Let's praise Jesus this morning.
00:00:08.94\00:00:10.71
Sing with all of your
heart and all of your mind.
00:00:37.10\00:00:39.77
He is exalted the
King is exalted on high
00:00:57.62\00:01:03.63
I will praise Him
00:01:03.66\00:01:06.16
He is exalted forever exalted
00:01:06.19\00:01:10.13
And I will praise His name
00:01:10.17\00:01:16.57
He is the Lord,
00:01:18.64\00:01:22.44
Forever His truth shall reign
00:01:22.48\00:01:27.02
Heaven and Earth
00:01:27.08\00:01:30.75
Rejoice in His holy name
00:01:30.79\00:01:35.46
He is exalted
00:01:35.49\00:01:37.19
The King is exalted on high
00:01:37.23\00:01:43.83
He is exalted the
King is exalted on high
00:01:43.90\00:01:49.84
I will praise Him
00:01:49.87\00:01:52.37
He is exalted forever exalted
00:01:52.41\00:01:56.54
And I will praise His name
00:01:56.58\00:02:04.09
He is the Lord,
00:02:04.12\00:02:09.06
Forever His truth shall reign
00:02:09.09\00:02:13.80
Heaven and Earth
rejoice in His holy name
00:02:13.83\00:02:21.70
He is exalted
00:02:21.74\00:02:24.27
The King is exalted on high
00:02:24.31\00:02:30.81
He is the Lord,
00:02:30.85\00:02:34.75
Forever His truth shall reign
00:02:34.78\00:02:39.39
Heaven and Earth
rejoice in His holy name
00:02:39.42\00:02:47.36
He is exalted
00:02:47.40\00:02:49.80
The King is exalted on high
00:02:49.83\00:02:56.27
He is exalted the
King is exalted on high
00:02:56.30\00:03:03.55
My Jesus, my Savior
00:03:18.96\00:03:24.60
Lord there is none like you
00:03:24.63\00:03:29.30
All of my days I want to praise
00:03:29.34\00:03:35.44
The wonders of Your mighty love
00:03:35.48\00:03:42.18
My comfort, my shelter
00:03:44.75\00:03:50.23
Tower of refuge and strength
00:03:50.29\00:03:55.40
Let every breath, all that I am
00:03:55.43\00:04:01.70
Never cease to worship You
00:04:01.74\00:04:09.61
Shout to the Lord,
all the earth, let us sing
00:04:09.64\00:04:16.05
Power and
majesty, praise to the King
00:04:16.08\00:04:22.32
Mountains bow down
and the seas will roar
00:04:22.36\00:04:27.76
At the sound of Your name
00:04:27.83\00:04:35.00
I sing for joy at
the work of your hands
00:04:35.04\00:04:40.98
Forever I'll love
you, Forever I'll stand
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Nothing compares to
the promise I have in You
00:04:47.65\00:04:54.62
My Jesus, my Savior
00:05:01.36\00:05:07.07
Lord there is none like You
00:05:07.14\00:05:11.74
All of my days, I want to praise
00:05:11.77\00:05:18.18
The wonders of Your mighty love
00:05:18.21\00:05:26.19
My comfort, my shelter
00:05:26.22\00:05:32.86
Tower of refuge and strength
00:05:32.89\00:05:37.70
Let every breath, all that I am
00:05:37.73\00:05:44.11
Never cease to worship You
00:05:44.17\00:05:51.98
Shout to the
Lord, all the earth,
00:05:52.01\00:05:55.52
Let us sing
00:05:55.55\00:05:58.45
Power and
majesty, praise to the King
00:05:58.49\00:06:04.99
Mountains bow down
and the seas will roar
00:06:05.03\00:06:10.47
At the sound of Your name
00:06:10.50\00:06:17.24
I sing for joy at
the work of Your hands
00:06:17.31\00:06:23.45
Forever I'll love
You, Forever I'll stand
00:06:23.48\00:06:29.92
Nothing compares to
the promise I have in You
00:06:29.95\00:06:37.66
Shout to the
Lord, All the earth,
00:06:42.40\00:06:46.20
Let us sing Power and majesty,
00:06:46.23\00:06:51.67
Praise to the King
00:06:51.71\00:06:55.31
Mountains bow down
And the seas will roar
00:06:55.34\00:07:00.78
At the sound of Your name
00:07:00.85\00:07:08.49
I sing for joy at
the work of your hands
00:07:08.52\00:07:14.63
Forever I'll love
You, Forever I'll stand
00:07:14.66\00:07:21.37
Nothing compares
to the promise I have
00:07:21.40\00:07:27.08
Oh, nothing compares
to the promise I have
00:07:27.11\00:07:33.45
Oh, nothing
compares to the promise
00:07:33.52\00:07:38.79
I have in You
00:07:38.82\00:07:43.46
Amen, you may be seated.
00:07:47.30\00:07:50.43
I want to invite
you during this song,
00:07:50.47\00:07:51.90
at any point of time to
come forward for our prayer,
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as we stand in awe
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and in amazement of our God.
00:07:57.71\00:08:01.64
So come forward.
00:08:01.68\00:08:03.01
You dance over me
00:08:19.46\00:08:25.70
While I am unaware
00:08:25.73\00:08:31.87
You sing all around
00:08:31.91\00:08:37.85
But I never hear the sound
00:08:37.88\00:08:43.89
Lord, I'm amazed by you
00:08:43.92\00:08:50.23
Lord, I'm amazed by you
00:08:50.26\00:08:56.63
Lord, I'm amazed by you
00:08:56.67\00:09:03.44
How You love me
00:09:03.47\00:09:06.17
You paint the morning sky
00:09:10.18\00:09:16.55
With miracles in mind
00:09:16.58\00:09:22.79
My hope will always stand
00:09:22.82\00:09:29.10
For You hold me in Your hand
00:09:29.13\00:09:34.70
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:09:34.74\00:09:41.01
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:09:41.04\00:09:47.22
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:09:47.25\00:09:53.96
How You love me
00:09:53.99\00:09:57.03
How wide
00:10:00.70\00:10:06.47
How deep
00:10:06.50\00:10:12.51
How great
00:10:12.54\00:10:17.31
Is Your love for me
00:10:17.35\00:10:25.15
How wide
00:10:25.19\00:10:31.33
How deep
00:10:31.36\00:10:37.23
How great
00:10:37.30\00:10:41.87
Is Your love for me
00:10:41.90\00:10:46.27
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:10:49.31\00:10:55.38
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:10:55.42\00:11:01.92
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:11:01.96\00:11:09.03
How You love me
00:11:09.06\00:11:14.84
Lord, I'm amazed by You
00:11:14.87\00:11:22.11
How You love me
00:11:22.14\00:11:25.55
Oh, Lord, You're beautiful
00:11:29.28\00:11:37.09
Your face is all I seek
00:11:40.20\00:11:47.77
And when your eyes
00:11:51.04\00:11:56.34
Are on this child
00:11:56.38\00:12:01.88
Your grace abounds to me
00:12:01.92\00:12:09.82
Jesus, lover of my soul
00:12:29.21\00:12:34.98
Let me to Thy bosom fly
00:12:35.02\00:12:40.52
While the nearer waters roll
00:12:40.56\00:12:45.96
While the tempest still is high
00:12:45.99\00:12:51.53
Hide me, O my Savior, hide
00:12:51.57\00:12:57.24
Till the storm of life is past
00:12:57.27\00:13:03.04
Safe into the heaven guide
00:13:03.08\00:13:08.98
Oh, receive my soul at last
00:13:09.02\00:13:15.06
Other refuge have I none
00:13:15.09\00:13:21.00
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee
00:13:21.03\00:13:26.90
Leave, oh, leave me not alone
00:13:26.94\00:13:32.87
Still support and comfort me
00:13:32.91\00:13:39.41
All my trust on Thee is stayed
00:13:45.75\00:13:51.43
All my help from Thee I bring
00:13:51.46\00:13:57.20
Cover my defenseless head
00:13:57.23\00:14:01.84
With the shadow of Thy wing
00:14:01.87\00:14:08.38
With the shadow of Thy wing
00:14:08.41\00:14:15.38
Plenteous grace
with Thee is found
00:14:27.13\00:14:32.73
Grace to cover all my sin
00:14:32.77\00:14:38.54
Let the healing streams abound
00:14:38.57\00:14:44.25
Make and keep me pure within
00:14:44.28\00:14:50.45
Thou the life of fountain art
00:14:50.49\00:14:56.69
Freely let me take of Thee
00:14:56.73\00:15:03.30
Spring Thou up within my heart
00:15:03.37\00:15:08.50
And rise, rise
00:15:08.54\00:15:14.58
Rise to all eternity
00:15:14.61\00:15:21.58
Jesus, lover of my soul
00:15:40.64\00:15:47.14
Let me to Thy bosom fly
00:15:47.18\00:15:53.78
Jesus, lover of my soul
00:15:53.82\00:16:00.82
Jesus, lover of my soul
00:16:00.89\00:16:07.83
Amen.
00:16:25.65\00:16:27.02
Thank you, Julie.
00:16:34.89\00:16:36.83
We really needed that today.
00:16:36.86\00:16:40.93
Jesus, lover of my soul.
00:16:40.96\00:16:47.24
Begin, beginning
in this New Year,
00:16:47.30\00:16:49.60
our series entitled
Charmed into Righteousness,
00:16:49.64\00:16:51.91
the second half you never see,
00:16:51.94\00:16:54.08
it's the matchless
attractions of Christ.
