WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.560 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:10.620 Join us. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:13.660 How is everyone this morning? 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:14.060 Good morning. 00:00:17.080 --> 00:00:20.059 It's really exciting to see all the seniors here. 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:22.420 Thank you for waking up early and coming to church. 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:24.600 It's good to have you. 00:00:25.060 --> 00:00:26.740 I've seen some parents here as well. 00:00:27.479 --> 00:00:30.799 Please don't go to Target or find a way to fill an hour after this. 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:32.100 We'd love for you to stay. 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:34.320 We have Connect Communities that meet. 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:40.060 They are, you can ask anybody about them and they'll lead you in the right direction. 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:46.820 And actually some of them will be discussing this sermon, for better or for worse, maybe how terrible it is. 00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:53.239 But it's a good time to build community and meet some of the people here who have been influencing your students' lives. 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:58.719 I would ask you all to open your Bibles, please, to 1 Peter chapter 3. 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:02.500 And really do this, because this morning I'm going to kind of be all over the place. 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:05.900 And I didn't give Blake a copy of my manuscript. 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:09.500 So don't blame Blake if we're not exactly where we're supposed to be all the time. 00:01:10.320 --> 00:01:12.879 In your pew Bible, it's page 1016. 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:22.320 And 1 Peter is one of those books that you can just turn pages and kind of follow along with me and understand what's going on. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:24.339 And so, not complicated. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:36.419 So this is the crux kind of what Peter is writing about here in 1 Peter. 00:01:37.679 --> 00:01:45.079 And we've been studying this on Sunday mornings in Senior High Life Connects, as well as on Sunday night in High Life. 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:49.119 This book has been the topic of what we've been doing all spring. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:54.240 So it seems fitting, when you consider Senior Sunday, how do you send people off? 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:58.680 How do you want to charge them? 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:01.620 Or what frame of mind do you want to be in for living? 00:02:01.740 --> 00:02:06.159 And Peter sets us up really well here in this specific part of it. 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:08.740 So I'll start here in 1 Peter chapter 3. 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:13.580 I'm going to begin in verse 15 and go a little bit into 18. 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:16.820 You know what, I'll back up so that there's a little context there. 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:17.560 I'll start in 13. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.560 Now who's there to harm you if you're zealous for what is good? 00:02:22.540 --> 00:02:25.820 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:28.439 Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. 00:02:29.420 --> 00:02:32.040 But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, 00:02:32.420 --> 00:02:37.360 always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that's in you. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:41.840 Yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, 00:02:42.260 --> 00:02:47.840 so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 00:02:48.940 --> 00:02:53.140 For it's better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:59.140 For Christ also suffered, once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:01.560 that he might bring us to God. 00:03:02.420 --> 00:03:03.420 Pray with me if you would. 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:13.519 Gracious Heavenly Father, we're humbled to be able to come before you in prayer. 00:03:13.739 --> 00:03:18.199 We're humbled to be able to live for you. 00:03:20.239 --> 00:03:28.099 I'm humbled on a morning like this because you've given me so many opportunities to speak your truth 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:32.399 into the lives of so many people. 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:37.219 And I can't do that. 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:44.079 And Peter even says we're grateful for the gospel going forth through people like me 00:03:44.079 --> 00:03:46.259 because the Holy Spirit's actually who's speaking. 00:03:46.519 --> 00:03:48.560 And I pray that that would be the truth this morning. 00:03:49.339 --> 00:03:56.599 That you would bless the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts. 00:03:56.599 --> 00:03:58.299 That they would be pleasing to you. 00:03:58.299 --> 00:04:04.219 That we would glean from your word and from your servant, the Apostle Peter. 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:06.699 Thank you for loving us. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.919 And thank you for your word which does stand forever. 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:13.479 And we pray this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:14.219 Amen. 00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:14.319 Amen. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:29.560 I enjoy considering the conversion story of New Testament writers when I consider what they write about. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:33.160 Their presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.000 Luke tells us in Acts 9. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:36.980 Make a note of that. 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:38.920 Go read it sometime if you've not done so. 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:40.399 Of the conversion of Paul. 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:42.740 And that's particularly intriguing. 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:48.900 Paul is heading to the synagogue in Damascus with letters from the high priests. 00:04:49.960 --> 00:04:55.100 And essentially what he's doing is going there to find people who are followers of Christ. 00:04:56.460 --> 00:05:03.400 And when he finds them, he is going to bind them and take them back to Jerusalem to stand trial. 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:05.980 Paul's a bad dude. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:10.340 He's known for seeking out, persecuting, and killing Christians. 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:15.879 He is highly educated. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:17.960 He called himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:23.680 He's particularly zealous against someone who he considered to be a false prophet. 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:30.220 But while he's on his way to Damascus, he's knocked off his horse, right, by Jesus' voice. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:33.360 He's blinded and he says, don't persecute me anymore. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:37.580 Oh, by the way, there were two of his cronies with him. 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:39.120 So there were witnesses to this happening. 00:05:39.220 --> 00:05:40.540 And they helped him into Damascus. 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:45.780 And they hide him away so that they can figure out what's going on. 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:50.699 And meanwhile, across the city, there's a Christian, a follower of the way, as it's put, 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:59.360 who has been praying and receives a vision that Paul is there and he needs someone to come and pray for him. 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:05.659 And that he's going to end up being used as this great and mighty tool for God's kingdom, 00:06:05.659 --> 00:06:13.219 which, of course, terrifies this man because Paul's notorious and he's known for killing people. 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:18.200 But he's faithful to it and he goes over, prays for Paul, baptizes him. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.820 Something scale-like falls off of Paul's eyes. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:22.500 They feed him. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:25.000 And, you know, the rest is history. 00:06:26.620 --> 00:06:31.080 A few missionaries' journeys and 13 letters later, we know a lot about Paul. 00:06:34.380 --> 00:06:42.520 Dramatic and rapid conversion for somebody in this way will give you a certain way of looking at the world. 00:06:43.219 --> 00:06:43.359 Right? 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.199 Do you ever think about the humanity of the biblical writers, the perspective that they're writing from? 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:59.219 Paul knows a lot about Jewish tradition and he comes to this sudden moment with Jesus and everything changes for him. 00:07:00.159 --> 00:07:01.740 Because everything has to change. 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:08.500 We can also look in Luke chapter 5 to see about Peter's calling, right? 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:10.560 Peter and James and John are fishing. 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.519 And Jesus is trying to get away from a crowd that's pressing in on him. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:18.199 And he gets into Peter's boat and says, hey, let's go out in the water a little bit. 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:18.980 I need to get away here. 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:23.780 And he says, hey, set your nets down in the water over on that side. 00:07:24.780 --> 00:07:26.540 Peter had been doing this all night to no avail. 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:30.579 And he looked at him and he's basically like, okay, well, I mean, I'm just a professional fisherman. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:31.379 I don't know what I'm doing. 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:33.600 But okay, crazy man that wanted to get on my boat. 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:34.480 I'll set my nets out. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:38.100 And the haul is so big he can't bring it into his boat, right? 00:07:38.140 --> 00:07:40.580 So he calls James and John over and says, hey, guys, come on. 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:42.400 Let's haul this thing into the boat. 00:07:42.460 --> 00:07:43.540 And they can't get it in. 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:47.140 And they go back to shore. 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:52.340 And Jesus says to them, follow me. 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:54.600 And they drop everything that they're doing and they follow him. 00:07:54.600 --> 00:08:01.980 And Peter spends the next three years living with Jesus. 00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:04.040 He watched him die. 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:05.600 He watched him be resurrected. 00:08:05.780 --> 00:08:06.900 And he watched him ascend. 00:08:08.640 --> 00:08:14.540 Three years is a lot of intimate time to spend with a person. 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:26.520 Peter learned how important it is day in and day out to follow Jesus, learning to do the things that Jesus does in the way that Jesus did them. 00:08:28.460 --> 00:08:37.440 So comparatively, a slow and steady conversion like this also will give you a certain way of looking at the world, right? 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:45.160 Both of the men had a full and robust experience with Jesus throughout the rest of their lives. 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:48.560 Both of them speak the good news of Jesus faithfully and rightly. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:52.720 But sometimes the message can seem to be different. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.780 Paul's message is a bit more of what we're used to in the Reformed tradition. 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:07.220 If you look on the back of your bulletin, if you use the three points from my outline there, it looks like this. 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:11.220 If you're thinking of Paul, you would actually turn this on its head. 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:12.579 We hope eternally. 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:17.939 Therefore, we can suffer expectantly and live winsomely. 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:26.439 I'm sorry, I lost myself. 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:29.100 I actually wrote a script because I didn't want to go for an hour and a half today. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:31.820 So be with me while I'm on my script here. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.360 Using the three points from my outline, it looks like this. 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:44.580 We hope eternally in our resurrected Savior we can expect to suffer because that's what happens to people who follow Jesus and not the world. 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:49.060 And those things build a Holy Spirit-filled person who's called to live winsomely. 00:09:49.520 --> 00:09:53.580 That's to say, present a favorable and even enchanting view of what Jesus is all about. 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:58.780 You've heard me say from time to time, be a taste of the kingdom of God to those around you. 00:09:59.040 --> 00:10:09.940 And this order definitely makes sense coming from a guy who is so incredibly turned upside down by Jesus that he finds no doubt in God's hand being the primary mover in anyone who's able to follow Jesus. 