WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.359 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.500 Join us. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:14.259 I'm grateful to be up here. 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:15.220 My name is Bill Herrett. 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:22.059 I'm an associate pastor here at Southwood, and I'm grateful to be able to talk to you 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:23.660 guys about God's Word this morning. 00:00:23.660 --> 00:00:33.100 Um, as I was thinking about this week, I was reminded of a friend of mine. 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:39.520 I was thinking about what the Lord was, what we were working through to preach this morning. 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:45.439 I was thinking of a friend who, when I was very early as a parent in my new days as a 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:50.240 parent, young kids, I asked my friends, what was it like? 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:50.960 How are your kids? 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:51.980 How's everyone? 00:00:51.979 --> 00:01:01.559 And I remember this moment, uh, vividly where my friend, just a wave of, um, I don't know, 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:11.719 relief and excitement and gladness and joy, uh, uh, crossed over his face as he went on 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:17.780 to just describe how much he loved and cared for and how delighted he was in his children 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:22.980 and, and all the nuances and, and the, the things they did, the sports they, they were 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:27.540 good at there and how his daughter had this, you know, tender heart and cared deeply for 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:32.379 her friends and how she, um, wouldn't let someone be lonely. 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:41.280 And, and, and it struck me in that conversation, um, how much this friend of mine knew his children. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:48.599 He wasn't just telling me details like, well, she's a blonde seven-year-old and that's it. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:49.620 And that's it. 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:55.980 Um, he was describing who she was as a person because he'd interacted with her and walked 00:01:55.980 --> 00:01:58.219 with her through her young life. 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:03.240 He knew his son and the things that he did, the things that, um, that annoyed his dad, 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:07.340 the things that bothered him, the things that he loved, the delighted in, and joy was on his 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:11.259 face describing his children as he told me about them. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:13.080 I was glad I asked, honestly. 00:02:14.259 --> 00:02:22.780 I was excited for my friend to know how deeply known and loved his own children were. 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:26.000 It wasn't a doubt in my mind because I knew this man for a long time. 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:28.840 It wasn't any doubt in my mind, but to hear him express it. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:30.199 So important. 00:02:30.920 --> 00:02:31.819 So beautiful. 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:41.239 And I think as you see, hopefully the kind of a little more crazy than normal outline 00:02:41.239 --> 00:02:44.919 that we have in the bulletin, it's a lot of scripture. 00:02:45.359 --> 00:02:48.219 So I'm not going to ask you to turn to every single passage that we read. 00:02:49.519 --> 00:02:54.979 Um, one of the reasons why we're talking through this idea of being known and loved by God is 00:02:54.979 --> 00:03:00.099 because as the youth staff, um, which I worked through with, with high school, high school 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:04.939 students, we worked through these ideas this past fall. 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:06.919 Lots of different passages. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.539 So we've, we've studied a lot of different passages throughout the Old and New Testament 00:03:10.539 --> 00:03:17.079 about understanding and coming to grips with and holding fast in the fact that you are known 00:03:17.079 --> 00:03:18.759 and loved by the God of the universe. 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:26.379 But if I'm being honest about my own baggage with the rest of church ministry, because 00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:32.399 I've done youth ministry for 20 years, um, all of us need to hear these truths. 00:03:32.959 --> 00:03:35.639 This is not just something that kids need. 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:37.780 So it's foundational or students need. 00:03:37.859 --> 00:03:38.560 So it's foundational. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:40.439 And we walk through life holding fast. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:45.539 It's that we all struggle and forget these realities. 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:50.900 And so we know these things that are true, right? 00:03:50.959 --> 00:03:53.199 We know we can, we can look to the scriptures. 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:58.319 We can know in Hebrews, um, that it tells us that nothing is create in creation is hidden 00:03:58.319 --> 00:03:59.139 from God's sight. 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:03.319 Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. 00:04:03.519 --> 00:04:04.959 God knows everything. 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:05.780 He's omniscient. 00:04:06.959 --> 00:04:10.479 And we know that God is love because we can look to the scriptures and we can see in first 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.659 John chapter four, that God is described as love. 00:04:15.739 --> 00:04:18.699 So we can acknowledge these realities. 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:20.819 Yes, I'm known and loved by God. 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:28.699 And so I think this is more than just a youth ministry truth that we need to uncover and, 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:32.060 um, look at and wrestle with and cling to. 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:34.860 It's something we all deal with us. 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:36.779 All we, we all struggle with. 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.039 And so the struggle, right? 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:43.119 The struggle that we all have is rooted in Romans 3 23. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:50.699 It's this reminder that all of us have fallen short and all of us are sinners. 00:04:51.299 --> 00:04:59.139 There's not a person on the planet who doesn't deal with the realities of a broken world. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:04.359 So in Genesis chapter three, when we, when we see the fall of man and, and, and we know that 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:08.720 the whole of the earth is no longer going to be made right and perfect and good. 00:05:08.819 --> 00:05:12.280 It has this fallen nature that human beings have this fallen nature. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:20.500 We also know that, that people have this fallen nature and we all walk in this brokenness daily. 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:27.000 And the tension of that brokenness and the sin that we live in. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:37.139 Um, we, we wanted our students this fall to know how transcendent God is, how beautiful God is, 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:38.939 how much you are known and loved by God. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:44.240 But I, and I think the things that we, we talked about, and so I'm just going to rattle off some of the things 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:50.240 that we try to address that I don't think are far off from any of us when it comes to our sin. 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:54.420 Do we know who we are? 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:56.300 Do we know our own identity? 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:04.579 These are the kind of questions that maybe, um, you've, you've asked. 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:07.439 Um, am I worthy? 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:09.259 Am I a good dad? 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:10.900 Am I doing enough? 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:12.660 Am I present enough? 00:06:12.660 --> 00:06:15.439 Am I doing enough for my family? 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:16.620 Am I providing? 00:06:17.840 --> 00:06:18.780 Am I loving? 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:20.780 Am I encouraging? 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:23.220 Am I a good enough pastor? 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.080 That's when I ask often. 00:06:27.640 --> 00:06:32.280 And I think as we think through these things, we, we deal with the, the frailty of ourselves 00:06:32.280 --> 00:06:34.500 and the struggle of, are we safe? 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:35.180 Are we secure? 00:06:35.280 --> 00:06:36.620 Am I living as an imposter? 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:39.140 Am I really just pretending to be a Christian? 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:40.660 Am I behaving Christianly? 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:43.300 Am I doing Christian things? 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:47.340 Am I really who God says I am? 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:53.420 Do we struggle against the idea of competition? 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:58.700 Or earning or failure or success? 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:01.579 I'm not doing enough. 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:02.319 I'm not good enough. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:03.259 I have, I failed. 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:04.759 I'm a, I'm a, I'm bad at this. 00:07:05.099 --> 00:07:06.500 This is just not who I am. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:13.680 Some of us in the past months, even weeks, have dealt with deep sorrow and sadness. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:20.639 I've simply experienced too much hurt to be able to even relate to the idea that God would 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.120 know me, let alone love me. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:33.180 Some of us are swimming in broken relationships in our lives, whether through work or family or friends. 00:07:34.100 --> 00:07:41.019 And this sense and this feeling that no one likes me, let alone no one loves me. 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:45.019 So therefore God could never know me or love me. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:55.979 And so the reality of sin and the brokenness of the world is what causes us to doubt the truths of Scripture. 00:07:56.719 --> 00:08:02.819 This brokenness and hurt that we live in, that we swim in, that we know is true. 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.000 Because let's be honest, we're good Presbyterians. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:10.079 Our theology is rooted in this idea that we are sinners in need of a Savior. 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:13.379 And so I'm not going to deviate from that. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:14.479 I'm not going to stray from that. 00:08:14.539 --> 00:08:15.979 I'm not going to ever stop saying that. 00:08:17.159 --> 00:08:19.979 Because I do think we do, we need a Savior. 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:22.979 We're not strong enough on our own. 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:29.899 But I think the struggle that we face is we doubt the strength of our Savior. 00:08:30.919 --> 00:08:36.159 We doubt and struggle and wrestle with the love of our God for His people. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:40.059 And I think our students live in that. 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:42.379 But I think all of us do. 00:08:44.019 --> 00:08:58.059 And so I wanted to remind you today as we tried to condense a semester's worth of teaching into just a couple of points that hopefully will help us, encourage us, and draw us closer to God Himself. 00:08:58.059 --> 00:09:05.039 As we try and move all those things to this space right here, we hope it encourages you. 00:09:05.079 --> 00:09:15.719 I hope it encourages you to remember the reality in which you live about who God is and how He knows you and loves you. 00:09:17.099 --> 00:09:23.500 And so I want to make sure that despite our struggle, you cling to the truth. 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:27.220 So let's, we're going to look at Psalm 139. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.879 I'm going to read to you from Psalm 139 here. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:35.759 I want to read to you just this idea of being known by God. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:40.220 And so in Psalm 139 from David, it says, 00:09:40.220 --> 00:10:08.080 And then here's the question that I love. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.280 Where shall I go from your spirit? 00:10:10.780 --> 00:10:12.920 Where shall I flee from your presence? 00:10:13.540 --> 00:10:15.180 If I ascend to heaven, you are there. 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:18.520 If I make my bed and shield in the depths, you are there. 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:26.660 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. 00:10:27.020 --> 00:10:34.500 If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:39.179 The night is bright as the day, for the darkness is as light as you. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:42.659 And the things that, we could do a whole sermon. 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:50.759 I promise I'm not going to go till 945 tonight because each passage could be talked about over and over and over again. 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:57.600 But I want to make sure I communicate to you that God knows you in your highest of heights and your deepest depths. 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:05.179 At your very best, at your very worst, God does not flee from your presence. 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:11.919 When you are in Christ, God does not leave you or forsake you. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:18.319 Jesus promises us this, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, he shall neither leave us or forsake us. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.279 He will be with us to the end of the age. 00:11:21.099 --> 00:11:27.699 And that here we see in King David, even in the Psalms, we see God's very presence with his people. 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:38.240 And so into these places that we go, these struggles that we face in this world, God himself continues to go with us. 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.660 And so he knows you at your very best, which is great. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:46.020 I would love God to just be like, great job. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:48.060 I'd love him to just, you're doing great. 00:11:49.060 --> 00:11:53.980 But the comfort that I often find is that God knows me in my very worst. 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:57.180 And he still remains our God. 00:11:58.140 --> 00:12:07.379 At the worst struggles, at the deepest hurts, at the biggest things in our lives, God still knows us at our very worst. 00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:14.360 And then I want us to, so we know that God knows us at our very best and our very worst. 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:16.520 In the book of John, as we kind of pivot. 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:22.740 So if God knows us at our very best and our very worst, surely he couldn't care about me. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.200 I'm in my, in a place in my life right now where I'm just far off from him. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:28.259 There's no way. 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:35.940 And in John chapter four, we're seeing this, Jesus had this interaction with a Samaritan woman. 00:12:36.020 --> 00:12:42.120 We're not going to read the whole book because, or the whole chapter, because I think that would make us, again, I'm 45. 00:12:42.280 --> 00:12:43.860 We're not, we're not aiming for that goal. 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:48.279 But he interacts with this Samaritan woman. 00:12:49.800 --> 00:12:55.539 And he relays to her about her life and how the man she's with isn't even her husband then. 00:12:55.539 --> 00:12:58.019 And she's had many husbands. 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:07.019 And, and the woman, when she is interacting and Jesus is giving her information about, so that she might never thirst again. 00:13:08.959 --> 00:13:11.399 From this well that never runs dry. 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.699 And he's speaking about himself. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.100 He's speaking about himself being the well that never runs dry. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.759 Being this water that might, she might never thirst again. 00:13:20.459 --> 00:13:27.139 But because he relayed to her this information about her life, I was so struck by her reaction. 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:34.419 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:35.659 And this is what she said. 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:51.120 This Samaritan woman who in many ways with the Jews would be, have been considered enemies, idolaters, people who have tainted the real religion of Israel and the Jewish people. 00:13:52.079 --> 00:13:53.379 Jesus interacts with her. 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:55.779 He knows her sin. 00:13:55.980 --> 00:13:58.419 He actually lays it out before her. 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:00.319 And tells her all about it. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:07.700 And she, in understanding who he is, this is the Messiah. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.420 He is the Savior of the world. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:19.200 Jesus, this prophet, this man told me everything I ever, I ever did. 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:32.540 And then when she goes to tell people, it is no longer, the Samaritans respond with, it is no longer because of what you said, we believe, for we've heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. 00:14:34.580 --> 00:14:39.740 So God knows that you're best and you're worst, but God also knows you personally. 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:42.580 God has not forsaken you. 00:14:42.680 --> 00:14:51.419 God is knowledgeable about you in your situation, your place, your life, your house here in Huntsville, Alabama, even now. 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:57.340 And he knows this woman even in her worst. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:10.399 But Jesus, even though he knows that she is at her worst, she is the one who he came to save. 00:15:12.060 --> 00:15:22.019 Jesus knows that this woman and all of us, because of what we've said in Romans chapter 3, that all of us are sinners. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:27.740 And so God came to save those. 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:34.939 And even though he knows that they are sinners, he has come to save those who are in sin. 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:38.699 He's come to save those he has known. 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:46.079 So even though God knows us at our very worst, those are the ones he has come to save. 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:54.120 So as we pivot from there again to Luke chapter 5, we see this story of the call of Levi. 00:15:54.120 --> 00:16:02.940 One of my favorite passages in all of the Gospels is after this, he went out and he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. 00:16:03.300 --> 00:16:04.400 And he said to him, follow me. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.240 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:08.560 And Levi made for him a great feast in his house. 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:12.300 And there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:20.159 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? 00:16:21.359 --> 00:16:30.019 And Jesus answered them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:34.939 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:40.280 And so let's pause. 00:16:40.380 --> 00:16:42.960 So we've said that you're known by God. 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.420 He knows you at your very best, your very worst. 00:16:47.400 --> 00:16:49.280 He knows you personally. 00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:54.660 He's interacted with this Samaritan woman in such a way that laying out details of her life, 00:16:54.880 --> 00:17:02.040 that there's no way he could just know this unless he is the Messiah, unless he is the Christ, unless he is the Savior. 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:06.980 And who has Jesus come for? 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:10.240 Jesus has come for sinners. 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:18.120 And so even though God knows us in our weakest, worst, and most terrible places, 00:17:18.120 --> 00:17:27.759 God comes for sinners so that they might know life and righteousness and relationship with the true God of the universe. 00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:31.640 Jesus, the friend of sinners. 