WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.859 Good morning. Good morning, church. Happy Father's 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:06.000 Day. I don't think I even got to say that before 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.580 David called me out on my shirt here about coolest 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:12.220 dad, but let's just pretend the S isn't there. 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:14.820 I'm just the cool dad, right? Everyone else can 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:18.199 be a cool dad, too. But happy Father's Day. Welcome 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:22.359 to church this morning. My name is Alex Campbell. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.359 I have the great joy, really, of just leading 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.030 the student ministry. And I've been doing that 00:00:28.030 --> 00:00:30.350 for almost six years now. The 6th through 12th 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:32.850 graders affectionately self -named that group, 00:00:32.969 --> 00:00:36.850 The Shed, many years ago. And that has been really 00:00:36.850 --> 00:00:38.810 fun for me. I really do love it. And I hope you 00:00:38.810 --> 00:00:44.289 guys can see that. But yeah, something really 00:00:44.289 --> 00:00:45.969 cool that happened this last year is that the 00:00:45.969 --> 00:00:48.390 Norths were added to the team. And so they've 00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:52.329 been able to just really start doing activities 00:00:52.329 --> 00:00:56.049 and events outside of Sunday morning. From the 00:00:56.049 --> 00:00:57.630 start of the year were some bonfires, and then 00:00:57.630 --> 00:00:59.869 the end of the year was attending some sports 00:00:59.869 --> 00:01:03.810 events and theater performances of other students. 00:01:03.909 --> 00:01:06.030 So that has been really cool to see that really 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:09.170 grow. But we are on summer break right now, but 00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:11.230 we are looking forward to starting when the school 00:01:11.230 --> 00:01:14.489 year starts up again. So if I haven't met you, 00:01:14.629 --> 00:01:17.870 student or parent of a student, come find me. 00:01:17.890 --> 00:01:19.890 Love to meet you. We can talk about that. I'd 00:01:19.890 --> 00:01:23.609 love to talk about what we're doing for the students 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:26.379 here. I'm usually hanging around after church, 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:31.579 wrangling my kids. So I was excited this year, 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:33.579 earlier this year, when I heard that we were 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:35.359 going through the book of James this summer. 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:39.640 And it's largely because I consider this my favorite 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:43.560 New Testament book. I do love the content. The 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:46.120 content's great. But I largely connected with 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:48.260 this book because it was the first book I read 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:52.200 when I decided to follow Jesus. I was in high 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:55.469 school, I think a sophomore. But I do distinctly 00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:58.769 remember thinking that if this was real, if Jesus 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:00.950 was real, and I was going to follow him, I needed 00:02:00.950 --> 00:02:04.989 to read this book. So I'm not really sure how 00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:08.889 or why I chose James. I think it was probably 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:10.689 because it was short enough I knew I could finish 00:02:10.689 --> 00:02:15.050 it. But because of that, it just sticks differently 00:02:15.050 --> 00:02:17.590 with me. So I am excited to be up here today 00:02:17.590 --> 00:02:21.009 to share just a portion of the book of James 00:02:21.009 --> 00:02:24.819 and just the series in general. So, as Greg said, 00:02:24.939 --> 00:02:26.979 we're in our third week going through James, 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.379 and today we will be in chapter two. The first 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:33.319 week, it was said that tradition tells us the 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:36.280 writer of this book was the half -brother of 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:41.879 Jesus. And if we take that as true, it's not 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:44.620 too surprising that we don't find him writing 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.680 anything particularly new in this book. A lot 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.900 of it is really a callback to Jesus' ministry 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:53.340 and teachings, which... This was the brother 00:02:53.340 --> 00:02:56.500 of James. He would be fairly acquainted with 00:02:56.500 --> 00:03:00.219 who Jesus is and as someone in his household. 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:05.319 And James introduces this book to the scattered 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:09.500 tribes of Jerusalem. He's writing to his fellow 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:13.439 believers in the risen Christ who have been dispersed 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:17.139 across the land, away from the home they have 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:19.860 called for hundreds of years. For them, this 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:22.780 was a time of uncertainty. a loss of community. 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:26.840 And so when I read this, it's kind of like a 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.439 pep talk. It's encouraging, it's uplifting, but 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:33.099 it's also very direct and straightforward, often 00:03:33.099 --> 00:03:38.500 without a lot of detailed explanation. But it 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:40.639 was, and that's because it was the callback, 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:42.840 right? Enforcing something they already know. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.800 And so it was needed then, and I believe it's 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:49.560 needed now, because as believers of God, as followers, 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:52.379 in Jesus, we are still affected by the world 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:54.560 in which surrounds us and that we participate 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:59.080 in. And this can kind of lead to what I'll call 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.180 a carryover of how we live. You know, as I already 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:07.099 discussed, Paul uses the language, we are a new 00:04:07.099 --> 00:04:11.219 creation. The old is gone. And yet the ways we 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:14.759 engage with the world, with people, our thought 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.720 patterns, our decisions, our actions, our desires, 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:20.639 They are rarely like a light switch that gets 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:22.779 flipped when we start following Jesus, right? 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:26.480 It's a process. And in that process, we can forget 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:31.120 who we are, even if momentarily. So it's because 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.779 of this, James writes this book and other biblical 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:35.800 authors, you know, write encouragements and warnings 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:39.220 and explanations. That's why the church is still 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:41.379 happening today. That's why I believe you're 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:44.519 here today, right? To get help, to help guide 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.959 us. to living the way of Jesus, to imitate the 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:51.259 way that he lived. And so before we read the 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.819 passage, I just want a quick recap on how we 00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:57.899 got here in chapter 2. So if you haven't listened 00:04:57.899 --> 00:05:00.300 to the messages prior today, weeks 1 and 2, I 00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:02.060 encourage you to do that today or this week. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.300 They were great, but quick recap. In chapter 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:08.420 1, James starts with the difficulty of life, 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:12.139 right? Scattered people, right? Things are just 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:15.790 hard to experience. But they also talk about 00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:18.610 some temptations. And in these things, James 00:05:18.610 --> 00:05:23.050 says to be joyful. And this is not a, yay, my 00:05:23.050 --> 00:05:26.990 life is hard and miserable. But thank God, thank 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:29.470 God that through the worst of it, that there 00:05:29.470 --> 00:05:32.089 is a way for me to be like Jesus, that he is 00:05:32.089 --> 00:05:35.670 capable and willing and patiently transforming 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:40.490 me to be like Jesus. This is the joy. And James 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:42.250 follows this up with ensuring that our faith 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:44.230 doesn't become just a mental exercise, something 00:05:44.230 --> 00:05:46.430 we love in theory that we can talk about and 00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:50.389 discuss and find all the nuances for other people 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:54.370 but never actually do in practice. And so, like, 00:05:54.430 --> 00:05:56.470 why must this even be addressed? Why is James 00:05:56.470 --> 00:06:00.629 telling us this? Well, he kind of just got done 00:06:00.629 --> 00:06:03.350 telling us life is hard and temptations abound. 00:06:03.889 --> 00:06:06.879 The difficulties can be unrelenting, but... They 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.860 cannot overcome or overwhelm our God, so therefore, 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:14.720 James says, obey the scriptures. Chapter 1, overall, 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:18.279 then, is dedicated to an internal shifting of 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:22.279 our perspective. A little generalization, because 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:25.139 there's a lot in chapter 1, but overall, we see 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:27.899 James leading the church into the personal and 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:31.259 internal work of this perspective shift, whose 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:35.910 primary focus is how you relate. How you handle 00:06:35.910 --> 00:06:38.149 yourself, how you handle yourself in the light 00:06:38.149 --> 00:06:42.050 of the reality of God. It's how you think, it's 00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:44.670 how you feel, it's how you view yourself and 00:06:44.670 --> 00:06:48.990 your situations that surround you. And then here 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:51.110 in chapter two, it is the natural progression 00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:53.889 from the internal to external. Now, it's not 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:57.389 just the lens in which you see the world, but 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:00.509 how you physically engage in it. Now, if the 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:03.910 internal work has been done, or at least started, 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:05.930 right, let's experience it with those around 00:07:05.930 --> 00:07:09.670 us. James leads believers into how to handle 00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:12.110 relationships with others in light of the reality 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:15.310 of God. It's how you make decisions. It's how 00:07:15.310 --> 00:07:18.269 you engage with other people, particularly those 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:21.769 that are different from you. And this setup, 00:07:21.889 --> 00:07:23.550 like, is no accident, right? He's writing something 00:07:23.550 --> 00:07:26.750 persuasive, a persuasive letter here. And so 00:07:26.750 --> 00:07:29.480 today we get to see... see that shift in this 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:31.620 chapter too. We get to take notice of the first 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:35.060 example of right relationship. And so if you 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:37.959 would, please open your Bibles to James 2. There 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:39.560 are Bibles on your tables and out in the lobby. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:41.759 They are for you or anyone you know. You can 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.100 take them home or you can download it on any 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:46.639 smart device. Here at the house, we love to give 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.720 the scriptures full attention, however you're 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.360 able. So if you would please do that with me, 00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:56.399 I will be standing as, continue standing as I 00:07:56.399 --> 00:08:03.579 read. James 2, 1 -13 My brothers and sisters, 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:07.120 believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:10.699 not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into 00:08:10.699 --> 00:08:13.259 your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:16.660 and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes 00:08:16.660 --> 00:08:20.060 in. If you show special attention to the man 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:22.720 wearing fine clothes and say, here's a good seat 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.319 for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.759 or sit on the floor by my feet. Have you not 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:32.980 discriminated among yourselves and become judges 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:36.440 with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:39.200 and sisters, has not God chosen those who are 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.100 poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.600 and inherit the kingdom he promised to those 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.519 who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:51.340 Is it not the rich who are exploring you? Are 00:08:51.340 --> 00:08:53.379 they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.080 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:00.120 noble name of him to whom you belong? If you 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.139 really keep the royal law found in scripture, 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:05.179 love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:08.019 right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:10.399 are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.720 whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.539 at just one point is guilty of breaking all of 00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:19.259 it. For he who said you shall not commit adultery 00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:22.389 also said you shall not murder. But if you commit 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:24.629 adultery but do not commit a murder, you have 00:09:24.629 --> 00:09:28.629 become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who 00:09:28.629 --> 00:09:30.330 are going to be judged by the law that gives 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:32.950 freedom, because judgment without mercy will 00:09:32.950 --> 00:09:34.870 be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:42.059 Mercy triumphs over judgment. Let us pray. Father, 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:44.120 we just thank you for this day, and we pray that 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.340 you would be here in this room, Lord, that we 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:47.799 would feel your presence, that you would help 00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:49.899 us open our minds and our hearts to what you 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:52.960 have for us today in receiving this word as we 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.940 continue in worship of you, Lord. We love you, 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.759 and we praise you, and we just pray that the 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.779 words and the message we hear today will become 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.919 foundational to who we are. In Jesus' name we 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:11.419 pray. Amen. As you take your seats, what are 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.200 some of the favorite things that you heard or 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:19.940 said? Tacos. Tacos and pizza are always up there, 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:25.139 right? Dogs, yep. Pets, that's always up there. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:30.759 Hiking, camping. It's a joy. Farmer's market. 00:10:31.139 --> 00:10:36.360 Go almost every week. Games, board games. Great. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:40.580 Thanks. These are great things. It was interesting, 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:44.860 and James, as I read through this, it's interesting 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.000 to find for myself that there are some very specific 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.320 things I have favorites for. If you ask me what 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:50.899 my favorite animal is, I'm going to tell you 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:53.940 right away, it's a hedgehog. I mean, it's been 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:55.980 that way since almost as long as I can remember. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:58.980 Before that, it was the armadillo, but the hedgehog 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:06.399 is way better. That's my favorite. But instead, 00:11:06.539 --> 00:11:09.379 if you ask me just what animals I like, I'm not 00:11:09.379 --> 00:11:10.700 going to just give you one. I'm going to give 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:15.399 you a top six. I have a top six. Hedgehog, turtles, 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:19.879 frogs, not toads, okay, seahorses, jellyfish, 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.220 and chameleons. Those are my top six favorite 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:26.320 animals in that order. I have a thought out list. 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.019 Yeah, yeah. I have the same list for fruits. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:34.990 Yeah, it goes on. I have lists. And through this 00:11:34.990 --> 00:11:37.929 simple change of questioning, I began to realize 00:11:37.929 --> 00:11:40.289 that the language of favoritism can sometimes 00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:44.570 limit the way we think or respond. But I also 00:11:44.570 --> 00:11:47.690 found it's also really embedded in our daily 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:53.610 lives and how we use it. And this passage actually 00:11:53.610 --> 00:11:55.570 convinced me to try to remove some of that favorite 00:11:55.570 --> 00:11:59.809 language from my speech. You rarely hear me asking 00:11:59.809 --> 00:12:01.549 a question about favorites. I'm not going to 00:12:01.549 --> 00:12:04.799 say never, but rarely. But especially with my 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:06.980 kids, I tuck my son into bed almost every night. 