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:17.360 Peter's message here in 1 Peter 3 seems to be Paul's message in reverse. 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:22.700 If we live winsomely and we suffer expectantly, then we're going to find hope eternally. 00:10:22.700 --> 00:10:28.720 And when we put it that way, it looks like our works are ultimately what bring us to God. 00:10:29.300 --> 00:10:36.259 But that's not the foundation of Peter's message in 1 Peter at all as a whole, nor in this passage specifically. 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:47.080 The more helpful and biblical way of looking at both Peter and Paul's gospel presentation is as a circular flow with arrows going both ways and in between, 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:49.920 around and through each of these topics. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:54.519 Eternal hope leads us to winsome living, but winsome living proves our eternal hope. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:04.620 Eternal hope leads us to suffer expectantly, but our expectant suffering proves our eternal hope. 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:11.159 And we can suffer expectantly, which allows us to live winsomely, but living winsomely also allows us to suffer expectantly. 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:17.579 We spend a lot of our time feeling bad for ourselves because of the bad things in our lives. 00:11:18.579 --> 00:11:20.219 Our lives feel pointless. 00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:27.620 I professionally work in the area of ministry, which is defined by planting seeds and or watering them. 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:31.059 I rarely get to see the harvest. 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:35.619 That can be incredibly discouraging. 00:11:37.239 --> 00:11:42.379 Science even knows that when the mind is focused on thankfulness and gratefulness and contentment, 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.099 that something called neuroplasticity exists. 00:11:45.199 --> 00:11:47.339 That's where your brain actually starts to heal itself. 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:58.639 But it seems like we're more content to curse God and die than we are to do the hard work and find the hope in the one who chased us down in time and space. 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:03.300 So why spend time on this to start a message? 00:12:04.460 --> 00:12:08.620 This sermon is not suggesting that if you work hard enough, you can get yourself to God. 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:14.379 Neither Peter nor Paul teach that, nor can you find it anywhere else in the Bible. 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:29.620 But Peter and Paul and James and the writer of Hebrews and John and Mark and Luke and Moses and the historians and Solomon and the major and the minor prophets. 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:37.919 What the Bible teaches is that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:40.940 Faith without works is dead. 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:44.179 And the people of God are to be a blessing on the earth. 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:48.080 The Bible teaches us that what we do matters. 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:56.940 So rather than seeing this as a linear argument from Peter, listen to the rest of this sermon and see how each section interacts with each section. 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:03.840 For those of you who are about to graduate from high school or from college or from this world into eternity. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.280 For those of you who are at home and don't get to be with us, but you listen to these sermons faithfully. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:16.480 The hope of the righteous is bound up in the person and work of our King Jesus. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:18.899 Love Him. 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:20.919 Follow Him. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:21.819 Trust Him. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:23.799 You matter. 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:27.359 Everything you do matters. 00:13:28.579 --> 00:13:33.839 It matters because while you and I still hated Him and lived in sin, Jesus died for us. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:39.560 Find hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:46.680 Because that death and resurrection ought to cause us to live winsomely. 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:48.920 First point. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:49.620 Okay. 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:55.919 Guys, if you're used to me on Sunday nights, this is going to sound a whole lot different than what I sound like on Sundays or Wednesdays. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:56.120 Okay. 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:00.259 Live winsomely toward the world and toward each other as believers. 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:06.960 Each of these has to do with who we are working itself out to those around us. 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:14.120 Living winsomely toward the world means that who we are causes us to lean into the world in a certain manner. 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:17.279 We see pointedly there in verse 15. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:25.039 In your hearts honor Christ, the Lord is holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason, 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.759 for a reason for the hope that's in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:35.179 What that means and what it might look like has already been put forth by Peter if you go up just a little bit into verse 8. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:36.379 He says, 00:14:36.579 --> 00:14:41.600 All of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:46.500 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.779 For this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:56.539 It's clear that these believers are defined by something other than an argumentative spirit. 00:14:56.539 --> 00:15:02.120 Of course, Peter's been discussing who they are from the beginning of this letter. 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.899 Flip back to chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. 00:15:07.599 --> 00:15:15.919 They are elect exiles, elected according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ. 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:17.379 What does that mean? 00:15:17.459 --> 00:15:19.860 That God knew who he was going to save. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:21.219 What does that say about you and me? 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:24.259 Doesn't mean we know who God is going to save. 