much of our lives are spent in situations
where we have these nagging questions, we have these questions that we want to ask that
are on our hearts, but we're kind of afraid because they're like a gorilla in the room.
We're afraid that if we ask them, it'll stir up this gorilla and the gorilla will do terrible
things to us and the people in the room.
And so we're going to read a few letters today, letters that have come in anonymously by text
from people in our church.
And hopefully these will kind of stir up some gorilla questions that you may have in your
hearts as well.
So here's the first one.
Pastor, I have always struggled with telling my friends that Christianity is the only way.
There has to be something nicer I can say to them.
Help.
My friends tell me that the reason they are not Christian is that they see so many good
things in other religions.
And they think I'm wrong for being so narrow-minded.
How do you answer this?
Pastor, my struggle with our faith is the fact that Jesus had to die on the cross for our
problems.
Why couldn't God just have forgiven us without sacrificing his son?
Is what's wrong with us really that bad?
People are pardoned all the time in my country.
Tobin, my struggle has always been with knowing whether or not I am really a Christian.
I feel like sometimes my heart and actions have not really changed from that much from before
I had invited Jesus into my life.
How can I be sure that I'm a Christian and that I can live my life in peace?
Pastor Tobin, I know that this is going to sound bad, but one of my struggles with this
idea of Jesus being the only way to God is because of my grandmother.
My grandmother was an amazing person.
She was so loving, caring, giving, and compassionate.
And yet she would say that she was unsure if there was a God.
When she died, I just found it hard to believe that God would banish someone like her who lived
a life that would put most Christians, including myself, to shame.
How could God do this?
The scripture passages today come from the book of Exodus and the gospel of John.
In Exodus we read,
Now Moses was pastoring the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.
And he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked.
The Lord said,
I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,
and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters.
For I am aware of their sufferings.
So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land,
to a land flowing with milk and honey.
Then Moses said to God,
Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them,
The God of your fathers has sent me to you.
Now they may say to me,
What is his name?
What shall I say to them?
God said to Moses,
I am who I am.
And he said,
Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,
I am has sent me to you.
Then in the Gospel of John we read,
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Believe in God.
Believe also in me.
In my father's house are many dwellings.
If it were not so, I would have told you.
For I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to myself.
That where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way I am going.
Thomas said to him,
Lord, we do not know where you are going.
How do we know the way?
Jesus said to him,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father but through me.
If you had known me,
you would have known my Father also.
From now on you know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.
Jesus said to him,
Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know me, Philip?
He who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, show us the Father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative,
but the Father abiding in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
This is the reading of God's word.
You heard the questions.
I don't know if you've ever gotten those questions before in your life.
I get them quite frequently as a pastor.
I think it's very interesting sometimes being a pastor,
especially when it comes to conversations
and people asking questions.
I go into the parties during the holidays
and I start talking to people
and it's almost the minute I walk into the room.
They're talking about football or sports or hunting
or something going on in Hong Kong
or politics or academics.
And all of a sudden, the conversation stops.
And they start talking about God.
I feel like maybe it's because they think just pastors,
that's all we can talk about is God, right?
Because you're a pastor,
well, you got to stop talking about sports.
Let's talk about God.
And it's interesting in that
because I can't talk about other things besides God.
I love sports.
I love medicine.
I love hunting.
I love, there's a lot of things I love.
I love Diet Coke and I love my wife
and all those things, you know,
I could talk about over and over and over again.
But some reason when I come in,
often the questions just go flat
and people ask questions about God.
And what I've seen as I've talked to people,
as I'd be careful of the speakers,
I'm going to shake his head,
is that everybody, well, let's put it this way.
Most people believe in God.
I mean, they believe in some kind of God.
I mean, God is constructed in their mind.
They have an idea of what God looks like for them.
But everybody believes in heaven.
I mean, everybody I talk to, they believe in heaven.
And it's amazing the conversations we have
when we start talking about sports,
especially when people are drunk.
You know, you go to the parties,
no, not a watermark party,
but other parties.
We're meeting our friends, right?
So not an office party.
We don't drink in the office.
But when people are just kind of,
they've had a couple beers
and they're kind of relaxed
and they're talking about heaven.
And they say things like,
well, the heaven's going to be a good place.
It's going to be a great place.
And all good people are going to be there.
Because of course,
because God is good and heaven is good.
And heaven's full of good people, right?
Good people go to heaven.
And so I just listen and talk.
And every once in a while,
I'll say something like,
well, what does it mean to be good?
And they're like,
well, you know.
You just know.
You know when you're good.
You're good.
Now I'm like,
but what does that really look like
to be good?
Oh, you just know.
You know when you're good
because everybody says you're good.
It's easy.
And then if the conversation is really going on
and people aren't too drunk,
I might ask the question like,
how good do you have to be?
How good do you have to be to get in heaven?
I had this conversation one time
with my students in China.
It was really good.
And I was not intentionally.
They came in.
We're talking about different things.
