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 You know, there are moments in the life of a church that feel particularly sacred, that feel particularly sacred, particularly sacred, particularly sacred, particularly sacred, particularly sacred, particularly sacred,ยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยย

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 those of us who are fortunate enough to be here together, I want us to take a moment

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 and simply remember where we are. Remember how we got here. You can even close your eyes if you want

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 to. But I want us to just soak it in this moment. And I want us to remember that long before we ever

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 walked through these doors, before we even knew this building was here, long before our congregation

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 even existed or any of the extensive renovation work began, long before any of that was even

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 a possibility in our minds, this place was already a house of worship.

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 These walls have echoed with prayers, prayed here for over a century by men and women,

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 who built this church in the shadow of slavery and its aftermath.

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 1893, a church built by newly freed slaves, a church that began as a prayer meeting in the first pastor's

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 home. Songs have been sung here by saints whose names we do not know. But one day we will meet them.

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 And we look forward to that day. Faith has been carried here and it has been passed on from one

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 generation to the next, sometimes at great cost. We're entering a space, friends, where God has

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 already been at work. And so the question that we're confronted with this morning is this,

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 what kind of space will this be on our watch? When we recognize that God has entrusted this gift to us,

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 the question we have to ask is, will we be good stewards of this gift?

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 What kind of space will this be? What will we be known for 50 years from now, 100 years from now?

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 What will people remember? Today we began a new chapter in the life of our church and providentially

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 and beautifully we do so on Palm Sunday. That did not happen in my sense of timing.

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 That wasn't my plan, but it was certainly God's plan. And I've come to recognize the beauty

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 of entering in and beginning our life here on this day because just as we enter into this new church home,

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 we celebrate and mark Jesus' triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, into the temple,

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 and ultimately to the cross. And so Palm Sunday is about what happens when Jesus comes into a place

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 and claims it as his own. And it reminds us right away, maybe the most important lesson we need to

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 remember, that this is not our church, it is his church. So we're going to ask what that means for

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 us. This story that we're going to look at has three movements. We're going to briefly look at each

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 movement of the story and ask how it challenges us or guides us in our stewardship of this space.

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 So first we see that Jesus enters the city and then he cleanses the temple and then he ministers to his

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 people. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your presence here and we thank you for inviting us and

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 welcoming us into your church. And we pray that as we open your word, that through the power of your

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 spirit, we would encounter the living word, Jesus Christ. It's in his name that we pray. Amen.

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 So first of all, Jesus enters the city. I just want to set the scene for you a little bit. This is

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 the days leading up to the Passover, which is the great Jewish celebration of God's liberation.

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 They were slaves in Egypt and God liberated them. So pilgrims are streaming into the city of Jerusalem.

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 Jesus has already become a celebrity. He recently raised Lazarus from death. Word has spread.

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 And everybody wants to know the same thing. Is Jesus going to be in Jerusalem for the Passover?

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 Everybody wants to see him, but nobody's seen him because he's stopped traveling publicly at this point.

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 The crowds are too crazy. Word begins to spread. Rumors begin to circulate that Jesus has actually been

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 seen just outside the city. And so the pilgrims start to gather, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

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 And then word begins to spread. We've seen him and he's heading toward the city. And so all of these

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 Galilean pilgrims, they start to line the road on either side and they take palm branches and they

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 begin to sing the familiar words of Psalm 118. But they're directing these words to Jesus.

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 Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest

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 heaven. It's a royal procession. It's a kingly procession. And it says when he enters the city,

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 the whole city was stirred. And all these city people begin to ask, who is this?

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 Who is this? They're trying to make sense of it. You know, I was living in Boston in 2004

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 when the Red Sox won the World Series. It was a quarter to midnight on October 27th. They won their

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 final game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Sorry if you're a Cardinals fan, three to nothing.

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 And the whole city was stirred. The whole city was, there were car horns blaring, cabs pulled over on

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 the side of the road and people were just hammering on their horns and screaming and yelling and parties

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 that had previously been indoors just spilled out onto the streets everywhere. Bar doors open and people

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 flooded into the streets and there was just collective cheering and celebrating everywhere.

