Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP171230A
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00:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 00:52 >> And now I want to invite you to turn to page 6 of your worship bulletin, as we read 00:57 "The Call to Worship Responsively." And it reads, "Who is a God like 01:05 you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? 01:13 You do not stay angry forever but delight in mercy. You will again have compassion 01:21 on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our 01:27 iniquities into the depths of the sea. Come then, let us worship our 01:32 God, who in mercy forgets what He forgives." And, please, stand with me as we 01:38 sing the doxology. ♪♪ 02:38 >> Almighty God, it all comes down to this, does it? 36 hours left of this waning, 02:46 vanishing year that began with such promise, such great expectations. 02:51 Nothing left now but a handful of hours and a heart full of regret, perhaps. 02:59 Must be why you sent the snow. A gospel sermon disguised as a weather report. 03:05 "Come now and let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, 03:10 they shall be as white as snow." The gospel of the old rugged cross and that ancient prayer, 03:18 "Wash me, O, God, and I shall be whiter than snow." Which is why we've come to 03:24 worship you, in the name of Christ Jesus, our savior, for the promise of that snow-white 03:31 cleansing. Amen. >> Amen. 03:35 [ "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" plays ] ♪♪ 03:49 ♪♪ ♪♪ 06:36 >> Hey, boys and girls, nice to see you on this last Sabbath of December. 06:41 When I saw that weather this morning, I said, "Oh, boy. Well, I'll tell the story, and 06:46 they'll be listening on the radio live, or live streaming," but nice to see you. 06:51 Thanks for getting mom and dad up and getting them here. You had a good Christmas? 06:56 Yes. I can tell just be looking at you. 07:01 Jesus is always good. Thank you, Deacon Jones. All right. 07:05 So, hey, today is a really truly story. Now, all the stories, I think, 07:10 are pretty true, but this one, I saw it happen. This week, in Berrien County -- 07:15 Anybody here live in Berrien County? That'd be pretty much all of us. 07:19 Berrien County, Michigan, this week. Was it cold this week? 07:23 Oh, my. What was it, 4 degrees or 5 degrees? 07:26 It was Wednesday morning -- Wednesday morning. Br-br-br-br-br-br-br! 07:31 And our friends, Harold and Jeanie Smith, they said, "Okay. We got to take the dogs out." 07:36 Ooh, dogs out? You got to take dogs out when it's 4 degrees? 07:40 Tell me, please, you don't take dogs out when it's 4 degrees. Well, maybe they're really -- 07:44 Maybe these are Alaskan Huskies. Let's see the dogs on the screen. 07:47 Let's just see -- Oh. Oh, those are not Alaskan 07:51 Huskies. Those are standard Poodles. "You're gonna take the Poodles 07:55 out?" "Yep! They're used to it." 07:57 "You sure?" "Yep." "Okay." 08:00 They went out. But those two kids -- that's Trigger, the tall one, and 08:05 Ginger, the shorter one. Those two children of theirs said, "You know what? 08:12 Snow. It's Christmas!" This is two days after 08:15 Christmas. "I say let's go for a walk." And just like that, Trigger's 08:19 gone. G-o-o-one! And just like that, right behind 08:22 Trigger, "Wait for me! Wait for me!" There goes Ginger. 08:25 Gone! It's killer cold. 4 degrees. 08:32 Wind chill. And when you have paws and not shoes -- when you have paws that 08:37 step on the ice, things happen very quickly. And this poor little family, 08:43 they start praying, "Oh, dear Jesus, please -- please, please, please, please, please." 08:47 They got ahold -- Jeanie got ahold of Karen, so we started praying. 08:50 "Dear Jesus, please, please, please, please, please." About halfway through the 08:54 morning, nope! They're gone, they're gone, they're dead. 08:57 They're frozen. That's exactly what's happened. They are frozen. 09:00 So we decided -- We were going -- We were getting in the car, "Let's just swing by 09:04 their house, see if they need any help. Maybe they've covered all the 09:07 roads. I don't know." And as we're going down 09:10 Red Bud Trail, Red Bud Trail, hills and curves, we go around the curve, and then I see two 09:17 creatures walking down the middle of Red Bud Trail. I said, "Karen, it's the dogs!" 09:25 A big pickup truck had stopped on the other side, and he had said the same thing to his two 09:29 little children in the car, "They're dogs!" We all stopped, doors flew open. 09:37 Oh, no. Because as soon as we start calling their names, they start 09:41 running -- the wrong way! [ Gasps ] What are we gonna do? 09:45 But you know what? I do believe dogs have angels -- guardian angels -- because 09:51 finding those dogs, said, "Wait a minute. This is help, and it's very cold 09:56 out here." And one by one, Trigger, then Ginger came to the pickup truck, 10:02 thrown his door wide, "Come on, guys. Come on." 10:05 Shump, shump! He said, "Where do I go with these?" 