And after about six months,
I knew I was a follower of Christ.
And so we're talking about heaven.
And all of a sudden,
the student asked us,
well, who's going to be in heaven?
And the other guy goes,
well, good people are going to be in heaven.
And so the other person goes,
well, is Chairman Mao going to be in heaven?
Now, I didn't want to touch that
with like a 10-foot pole, right?
Because I wanted to keep teaching
and didn't want to get kicked out of where I was.
And I'm like, well, what do you guys think?
And people are talking and da-da-da-da.
And they go, well, yeah, I don't know.
He's done really a lot of bad things.
And they had this big discussion.
And finally, the guy goes,
he's going to be in heaven.
And I said, so why?
He goes, well, he's 51% good.
I mean, he did a lot of bad things,
but he's 51% good.
Which to me then asks a lot of other questions like,
how do I know when I'm 51%?
And do I get to 90% and then just goof off
until I get down to 60%
and then I start building my way back up?
But I didn't ask those questions
because I didn't want to freak them out.
But today, I want to look at a passage.
And we are, I appreciate your guys' time.
Sorry that we started late.
Next week, you know that we're going to be right here.
But we want to look at a passage that talks about this.
I think it is probably the,
one of the most conflicting passages in Scripture.
Now, I'm wondering if I should move down.
It's one of the most conflicting passages in Scripture.
This passage, Jesus says some incredibly intense things.
It's in your bulletin.
The story takes place in John chapter 13.
They've just had the Last Supper
and Judas has gone to betray Christ,
to bring him up before the authorities.
So in about a day, he's going to be crucified.
And so as Judas leaves,
Jesus talks to the rest of his disciples
and he tells them about him leaving
and what it's going to look like.
He's going to the Father
and he's going to do all these things.
And they start to panic
because they thought that they were going to come to Jerusalem
to take charge, to be in control.
But all of a sudden, they hear that their leader
is going to leave them.
And they wonder, well, what are we going to do?
And they ask them these series of four questions.
They're very intense.
It begins in verse 5.
It's in your bulletin.
You can look at it.
Thomas basically says,
where are you going?
How will we know how to get to where you're going?
And Greek, he actually says,
how can we know the way to which you are going?
We don't know.
I thought about that question a lot
because I think that's a question that we ask today.
And people ask that in the parties.
Where are we going?
And how do we know which way we're going?
And I think if we look back in Scripture,
that question began in the Garden of Eden
because in the Garden of Eden,
we knew that Adam and Eve walked with God.
They had communion with God.
They saw truth flowing from God.
They saw truth as who God really is.
They knew the way because they were with him
and they had life.
We're told they have spiritual life.
But then in the Garden, something happened.
They made a choice.
They chose not to follow God.
They chose to do their own good.
They chose to do the thing
that seemed right in their own eyes.
They did the thing that when God wasn't looking,
that God isn't around
so I can just do whatever I want.
And when they did this, everything fell apart.
So their communion with God was broken.
They were alienated from God.
Instead of having a relationship with God,
they're alienated.
I don't think we understand
how intense that would have been.
Not only are they alienated with God,
but they're alienated with each other.
They start to fight and bicker and blame.
They're alienated with themselves.
They're alienated with creation.
They no longer see the truth.
The truth has been clouded in shadows
and mystery and deception,
much like our world today.
And so they walk in darkness
and they don't know the life
because it's told to them
that the day you eat it, you will die.
And they begin to die spiritually.
And I think that from that time on,
every one of us, every man,
every person in the human race
has asked the question,
how do I get back to the garden?
How do I find God?
How do I find purpose?
How do I find truth?
How do I find meaning?
And in John chapter 14,
Jesus makes this statement
that is the most controversial statement
he's ever made.
I mean, if he had just kept his mouth shut
on this one statement,
he would have been loved by everybody
throughout the history of the world.
But he doesn't
because he wants people to know who he is.
He wants to know where they're going,
where they're going from
and where they're going to.
And so in that,
after Thomas asked that question,
well, how do we know?
Jesus says,
I am the way.
I am the truth.
I am the life.
And in the middle of those words,
that incredibly intense
and controversial statement
he makes,
it changes everything.
everything.
It changes all of history.
It changes all of religion.
It changes all of faith.
When he says that,
his disciples are shocked.
He says some really intense things.
The first thing he says is,
I am.
Then the minute they heard that,
they would have said,
he's saying that he's God.
And if Jesus is God,
then it makes Christianity
different than any other religion ever.
The minute they heard I am,
they would have thought of Egypt,
bondage,
the burning bush,
Moses.
They would have gone,
he's God.
You're right,
but he's saying,
amen.
John 8,
when he,
later later,
you know,
before this,
he's in there
and he's teaching.
He just saves this woman
from adultery
and he says,
you're free.
I don't,
I no longer,
I no longer count your sins against you.
Go and sin no more.
And then he says this word,
he says,
I am the light of the world.
If you follow me,
you will never walk
in darkness.