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 And I was in the crowd. I was wearing my Red Sox hat. I was jumping and cheering with my friends and

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 everybody. The only problem was I wasn't really a baseball fan. Not really a baseball fan. And you're

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 like, the moment was wasted on you. It was. It was a complete, I wish you had been there instead of me.

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 But, so I didn't really understand the significance of the moment. I was hanging out with my friends. We're

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 watching a baseball game and everybody starts freaking out and I'm like, well, something great

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 is happening. And I start cheering. But I didn't really get it until later. And somebody explained

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 to me, it's been 86 years since they won. And they won with one of the greatest comebacks in all of

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 baseball history. And I was like, oh, well, that's pretty great. I think there were a lot of people

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 in the crowd that day, a lot of people in the city of Jerusalem who kind of got swept up with the

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 excitement. Their friends were there and it seems like something great is happening. But they failed

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 to understand the significance of what was actually happening. And I think that's because a lot of those

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 people were blinded by their own personal agendas. You know, when you're so fixated on your own hopes,

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 your own idea of what's good for the world, your own agendas and priorities, you can sometimes miss

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 what's right in front of your face. And there were several agendas circulating. The Romans had a very

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 clear agenda. The Romans who were there, their agenda was to stay in power. The Roman emperor,

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 about 30 years before Jesus was born, that Rome shifted from being a republic to being,

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 the emperor began to claim that he was divine, that his father was divine and that he was the son

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 of God. And so they began to send the news out all around the known world, the good news that the

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 emperor is the son of God, the king of the world. Does that sound familiar? So the emperor was being

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 worshipped as the son of God and the king of the world. So the Romans are looking at Jesus and they're

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 looking at this kingly processional happening and they're hearing all the chants that are being

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 chanted and they're trying to figure out, is this some celebrity influencer in joining in five minutes

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 of fame? Or is this a rival to Caesar? A rival to the throne and someone who needs to be put down

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 swiftly and painfully. So that's the Roman agenda. So when they see all of these people saying in

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 treating Jesus like a king, they get very nervous because their agenda is being threatened.

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 There was also a Jewish agenda. The Jewish agenda was to get their power back.

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 Once they had been a great nation under King David back in the good old days, but things had

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 declined and now they're living under Roman occupation, which is humiliating if you're God's chosen people.

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 So they want Jesus to come and to make Israel great again. They're tired of feeling weak. They're tired

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 of feeling angry. They're tired of feeling afraid. They're tired of being made fun of. And anytime people

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 feel weak, anytime people feel angry and afraid, they long for a champion, someone who will make them feel

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 tough and strong and vindicate them so that nobody will laugh at them. But then they see that Jesus isn't

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 riding a war horse like some conquering king. He's riding a donkey. Now it's hard to get excited about a

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 champion riding a donkey. This isn't a symbol of war and conquest and power. It's a symbol of peace

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 and humility. And that makes the Jews very nervous. The question that we need to ask, friends, is,

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 are we willing to receive Jesus as he truly is or do we have an agenda that gets in the way?

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 I think there are a lot of agendas circulating when it comes to religion. Religion can be a very powerful

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 force for good or for evil. A lot of that depends on our agenda. Some people want to co-opt Jesus into their

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 politics. We want a champion. We want a champion of tradition. We want a champion of national identity.

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 We want a champion of inclusivity. We want a champion of social change. And so we tend to highlight the

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 parts of the Bible that fit with our agenda. We tend to kind of quietly and politely ignore the parts that

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 don't. I think some people simply want a therapeutic Jesus. We want his advice, but not necessarily his

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 authority. Maybe we want a champion of Jesus to help us achieve our biggest dreams, to help us change the

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 world as long as he doesn't try too hard to change us. You know, for me, I just, most of the time, I want

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 Jesus to follow my sense of timing. You know, I told him very clearly when I wanted to move in here.

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 And I've had to realize that everything happens according to his timing and not mine.

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 The point is, if we want a relationship with Jesus Christ, and I mean the real Jesus Christ, not

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 some God that we have created in our own image. If we want to follow and know the real Jesus Christ,

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 there comes a time when we have to be willing to lay our agenda at his feet.

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 When we have to be willing to say, not my will, but thy will be done.

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 Which is exactly what Jesus will say over the course of his time during the Passover, when he

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 goes to his knees in the Garden of Gethsemane, just a few days from this day. And he knows what's

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 about to happen. He knows that he is about to suffer unimaginably to set his people free.

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 The ultimate Passover. And he prays to his Father, if there's any way to allow this cup to pass from my

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 lips, may it be so. But ultimately then he prays to his Father, not my will, but thy will be done.

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 Jesus will never fit into our categories. Politically, socially, whatever you think he stands for that

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 aligns with what you stand for, there will be things that you find that challenge that.

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 Chances are, if Jesus fits neatly into your category, then you're not dealing with the real Jesus.

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 Jesus will never bow to our agendas. The question is, will we bow to his agenda or not?

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 So that's what we learned from his entry into the city. But then, immediately, Matthew skips straight

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 to the temple. In Mark's gospel, we learn that he actually spends the night. And then the next day,

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 the first thing he does is he goes to the temple. And it says this, I'll read it for you.

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 Jesus entered the temple courts and he drove out all who were buying and selling there.

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 He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling does.

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 It is written, he said to them, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you're making it a

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 den of robbers. See, people had to have money to go to the temple. It was a business. You had to,

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 everybody, every male had to pay the temple tax to redeem their soul. So you had to pay half a shekel.

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 And then you had to atone for your sin by offering animals to sacrifice in the temple.

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 And you had to get the animal somehow. And if you're traveling from far away, like a lot of

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 people did, you couldn't just find an animal. You had to buy the animal. And so there were animal

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 vendors. And so there were all of these vendors that were there. And then you couldn't use the money

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 that the Romans and the Greeks used. You had to use special temple money. And so there were all of

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 these vendors that were selling animals and that were exchanging money. And so a whole market had

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 grown up around this. And with that, of course, came a certain amount of corruption. And it's easy

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 to read this and to think that Jesus came in, he saw all the money and the commerce, and that there

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 was corruption, and he got angry and he drove everybody out. But I would suggest that that's not what's

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 happening here. I think it's part of it, maybe. But if we look at what Jesus says, there's something

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 else going on here. Because as Jesus drives everybody out, he quotes a particular passage,

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 Isaiah 56, verse 7. And if you look at that verse, God is talking about all of the non-Jewish

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 people in the world, people who want to have a relationship with him. And it says there,

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 these, God is speaking, these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of

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 prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called

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 a house of prayer for all nations. So the reason, friends, that Jesus gets so angry and drives out

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 the vendors is not just because of the corruption. It's because the vendors are filling up the part of

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 the temple known as the court of the Gentiles. It's a special place in the temple for all of the

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 non-Jewish people who want to come and worship God and have a relationship with him. And see, in the past,

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 all of these vendors had been located outside the temple in the Kidron Valley,

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 and there hadn't been an issue. But when Caiaphas became the high priest, he let all those vendors

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 move into the temple and into the court of the Gentiles. He let them all come in and take over.

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 It's far more convenient, and if it's more convenient, you're going to make more money.

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 So it made sense from an economic perspective. But it had a drawback. The court of the Gentiles was

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 now so packed with vendor stalls that there was no room for non-Jewish people to come in and to pray

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 and to have a relationship with God. And so they were prevented from doing so. So Jesus gets angry,

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 and he drives them all out, and he quotes this passage, and he says, my house should be called

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 a house of prayer for all nations. Let them come. And what we see here is that God wants all people

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 to come to know him. That this faith is not a faith for a certain type of person. It's not a faith just

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 for Jewish people or just for Christian people or just for people who are religiously inclined.

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 That God wants the good news of his saving actions in history to go out to every man, woman, and child

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 on the planet. He wants everybody to come to know him. And so right now, if that is true, which we

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 believe it is, it says in the book of Acts that God places us where and when we live, and that his desire

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 is that we would feel our way toward him and find him. And what that means is that God, the Spirit of God,

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 is at work in the lives of people all around this city. The Spirit of God is at work in the lives of

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 people all throughout this neighborhood. And the Spirit of God is at work in the hearts and the lives

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 of people gathered in this room right here. It means that God is already at work bringing people to

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 himself. So some people might hear this and say, well, okay, what does that have to do with me?

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 You know, in the Old Testament, in order to encounter God, and this wasn't just the Jews,

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 everybody knew in the old world, in the ancient world, if you wanted to have a relationship with

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 God, you had to go to a temple. Everybody knew. You can't just talk to God on the sidewalk.

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 You got to go to a temple. That's where God lives. He lives in the temple. That's what everybody thought.

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 So you had to go to the temple. You had to offer your sacrifices. You had to pay your temple tax,

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 and then you could, or you had to come into the court of the Gentiles, then God could hear you.

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 And then you say, well, what about in the New Testament? Where do we see the temple in the New

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 Testament? Well, actually, one of the reasons that Jesus is so hated by the religious leaders is he does

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 away with the temple, at least the brick and mortar temple. Where's the temple in the New Testament church?

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 In some ways, it's analogous to a building like this, absolutely. But theologically,

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 in the New Testament Christian church, if you are a Christian, you are the temple.

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 You're the temple. Because the great mystery of the gospel is that somehow God's presence and life

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 dwells inside you when you come to faith. So if you understand that, and then you understand

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 this, that even though God can reach people any way he chooses, through any method he chooses,

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 that somehow in the great mystery of God's wisdom, God chooses to work through his people

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 to reach other people. So let me ask you this question. Class,

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 where is the court of the Gentiles?

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 The court of the Gentiles is the time and the space that you carve out in your life to have a

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 relationship and to befriend and to love and to serve people who don't know Jesus. It is the margin

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 that you allow yourself to have if you're a Christian. It's that margin, that space that you carve out,

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 that you keep, you prevent it from getting cluttered, and you keep it open,

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 so that when somebody comes along and God is at work in their life, and they're open, and they want

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 to talk about faith, and they have questions about Jesus, that you have time to sit down with them and

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 have that conversation. The court of the Gentiles is the space that we carve out for those kinds of

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 relationships. And I'm speaking from experience. It is so easy to allow yourself, especially if you're a

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 Christian, to allow your life to get so filled up with religious activity, with things that are all

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 important, they're all good, they're all necessary, between your family and your job and the things

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 that you're doing at church, and it all matters. But you're like, when is the last time I spent any

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 time with somebody who didn't know the Lord in a meaningful way? Not just talking about faith,

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 talking about anything. Is there margin in my life for that? You know, this is illustrated for me all

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 the time when I fly. You know, it's a difference between me and my wife. When I get on an airplane,

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 I'm a hardcore introvert that cosplays as an extrovert, and I get on a plane, and my most

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 powerful inclination is I want to pull out a book, or put in a podcast, or do something and kind of

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 huddle over, and just make it really clear that I'm not in the mood to converse. And some of you are

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 like that, okay? No judgment, because I'm like that, okay? Now you should see my wife when she

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 gets on a plane. My wife will fly from here, she'll get on a one-hour flight. And somehow she sits down,

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 and she just has this posture of openness toward whoever the Lord places in the seat next to her.

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 And I cannot tell you how many times at the end of that flight, this person has just opened up,

00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:26.880
 the tears are flowing, they're bonding. I'm like, well, who's coming over for dinner tonight?

00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:35.360
 Who, what person from wherever is now our best friend? Because they've bonded, and very often

00:21:35.360 --> 00:21:39.759
 these questions, these conversations turn to conversations of faith. I think about a conversation

00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:44.840
 recently with somebody who had been in the faith, and then had thought he had walked away from it.

00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:49.700
 Thought it, and maybe some of you feel that way, and yet he felt like God won't let him go,

00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:52.580
 and he's like, God just keeps pursuing me, and I don't know what to do with that.

00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:59.059
 And Laura and I were talking, it's like, I think God put you there for that conversation.

00:21:59.600 --> 00:22:02.900
 But see, that's because she has space and openness in her life and in her heart

00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:05.420
 to receive that person into the court of the Gentiles.

00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:11.259
 So the question, I think, that we should meditate on here at church,

00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:20.940
 if Jesus were to cleanse the temple of our lives, what would he have to clear out?

00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:26.920
 What would he drive out in order to make room in our lives for the people that he wants to reach?

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.019
 That's the second thing we'll consider together.

00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:39.720
 Now lastly, in this story, Jesus enters into the city, Jesus goes immediately to the temple.

00:22:40.139 --> 00:22:42.839
 He drives people out, he opens the court of the Gentiles,

00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:46.599
 and then we see this amazing thing begin to happen.

00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:51.460
 You know, throughout the Middle Ages, there was a kind of a myth,

00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.500
 this idea that lasted for centuries and centuries and centuries,

00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:57.099
 beginning around the 10th or 11th century,

00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.980
 of the kingly touch.

00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:05.980
 The idea that king, that you know a true king because they have a healing touch.

00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:09.159
 So they can heal skin diseases and other things,

00:23:09.399 --> 00:23:11.139
 and that's how you know true royalty.

00:23:12.159 --> 00:23:16.059
 And, you know, some of you who are Tolkien fans know that J.R.R. Tolkien

00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:18.619
 picked this up in his Lord of the Rings.

00:23:19.159 --> 00:23:23.439
 In that series, the hope of the world rests in the return of the rightful king.

00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:29.960
 And there's a prophecy about the king that's coming.

00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:33.960
 The hands of the king are the hands of a healer,

00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.940
 and so shall the rightful king be known.

00:23:37.600 --> 00:23:40.000
 The hands of the king are the hands of a healer,

00:23:40.080 --> 00:23:42.120
 and so shall the rightful king be known.

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:46.700
 And this myth, this idea, is ultimately rooted in something that is true.

00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:51.180
 It's ultimately rooted in Scripture, in prophecies like Isaiah.

00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:55.380
 And Isaiah says that when the true king of the world comes,

00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:58.400
 when God's king comes, you know, it says earthly kings do what?

00:23:58.460 --> 00:23:59.660
 The earthly kings exploit.

00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:02.420
 Earthly kings crush the weak.

00:24:03.320 --> 00:24:07.759
 Earthly kings grab power and hold on to power at whatever cost.

00:24:08.620 --> 00:24:10.840
 And Isaiah says, no, but when the true king comes,

00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:12.420
 here's how you're going to recognize him.

00:24:12.560 --> 00:24:14.140
 Because he's going to give sight to the blind.

00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.019
 Because the lame will leap like a deer.

00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:20.859
 Because he'll be the kind of king who binds up the brokenhearted.

00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.299
 Because he'll be the king that proclaims freedom to the captives.

00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:29.440
 So no sooner does Jesus clear out the court,

00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:31.940
 than people start to come.

00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:35.139
 But who comes streaming into the temple?

00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.920
 It's not the religious leaders.

00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:40.639
 They're standing off to the side angry, frustrated.

00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.040
 It says the blind come.

00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:46.500
 The lame come.

00:24:46.560 --> 00:24:47.360
 People who can't walk.

00:24:48.580 --> 00:24:50.780
 Now you need to understand, under the law of Moses,

00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:52.320
 the blind and lame were limited.

00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.480
 They were restricted from full temple access.

00:24:56.060 --> 00:25:00.100
 That meant, that symbolized the purity that would be expected to be displayed

00:25:00.100 --> 00:25:01.140
 by those approaching God.

00:25:01.340 --> 00:25:04.580
 So if you were blind or lame or had other debilitating conditions,

00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.080
 you weren't, you didn't get full temple, you were restricted.

00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:12.279
 So the religious leaders see all these, all these ne'er-do-wells,

00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:15.819
 all these obviously cursed people, all these dregs of society,

00:25:15.939 --> 00:25:18.379
 all these outsiders and outcasts and rejects.

00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:20.720
 The religious leaders see all these people coming to the church

00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:22.699
 and they're indignant and they're angry and they're disgusted

00:25:22.699 --> 00:25:26.259
 and they're condescendingly looking down to these people.

00:25:26.439 --> 00:25:28.899
 Who let this rabble, ragtag bunch in here?

00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:33.220
 But Jesus not only welcomes these people,

00:25:33.699 --> 00:25:35.039
 but he begins to heal them.

00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:37.420
 He begins to heal them.

00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:39.079
 And as he does, it's so beautiful,

00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:42.139
 the children begin to sing, Hosanna to the Son of David.

00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:44.559
 And you know, the word Hosanna is both,

00:25:44.940 --> 00:25:49.119
 it's both a praise, royal praise, praise you Lord, praise you King,

00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:52.920
 but it's also a cry for help, save us, save us.

00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:58.460
 And they begin to chant, Hosanna, Hosanna to the Son of David.

00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:02.119
 So here in the temple, Jesus is showing the world

00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:06.599
 that the true king has come and his hands are the hands of a healer

00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:09.139
 and so shall the rightful king be known.

00:26:10.479 --> 00:26:13.119
 And of course, if we know how this story progresses,

00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:17.939
 we know that the deepest healing we need is not social,

00:26:18.159 --> 00:26:20.359
 it's not physical, it's not psychological,

00:26:20.719 --> 00:26:21.819
 it is spiritual.

00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:26.460
 The deepest healing we need is to be forgiven and reconciled to God.

00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.799
 And if you are here this morning,

00:26:28.899 --> 00:26:31.439
 that is the most important thing in your life,

00:26:31.659 --> 00:26:33.159
 is whether or not you have been forgiven

00:26:33.159 --> 00:26:35.720
 and restored to the living God or not.

00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:37.619
 And if we know how this story goes,

00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:40.819
 we know what this healing king has to do.

00:26:40.899 --> 00:26:43.799
 We know that in order to make that kind of healing possible,

00:26:44.099 --> 00:26:46.399
 his healing hands have to be pierced.

00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:49.940
 His healing hands have to be wounded.

00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:53.160
 Just days after he cleanses the temple,

00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:54.780
 Jesus is going to be arrested,

00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:57.380
 he's going to be falsely accused and tried,

00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:59.680
 he's ultimately going to be executed.

00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:03.100
 But then we know that by that death,

00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:06.680
 sin and death themselves are defeated.

00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:08.280
 And because of that,

00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:11.240
 because of what we're going to celebrate over this coming week,

00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:15.100
 Jesus offers ultimate healing to the whole world.

00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:18.319
 The spiritual healing of being reconnected

00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:20.339
 to the source of life himself.

00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:24.059
 So what we see here, friends,

00:27:24.139 --> 00:27:27.419
 is that two activities mark Jesus' presence

00:27:27.419 --> 00:27:28.839
 wherever he goes.

00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:32.119
 Worship and healing.

00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:35.859
 So when we gather together into this space,

00:27:36.399 --> 00:27:38.519
 we should expect nothing less.

00:27:39.639 --> 00:27:39.779
 Right?

00:27:39.939 --> 00:27:44.240
 This is a place where we come expecting to encounter God.

00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:44.339
 God.

00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:48.980
 We don't come just to rehearse tired stories from 2,000 years ago.

00:27:49.120 --> 00:27:53.319
 We don't come just to contemplate advice from some guy up front

00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:56.819
 who offers a way to improve this or that in your life.

00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:58.319
 We're not here just to sing.

00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:01.220
 We're not even here as fun as it is just to enjoy being together.

00:28:01.339 --> 00:28:02.539
 All of those things are great.

00:28:03.120 --> 00:28:07.240
 But we're here because we come together expecting to encounter the living God.

00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.620
 And we expect to be transformed by that.

00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:13.819
 This is a place where weary souls are going to find rest.

00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:14.700
 Right?

00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:18.500
 This is a place where struggling marriages are going to begin to heal.

00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:23.700
 This is a place where anxious minds are going to find some measure of peace.

00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:26.960
 It's a place where addictions are going to be overcome.

00:28:27.620 --> 00:28:31.140
 Those battles will start in these pews, in these chairs.

00:28:31.140 --> 00:28:35.300
 This is a place where shame is going to give way to grace.

00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:38.800
 It's a place where the lonely are going to finally find a family.

00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:42.740
 It's a place where justice and mercy are going to prevail

00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:45.820
 and overcome all of the injustice and impression in the world.

00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:49.040
 This is a place where faith is going to be rekindled by people

00:28:49.040 --> 00:28:50.520
 who thought they outgrew God.

00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:55.619
 But all of that is only possible

00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:59.240
 because when we come here, we will encounter the living God.

00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:03.980
 So this is not a church, no offense,

00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:06.359
 for people who are impressive.

00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:09.500
 You can come.

00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:10.779
 It's not really for you.

00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:14.000
 It's not a church for people who are polished.

00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:15.539
 You're welcome.

00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:17.440
 It's not really for you.

00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:20.440
 It's not a church for people who have it all together.

00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:24.039
 This is really a church for people who actually know

00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:28.160
 that underneath the polish, we really don't have it all together.

00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:33.460
 We clean up well on a Sunday, but we don't have it all together.

00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:35.900
 This is a church for people who struggle to fit in.

00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:39.539
 This is a church for people who feel left out,

00:29:39.859 --> 00:29:41.599
 forgotten, excluded, marginalized.

00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.119
 This is a church, friends, simply put,

00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:46.740
 for people who know they need Jesus,

00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:50.259
 who know they need those healing hands,

00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.839
 who know that whatever is happening in here,

00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:55.720
 that they need to be changed,

00:29:55.819 --> 00:29:56.839
 they need to be transformed,

00:29:57.279 --> 00:29:58.680
 that something needs to happen.

00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.000
 Because when Jesus takes over a space,

00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:09.160
 we recognize that the reason our church has to be that way

00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:11.639
 is because when Jesus takes over a space,

00:30:11.639 --> 00:30:15.259
 he fills it with the very kinds of people

00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:17.240
 that the world often overlooks.

00:30:17.579 --> 00:30:18.879
 Those are his people.

00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:21.680
 And if we ever build a church,

00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:22.619
 and I'm aiming it,

00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:25.059
 if you're part of our church,

00:30:25.180 --> 00:30:27.160
 if you're a guest coming for the first time,

00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:28.339
 I'm really aiming this,

00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:30.759
 the people who are part of Church of the Advent.

00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:34.559
 If we ever build a church that excludes such people,

00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:37.519
 then we will have excluded Christ himself.

00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:41.759
 Because he is to be found wherever those people are,

00:30:41.879 --> 00:30:43.480
 the people who most need him.

00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:48.139
 So how do we enter into this new chapter of our church,

00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:48.680
 friends?

00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:51.139
 How do we enter it well?

00:30:51.259 --> 00:30:53.559
 How do we steward the gift that we've been given?

00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:57.240
 How will we be known in this neighborhood and in this city?

00:30:57.240 --> 00:31:02.440
 First, may we lay down our agendas,

00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:05.440
 and may we commit ourselves to Christ,

00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:08.920
 that we would be known as a community

00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:12.559
 with uncompromising commitment to his word,

00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:14.700
 his way, his mission.

00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:20.099
 May we be known as a church that prioritizes

00:31:20.099 --> 00:31:23.140
 reaching those whom Jesus is calling to himself,

00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:26.339
 people who need the hope and the freedom of the gospel,

00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:29.279
 and may we not be ashamed or embarrassed

00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:31.259
 to proclaim that gospel.

00:31:32.939 --> 00:31:35.579
 And may we be known as a place that welcomes

00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:39.220
 all who need to be healed and transformed and renewed.

00:31:39.639 --> 00:31:41.919
 May this be a place where lives are changed,

00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:44.439
 where the Holy Spirit is powerfully at work,

00:31:44.679 --> 00:31:47.839
 and where we encounter the living Christ together.

00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:48.819
 Amen?

00:31:49.419 --> 00:31:49.980
 Amen.

00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:50.839
 Let's pray.

00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:54.159
 Our Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you,

00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:55.920
 we praise you,

00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:57.779
 and it is the name of Christ

00:31:57.779 --> 00:32:00.160
 that we enter into this space, Lord.

00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:01.519
 May you lead the way.

00:32:01.800 --> 00:32:03.160
 May we follow your example.

00:32:03.860 --> 00:32:06.400
 May you do in our midst what we cannot do on our own,

00:32:06.740 --> 00:32:09.220
 and may you thereby glorify your name

00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:10.840
 above every earthly name.

00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:14.640
 And we pray this in your holy and beautiful name.

00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:15.080
 Amen.

00:32:15.080 --> 00:32:15.180
 Amen.

00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:16.080
 Amen.

00:32:16.080 --> 00:32:17.080
 Amen.

00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:17.080


00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:17.080


00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:17.080


00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:17.080