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.340 Those are two different things. 00:15:26.420 --> 00:15:28.899 There's a difference between God's knowledge and our knowledge. 00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:34.639 God knew who he was going to save. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:47.939 And if you are saved and if you, for some reason, believe in this first century carpenter, Palestinian carpenter, who came to the earth to be your savior, 00:15:48.939 --> 00:15:53.120 that's not really a logical or reasonable or rational thought in many ways. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:16:05.500 And if that alters and changes your life and makes you want to live for him and that's pushed into your heart and into your mind in such a way that you can't help but know that that defines who you are, 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.519 that happened because of the foreknowledge of God the Father. 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:11.340 He placed that in you. 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:14.360 Sanctification of the Spirit. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:20.240 Sanctification is just a big word for, hey, you're going to continue growing. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:26.460 He who began a good work in us is faithful to bring it to completion in Christ Jesus. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:28.980 Paul says that to the Philippians. 00:16:30.340 --> 00:16:33.519 But there's better news than that because it's also complete at the same time. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:35.279 Because it's found in Jesus. 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:38.820 He's accomplished it. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:40.639 And he's accomplishing it. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:49.620 And then the main point there is that it's for obedience to Jesus Christ. 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:53.840 They're God's people because he chose them. 00:16:53.939 --> 00:16:56.699 Peter explains to them what it means to be the people of God. 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:58.399 He quotes Exodus later on. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:00.220 Will's going to be preaching on this in a few weeks. 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:06.259 Exodus and Deuteronomy and the prophets Isaiah and Hosea to tell them that they're a royal priesthood. 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:09.000 That's where the creepy sprinkling of blood thing comes from. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.519 Come to me afterward and I'll explain what that means. 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:12.819 A holy nation. 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:16.640 A people for his own possession to proclaim God's praises. 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:21.519 They were once not a people but now they're God's people. 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:26.299 Peter had to tell them this because these people weren't Jewish religiously or culturally. 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:30.059 This is what causes them so many problems. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:34.559 They embrace the covenant of the Father in Jesus from the heart. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:39.319 When they embrace that covenant from the heart, they stop doing certain things. 00:17:39.399 --> 00:17:45.759 And it's hard to stop doing things that are embraced by the people around you because of what some strange and distant religion teaches. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.019 This is happening. 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:51.500 This letter is written sometime early 60 A.D. 00:17:51.659 --> 00:17:53.700 Like 59, 60, 61 probably. 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.839 Well, Nero takes power in Rome not too long after that. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:02.359 But what's happening to these people is real persecution, real suffering. 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:05.879 They're getting kicked out of their houses because they're embracing Jesus. 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:08.039 They're losing their jobs. 00:18:08.139 --> 00:18:11.000 They're having to pay local authorities to protect them. 00:18:11.379 --> 00:18:12.299 Life is hard. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:16.819 This isn't some abstract thing he's talking about. 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:24.279 They're living, like so many of us do, as mirrors of the sin in others. 00:18:26.579 --> 00:18:31.819 And when you stop doing certain things, it's assumed by those people that you must think you're better than them. 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:39.859 We can understand about this idea of some strange and distant religion taking hold of our hearts. 00:18:40.419 --> 00:18:46.319 And how much more is that true when they're being ostracized by those people who reject the teaching of that religion 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:49.720 and are growing more and more to despise its followers? 00:18:51.659 --> 00:18:54.460 This also clearly shows in the manner in which they treat each other, 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:57.679 humility is at the root of what it means to be winsome. 00:18:58.159 --> 00:19:00.599 We're all cut down at the knees at the foot of the cross. 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:05.359 No one is better than anybody else. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:11.599 That's the reality of humanity in light of who Jesus is and why he had to come. 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:17.659 We don't truly grasp our sin, but thankfully Jesus does. 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:21.299 And he came to take care of all of it. 00:19:23.939 --> 00:19:28.480 The reality of the cross makes it so that all believers are subject to God's judgment. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:32.099 Go to verse 17 in chapter 1 there. 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:37.039 And Peter speaks this reality quite clearly when he tells him, conduct yourselves with fear. 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:38.700 What does it mean to fear God in the Bible? 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:43.039 Fearing God means to know that you're not the measure of all things, 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:46.319 but you're actually the one who's being measured. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:52.679 He goes on to say, impartially, according to each one's own deeds. 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:59.939 Then in verses 22 and 23 there, Peter also says that they've purified their souls by their obedience to the truth 00:19:59.939 --> 00:20:06.579 for a sincere brotherly love, so that they might love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:14.019 Since they've been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:20.039 When we hear of our connect communities and our desire for gospel community, 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.339 it's not based on affinity. 