Ever.
And the scripture says
that when the Pharisees heard that,
they knew exactly
what he was saying
and they said,
stop.
You cannot say that
because you're testifying
to yourself
and you're not God.
And he goes,
even if I stop,
it's still true.
I am who I am
because I know
where I came from
and I know
where I'm going.
And Jesus says
to us clearly
throughout history
and throughout time
and throughout his word
that he is,
I am,
that he is God.
And if he's God,
then it changes everything.
Then Christianity
isn't like
all the other religions.
But Christianity
isn't like
all the other faiths
because Jesus
is
God.
He's come
to bring us
back
to the Father.
The question
you have to ask yourself
today
in these few moments
is who do you say
Jesus is?
Is he just a good guy?
Is he a moral teacher?
Is he kind of cool?
The people you walk
throughout the rest
of this week with
will have different thoughts
and different ideas
of who Jesus is.
But Jesus doesn't want us
to miss the very fact
that he says,
I am God.
He doesn't want us
to say he's a good teacher.
He doesn't want us
to say he's cool.
He doesn't want us
to say he's moral
and right
and he's pointing us
to the right way.
He wants to say
he is the way.
The question is
who do we say he is?
He says,
I am the way.
The minute he said that
they would have
just thought of this pathway
from one place
to the next.
The words are very specific.
He's the way
from separation
and alienation
from God.
He's the way
from our sin.
He's the way
from darkness.
He's the way
from bondage.
He's the way
from guilt.
He's the way
from shame.
He is the way.
There's no other way.
And if he's God
and he is the way,
it makes Christianity
so much different
than everything else.
it makes it totally
different.
Because he says
he doesn't need
anything else.
You just need
to follow me
and I'm going
to take you there.
I don't know
if you talk to people
about the way
that they are traveling
but I do a lot.
Probably the worst
conversation I ever had
was in 1997
after Christine
and I got married.
We went back
to Montana
to visit my family
and we saw
two different groups
of people
in two different ways.
We saw Mildred
Mucho Montana
who's my grandmother
the first person
to come to faith
in the Miller clan
that I know of.
And she was
about 80 years old.
And we didn't know
if we would ever
see her again
and so we talked
to her about faith
and she loved the Lord.
She loved God.
She believed in Christ.
Her life was totally
dedicated to Him
and the only thing
she says
I can't wait
until God takes me
because I want
to go back to heaven.
And we're like
well you're pretty strong.
You're going to be around
for a little while longer.
And she goes
no I want to go.
I want to go.
I want to be with God.
He's it.
And then we left
Mildred
Montana
Mucho Miller
and went to my
other relatives
and we started
talking to them
because we didn't
realize and didn't
know if we'd ever
see them again.
And we started
sharing about
Jesus as God
and that He is the way
and they laughed
at me.
And they said
you can't believe that.
Come on.
Are you telling me
that it's only
through Jesus'
blood and sacrifice?
Are you telling me
that somebody
had to die for me?
Are you telling me
that I'm that bad
that I needed
somebody to die
for me?
No.
I'm a little bad
but I'm not that bad.
But see if Jesus
is God
and that He is
the way
it changes
everything
doesn't it?
We left there
and Christina
looked at me
and she said
well what
what do we do
now?
And I said
we just
we just pray
for them.
And that I hope
that sometime
before they
depart here
they understand
who Jesus is.
So He says
I am God
I am
I am the way
I am the path
through my blood
through my sacrifice
only through me
it's not me
plus something else
it's just me
that's how you get
back to the garden
that's how you get
back to the paradise
because history
begins in a garden
it's going to end
in a garden
we're all
whether you know it
or not
we're all trying
to get back
to the garden.
We're trying
to get back
to love
trying to get back
to truth
trying to get back
to peace
trying to get back
to God.
So I
am the way
I am the truth
the minute He shared
that every Jew's ears
would have perked up
because the philosophers
in that time
they didn't believe
in truth.