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:08.840 I don't ask him what his favorite part of the 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.899 day was. I simply ask him, what did you like 00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:15.559 about today? Did you have fun today? Did you 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:19.179 help anybody? And in doing so, I found that I 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:22.419 actually get much longer responses. Where I think, 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.779 especially with kids, I can limit their imagination 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:29.440 when they're only looking for one response. Understandably, 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:31.840 that is the intent of favorites, right? To delineate 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.460 it, separate it from everything else. But as 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:38.419 an adult, admittedly, I am not good at making 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:41.360 quick decisions. This question is, like, stressful 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.580 for me. Not, like, a really tough stressful, 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:46.460 but just, like, a why are you trying to limit 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:48.980 me, right? Why do I only get one thing? Like, 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:51.080 what qualifies it as a favorite? If you ask me 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.179 a favorite question, that's fine. It's fine. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:54.820 But I'm going to ask you to define what you mean 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:59.470 by favorite. What qualifies that? But in that, 00:12:59.549 --> 00:13:02.590 I asked, you know, why are we so obsessed with 00:13:02.590 --> 00:13:04.830 finding favorites in every aspect of our lives? 00:13:05.389 --> 00:13:07.470 It's all around us, right? The restaurant menus, 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:11.970 Amazon Music, our reviews, music playlists. I 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:15.230 think it's an attempt to make sense of this world, 00:13:15.350 --> 00:13:18.029 right? It's a way to get to know ourselves by 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:20.250 delineating our favorites and then everything 00:13:20.250 --> 00:13:24.649 else. To have something to kind of cling to that's 00:13:24.649 --> 00:13:27.029 usually well -defined and mostly unchanging. 00:13:28.370 --> 00:13:31.250 After all, this is how we choose things like 00:13:31.250 --> 00:13:34.750 career paths and hobbies to things as simple 00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:38.690 as the clothes we wear. And all that is to say 00:13:38.690 --> 00:13:41.649 that this passage isn't actually about having 00:13:41.649 --> 00:13:44.129 favorite things. I don't think that's what it's 00:13:44.129 --> 00:13:45.769 saying. I don't think it's wrong to have favorite 00:13:45.769 --> 00:13:48.190 things. Many would argue that that's the way 00:13:48.190 --> 00:13:50.230 we're designed. Our taste buds enjoy different 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:52.350 foods, our brains are not wired the same, and 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:54.309 then you pile experiences on top of that. We 00:13:54.309 --> 00:13:57.240 are just all uniquely... Different people and 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:00.379 favorites can actually help us unite with a few 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:04.500 similarities that we do have. And so where my 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:07.039 favorite things can be the source of creating 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.460 a new relationship, because oftentimes we find 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:13.720 friends and bond with people that we have, share 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:18.659 interests and ideals. Not wrong, right? My favorite 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.600 things can also be the divider that prevents 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:24.019 me from getting to know someone else. particularly 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:27.740 if they're vastly, vastly different. But at its 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:31.500 worst, at its worst, favoritism establishes a 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:35.340 system for judgment. So what do I mean by that? 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:37.980 The distinction is where our propensity for favorite 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:42.299 things changes or dominates our actions, or even 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.519 more so when it affects the way we think and 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:50.019 act towards people. People. Favoritism, here 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:52.559 in James, can also be translated as partiality. 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:55.470 depending on your version, or most appropriately, 00:14:55.870 --> 00:15:00.049 prejudice. And prejudice is the unfair preferential 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:02.809 treatment of a person or group at the expense 00:15:02.809 --> 00:15:07.889 of another. Prejudice enforces a system of hierarchy 00:15:07.889 --> 00:15:10.850 that is dependent upon exploitation of a lower 00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:12.970 group. It says, I'm better than you, and you 00:15:12.970 --> 00:15:16.110 don't even have to say or think it. It can sometimes 00:15:16.110 --> 00:15:19.269 just be in our actions, and it separates people. 