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:25.179 It's not based on how much you like each other. 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:29.319 It's not based on how much we have in common. 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:34.559 And it's not based on our commonality and vocation or anything like that. 00:20:36.139 --> 00:20:40.059 Gospel community is based upon the reality of who Jesus is 00:20:40.059 --> 00:20:47.799 and how desperately we need each other to push us toward that goal of being Christ-like. 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:51.740 That's the definition of gospel community. 00:20:53.679 --> 00:20:58.480 We can have endless patience with each other because of that reality. 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:03.359 That's what we desperately need in our lives. 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:06.079 My parents were converted in the early 70s. 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:08.599 Yes, they were Jesus-free kippies. 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:09.279 My dad played. 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:10.319 Oh, I can't say that. 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:10.819 I'm being recorded. 00:21:12.679 --> 00:21:16.839 I was raised in a popular Christian culture through the 80s and 90s. 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:19.519 And even though it doesn't define my mom and dad, 00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:24.480 I was largely surrounded by my father and mothers in the faith 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.700 who were heavily impacted by the political activism of the moral majority. 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:33.319 And I don't say that to endorse or decry the effects of this movement, 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:36.140 but rather to reflect on its impacts on my life. 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:44.100 Very pointed, argumentative, all the time, everything. 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:50.440 And there were things that stuck out to me that was just a very aggressive, 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:53.340 everything seemed very aggressive to me as a kid. 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:57.339 And I look back on it, obviously, a lot of the causes were very good. 00:21:57.500 --> 00:22:00.099 But there's a sweet saint in our church. 00:22:00.179 --> 00:22:04.399 Her husband was one of the founding elders at the church I grew up in. 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.199 And she began a Christian school there and was the headmistress there until her death. 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:09.659 Her name was Eugenia Bruce. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:13.439 And she would remind my dad all the time, she would say, 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:15.480 John, we must be the winsome ones. 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:21.039 In a climate of change and fear and activism, 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:26.759 Mrs. Bruce recognized that Christians ought to be always known by their humility and reverence for 00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:29.920 and hope in the God of creation, 00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:34.099 the one who's at the root of and who is above all laws, 00:22:35.099 --> 00:22:38.900 the one who reached down and plucked people like you and like me 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:43.279 and said, I'll be your God and you'll be my people for my own possession. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:47.859 Once you were not a people, but now you're my people. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.259 We have hope. 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:56.019 Peter takes great care to let us know that our behavior, what we do, 00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:58.579 matters all of the time in every situation. 00:23:00.139 --> 00:23:02.339 It's what defines us as agents of the Father, 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:04.639 restoring all things through his son, Jesus. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:07.639 We don't have the prerogative of pride. 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:11.500 We don't have the prerogative of control. 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:15.440 We're the ones who know the one who is in control. 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:19.599 We have specific marching orders in our behavior, 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.599 our obedience, our understanding of what's at stake. 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:26.619 That's a gift from the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:33.440 We act and we know and we behave rightly because souls are on the line. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:37.539 Our souls and the souls of others. 00:23:38.100 --> 00:23:42.279 In chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, Peter tells them, 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:47.140 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh 00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:49.320 which wage war against your soul. 00:23:51.100 --> 00:23:53.580 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable 00:23:53.580 --> 00:23:56.140 so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:23:56.259 --> 00:24:00.840 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:03.199 Does that define you? 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:08.339 Is this your daily outlook on life? 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:12.019 Do you understand how much your every action, 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.399 your every interaction has to do with eternity? 00:24:17.879 --> 00:24:21.939 Biblically speaking, it's impossible to live like hell and go to heaven. 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:27.340 Not only does it belie the hope found in Jesus, 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.600 but it presents a false reality to the people who live around us. 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:33.600 Using the Christian freedom that Paul describes 00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:37.480 as licensed to live selfishly, only caring about our own souls, 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:40.940 this counts the intertwined realities of God's sovereignty 00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:43.120 and our responsibility 00:24:43.120 --> 00:24:47.000 toward each other and toward the world which doesn't know him. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:51.099 The primary reason that an unbelieving world 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:53.920 finds the person and work of Jesus unbelievable 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.319 is that he is the stone that makes men stumble 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:57.660 and the rock that makes them fall. 