The philosophers
in Jesus' time
said there was no such
thing as absolute truth
but when Jesus said
that the Jewish people
who heard Him
would have understood
immediately
what He said
they would have said
He's saying
that He's God
because in that day
truth
equaled God
and when He said
I am the truth
He's saying
I am God
and so when
everybody heard that
they would have thought
He's God
we don't need
to ask the question
anymore
what God is like
we just need
to look at Jesus
because if He
and the Father
are one
then I just need
to look at Him
and if I look at Him
long enough
and I fall in love
with Him
I'm going to know
what God is like
I'm going to know
He's gentle
that He's kind
that He's personal
that He loves us
He wants a relationship
for us
He's full of compassion
He's just
He's merciful
all I need to do
to find the truth
all I need to do
to understand the truth
is to look at Jesus
and if I look at Jesus
we're told that
all of God's truth
flows from Him
and we know God
the question for us today
would be
what truth
are you following
because all of us
in here
are following
some kind of truth
some of us
might say
my truth
is my job
my academics
some of us
might say
my truth
is my bank account
my God
truth
God
same
some of us
might say
my truth
is my education
some of us
might say
my truth
is my relationships
and how I'm going
down this path
all of us
are following
some truth
the question is
what is the truth
that you're following
today
the next question
I want to ask you
is
what do you do
when that truth
fails you
what do you do
when your relationship
breaks up
what do you do
when you get fired
unexpectedly
what do you do
when you try your best
and do everything
you can
to get into
that perfect school
or program
or job
and you don't
and you've done
everything
that was required
of you
and you don't
get in
what do you do
when your
truth fails you
what do you do
we had a friend
that several
of the staff
members
were trying
to befriend
these last
two years
and we've met
him in different
things
and two weeks
ago
his truth
failed him
and the next
day
we got this
email
note
that said
I'm so sorry
and he took
his life
the truth
that he was
holding on to
the truth
the God
the thing
that was going
to bring him
satisfaction
and ultimate
reality
bring him
back to the
father
failed him
and Jesus
is saying
I am that
truth
and I will
never fail
you
I came
from heaven
I put on
an earth
suit
I lived
as a man
I suffered
I lived a
perfectly
sinless life
I sacrificed
on the cross
for you
and you
especially me
I really need it
no matter where
you're at
when he says
I am the truth
what he's saying
is I am with you
and I'll comfort
you
and I'll take
care of you
and you can
trust me
because I want
to take you
back to the
garden
I want
to take you
all the way
home
what is the
truth you're
clinging to
today
is it
relationship
in Jesus
Christ
is he
your only
truth
is he
your God
that you
hold on
to
I think it's
easy for me
sometimes to
forget that
truth
and add
something
to my
truth
maybe that's
just me
so he says
I am the
way
I am
the way
the truth
and the
life
finally he
says I
am the
life
I am
this
spiritual
life
I am
the
physical
life
I am
what
you were
meant
to
have
if you
hadn't
made
those
poor
choices
from the
very
beginning
I am
here
I am
here to
take you
down that
path
I am
here to
give you
rich
and deep
and fulfilling
life
not just in
heaven but
here on
earth
the question
is do we
want that
life
or are we
looking for
another type
of life
you
know if
Jesus is
God
it
changes
everything
he
doesn't
want you
to worship
him as a
good teacher
or a
good man
he doesn't
want you to
worship him
half heartedly
he doesn't
want you just
to give part
of your
life to
him
because if
he is
God
he's
worthy
of
everything
Jesus
said I
am
the way
the truth
and the
life
and the
question is
what do we
do with that
today
you know as
I've studied
and looked
and talked
to friends
who have
different
struggles
and who
I've had
struggles
and gone
on journeys
with I
really believe
that Christianity
is the most
just and
fair faith
and religion
in a world
that is
terribly unjust
and terribly
unfair
let me think
about it for a
second
in Christianity
everybody's
welcome
everybody's
welcome
you know
a while
back
we had a
heart attack
and we
decided as a
family you know
maybe our
kids are
running around
we don't
have a place
for them to
run
we don't
have a place
for them
to work
out
we don't
have a place
for them
to do
anything
we need
to get
in the
club
well I
didn't know
what it
meant to
get into
a club
and so we
started looking
at all
these clubs
and we
realized
man
there's
a lot
of
requirements
to get
into
clubs
I mean
there's
a lot
of
requirements
and there's
a lot
of
money
it's
kind of
like
some
of
the
schools
we're
trying
to get
into
right
and you're
getting
your kids
into
some of
you are
signing up
before your
kids are
even born
I mean
there's
a lot
of
requirements
to get
into
those
schools