00:15:20.750 --> 00:15:22.690 And prejudice, therefore, is really a singular 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:27.110 act. It builds on a system of judgment. And the 00:15:27.110 --> 00:15:29.470 more it happens, the stronger it becomes, not 00:15:29.470 --> 00:15:32.190 just as an external system, but internally in 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:38.529 our hearts. James here is saying that when we 00:15:38.529 --> 00:15:41.409 operate in this system of preferential treatment, 00:15:41.710 --> 00:15:46.970 it is a sin. As we separate people, we separate 00:15:46.970 --> 00:15:51.799 ourselves from God. And though this doesn't explicitly 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:55.580 talk about this, he is showing believers through 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:57.860 the way that he wrote, the examples that he gave, 00:15:57.940 --> 00:16:01.840 that favoritism, partiality, and prejudice are 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.639 a deviation from a foundational attribute of 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:11.620 God. Namely, his justice. So I know justice, 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.820 bringing justice into this passage can feel like 00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:17.320 it doesn't really belong, but I think we think 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:20.610 of justice... in the culturally relevant version 00:16:20.610 --> 00:16:25.909 of the law and sentencing punishments. And the 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:28.610 way that we think, we think of it as a neatly 00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:30.649 balanced scale. We have good and bad. And as 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:32.830 long as the good outweighs the bad, there is 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:38.009 justice in this world. This is the thinking that 00:16:38.009 --> 00:16:42.830 says, for the greater good. Look at that. This 00:16:42.830 --> 00:16:45.529 is an incomplete view of justice. This is not 00:16:45.529 --> 00:16:48.639 godly justice, because godly justice, is treating 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:52.820 people equitably. To give people their rights, 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:57.120 not just punishments, but also protection and 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:02.360 care. Because systems of favoritism and impartiality 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.980 and prejudice are actually systems of oppression. 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:08.299 When one group is receiving favorable treatment, 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.819 there's another group that gets left out. And 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:16.700 this... Separation, this injustice is antithetical 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:20.619 to the God that we follow. He has revealed himself 00:17:20.619 --> 00:17:25.160 inseparable from justice. And so if we're doing 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:28.359 this over here, we're separating, we're operating 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.500 in favoritism, partiality, and prejudice. We're 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:35.980 not operating under God. I mean, justice is all 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.700 over the Bible. Justice and, I'll say, his little 00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:41.920 brother, righteousness, are used over 1 ,000 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.720 times in the Bible. According to Google AI overview, 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:51.859 anyway, so I didn't count, but by this understanding, 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.019 we can see how intertwined prejudice and justice 00:17:55.019 --> 00:17:57.920 really are. Prejudice is the unfair treatment, 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:01.079 preferential treatment, where justice is treating 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:05.440 people equitably. They contradict. And since 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:07.859 prejudice is experienced through relationship, 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.380 therefore, justice must also be experienced through 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:15.430 relationship. If prejudice is breaking and tearing 00:18:15.430 --> 00:18:19.170 apart relationship, justice is uniting and restoring 00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:23.769 relationship. Do you see how that works? So if 00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:26.130 favoritism is such a deviation from who God is, 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:28.170 the foundational attribute of who God is, why 00:18:28.170 --> 00:18:32.170 does it happen? Why does it happen within his 00:18:32.170 --> 00:18:36.390 church? And why is it so convincing that it has 00:18:36.390 --> 00:18:41.339 persisted over time? He gives us a clue in this 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:43.660 example. Suppose a man comes to your meeting 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:46.019 wearing gold ring and fine clothes and a poor 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.440 man in filthy old clothes also comes in and you 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.279 show special attention to the man wearing fine 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:53.259 clothes and say, here's a good seat for you. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.539 But to the poor man, you stand there or sit on 00:18:56.539 --> 00:19:01.500 the floor by my feet. Just like in this example, 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:06.559 we can legitimately argue in ourselves that we 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.240 are showing the love and care kindness of Jesus 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.660 simply by letting the poor man with dirty clothes 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:16.720 stay. We're not turning away because of his outward 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.619 appearance. We're not turning away because he 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:21.839 won't financially give to the church. He's still 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.559 getting a church experience. He's still participating 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.079 in the worship and hearing truth preached in 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:30.539 prayer and communion even if it's at a distance 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:36.809 or alone. It can be so convincing that simply 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:40.730 proclaiming to the poor man that Jesus loves 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.809 you, that that's the worker part of us, that 00:19:43.809 --> 00:19:47.769 as a church -abiding Christian, it's our job 00:19:47.769 --> 00:19:51.329 to tell the world Jesus loves you. Jesus loves 00:19:51.329 --> 00:19:58.309 you. See you next week. So convincing. And James 00:19:58.309 --> 00:20:00.410 doesn't just warn us against this poor practice. 00:20:00.829 --> 00:20:03.329 In verse 8, he shows us how it violates God's 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:07.779 law. to love your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus' 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:11.380 parable of the Good Samaritan started when a 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:16.440 Jewish teacher asked, who is my neighbor? Often 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:20.519 our default is like that of the teacher. Wanting 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.559 to justify ourselves, we begin to question God's 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:26.200 instruction rather than consider our own actions. 