WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:15.280 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:33.620 Today's reading is from Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, verses 15 to 24. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:40.020 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:50.380 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:54.340 All things have been created through Him and for Him. 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:00.280 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:03.840 And He is the head of the body, the church. 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:10.340 He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:26.359 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile to Him all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:34.120 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:43.859 But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:51.219 If you continue in your faith, establish and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. 00:01:51.219 --> 00:02:01.560 This is the gospel that you have heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 00:02:02.939 --> 00:02:14.340 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:16.240 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:17.819 Thanks be to God. 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:26.120 Well, good morning, everyone. 00:02:26.459 --> 00:02:31.459 And wow, this is such an upgrade from the music stand that I used to preach from right here. 00:02:31.579 --> 00:02:32.139 This is great. 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:36.879 Brian, Samantha, thank you for your kind introduction. 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:43.280 And you guys exude hospitality because before we knew anyone here, you showed up at our door. 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:49.520 The first or second night we were here with a plate of sushi, which was amazing, so thank you. 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:56.580 And I'm looking around seeing people whose weddings I officiated and the produce from those weddings. 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:00.060 So it's really, it's amazing to be back. 00:03:00.180 --> 00:03:04.639 I am honored and humbled and grateful and nostalgic. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:16.339 And being 29 when we moved here 20 years ago, you can do the math, I've always experienced Christ's church a bit like a fourth child. 00:03:16.459 --> 00:03:17.579 We have three daughters. 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:28.960 And now with our two eldest daughters who are grown and out of the house, every time we're with them, there is such joy over what is. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.600 And there's also a little bit of grief over what used to be and is no longer. 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:39.680 And likewise, today, I am so full of joy as I look at who you are. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:44.960 And there's a little bit of grief for me that I don't get to share in where you are today. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:53.159 But with five years now to reflect on our call to WCPC, so just so you know, as Brian said, that's Walnut Creek. 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:55.180 So a little geography lesson for you. 00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:56.580 I had to learn this too. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:03.780 If you go through the Caldecott Tunnel from Berkeley or Oakland, you don't just fall off the cliff on the other side. 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:06.500 There are other cities, other communities out there. 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:07.680 We reside in one of those. 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:09.759 It's a new civilization, I suppose. 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:14.520 It's a 12-minute ride in, sometimes a 45-minute ride out, but you get the idea. 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:22.540 But I offer this reflection on my own calling because I know in our midst in 2025, maybe some of you are reflecting on vocational callings. 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:35.259 Before we get into our text, let me just say I can point to three or four times in my life where a call from God clearly transcended my emotional desire. 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:38.180 It cut across the grain a little bit. 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:45.819 And as I considered this call five and a half years ago now, my dominant emotions were sadness and fear. 00:04:46.180 --> 00:04:52.159 There was a lot of grief over leaving a community that I helped alongside of Jonathan bring to life. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:58.699 And there was some fear over taking a rapidly dying church and helping bring it back to life. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:04.719 And I felt like God gave me some startup muscles, but I wasn't sure if I had turnaround muscles. 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:09.459 Yet over five years, God has been so good and so faithful. 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:14.579 And it's just so amazing to see Andrew and Jonathan thriving in leadership and this church thriving. 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:18.719 And a little bit more of a brief history to bring us to this text. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:28.260 In 2005, my wife, Katie, myself, our four-year-old daughter, Caroline, our one-year-old daughter, Claire, we landed at SFO. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.320 We jumped into a yellow cab. 00:05:30.440 --> 00:05:31.600 Ask anyone over 40. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:37.720 We spent $56, which seemed like an ungodly amount of money, to be transported to the East Bay. 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:41.680 And six months later, Jonathan and Catherine would join us. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:54.660 So if you could imagine me with dark hair and Jonathan with more hair and imagine Katie and Catherine exactly as they are today, that was us. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:05.379 And, you know, to back up the story a little bit, it was the mid-1990s where I was given a cassette tape. 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:14.120 So moved backwards from streaming services and MP3s and CDs, moved forward from big trollas and record players and eight tracks. 00:06:14.259 --> 00:06:15.779 There it is, the cassette tape. 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:21.939 It was a message from Dr. John Piper entitled, Doing Mission When Dying Is Gained. 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:29.040 Now, for my liking, Dr. Piper yells a little too much, but I have immense respect for his passion and his integrity. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:34.000 And in that tape, he mentions Colossians 124, which you just heard read. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:41.120 He said, it's our call to fill up what is lacking with respect to the affliction of Christ. 00:06:41.259 --> 00:06:48.839 And he said, what is lacking is certainly not the atoning merit of Christ's affliction, which is sufficient for all of us. 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:51.939 But what is lacking is their physical presence. 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:53.980 So, go. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.000 And I shared this tape with Jonathan. 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:58.139 I was probably 22. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:06:59.100 He was 19. 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:12.800 And this planted in both of us, the seed for church planting, to bring the gospel, the good news of Christ's affliction that secures our rescue to a place where it was lacking. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:18.300 Not the South, not the Midwest, but Berkeley, California. 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:27.879 And if you fast forward this story to 2006, to what has become legend and lore around naming this church, 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:33.660 I want to just ask, who was at our very first retreat at the Manzanita Lodge in 2006? 00:07:33.900 --> 00:07:34.620 Don't be bashful. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.759 Yeah, so there's, you know, eight or nine of us were there. 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:46.060 As Wes Selke tells this story, Jonathan and I collected many good names for this church from our launch team. 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:49.220 We proceeded to ignore all of them. 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:51.759 We went into a secret meeting room. 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:54.160 White smoke wafted out of the chimney. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:59.060 We emerged and said, by decree, the name shall be Christchurch. 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:10.220 Now, from my recollection, there was a whiteboard full of names like Velocity, Fire, Forge, H3O, Reality, which is ironic. 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:14.540 Christchurch was on the list, but it was an arcane afterthought. 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:16.420 However, the naming happened. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:21.180 Christchurch was birthed Easter Sunday, April 15, 2006. 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:22.460 I'll never forget the day. 00:08:23.080 --> 00:08:25.280 And you soon enter into your 20th year. 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:28.260 And again, I'm so humbled by God's faithfulness. 00:08:28.400 --> 00:08:31.200 I'm honored to share the pulpit with Jonathan and Andrew. 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:33.379 I'm glad it's not a music stand anymore. 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:41.539 And I've chosen Colossians 1, 15 through 24 as an opportunity to remember what is important. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:43.919 To get back to first principles. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:50.899 And in a first Sunday of 2025, while our aspirations of the new year are still fresh, 00:08:51.340 --> 00:08:56.500 I want to get us back to the basics of following Jesus into a year of unknowns. 00:08:56.500 --> 00:09:00.340 Because every year is a year of unknowns. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.620 There will be joy and grief and uncertainty and pleasure and pain. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.100 It'll all be there. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.899 And the question is, where will you take it? 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:11.799 Or to whom will you take it? 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:16.220 So I want to endeavor to address two questions this morning from this text. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.220 One of them is, why Christ? 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:21.460 And the second one is, why the church? 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:25.779 Now Paul, who wrote nearly 50% of the New Testament, 00:09:26.300 --> 00:09:28.340 he plants this church in Colossae. 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:32.200 And around 50 AD, he's in jail in an Ephesian prison. 00:09:32.680 --> 00:09:34.300 And he writes this letter to this church. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.080 Now this is a house church, probably 40 to 50 people. 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:40.160 90% of them in that day would have been illiterate. 00:09:40.160 --> 00:09:43.620 So they are long awaiting the apostles' message. 00:09:44.040 --> 00:09:45.800 They're meeting together in a large house. 00:09:46.180 --> 00:09:47.519 A courier knocks on the door. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.220 And that day, if you couldn't read, 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:52.259 you probably would memorize the letter as it was read to you. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:57.559 And they could not wait to know what it was that they were called to do. 00:09:58.199 --> 00:10:02.679 And as the scholar N.T. Wright put it in his commentary on Colossians, 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:03.100 he says, 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:06.439 This early church belongs to Jesus Christ. 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:10.319 They had put their faith in government and in other religions. 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:14.980 But now they look nowhere else for forgiveness from the past, 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:17.299 for maturity in their presence, 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:19.379 and for their future hope. 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:23.319 Christ became the center of everything. 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:27.139 So the big idea under this first question, 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:28.299 I might say it this way, 00:10:29.139 --> 00:10:31.299 We center everything on Jesus 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:34.960 because Jesus is the center of everything. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:37.519 We center everything on Jesus 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.460 because Jesus is the center of everything. 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:43.820 And as this is unpacked by Dr. Wright, 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:47.019 this way of centering will allow us, 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:47.820 if we let it, 00:10:48.300 --> 00:10:49.780 stability in our present, 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:52.200 freedom from our past, 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:54.259 and hope in our future. 00:10:54.800 --> 00:10:56.500 And we see this in this text. 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:59.320 Look at verse 15 as we think about stability. 00:10:59.800 --> 00:11:02.700 Jesus is the image of the invisible God, 00:11:02.800 --> 00:11:05.080 the firstborn over all creation. 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.860 Now that word firstborn is not our focus today, 00:11:07.980 --> 00:11:10.240 but because it has launched a lot of heresies, 00:11:10.400 --> 00:11:11.500 and as heresies go, 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:13.600 they usually involve too little divinity 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:15.680 or too little humanity for Jesus. 00:11:16.060 --> 00:11:19.220 Let us just say firstborn doesn't mean he's created. 00:11:19.420 --> 00:11:21.940 This is the law of primogenitor, 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:24.740 which means the firstborn is the inheritor, 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:26.980 the executor of God's will, 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:31.280 that all of God's wealth is bestowed to us as Christ's people. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.679 But he goes on in verse 15. 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:36.539 He's the image of the invisible God. 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:39.139 And if you could drop down to verse 19 for a second 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:41.100 to fully grasp this, 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.019 we learn that God is pleased 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:47.019 to have all of his fullness dwell in him. 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.379 So as image, or in Greek, icon, 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:53.679 Jesus is this pictorial representation, 00:11:53.839 --> 00:11:54.860 almost like a statue. 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.919 But as fullness, as the pleroma of God, 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.299 Jesus is not just the face of God. 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:04.159 He is God. 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:06.259 He's the fullness of God. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:08.279 God, we know, is Trinity. 00:12:08.599 --> 00:12:10.539 And there have been 2,000 years 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:13.339 and many more than 2,000 pages to sort that out. 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:15.139 But suffice it to say here today, 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:16.399 our God is Trinity, 00:12:16.699 --> 00:12:17.919 is 2-3 to be one, 00:12:18.099 --> 00:12:19.319 2-1 to be three. 00:12:19.719 --> 00:12:21.919 And when all of the other origin stories 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:26.939 involve the gods creating out of lust and war, 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:29.740 out of this love of power, 00:12:30.420 --> 00:12:33.000 we have Trinity in this dance. 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:35.320 In Greek, this perichoresis, 00:12:35.780 --> 00:12:37.620 this where we get the word choreography, 00:12:38.020 --> 00:12:39.960 this dance of love. 00:12:40.800 --> 00:12:43.240 Not a world created out of a quest 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:44.460 and a lust for power, 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:47.560 but through the power of this Trinitarian love. 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:49.480 And we see this in verse 16. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.280 In him, all things were created. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:54.240 Everything was created by him, 00:12:54.300 --> 00:12:55.040 in heaven and on earth, 00:12:55.140 --> 00:12:56.000 visible and invisible, 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.659 whether thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:02.340 all things are created through him and for him. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.720 So to say by God is not a mere cliche, 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:08.220 but it's this mere, 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.399 this deep acknowledgement that we have a creator. 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:15.019 To say through him is to acknowledge 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:19.919 this big bang of God speaking the cosmos into being. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.159 And to say that this is all for God 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:27.219 is to suggest that God is in this for God's delight. 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:30.319 He's not some bearded, curmudgeonly old man, 00:13:30.439 --> 00:13:32.919 but he is as giddy as a child, 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:36.000 as he is creating all things visible. 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:38.959 The stardust on Proxima Centauri, 00:13:39.339 --> 00:13:40.919 the duck bill on a platypus, 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:44.500 as he is creating all things invisible. 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:46.860 Fairies and elves. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:48.799 As G.K. Chesterton put it, 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:52.120 our loss of imagination is a sign of immaturity, 00:13:52.479 --> 00:13:53.240 not adulthood. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:55.000 Those things exist. 00:13:55.979 --> 00:14:00.259 Imagine how these realities might stabilize us 00:14:00.259 --> 00:14:03.059 in our present situations and circumstances. 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:04.559 And there's more. 00:14:04.699 --> 00:14:05.699 Look at verse 17. 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:07.640 He is before all things, 00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:10.320 and by him all things hold together. 00:14:10.420 --> 00:14:13.560 Now there is some skyscraping philosophy here, 00:14:13.640 --> 00:14:16.320 and there's some in the dirt practicality here. 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:18.420 First, the skyscraping philosophy. 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.379 God is the cosmic glue. 00:14:23.140 --> 00:14:26.759 That means faith and science are not in conflict, 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:28.280 but they are compatible. 00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:30.400 Many of you have heard the expression, 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:32.920 well, that's what makes the world go round. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.100 And a lot of people would say, 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:36.639 it's money that makes the world go round. 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:38.659 Or if you're a less cynical romantic, 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:39.460 you might say, 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:41.560 it's love that makes the world go round. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:42.500 If you're an artist, 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:43.100 you might say, 00:14:43.180 --> 00:14:44.899 it's vibes that make the world go round. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:45.779 If you're a grad student, 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:46.320 you might say, 00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:48.740 it's coffee that makes the world go round. 00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:51.120 If you're a scientist, 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:52.139 you might say, 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:54.620 a cloud of gas and dust 00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:57.519 started to collapse due to its own gravity, 00:14:58.019 --> 00:14:59.279 and then it started spinning, 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:01.720 thus flinging our solar system into being. 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:03.519 The earth started spinning too, 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:04.519 and will keep spinning, 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:07.139 because space is a vacuum with no friction 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:08.720 to stop the spin. 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:10.899 And God says, 00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:12.660 let there be. 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:14.580 And there was. 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:17.759 This is not to suggest that God created 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:19.340 without leveraging gravity, 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:21.700 and centripetal and centrifugal forces, 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.240 as well as other natural laws. 00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:25.259 God invented those natural laws too. 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:27.259 But he created concurrently, 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:29.860 suggesting that our God 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:32.399 is also a giving creator 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.279 who gives us life, 00:15:34.819 --> 00:15:35.379 and breath, 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:36.439 and truth, 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:37.220 and grace, 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:38.319 and love. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:40.679 And at the core of God's character 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:42.240 is this generous, 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:43.539 giving nature 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:46.159 that spins everything into being. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.240 It's God's creative giving 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:50.860 that makes the world go round. 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:52.080 Not our degrees, 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:52.939 not our credentials, 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:54.180 not our 401ks, 00:15:54.400 --> 00:15:55.440 not our marketability, 00:15:55.900 --> 00:15:57.420 which brings me to the 00:15:57.420 --> 00:15:59.220 in-the-dirt practicality 00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:00.140 of this truth. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.020 You've heard it said, 00:16:02.560 --> 00:16:03.580 you've got to hold it together. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:05.640 You've got to pull yourself together. 00:16:06.180 --> 00:16:07.900 You've got to keep it together. 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:10.200 Well, the blessed gift 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:11.360 that God gives us 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.100 is no, you don't. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:14.640 In fact, 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:16.240 you can't. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:18.860 I kind of have a freak out moment 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:22.379 every December 28, 29, 30. 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:25.620 I start looking at the next year 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:27.139 and all the responsibilities 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:28.779 and all the obligations 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:30.940 and how can I possibly do 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:32.060 all of this stuff 00:16:32.060 --> 00:16:32.860 with the excellence 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:34.519 and the diligence that it takes 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:35.960 and without just being 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.259 a big fat disappointment 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:38.320 to people around me. 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:40.220 And the answer is, 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:42.899 I cannot. 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:45.799 What's most unique 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.000 about Christianity 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:48.079 as compared to 00:16:48.079 --> 00:16:49.419 all the other world religions 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:50.519 and value systems 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.179 is that becoming Christian 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:53.240 first begins 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.539 with simply admitting to God 00:16:55.539 --> 00:16:56.959 that you cannot 00:16:56.959 --> 00:16:58.459 pull yourself together, 00:16:59.039 --> 00:16:59.939 that you cannot 00:16:59.939 --> 00:17:01.059 put yourself 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:02.259 back together again, 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:03.179 that you cannot 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:05.279 hold it all together. 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:07.460 Which brings us to 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:09.000 this freedom 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:10.740 from our past. 