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:02.640 The secondary reason is believers who proclaim Jesus with their mouths 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:04.960 but deny him with their actions. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.519 And I'm sure you've heard this before. 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:10.859 But this is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:14.399 Which brings us to our next point. 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.039 The death and resurrection of Jesus 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:19.699 ought to cause us to suffer expectantly. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:28.439 Let me first say that suffering is a result of our desire to be God 00:25:28.439 --> 00:25:30.579 and not a thing brought from God. 00:25:31.719 --> 00:25:34.319 Suffering in any form is not the way that it was meant to be. 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:39.599 Your suffering matters because Jesus has shown us 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:40.839 that it matters to him. 00:25:41.659 --> 00:25:44.939 And we'll get to and discuss physical, mental, and emotional suffering. 00:25:45.159 --> 00:25:46.639 But Peter's initial point here 00:25:46.639 --> 00:25:50.299 refers to people who suffer because of Jesus. 00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:51.859 And Peter makes it clear to us 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:55.099 that suffering is because of Jesus, not because of us. 00:25:58.099 --> 00:25:59.579 If we go back to 3, 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:02.980 continuing from verses 15 into 16, 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:03.379 he says, 00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:22.780 Unpacking all of that would be a sermon in itself. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:25.400 So let's stick to some of the basics of what Peter is saying here. 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:26.680 We're going to be slandered. 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.860 We'll suffer because of Christ. 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:35.560 Our suffering can be worsened because of our conscience 00:26:35.560 --> 00:26:37.580 when we know that we brought it on ourselves 00:26:37.580 --> 00:26:42.759 to be evil 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:45.140 and acting in a way that we know that we shouldn't act. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:48.779 That doesn't impact our eternal reality, 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:51.420 but it shows how much we often think of ourselves. 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:56.440 Argument from authority is one of the more egregious logical fallacies. 00:26:57.300 --> 00:27:00.340 What it says is that a perfectly reasonable, logical, 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.680 and cogent argument for or against something 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:06.019 should not be nullified or made wrong 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:08.740 simply because someone who has more education or experience 00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:11.300 in a particular area says that the argument's wrong. 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:14.880 Arguments are supposed to be able to stand on their own merit, 00:27:15.100 --> 00:27:17.900 not the merit of one who is making the argument. 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:21.200 I hope I'm not pointing anybody out, 00:27:21.280 --> 00:27:23.060 and I promise you there's no one in mind when I say this, 00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:24.620 but have you ever experienced the one-upper? 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:28.400 The one-upper is the person who, 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:30.940 no matter what experience or reality you share with them, 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:32.560 has always seen it worse, 00:27:32.620 --> 00:27:34.620 and maybe in 50 different ways worse 00:27:34.620 --> 00:27:36.600 than the one way that you just described. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.420 There are certainly times that the one-upper 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:42.720 is someone who is crying out for help 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:44.519 because they don't have anyone to hear them in their suffering. 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:47.180 But more often than not, 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:50.480 the one-upper has never really experienced true suffering. 00:27:52.579 --> 00:27:55.579 We don't know much about persecution in the Western church. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.200 We don't know what it's like to look down the barrel of a gun 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:00.660 ready to shoot us for our beliefs. 00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:04.099 We don't know what it's like to have friends and loved ones 00:28:04.099 --> 00:28:06.139 hauled off to prison for the sake of King Jesus. 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:09.619 We don't know what it's like to have our churches 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:12.160 bombed on one of the most holy days of the year 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:13.779 when they're the most full. 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:20.200 But these things don't mean that we're immune from suffering, 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:23.460 nor do they mean that our partaking in suffering 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:25.400 is somehow meaningfully different 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.380 than the persecution of our brothers and sisters 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:28.240 around the world. 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:30.820 For some of us, 00:28:31.320 --> 00:28:32.800 suffering looks like the coming to terms 00:28:32.800 --> 00:28:34.040 with a dream deferred. 00:28:34.820 --> 00:28:36.480 We had great plans for our life, 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:38.960 career, family, security, financially. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:42.620 And those things were put down by the sinfulness of the other, 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:44.880 a path that didn't facilitate them, 00:28:44.940 --> 00:28:47.220 or even a seemingly devilish intervention. 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:50.460 For others of us, 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:51.900 suffering looks like the unfair death 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:53.400 of a family member or a friend. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:57.259 Still others of us suffer and mourn daily 00:28:57.259 --> 00:28:59.319 because of the absence of a neurotypical upbringing 00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:00.120 for our children. 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:03.579 Grievous and chronic physical ailments 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:06.740 plague and cause suffering for many in this room 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:08.579 and many who aren't able to be in this room. 00:29:12.099 --> 00:29:14.039 And for the more experienced among us, 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:16.359 the simple realities of the mind and body 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.500 failing with age 00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:19.339 create a suffering for us 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:20.759 and those around us, 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:23.680 which seems natural and unfair 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.160 all at the same time. 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:29.120 The hope we have in Jesus 00:29:29.120 --> 00:29:30.799 is that for those who trust him, 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.620 this world is the only hell 00:29:32.620 --> 00:29:33.559 that we'll ever know. 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:38.980 Peter further encourages the elect exiles 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:41.179 and us in chapter 4, verse 19. 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:45.419 Let those who suffer according to God's will 00:29:45.419 --> 00:29:46.539 and trust their souls 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.059 to a faithful creator while doing good. 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:52.059 And then back in verse 13, 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:56.139 rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings 00:29:56.139 --> 00:29:57.480 that you may also rejoice 00:29:57.480 --> 00:29:59.679 and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:02.120 And I keep using the word hope 00:30:02.120 --> 00:30:05.240 because that's what Peter's wanting to inspire 00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:06.820 in his audience and in us. 00:30:08.340 --> 00:30:09.920 But what we've looked at so far 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:11.539 can universally be understood 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:14.019 somewhat as moralistic therapeutic deism 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:16.240 as anything else. 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:19.100 Believe what you want to 00:30:19.100 --> 00:30:20.360 specifically in your religion, 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:21.799 but make sure that you treat people well, 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:23.120 call on God if you have a problem, 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:24.519 and live your best life now 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:25.880 as long as it doesn't get in the way 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:27.700 of somebody else who's living their best life now. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:30.380 Be a good person, 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:31.200 you're going to go to heaven. 00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:36.080 I'll suggest to you that this is 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:38.460 no hope at all. 00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:41.660 Even less our lives are, 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:44.799 if our lives are just some existential blip 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.200 on a random timescale created by nature, 00:30:47.860 --> 00:30:50.340 there is no hope at all. 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:53.899 But Peter doesn't want to leave us there. 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.139 In the New Testament, 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:57.319 when you see the word hope, 00:30:57.379 --> 00:30:58.919 it's not for some ethereal thing 00:30:58.919 --> 00:31:00.079 like hoping your favorite team 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:00.980 wins the World Series, 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:03.059 or hoping that nobody finds out 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:04.599 about that thing that you did, 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:06.839 or even hoping that you pass your finals 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:07.779 so that you graduate, 00:31:08.459 --> 00:31:10.500 which I'm sure is a feeling in this room. 00:31:12.199 --> 00:31:13.639 This hope is a concrete hope 00:31:13.639 --> 00:31:15.619 secured for us for all eternity 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:18.139 by one who suffered in the ways 00:31:18.139 --> 00:31:19.000 that we suffered, 00:31:20.459 --> 00:31:22.519 suffered in ways that we've never suffered, 00:31:23.539 --> 00:31:25.339 and conquered all of it 00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:27.559 so that you and I can hope eternally 00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:30.500 in the God who brought us to himself. 00:31:31.439 --> 00:31:32.699 We'll go pretty quickly now. 00:31:34.479 --> 00:31:38.439 Look back at chapter 3, 17 into 18 there. 00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:41.900 For it's better to suffer for doing good 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:43.380 if that should be God's will 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:44.340 than doing evil. 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:46.860 For Christ also suffered once for sins, 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:49.400 the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:51.559 that he might bring us to God. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:53.340 This is our hope. 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:57.420 Every ounce of suffering is wonderful 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:59.640 because you're stubbing your toe 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:03.259 on the path that your Savior blazed for you. 00:32:05.860 --> 00:32:07.680 He blazed that trail of suffering. 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:09.460 He wept at the grave of his friend 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:10.900 as he was overcome with sorrow. 00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:15.340 Is there a point to all this suffering in your life? 00:32:17.860 --> 00:32:20.620 You hope in the one who has brought us to God? 00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:24.360 If your answer is anything other than yes, 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:26.460 I really can't give you a reason for your suffering. 