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:30.099 We tend to think of neighbors as someone of the 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:32.980 same social class, same means, same interests. 00:20:35.430 --> 00:20:40.089 Same, keyword being same. Same is where partiality 00:20:40.089 --> 00:20:44.829 hides. It doesn't like different. So take this 00:20:44.829 --> 00:20:48.730 story. Take this story and replace the poor man 00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:52.829 with dirty clothes with any person or group that 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:56.410 is excluded or othered in the church. Replace 00:20:56.410 --> 00:20:58.670 it with someone in your community that maybe 00:20:58.670 --> 00:21:01.990 you don't particularly like or maybe someone 00:21:01.990 --> 00:21:04.180 who has different opinions. or positions than 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:09.140 you. See, we just completed a series titled Imago 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:11.339 Dei that started conversations with people in 00:21:11.339 --> 00:21:14.839 this church that have and still often experience 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:19.500 partiality or prejudice. James writes this example 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:23.920 about that kind of person. When we operate in 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.900 a system of partiality and prejudice, it strips 00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:29.220 a person's intrinsic value as an image bearer. 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.339 This prejudice doesn't even have to be something 00:21:33.339 --> 00:21:35.640 particularly divisive, like appearance, wealth, 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:40.559 theology. It could be simply neglect. Like, we 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:44.119 let him in. He's attending. Back there somewhere. 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:51.099 But listen, inclusion without community is partiality. 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:54.720 Community requires more than just presence. It 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:58.450 requires relationship. This is the justice that 00:21:58.450 --> 00:22:00.650 God has shown his people, a relationship with 00:22:00.650 --> 00:22:04.690 him that isn't deserved, that we can't earn. 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:10.269 And James addresses favoritism here as his first 00:22:10.269 --> 00:22:13.569 example of right relationship because humanity 00:22:13.569 --> 00:22:17.710 tends towards favoritism. It wasn't just a problem 00:22:17.710 --> 00:22:19.910 then, it's a problem now, just as it was at the 00:22:19.910 --> 00:22:23.450 beginning of sin. To me, it's like having that 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:25.470 one Aldi cart with a squeaky wheel and it just 00:22:25.470 --> 00:22:27.990 won't go straight, right? This is humanity. It's 00:22:27.990 --> 00:22:33.369 like you're fighting it to go straight. So this 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:36.809 is the hope we have, that God has been breaking 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:40.549 down systems of favoritism and systems of judgment 00:22:40.549 --> 00:22:47.029 all along. It's all in here. So I want to go 00:22:47.029 --> 00:22:50.740 through just a few examples today. And I want 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:52.960 to start with a Jesus encounter that is just, 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.059 it's just packed full of them, okay? So we're 00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:58.740 ready to go through some examples. So number 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:01.740 one, society or culture says that men or a patriarchal 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:05.259 system is favored. In the time of Jesus, the 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:07.640 testimony of a woman was not valid in the court 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:11.960 of law. A woman's witness was not even trusted 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.539 as true. It had to be validated by a man. But 00:23:15.539 --> 00:23:19.140 God, God says, I will make a woman the first 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:21.680 evangelist. But people will hear and believe 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:25.599 truth from the mouth of a woman. In John 4, Jesus 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.819 asked a woman for a drink of water from a well. 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:34.359 To start with, men, the norm was not to speak 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:38.019 to women in public. On top of that, this just 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:40.619 wasn't any woman. She was a Samaritan. And Jews, 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:44.180 they didn't associate with Samaritans. They were 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:46.960 considered outcasts because of their ethnic heritage. 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:50.109 They were a product of a Jew marrying... As someone, 00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:52.930 a people of the land, and even combining religious 00:23:52.930 --> 00:23:55.829 practices, Samaritans weren't just looked down 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:59.450 upon, they were hated. They were seen as idolaters. 00:24:01.190 --> 00:24:06.069 And on top of that, okay, third level here, this 00:24:06.069 --> 00:24:08.609 woman was a social outcast within her own community. 00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:11.309 Having had five husbands and living with a man 00:24:11.309 --> 00:24:13.710 who was not her own, she wasn't there with the 00:24:13.710 --> 00:24:17.789 other women in her town. Three times an outcast. 00:24:18.049 --> 00:24:20.430 Yet Jesus engaged her and even more so did not 00:24:20.430 --> 00:24:23.089 exclude her from receiving the truth of who he 00:24:23.089 --> 00:24:27.789 was as savior. You see, Jesus is breaking down 00:24:27.789 --> 00:24:30.369 systems of favoritism based on gender. He's breaking 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:34.549 down systems of favoritism based on class. He's 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:37.029 breaking down systems of favoritism based on 00:24:37.029 --> 00:24:43.200 race and ethnicity. So too, there's... More in 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.420 the ministry of Jesus. But to show that this 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:48.480 wasn't just some new work of Jesus, let's look 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.700 at the Old Testament, okay? What systems of favor 00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:55.500 do we see there? And a big one is society favored 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:59.140 the firstborn son. They favored the firstborn 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:01.519 son because they were the symbol of family preservation. 