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>> Good morning.
Church, welcome to PMC.
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Welcome to our
communion service this morning.
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Welcome also to those who are
watching and are following us
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online, on live stream.
Please read, with me, the call
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to worship. It's
taken from Isaiah 53.
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I invite you to pray with me.
Gracious, heavenly Father, we
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come, this morning, together at
the foot of the cross to the one
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who bore all of our inequities.
We come because we are
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sin-stained from a
tough week. We are bruised.
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We are marred. We are scarred.
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And we ask, Father,
that you cleanse us.
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We ask, Father,
that you heal us.
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And we ask,
Father, that you renew us.
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Today, Father, as we are looking
at the sacrifice that you have
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given for us, that you, in
Jesus Christ, reconcile the
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world to yourself. We
thank you for that offering
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that you have made, that you
have taken us in, that we can be
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your children. Please
help us to always value
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the great, infinite sacrifice
that you have given for us.
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To sacrifice, to offer the best
heaven had to give so that we
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human beings can be saved.
In the name of the mighty and
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powerful Lord and
savior Jesus Christ, we pray.
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Amen. >> Amen.
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>> The next song we'll be
singing is "Let Praises Rise."
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Why this song is so important to
me is especially a part in the
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chorus when it says, "All I want
is for you to be glorified."
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And that part really sticks
in my heart, and I hope that it
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will reach out to you, too. ¤¤
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>> ¤ Little
lamb, who made thee? ¤
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¤ Dost thou know who
made thee? ¤ ¤ Gave thee life
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and bid thee feed ¤ ¤ By
the stream and o'er the mead ¤
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¤ Gave thee clothing of
delight ¤ ¤ Softest clothing,
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woolly, bright ¤ ¤ Gave
thee such a tender voice ¤
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¤ Making all the vales rejoice?
¤ ¤ Little lamb, who made thee?
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¤ Dost thou
know who made thee? ¤
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¤ Little lamb, I'll tell thee ¤
Little lamb, I'll tell thee ¤ He
is called by thy name
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¤ For He calls himself a lamb ¤
He is meek and He is mild ¤ He
became a little child
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¤ I a child ¤ And
thou a lamb ¤ We are called
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by his name ¤ ¤ Little lamb, God
bless thee ¤ Little lamb, God
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bless thee >> Thank
you, Chloe Lewis-Murnighan.
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That great William
Blake poem, "Little Lamb."
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Thank you, Ken Logan,
for composing that music.
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I was just reading, on my phone,
as she -- as Chloe was singing,
"Little lamb, who made thee?
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Dost thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I'll tell thee. He
is called by thy name.
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For He calls Himself a lamb. He
is meek and He is mild. He
became a little child.
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I a child, and thou a lamb. We
are called by His name. Little
lamb, God bless thee.
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Little lamb, God
bless thee." Let's pray.
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O Lamb of God, we are all called
by Your name. What does that
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mean? How, then, shall we live?
Speak to us in these moments in
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Holy Scripture. We
pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen. So, I saw a
headline on BBC, on
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their website.
Boy, it caught my eye.
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Maybe it will catch
your attention, as well.
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Let me put the
headline right here.
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Come on. Are you
talking about sheep?
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Like, the sheep I
know? I mean, come on.
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This is the sheep I know,
right? And we're all wrong?
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Well, what is it that
you think about sheep?
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I think most people, when they
think about sheep, think about a
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dumb, defenseless
creature that spends all day,
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"Num-num-num-num-num-num."
Most people think that what
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sheep are good for is --
you either eat your sheep or you
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wear your sheep.
That's what the sheep are for.
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Wrong. Turns out,
highly intelligent.
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In fact, a scientist in China --
his name, Keith Kendrick -- in
one of the universities there
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found that sheep can recognize
-- Hold on to your pew.
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Sheep can recognize and remember
at least 50 individual faces for
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over two years. [ Scoffs ] Most
of us can't even remember them
for a year, and the sheep
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got them down for 50. Wow.
In his tests, they would hold
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the faces up -- faces the sheep
knew or they didn't know. And by
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the sheep's vocalization --
"Baaa!" -- somehow, that little
"Baaa" indicated how they
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responded to the face that
they're seeing in the picture.
Turns out sheep are actually
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quite emotionally attached kind
of creatures. They did another
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bit of research down here -- out
there in the University of
California. They studied rams.
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That would be male sheep, okay?