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:42.280 The one who was there, who spoke all of creation into being, has come to give sinners life and life eternal. 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.580 So I'm going to, let's make sure we remember this, that we're known by God. 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:52.440 And so there's two ways that I typically go in this, my own personal struggle with being known by God. 00:17:52.540 --> 00:17:53.920 I'm just, lay it out there. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:59.360 I'm either going to be incredibly terrified by this, that God knows me. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:04.060 If God knows me the way he knows the Samaritan woman, I am honestly terrified. 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:10.860 The things that go on in my life, the sins that I commit, the times that I raise my voice in my children, 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:15.180 and that's just a euphemism for all any other bad thing I've done in my life. 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:19.340 That, that terrifies me. 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:21.500 That makes me uncomfortable. 00:18:23.100 --> 00:18:24.860 That, that scares me. 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:30.900 And on the other side, you've got this reality that it's such a relief. 00:18:32.340 --> 00:18:35.019 Oh, God knows me. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.799 I'm not some far off, unknown person to God. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.500 I'm not some forgotten piece of his creation. 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:46.299 I'm not some random person. 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:49.680 I'm not some small speck of nothingness. 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:57.879 But the fact that God knows me immediately restores this feeling of value. 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:03.619 That the very God of the universe who could speak creation into being cares deeply enough 00:19:03.619 --> 00:19:07.779 to know broken sinners so that they might know him. 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:14.879 That the God of the universe who is above and knows everything and has done everything, 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.720 is all powerful, all these things that we can't comprehend. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:20.859 He knows me. 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:27.399 And he cares enough to know me at my best and my worst. 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:36.580 And he cares enough to know me and to make his presence known in my life in such a way that I might even get to share in salvation 00:19:36.580 --> 00:19:40.320 and live in him for all my days. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:53.639 It gives us this great opportunity to no longer hide or live in the shadows where our sin creeps. 00:19:54.679 --> 00:20:02.439 It allows us to be transparent with a God that actually forgives, 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:10.600 actually calls sinners to repentance, actually redeems sinners and cleanses us of our sin. 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:22.419 So, as I've wrestled with this, one of the things that we try and say, we talk about, 00:20:22.959 --> 00:20:31.019 is the safest person in the room is the one who's honest and repentant. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:36.139 The Christian is the one whose sin has been dealt with. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:40.720 And so, the beauty of this God knowing us is that even in our repentance, 00:20:41.120 --> 00:20:45.060 God knows what we've done even before we, the words on our tongue. 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:48.400 And yet, we feel this sense of relief. 00:20:48.600 --> 00:20:54.040 We can feel this sense of relief because God himself knows us. 00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:59.480 And so, since it's been dealt with by the cross, we can be transparent. 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:07.160 We can be people who reveal ourselves to and admit and confess and repent to our God 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:08.599 in the ways that we're called to. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:16.299 God is comfortable with redeeming sinners. 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:19.400 We are the ones he has come for. 00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:25.400 And he knows us more deeply and relationally than we could ever imagine. 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:34.480 And I think that as we think on, yes, God knows me, but could he really love me? 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:36.560 Could he really care about me? 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:43.440 Could he dare to give me any sort of love that would be meaningful? 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:52.940 And I think that oftentimes I'm guilty of being very clinical and maybe robotic 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:58.620 in kind of this idea of knowing that God loves me. 00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:04.240 Yes, I can regurgitate to you verses of the Bible that tell me that I'm loved by God. 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:10.240 But I'd be remiss to say I wish that I couldn't just attribute it to my dad, 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:14.680 but a lot of different people, this love that God has for us. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:19.079 And I don't mean to demean it because we don't want to take sin very seriously. 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:20.039 I've already said that. 00:22:20.859 --> 00:22:23.220 Sin is spiritual death. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:27.859 And yet God seems to be one who wants to bring life to his people. 00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:31.759 But God loves us. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:39.799 And even though we feel this sense of weakness, brokenness, sin, 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:45.460 God loves us in our warts and all kind of moment. 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:50.420 Because one of the beauties of it, this is a very almost crude saying, 00:22:51.099 --> 00:22:55.720 Southern, I would say, but perhaps transcendent beyond Southern, but warts and all. 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:59.600 But I remember having this conversation with my own dad about being married. 00:22:59.779 --> 00:23:04.480 And this is before I was married and how he and my mom dealt with conflict 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.660 and struggle and differences. 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.579 And he said, I didn't marry your mom because she was perfect. 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:10.360 I married her warts and all. 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:13.579 And that's a crude saying. 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:15.600 I hope my mom doesn't get mad when she listens to this sermon 00:23:15.600 --> 00:23:17.519 that I've relayed that information. 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:24.200 But he married her even though he knew she wasn't perfect. 00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:30.799 God redeems imperfect people and continues to love his imperfect people. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:36.279 We see it in his faithfulness and his long suffering through all of Israel's history. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:41.220 We see it in pictures of how they turn from him and turn to idols over and over and over again. 00:23:41.600 --> 00:23:47.039 And yet we are deeply known by God, but we're also deeply loved by God. 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:53.360 And there's three things that we want to try and talk about briefly. 00:23:54.200 --> 00:24:00.039 Is that first that it's in this love that's revealed to us in Jesus. 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.259 We are loved with a costly love. 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:06.160 We are loved with a costly love. 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:08.700 It is not love that is just flippant. 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.500 It is not love that is unintentional. 00:24:11.840 --> 00:24:18.259 It is love that costs God at the deepest, his own son, so that we might have life. 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:22.119 Most of us know and could perhaps regurgitate John 3, 16. 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:27.019 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.819 that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:38.200 I love what Romans tells us here in chapter 5. 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:46.580 For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:52.900 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. 00:24:55.400 --> 00:25:01.940 But God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:08.680 The kind of love that God has for his people is a costly love. 00:25:10.340 --> 00:25:17.039 It's one that he was willing to give his only begotten son so that we might have eternal life. 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:24.220 That we might know we were loved by a God who acts despite our brokenness and because of our brokenness 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:27.900 to bring us back to himself and make us righteous before him. 00:25:27.900 --> 00:25:33.160 To make us holy, to make us in right relationship with him. 00:25:35.320 --> 00:25:45.700 God reveals his love for us in this act that Jesus, this act of God that Jesus gives his life so that we might have life eternal. 00:25:47.840 --> 00:25:51.880 But not because we've earned it, which we talked about in this past semester. 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:56.660 We talked about looking at Israel and how God declares they weren't mighty among the nations. 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:59.320 They weren't the best, they weren't the biggest, they didn't have the biggest army. 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:05.220 But yet, God, because of his steadfast love and his covenant, he, he loved them. 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:07.480 And he redeemed them. 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:16.500 Because of his steadfast love and his willingness to draw his people back to himself, 00:26:17.060 --> 00:26:18.680 he gave his only son. 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:25.560 His love extends to us through the loss of his son. 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.180 And it is a big, big cost. 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:31.640 And that must mean our sin is very big. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:34.820 But God's love is greater still. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:40.160 And because it's greater still, we want to see here in Ephesians, 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:42.000 as we kind of continue to work through these passages, 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:46.840 that God's love is much bigger than we could ever imagine. 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:51.899 It's a love that surpasses even our knowledge or our understanding. 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:53.539 It's something that's hard to comprehend. 00:26:53.779 --> 00:26:56.619 It's something that we can't get our heads and minds wrapped around. 00:26:56.699 --> 00:26:58.500 It says this, that in Ephesians, 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:00.500 that so Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:04.379 that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength 00:27:04.379 --> 00:27:06.779 to comprehend with all the saints 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:10.619 what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:14.539 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:17.359 That we can't understand that you may be filled 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:19.220 with all the fullness of God, 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:23.159 that we could not even comprehend the love of God. 00:27:24.159 --> 00:27:27.720 It is so much bigger than we could ever imagine. 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:33.539 I often try, I don't know, I feel like I'm not trying to, 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:39.659 I'm not trying to encourage anyone in this, please. 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:43.880 But often when you see things like this past month, 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:48.900 when like a $1.1 billion lottery happens, 00:27:49.600 --> 00:27:53.820 I can't, I'm trying to imagine in my mind 00:27:53.820 --> 00:27:56.120 the kind of money that they're talking about. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.460 A billion dollars. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.160 That's more money than I could ever fathom 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:04.120 any person needing or wanting. 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:07.839 And there's nothing wrong with money used 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.219 to the glory of God, to God's, 00:28:10.219 --> 00:28:11.519 I'm not saying that for a lottery, 00:28:11.659 --> 00:28:13.639 I'm not making a statement, please don't. 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:15.539 Let's just keep it there. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:17.179 I'm just trying to make the point that it's a lot of money. 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:21.179 But the reality of that is that 00:28:21.179 --> 00:28:22.899 it's hard for me to fathom it. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:25.500 If you're familiar with, 00:28:25.899 --> 00:28:28.539 if you were a child of the 90s, as I am, 00:28:28.939 --> 00:28:31.819 I say child of, I'm a two decade child, 00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:34.419 that was the 80s and the 90s. 00:28:34.679 --> 00:28:37.059 There's a show called Duck Tales. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.539 Is anyone familiar with Duck Tales from growing up? 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:39.839 Okay. 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:42.839 And Scrooge McDuck would swim 00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:46.299 in a giant building full of gold coins. 00:28:47.679 --> 00:28:50.559 I'm trying to understand and try and give 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:54.359 an idea of comprehending how big God's love is. 00:28:54.919 --> 00:28:57.179 And so when I think of the lottery 00:28:57.180 --> 00:29:00.580 and the wealth and the, how much money that, 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:02.019 1.1 billion dollars, 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:03.900 or how much money Scrooge McDuck 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:05.840 is swimming around in gold coins, 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:08.720 I cannot even get my head wrapped around how much it is. 00:29:08.860 --> 00:29:11.940 And even that dwarfs and it pales 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:15.380 and is worthless compared to the love of God. 00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:22.160 Because the love of God transcends even our thoughts. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:27.820 It transcends even any way we could think about it. 00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:33.660 It is so big that it is incomprehensible. 00:29:35.820 --> 00:29:39.840 At least we can put a comma and talk about money. 00:29:40.700 --> 00:29:43.980 But we cannot put a comma on God's love 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:46.880 because it is inexhaustible. 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:50.900 So not only does God's love, 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:52.300 not only is it costly, 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:54.420 not only does it surpass knowledge, 00:29:54.620 --> 00:29:56.920 but it is ultimately transformative. 00:29:59.580 --> 00:30:01.000 In 1 John, 00:30:01.320 --> 00:30:04.740 we're reminded what God's love does 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:07.100 because it's not inactive. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:09.180 It's transformative. 00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:12.300 See, in 1 John, it says this, 00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:15.240 see what kind of love the Father has given to us 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:17.779 that we should be called children of God. 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:19.039 And so we are. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.079 The reason why the world does not know us 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:22.319 is that it did not know him. 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:25.240 Beloved, we are God's children now. 00:30:25.900 --> 00:30:27.960 And what we will be has not yet appeared, 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:29.579 but we know that when he appears, 00:30:29.660 --> 00:30:30.839 we shall be like him 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:33.480 because we shall see him as he is. 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.440 Multiple places in the New Testament, 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:41.079 it talks of the transformation of adoption 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:44.299 and how we are made into God's children, 00:30:44.399 --> 00:30:45.679 his sons and daughters. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:52.359 So that we might be a part of his family. 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:56.099 And so when this is where kind of 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:58.720 that blurring of the line of being known and loved 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:01.679 kind of becomes in this place 00:31:01.679 --> 00:31:02.980 where we become transformed 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:05.639 and we've been made like into his children, 00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:07.339 where we were once sinners, 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:08.459 we were once far off, 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:11.199 we were once far away 00:31:11.199 --> 00:31:12.439 and now we are his people, 00:31:12.539 --> 00:31:13.759 now we are his children. 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:19.019 And so not only are we his children, 00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:21.359 I often think back to where 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.859 my friend would talk about 00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:25.480 his son and his daughter. 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:29.220 And if we are his children, 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:31.220 I'm grateful for my friend, 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:32.879 I'm grateful for the way he describes 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:35.020 because this is where I'm reminded 00:31:35.020 --> 00:31:37.420 that this is the way God delights 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:38.780 in his children. 00:31:42.040 --> 00:31:43.520 And I have to remind myself, 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:46.220 oh, that's Bill. 00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:49.200 He's an only okay pastor. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:51.360 He's doing great. 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:52.100 He's doing this. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.320 I try to put myself in the place 00:31:55.320 --> 00:31:56.860 where God would actually 00:31:56.860 --> 00:31:58.880 talk about me that way. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:03.640 And I promise my ego doesn't need it. 00:32:03.760 --> 00:32:05.180 I promise I'm too much of a sinner. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:07.960 But I have to remind myself 00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:09.240 that God's deep love 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:11.320 isn't just for his people. 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:12.360 It is for me as well. 00:32:13.380 --> 00:32:14.400 It is for you. 00:32:16.620 --> 00:32:19.020 And God has transformed you 00:32:19.020 --> 00:32:20.140 and adopted you 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:21.780 and made you his own children. 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:28.680 And so as we kind of wrap up here 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:29.180 in the end, 00:32:30.259 --> 00:32:32.160 people who are now 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:34.579 known and loved 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:36.279 and transformed by that love, 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:38.980 since we are known and loved 00:32:38.980 --> 00:32:39.700 by God in Christ, 00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:42.099 we can know and love 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:43.879 God himself. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.059 We can understand. 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:47.420 I don't want it to just be 00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:48.200 some sort of clinical 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:50.139 or educational thing. 00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:52.380 It's something that transforms us 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:53.380 so that we might 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:54.860 love God himself. 00:32:55.100 --> 00:32:55.720 And so I'm going to give you 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:56.500 a little sneak peek 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:58.900 into what we're trying to do today 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:01.460 in our Connect Hour 00:33:01.460 --> 00:33:02.259 across the street. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:03.920 Okay? 00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:07.560 So we are people 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:09.520 who know and love God. 00:33:09.620 --> 00:33:11.100 So we've talked about this. 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:12.100 We've talked about this passage 00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:12.740 from Deuteronomy 00:33:12.740 --> 00:33:13.620 about hero Israel, 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:14.440 the Lord our God. 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:16.100 The Lord is one. 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:17.259 You shall love the Lord your God 00:33:17.259 --> 00:33:18.040 with all your heart, 00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:18.700 all your soul, 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:19.440 and all your mind. 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:20.259 And these words 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:21.259 I command you 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:22.320 shall be on your heart. 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:24.779 Here's what we're trying to do 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:26.500 and just to kind of 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:27.279 connect the dots. 00:33:28.360 --> 00:33:29.420 If you don't know, 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:31.740 my goal, 00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:33.580 and I think it's a biblical goal, 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:34.600 is not to have 00:33:34.600 --> 00:33:35.740 a ministry 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:36.880 to our students 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:37.700 and our youth 00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:40.340 that is entertaining. 00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:42.600 It can be fun. 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:44.480 It can be great. 00:33:45.080 --> 00:33:46.680 It can be a lot of 00:33:46.680 --> 00:33:48.440 relationships and connection, 00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:49.460 but our desire 00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:50.940 above all else 00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:52.420 is that they would 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:54.080 know and love God 00:33:54.080 --> 00:33:54.620 and that they would 00:33:54.620 --> 00:33:55.580 walk with God 00:33:55.580 --> 00:33:56.980 not just now 00:33:56.980 --> 00:33:58.279 in this brief time 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:00.500 in middle school 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:01.080 and in high school, 00:34:01.140 --> 00:34:02.120 but that they would walk 00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:03.400 with the God of the universe 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:04.840 all their lives. 00:34:05.820 --> 00:34:06.620 We want them 00:34:06.620 --> 00:34:07.620 to know Christ 00:34:07.620 --> 00:34:09.619 with a lasting knowledge, 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:11.340 with a lasting love. 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:15.039 our heart for them 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:16.559 is that they would love 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:17.300 the Lord their God 00:34:17.300 --> 00:34:18.100 with all their heart, 00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:19.180 all their soul, 00:34:19.220 --> 00:34:19.900 and all their might. 00:34:21.019 --> 00:34:21.680 And today, 00:34:21.740 --> 00:34:23.300 we're going to take that passage 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:24.100 and some other passages 00:34:24.100 --> 00:34:25.180 across the street 00:34:25.180 --> 00:34:26.480 and we're going to 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:27.360 encourage them. 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:28.320 We're going to take a time 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.579 to think about 00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:30.660 what are the things 00:34:30.660 --> 00:34:32.200 that we might know 00:34:32.200 --> 00:34:33.700 and love about God 00:34:33.700 --> 00:34:34.920 in this coming year. 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:37.440 what are the things 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:37.720 that, 00:34:38.019 --> 00:34:38.480 not that we would 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:39.360 set a resolution, 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:39.900 we're not trying 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:41.400 to have our kids 00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:42.880 step into some sort 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:44.039 of self-help, 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.639 spiritual New Year's resolution. 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:47.940 What we're trying to do 00:34:47.940 --> 00:34:49.519 is encourage them 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:50.820 in their walk 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:51.599 with Jesus 00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:52.840 both now 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:53.500 and forever. 00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:56.699 And so, 00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:57.860 because God 00:34:57.860 --> 00:34:59.280 has known us, 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:00.239 God has loved us, 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:01.280 God has moved us, 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:02.440 we are able 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:04.320 by His Holy Spirit, 00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:05.159 by His grace, 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:06.679 to know and love Him. 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:09.239 And so, 00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:09.679 people 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:11.159 who are transformed 00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:11.760 by God, 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:12.619 who love God, 00:35:12.699 --> 00:35:13.760 who have been loved by God, 00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:15.820 who have been known by God, 00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:16.800 are able 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:18.360 to know and love Him. 00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:18.519 So, 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:19.480 we're not going to hold 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:22.199 your students back, 00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:23.280 the students of this church, 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:23.920 to say, 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:24.099 oh, 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:24.820 we're going to wait. 00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:25.840 Once you get older, 00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:26.599 then you can start 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:28.460 doing this serious work. 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:31.599 But that all of us, 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:33.039 all of us 00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:33.940 who've been transformed 00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:34.619 by Christ, 00:35:34.760 --> 00:35:35.400 all of us 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:36.360 who have been known 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:37.400 and loved by Jesus, 00:35:38.420 --> 00:35:39.179 that we might 00:35:39.179 --> 00:35:41.119 step into this reality 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:42.800 to know and love God. 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:45.139 So, 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:45.860 when you come 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:46.539 across the street, 00:35:47.179 --> 00:35:48.579 our hope is 00:35:48.579 --> 00:35:49.239 that you would 00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:50.079 grow 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:51.199 when you are 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:52.039 a middle school 00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:52.599 or high school student, 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:53.380 that you would know 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:54.200 and love God 00:35:54.200 --> 00:35:55.059 and grow 00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:55.780 more and more 00:35:55.780 --> 00:35:56.260 with that. 00:35:57.200 --> 00:35:58.059 But just like I said 00:35:58.059 --> 00:35:58.539 earlier today, 00:35:58.660 --> 00:35:59.160 I don't think 00:35:59.160 --> 00:35:59.760 that's just 00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:00.740 our goal 00:36:00.740 --> 00:36:01.660 for our students. 00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:04.240 My encouragement 00:36:04.240 --> 00:36:04.880 to you would be 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:06.019 what are the ways 00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:06.780 this year, 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:08.059 maybe you can walk away 00:36:08.059 --> 00:36:09.039 like we're trying 00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:09.320 to do 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.220 and encourage our students 00:36:10.220 --> 00:36:11.940 to see Jesus 00:36:11.940 --> 00:36:13.180 and cling tightly. 00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:13.900 What are the things 00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:14.579 that you love 00:36:14.579 --> 00:36:15.500 and you delight in 00:36:15.500 --> 00:36:15.880 in Jesus? 00:36:16.180 --> 00:36:16.760 What are the things 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:17.740 that you know 00:36:17.740 --> 00:36:18.380 about God 00:36:18.380 --> 00:36:19.480 and encourage you 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:20.039 about your relationship 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:20.340 with God? 00:36:20.699 --> 00:36:21.739 My personally 00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:23.639 has lately been 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:25.239 this idea 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:26.559 of remembering 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:27.980 who I am 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:28.920 in my identity 00:36:28.920 --> 00:36:29.900 as a Christian. 00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:31.840 Not just as 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:32.820 his beloved son, 00:36:33.659 --> 00:36:34.699 but someone 00:36:34.699 --> 00:36:35.300 who is 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:36.340 a servant of Christ, 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:37.599 someone who is 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:37.980 called 00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:38.860 to be 00:36:38.860 --> 00:36:42.199 a voice 00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:43.420 for telling 00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:44.360 others about Jesus. 00:36:45.699 --> 00:36:46.880 These kind of things 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:47.940 that we wrestle with 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:49.160 are what we're called 00:36:49.160 --> 00:36:50.660 to as we move 00:36:50.660 --> 00:36:51.680 to know and love God. 00:36:52.820 --> 00:36:53.599 So as you 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:55.260 think on 00:36:55.260 --> 00:36:56.420 these realities, 00:36:56.619 --> 00:36:57.039 these things 00:36:57.039 --> 00:36:57.460 that God 00:36:57.460 --> 00:36:58.660 has laid before us 00:36:58.660 --> 00:36:59.340 in his word, 00:37:00.140 --> 00:37:01.000 would you pray 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:01.740 for us? 00:37:02.860 --> 00:37:03.380 Would you pray 00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:03.840 with us? 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:05.360 May we work together 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:06.559 as God's people 00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:07.480 here at Southwood 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:08.880 to encourage 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:09.840 and point one another 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:11.880 to the beautiful ways 00:37:11.880 --> 00:37:12.840 that God knows us, 00:37:12.900 --> 00:37:13.500 the beautiful ways 00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:14.400 we can know God, 00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:15.740 and the beautiful ways 00:37:15.739 --> 00:37:16.979 God has loved us 00:37:16.979 --> 00:37:18.000 and how we might 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:18.439 love him. 00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:20.339 Let's pray. 00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:22.199 Father, 00:37:22.279 --> 00:37:22.699 we're grateful 00:37:22.699 --> 00:37:24.079 for this time 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:25.359 together in your word. 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.019 We pray that you 00:37:27.019 --> 00:37:28.719 would use this 00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:30.199 to encourage us, 00:37:30.339 --> 00:37:31.079 to help us. 00:37:32.619 --> 00:37:33.099 Lord, 00:37:33.179 --> 00:37:34.579 may we know you 00:37:34.579 --> 00:37:35.239 more and more. 00:37:35.319 --> 00:37:36.039 May we love you 00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:36.679 more and more 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:37.939 as we seek 00:37:37.939 --> 00:37:38.799 to glorify you 00:37:38.799 --> 00:37:39.519 during this year. 00:37:40.659 --> 00:37:41.239 We pray this 00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:41.859 in Jesus' name. 00:37:42.339 --> 00:37:42.579 Amen. 00:37:42.579 --> 00:37:42.699 Amen. 00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:45.439 For more information, 00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:46.679 visit us online 00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:47.739 at southwood.org.