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:03.740 They received the majority of the inheritance. 00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:05.720 They were supposed to keep the family line going. 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:10.380 Yet God, God continually chose the second son, 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:13.799 saying, Basically saying, right, I will persist 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:16.039 regardless of the systems you create for yourself. 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:19.720 He chose Abel over Cain and Isaac over Ishmael, 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:23.700 Jacob over Esau, or even take Joseph. He was 00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:27.920 the 12th son. King David was the 8th son. God 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:30.180 is breaking down systems of favoritism based 00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:32.779 on personal preservation. He's working outside 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:37.960 of what we establish. Okay, three, another system. 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:40.500 We see his favoring wives who are able to bear 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:42.619 children. This is a lot for the same reasons, 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:46.160 right, of family preservation. And yet God continually 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:49.279 used women who could not or should not be pregnant 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:53.079 to tell his story. Take Sarah, who gives birth 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:55.480 to her first child, Isaac, who we just said was 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:57.940 the second son of Abraham. But Sarah's first 00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:00.799 child, she had an old age, so much so that she 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:02.980 was the one that laughed at the idea of getting 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:05.599 pregnant, which is why she named her son Isaac, 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:09.910 which means laughter. Rebecca was barren, but 00:26:09.910 --> 00:26:12.609 God answered prayers and she gave birth to twins, 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:16.650 Esau and Jacob. Hannah was barren, but God answered 00:26:16.650 --> 00:26:19.490 prayers and she gave birth to Samuel. Samuel 00:26:19.490 --> 00:26:22.670 was the one that later anointed Saul and David 00:26:22.670 --> 00:26:26.650 as king. All of these people were prominent in 00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:30.410 the history of the Jews and the story of Jesus. 00:26:31.589 --> 00:26:33.670 They weren't just some unconsequential people, 00:26:33.730 --> 00:26:36.240 right? They were part of this. massive story 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:40.380 that God was working in his Bible. And even take 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:43.000 the mother of Jesus, Mary, who was not supposed 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.440 to be pregnant since she was a virgin and not 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:49.740 yet married. Yet God chooses these people. He 00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:52.559 breaks down systems of favoritism based on expectation 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:58.160 and even physical abilities. Okay, four. Another 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:00.539 system of favor is for specific people groups. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:06.440 This one is very much alive today. But biblically, 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:09.440 we see this today in many different forms. From 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:13.619 a large, big scale, right, we see from Jews to 00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:15.759 Gentiles. Like the Samaritans were Gentiles. 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:19.920 There was this divide and this prejudice against 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:23.880 being a Jew or a Gentile. And it was a little 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:27.119 bit smaller competition even amongst the 12 Jewish 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.859 tribes. To as small as prejudice between the 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:33.599 city people and the country people. within those 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:38.339 tribes and yet god gives his people a law that 00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:41.299 makes room for the foreigner and the immigrant 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:43.980 to be fully included in the jewish community 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:48.900 leviticus 19 33 -34 when a foreigner resides 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:52.500 among you in your land do not mistreat them the 00:27:52.500 --> 00:27:54.380 foreigner residing among you must be treated 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:57.200 as your native born love them as yourself for 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:00.019 you are foreigners in egypt i am the lord your 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:04.309 god Furthermore, God says that I will send you 00:28:04.309 --> 00:28:07.990 myself. I will send you my son, Jesus, from a 00:28:07.990 --> 00:28:12.529 small, poor family in a rustic country town that 00:28:12.529 --> 00:28:15.970 is looked down upon. So much so that the disciple 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:20.549 Nathaniel is infamous, I'll say, upon hearing 00:28:20.549 --> 00:28:22.710 that the one that they had been waiting for has 00:28:22.710 --> 00:28:27.109 come. He says, Nazareth? Can anything good come 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:31.700 from there? That's how they viewed. Yet that's 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:36.079 what God chose. God breaks down systems of favoritism 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:41.460 based on your past and where you come from. So 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:44.339 I hope you see even parts of your story in just 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:48.359 these examples, but they're all over. That God 00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:51.220 is working with his people to break down systems 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:56.160 throughout history by lifting up those that don't 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:00.559 fit. And they all have something in common. James 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:04.079 sums it up here at the end of this passage. It 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:09.640 says, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:13.640 over judgment. God has continually shown great 00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:20.779 mercy where people have shown judgment. When 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:23.660 people were wrong to participate and build these 00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:26.259 systems, God shows us how to mercifully pursue 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:30.589 those that have been burdened by it. And yet, 00:29:30.670 --> 00:29:33.890 we continue to see mercy as a kind of injustice. 00:29:36.109 --> 00:29:39.309 By offering mercy to someone who deserves punishment, 00:29:39.589 --> 00:29:43.609 it feels like a breach of justice, right? That's 00:29:43.609 --> 00:29:50.230 not what you deserve. But, again, justice isn't 00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:52.009 weighted scales. We're not trying to outweigh 00:29:52.009 --> 00:29:55.950 the bad with good. Biblical justice is about 00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:59.660 restoration. It's about healthy. about righting 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:03.119 what is wrong, and mercy is the best way to get 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:08.039 there. Zechariah 7 .9 says as much. It says, 00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:11.220 This is what the Lord Almighty said. Administer 00:30:11.220 --> 00:30:16.259 true justice. Show mercy and compassion to one 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:21.279 another. True justice. Show mercy and compassion. 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:26.680 Compassion, not punishment. So to James' point 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:28.680 he made in chapter one about not just listening 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:31.140 to the word and so deceive yourselves, but do 00:30:31.140 --> 00:30:33.980 what it says. All this sounds great in theory, 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:36.319 right? Like we talked about we can find the nuances 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:39.640 and we can figure out how we should think about 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:41.559 this and what we should believe and how other 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:43.799 people should do these things. But what does 00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:49.039 it look like practically for us? Well, it may 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:51.980 look like willingly stepping into something that 00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:56.349 is uncomfortable. May look like something, willingly 00:30:56.349 --> 00:31:00.630 stepping into something that is difficult. And 00:31:00.630 --> 00:31:03.470 we get a little bit of a blueprint of this in 00:31:03.470 --> 00:31:06.970 Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25. Verses 35 and 00:31:06.970 --> 00:31:10.190 36 reads, For I was hungry, and you gave me something 00:31:10.190 --> 00:31:13.190 to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something 00:31:13.190 --> 00:31:16.750 to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. 00:31:17.829 --> 00:31:21.750 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, 00:31:21.769 --> 00:31:24.589 and you took care of me. I was in prison, and 00:31:24.589 --> 00:31:29.490 you visited me. James shows us we can't even 00:31:29.490 --> 00:31:31.410 have an opportunity to do these things when we 00:31:31.410 --> 00:31:34.250 live in partiality. When you have partiality 00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:36.710 and favoritism towards the people closest to 00:31:36.710 --> 00:31:40.069 us, or like those like the rich man who come 00:31:40.069 --> 00:31:41.990 in and we think, I'm going to stick next to this 00:31:41.990 --> 00:31:45.390 guy because he's going to boost my status, or 00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:50.410 he's going to help me out. When you take a closer 00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:53.410 look at what that list entails, it's quite extensive. 00:31:53.809 --> 00:31:59.470 Food, water, clothing, the essentials, right? 00:32:01.549 --> 00:32:04.089 That can be hard enough sometimes. But it keeps 00:32:04.089 --> 00:32:07.509 going. It goes to housing, safety, and care. 00:32:08.930 --> 00:32:12.930 And this list implies much more than basic necessities. 00:32:13.509 --> 00:32:16.670 Much more than basic necessities. It is a full 00:32:16.670 --> 00:32:21.319 invitation into life. to friendship and advocacy, 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:24.599 to lifting one another up, to iron sharpening 00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:28.940 iron participation in a community. It's a relationship. 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.619 And the last one on this list is what today we 00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:36.119 might call extra, right? When I was in prison, 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:40.640 you visited me. What happened here, right? Prison? 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:44.059 Sure, the person might have done something accidental, 00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:45.880 or maybe they came to Jesus while they were in 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:49.339 prison. We'll go visit those people. But the 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:51.740 implication is clear. The reason isn't given 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:55.440 because it's not needed. It is a call to justice 00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:59.579 through mercy, the restoration of healthy relationships. 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:04.279 And we can say this is a hard thing to do. Because 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:08.039 it is. It's a hard thing to do. Justice takes 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:13.700 effort. It doesn't just happen. So consider it 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:17.579 great joy, says James. Because we often see joy 00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:20.859 when it is next to something difficult or a trial. 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:24.819 And this is why James addresses our internal 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.220 perspective first in his letter. So that we, 00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:30.640 here in chapter 2, can start to see how we are 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:35.420 to do justice. How we are to engage with people. 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:40.859 And this is what Jesus offers his church. