WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.280 Morning everyone. Failure and the church. On February the 22nd, as you may know, or if you are 00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:26.519 into sort of spacey things, a robotic lander named Odysseus landed on the moon. It was the first time 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:38.519 since Apollo 17 mission, which was 52 years ago, that an American spacecraft had landed on the lunar 00:00:38.519 --> 00:00:47.379 surface. As you will know from the news, it didn't land gracefully. It descended far too quickly. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:55.939 And as you will know, if you follow these sort of things in the news, it tipped over when it landed. 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:08.460 Was it a failure? Well, no, because NASA declared that this is not a failure in any way. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:18.780 And it may not have been perfect in any way, but everything else went well. The takeoff went well. 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:27.700 The preparation went well. The journey went well. The orbit went well. The landing was okay, but it was 00:01:27.700 --> 00:01:39.299 only one leg that failed. And it tipped over. Was that a failure? NASA says no. You know, why is it so 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:48.679 often we focus on the failures? We're just drawn to it, aren't we? I don't know whether you've, 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:55.039 with your screen that you look at, whether it's small or large, but there's pixels on a screen. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:06.000 Now, I'm told that a pixel, there's 105 pixels per inch, that's in old money, 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:13.800 on there. And I will leave you to do the math as to what size your screen is and how many pixels are 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:21.219 on there. But I don't know if you're like me. If one pixel breaks, which one do you focus on? 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:28.939 The one that's broken or the hundreds and the thousands that are working extremely well? 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:36.740 Isn't it amazing how we are drawn to failure and we're drawn to focus on failure? 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:43.699 And as I looked at the service today, I thought, and as we're in our Lenten journey, 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:49.879 the cross for which we are so thankful, which is the heart of our salvation, 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:56.479 which is everything that we know and believe in is our hope for the future because of all that 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:02.019 Christ has done for us as we travel this journey, at the time was seen as so much as a failure 00:03:02.019 --> 00:03:11.680 on that day to so many. And yet we know how glorious it is for us personally to move from the cross. 00:03:11.859 --> 00:03:17.219 As I looked at the service plan a few weeks ago, I must admit, I held my head in my hands thinking, 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:24.379 the church and failure in Mother's Day. How does this go together? So like all good preachers, 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:33.400 I prayed rather than go to Google. Prayer before Google always helps, by the way. And I sensed the 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:43.219 Lord say, look at the church and she's my bride. The church is my bride. The church is my bride and 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:52.159 she is pretty beautiful. Which led me to the reading that we heard this morning from 1 Corinthians, 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:58.780 which is of course the go-to reading for most weddings. And it's often used as a sort of a 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:05.500 sign by marriage course, isn't it? Of everything that we should be in our marriage. But anyway, 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:11.879 this is a beautiful reading that can be used within the context of any relationship. Any relationship, 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:17.860 if you put it under the mirror of Corinthians, that's how it should be, that we should love 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:24.920 one another. And this picture that we are given, that how a relationship can blossom, flourish, 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:32.000 and be sustained because the church is often called the bride of Christ. You know, you don't, 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:40.879 you don't, well, I'll leave you to decide. But you know, the thing is, is when we marry, we hope and we 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:50.360 hope on that day that things will be amazing. And Jesus invests so much in his church because he wants 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:56.699 her to be the best that it can be. And as has happened here for many years, the music strikes up 00:04:56.699 --> 00:05:07.099 and the doors open at the back and there's a, of expectation. As the groom stands up here, 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:14.339 probably looks over his shoulder. Many a groom will have been in tears at this point because, 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:23.199 and they have seen this beautiful image of white, either in a meringue or something a little bit more 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:31.519 understated, walking down this aisle, the bride that they have waited for and for this day. 00:05:32.719 --> 00:05:40.259 You know, and God loves his bride, the church. We need to hold that. And hopefully the idea of being 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:49.560 church brings many good things to mind for you. Certainly the word love. And even if today we walk 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:57.199 away with that thing that goes love above failure, we'll have achieved what we seek to do in our 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:04.959 message this morning. God loves his bride, the church, yet sadly reminds us that not all relationships 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:11.920 can flourish and can be sustained for various reasons. And we understand that because we're human. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:17.540 And today is part of that as well. And there will be sadness where there has been fracture, 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:24.980 or there has been pain, or there has been separation. And today we hold that. It's heartbreaking, 00:06:25.340 --> 00:06:30.900 not just for those involved, and we hold that pain today, but for those of us who observe that 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:38.140 as well, and are around that. And we think, what on earth can we do when things unravel? 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:46.800 And as all scripture says, so it must break God's heart if you put it into the context of failure in 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:56.400 his church. When love walks out the door and harsh words are said, when unkindness comes, 00:06:56.600 --> 00:07:02.840 when there is a lack of grace, when there is judgmental views, when his children fall out with 00:07:02.840 --> 00:07:12.300 one another, and the church family unit is divided by sin and conflict. And some, it's heartbreaking. 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:20.259 The one prayer that probably hasn't been answered that Jesus prayed is that we would be one in his 00:07:20.259 --> 00:07:27.060 church. You know, down the years, political rulers and things have pronounced themselves as gods and 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:34.660 as rulers. You know, don't get me wrong, I love the monarchy and things like that, but you know, 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:43.000 we enthrone Jesus in our lives. He is the center of all we do. And post-reformation accelerated the 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:51.220 growth of diversity in the church. The global body of Christians is now 2.34 million, but is now 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:59.640 separated into thousands of denominations. You know, estimates show that there's 45,000 different 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:08.599 denominations, large or small globally. In some cases that can't be good, that we should be one. 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:23.060 Some people refer to their church as their mother church. I quite like that. Some people refer to the 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:28.680 cathedral as their mother church. Actually, I quite like the idea that our local church is the mother 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:35.299 church. Why? Because the local church is there for us. Nurturing, encouraging, building up, gathering. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:41.159 That is what the local church is for. The heart of what we do is the local church. And I quite like 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:49.720 that. It's a mother who births and bring things into new life and sustains and encourages. They're 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:57.519 growing in their pains, encourages, as we saw in the video, and also sends out. You know, this is very much 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:01.819 at the heart of the heart of who we are. You know, as Christ Church, if you've joined us recently, or 00:09:01.819 --> 00:09:08.559 whether you were here when we joined together, we birthed a new church. We came together as two 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:15.799 denominations, and something new was birthed and grew, and great things have grown out of that. And that 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:22.819 image of the church is often reflected in the Bible as a family. And like it or not, we are not 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:29.600 individuals. We are individuals. We are individuals, but we are grown for community. We are supposed to 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:37.000 be in community. That is the Lord's plan for us, is part of the body of Christ. And each one of us 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:44.300 is part of that body. And maybe if you don't know what you bring to the body, it may be a good time 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:51.819 today to pray about that and say, Lord, what part of the body am I? What do I bring to this family? 00:09:52.079 --> 00:09:59.419 What can I bring to this family? What can I contribute? We're not just individuals. We are 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:06.599 one church, one faith, one Lord. And as a minister, and I am a long-life churchgoer. I have been going to 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:14.320 church since I was taken in a pram, and I have stoically held in there through thick and thin, 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:21.779 through divisions, through pain, and everything. And I declare now that I love the local church. 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:29.940 You know, sometimes we have to stand and say, I love the local church. It may not be perfect, 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:38.640 but I love the local church. Love is patient. Love is kind. Why? Because it's our mission. 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:44.400 Love should be at the centre. As Catherine read to us, love is patient, love is kind. It does not 00:10:44.400 --> 00:10:52.220 envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonour others. It is not self-seeking. 00:10:52.220 --> 00:11:03.420 It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Ouch! It keeps no record of wrongs. 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:10.899 Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:19.700 always hopes, always perseveres. What a wonderful picture that is of the local church, of you and I. 