and clubs
and so
finally
he said
well there
has to
be a
back
door
and so
we did
some
research
where our
friends
were going
and said
okay
this is what
we're going
to do
because we
need it
we need
to exercise
I justified
it in my
mind
we're going
to exercise
it's a great
place to meet
new people
who aren't
in church
our kids
can run
crazy
we can do
all these
things
and so
we went
to the
cricket club
and I'm
going to
go to
the cricket
club
and I'm
going to
get a
sports
membership
and so
I started
talking to
my friends
who were
cricketers
there and
I kind
of offended
them
because I
said well
how hard
can cricket
be
I mean
just
I've played
baseball
for 20
years
I have
great
eye
hand
coordination
and they
were really
offended
so they
realized
the cricket
team
didn't need
anybody
but what
needed
people
was the
lawn
ball
team
so I'm
just
sacrificing
for my
family
because I'm
going to be
out there
in that
big old
white floppy
hat
with the
white
clothes
on
and I
go okay
so I
spent two
days
learning
lawn
ball
two
days
I do
research
on the
internet
I do
everything
I can
do
and so
we go
on our
date night
Thursday
night
we go
to try
outs
we come
in
we walk
into the
tryouts
and I'm
ready
I've done
everything
that's
required
of me
I'm
ready to
go
I'm
ready to
do it
and the
guy
looked at
me
and he
goes
we don't
need you
because we
have enough
members who
are going
to play
lawn ball
usually members
don't like
to play
lawn ball
because it's
not manly
playing
lawn ball
but they
had enough
unmanly
men
I guess
I don't
know
that semester
who wanted
to play
lawn ball
so I
did all
the
paperwork
I'd
done
everything
but when
I got
to the
club
I wasn't
allowed
in
you know
Jesus
Christ
in
Christianity
says that
everyone
is welcome
everyone
the second
thing I've
learned about
Christianity
is everyone
gets in
the same
way
I mean
there's not
like a
back door
there's not
like you
know a
secret way
into the
misty
mountain
you know
away from
the dragons
and all
those things
I just
watched
the
hobbit
so I'm
trying to
be
culturally
relevant
here
right
but there's
not a
secret
back way
everybody
gets in
the same
way
everybody
gets in
the same
way
and the
third thing
that's amazing
is and this
is so it's
so it's not
so exclusive
as people
tell you but I
think it's the
most inclusive
because everybody's
welcome
everybody gets
in the same
way and
everybody the
same requirement
is done of
everybody I
mean everybody
has to fulfill
the same
requirement to
get into the
club and the
requirement is
this for God
so loved the
world that he
gave his only
begotten son that
whoever believes in
him whoever
trusts him not
whoever does not
whoever doesn't
do not whoever
performs not
whoever's really
really good
you know I
always had trouble
when people said
good people went
to heaven because
I just like
what about me
I'm not good
I mean I know
that if only good
people go to
heaven does that
mean what about
the dumb and ugly
and stupid and
mean people
what happens to
the rest of us
Jesus came to
put forgiven
people in
heaven
not good
people
if only good
people get to
heaven then all
of us in here are
in big trouble
but he came to
bring forgiven
people there
so it's open to
everyone
the requirements
are the same
the thing that
you have to do
is the same
and the thing
is this
whoever believes
in me
whoever puts
their faith
and trust
in me
will have
eternal life
that's the
gospel message
it's not about
doing
it's not about
not doing
it's not about
being
but it's about
faith
in Jesus
who says
I am
he's God
he's the way
to take us
back
he's the truth
he's the life
that's what
Christianity is
I know I've
flown through
this message
but I hope
you hear my
heart here
when Jesus
says these
words
he changes
everything
human history
is changed
when he says
these things
and when he
does it on
the cross
so Christianity
is not just
another faith
Christianity
is just not
just another way
to God
but if Jesus
is God
then Christianity
is the only
way
to God
and if
Christianity
is the only
way
to God
the question
is what do we
do with that
message
what do we do
with that
message
I struggle
with that
sometimes
it is amazing
God's grace
and goodness
as he continues
to teach us
and grow us
in his faith
let's say
this chair
is Jesus
it's Christianity
some of us
are like this
and we say
I think
Jesus is pretty
cool
I think
he's pretty
radical
he's really
into social
justice
and I really
like those
things
I admire
him a lot
and the question
I have
for you
is are you
putting faith
and trust
in him
just by
standing here
and looking
at the
chair
some of us
sit on
it kind
of like
this
I like
Christianity
Jesus is
pretty cool
but let me
tell you
about myself
let me tell you
about the
things I did
yesterday
let me tell you
about the
good things
I did
let me tell you
what I'm doing
in my business
how I'm helping
people
let me tell you
about all
these things
I've done
let me tell you
about my
classroom
how I'm
nice to
everybody