They studied rams for three
years and discovered,
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number one, they build
friendships; number two, they
look out for one another in
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times of need; and, number
three, they stick up for one
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another in fights. This is an
animal with a heart. And, by the
way, they found out these sheep
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-- they can tell the difference
between a smile and a frown. And
they prefer smiles.
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Didn't your mother tell
you that? "Come on. Smile more,
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girl. Smile." Yeah. In
fact, they've even learned
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that sheep feel sad when their
friends are sent to slaughter. I
mean, wouldn't you be sad if
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your friends were
sent to slaughter? Mm-hmm.
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And, of course, Holy Scripture,
we know, is replete with sheep.
Sheep, sheep, sheep -- they're
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everywhere. But, today, we've
not gathered to think about the
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animal sheep. For a few moments,
let's consider together the
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human sheep. We've got a
heartbreaking tale that we must
relive with a life-saving truth.
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A tale in three acts. Act 1
starts right now. 2 Samuel 12:1.
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Not putting a verse on the
screen, so you're gonna have to
follow along in your Bible or
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your device. 2 Samuel
12:1. Are you finding it there?
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It opens with these words. 2
Samuel 12:1. "And the Lord sent
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Nathan --" that would be the
prophet -- "to David --" that
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would be the king. Very
interesting about that little
word "sent." Intentionally
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placed right there in that line.
You know why? Because the first
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half of this heartbreaking tale
has "sent, sent, sent." A dozen
times, "sent" appears.
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In fact, let me run a handful
of them by you. David went up on
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the palace roof one evening, and
he saw a woman taking a bath.
And he sent for her.
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A few weeks later, she
sent the king a message -- "I'm
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pregnant." So David sent a
message to the battlefront with
this order -- "Send Uriah the
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Hittite home for R&R." After
Uriah comes home, the king sent
a gift to the house to
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welcome him there. Because
David's commander, Joab,
dutifully sent the woman's
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husband home. But Uriah didn't
spend the night with his wife.
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He spent it at the entrance to
the palace, where the other
king's servants were sleeping.
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He slept there. For two days and
two nights, David desperately
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needs this man to sleep with his
wife so that this baby will be
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assumed to be his. Finally,
David sends the unsuspecting
husband warrior back to the
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battlefront with clear
instructions to Joab to have him
killed "accidentally." It worked
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"intentionally." Joab then
"sent" word to the king that his
order had been obeyed and the
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Hittite warrior had been killed
in battle. Then David sent for
the widow, pregnant with his
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child, and married her. The
very next line -- "And the Lord
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sent." "Because if you're
sending, I can send. "And the
Lord sent Nathan to
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David. And when he came to him,
he said, 'There were two men in
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a certain town, one rich and the
other poor. The rich man had a
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very large number of sheep and
cattle, but the poor man had
nothing except one little ewe
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lamb --" That's a little female
lamb. "One little ewe lamb he
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had bought. He raised it, and it
grew up with him and his
children. It shared his food and
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it drank from his cup and it
even slept in his arms. It was
like a daughter to him."
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You see, David knew what
researchers found -- that the
sheep have very emotionally
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aroused hearts. They attach to
the human that owns them, that
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shepherds them. And that little
lamby -- it was like a daughter
to him. Robert Alter, in his
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one-man translation of the
Hebrew Bible to English, points
out that the three actions of
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the poor man -- He feeds the
sheep, the sheep drinks from his
cup, and the sheep sleeps in his
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arms. Alter points out that, in
fact, those were precisely the
three actions that David ordered
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Uriah to take. "Go home.
I want you to eat with your
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wife. I want you to
drink with your wife.
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I want you to sleep with your
wife." Same three actions subtly
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embedded in the tale, and David
has no clue that the tale's
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about him. Have you noticed that
when you have a guilty
conscience -- Surely you notice
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this. I have. You try to
overcorrect in the area of your
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failure. "At least now I'm gonna
get it right." And that's what's
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going on here. David is going to
overcorrect. He has what Alter
calls "compensatory zeal."
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I mean, after all, the
king is supposed to protect his
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subjects. He is the defender of
justice. But he has done
precisely the opposite.
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He has killed one of his
subjects and he has impregnated
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the other subject. Verse 5.
"David burned with anger." You
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know why? He's a shepherd boy --
that's why. "Little David, play
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on your harp. Hallelu, hallelu."
This is the little David.
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He knows his sheep. He burns
with rage. "Give me that man,
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Nathan. Give me that man. I'll
take care of him. Restitution
first, and then I'll
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kill him." The prophet looks
into the agitated countenance of
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the king. And he leans in
and he says, "You are the man."