10:08 We said, "Follow us." And, oh, my, was there rejoicing in the Smith family that morning 10:17 in December. Let me show you a picture of the dogs after they were caught out 10:21 in the snow. Oh. We're talking about frostbite. 10:25 We're talking about frostbite. Oh. Hey, wait a minute. 10:30 Come on. I see we have some guests. Wait a minute. 10:34 No, no, this can't be. Can it be? Is it? 10:38 It's the dogs! They came for the children's story today! 10:42 What's up with that? They must have known it's the last Sabbath of December. 10:45 Look at them. Do you know, these are therapy dogs. 10:49 They hang around people who need love. Oh. 10:54 Hey, hey, can you get a camera in close on him? Because, Trigger, show them you 10:58 have a coat -- you have a shirt and tie on. [ Laughter ] 11:02 Can you see the shirt and tie? Yeah, you can see it. And do you see the little -- you 11:05 see the little tutu that Ginger's wearing? Look at that. 11:11 Hey. Did Jesus answer those prayers? And if -- 11:16 Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. And if Je-- Shh! 11:20 Stop. If Jesus cares for little doggies, does he care for little 11:25 boys and girls? Oh, so much. Who wants to thank Jesus? 11:28 While the doggies are here -- All right, you come here. Okay? 11:31 Martin, you're gonna pray. We just met Martin last Sabbath in our Christmas service. 11:37 So, Martin, nice to have you. You gonna pray in English or Portuguese? 11:42 >> Portuguese. >> He's gonna pray in Portuguese. 11:44 All right, shh! He's not gonna start until every boy and girl is quiet. 11:48 Shh! Okay. Now he's gonna pray in 11:52 Portuguese. See if you can understand his prayer as he thanks Jesus, who 11:56 goes looking for the lost and will find them if they'll just let him. 12:02 All right. Martin. >> [ Speaking Portuguese ] 12:11 Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Martin. 12:14 Thank you, boys and girls. If you want to pet the dogs, they'll be here just for a 12:17 second, but you have to go by them very fast. 12:24 >> Dear God, here we are. What can we say? Martin said it in Portuguese. 12:29 We say it in English. Obrigado -- Thank you for sending a savior who knew where 12:35 we were. No matter how cold the night, he kept searching. 12:41 He keeps seeking until we connect. Don't give up on us, Father. 12:46 Don't give up on our friends, don't give up on our children, don't give up on our neighbors, 12:51 don't give up on our nation. Don't give up on us. That's why Jesus came, for which 12:58 we are very, very thankful. 13:01 In Jesus' name, amen. Because this is the next to the 13:06 last day of this year, would it be all right if we begin with a 13:11 question? I hope so. 13:15 So here's the question. Think carefully. 13:19 How many times have you sinned this year? 13:24 [ Laughter ] No, I'm serious. Say, "Dwight, that's none of 13:28 your business." I know that, but I'm curious. [ Laughter ] 13:31 How many times have you sinned this year? Pull your little calculator out. 13:36 Come on. You can figure it out. Just run the numbers. 13:39 If you sin once a day... I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands. 13:46 But if you sin once a day, how many times would you have sinned in a year? 13:49 365. If you had sinned two times a day, how many times would you 13:56 have sinned in the year? 730. If you had sinned three times -- 14:01 "Wow! Three times a day?" "Yeah, three times a day." 1,095. 14:08 But that's really not the number I want. You know the number I want? 14:11 I want to know what the number would be if we tallied everybody's sins for this past 14:16 year. What would the number be? And let's throw in all the 14:21 live-streamers who are here, extra, sitting in pajamas. Should have had your suit and 14:26 tie on, but there you are in pajamas. [ Laughter ] 14:28 I should've known. But anyway, we throw them all in. 14:33 Lookit, if you had a thousand people that you threw in, we're 14:35 talking about 1,095,000 sins, just for this little group. 14:43 That's a big number. Which makes what you're about to read so stunning in its offer. 14:49 Want you to open your Bible with me on this last Sabbath of this year. 14:54 Open your Bible to Colossians, the little book of Colossians. Haven't been there in a long 14:58 time, have you? Yeah, me neither. Colossians chapter 2. 15:03 I'll be in the New International version. You could grab a pew Bible if 15:07 you like or track it along with that device of yours. Colossians chapter 2. 15:11 You got to read these words. 15:13 This is Colossians 2:13. "When you were dead in your sins 15:16 and in the uncircumcision of your flesh --" in other words, 15:19 when you were Pagan. Just a Pagan rebel. 15:22 Mm-hmm. "God made you alive with 15:25 Christ." He's just been talking about 15:27 baptism and resurrection. "He made you alive with Christ. 15:29 He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of 15:32 our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned 15:34 us. He has taken it away, nailing it 15:36 to the cross. And having --" verse 15 -- 15:39 "disarmed the powers and authorities, Jesus made a public 15:43 spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." 15:48 Now, that sounds just like a little bit of theological/spiritual jargon. 15:52 I mean, what is he saying? So I pull out my little pocket message translation. 15:57 Let me read it to you in "The Message." This will be Eugene Peterson's 16:00 rendition. Same verses. Put them on the screen for you 16:04 so you can follow along. This feels friendly. Let's read it together. 16:08 "When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life," Pagan rebel that 16:15 you were, "you were incapable of responding to God. 16:21 God brought you alive -- right along with Christ!" 16:25 Mm! "Think of it!" Now here he goes. 16:27 "All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest 16:35 warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. 16:38 He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their 16:41 sham authority at the Cross, and he marched them naked through 16:44 the streets." 16:47 Wow. All those demonic powers that actually led us into sin -- 16:52 Was it 1,095 we said, three a day? That many times. 16:57 And, by the way, they've been defeated 2,000 years ago. We've been defeated by a 17:02 defeated foe. He knows he's lost. He's just trying to take as many 17:07 with him as he can. Wow. Think of it. What did we just read? 17:13 Think of it. "All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest 17:16 warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. Talking about good news. 17:19 Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get any better than this. It doesn't get any better. 17:25 Reminds me of Jerry Bridges in his wonderful book, "Transforming Grace: Living 17:31 Confidently in God's Unfailing Love." Look what he's written. 17:35 Put it on the screen, please. 17:36 "Jesus paid the debt of all our sins -- past, present, and 17:44 future. As Paul said in 17:46 Colossians 2:13," which we just read, "'God forgave us all our 17:49 sins.'" He go-- Bridges goes on -- "We 17:52 don't have to start all over again and try to keep the slate 17:54 clean. There is no more slate." 17:58 As Stephen Brown wrote, 'God took our slate, and He broke it 18:03 in pieces and threw it away.'" Isn't that good? 18:08 And NIV renders it, "Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness," but I like those 18:13 words -- "All sins forgiven." All of them. Wait a minute. 18:21 Isn't that what Jesus prayed on the cross for us? You ever see Mel Gibson's 18:24 "The Passion of the Christ"? It's been a few years now. You seen it? 18:28 There's that one scene. Remember, they've got Jesus prone on the -- atop the cross, 18:34 on the ground. Crossbeam right behind him. Camera moves in on one of his 18:38 hands. They roughly jerk his hand out, extend it far, and then hands 18:44 reach in from out of the picture. We only see the burly Roman 18:49 guard's hands as he reaches in, and he puts a Roman nail and holds it with one hand, and with 18:54 the other, mallet -- he begins to pound, as we watch, through the flesh of Christ Jesus. 19:01 We never see the face of the one driving that nail. But the director, Mel Gibson, 19:07 would later testify that he asked for that part, his only moment in his own movie, when he 19:16 holds the nail and he drives it into the flesh of his savior. Boy, makes a powerful point, 19:25 doesn't he? We were all there. We were all there when Jesus 19:30 prayed. The day they executed him -- You remember the seven last 19:35 words of Christ on the cross? Number one, put them on the screen. 19:38 You know them well. "Jesus said, 'Father...'" Let's read out loud together. 19:42 "'Father...'" >> "'...forgive them, for they do not know what they are 19:47 doing.'" >> Yeah, forgive them, Father. They don't know what they're 19:50 doing. You're kidding me. You don't think they know what 19:53 they're doing? You don't think 1,095 times this year we didn't know what we were 19:56 doing? Give me a break. We know what we're doing. 20:00 They knew what they were doing. And yet -- get this -- "Desire of Ages." 20:04 Oh. Provocative. On the screen again. 20:08 "That prayer of Christ for His enemies embrace the world. 20:12 It took in every sinner that had lived or should live from the 20:15 beginning of the world to the end of time." 20:17 Babies yet to be born. Our next granddaughter's coming 20:19 in February. Her sins have already been 20:23 covered. Upon all rests the guilt of 20:26 crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely 20:30 offered. 'Whosoever will' may have peace 20:33 with God, and inherit eternal life." 20:36 That prayer was for you. That prayer was for me. 20:39 That prayer was for 1,095 times this year that you and I have sinned. 20:44 Surely, the number's too low. That prayer... was for every sin we have sinned 20:55 or yet shall sin. Why don't we just read from Colossians 2:13. 21:00 Put it on the screen again. "All sins forgiven." That's the gospel. 21:06 And by the way, not just forgiven -- mnh-mnh -- but apparently forgotten, as well. 21:11 May I run these by you just as fast as I can? Give you just enough time to 21:14 scribble these verses down, because there's no study guide, and you'll wish you had all four 21:18 of these. Let me just run these by you. Four provocative promises of 21:22 divine amnesia. In chronological order, here they come. 21:24 Write them down. 21:26 Number one, Isaiah 43:25, God speaking." 21:40 "No more." Here comes number two, 21:42 Jeremiah 31:34. 21:48 Here comes Hebrews 8:12. 21:54 Sounds just like Jeremiah. It is. 21:56 Here's Hebrews 10:17. 22:04 There they are, ladies and gentlemen -- four provocative 22:08 promises of merciful and gracious divine amnesia -- 22:12 "I will remember your sins no more. 22:16 All sins forgiven." It's apparently met by "All sins forgotten." 22:22 Isn't that something? I mean, am I pulling something over on you here? 22:29 Did we tweak the verses, make them read what they don't say? Yeah, but come on. 22:35 Doesn't God keep a record of sin somewhere? You're right. 22:39 He does. Just in case -- Just in case -- you decide, when this whole 22:43 thing is over, you'd rather be your own savior and you no longer need Jesus to save you. 22:47 If you change your mind -- buyer's remorse -- "I'm not taking it." 22:51 You change your mind, and you can have all 1,095 sins for this year and however many sins it 22:57 takes till you were born, backwards, you may have them all. 23:02 But who would be that stupid to take them all? "I will remember your sins no 23:12 more." But it gets even better. Because to match these four 23:16 provocative divine amnesia promises come these four provocative divine amnesia 23:20 actions. These will be even faster. Jot them down. 23:23 Here they come. Four divine actions. Isaiah 38:17. 23:26 "You," God, "have put all my sins behind your back." And when something goes behind 23:31 your back, it is no longer in your consciousness." It's gone. 23:36 Here comes number two. 23:37 Isaiah 44:22, God speaking. 23:46 Just like, you know, when the sun shines over the 23:48 St. Joseph Valley, and you got that low-hanging cloud and mist, 23:51 and then it just burns it up, gone. 23:52 Where'd it go? It's gone. 23:54 Here's number three, Micah 7:19. 24:04 We were sailing around the world from Japan, missionary kids and 24:08 missionary parents, and one early morning, the ship stopped. 24:11 No sound of engine, and my dad tapped me said... 24:15 "Let Mom and Greg and Kari sleep. 24:17 You follow me." Pch, pch, pch, pch, pch, pch, 24:20 pch, pch, up to the top deck. Dad said, "Look down there." 24:23 There was the captain of the ship in his immaculate naval 24:25 whites, first officer in his whites, a little family, and on 24:29 a platform, leaning out over the sea, a flag-draped coffin. 24:33 A few words were exchanged, a prayer was made, and that 24:36 platform just went like this. This is a kid, just watching. 24:39 Platform went like this, shhhup! Burial at sea. 24:44 God says, "That's what I've done to your sins. 24:47 I buried them in the bottom of the sea." 24:50 One more, New Testament, Acts 3:19. 24:53 "'Repent, then, and turn to God,'" Peter preaching, "'so 24:55 that your sins may be wiped out,'" blotted out, as some 24:58 translations render it, "'that times of refreshing may come 25:02 from the Lord and that the messiah may return.'" 25:03 That's the next line. Four divine amnesia actions to 25:08 match four divine amnesia promises. 25:10 "I will remember your sins no more." What's that mean? 25:14 "All sins forgiven and all sins forgotten." That's it. 25:22 But before I sit down, I must dutifully remind you and me that what God does for us, we must do 25:32 for others, including ourselves. The hardest person in the world to forgive is right here. 25:44 The same Paul who wrote Colossians 2, in prison, also wrote Philippians 3, in prison. 25:48 And everybody knows these words. Put them on the screen, please. "But this one thing I do" -- one 25:52 thing I do -- forgetting what is where? What's behind me. 25:57 I'm turning my back on it. "Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is 26:01 ahead." What does he say? "I press on toward the goal to 26:04 win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 26:09 Paul is speaking of himself. He has a sad and tragic record. "But I forget -- I choose to 26:15 forget -- what is behind me." The gift of a good forgetter. It's not only God's gift for us. 26:27 It's our gift for others. It's our gift for ourselves. "Forget it." 26:36 Leave those sins where you bury them. Leave her sins there. 26:39 Leave his sin-- Don't touch -- Don't, don't, don't touch those. 26:43 Because if I don't forgive you -- if I don't forgive you -- "I tell you, I know what he did, 26:47 and I'm not gonna forgive him for that." "I know what she did. 26:50 I know what she said. I know the action they took. I'm not gonna forgive them. 26:53 As long as I live, I'm not gonna forgive them." Ooh. 26:58 Who sins worse? Me against God or you against me? 27:03 Now, what you've done to me is not right, but what I've done to God 1,095 times -- just this 27:11 year -- is wrong. It's a sin. I know how God has treated me in 27:20 spite of the way I've treated Him. Sometimes, you know, it's just 27:24 important to remind ourselves that when Jesus taught us the Lord's prayer, "Our Father who 27:28 art in heaven," he chose to comment -- of the entire prayer of seven petitions, he chooses 27:33 to comment on only one of them in the Sermon on the Mount, and here's the one he comments on. 27:37 Put it on the screen, please. You know the words very well -- "Forgive us our debts as we 27:42 forgive our debtors," but that's wrong. The English has it wrong. 27:48 In the Greek, it reads this way -- "Forgive us our debts as we forgave --" already -- 27:55 "forgave our debtors." Aris, past, completed action, before now. 28:01 So God says, "Hey, Dwight, you want me to forgive you?" "I sure do." 28:04 "Good. I'll do it. I want to forgive you like you didn't forgive him." 28:12 No, no, no. Jesus says, "You don't forgive your friend, you don't get 28:16 forgiven." Why? Because you're hanging on to it. 28:19 "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." We pray it, that forgiveness is 28:22 the way of God. Forgiveness is the way of this book. 28:25 Anywhere in this book you turn, it's forgiveness. Forgiveness -- you go to the 28:28 Bible's Who's Who collection, and what's happening with it? You have Joseph throwing wide 28:33 his arms and forgiving his stepbrothers of treachery they have done decades ago. 28:41 Forgiven. It's the way the book operates. With Jesus forgiving 28:46 Mary Magdalene even as Mary forgave Uncle Simon, who sexually abused her when she was 28:50 young and led her into sin. There had to be reciprocal forgiveness for Mary to be set 28:55 free. It's the way the book operates. With the prodigal father racing 29:00 off the porch, throwing his arms around the now-come-home prodigal son. 29:04 That's just the way it operates in the kingdom of God. Jesus forgiving Peter of his 29:10 heinous public denial while Peter spends the rest of his life struggling to forgive 29:15 himself. The apostle Paul forgiving runaway young disciple Mark, and 29:24 in the end, inviting back into his missionary circle -- "Bring my son Mark to me," he 29:29 writes from prison. Forgiveness. Jesus forgiving you and me with 29:35 the words, "Father, forgive them. They didn't know -- they don't 29:38 know what they're doing." With mercy, putting the best face he can on it. 29:43 "Please forgive them." 29:46 Forgetting those things which are behind. 29:49 It's not God -- just God and with you and your past, but it's 29:53 me with you and your past. It's me with me and my past. 29:59 The gift of a good forgetter. But does God really treat us 30:03 that way? I want to end with two stories. 30:06 One of the stories, from the Bible. 30:08 The other, not quite. The one from the Bible -- you 30:12 remember King David? That terrible moral meltdown 30:15 with Bathsheba. [ Scoffs ] 30:16 By the time David is through, he's broken every Commandment. 30:18 Every one of the Ten Commandments, all of them -- 30:20 adultery -- coveting first, adultery, lying, killing -- 30:23 pssh! All of them. 30:24 Honor your father and mother, gone. 30:26 Broke them all. David dies, as all good people 30:31 do. After he's dead, God's talking 30:35 to another king. He said, "I want to tell you 30:39 about my friend David. You're not gonna believe this, 30:42 but I want you to see it." 1 Kings 14. 30:44 Jot this verse -- If there's nothing else you jot 30:47 down, jot this verse down. 1 Kings 14:8. 30:49 It's just one verse. I'll put it on the screen for 30:51 you. Let's do it together. 30:53 "...but," God says to this evil king, "you have not been like My 30:56 servant David," who is now dead. "You have not been like My 30:59 servant David, who, number one --" I put the numbers in -- 31:01 "who, number one, kept My commandments." 31:03 Whoa! Stop! Time-out. 31:06 God, kept your Commandments? [ Scoffs ] 31:10 Broke every single one of them by the time he was through! 31:13 What do you mean? Amnesia. 31:14 Is that your problem? Can't remember, huh? 31:18 You do better. Keep reading. 31:20 "But you have not been like my servant David, who, number one, 31:22 kept my commandments, and, number two, followed Me with all 31:25 his heart." Time-out! 31:28 Followed you with all his heart? You've got to be kidding me! 31:32 He gave -- How many women did he give his 31:34 heart to? What's going on here? 31:41 Let's read that again. "But you have not been like my 31:42 servant David, who, number one, kept my commandments, and, 31:44 number two, followed Me with all his heart, and, number three, 31:47 did only what was right in My eyes." 31:50 Come on. Whoa! It's not amnesia. 31:53 It's Alzheimer's! 31:55 [ Laughter ] "Only what is right in My eyes David did." 32:01 [ Scoffs ] God...have mercy. And that's exactly what he's 32:09 doing. Having mercy. [ Breathes deeply ] 32:17 You see... apparently, when I confess... when I ask for forgiveness, and 32:29 I turn away from that sin, God treats me as if, "He never did it." 32:36 Look at David. He never did it. He never did it. 32:42 No wonder, "Steps of Christ," page 62. Jot that note down for you, for 32:46 your reference. "Steps of Christ," that classic. Page 62 on the screen. 33:07 "Just as if you had not sinned." 33:12 Ladies and gentlemen, it's called the Gospel, and the Gospel means "very good news." 33:26 Let's pray. Oh, God. Wow. 33:36 You said it. We read it. You must mean it. 33:43 We want to believe it. Please, dear Father, just a few hours left. 33:52 But there's some stuff we need to settle, you and me. 34:02 We're gonna take you at your word. I can't live with this guilt. 34:09 I can't live with this mess. We need to be set free. Only a God who can forget... 34:27 is a God we can cast ourselves upon right now. So, thank you. 34:35 Please, don't let us forget that the news really is this good. In Jesus' name, we pray. 34:44 Amen. 34:48 [ "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" plays ] ♪♪ 35:02 ♪♪ 40:36 >> "There's joy in heaven over one sinner who repents," Jesus taught us. 40:41 Heaven's really big on sinner celebrations like this. And, of course, our Lord himself 40:49 is eager to operationalize the gospel that we just read together. 40:55 All sins forgiven. All sins forgotten. Blood of my covenant, which was 41:04 shed for many for the forgiveness of sins now becomes not just for many but for me. 41:12 So, for these few moments... close your eyes if you need to, visualize that upper room. 41:24 Vida's gonna lead us in the reading of that sacred account. But as she reads, let's picture, 41:31 let's be there together. >> Our scripture for today is taken from Matthew 26:26-29. 41:46 You can also find it on page 7 of your bulletin. Please follow along as I read. 41:52 "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and 41:59 gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat. This is my body." 42:05 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, 42:12 all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out 42:17 for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink 42:22 from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you in my Father's 42:29 kingdom." Let us kneel as my husband, Phil, adds the blessing. 42:53 >> Father in heaven, we know you're up there, because we can see the results of the sun and 43:04 the sun shining. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. 43:12 And as I was thinking about it, is it sympathy, empathy for your sacrifice? 43:22 Those are inadequate concepts. The only thing I have left is, I am thankful for what you have 43:32 done for us and what you are doing for me. Now, Lord, add a special 43:41 blessing to these emblems to help us be concrete in our minds and in our characters that we 43:51 may always follow you, the Son, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, the King of Kings. 43:59 Once again, bless these emblems. In your holy name, we humbly pray. 44:06 Amen. 44:15 [ "There Is a Savior" plays ] >> ♪ There is a Savior ♪ ♪ What joys express ♪ 44:33 ♪ His eyes are mercy ♪ ♪ His word is rest ♪ ♪ For each tomorrow ♪ 44:51 ♪ For yesterday ♪ ♪ There is a Savior ♪ ♪ Who lights our way ♪ 45:13 ♪ Are there burdens in your heart? ♪ ♪ Is your past a memory that 45:21 binds you? ♪ ♪ Is there some pain that you've carried 45:32 far too long? ♪ ♪ Then, strengthen your heart with His good news ♪ 45:51 ♪ There is a Savior ♪ ♪ And He's forgiven you ♪ ♪♪ 46:08 >> ♪ There is a Savior ♪ ♪ What joys express ♪ ♪ His eyes are mercy ♪ 46:28 ♪ His word is rest ♪ ♪ For each tomorrow ♪ ♪ For yesterday ♪ 46:50 ♪ There is a Savior ♪ ♪ Who lights our way ♪ ♪ There is a Savior ♪ 47:15 ♪ Who lights our way ♪ 47:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 48:14 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 48:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 49:14 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 49:44 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 50:14 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 50:44 ♪♪ >> And so Jesus turns to us. Once all about the table had 51:01 been served, as he did that Thursday night, he so turns to us. 51:09 You're ready now. "Take these emblems of my sacrifice, and eat this. 51:18 My body broken for you. Eat this in remembrance of me." 51:35 [ Organ plays ] 51:52 And then he said the same with a cup. "This is the symbol of my blood, 51:58 which has been poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 52:05 You drink this in remembrance of me." [ Organ plays ] 52:16 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 52:45 And because you and I accepted his invitation, and we ate the bread and we drank the cup... 52:55 what was for many is now for me. For you and me, in Jesus. The record reads, then they sang 53:09 a hymn, and they left. Well, we're gonna sing a hymn, and we're gonna leave. 53:16 Unless you'd rather stay. They received -- it was customary -- 53:22 And they all thought Judas was doing this, you remember. They received an offering for 53:26 the poor, for those in need, financially. We're gonna do the same today. 53:31 Every -- Every door will have one of our friendly ushers. And if God has blessed you these 53:39 last three months, is it? Then out of the abundance of his goodness, thank you for passing 53:46 something on. Families all over this county come to this church 'cause they 53:50 know there's help here. And your sacrificial giving, your generosity makes it 53:55 possible, so they'll be here, our ushers. Thank you for what you give. 54:02 Let's sing that hymn. It's 407. Sent forth by God's blessings, 54:07 we go forth into the snow, into the new year that awaits us, clean, snow-white, and cleansed. 54:15 That's the gospel for us today. Let's stand as we sing. [ "Sent Forth By God's Blessing" 54:21 plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ 54:43 ♪♪ 56:39 >> For this last Sabbath of the old year, this last blessing from the Bible. 56:49 "And he who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I'm coming soon. 56:55 Amen.' Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be 57:02 with God's people. Let all the people say amen." Amen. 57:12 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying for 57:15 you." Didn't it give you a sense of 57:17 peace and reassurance that "somebody cares for me"? 57:20 I know how I feel when I get an e-mail from one of our viewers 57:23 saying, "You know, Dwight, I've been praying for you lately." 57:25 There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you. 57:27 So I want to offer you an opportunity to partner. 57:30 Let me, let us partner with you in prayer. 57:32 If you have a special prayer request or a praise of 57:35 thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, I'm inviting you to 57:37 contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:39 It's simple to do. You can call our toll-free 57:42 number, 877-HIS-WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:47 That friendly voice that answers? 57:49 You tell him, you tell her what your prayer need is. 57:51 We'll join with you in that petition. 57:54 And may the God who answers prayer journey with you these 57:57 next few days, until we're right back here together again next 58:00 time. 58:05 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:25 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-01-05