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:25.560 And it's right for a son and daughter to love their mum, and millions of flowers will have been 00:11:25.560 --> 00:11:33.460 paid for and presented today. Hopefully not too many daffodils were picked on the way home from the pub 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:42.620 at the last moment, for those who forgot. And even though the church has a thousand problems in every 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:49.280 week, I don't know about you, it seems to me that there's another book or another report that comes out 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:58.039 about things of where the church has failed, the wider church. Extolling where we have failed to call 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:05.879 sin, sin, and the issues that beset the bride. The church, sadly, the bride they have pictured as 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:13.919 becoming stained and marred. Yet the picture of his bride is beauty and love. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:22.799 So hold this. Church, our mother church, is still Christ's beloved bride. And every week, 00:12:22.939 --> 00:12:29.879 pastors and small churches, large churches, paid staff, part-time staff, church members, 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:38.219 everybody gives of their time and energy to share the gospel with others and to love the world and the 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:46.700 community that we're called to serve. That's what we exist for, is to serve the community and to worship 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:56.259 God. And to make our church best express the gospel when people come and need us and are part of us. 00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:04.340 Why? Because we are called to love our mother church. Why? Because we love Jesus. It is that simple. 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:11.300 The Holy Spirit works in us and through us, the church, despite our personal failings. 00:13:12.800 --> 00:13:20.379 God hasn't divorced himself from his church. He will never leave us or forsake us. That was his promise. 00:13:21.280 --> 00:13:28.440 And he will always be there at the heart of us for us, his bride. I think that's something 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:36.340 encouraging and to give thanks for. That is us, the local church, loved and known. And we are called 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:42.520 to love others. And he values and encourages his church, like a mother to nurture like all mothers. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:48.380 And those who have been mothers, who are those who are carers for all of those things. 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:58.100 And even if we don't agree with that advice sometimes, God is there for us, because that's a mother's job, 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:06.399 is to guide us, to guide us and to direct us. I can remember, as probably you can, many of the things 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:14.919 that were instilled in us as children. Maybe you're here as a parent now, and maybe you might be here with 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:22.439 your children. Remembering those days where there was those tough discussions about discipline and 00:14:22.439 --> 00:14:30.579 things and what you wanted for your children. It's so important, because I still give thanks for that, 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:39.000 that good values were instilled for me as a child, you know? You know, to say thank you, to appreciate 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:46.820 others, to be strong in faith, to be resilient in your decisions, to be thankful for the things that you had 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:53.580 and the things that you had to share. And as I grew up at various ages and stages, but I knew when I was out of 00:14:53.580 --> 00:15:05.220 order. My mum, who bless her, went home to be with the Lord a few years ago. And as dementia set in, she had this 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:13.340 way of showing me still that she slightly disapproved. And it sort of came out as a growl. 00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:23.279 You can laugh, because it was in her own way. And it was, you would say something, 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:26.120 and she would just look there and she'd go, 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:34.940 you think, yeah, okay, mum. I get the message. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:49.120 Yeah. Whenever we develop, we want to grow. And I often sense that area of God's wider church 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:56.019 sometimes when I hear that growl of disapproval from the Lord. It brings us back to being a loving, 00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:01.480 caring place where we build and encourage one another. If you've been linked to social media 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:07.279 or church news, you'll be all too aware of late that we, down the centuries, the image of God's 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:13.039 beautiful bride has been marred in different places and at different times, globally, nationally, 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:20.539 internationally, and across this world. And through acts of sinful acts, sexual immorality, 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:27.500 deception, lies, radical distancing from the one true gospel, divisions, lack of pastoral care, 00:16:27.839 --> 00:16:36.399 leadership, integrity, and the list goes on. We can make the list of failures. And in a sea of angry, 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:46.519 anti-church blog posts, Twitters and rants, and angst-filled books that seem to sell and sell and be well-read, 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:55.139 I would like to think this morning of our reading. And to restore that picture that we have, 00:16:55.480 --> 00:17:01.759 which is God's original picture of his beautiful church, and not to lose sight of that. I want to 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:08.879 give you five simple ways that we can push back against this prevailing culture. And yes, we can look 00:17:08.879 --> 00:17:13.720 far beyond all the issues of the national church, international church, and everything. 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:22.819 But actually, it starts here at home, as my mum used to tell me and my dad. It starts here at home. 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:29.559 And that's where it starts. That's where the love flows out of. And that's where it comes. We may 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:35.819 not be in a position to influence national and international things, but we can because we start 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:42.919 at home. If I can just give you five little things that I picked up this week while I was praying and 00:17:42.919 --> 00:17:50.720 thinking about that we can maybe show that to a waiting world in our community and to each other, 00:17:50.879 --> 00:17:59.019 in that sense of love this morning, of restoring not the failure, but the beauty of the bride of Christ in 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:06.920 this place. Many of which we're doing already and bless you for this. I give you this as encouragement. 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:16.680 Okay? Encouragement. Encouragement. Encouragement. Encouragement. Number one, extend your church the 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:25.079 same grace you give yourself. It's so easy, isn't it, to actually find the faults, but then actually 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:32.119 forget the grace that we personally have had extended to us in so many ways. You, like me, 00:18:32.199 --> 00:18:40.419 will know those times which hasn't been your finest hour, as I say. But people extend grace to us, 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:48.519 and God's grace comes to us as well. We extend that grace to one another and to the church. The truth 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:55.059 is that church, our church, that we go to on Sundays and during the week, will have flaws because we're 00:18:55.059 --> 00:19:03.879 all human. Some are rather obvious. Some might be slightly embarrassing. But if they, if we are 00:19:03.879 --> 00:19:09.639 preaching and holding to the gospel, sharing the word, and we have that beautiful sense of community, 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:17.379 love, and mission, then that gives the church that sense of grace that people are looking for 00:19:17.379 --> 00:19:23.639 and love in our community at the moment. They're looking for that message of love and being loved, 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:35.620 and they will be drawn to us. Second, be intentional and dependable. Churches depend on us of being the 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:42.880 heart of her life and of her community. That is what we're called to be. And without active members, 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.680 as children of God getting involved regularly, giving their time and energy, the church simply doesn't 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:54.900 function in the way in which it should function, which is to share everything we have with the 00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:59.640 community and bring God's love and care to the community. I would argue that every Christian 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:06.860 has and will have an active ministry in a local Bible-believing church. If you don't know what that 00:20:06.860 --> 00:20:16.100 ministry is, ask the Lord this morning, Lord, what do I bring? What can I give? What can I share? 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:21.959 What gifts? Or stir up the gifts in me to do that more and more. I've heard people say, 00:20:22.439 --> 00:20:28.919 I don't have to go to church to be a Christian. That is true. You can't argue with that. But what 00:20:28.919 --> 00:20:35.159 are you missing if you don't? What are you missing about being in the heart of a whole group of people 00:20:35.159 --> 00:20:40.240 that know and love you and want to encourage you and empower you and sustain, and you bring your gifts? 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:48.759 You know, here is what can make our church function at an optimum level, faithfulness and 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:54.680 dependability to share the love of Christ with the people that we know. We go out from here empowered, 00:20:54.839 --> 00:21:00.599 enthused, excited in the week to come to share what we have and what we've been given. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.120 Here is what makes us feel. If you sign up for a role, take it seriously, 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:12.059 as you would your other obligations and do it well. Do it well and do it in love. 00:21:13.659 --> 00:21:20.839 You know, you have no idea how precious your gift of faithfulness and gifting brings to the body. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:29.259 And if you're doubting that, tell the evil one where to go. If you're doubting what you bring in your 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:37.700 gifting, tell the evil one where to go. Because your gifting is precious to God and to us as a family. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:48.039 Thirdly, speak well of your church. It's so important, isn't it? I wouldn't go out for a moment 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:55.000 and disrespect my parents. It says that in scripture. You know, you don't speak ill of your family. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:03.099 You know, okay, we might have those moments, but in general, we don't speak ill of other people. 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:10.359 And we shouldn't speak ill of our church. You know, we go out and we say, we don't hide things, 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:15.480 we don't put it under the mat, but we speak of the good things, the good things that we get. I was so 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:24.559 encouraged. There was, I'll embarrass Catherine now, but there was a call that came in. And the person 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:31.919 that came back to me said, that's exactly the person I needed to speak to today. Because it was love, 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:36.799 and it was caring, and it was understanding. I've heard people who have come here, maybe you've come 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:42.259 this morning, and you've had this amazing welcome from somebody who's greeted you with a smile, 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:48.980 who's shown you where the coffee is. You know, it is all about that. Speak well of your church. 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:56.200 Do you regularly, you know, do we regularly moan about the church's faults? If we do, we need to 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:01.640 put that on the back burner and get our perspective right, to talk about the great things that God is 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:07.240 doing. It's so important to speak well, not only of the church, but of your brothers and sisters as 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:14.500 well, of all ages, especially when others have taken the step of coming to join us. It takes a whole 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:22.299 village to raise a child. I think that's the African term that says, you know, if people are new to a 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:26.880 church, the last thing they want to hear at coffee afterwards is saying somebody, well, I didn't like 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:33.839 that hymn. We speak well of each other. If we've got things to say, we say it in private. We say it to 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:41.299 one another, but we don't disrespect the church in front of other people. Post-positive things on, 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:46.779 yeah, post-positive things on social network. I'm not a great one on social network. I don't know 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:55.859 how it works. Look at me, what a fossil. But post good things, post good news. People pick that up and 00:23:55.859 --> 00:24:03.339 want to share that as well and want to be drawn. Say and speak well of the bride of Christ. Four, build 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:10.899 intentional relationships in your church. Church is a family. Get to know people. It's not a click. How many 00:24:10.900 --> 00:24:18.019 deep, satisfying relationships have you had with folks in your church? Maybe you've joined a home 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:22.660 group. If you're not part of a home group, think about joining a home group. Be part of a home group. 00:24:22.800 --> 00:24:27.560 Join a group. Join a group that comes through the week. Come and help on children's groups. If you're 00:24:27.560 --> 00:24:33.700 musical, come and talk to Julian. Especially if you're technically minded, speak to our amazing tech 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:39.500 team as well, who's hidden a road there every week but gets things onto the screen. Thank you so much. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:46.880 Think about being on a welcome team because that's the way you get to meet people. But be intentional 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:54.819 about building relationships. If you go to a wedding, do you know what one of the most joyous 00:24:54.819 --> 00:25:00.740 parts is? It's not only the service here but I love going to the reception afterwards. You get to meet 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:08.859 people. You get to chat people. Use coffee like a reception for the bride of Christ. Get to know 00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:15.559 people. Treat it as the reception and meet somebody and get to chat to somebody you haven't met before. 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:21.620 That's good. Intentional efforts at fostering community will help the church move forward in a 00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:29.759 great way. And finally, but not necessarily, give regularly to your church. Yes, we should give out 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:36.739 of love. We should give out of love of our heart towards God. And no, you shouldn't give simply 00:25:36.739 --> 00:25:44.159 because the church needs money. We give because, let's be honest, the church does need money. It takes 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:52.320 money to keep the lights on. It keeps money to be that place in the centre of community. It gives time 00:25:52.320 --> 00:26:00.019 and money to go out and share in our community to do the things we need to do. But again, through that, 00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:09.620 be honest, we need, it's biblical as well. So giving of our time and giving of our money is so important 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:18.079 in giving regularly with a good heart to the life of the church. So failure in the church, to sum up, 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:29.059 yes, there is failure and there will always be failure. Live with it. Take it to God. And yes, 00:26:29.379 --> 00:26:36.279 the church in its widest sense has seen times and situations which seem far from the beauty and love 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:44.359 of God that the love of God should represent. But we can't, I was going to put in there, I did put in 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:53.399 there, this is a big but, but you might have got that wrong. But there is a but. We can't change history, 00:26:54.259 --> 00:27:01.339 but we can look forward with hope. And we can make a difference in our own setting, 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:09.459 and in our own church, and in our community. And that can be represented and fulfilled in you and me 00:27:09.459 --> 00:27:17.839 in the heart of the local church today. In a moment, our children are going to return.