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:34.640 But for those of you who do suffer, 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:35.640 count it joy 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:39.100 that you might be able to show others 00:32:39.100 --> 00:32:40.460 the hope that you have 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:42.440 so that they can glorify God. 00:32:43.420 --> 00:32:45.060 This is what Peter tells us 00:32:45.060 --> 00:32:47.920 in chapter 2, 11 and 12. 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:50.620 I urge you as sojourners and exiles 00:32:50.620 --> 00:32:52.340 to abstain from the passions of the flesh 00:32:52.340 --> 00:32:54.259 which wage war against your soul. 00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:56.400 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable 00:32:56.400 --> 00:32:59.160 so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:01.520 they'll see your good deeds and glorify God. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:05.519 We're not participating in some short game. 00:33:08.180 --> 00:33:10.440 We're not making up the rules as we go along. 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:14.660 Everything we do, all of us, at every age, 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:17.379 either tells the truth about who God is 00:33:17.379 --> 00:33:19.339 or it tells a lie. 00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:23.500 Everything we do, all of us, at every age, 00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:25.139 either displays the glory of the work 00:33:25.139 --> 00:33:26.799 being done in us by the Holy Spirit 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:31.460 or tells a story of how we're the ones 00:33:31.460 --> 00:33:32.619 who get to make the rules. 00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:36.339 You and I are not the rule makers. 00:33:38.159 --> 00:33:39.500 We're the God-fearers. 00:33:40.899 --> 00:33:42.980 We're not the measure of all things. 00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:44.759 We're the ones being measured. 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:47.879 And that's a really good thing. 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:52.240 I don't mean to be the one 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:53.720 that breaks it to you graduates, 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:56.240 but your life actually began a long time ago. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:58.039 You've been living it. 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:02.379 These things have been true for you now 00:34:02.379 --> 00:34:03.480 and are true for you. 00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:04.779 I'm sorry, these things have been true for you. 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:05.579 They're true for you now 00:34:05.579 --> 00:34:06.919 and they'll be true for you this afternoon 00:34:06.919 --> 00:34:08.019 and they'll be true for you 00:34:08.019 --> 00:34:09.779 as you move on to the next phase of your life. 00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:11.599 I like the John Mayer lyric, 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:13.599 I just found out there's no such thing 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:14.320 as the real world. 00:34:15.579 --> 00:34:17.279 There's no magical time 00:34:17.279 --> 00:34:18.420 that you're suddenly relevant 00:34:18.420 --> 00:34:19.539 to the kingdom of God. 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:23.460 We've just seen that we have a precious Savior 00:34:23.460 --> 00:34:25.659 who's given us great importance 00:34:25.659 --> 00:34:27.460 in every aspect of our lives. 00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:29.720 So whether you're the 13-year-old 00:34:29.720 --> 00:34:30.679 dreading school tomorrow, 00:34:31.159 --> 00:34:32.280 the 8-year-old looking forward 00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:33.679 to your baseball games this week, 00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:36.079 the 30-year-old ready to sit in your cubicle 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:37.360 for another 40 hours, 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:40.780 an executive interacting with hundreds of people, 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:42.940 a new retiree trying to figure out 00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:44.220 what are you going to do 00:34:44.220 --> 00:34:46.059 in the next phase of your life, 00:34:46.860 --> 00:34:49.079 or the most experienced among us 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:49.819 biding your time 00:34:49.819 --> 00:34:51.619 until your heavenly Father calls you home. 00:34:54.139 --> 00:34:55.539 What you do matters. 00:34:57.900 --> 00:34:59.000 Live winsomely, 00:35:00.299 --> 00:35:01.539 suffer expectantly, 00:35:01.860 --> 00:35:04.500 and always display the eternal hope 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:06.440 given to you by the one who loves us 00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:07.619 more than we could ever know. 00:35:08.279 --> 00:35:08.759 Let's pray. 00:35:11.759 --> 00:35:13.360 Father, thank you for the message 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:15.960 of your love for us, 00:35:16.680 --> 00:35:21.420 which oozes out of every part of Scripture. 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:25.559 Thank you for your Holy Spirit 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:28.599 that enables us to do these things 00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:29.340 that you command. 00:35:29.620 --> 00:35:34.700 Thank you that you don't call us to be perfect. 00:35:34.820 --> 00:35:37.240 You call us to be those who call on you 00:35:37.240 --> 00:35:39.800 and whose lives are changed 00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:42.860 because of the reality of who you are 00:35:42.860 --> 00:35:44.519 and the reality of our King Jesus. 00:35:46.620 --> 00:35:47.740 Thank you for our graduates. 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:50.039 Thank you for the parents 00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:50.760 and the other people 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:52.260 who have influenced their lives 00:35:52.260 --> 00:35:55.360 and have pushed them 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:57.680 to be more like your son. 00:35:58.559 --> 00:36:00.120 And we pray that they would find communities 00:36:00.120 --> 00:36:02.220 like that as they move on, 00:36:02.280 --> 00:36:03.660 even as Christine prayed earlier. 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:08.539 Most of all, thank you for our King Jesus, 00:36:08.660 --> 00:36:09.940 and we pray all this in his name. 00:36:10.660 --> 00:36:10.960 Amen. 00:36:12.860 --> 00:36:31.420 Amen. 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:31.800 Amen. 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:31.880 Amen. 00:36:32.240 --> 00:36:33.840 Amen. 00:36:34.099 --> 00:36:34.340 Amen. 00:36:34.380 --> 00:36:34.400 Amen. 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:35.740 Amen. 00:36:35.740 --> 00:36:36.480 Amen. 00:36:37.200 --> 00:36:37.680 Amen. 00:36:37.680 --> 00:36:38.220 Amen. 00:36:38.220 --> 00:36:38.720 Amen. 00:36:39.960 --> 00:36:42.640 Amen.