let me tell you
about my
teachers
my family
how good
I am
to my
wife
let me tell you
about that
am I
am I trusting
in Jesus
I mean if a chair
gets knocked out
does it affect me
this is a class
is it
this is a sermon
you can say yes
or no
does it affect me
no
no it doesn't
just a little
but it doesn't
because my feet
are here
I'm holding on
to something else
I'm depending
on something else
besides Christ
and by church
but the passage
today says
that Jesus
is God
he is the way
he's the truth
and the life
and as Christians
we come to
Christianity
like this
we put all
of our weight
on Christians
Christianity
we put all
of our
trust
in Christ
we put all
of who we are
in the gospel
and what it means
in our life
we say
that if
Christianity
is disproved
if all of a sudden
they find
the body
of Christ
or something
like that
happens
my life
is going to
be in terrible
terrible trouble
because I don't
have a plan
to
I don't
have a plan
B
because as a
follower of God
I've chosen
to rely
in Jesus
in the message
of the gospel
so the question
for us today
is
which person
are we
don't say
I'm sitting
like this
well I became
a Christian
I prayed
the prayer
I got
baptized
but you know
there's other
things I need
to keep doing
in my life
just to make
sure I got
all my bases
covered
and the Bible
says that
when those
type of people
get to heaven
they're
and I say
this and I
want to cry
he says
when we get
to heaven
if you're
like that
he's going
to say
depart from
me
for I
never do
you
you just
had this
idea of
what it
was like
to follow
me
but you
didn't
give your
life
to me
you gave
your life
to your
work
or to
your
family
or to
your
finances
or
whatever
those
are good
things
but they're
not
truth
only
Jesus
is
true
to
follow
Christ
means
to put
all of
our
faith
and
trust
in
God
in
his
word
who
he
is
all
out
I
don't
know
if
you're
in
here
and
you've
never
done
that
maybe
you're
thinking
well
that's
something
I've
never
heard
before
saw
illustrated
that
way
I
wonder
how
I
really
am
with
because
this
is
the
question
I
want
you
to
ask
this
week
are
we
living
like
this
Jesus
pretty
cool
are
we
living
like
this
is
pretty
cool
but
I
doing
all
these
things
I
got
my
you know
beds
covered
just in
case
something
happens
and
they
find
something
are
we
living
like
this
Jesus
is
God
and
if
he's
God
he's
worthy
of
all
of
me
everything
does that
make sense
so when
Jesus
says
I
am
the
way
and the
truth
and the
life
he
changes
everything
he
upsets
half the
world
he
freaks
you
out
he
freaks
me
out
he
freaks
my
friends
out
the
question
is
as I
examine
all
these
faiths
is it
true
and if
it's
true
then I
need to
give
all of
myself
to it
if
it's
not
true
if
you're
here
and you
think
well
I'm
not
sure
please
keep
studying
please
keep
asking
questions
please
keep
going
to
community
groups
please
keep
doing
all
these
things
because
we
want
you
to
be
sure
we
want
you
to
understand
who
Jesus
is
why
he
came
why
he
came
to
bring
us
back
why
we
needed
somebody
to
die
for
us
how
sinful
and bad
we
are
but
if
you're
sure
my
prayer
is that
before
you
leave
here
before
you
go to
bed
tonight
or
this
week
that
you
would
confess
that
to
God
repent
of
the
idols
and
the
sin
and
the
selfishness
and
the
control
that
you
have
in
your
own
life
and
invite
Christ
to
come
in
Father
I
thank
you
for
this
day
we
thank
you
for
your
goodness
and
for
your
mercy
in
our
life
we
just
thank
you
that
you
are
God
we
thank
you
that
you
loved
us
so
much
that
you
sent
your
son
Jesus
to
die
for
us
no
other
faith
no
other
religion
would
ever
say
that
their
founder
died
for
people
that
would
be
stupid
no
other
faith
would
say
that
their
Lord
I
pray
for
those
of
us
who
are
just
looking
at
the
chair
today
I
pray
that
they
would
hear
this
message
they
would
ask
their
friends
they
would
explore
they
would
examine
but
more
importantly
Lord
I
pray
that
you
would
open
their
heart
you
would
open
their
eyes
and
their
ears
and
they
would
see
Jesus
as
he
truly
is
they
would
understand
the
gospel
and
their
incredible
need
for
a
confess
my
sins
and
my
selfishness
and
I
surrender
my
life
to
you
just
help
me
to
live
in
a
way
that's
pleasing
to
you
Father
I
pray
for
those
of
us
who
are
sitting
here
and
at
one
time
we
made
a
commitment
into
our
faith
and
we
prayed
the
prayer
we
got
dedicated
we
got
baptized
whatever
it
meant
like
in
our
journey
to
get
to
this
place
today
but
if
we're
honest
we
look
at
our
life
we
realize
that
we
only
have
half
of
our
rear
end
sitting
on
the
gospel
and
of
you
and
of
Christianity
and
the rest
of it
is
firmly
planted
in
our
deeds
and
in
our
works
and
in
our
values
and
in
the
things
we
haven't
done
and
as
we
look
at
people
around
us
we
say
we
are
really
not
that
bad
we
are
only
48%
bad
but
we're
52%
good
we
pray
for
those
of
us
like
that
in
here
that
we
would
just
understand
anew
and
fresh
that
you've
come
to
save
us
and
to
walk
with
you
and
to
believe
in
you
and
to
have
faith
in
you
is
to
sit
fully
and
to
give
all
of
ourselves
to
you
because
if
you
were
God
you
are
worthy
of
all
of
ourselves
Father
I
pray
for
those
of
us
who
are
walking
with
you
Father
we
know
and
you
know
because
you
had
to
send
your
son
because
we're
not
good
because
we
realize
that
if
only
good
people
got
into
heaven
good
Christians
good
Buddhists
good
atheists
good
Aussies
then
Jesus
is
a
liar
but
good
people
don't
get
there
forgiven
people
get
there
and
so
Lord
we
come
before
you
and
we
worship
you
and
we
just
thank
you
that
you
thought
of
us
and
you
desire
to
bring
us
back
to
the
garden
back
to
truth
and
Lord
I
pray
for
our
church
thank
you
that
you
have
given
us
a
place
to
meet
thank
you
that
you
bring
tithe
in
that
we
can
continue
to
do
outreaches
thank
you
that
you
bring
staff
and
ways
Lord
without
the
family
working
together
we
would
be
no
hope
we
would
be
hopeless
and
so
we
worship
you
and
your
goodness
and
these
gifts
that
you
give
us
help
us
not
to
take
them
for
granted
help
us
not
to
take
you
for
granted
help
us
not
to
be
walking
as
a
church
with
two
feet
on
the
ground
and
not
fully
rested
in
your
gospel
and
your
truth
and
we
they
don't
know
your
son
but
we
have
that
message
that
is
the
truth
and
is
the
way
and
is
the
life
and
help
us
to
as
a
family
as
a
community
go
out
into
these
areas
at
work
and
play
and
wherever
you
send
us
today
and
this
week
and
to
speak
confidently
of
how
beautiful
and
wonderful
your
son
Jesus
is
and
how
he
is
God
and
he
changes
everything
help
us
to
realize
as
we
walk
out
here
that
our
faith
is
not
just
one
of
many
faiths
but
it
is
the
faith
convict
our
hearts
of what
we
do
with
that
today
help
us
to
share
it
with
friends
and
neighbors
and
family
wherever
you
send
us
in
this
journey
so
Lord
we
come
before
you
and
we
are
just
in
awe
of
you
help
us
always
to
be
in
awe
of
you
in
Jesus
Christ
we
are
two
years
old
on
this
journey
as
a
church
and
one
of
the
things
we
tell
people
all
the
time
is
we
believe
that
community
is
essential
in
the
growth
of
walking
with
the
Lord
and
encouraging
each
other
and
bringing
each
other
along
and
so
we
have
community
groups
everywhere
in
Hong
Kong
Island
we
have
16
right
now
and
we
encourage
you
we
don't
ask
you
to
do
a
lot
we
just
ask
you
to
get
into
community
group
when
you
leave
here
because
that's
where
we
think
life
on
life
happens
and
one
of
our
desires
is
we
think
of
as
our
distinct
as
the
gospel
and
mission
and
community
that's
our
three
points
the
gospel
community
mission
that's
those are
our main
ideas
as a
church
was to
have
these
community
groups
gather
together
and
look
out
around
where
they
live
and
see
where
things
are
broken
and
as
they
see
things
that
are
broken
and
need
to
be
fixed
as
a
body
as
a
community
group
and
as
a
church
to
do
that
together
and
it's
been
encouraging
to
see
what
people
have
been
doing
as
outreaches
and
other
things
and
acts
of
service
so
I
wanted
to
ask
Mike
to
come
up
Mike
come
on
up
buddy
Mike
you
see
the
banner
back
there
and
share
what
God
has
put
on
their
heart
good
morning
everybody
in
your
bulletin
you
have
this
leaflet
from
us
the
Kennedy
Town
community
group
we're
acting
on
behalf
of
you
we're
all
part
of
the
same
community
here
and
obviously
we're
sharing
this
with
you
in
the
sense
that
we're
unified
we
want
to
grow
together
we
want
to
share
our
journey
with
our
church
asked
us
to
be
more
missional
in
our
approach
and
in
our
group
we
prayed
and
our
intentionality
centered
on
a
group
called
the
St.
Barnabas
which
is
a
shelter
for
the
poor
and
elderly
in
Hong
Kong
and
so
we
had
to
leave
our
comfort
zones
and
go
out
and
attempt
to
understand
what
missionality
was
and
to
give
a
living
worship
and
what
that
meant
in
our
lives
and
like
in
about
November
last
year
we
enacted
it
and
we
felt
very
comfortable
with
the
fellowship
that
we
found
we
loved
this
community
they
were
so
warm
they
were
so
courageous
they
opened
their
hearts
to
us
and
as
little
as
we
gave
them
we
got
back
about
100%
more
and
these
people
are
some
of
the
most
vulnerable
in
Hong Kong
they
are
fragile
they
are
obviously
poor
and
I
think
to
use
a
bit
of
Tobinism
they
are
the
disremembered
part
of
our
community
they
have
forgotten
they are
unseen
and
St.
Barnabas
gives
them
food
shelter
comfort
fellowship
but
most
importantly
what
St.
Barnabas
gives
them
is
hope
that
there is
going to
be a
better
tomorrow
and
a
better
life
and
when
these
people
pray
and
they
ask
for
their
daily
bread
they
mean
it
literally
they
need
their
daily
bread
and
they
need
protection
every
single
day
they
vulnerable
so
if
it
wasn't
for
St.
Barnabas
then
they
wouldn't
get
that
and
a lot
of
communities
around
Hong Kong
want to
just
close
down
in
Wain Chai
so
there's
more
and
more
people
that
grow
that
need
people
and
need
the
support
and
without
St.
Barnabas
they
wouldn't
get
it
so
if
St.
Barnabas
is
supporting
them
then
the
least
we
can
do
as a
community
is
to
support
St.
Barnabas
and
all we
can
do
is
pray
so
we
can
say
thank
God
for
St.
Barnabas
and
we
can
also
give
them
things
we
can
give
them
our
time
they
need
servers
as I
say
this
community
is
growing
they've
got
about
500
people
that
need
support
right
now
they
can
only
feed
a
couple
of
hundred
and
as
I
said
there's
more
and more
people
they
need
people
to
give
fellowship
they
do
Bible
study
they
need
people
to
help
them
reach
out
to
communities
they
need
people
to
go
and
be
trained
as
outreach
counselors
and
more
importantly
they
need
money
to
train
people
it
takes
money
to
feed
people
it
takes
money
they
don't
have
enough
facilities
they don't
have
enough
chairs
so
a
place
like
this
if you
think
about
it's
quite
ridiculous
on a
Sunday
because
there's
just
not
enough
places
at
the
table
for
them
to
share
bread
and
so
it's
in
our
hearts
to
help
them
out
in
the
short
term
we're
asking
this
church
community
to
fund
about
16,000
Hong Kong
dollars
part
of
St.
Barnabas'
purpose
is to
regenerate
to
give
these
people
some
hope
that
people
love
them
and
care
for
them
and
give
them
some
pride
and
dignity
and
for
Chinese
need
to
be
fed
and
that
$16,000
goes
to
feed
them
buys
them
their
food
gives
them
their
gifts
their
daily
necessities
toilet
brushes
deodorants
just
things to
keep
them
with
human
dignity
they
need
to
pay
their
staff
they
are
trying
to
change
their
building
they've
got
an
upstairs
area
they've
got
some
land
they
want
to
convert
into
agriculture
where
they
can
plant
herbs
and
spices
and
get
these
guys
just
for
the
short
term
we're
asking
for
you
to
help
us
now
we've
got
till
the
31st
of
January
to
collect
the
money
in
the
bulletin
explains
how
to
do
it
what
to
do
and
when
to
do
it
and
we
have
a
counter
at
the
back
or
table
which
has
a
community
chest
type
money
meter
so you
can
see
every
week
that
you
come
and
how
much
money
we're
collecting
so
as
staff
this
is
amazing
for
us
because
we
know
there's
other
community
groups
doing
that
also
so
that's
why
we
want
you
in
a
community
group
to
serve
and
that's
why
we
believe
God
has
us
as a
church
here
is to
look
out
and
not
just
deal
with
the
soul
which
is
most
important
but
to
deal
with
food
and
hunger
and
things
that
people
need
in
our
community
so
as
you
think
about
that
they're
selling
muffins
and I
think
in the
back
and
any
donation
actually
we'll
go
through
the
church
and
the
church
will
fund
that
and
our
prayer
is
that
every
community
group
will
adopt
something
like
that
where
we're
at
also
we have
these
little
red
packets
I
think
they're
$20
for
a pack
of
10
or
20
of
them
inside
is
a
gospel
presentation
I
use
these
all
the
time
with
our
doormans
and
people
it's
in
English
and
in
Chinese
and
it's
a
great
tool
so
they're
on
sale
back
there
again
we're
making
no
money
out
of
any
of
these
things
actually
everything
that
we
do
as
a
church
comes
through
your
donations
as
you
tithe
and
give
back
to
the
Lord
we
feel
like
that's
what
we
do
as
a
church
as
we
understand
what
Christ
has
done
we
give
back
so
we
can
reach
out
for
others
to
hear
that
also
so
with
that
I
know
the
message
today
maybe
for
some
of
you
it's
the
first
time
you've
heard
it
maybe
for
some
of
you
you've
heard
it
a
billion
times
and
you
haven't
worked
out
on
it
or
you
haven't
made
a
decision
our
prayer
is
that
you
would
not
leave
here
that
you
would
allow
this
week
to
finish
without
thinking
about
that
who
is
Jesus
why
did
he
come
and
what
is
my
response
to
that
and
we
would
say
that
response
to
that
is
to
worship
him
and
to
give
your
life
to
him
let
me
pray
for
us
father
we
just
thank
you
for
this
day
we
thank
you
for
this
venue
I
just
I'm
laughing
at
what
other
church
venue
can
kids
play
dodgeball
and
we
have
50
kids
back
there
playing
dodgeball
and
we
just
are
thankful
that
you
have
given
us
this
place
and
we
look
forward
to
the
next
place
that
you
give
us
as
we
continue
to
grow
we
pray
for
the
outreaches
we
pray
for
the
people
in
our
world
that
don't
know
you
father
most
importantly
we
just
worship
you
and
thank
you
for
your
son
help
us
to
understand
him
to
fall
more
in
love
with
him
to
understand
the
gospel
message
and
how
it
is
lived
out
every
moment
of
our
life
not
just
to
do
salvation
but
every
moment
we
walk
with
that
strength
and
power
in
our
lives
Lord
we
love
you
we
pray
all
these
things
in
your
son
Jesus
name
amen
next
Sunday
we're
right
here
so
we're
going
to
start
a
little
earlier
God
bless
you
have
a
great
week