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:12.240 Why Christ? 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:13.720 Because Christ gives us 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:15.500 stability in our present 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:16.519 but not before 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:18.039 giving us freedom 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.359 from our past. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:20.559 Look at verse 19. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:22.180 God was pleased 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:23.779 to have all fullness 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:24.599 dwell in Him 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:25.339 and through Him 00:17:25.339 --> 00:17:26.620 to reconcile 00:17:26.620 --> 00:17:28.220 everything to Himself 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:29.839 whether things on earth 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:30.859 or things in heaven 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:32.740 by making peace, 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:33.460 shalom, 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:35.180 through His blood 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:36.400 shed on the cross. 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:38.220 When we fail, 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:41.039 when life falls apart 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:44.140 and it is our fault, 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:45.860 it is Jesus 00:17:45.860 --> 00:17:47.279 who puts us back 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:48.279 together again. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:50.019 I have a friend 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:51.660 who's secularly Jewish 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:53.039 and he's hilarious 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:53.940 and he's smart 00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:55.079 and we talk about 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:56.680 Jesus stuff sometimes. 00:17:57.500 --> 00:17:58.039 And one time 00:17:58.039 --> 00:17:58.720 he said to me, 00:17:59.100 --> 00:17:59.539 you know Bart, 00:17:59.620 --> 00:18:01.640 Christ seems beautiful 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:02.940 and Christianity 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:04.360 seems compelling 00:18:04.360 --> 00:18:05.579 yet it all just seems 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:07.160 too good to be true. 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.440 And I said to him, 00:18:09.540 --> 00:18:09.700 you know, 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:10.920 maybe it's so good 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:12.300 because it is true. 00:18:13.380 --> 00:18:14.960 Maybe the beautiful truth 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.640 is when we fail 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.779 and we live under 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:20.259 this immense pressure 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:21.660 to make it right, 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:22.460 to pull ourselves 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:23.300 together again, 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:24.460 it's Jesus 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:25.800 as forgiver, 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:27.100 as redeemer 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:28.700 who enables us 00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:29.400 to make it right. 00:18:29.840 --> 00:18:30.519 It's Christ 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:31.960 who puts us back 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:32.960 together again. 00:18:33.820 --> 00:18:34.960 Verse 21 and 22 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:36.240 says that we were 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:37.960 once at enmity, 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:39.660 living with hostility 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:40.299 towards God, 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.319 but now we are reconciled. 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:42.960 That breach 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.180 has been fully repaired. 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:46.059 So think about 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:46.960 that relationship 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:47.660 in your life, 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:48.279 the one with 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:49.400 the bitter roots 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:50.420 and the frayed edges. 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:52.740 Imagine that one 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:55.720 made fully whole again 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:57.740 and then multiply that 00:18:57.740 --> 00:18:59.120 by a gazillion. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:00.880 That's what Jesus 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:02.000 has done with you. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:03.339 Why Christ? 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:05.059 Because he brings us 00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:06.099 stability in our present. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:07.000 He brings us freedom 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:08.220 from our past. 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:09.400 And thirdly and finally, 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:11.099 he's also the center 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:12.039 of our hope 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:13.000 as we think about 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:13.460 our future. 00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:15.319 Look at verse 18. 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:17.119 He is also the head 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:17.740 of the body, 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:18.500 the church, 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:19.019 which I'll get to 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:19.460 in a second. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.099 He's the beginning, 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:22.460 the first born 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:23.099 from the dead. 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:23.960 Now that expression, 00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:24.660 the first born 00:19:24.660 --> 00:19:25.299 from the dead, 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:26.359 is a reference 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:27.900 to Christ's resurrection 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:29.220 being the first 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:30.559 of many resurrections, 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:31.980 which means our hope 00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:33.960 is not in sporting 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:35.319 a halo 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:38.220 and strumming a harp 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:39.500 and floating around 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:40.559 in some celestial 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:41.940 cumulus clouds. 00:19:42.679 --> 00:19:44.179 Our future hope 00:19:44.179 --> 00:19:46.399 is a past reality 00:19:46.399 --> 00:19:48.440 that Christ is risen 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:49.639 from the dead. 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:51.119 Our future hope 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:53.240 is a historical event 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:55.059 that Christ is risen 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:56.039 from the dead. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.019 And we learn from Paul, 00:19:58.139 --> 00:19:59.480 he is the beginning. 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.039 Well, in John's gospel, 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:02.980 Matthew, Mark, Luke, 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:03.620 and John, 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:05.339 when he talks about 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:06.259 the crucifixion 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:07.140 and there's this moment 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:09.420 where after Jesus has died, 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:10.779 he's plunged in the side 00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:11.380 with a spear, 00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:12.819 in that account, 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:14.240 do you know what comes out? 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.259 Water and blood. 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:19.480 And John knew 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:21.339 that the only other place 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:23.420 where those two substances flow 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:25.620 is labor and delivery, 00:20:25.619 --> 00:20:27.839 which is John's way 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:28.319 of saying 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.579 this is a brand new world 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:32.379 being birthed 00:20:32.379 --> 00:20:33.199 right in the midst 00:20:33.199 --> 00:20:33.799 of the old one. 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:35.099 This maturing 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:36.279 even by the power 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:36.919 of the Holy Spirit 00:20:36.919 --> 00:20:38.399 right now within you. 00:20:39.159 --> 00:20:40.339 It's why Leslie Newbigin, 00:20:40.399 --> 00:20:41.319 the great missiologist 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:41.839 to India, 00:20:41.919 --> 00:20:42.419 would say 00:20:42.419 --> 00:20:43.339 when it comes 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:44.239 to a broken world, 00:20:44.399 --> 00:20:45.599 I'm not an optimist. 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:47.479 I'm not a pessimist. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:49.599 Christ is risen 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:50.699 from the dead. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:52.039 It's not the end 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:52.659 of the story. 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:53.320 It's the beginning 00:20:53.320 --> 00:20:54.620 of a new one. 00:20:55.980 --> 00:20:56.960 So secondly then, 00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:58.320 why the church? 00:20:58.340 --> 00:20:59.620 If I had another sermon, 00:20:59.860 --> 00:21:00.779 I'd preach it here, 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:02.040 but this second question 00:21:02.040 --> 00:21:02.779 will really just be 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:03.400 a conclusion. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.040 We learn in verse 18 00:21:06.040 --> 00:21:08.300 that Jesus is the head 00:21:08.300 --> 00:21:09.240 of the body, 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.140 the church. 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:10.900 And we'll learn 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:12.060 in the letter 00:21:12.060 --> 00:21:13.000 to the Ephesians 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:14.480 that as Paul writes, 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:17.320 Christ loved the church 00:21:17.320 --> 00:21:19.460 so much 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:21.500 that he gave himself 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:23.120 up for her. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:25.079 But if Jesus 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:26.579 is sufficient 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:27.980 as the one 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:29.120 who brings stability 00:21:29.120 --> 00:21:29.720 and freedom 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:30.519 and hope 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:31.039 and all the stuff 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:31.819 we've been talking about, 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:33.600 then why the church? 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:34.880 Why do we need the church? 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:36.400 Well again, 00:21:36.819 --> 00:21:37.840 to first principles, 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.059 back to the basics, 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:40.940 to our origin story. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:41.400 Remember, 00:21:41.860 --> 00:21:43.319 when Adam was created, 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:45.019 God said, 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:47.079 being alone with God 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:49.140 is not enough. 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:50.860 In fact, 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.019 in that creation account, 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:54.100 there are ten benedictions. 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:55.120 It is good, 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:55.720 it is good, 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:56.299 it is good, 00:21:56.360 --> 00:21:56.759 it is good. 00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:58.720 There is one malediction. 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:01.160 It is not good 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:02.559 that you and me 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:04.200 should be alone. 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:06.779 So to borrow some adjectives 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:07.860 from Alexander 00:22:07.860 --> 00:22:09.480 of Purple Crayon fame, 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:11.600 we live in a no good, 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:12.600 terrible, horrible, 00:22:12.600 --> 00:22:13.400 very bad, 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:14.400 not just day, 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:15.840 but world. 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:17.759 It's still broken 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:18.640 and the shards 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:19.480 of brokenness 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:21.539 cut in brutal loneliness. 00:22:22.619 --> 00:22:24.140 So while your aspirations 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:26.240 for 2025 are fresh, 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:27.980 be sure at least 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:29.299 one resolution 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:30.839 is designed 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:32.660 to actively fight 00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:34.220 against this loneliness 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:35.259 and isolation. 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:37.700 I'm entering 00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:39.700 into my 25th year 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:41.180 of pastoral ministry 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:42.140 in 2025. 00:22:43.019 --> 00:22:44.039 Jonathan's not too far 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:44.640 behind me. 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:46.119 Andrew's catching up 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:46.659 with us. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.559 If we were to index 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:51.199 the most tragic circumstances, 00:22:52.059 --> 00:22:53.099 deepest losses, 00:22:53.399 --> 00:22:54.759 and gravest dangers 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.779 that we've walked through 00:22:56.779 --> 00:22:58.219 with others in ministry 00:22:58.219 --> 00:22:59.239 over a collective 00:22:59.239 --> 00:23:00.419 50 plus years, 00:23:01.379 --> 00:23:01.759 loneliness 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:03.559 and isolation 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:05.719 almost always 00:23:05.719 --> 00:23:06.959 either contribute 00:23:06.959 --> 00:23:08.459 to those situations 00:23:08.459 --> 00:23:10.339 or exacerbate 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:10.939 the pain 00:23:10.939 --> 00:23:11.919 around them. 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:13.599 So engagement 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:14.500 in the church, 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:15.240 the body 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:15.919 of Christ, 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:17.319 this is God's 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:18.559 solution. 00:23:19.659 --> 00:23:20.579 Take God up 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:21.439 on his offer 00:23:21.439 --> 00:23:22.480 if you haven't already. 00:23:23.179 --> 00:23:24.159 Before your aspirations 00:23:24.159 --> 00:23:24.980 of 2025 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:26.779 lose their luster, 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:27.500 be sure 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:28.000 at least 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:29.119 one resolution 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.179 will ground you 00:23:30.179 --> 00:23:30.740 further 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:31.839 and deeper 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:32.939 into the body 00:23:32.939 --> 00:23:34.199 of the church. 00:23:34.939 --> 00:23:35.259 Yes, 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:35.919 I know 00:23:35.919 --> 00:23:36.959 there's distrust 00:23:36.959 --> 00:23:37.679 and suspicion 00:23:37.679 --> 00:23:38.399 around the church 00:23:38.399 --> 00:23:39.439 and in some cases 00:23:39.439 --> 00:23:40.219 rightly so. 00:23:40.619 --> 00:23:40.859 Yes, 00:23:40.939 --> 00:23:41.480 I know 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:42.139 that the church 00:23:42.140 --> 00:23:43.220 is full of people 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:44.300 who are judgmental 00:23:44.300 --> 00:23:45.259 and intolerant 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:46.320 and hypocritical 00:23:46.320 --> 00:23:47.259 and yet, 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:48.160 and yet, 00:23:48.340 --> 00:23:49.460 there's always room 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:50.660 for at least one more. 00:23:51.120 --> 00:23:51.920 So join us. 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:52.220 No. 00:23:53.540 --> 00:23:54.400 I know 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:55.500 there are people 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:56.080 with chips 00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:57.060 on their shoulders 00:23:57.060 --> 00:23:58.540 and sharp elbows, 00:23:58.800 --> 00:24:00.000 people like you, 00:24:00.320 --> 00:24:01.540 people like me 00:24:01.540 --> 00:24:03.460 who need 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:04.120 one another. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.640 That's God's 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:06.360 solution. 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:07.759 This is how 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:08.880 we are refined 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:09.840 and bettered 00:24:09.840 --> 00:24:10.740 as we follow Jesus. 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:12.120 Jesus as head 00:24:12.120 --> 00:24:12.740 of the body 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:13.339 is providing 00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:14.200 direction 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:15.079 and purpose 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:15.880 and nourishment 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:16.799 and love 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:18.559 and we as Christ's body 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:19.180 are providing 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:20.440 mutual care 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:21.460 and encouragement 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.259 to one another 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:23.120 and to our friends 00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:23.720 and our neighbors 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:24.480 and our coworkers 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:25.680 and our classmates. 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:27.620 We might love 00:24:27.620 --> 00:24:28.519 to have Jesus 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.039 apart from the contradictions 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:30.799 and distractions 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:31.579 of others, 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:33.539 but we're designed 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:34.220 by God 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:35.740 to rely upon others. 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:37.620 Christ could supply 00:24:37.620 --> 00:24:38.720 all of your needs 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.359 directly, 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.119 but he usually 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:41.659 doesn't. 00:24:42.439 --> 00:24:43.199 And we're also 00:24:43.199 --> 00:24:44.099 called to let 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:44.599 other people 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:46.059 rely on us. 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:47.679 So an indexing 00:24:47.679 --> 00:24:48.419 question for you 00:24:48.419 --> 00:24:48.939 might be, 00:24:49.479 --> 00:24:50.179 if I stopped 00:24:50.179 --> 00:24:51.159 engaging in this 00:24:51.159 --> 00:24:51.759 local church 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:52.339 right here, 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:53.619 would there be 00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:54.599 ministry around me 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:55.619 that might collapse? 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:57.259 Well, Peter 00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:58.500 talks of us 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.959 as living stones, 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:00.459 which means 00:25:00.459 --> 00:25:00.979 there's this 00:25:00.979 --> 00:25:02.219 interlocking 00:25:02.219 --> 00:25:03.399 interdependence 00:25:03.399 --> 00:25:04.399 that we need 00:25:04.399 --> 00:25:05.159 from one another. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:07.279 So I imagine 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:10.320 what it could be 00:25:10.320 --> 00:25:12.300 like in 2025. 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:14.180 Imagine 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:15.700 being a people 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:16.940 who center 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:18.380 everything on Jesus 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:19.600 because Jesus 00:25:19.600 --> 00:25:20.240 is the center 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:20.740 of everything. 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:22.000 Imagine 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:22.940 what it would 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:23.380 look like 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:24.120 to wake up 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:25.279 each and every day 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:26.120 or at least 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:27.600 most of the days 00:25:27.600 --> 00:25:28.420 in 2025 00:25:28.420 --> 00:25:30.440 without the weight 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.060 of the world 00:25:31.060 --> 00:25:32.180 on your shoulders, 00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:33.740 with the pressure 00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:34.299 off. 00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:35.480 You don't 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:37.019 have to make 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:37.940 something great 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:38.599 of yourself. 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:39.940 God already 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:40.359 did. 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:41.420 You don't 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:42.319 have to hold 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:43.240 it all together. 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:44.640 God always 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:45.339 does. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:46.980 And imagine 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:47.640 doing this 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:48.420 with other 00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:49.220 people whom 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:50.019 you can depend 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:51.620 upon and who 00:25:51.620 --> 00:25:52.380 can also depend 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:52.980 upon you. 00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:54.880 This summons 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.500 embodies 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:56.960 Paul's concluding 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:57.599 prayer at the 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.779 end of verse 24. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:00.759 All of this 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:01.940 for the sake 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:02.660 of the body 00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:03.860 which is 00:26:03.860 --> 00:26:04.960 Christ's 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:05.340 church. 00:26:06.060 --> 00:26:06.660 In the name 00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:07.100 of the Father, 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:07.800 Son, and Spirit. 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:08.420 Amen.