00:16:54.14\00:16:58.51
That's a little seven prater,
00:17:01.25\00:17:02.82
our creative design engineer
00:17:02.85\00:17:06.79
Jonathan LaPointe has
worked those seven parts
00:17:06.82\00:17:09.32
into a very short video.
00:17:09.36\00:17:11.19
I want to roll it, have prayer,
and then we're on, Let's go.
00:17:11.23\00:17:15.60
Oh, God, are you
really all of that and more?
00:18:17.66\00:18:22.23
All of that, what
Julie was just saying,
00:18:22.26\00:18:25.83
lover of our souls.
00:18:25.87\00:18:29.34
What does that mean?
00:18:29.37\00:18:32.27
In the cusp of this New Year,
00:18:32.31\00:18:33.98
what does that mean for us?
00:18:34.01\00:18:36.11
Make it clear, today, right now
00:18:36.14\00:18:38.58
in Your word, we
pray in Christ name.
00:18:38.61\00:18:41.25
Amen.
00:18:41.28\00:18:42.95
So I was reading last
week the Los Angels Times,
00:18:42.98\00:18:45.69
we were out in L.A
for a family reunion
00:18:45.72\00:18:47.82
with my mother, siblings,
00:18:47.86\00:18:49.49
and nephews and nieces.
00:18:49.52\00:18:54.46
And I get to the
op-ed page L.A Times.
00:18:54.46\00:18:56.53
Okay, so this is last week.
00:18:56.56\00:18:59.17
And a headline catches my eye.
00:18:59.20\00:19:00.87
Not a Happy New Year.
00:19:00.90\00:19:03.44
I'm saying, I say,
what's up with that?
00:19:03.47\00:19:06.11
So who wrote this?
00:19:06.14\00:19:07.51
Michael Mitchler is a
father, husband, teacher
00:19:07.54\00:19:11.01
and an author,
living in upstate New York.
00:19:11.05\00:19:13.68
So as a guy living in New
York writing for the L.A Times,
00:19:13.75\00:19:16.58
then I found out, I
want to read it to you.
00:19:16.62\00:19:20.59
My daughter
Hanna died last year.
00:19:20.62\00:19:25.09
A tumor slowly ate away
at her 17 year old brain,
00:19:25.13\00:19:28.53
'causing it to
lose motor functions,
00:19:28.56\00:19:30.37
speech, life, it was March 2014,
00:19:30.40\00:19:34.70
all the treatments
and clinical trails,
00:19:34.74\00:19:36.30
and prayers couldn't stop it,
00:19:36.34\00:19:37.67
and I still don't have
the words to talk about it.
00:19:37.71\00:19:40.31
I'm supposed to be somewhat
dexterous with language,
00:19:40.38\00:19:42.51
I teach high school English
00:19:42.54\00:19:43.98
and I even
wrote a book recently.
00:19:44.05\00:19:46.92
I don't have,
00:19:46.95\00:19:48.48
often have a hard time
coming up with something
00:19:48.52\00:19:51.05
to say or a way to say it.
00:19:51.09\00:19:53.02
When it comes to
talking about Hanna's death,
00:19:53.05\00:19:54.82
however, things
have been different.
00:19:54.86\00:19:58.39
This conversations
with new acquaintances
00:19:58.43\00:20:00.10
tilt towards family
00:20:00.13\00:20:01.50
and there's no
avoiding the matter.
00:20:01.53\00:20:02.86
I give her death a
quick and cursory mention,
00:20:02.90\00:20:05.00
I've adopted this technique
00:20:05.03\00:20:06.37
partly out of
empathy for the poor person
00:20:06.40\00:20:08.10
who couldn't
possibly have seen this turn
00:20:08.14\00:20:09.64
in the conversation coming
00:20:09.67\00:20:11.21
and partly out of
self preservation,
00:20:11.24\00:20:13.07
so I can navigate it quickly,
00:20:13.11\00:20:14.61
compartmentalize my emotions
00:20:14.64\00:20:16.24
and then get back to
getting through the day.
00:20:16.28\00:20:21.65
But embedded deep
within this terse treatment
00:20:21.68\00:20:23.65
of my profound pain is a
subtle language mechanism,
00:20:23.69\00:20:27.32
a secret code I've
clung to as a means of coping.
00:20:27.36\00:20:31.26
When I say, as I did earlier
00:20:31.29\00:20:32.86
my daughter
Hanna died last year.
00:20:32.89\00:20:36.70
I know that those
two essential words
00:20:36.73\00:20:39.03
last year keep me in
the immediate wake of it all
00:20:39.07\00:20:43.34
and somehow keep
my daughter here,
00:20:43.37\00:20:45.31
and close, and present.
00:20:45.34\00:20:48.61
In 2014, it was raw
and there was no doubt
00:20:48.64\00:20:51.51
we were in the
mist of our tragedy.
00:20:51.55\00:20:52.88
She had just
died through our 2015,
00:20:52.91\00:20:55.48
saying last year has certainly
00:20:55.52\00:20:57.72
put the event in
the past linguistically,
00:20:57.75\00:20:59.72
but anyone truly
listening can sense
00:20:59.75\00:21:02.22
that it is ever present.
00:21:02.26\00:21:03.96
It seems like yesterday,
00:21:04.03\00:21:06.36
and I and my
family continue to wear
00:21:06.39\00:21:08.20
our grief like a
threadbare garment.
00:21:08.23\00:21:10.83
With 2016 approaching though,
00:21:10.87\00:21:12.83
just what exactly
am I supposed to say?
00:21:12.87\00:21:14.90
What language am
I supposed to use?
00:21:14.94\00:21:16.47
Come Friday,
'cause this came out
00:21:16.50\00:21:18.01
the day before New
Year's Eve, all right?
00:21:18.04\00:21:19.94
So come Friday, that
would be New Year's Day.
00:21:19.97\00:21:22.11
Come Friday, I will no longer
be able to refer to last year,
00:21:22.14\00:21:25.35
when discussing Hanna's death.
00:21:25.38\00:21:26.98
I'll need to put a
date on it, a year on it,
00:21:27.02\00:21:29.05
making it somehow historical
and creating distance.
00:21:29.08\00:21:33.62
My daughter's death will become
some static event in time,
00:21:33.66\00:21:37.13
and because time
passes and the years turn,
00:21:37.19\00:21:40.20
we will be expected to move on.
00:21:40.26\00:21:44.10
Never before has New Year's Eve
with its countdown to midnight,
00:21:44.13\00:21:47.20
it's simple turn
of a calendar page,
00:21:47.27\00:21:49.20
it's song of old
acquaintance being forgot,
00:21:49.24\00:21:52.07
brought on such
dread and utter confusion
00:21:52.11\00:21:54.48
about moving forward.
00:21:54.51\00:21:56.34
There is no chance that I'll
forget my daughter, of course,
00:21:56.38\00:21:59.95
but the calendar can't
possibly jibe with my emotions.
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.02
The years are
moving too fast for me now.
00:22:03.05\00:22:07.56
While memories of Hanna remain
00:22:07.59\00:22:09.86
like the comfort of lingering
smoke from a favorite candle.
00:22:09.89\00:22:13.63
The year's end will
be coaxing us to throw
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.56
open the windows
and clear the air
00:22:15.60\00:22:17.23
for rebirth and renewal,
00:22:17.27\00:22:18.87
but I don't want
to clear the air.
00:22:18.90\00:22:23.00
I want to remember, I
want to slow it all down
00:22:23.04\00:22:26.54
and just sit for a while,
00:22:26.57\00:22:28.44
not moving until I'm
ready, not talking about it
00:22:28.48\00:22:31.15
until I can get the words right.
00:22:31.18\00:22:33.98
Instead of a New
Year with new numbers,
00:22:34.02\00:22:37.15
I need a new language
that allows me to linger
00:22:37.19\00:22:40.52
and wait
00:22:40.56\00:22:42.76
and hold on.
00:22:42.79\00:22:45.93
Wow.
00:22:45.96\00:22:47.30
Only a parent
who has lost a child,
00:22:51.73\00:22:53.37
and there are a
number of you here.
00:22:56.40\00:23:00.48
Only a parent
who has lost a child
00:23:00.51\00:23:04.18
can know the crystal
pain that clings like icicles
00:23:04.25\00:23:09.42
to this
father's perpetual grief.
00:23:09.45\00:23:14.79
Tomorrow afternoon, 4 o'clock,
00:23:14.82\00:23:19.46
Howard Performing Art Centre,
00:23:19.49\00:23:22.50
this campus says good bye
00:23:22.53\00:23:25.67
to a young
co-head, Whitney Watson.
00:23:25.70\00:23:29.30
Her folks are in
our midst these hours
00:23:29.34\00:23:33.44
before tomorrow.
00:23:33.48\00:23:37.05
You know, I read
this and I must tell you,
00:23:37.11\00:23:40.38
I just bow before the magnitude
of this father's grief.
00:23:40.42\00:23:44.75
The pain,
00:23:44.79\00:23:46.12
the love, the loss,
00:23:49.72\00:23:54.13
you can say to
me, hey, hey, Dwight,
00:23:54.20\00:23:56.20
God is love and, you
know, I think I get it.
00:23:56.23\00:24:00.84
You can say to me,
you know the Bible says,
00:24:00.87\00:24:02.84
for God so loved the world,
and I think I can grasp it.
00:24:02.87\00:24:07.41
But when a
father sobs out His love
00:24:07.48\00:24:09.41
from such brokenness like this.
00:24:09.44\00:24:13.31
Yo, somehow,
00:24:13.35\00:24:15.88
we're faintly able
to grasp the stark truth
00:24:15.92\00:24:22.62
about God's love,
00:24:22.66\00:24:24.03
and we dare to wonder,
00:24:27.00\00:24:28.36
is it possible that God loves us
00:24:28.40\00:24:32.60
even more than this?
00:24:32.63\00:24:37.17
Open your Bible
with me to Romans 5.
00:24:37.21\00:24:41.38
It's not a strange passage,
00:24:41.41\00:24:42.78
you may have read
it before Romans 5,
00:24:42.81\00:24:45.98
our passage for this harmony.
00:24:46.01\00:24:50.99
Romans 5,
00:24:51.02\00:24:52.85
I'll be in the New
International Version.
00:24:52.89\00:24:54.22
You didn't bring your
Bible, you got to see this.
00:24:54.26\00:24:55.59
Don't read it on the screen.
00:24:55.62\00:24:56.99
Pull the pew Bible
out in front of you,
00:24:57.03\00:24:58.36
you'll be page
760 in the pew Bible.
00:24:58.39\00:25:02.76
Romans 5, I
want to read verse 8.
00:25:02.80\00:25:04.73
"But God..."
00:25:07.90\00:25:09.24
You see that?
00:25:09.27\00:25:10.61
"But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this:
00:25:10.64\00:25:15.51
While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us."
00:25:15.54\00:25:20.92
Won't you go back to verse 6?
00:25:20.95\00:25:22.65
"You see, at
just the right time,
00:25:22.68\00:25:24.12
when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly."
00:25:24.19\00:25:27.79
Now comes verse 7,
00:25:27.82\00:25:29.16
"Very rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person,
00:25:29.19\00:25:31.39
though for a good person
00:25:31.43\00:25:32.86
someone might
possibly dare to die."
00:25:32.89\00:25:34.76
But here comes verse 8 again,
00:25:34.83\00:25:36.40
" God demonstrates his
own love for us in this:
00:25:36.43\00:25:39.93
While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us."
00:25:40.00\00:25:44.84
Verse 10 "For if,
while we were God's enemies,
00:25:44.87\00:25:47.94
we were reconciled to him
through the death of his Son,
00:25:47.98\00:25:50.65
how much more,
having been reconciled,
00:25:50.71\00:25:53.72
shall we be saved
through his life!"
00:25:53.78\00:25:56.48
What you and I have just read
00:25:56.52\00:25:58.25
iterated three
times is the profound time
00:25:58.29\00:26:01.09
line of the gospel.
00:26:01.12\00:26:02.66
Did you catch it?
00:26:02.69\00:26:04.06
We just read it.
00:26:04.09\00:26:05.43
Want you to go
grab your study guide,
00:26:05.46\00:26:06.80
I want you go get
this. This is a huge point.
00:26:06.83\00:26:08.83
Absolutely essential to catch.
00:26:08.86\00:26:10.97
The time line of the gospel.
00:26:11.00\00:26:12.33
Your study guide, by
the way, is stuck into your
00:26:12.37\00:26:13.74
New Year Bulletin.
00:26:13.77\00:26:15.10
You don't have one?
We got some ushers here.
00:26:15.14\00:26:16.47
Thank you ushers,
if you would bring
00:26:16.50\00:26:17.84
some study guides
up and down these rows,
00:26:17.87\00:26:19.81
just hold your hand up and
then usher will come your way.
00:26:19.84\00:26:24.08
I suppose we have to
throw the tile slide up
00:26:24.15\00:26:25.48
one more time,
put it on the screen.
00:26:25.51\00:26:29.55
There it is,
00:26:29.58\00:26:31.39
those of you
watching on a television,
00:26:31.42\00:26:33.12
or a laptop or wherever.
00:26:33.15\00:26:36.29
If it's not live streaming,
00:26:36.32\00:26:37.66
our website is www.pmchurch.tv
00:26:37.69\00:26:40.10
you're looking
for little series,
00:26:40.13\00:26:42.03
it takes us into the first
Sabbaths of this new season,
00:26:42.06\00:26:44.83
Charmed into Righteousness.
00:26:44.87\00:26:47.10
Last Sabbath, The
Only Savior, today,
00:26:47.14\00:26:49.34
The Truest Friend, and you look,
00:26:49.37\00:26:50.81
those of you live streaming
00:26:50.87\00:26:52.21
you've have
written and they're saying,
00:26:52.24\00:26:53.58
"Hey, where we
find the study guide?"
00:26:53.61\00:26:54.94
Just go down, go down below,
00:26:54.98\00:26:56.31
beneath the image, it's
on your screen right now,
00:26:56.34\00:26:57.68
and you'll see the
study guide is right there.
00:26:57.71\00:26:59.68
All right, let's go.
00:26:59.71\00:27:01.12
Three iterations of
this profound time liners,
00:27:01.15\00:27:03.18
jot it down, verse 6,
00:27:03.22\00:27:04.65
"While we were still powerless."
00:27:04.69\00:27:06.32
write in the word powerless,
we read that in verse 6.
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.92
Two verses later, verse 8
"While we were still sinners."
00:27:08.96\00:27:12.19
Paul writes, and then
two verses later, verse 10
00:27:12.23\00:27:14.10
"While we were still enemies."
00:27:14.13\00:27:18.33
Three times, three iterations
of the single timeline
00:27:18.37\00:27:21.27
with one truth, jot it down,
00:27:21.30\00:27:22.87
"God loved us
before," that's a huge point.
00:27:22.90\00:27:27.31
"Before we were loveable,"
while we were still a rotten,
00:27:27.38\00:27:33.72
unlovely mess, He loved us.
00:27:33.75\00:27:37.95
I'm telling you what.
00:27:37.99\00:27:39.99
This is a big
deal when you consider
00:27:40.06\00:27:41.39
our social media
postings these days.
00:27:41.42\00:27:43.53
Come on,
everybody's on social media now.
00:27:43.56\00:27:45.33
They just released
January 1 by the way,
00:27:45.36\00:27:46.70
the top ten social media sites
and guess who is number one?
00:27:46.73\00:27:50.13
Of course 1.1
billion human beings,
00:27:50.17\00:27:52.20
Facebook and
underneath it Twitter,
00:27:52.23\00:27:55.00
about 250
million and then on down.
00:27:55.04\00:27:57.67
So everybody's
into social media now.
00:27:57.71\00:28:00.31
But they're doing
research now on our postings
00:28:00.34\00:28:02.24
and guess what
they're finding out?
00:28:02.28\00:28:03.61
As I wrote in today's
blog, don't read it now,
00:28:03.68\00:28:05.71
they're finding
out that in fact,
00:28:05.75\00:28:07.25
we act like we're
curators in the museum.
00:28:07.28\00:28:09.08
You know what a curator does?
00:28:09.12\00:28:11.29
What he does is he says...
00:28:11.32\00:28:13.25
she says, "I'm gonna
put the pizzazz out front,
00:28:13.29\00:28:16.12
I'll hide the ugly
stuff in the back."
00:28:16.16\00:28:18.36
Curators arrange,
they put the best up front.
00:28:18.39\00:28:21.73
We are curating
our own self images,
00:28:21.76\00:28:24.63
that's what they're finding out.
00:28:24.67\00:28:26.17
This is fascinating,
it's in your study guide,
00:28:26.20\00:28:27.97
the quote, put it
on the screen for you.
00:28:28.00\00:28:29.37
Walt Mueller
describes those of us
00:28:29.40\00:28:32.64
who are third Millennials
this identity formation
00:28:32.67\00:28:35.71
that we all practice.
00:28:35.74\00:28:37.65
These are His
words on the screen,
00:28:37.68\00:28:39.15
"For digital natives
00:28:39.18\00:28:41.12
living out their
lives in an online world,
00:28:41.15\00:28:43.25
the identity options
00:28:43.28\00:28:44.99
from which to choose
are virtually limitless.
00:28:45.02\00:28:47.72
Kids, and I add the words
and adults are able to perform
00:28:47.76\00:28:51.06
through a growing
multitude of social media sites
00:28:51.09\00:28:54.00
by choosing the
words they post,"
00:28:54.00\00:28:56.40
might be true, might false,
00:28:56.43\00:28:57.87
"by posing and photo-shopping
themselves into images
00:28:57.90\00:29:00.87
that don't come close
to who they really are."
00:29:00.90\00:29:04.04
As media critic
Quentin Schultze observed,
00:29:04.07\00:29:06.71
'The digital world
suffocates virtue by allowing us
00:29:06.74\00:29:10.08
unbridled freedom to be
all things to all people.
00:29:10.11\00:29:15.18
To give ourselves
over to the highest bidder
00:29:15.22\00:29:17.55
or to the most
persuasive master."
00:29:17.62\00:29:21.29
' Hey, guys, why do we do it?
00:29:21.32\00:29:22.66
Young or aged, why do we do it?
00:29:22.69\00:29:24.16
You know why?
00:29:24.19\00:29:25.53
Because we're convinced
that little low me, you kidding,
00:29:25.56\00:29:27.96
weird as I am,
00:29:27.96\00:29:29.50
these are the stuff I
don't do, the cool I am not,
00:29:29.53\00:29:32.63
nobody would be attracted to me,
00:29:32.67\00:29:34.40
but if I rephotoshop myself,
00:29:34.44\00:29:37.34
now you want to be a
friend, now you will follow.
00:29:37.41\00:29:40.98
Yeah, that's the point.