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And before David can catch his
breath or recover, quickly, the
prophet goes on with a message
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from God then. Verse 7.
"Nathan said to David, 'You are
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the man. This is what the
Lord, God of Israel says -- "I
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anointed you king over Israel
and I delivered you from the
Saul, did I not? I gave your
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master's house to you and your
master's wives into your
arms."'" The custom was to do
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that. He did it because Saul
only had one wife. God is
saying, "I took care of
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you. I gave you all Israel and
Judah. And if all this had been
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too little, I would have given
you even more. Why didn't you
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come to me? Tell me what
you need." "You are the man. You
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killed. You struck down Uriah
the Hittite with the sword. You
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did it. Don't tell me others
did. You killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword and you
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took his wife to be your own.
You killed him with the sword of
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the Ammonites. That's how you
did it. Now, therefore, listen
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to me, O king. The sword will
never depart from your house,
because you despise me and you
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took the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be your own." She is
never called Bathsheba.
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In this message from God, she
is never Bathsheba. She's "the
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other man's wife." There is no
name for her. "She didn't belong
to you. You are the man."
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"'Listen to me carefully.'"
Verse 11. "'This is what the
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Lord says -- "Out of your own
household, I am going to bring
calamity on you. Before your
00:26:22.41\00:26:28.15
very eyes, I will take your
wives and give them to one who
is close to you, and he will
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sleep with your wives in broad
daylight."'" And guess what --
that's exactly what Absalom did.
00:26:33.89\00:26:37.63
He went onto the very same
palace roof in the middle of the
day and he brought in the king's
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wives and he slept with them in
front of a gawking nation to
prove "I am the king now, and
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these women are mine." "You
are the man." "'You did it in
00:26:49.40\00:27:01.18
secret.'" Verse 12. "'But I will
do this thing in broad daylight
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before all Israel.'" Act 1 --
condemnation. "You are the man."
00:27:07.02\00:27:15.26
Act 2. Verse 13. "And
David said to Nathan --"
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The king who has collapsed
in his throne realizes, "It's
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over." It's all over." [
Sighs ] What does he say?
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"'I have sinned against the
Lord.'" Not against Uriah, not
00:27:36.52\00:27:44.09
against Bathsheba. "I did
this to God." "You're right.
00:27:44.09\00:27:50.60
You are the man, and you did
it to me." Act 2 -- confession.
00:27:50.60\00:27:58.81
And in this three-act tale, here
comes Act 3. Nathan replied,
00:27:58.81\00:28:05.65
"'The Lord has taken away your
sin. You are not going to die.
But because, by doing this, you
00:28:05.65\00:28:13.99
have shown utter contempt for
the Lord, the son born to you
00:28:13.99\00:28:19.46
will die.'" "You will not die."
Commutation -- Act 3. "But an
innocent one will die in
00:28:19.46\00:28:26.33
your place." And you say, "Wait
a minute. God, God, please,
00:28:26.33\00:28:32.11
time-out, time-out. Give me
a break. You can't be serious."
00:28:32.11\00:28:36.34
An innocent baby pays the price
for a guilty king? That is not
00:28:36.34\00:28:43.12
fair!" And you're right, of
course. It's not fair. An
innocent baby dying for a
00:28:43.12\00:28:50.46
guilty king or an innocent king
dying or his guilty children.
The Gospel is not fair either.
00:28:50.46\00:28:58.93
It's never been about fair. It's
been about guilt and deserving
to die and an innocent
00:28:58.93\00:29:08.34
one stepping in and saying, "I
will die for her. I will die for
00:29:08.34\00:29:16.18
him." Well, that's why they call
the Gospel "good news," ladies
00:29:16.18\00:29:21.86
and gentlemen. The undeserving
guilty having their sentences
commuted through the deaths of
00:29:21.86\00:29:27.66
an innocent substitute. Here
they are, the three acts, in the
Gospel according to
00:29:27.66\00:29:31.97
Nathan. You have to move through
these three, and so do I.
00:29:31.97\00:29:35.57
Nobody gets a
get-out-of-jail-free card. Here
are the three acts.
00:29:35.57\00:29:39.81
Act 1 -- condemnation. "You're
the man." Act 2 -- confession.
00:29:39.81\00:29:46.41
"I have sinned against the
Lord." And Act 3 -- commutation.
00:29:46.41\00:29:51.92
"You are not going to die, but
an innocent one will for you."
Wow. This is how it works with
00:29:51.92\00:30:01.40
you and me. Conscience comes
in and says, "You're guilty.