00:29:41.01\00:29:42.34
A friend of me,
00:29:42.38\00:29:43.75
a friend of mine gave me
Michael Horton's newest book,
00:29:43.78\00:29:48.02
fascinating title by the way,
I'm working my way through it,
00:29:48.05\00:29:50.79
Ordinary, Sustainable Faith
in a Radical Restless World.
00:29:50.82\00:29:54.16
You have the quote as well.
00:29:54.19\00:29:55.59
He's quoting a
psychiatrist now, okay?
00:29:55.62\00:29:58.09
So some bright minds are
looking at these postings,
00:29:58.13\00:30:00.10
a psychiatrist.
00:30:00.13\00:30:01.43
Put the words on the screen.
00:30:01.46\00:30:02.80
The name of the
psychiatrist, Keith Ablow,
00:30:02.83\00:30:04.57
he warns based
on recent studies.
00:30:04.60\00:30:07.30
He warns of quote, now
I'm quoting the psychiatrist,
00:30:07.34\00:30:09.97
"The toxic psychological
impact of media and technology
00:30:10.01\00:30:14.04
on children,
adolescents, and young adults,
00:30:14.08\00:30:17.01
and not so young adults, I add,
00:30:17.05\00:30:18.78
particularly as it regards
00:30:18.81\00:30:20.58
turning them into
faux, or fake celebrities,
00:30:20.62\00:30:24.05
the equivalent of lead actors
00:30:24.09\00:30:25.85
in their own
fictionalized life stories.
00:30:25.89\00:30:28.59
On Facebook, young,
and not so young people,
00:30:28.62\00:30:31.03
can fool
themselves into thinking
00:30:31.06\00:30:32.56
they have hundreds
or thousands of friends.
00:30:32.59\00:30:34.83
They can delete
unflattering comments.
00:30:34.86\00:30:36.60
They can block anyone
who disagrees with them
00:30:36.63\00:30:38.10
or pokes holes in
their inflated self-esteem.
00:30:38.13\00:30:40.87
Using Twitter, young,
and not so young people,
00:30:40.90\00:30:43.27
can pretend they
are worth ''following,"
00:30:43.34\00:30:45.34
as though they
have real-life fans,
00:30:45.37\00:30:47.91
when all that is really
happening is the mutual fanning
00:30:47.94\00:30:51.45
of false love and false fame."
00:30:51.48\00:30:53.95
Ouch!
00:30:53.98\00:30:55.32
Why you all nodding your heads?
00:30:59.29\00:31:01.86
'Cause it's true.
00:31:01.89\00:31:04.59
Which makes Romans 5 timeline
00:31:04.63\00:31:07.30
even more stunning
because before we could,
00:31:07.30\00:31:10.53
before we had the time
to photoshop ourselves,
00:31:10.57\00:31:12.67
to make
ourselves attracted to God,
00:31:12.70\00:31:14.14
while we were still
a rotten unlovely mess.
00:31:14.20\00:31:17.21
God saw us and he
said, "You, I love."
00:31:17.27\00:31:22.11
While we were still sinners,
while we were still enemies,
00:31:22.14\00:31:24.55
while we were still
powerless, I loved you.
00:31:24.58\00:31:29.05
And I said I want that girl,
00:31:29.08\00:31:31.49
I want that boy for my friend.
00:31:31.52\00:31:36.62
Romans 5:8,
00:31:36.69\00:31:38.69
"But God demonstrates his
own love toward us in this:
00:31:38.73\00:31:43.30
While we were still sinners,
00:31:43.33\00:31:45.47
Christ came
down, and died for us."
00:31:45.50\00:31:48.54
And by the way,
did you catch that,
00:31:48.57\00:31:49.94
it's not just
Jesus who loves us.
00:31:49.97\00:31:52.04
It's almost like Jesus
who loves us and the father
00:31:52.07\00:31:53.84
ticked off at us, it's not true.
00:31:53.91\00:31:57.21
"God Himself has
demonstrated His love
00:31:57.28\00:32:01.72
for the likes of you and me,
00:32:01.75\00:32:03.08
while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us."
00:32:03.12\00:32:05.62
By the way, in
contradistinction to
00:32:05.65\00:32:07.66
when we became good,
then Christ died for us.
00:32:07.69\00:32:11.59
Wrong.
00:32:11.63\00:32:14.83
The before, the before
is absolutely critical,
00:32:14.86\00:32:18.47
in fact jot it down.
00:32:18.50\00:32:19.83
"The Father loved us and
Christ died for us before,
00:32:19.87\00:32:22.67
before we could
spiritually photoshop ourselves
00:32:22.70\00:32:24.87
into some sort
of attractive state.
00:32:24.91\00:32:27.44
Are you kidding?
00:32:27.48\00:32:28.81
God, God exclaims to
Israel, are you kidding?
00:32:28.84\00:32:30.81
You think, I chose you
because you're attracted?
00:32:30.85\00:32:33.28
Ezekiel Chapter 16,
I'm not gonna read it here.
00:32:36.85\00:32:39.79
I give you the
references, the verses there,
00:32:39.82\00:32:41.39
it's just very stunning.
00:32:41.42\00:32:43.63
You keep your
finger here in Romans 5.
00:32:43.69\00:32:45.03
I'll just pick up a line,
00:32:45.06\00:32:46.39
'cause I haven't marked
it, so I'll get to it quick.
00:32:46.43\00:32:48.56
God says, hey, hey, hey, I
want to tell you something,
00:32:48.60\00:32:50.43
Israel, yo, you people
think you're the chosen ones?
00:32:50.50\00:32:53.13
Listen up.
00:32:53.17\00:32:54.57
On the day you were born,
your cord was not cut, okay.
00:32:54.60\00:32:57.14
So there's a little baby with
umbilical cord dragging around.
00:32:57.17\00:32:59.51
That was you.
00:32:59.54\00:33:01.88
Your cord was not cut,
00:33:01.91\00:33:03.24
nor were you washed
with water to make you clean,
00:33:03.28\00:33:04.81
nor were you rub with
salt or wrapped in cloths.
00:33:04.85\00:33:07.82
So when the boy Jesus is born,
like all good Hebrew mothers,
00:33:07.85\00:33:11.35
washed with salt, clean
00:33:11.39\00:33:13.22
and then wrap
with swaddling cloths,
00:33:13.25\00:33:14.89
not clothes, it's cloths.
00:33:14.92\00:33:16.26
That was the way Jesus gave.
00:33:16.29\00:33:18.79
"No one looked at you guys said
00:33:18.83\00:33:20.40
he's talking to his chosen ones,
00:33:20.43\00:33:21.73
no one looked on you with
pity, or had compassion enough
00:33:21.76\00:33:23.67
to do any of
these things for you.
00:33:23.73\00:33:26.37
You were thrown
out in the open field,
00:33:26.40\00:33:28.10
from the day you were
born, you were despised.
00:33:28.14\00:33:30.07
Nobody wanted you,"
00:33:30.11\00:33:31.44
do you understand that?
00:33:31.47\00:33:32.81
Nobody and, "then I
pass by," oh, this is yuck.
00:33:32.84\00:33:36.58
"Then I pass by and I saw
you kicking about in your blood
00:33:36.61\00:33:41.15
and as you little
girl, as you little boy,
00:33:41.18\00:33:43.95
lay there in your blood.
00:33:43.99\00:33:45.42
I said you live,
00:33:45.45\00:33:47.89
in the next verse,
00:33:47.92\00:33:49.26
he says and I took
a corner of my garment
00:33:49.29\00:33:50.79
and I put that corner
of my garment over you
00:33:50.83\00:33:52.79
and that's a covenant, you and I
00:33:52.83\00:33:54.13
are gonna be married one day."
00:33:54.20\00:33:55.50
Grow up girl, grow up boy,
00:33:55.53\00:33:57.33
we're gonna be
married, you and me.
00:33:57.40\00:34:00.37
And you began to
grow, puberty set in,
00:34:00.44\00:34:02.14
and that's the
actual language in the NIV,
00:34:02.17\00:34:03.51
"puberty set in."
00:34:03.54\00:34:06.68
You became rather attractive
00:34:06.71\00:34:09.44
and then what did you do?
00:34:09.48\00:34:12.18
"But you
trusted in your beauty,"
00:34:12.21\00:34:13.55
verse 15, "And
you used your fame
00:34:13.62\00:34:15.28
to become a prostitute
00:34:15.32\00:34:17.82
and all your
detestable practices."
00:34:17.85\00:34:19.62
Verse 22, "You
and your prostitution,
00:34:19.65\00:34:21.36
you did not remember
the days you were youth.
00:34:21.39\00:34:23.46
You didn't
remember what you were
00:34:23.53\00:34:24.86
before you were photoshopped.
00:34:24.89\00:34:26.23
When you were naked and bare,
00:34:26.26\00:34:27.60
and kicking
about in your blood."
00:34:27.60\00:34:30.03
Not a very pretty
picture of the God who says,
00:34:30.07\00:34:32.80
when you were that, I loved you.
00:34:32.83\00:34:36.34
Boy, that word before
is absolutely a big deal.
00:34:36.37\00:34:40.14
The timeline of
the gospel before,
00:34:40.18\00:34:42.88
before, you became who you are.
00:34:42.91\00:34:46.78
When you were still
rotten, unlovely and a mess,
00:34:46.82\00:34:50.25
I loved you.
00:34:50.29\00:34:51.89
In fact, Paul makes
the same point in Romans,
00:34:51.92\00:34:54.69
your fingers are
already there in Romans 5.
00:34:54.72\00:34:56.06
But just turn a few
pages back to Romans 3.
00:34:56.09\00:35:01.46
I'll just read a few lines here.
00:35:01.50\00:35:02.83
Paul says, I'm
gonna get away the,
00:35:02.86\00:35:04.20
get all the blood and
mucous out of the story
00:35:04.27\00:35:05.60
and the
umbilical cord is not cut,
00:35:05.63\00:35:06.97
I'll just leave all that out.
00:35:07.04\00:35:08.37
I'll just tell you the truth,
morally, here's your picture.
00:35:08.40\00:35:10.11
Verse 10, Romans 3:10,
00:35:10.14\00:35:11.47
"As it is written:"
00:35:11.51\00:35:12.84
These are all quotations
from the Old Testament.
00:35:12.87\00:35:14.21
"There is no one
righteous, not even one,
00:35:14.24\00:35:17.15
there is no one who understands,
00:35:17.18\00:35:18.51
there is no one who seeks God."
00:35:18.55\00:35:19.88
Nobody on this planet.
00:35:19.91\00:35:21.25
"All, verse 12,
have turned away,
00:35:21.28\00:35:23.05
they have
together become worthless,
00:35:23.08\00:35:24.95
there is no one who
does good, not even one.
00:35:24.99\00:35:28.06
Your throats are open graves,
your tongues practice deceit.
00:35:28.09\00:35:31.03
The poison of
vipers is on your lips.
00:35:31.06\00:35:32.96
Your mouths are full of
cursing and bitterness.'
00:35:32.99\00:35:34.86
' And yadda yadda
yadda, that's you.
00:35:34.93\00:35:38.33
So the timeline is
crucial for us to get.
00:35:38.37\00:35:44.64
Three iterations to
drive home the profound truth
00:35:44.67\00:35:49.04
that God loved
us and die for us,
00:35:49.08\00:35:50.71
while we were still a
rotten, unlovely mess.
00:35:50.75\00:35:55.62
God demonstrates His
own love toward us and this,
00:35:55.65\00:35:59.22
while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.
00:35:59.25\00:36:04.16
You know, when it
comes to advertising.
00:36:04.19\00:36:05.73
Don't you just love
all these little pop-up ads
00:36:05.76\00:36:07.46
in the internet and billboards?
00:36:07.50\00:36:10.67
When it comes to advertising,
marketing, Madison Avenue,
00:36:10.70\00:36:13.64
there's a little adage
00:36:13.67\00:36:15.00
we've all
learned as human beings
00:36:15.04\00:36:16.40
and you know it as well.
00:36:16.44\00:36:17.77
If it seems too
good to be true it,
00:36:17.81\00:36:22.08
how does it ago?
00:36:22.11\00:36:23.45
Usually is too good to be true.
00:36:23.48\00:36:27.02
But Desmond Ford
comes along in his
00:36:27.05\00:36:29.82
short little
commentary on Romans entitled,
00:36:29.85\00:36:31.82
Right With God, Right Now.
00:36:31.85\00:36:33.59
Says that's not the
way it is with the gospel.
00:36:33.66\00:36:35.76
That may be Madison
Avenue in marketing,
00:36:35.79\00:36:37.56
but the gospel,
00:36:37.63\00:36:38.96
here are Ford's words
on the screen for you.
00:36:38.99\00:36:40.33
With the gospel
it's the opposite,
00:36:40.36\00:36:42.40
as Madison Avenue.
00:36:42.43\00:36:43.77
It must be true, the
gospel because it's so good,
00:36:43.83\00:36:47.20
in fact and I'd
never seen this before
00:36:47.24\00:36:48.84
the word God is just a
contraction of the word good.
00:36:48.87\00:36:52.01
So take the word good,
00:36:52.04\00:36:53.38
drop an o out of
it boom, you got God.
00:36:53.44\00:36:55.51
But guess what it works
the same way with the devil.
00:36:55.54\00:36:57.65
The word, devil is just an
expansion of the word evil.
00:36:57.68\00:37:01.18
So you got evil,
00:37:01.22\00:37:02.58
then you put a d in
front of it and you got devil.
00:37:02.62\00:37:06.79
Those are your
choices, no man can serve two,
00:37:06.82\00:37:09.32
you can't, there's no third,
its just these, this New Year.
00:37:09.36\00:37:12.29
Those are your choices.
00:37:12.33\00:37:15.26
Ford goes on, God is good,
00:37:15.30\00:37:18.17
gooder, I like that,
00:37:18.20\00:37:19.53
gooder than we could ever think,
00:37:19.57\00:37:21.24
just as we are
worser than we ever thought.
00:37:21.27\00:37:24.34
You have to keep
the two at equipoise.
00:37:24.37\00:37:27.18
God, he writes is
better than we ever considered,
00:37:27.21\00:37:29.54
we are worse than
we ever suspected.
00:37:29.58\00:37:32.98
That God
demonstrated His own love for us
00:37:33.01\00:37:35.98
in this while we
were still sinners,
00:37:36.02\00:37:38.05
Christ died for us,
while we were still sinners.
00:37:38.09\00:37:42.29
Wow!
00:37:42.32\00:37:45.16
At last we conclude that
00:37:45.19\00:37:46.53
this divine love is
some sort of, you know,
00:37:46.56\00:37:47.86
sterile love, it
isn't guys, okay,
00:37:47.93\00:37:49.90
look, look, look, look.
00:37:49.93\00:37:51.27
God says look at...
00:37:51.30\00:37:52.63
I am love, that's true.
00:37:52.67\00:37:54.00
I am love, but I'm telling you
00:37:54.04\00:37:55.37
this is not an easy
thing for me to love you.
00:37:55.40\00:37:56.77
Take a look at yourself
please, I will go ahead,
00:37:56.81\00:37:59.27
no, no, don't
worry, I will go ahead,
00:37:59.31\00:38:01.01
because I have
to, because I'm love.
00:38:01.04\00:38:02.54
I'm not really into this,
I don't have my heart in it.
00:38:02.58\00:38:04.91
Are you kidding?
00:38:04.95\00:38:06.28
Do you think it's that way?
00:38:06.31\00:38:07.75
Exact opposite,
according to scripture,
00:38:07.78\00:38:10.02
John Peckham teaches
philosophy and theology
00:38:10.05\00:38:13.09
over theological seminary.
00:38:13.12\00:38:14.82
His brand new
book, just came out,
00:38:14.86\00:38:17.16
The Love of God:
A Canonical Model.
00:38:17.19\00:38:19.69
Quoted from it last week.
00:38:19.73\00:38:21.60
Number one reader's choice,
for the IVP Academic Press,
00:38:21.63\00:38:25.73
number one choice of readers.
00:38:25.77\00:38:28.47
John Peckham says, hey guys,
00:38:28.50\00:38:31.14
you got to see
what the scripture
00:38:31.17\00:38:32.51
says of God's love,
00:38:32.54\00:38:33.88
I will put it on the
screen, this is beautiful,
00:38:33.91\00:38:35.81
scripture presents
God as affectionate.
00:38:35.84\00:38:39.18
Ever think that
God is affectionate?
00:38:39.21\00:38:40.72
As affectionate and loving,
00:38:40.75\00:38:42.65
devotedly interested
00:38:42.68\00:38:44.02
and intimately
concerned about humans,
00:38:44.09\00:38:46.55
affected by the
world in feeling joy
00:38:46.59\00:38:49.79
and delight in
goodness, yet feeling sorrow,
00:38:49.82\00:38:52.19
passion and intense anger,
00:38:52.23\00:38:53.60
alongside feeling
profound compassion
00:38:53.63\00:38:56.13
and the desire to redeem humans.
00:38:56.16\00:38:58.03
Now it's true, while
none can overpower God,
00:38:58.07\00:39:01.47
he is affected
by worldly events.
00:39:01.50\00:39:04.67
Crisis, tragedies,
He's affected by it
00:39:04.71\00:39:07.61
because He's
willingly opened Himself up
00:39:07.64\00:39:09.98
to reciprocal love
relationship with creatures.
00:39:10.01\00:39:13.95
You know what
reciprocal means, don't you?
00:39:13.98\00:39:17.02
One on one, we give.
00:39:17.05\00:39:18.39
We each give, all right.
00:39:18.42\00:39:19.75
One more line, God enjoys
00:39:19.79\00:39:21.62
and is deeply
affected by reciprocal
00:39:21.66\00:39:25.63
though asymmetrical,
that means there is huge love
00:39:25.66\00:39:28.03
over here on God's part,
00:39:28.06\00:39:29.40
tiny little love on my part
and this is not even-steven.
00:39:29.43\00:39:31.50
It's really asymmetrical,
00:39:31.53\00:39:33.44
but God is
affected by reciprocal
00:39:33.47\00:39:36.60
relationship with
humans, end point.
00:39:36.64\00:39:40.71
Wow, case in point by the
way, what we just read, verse 10
00:39:40.78\00:39:43.21
here on Romans Chapter
5, let me read it to you
00:39:43.24\00:39:45.11
in the Today's English Version
or the Good News translation,
00:39:45.15\00:39:47.95
put it on the screen for you.
00:39:47.98\00:39:49.32
I love the way they translate,
verse 10, here it goes.
00:39:49.35\00:39:52.62
"We were God's enemies,
00:39:52.65\00:39:55.49
but he made us his friends
through the death of his Son.
00:39:55.52\00:39:58.73
Now that we are God's friends,
00:39:58.76\00:40:01.60
how much more will we
be saved by Christ's life!"
00:40:01.63\00:40:05.23
And then I like verse
11 but that's not all,
00:40:05.27\00:40:07.04
we rejoice because
of what has God done
00:40:07.10\00:40:08.94
through our Lord Jesus Christ
00:40:08.97\00:40:10.67
who has now made
us God's friends.
00:40:10.71\00:40:14.28
I love that
language, jot it down,
00:40:14.31\00:40:15.64
will you in your study guides,
00:40:15.68\00:40:17.01
so that you have
this translation with you.
00:40:17.05\00:40:18.55
"We were God's enemies,
but he made us his friends,
00:40:18.58\00:40:22.72
through the death of his son.
00:40:22.75\00:40:24.19
Now that we're God's friends,
00:40:24.25\00:40:27.36
how much more we will
be saved by Christ's life!"
00:40:27.42\00:40:30.23
Peckham is absolutely right.
00:40:30.29\00:40:31.63
God enjoys,
00:40:31.66\00:40:32.99
He's deeply
affected by this reciprocal.
00:40:33.03\00:40:36.03
One on one, relationship,
friendship with you,
00:40:36.06\00:40:40.27
I mean come on,
wasn't that Jesus'
00:40:40.30\00:40:41.64
point in the upper
room less than 24 hours
00:40:41.67\00:40:43.00
before He was executed,
00:40:43.04\00:40:44.37
what did Jesus say? Put
it on the screen for you.
00:40:44.41\00:40:45.97
Fill it in your study guide.
00:40:46.01\00:40:47.34
John 15, upper room, verse 13,
00:40:47.41\00:40:49.34
"Greater love
has no one than this:
00:40:49.38\00:40:51.78
to lay down
one's life for one's,"
00:40:51.81\00:40:53.65
what's the next word?
00:40:53.68\00:40:55.02
"Friends," keep writing.
00:40:55.05\00:40:57.35
"You are my,"
00:40:57.42\00:40:58.82
what's the next word?
00:40:58.85\00:41:00.26
"Friends, if you
do what I command."
00:41:00.29\00:41:03.19
And oh, by the way,
00:41:03.22\00:41:04.56
everybody in the upper
room has already pledged to do
00:41:04.59\00:41:05.93
whatever their master
commands, you count on me,
00:41:05.96\00:41:07.66
Peter says, "Yes, sir,
I'm with you till death."
00:41:07.66\00:41:10.13
And what does
Peter do in a few hours?
00:41:10.17\00:41:11.87
Cursing the name of
his friend, he denies Him.
00:41:11.90\00:41:16.50
By the way, the gospel
says, all the disciples fled.
00:41:16.54\00:41:19.87
All of them fled.
00:41:19.91\00:41:23.41
And just hours
after resurrection,
00:41:23.45\00:41:24.78
what does Thomas say?
00:41:24.81\00:41:26.15
I don't believe it, I
don't believe it, doubtsome.
00:41:26.18\00:41:29.65
You are my friends.
00:41:29.68\00:41:31.69
Yo, Lord did you
say that to those guys,
00:41:31.72\00:41:34.06
you got to be kidding me?
00:41:34.12\00:41:35.46
You're not saying
that about us, are you?
00:41:35.49\00:41:36.83
We're the same.
00:41:36.86\00:41:38.23
I mean please, friends,
00:41:38.26\00:41:40.96
you call us friends?
00:41:40.96\00:41:45.57
God, You have this exclusive
00:41:45.60\00:41:47.17
one on one
reciprocal, reciprocal.
00:41:47.20\00:41:51.97
Romans 5:10,
00:41:52.01\00:41:53.34
I'm gonna read it
again one more time,
00:41:53.41\00:41:54.74
"We were God's enemies,
00:41:54.78\00:41:56.11
but he made us his friends
through the death of his Son.
00:41:56.14\00:41:58.01
Now we are God's friends,
00:41:58.05\00:42:00.32
now that we are how much more
00:42:00.35\00:42:01.68
will we be saved
by Christ's life!"
00:42:01.72\00:42:04.12
Clark Rowland
was absolutely right,
00:42:04.19\00:42:06.22
"God is a Being
questing for friends."
00:42:06.25\00:42:09.36
Used to say that to me,
00:42:09.39\00:42:10.73
God is a Being
questing for friends.
00:42:10.76\00:42:13.80
It's over the holiday break.
00:42:13.83\00:42:16.20
I took my little, my
dad to Argentina for a week
00:42:16.23\00:42:18.07
and then LA for a week.
00:42:18.10\00:42:19.47
I took along my
little Steps to Christ.
00:42:19.50\00:42:23.51
And I say, you know,
00:42:23.57\00:42:24.91
I'm gonna read a
chapter at a time,
00:42:24.94\00:42:26.27
I'm looking for all the words,
00:42:26.31\00:42:27.64
Love or derivatives of love
00:42:27.68\00:42:29.01
and just putting a
little mark on the margin.
00:42:29.04\00:42:31.48
You know what, it
occurs to me, guys,
00:42:31.51\00:42:33.31
that if you wanted to,
00:42:33.38\00:42:35.92
you could do a lot worse at
the beginning of the new year
00:42:35.95\00:42:38.22
than reading a chapter
whenever you have the time,
00:42:38.25\00:42:40.92
just a chapter at a
time for this little classic.
00:42:40.96\00:42:44.53
And on page 100,
00:42:44.56\00:42:46.13
how that's an easy
reference to remember, page 100.
00:42:46.16\00:42:49.20
Let me read this for you.
00:42:49.23\00:42:51.07
It's in your study guide, I
put it on the screen as well.
00:42:51.10\00:42:53.37
Isn't this something,
00:42:53.40\00:42:55.24
"The relations between God
and each soul are as distinct
00:42:55.27\00:43:00.08
and full as though
there were not another soul
00:43:00.11\00:43:02.78
upon the earth to
share his watchcare,
00:43:02.81\00:43:04.75
not another soul for
whom he gave his beloved Son."
00:43:04.78\00:43:11.42
The truth about
Jesus' love for you,
00:43:11.45\00:43:12.79
the truth about the Father's
love for you, is either,
00:43:12.82\00:43:14.29
I don't know how God does this,
00:43:14.32\00:43:15.66
but He is able to zone
out, zone out everybody else
00:43:15.69\00:43:18.66
in the universe and he says
if you're the only human being.
00:43:18.69\00:43:21.16
You're the only one,
you and I, that's it.
00:43:21.20\00:43:24.07
Reciprocal, you ever call these
800 numbers and need help, huh?
00:43:24.13\00:43:27.87
800 numbers,
toll-free, you call the number,
00:43:27.90\00:43:30.17
operator gets on and you
can hear a hundred other voices.
00:43:30.21\00:43:32.51
Everybody, yak,
yak, yak, yak, yak.
00:43:32.54\00:43:34.31
You get some young man in India
00:43:34.34\00:43:35.91
or some woman in
the United States
00:43:35.94\00:43:37.31
and you're trying to explain
00:43:37.35\00:43:38.68
and you know
this is what I need.
00:43:38.71\00:43:40.92
God says I'm not that way,
00:43:40.95\00:43:42.52
I'm not an 800 number
00:43:42.55\00:43:43.89
where I got a bunch of
operators taking these calls.
00:43:43.95\00:43:45.75
I take every call myself and
I can take them simultaneously,
00:43:45.79\00:43:48.89
and it feels to
you as if there's
00:43:48.92\00:43:50.83
nobody else in the world.
00:43:50.89\00:43:52.23
I'm only talking to you.
00:43:52.26\00:43:54.60
Wow, wow.
00:43:54.63\00:43:57.43
As if there were no
other soul on earth,
00:43:57.50\00:44:00.57
that's the truth.
00:44:00.64\00:44:02.20
No wonder, you can
call him your friend,
00:44:02.24\00:44:05.97
F.R.I.E.N.D - friend.
00:44:06.01\00:44:10.75
In fact, jot these down.
00:44:10.78\00:44:12.11
Jot them down as
fast I can read them.
00:44:12.15\00:44:13.55
These are just from
Steps to Christ, Boom!
00:44:13.62\00:44:15.05
Boom! Boom!
00:44:15.08\00:44:16.42
Talking about the
friendship with God, here we go,
00:44:16.45\00:44:17.79
I'm not even gonna
read the page number.
00:44:17.82\00:44:19.15
Steps to
Christ, here's the line.
00:44:19.19\00:44:20.56
"Jesus is our Friend,"
00:44:20.59\00:44:21.96
capital F,
"friend and Savior still."
00:44:21.99\00:44:24.83
Here's another one.
00:44:24.86\00:44:26.19
"What a precious
friend, we have found in Jesus."
00:44:26.23\00:44:30.17
Here's another one.
00:44:30.23\00:44:31.57
"Prayer is the
opening of the heart to God
00:44:31.60\00:44:32.93
as to a what?
00:44:32.97\00:44:34.74
As to a friend."
00:44:34.77\00:44:36.10
Here's another one.
00:44:36.14\00:44:37.47
"He, God the Father
is our best friend."
00:44:37.51\00:44:40.64
Write in the word best.
00:44:40.68\00:44:42.21
And one more
from Steps to Christ.
00:44:42.24\00:44:43.71
"Jesus is our friend."
00:44:43.75\00:44:48.12
Same author by the way.
00:44:48.15\00:44:49.48
In a letter she wrote on
May 24, 1905, Ellen White,
00:44:49.52\00:44:52.42
personal letter to a woman.
00:44:52.45\00:44:53.82
"My dearest child Mabel,"
00:44:53.86\00:44:55.66
you need to fill this in.
00:44:55.69\00:44:57.03
"O that we all realized that
00:44:57.09\00:44:59.09
true happiness is
found in taking Christ
00:44:59.13\00:45:01.60
as our nearest
and dearest friend."
00:45:01.63\00:45:05.13
Boy I love that,
nearest and dearest friend.
00:45:05.17\00:45:11.04
"He loves you and
will be your sympathizing,"
00:45:11.07\00:45:14.08
write it in,
00:45:14.11\00:45:15.44
"your sympathizing friend."
00:45:15.48\00:45:18.65
And then here
comes Adventist home,
00:45:18.68\00:45:20.02
this is great, are
there any mothers here today?
00:45:20.05\00:45:22.92
Any mothers?
00:45:22.95\00:45:24.69
Look at this,
00:45:24.72\00:45:26.05
"Jesus knows the
burdens of every mother's heart
00:45:26.09\00:45:28.72
and is her best friend."
00:45:28.76\00:45:33.60
Let's expand this circle.
00:45:33.63\00:45:35.16
Are there any women here today?
00:45:35.20\00:45:37.53
Any women here?
00:45:37.57\00:45:39.17
Because the next
line same page is for you.
00:45:39.20\00:45:41.34
Here it goes,
00:45:41.37\00:45:44.37
"He, Jesus, is
woman's best friend today
00:45:44.41\00:45:48.14
and is ready to aid her in
all the relations of life.'
00:45:48.18\00:45:50.51
' And even in the
sophisticated west,
00:45:50.55\00:45:52.08
where we proud
ourselves, oh man,
00:45:52.11\00:45:53.48
we're all gender,
gender equal around here,
00:45:53.52\00:45:55.88
even here, when
women are maligned
00:45:55.92\00:45:59.15
and shoved to the side,
we just don't talk about it.
00:45:59.19\00:46:03.49
There's somebody who
will always be your friend.
00:46:03.56\00:46:08.66
One more I got to
share this with you,
00:46:08.70\00:46:10.07
same author, in a
letter to an aged.
00:46:10.10\00:46:11.60
Anybody aged here?
00:46:11.63\00:46:13.54
I guess they were
all in the first service.
00:46:13.57\00:46:16.57
Let me share this with you.
00:46:16.60\00:46:18.77
So in a letter to an
aged Christian, same author.
00:46:18.81\00:46:21.88
"Just rest in Jesus'
arms," and this is the best,
00:46:21.91\00:46:24.71
"just rest in
Jesus' arms and know that
00:46:24.75\00:46:26.35
He is your Savior and your,"
00:46:26.38\00:46:27.72
write it down,
00:46:27.75\00:46:29.08
"very best Friend,"
00:46:29.12\00:46:31.22
he is your BFF forever and ever.
00:46:31.25\00:46:37.66
Your very best friend,
in the whole wide world,
00:46:37.69\00:46:43.23
in the entire universe,
He is your very best friend.
00:46:43.26\00:46:49.40
I'm telling you what, guys,
00:46:49.44\00:46:50.77
it doesn't get
any better than this.
00:46:50.81\00:46:52.14
Talking about
Charmed into Righteousness,
00:46:52.17\00:46:53.58
who wouldn't want to
be friends with the God
00:46:53.64\00:46:54.98
that thinks this of me?
00:46:55.01\00:46:56.34
I mean, can you imagine that?
00:46:56.38\00:46:59.75
Before I photoshopped myself up,
00:46:59.78\00:47:02.32
He wanted to be friends?
00:47:02.35\00:47:04.02
What's up with that?
00:47:04.05\00:47:07.76
I don't know
this LA Times Father
00:47:07.79\00:47:10.46
who lost his daughter.
00:47:10.49\00:47:11.83
I don't know
father Watson either,
00:47:14.63\00:47:20.97
but I tell you what?
00:47:21.00\00:47:22.34
Having heard their stories
and I read this testimony,
00:47:22.37\00:47:28.18
my heart aches with him.
00:47:28.21\00:47:31.38
My heart aches for that dad.
00:47:31.41\00:47:35.65
And I imagined in my
simple way of thinking that,
00:47:35.68\00:47:38.42
if there were
anybody on this planet
00:47:38.45\00:47:41.16
now that I could
turn to in my own,
00:47:41.19\00:47:43.26
in my own herd, in
my own dysfunction,
00:47:43.29\00:47:48.20
I could turn to this father,
00:47:48.23\00:47:51.43
and He have a heart
and He somehow know.
00:47:51.47\00:47:55.64
There is a father in
this universe who also lost
00:47:59.27\00:48:02.88
an only child,
00:48:02.91\00:48:05.05
a son,
00:48:05.08\00:48:06.41
he's the Father that says,
00:48:08.12\00:48:10.05
hey, I want to be your BFF.
00:48:10.12\00:48:14.02
I want to be your
best friend forever.
00:48:14.09\00:48:17.69
Could we walk
together this New Year?"
00:48:17.73\00:48:23.20
And I don't know about
you, but I tell you what,
00:48:23.23\00:48:25.00
if you give me his phone number,
00:48:25.03\00:48:26.37
I promise you,
00:48:26.40\00:48:27.94
I'll be glad to call him
00:48:27.97\00:48:29.30
every single day
of this New Year,
00:48:29.34\00:48:31.37
you give me his phone
number, I'll call him.
00:48:31.41\00:48:34.01
Now look, I
understand, He's busy,
00:48:34.08\00:48:35.51
He's got a
whole universe to run,
00:48:35.54\00:48:37.35
but you can't tell me,
00:48:37.38\00:48:38.71
that somebody who has
made that infinite a sacrifice
00:48:38.75\00:48:41.85
and investment in my life
wouldn't love for the moments,
00:48:41.88\00:48:45.62
when he and I were alone
and we just talk reciprocally,
00:48:45.65\00:48:49.09
you understand, one on
one and heart to heart.
00:48:49.12\00:48:52.06
Give me His phone number.
00:48:52.09\00:48:53.43
You don't want to call Him,
you give me His phone number.
00:48:53.50\00:48:55.26
I'll call him everyday.
00:48:55.30\00:48:57.13
And by the way, I understand
00:48:57.17\00:48:58.50
that I can't stay on
the phone for forever,
00:48:58.53\00:48:59.87
you know, I have a life to live.
00:48:59.90\00:49:01.84
So you know what,
00:49:01.87\00:49:04.04
I'll get up earlier,
00:49:04.07\00:49:05.91
I'll get up when it's
quiet and there's nobody in...
00:49:05.94\00:49:08.48
My roommate is still asleep
and the family is still in bed.
00:49:08.51\00:49:12.21
I'll get up early,
so that I can be alone,
00:49:12.25\00:49:14.48
be alone with my BFF
00:49:14.52\00:49:18.25
and just the
two of us will talk,
00:49:18.29\00:49:19.62
He'll talk to me through
the book and I'll talk back,
00:49:19.65\00:49:22.82
and reciprocally we'll
grow closer and closer,
00:49:22.86\00:49:28.36
until I'm charmed
into His righteousness.
00:49:28.40\00:49:31.80
That's what I would do.
00:49:31.83\00:49:33.17
Give me His number, come on.
00:49:33.20\00:49:35.00
You don't want to call Him?
00:49:35.04\00:49:36.54
Give me His number,
I'll call Him everyday.
00:49:36.57\00:49:40.18
By the way you give
me your email address,
00:49:40.21\00:49:42.04
give me your
email address right now
00:49:42.08\00:49:44.05
and I will send to
you a way to meet with God
00:49:44.08\00:49:47.32
everyday that you choose.
00:49:47.35\00:49:48.68
I'm not saying you
have to do it everyday,
00:49:48.72\00:49:50.09
you want to do it one in
seven, that's your choice.
00:49:50.12\00:49:52.82
Kind of a weird friendship,
one in seven, but hey.
00:49:52.85\00:49:57.03
I'll send you a message.
00:49:57.06\00:49:58.63
You give me your email address.
00:49:58.66\00:50:00.63
I will send you a message
so that you can be with God
00:50:00.70\00:50:02.93
every single day that you
want to be alone with Him,
00:50:02.96\00:50:06.13
with your best
friend forever and ever.
00:50:06.17\00:50:09.14
In fact, take your
connect card right now
00:50:09.17\00:50:10.87
and scribble that
email address down.
00:50:10.91\00:50:12.34
If you scribble
your email address
00:50:12.37\00:50:13.74
down on the front of this card,
00:50:13.78\00:50:15.18
not gonna go through
the whole card right now,
00:50:15.21\00:50:16.54
I want to end with the story,
00:50:16.58\00:50:17.91
then we'll go to the card,
00:50:17.95\00:50:19.28
but you put your email address
on the front of this card,
00:50:19.31\00:50:23.15
put your email address,
00:50:23.18\00:50:25.32
and then go to box number two,
00:50:25.35\00:50:26.72
turn it over,
my next step today,
00:50:26.76\00:50:28.09
I'll talk about
the others later.
00:50:28.12\00:50:29.46
I would like to grow
my friendship with Jesus
00:50:29.49\00:50:30.83
through prayer this New Year,
00:50:30.86\00:50:32.19
please send me
a new way to pray.
00:50:32.23\00:50:34.63
You just check box number two.
00:50:34.66\00:50:36.70
I'll send you
something in the mail.
00:50:36.73\00:50:38.07
Nobody's coming to
knock on your door.
00:50:38.10\00:50:39.43
I'll send you something, email.
00:50:39.47\00:50:42.00
Ushers are moving to the doors
00:50:42.04\00:50:43.37
now, they're gonna pick
this card up in just a second.
00:50:43.44\00:50:44.77
So please do it right now,
00:50:44.81\00:50:46.14
just scribble your email address
00:50:46.17\00:50:47.51
and then check box number two.
00:50:47.54\00:50:48.88
Now let me tell you that
story, I promised a story,
00:50:48.91\00:50:51.31
I want to end with a story.
00:50:51.35\00:50:52.68
A Brazilian,
little Brazilian couple,
00:50:54.72\00:50:57.75
we got a lot a Brazilians
here, in this congregation.
00:50:57.79\00:51:01.59
A little Brazilian couple
named Italvino and Diva Posa.
00:51:01.62\00:51:08.50
Did I say that
right in Portuguese?
00:51:08.53\00:51:10.53
Portuguese,
00:51:10.57\00:51:12.70
yeah, little
Brazilian couple fell in love,
00:51:12.73\00:51:14.20
got married in 1949. Tada!
00:51:14.24\00:51:17.07
Take a look at
their wedding photo.
00:51:17.11\00:51:18.44
There they are, handsome couple.
00:51:18.47\00:51:20.24
Got married 1949.
00:51:20.28\00:51:22.48
Began to raise a
family, eventually 10 children.
00:51:22.51\00:51:25.98
Whoo, Mamma Mia, 10 children.
00:51:26.01\00:51:29.52
Husband worked hard,
00:51:29.55\00:51:30.89
you can take the
picture down now.
00:51:30.95\00:51:32.29
Husband worked hard,
00:51:32.32\00:51:35.16
so did mother,
00:51:35.19\00:51:36.79
and somewhere along
the way, mother Diva,
00:51:36.83\00:51:40.16
met a friend who
introduced her to Jesus
00:51:40.20\00:51:43.00
at The
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:51:43.03\00:51:45.43
and mother Diva is baptized,
as we saw just a moment ago,
00:51:45.47\00:51:49.24
baptized into Christ.
00:51:49.27\00:51:51.61
She asks
Italvino, and he says, "No."
00:51:51.64\00:51:55.98
He's a businessman,
00:51:56.01\00:51:57.38
so every time he
goes on a business,
00:51:57.41\00:51:58.75
she sticks into his suitcase,
00:51:58.78\00:52:00.18
literature, little
book, something to read,
00:52:00.22\00:52:02.72
and so when he gets
there to his destination,
00:52:02.75\00:52:04.75
pulls a book out and guess what?
00:52:04.79\00:52:06.45
Eventually, he too was baptized
00:52:06.49\00:52:09.96
and the two of
them became active
00:52:10.03\00:52:11.36
in their
witnessing and serving Jesus,
00:52:11.39\00:52:13.16
in their home
church in Porto Alegre
00:52:13.19\00:52:15.93
in Southern Brazil.
00:52:15.96\00:52:17.43
I want you to see the
picture of the couple now?
00:52:17.47\00:52:19.43
Handsome, aha,
handsome, beautiful.
00:52:19.47\00:52:22.74
Ten children by the way,
00:52:25.07\00:52:26.74
14 grandchildren,
00:52:26.78\00:52:28.24
six great grandchildren
00:52:28.28\00:52:31.15
but then it happened.
00:52:31.18\00:52:33.68
Italvino contracted leukemia
00:52:33.72\00:52:37.59
and then Diva
developed bladder cancer,
00:52:37.62\00:52:41.46
and so it was
that the two of them
00:52:41.49\00:52:42.82
ended up in the
same hospital room
00:52:42.86\00:52:44.43
this past autumn in
the Adventist Review
00:52:44.46\00:52:46.59
is the one that
where I found the story,
00:52:46.66\00:52:48.96
it's just this last fall,
00:52:49.00\00:52:50.33
they ended up in
the same hospital room
00:52:50.40\00:52:51.73
and they would
push their beds together
00:52:51.77\00:52:55.44
and so on October 3,
00:52:55.47\00:52:58.54
40 minutes apart,
00:52:58.57\00:53:01.68
these two lifelong friends died.
00:53:01.71\00:53:07.65
65 years of marriage,
00:53:07.68\00:53:09.42
slowly coming to
an end, they died.
00:53:09.45\00:53:13.15
Get this, they
died holding hands,
00:53:13.19\00:53:17.79
best friends forever.
00:53:17.83\00:53:23.63
There's a God in
this universe who says,
00:53:23.67\00:53:25.00
if you let me take your
hand, I'll walk with you.
00:53:25.03\00:53:28.44
I'll stay with you
girl, I'll stay with you boy,
00:53:28.47\00:53:31.24
I'll stay with
you till life is over,
00:53:31.27\00:53:33.54
just give me your hand
00:53:33.58\00:53:35.18
and I'll be your
BFF forever and ever,
00:53:35.21\00:53:40.58
amen.
00:53:40.62\00:53:42.38
Let's pray.
00:53:42.42\00:53:43.75
Oh, God, is it really,
00:53:43.79\00:53:45.49
is the good news
really this good?
00:53:45.52\00:53:49.02
Are you gooder than we thought?
00:53:49.06\00:53:51.63
Is Your love more
infinite than we have realized?
00:53:51.66\00:53:57.63
Please, know our hearts.
00:53:57.67\00:54:00.54
We want to be best
friends forever and ever.
00:54:00.57\00:54:03.81
Who better than you,
00:54:03.84\00:54:05.47
does it get any
better than this?
00:54:05.51\00:54:07.98
It does not.
00:54:08.01\00:54:09.68
So hear our
hearts, know our minds.
00:54:09.71\00:54:12.71
Take our hands we will
walk with you this year
00:54:12.75\00:54:18.19
through Jesus,
00:54:18.22\00:54:19.79
our Savior and Friend,
00:54:19.82\00:54:22.16
we pray, amen.
00:54:22.19\00:54:24.76
I want to sing that,
00:54:24.79\00:54:26.43
I want to sing
this great gospel song,
00:54:26.46\00:54:30.33
Jesus what a friend for sinners,
00:54:30.37\00:54:31.70
but I need to
get the ushers go on.
00:54:31.73\00:54:33.07
Let's go ushers.
00:54:33.10\00:54:34.44
God bless you, as we
receive our morning tithes
00:54:34.47\00:54:35.80
and offerings
and the connect card.
00:54:35.84\00:54:37.17
Turn your connect card
over, put it in and let's do it.
00:54:37.21\00:54:39.24
This is a short introduction,
we're ready to sing.
00:54:39.27\00:54:41.18
Jesus! What a
Friend for sinners!
00:54:58.96\00:55:03.67
Jesus! Lover of my soul
00:55:03.70\00:55:08.34
Friends may fail
me, foes assail me
00:55:08.37\00:55:10.84
He, my Savior, makes me whole
00:55:10.91\00:55:16.64
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
00:55:16.68\00:55:21.18
Hallelujah! What a friend!
00:55:21.22\00:55:25.65
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
00:55:25.69\00:55:30.63
He is with me to the end
00:55:30.66\00:55:36.93
Jesus! What a
Strength for weakness!
00:55:36.97\00:55:41.54
Let me hide myself in Him
00:55:41.57\00:55:45.64
Tempted, tried,
and sometimes failing,
00:55:45.67\00:55:50.31
He, my
Strength, my vict'ry wins.
00:55:50.35\00:55:55.02
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
00:55:55.05\00:55:59.32
Hallelujah! What a friend!
00:55:59.35\00:56:03.86
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
00:56:03.89\00:56:08.06
He is with me to the end
00:56:08.10\00:56:15.00
Jesus!
00:56:15.04\00:56:17.41
I do now receive Him
00:56:17.44\00:56:20.48
More than all in Him I find
00:56:20.51\00:56:25.21
He hath granted me forgiveness
00:56:25.25\00:56:29.95
I am His, and He is mine
00:56:29.98\00:56:34.86
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
00:56:34.89\00:56:39.69
Hallelujah! What a Friend!
00:56:39.73\00:56:44.33
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
00:56:44.37\00:56:48.97
He is with me to the end.
00:56:49.00\00:56:55.48
And now may the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:56:58.95\00:57:02.22
and the love of God,
00:57:02.25\00:57:03.95
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
00:57:04.02\00:57:05.75
be with you all.
00:57:05.79\00:57:08.19
Amen.
00:57:08.22\00:57:09.56
I wanted to take an extra moment
00:57:18.47\00:57:19.80
to let you know how grateful
I am you joined us today.
00:57:19.83\00:57:22.27
I hear from
viewers and listeners like
00:57:22.30\00:57:24.04
you all across this nation
and literally around the world
00:57:24.11\00:57:27.28
and I'm thankful,
00:57:27.31\00:57:28.64
because it's through the
generosity of the members
00:57:28.68\00:57:30.35
of this
congregation and people like you
00:57:30.38\00:57:32.18
that we're able to
bring you this program.
00:57:32.21\00:57:34.68
So what we shared
today has touched your heart,
00:57:34.72\00:57:36.52
I'd like you to invite you
00:57:36.55\00:57:37.89
to become a
financial partner with us.
00:57:37.92\00:57:39.25
Just give us a
call, toll free number 877
00:57:39.29\00:57:42.06
the two words,
HIS-WILL, 877-HIS-WILL,
00:57:42.09\00:57:45.13
or if you'd
rather go to our website
00:57:45.16\00:57:47.40
www.pmchurch.tv.
00:57:47.40\00:57:50.73
Either way,
00:57:50.77\00:57:52.10
your generosity will
bless a new generation
00:57:52.13\00:57:53.80
in cyberspace
all over this planet,
00:57:53.84\00:57:56.54
so thank you.
00:57:56.57\00:57:57.91
Thank you very much
for your partnership.
00:57:57.94\00:58:00.61