00:30:01.40\00:30:10.97
You are the man." Confession,
hopefully awakened in a
00:30:10.97\00:30:18.15
desperate heart. "I have sinned
against God." And Act 3 --
"Okay, you're not gonna die, but
00:30:18.15\00:30:26.55
an innocent one will for your
judgment." Wow. Isaiah 53:6.
00:30:26.55\00:30:34.60
"All we like sheep --" There's
that animal again. "We like
sheep have gone astray;
00:30:34.60\00:30:40.97
we have turned, every one, to
his own way; and the Lord has
laid on Him the iniquity of us
00:30:40.97\00:30:47.74
all." Who is this "we" that
the Gospel prophet speaks of?
00:30:47.74\00:30:53.85
Who is this "we" who have sinned
and whose sins have been placed
on the innocent one?
00:30:53.85\00:31:01.72
Who is this "we"? It is you and
it is I. F.B. Meyer, in his book
00:31:01.72\00:31:10.77
"Christ in Isaiah," gets
uncomfortably pointed. "We all
know," he writes, "the
00:31:10.77\00:31:17.24
sense of sin --" oh, don't we
all? -- "the sense of discord,
of distance, and alienation from
00:31:17.24\00:31:23.14
God." We feel it. We
existentially experience it.
00:31:23.14\00:31:29.25
"Behind all our suffering --"
isn't this true? -- "we feel
there is a secret, which somehow
00:31:29.25\00:31:34.56
must explain and account for
this feeling." There's something
00:31:34.56\00:31:39.19
behind this. "We have scorned
and we have perverted that which
was right. We have done things
00:31:39.19\00:31:45.07
we ought not or have left undone
things we ought to have done."
Men try to evade this, women try
00:31:45.07\00:31:50.37
to evade this consciousness of
sin. They plunge into affairs,"
00:31:50.37\00:31:54.68
like David and Bathsheba. "They
travel from land to land. They
go far afield in search of
00:31:54.68\00:31:59.71
adventure and ceaseless change."
Self-medicating taking place,
trying to hide me from this
00:31:59.71\00:32:06.15
tormenting conscience. "They
give themselves up to gaiety and
00:32:06.15\00:32:11.36
to dissipation. In fact, they
are ever eluding the fixed gaze
of conscience." That never
00:32:11.36\00:32:17.87
blinks. It never blinks. It just
stares at you. "They adopt any
00:32:17.87\00:32:28.38
subterfuge which promises a
moment's cover." Some sort of
distraction, please.
00:32:28.38\00:32:32.71
"But it comes back again
and again. The prophet-voice
00:32:32.71\00:32:37.35
arraigns us; the inerrant
sleuth-hound," the bloodhound,
"runs us down." "I got you."
00:32:37.35\00:32:42.99
"'Thou art the man!'" "You
are the woman. I'm talking about
00:32:42.99\00:32:52.50
you." Whew! "All we, like
sheep, have gone astray; we have
00:32:52.50\00:33:00.78
turned, every one, to his own
way, and the Lord has laid on
Him the iniquity of you and the
00:33:00.78\00:33:11.29
iniquity of me." Who is this
"He"? If we are the "we," who is
00:33:11.29\00:33:19.43
the "He"? The very
next verse -- Isaiah 53:7.
00:33:19.43\00:33:22.60
"He was oppressed and He was
afflicted, yet He opened not His
mouth; He was led as a lamb to
00:33:22.60\00:33:29.54
the slaughter and as a sheep
before its shearers is silent,
so He opened not His mouth."
00:33:29.54\00:33:34.91
We know who the "He" is. Not
only are we like sheep, He is a
00:33:34.91\00:33:42.28
sheep. And we know what to do
with a sheep like this. They did
00:33:42.28\00:33:46.35
long ago. They would place their
left hand on that woolly head
and then lean, lean with the
00:33:46.35\00:33:55.86
left hand. And while they would
lean against that innocent
creature, they would confess the
00:33:55.86\00:34:00.44
sin. They would admit the sins
that have brought them to the
00:34:00.44\00:34:05.61
sacrifice. And then, with that
hand -- with the free hand,
they'd take the knife and slit
00:34:05.61\00:34:12.05
the neck. And while that
innocent creature dies, they pin
it to the ground until it is
00:34:12.05\00:34:19.52
deceased. And when it is
deceased, then the carcass is
placed on an altar and it is
00:34:19.52\00:34:27.13
burned as a substitute for the
sinner who has just confessed
her sin. I want to suggest,
00:34:27.13\00:34:36.64
maybe, that if we had to perform
this ritual every time we
morally melted down, we would
00:34:36.64\00:34:42.64
surely think twice about that
sin that is our favorite. Why
would I want to keep doing
00:34:42.64\00:34:48.92
this? Because, like
David, we are as guilty as sin.
00:34:48.92\00:34:59.49
And, like David, we need the son
of David to take away our sin
and commute our death sentence.
00:34:59.49\00:35:14.34
Somebody came through line after
first service. Her name is Ruth.
00:35:14.34\00:35:19.45
Ruth Hood. She came through the
line. She said, "You know, I've
00:35:19.45\00:35:22.42
been just brooding on that since
we did this little study
together. Isn't that amazing,
00:35:22.42\00:35:26.86
Dwight? I never thought of this
before. Isn't that amazing?"
David had two sons who died for
00:35:26.86\00:35:35.80
him, and they were both
innocent. Two sons who received
00:35:35.80\00:35:44.44
his judgment in his place. Both
innocently dying for his guilt.
00:35:44.44\00:35:53.48
The baby... and the savior.
Both of them died for David.
00:35:53.48\00:36:03.86
Whoa! What are the
words of that preacher?
00:36:03.86\00:36:13.07
"All we, like sheep, have gone
astray; we have turned, every
one, to his own way; and the
00:36:13.07\00:36:20.64
Lord has laid on Him the
iniquity of us all." Who's this
00:36:20.64\00:36:28.18
"He," this "Him"? John the
Baptist thunders from the
wilderness, "Behold, the Lamb of
00:36:28.18\00:36:36.83
God who takes away the sin of
the world." [ Chuckles ] I would
love to hear an "amen"
00:36:36.83\00:36:42.90
right about now. >> Amen.
>> Come on. You got to mean it.
00:36:42.90\00:36:48.97
"Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the
00:36:48.97\00:36:51.74
world." And that's why we've
gathered this morning -- to have
Him take it away, purge it away,
00:36:51.74\00:36:59.48
wash it away, what is
stained in our conscience.
00:36:59.48\00:37:04.55
Welcome, fellow sinners.
Welcome to the Lord's table.
00:37:04.59\00:37:09.22
We are about to experience,
in multimedia, the salvation we
00:37:09.22\00:37:19.30
seek so desperately.
That's why I want to invite you,
00:37:19.30\00:37:24.77
with me, is the last
part of this homily now.
00:37:24.77\00:37:28.48
Before it ends, let's read
the prayer of David together.
00:37:28.48\00:37:32.61
Psalm 51. You have
read it before, but
00:37:32.61\00:37:34.62
we're gonna read it
out loud together now.
00:37:34.62\00:37:37.29
Yes, we are. Psalm 51.
You may never have read it the
00:37:37.32\00:37:40.92
way you're gonna read it now
because of the backstory that is
embedded in your mind.
00:37:40.92\00:37:46.80
Psalm 51. We're gonna read it
out loud. I'll put the words on
00:37:46.80\00:37:51.47
the screen. Psalm 51. It
begins with a preface, the
00:37:51.47\00:37:59.51
longest preface in the psalter.
"For the director of music. A
00:37:59.51\00:38:12.92
psalm of David. When the prophet
Nathan came to him after David
had committed adultery with
00:38:12.92\00:38:18.39
Bathsheba." Nathan leaves the
throne room. The king has melted
down in tears, a broken heart.
00:38:18.39\00:38:26.63
He cannot forestall the
judgment. It will still fall.
00:38:26.63\00:38:30.64
But he cannot bear the thought
of being cut off from the God
who has gone on loving him.
00:38:30.64\00:38:41.32
"You will not die." Mercy.
Let's go and read it out loud
00:38:41.32\00:38:47.82
together. Please, out loud
together. "Have mercy on me, O
00:38:47.82\00:38:54.13
God, according to your unfailing
love; according to your great
compassion, blot out my
00:38:54.13\00:38:59.80
transgressions. Wash away all my
iniquity and cleanse me from my
00:38:59.80\00:39:06.94
sin. For I know my
transgressions, and my sin is
always before me. Against you,
00:39:06.94\00:39:15.52
you only, have I sinned and done
what is evil in your sight; so
you are right in your verdict
00:39:15.52\00:39:22.06
and justified when you judge.
Surely, I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother
00:39:22.06\00:39:27.56
conceived me. Yet you desired
faithfulness even in the womb;
00:39:27.56\00:39:33.80
you taught me wisdom in that
secret place. Cleanse me with
hyssop, and I will be clean;
00:39:33.80\00:39:42.84
wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow. Let me hear joy and
gladness; let the bones you have
00:39:42.84\00:39:49.92
crushed rejoice. Hide your face
from my sins and blot out all my
00:39:49.92\00:39:56.59
iniquity. Create in me a pure
heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
00:39:56.59\00:40:03.37
Do not cast me away from
your presence or take your Holy
00:40:03.37\00:40:08.90
Spirit from me. Restore to me
the joy of your salvation and
grant me a willing spirit, to
00:40:08.90\00:40:16.51
sustain me." "Patriarchs and
Prophets" ends this
heartbreaking tale with this
00:40:19.98\00:40:28.99
promise of hope. Oh, I love
this. "Whoever under the reproof
of God will humble the soul with
00:40:28.99\00:40:35.66
confession and repentance, as
David did, may be sure that
there is hope for him, there is
00:40:35.66\00:40:45.27
hope for her. Whoever will,
in faith, accept God's promises
00:40:45.27\00:40:52.98
will find pardon. The Lord will
never cast away one truly
repentant soul." To which I say
00:40:52.98\00:41:03.93
amen and amen. Never will He
cast away your repentant heart,
if you'll give it to Him.
00:41:03.93\00:41:14.24
Let us pray. O God...
hear the prayer that we have
00:41:14.24\00:41:25.48
just prayed. Here, at the
foot of the cross, our plea is
00:41:25.48\00:41:36.49
simple. Purge us, cleanse us,
wash us whiter than snow,
because of Jesus, our lamb, and
00:41:36.49\00:41:49.30
restore to us, please, the joy
of your salvation. In Christ's
name, let all of the
00:41:49.30\00:41:56.85
people say "amen." Amen.
I've got to tell you, you have
00:41:56.85\00:42:05.19
truly chosen the right moment to
be worshipping in the Pioneer
Memorial Church today.
00:42:05.19\00:42:11.46
It doesn't get any better than
this, because we move from the
story that has convicted us to
00:42:11.46\00:42:20.00
see the emblems of divine love
and grace operationalized in
front of us and inside of us as
00:42:20.00\00:42:29.51
the son of David steps in and
says, "We start over right now."
00:42:29.51\00:42:39.75
Yes! So you're in the right
place, and I'm glad you are.
This is the last of our pandemic
00:42:39.75\00:42:44.39
communion celebrations, by the
way. And I second, by the way,
00:42:44.39\00:42:48.40
it's great seeing your faces. I
didn't know that was you. You've
been here all these
00:42:48.40\00:42:52.63
months. This is the last,
because last night, we did foot
00:42:52.63\00:42:57.91
washing together. Karen and I
had a beautiful experience, just
00:42:57.91\00:43:01.58
the two of us. I mean, who else
is gonna be there? Washing each
00:43:01.58\00:43:05.55
other's feet. The foot washing
is behind us now. Jesus says
what he said to His
00:43:05.55\00:43:10.15
12. He said,
"Listen, you are all clean."
00:43:10.15\00:43:14.89
So become cleansed by the act
and the grace of our Lord Jesus.
And, so, the pandemic emblems
00:43:14.89\00:43:26.10
are already -- And I've been
watching you come in, and you've
been grabbing a handful and
00:43:26.10\00:43:29.84
you're sharing it with your
family and you're up in the
balcony and you've grabbed it.
00:43:29.84\00:43:33.48
And you couldn't get in here
without passing it. But it's
possible that you were
00:43:33.48\00:43:36.75
so excited to be in church, you
didn't even see that little
table by you as you walked by
00:43:36.75\00:43:40.35
it. So if you'll just put your
hand up right now -- I'm telling
00:43:40.35\00:43:43.42
you the truth. They're
fast. Here come our ushers.
00:43:43.42\00:43:45.89
And you get to have one of
these, as well. Nobody goes home
00:43:45.89\00:43:50.26
today without operationalizing
the good news we have just
discovered in this ancient story
00:43:50.26\00:43:57.80
about sheep, of which you and I
are one, as well, alright? So
just put your hand up.
00:43:57.80\00:44:03.27
In the balcony, as
well, alright? There you go.
00:44:03.27\00:44:07.08
And, by the way, if you
need gluten-free, then we've got
00:44:07.08\00:44:12.15
gluten-free. So at that table
there and right here, I see the
sign. It says "gluten-free."
00:44:12.15\00:44:16.38
Help yourself. So, they're
carefully packed for you and
wrapped, your emblems.
00:44:16.38\00:44:23.79
And those of you watching
online, it's good to have you.
Many of you -- many, many --
00:44:26.63\00:44:31.40
came to get emblems this week.
And we're glad you have them.
You already know the drill if
00:44:31.40\00:44:35.54
you've done this before. If this
is your first time online, then
you just do what we
00:44:35.54\00:44:39.41
do in a moment, because we're
gonna be standing here -- We
have to move the furniture
00:44:39.41\00:44:43.28
around. We need a communion
table right here instead of this
00:44:43.28\00:44:46.61
pulpit, so our ushers are gonna
scramble right now, and this
goes out and the communion table
00:44:46.61\00:44:50.89
comes in. And while they're
doing it, I want you to mediate,
please. Just close your eyes,
00:44:50.89\00:44:55.62
put your head down. Our praise
team has just the perfect,
00:44:55.62\00:45:01.06
perfect song. "Beautiful,
Merciful Savior." Sing of His
mercy. Meditate on His mercy as
00:45:01.06\00:45:08.27
they come now. Come on, singers.
Let's go. Come on. Let's go.
00:45:08.27\00:45:11.47
Let's get that music going. ¤¤
00:45:11.47\00:45:15.11
¤¤ We've come to do what the
00:48:09.48\00:48:32.97
prophet thundered for us to do.
00:48:32.97\00:48:37.35
Behold, the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world.
00:48:37.41\00:48:45.22
Jesus gave these emblems so
that we would never forget the
00:48:45.22\00:48:50.56
sacrifice He
exchanged places with us for.
00:48:50.56\00:48:57.20
The bread for the
body. The cup for His blood.
00:48:57.20\00:49:02.70
Karina Prestes is going to
read the sacred account of that
00:49:02.70\00:49:06.07
Thursday night, so we go
there in our minds, and then her
00:49:06.07\00:49:09.38
husband, Flavio,
will lead us in prayer.
00:49:09.38\00:49:14.78
>> "When the hour came, Jesus
and his Apostles reclined at a
00:49:14.78\00:49:18.79
table. And He
said to them, 'I have
00:49:18.79\00:49:21.22
eagerly desired to eat
this Passover with you before I
00:49:21.22\00:49:24.63
suffer.' And He
took the bread, gave
00:49:24.63\00:49:28.23
thanks, and broke it, and gave
it to them, saying, 'This is my
00:49:28.23\00:49:32.30
body given for you; do
this in remembrance of me.'
00:49:32.30\00:49:36.27
In the same way, after the
supper, He took the cup, saying,
00:49:36.27\00:49:40.91
'This cup is the new covenant
in my blood, which is poured out
00:49:40.91\00:49:45.51
for you.' >> Let us pray.
00:49:45.51\00:49:50.32
Dear Father in heaven, thank you
so much for your love for us.
00:49:50.32\00:49:55.39
We ask that you bless these
emblems of the sacrifice of
00:49:55.39\00:49:59.56
Jesus to save us.
00:49:59.56\00:50:01.70
We pray in His holy
name. Amen. >> Amen.
00:50:01.73\00:50:06.17
>> Amen.
00:50:06.17\00:50:07.80
Karina.
00:50:23.92\00:50:25.62
Some of you are veterans at
this, and I can already hear the
cellophane coming off the top.
00:50:35.50\00:50:40.34
And if you're here for the first
time, there are two lids that
00:50:40.34\00:50:46.78
we're gonna lift. We're first
gonna lift that little
cellophane lid, and you have to
00:50:46.78\00:50:50.31
get it separated from the lip
beneath it. If you pull that
clear cellophane off, you'll
00:50:50.31\00:50:57.25
find, underneath it... And if
you can't pull it off, you won't
00:50:57.25\00:51:05.96
find it. You just... [ Laughter
] I'm having a hard time here.
00:51:05.96\00:51:10.60
Oh! Okay. So, you just pull
it off. Just pull it completely
00:51:10.60\00:51:16.84
off. Yeah, there we go. It's
a trick sometimes. That's okay.
00:51:16.84\00:51:20.68
[ Laughter ] Alright. So, you've
got that. Don't pull the next
00:51:20.68\00:51:26.31
one off -- not quite yet. So,
this is a wafer. And Jesus, with
00:51:26.31\00:51:33.09
those who were closest in this
life to Him, said to them what
He says to us. I'm talking to
00:51:33.09\00:51:41.63
all of you. "This is my body,
which is broken for you. Take,
00:51:41.63\00:51:49.37
eat, do this in
remembrance of me." ¤¤ ¤¤
00:51:49.37\00:52:09.62
But Jesus was not through. He
said, "Now I want you to take
the cup, all of you."
00:52:09.62\00:52:14.40
And so just take that lid that's
already turned up. Open it up
wide enough so that
00:52:14.40\00:52:19.80
you don't have to -- Just...
create a vacuum to get that
00:52:19.80\00:52:33.15
juice out. He looks into our
faces, just as He did then,
again. He says, "This is the
00:52:33.15\00:52:39.82
blood of the new covenant, my
covenant, which is shed for you.
Do this in remembrance of me, as
00:52:39.82\00:52:49.36
well." ¤¤ ¤¤
00:52:49.36\00:53:09.18
Hang to the... Hang on...
Hang on to the emblem cup.
00:53:09.18\00:53:19.93
We will dispose of that at the
end of the service. They sang a
00:53:19.93\00:53:25.93
hymn. It was a custom. It
was a time of great rejoicing.
00:53:25.93\00:53:28.74
This is not a time of sorrow
now. The victory has been won
00:53:28.74\00:53:32.44
for us. Our lives have been
spared death. We are clean in
00:53:32.44\00:53:39.81
Christ our Lord. So it's a time
of great joy. We're gonna sing a
hymn in just a moment.
00:53:39.81\00:53:42.68
But they had another custom.
They thought Judas was going out
00:53:42.68\00:53:45.82
and doing that. "Oh, he's gonna
go give an offering to the
poor." No. That's not why he
00:53:45.82\00:53:50.09
left. We know the story. But it
was a custom to receive an
offering, and so, today, when
00:53:50.09\00:53:54.93
you pass by the
tithe-and-offerings basket, you
will see a deacon standing there
00:53:54.93\00:53:59.63
with the Emergency Fund plate.
If God has blessed you these
last three months -- and I know
00:53:59.63\00:54:05.64
He has -- and you'd like to
share out of the largesse of His
bounties, then please put an
00:54:05.64\00:54:12.88
offering in that. Put a handsome
offering. Put a generous
00:54:12.88\00:54:18.15
offering. These monies are
available across Berrien County,
and we have people coming
00:54:18.15\00:54:24.69
regularly. And so thank you in
advance for your generosity.
We're gonna stand together.
00:54:24.69\00:54:31.73
Charles is gonna come and lead
us in this beautiful -- This has
been our traditional hymn.
00:54:31.73\00:54:35.54
We haven't been singing this
during the pandemic, but here we
are moving towards life beyond
00:54:35.54\00:54:39.81
the pandemic. It's number
407. It's sent forth by God's
00:54:39.81\00:54:44.55
blessing. And you'll see the
words "the supper has ended."
00:54:44.55\00:54:48.02
That's this. It has ended. And,
so, I want you to stand, please.
00:54:48.02\00:54:51.85
And the words will be on
the screen. And if you know the
00:54:51.85\00:54:54.69
tune, you sing.
00:54:54.69\00:54:55.86
If you don't, just
be blessed by this song.
00:54:55.89\00:54:59.79
¤¤
00:54:59.79\00:55:02.76
>> We've been really blessed by
the financial support that comes
00:57:06.55\00:57:09.46
from our viewers, and we've
made a conscious decision not to
00:57:09.46\00:57:12.19
continually appeal
to you for that support.
00:57:12.19\00:57:14.96
The fact is, as everyone in the
industry will tell you, we're
00:57:14.96\00:57:17.90
needing to make constant
upgrades to our technology.
00:57:17.90\00:57:20.60
So if God has blessed you and
you'd like to further the work
00:57:20.60\00:57:23.77
of this ministry, we
invite you to partner with us.
00:57:23.77\00:57:26.54
Not a single penny of
your donation will go to me.
00:57:26.54\00:57:29.54
Every bit of your gift goes
to the mission of blessing your
00:57:29.54\00:57:33.01
community and our world.
You can donate on our website,
00:57:33.01\00:57:36.05
newperceptions.tv,
or call the number.
00:57:36.05\00:57:38.99
You know the
number -- 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:38.99\00:57:41.42
Again, that number is 877
-- the two words "HIS-WILL."
00:57:41.42\00:57:45.76
And may the God who has blessed
you continue to pour into your
00:57:45.76\00:57:48.33
life the gifts of
His joy and His hope.
00:57:48.33\00:57:51.40
Thank you. And
I'm looking forward to
00:57:51.40\00:57:53.57
seeing you, right
here, again, next time.
00:57:53.57\00:57:56.81
¤¤
00:58:00.38\00:58:03.31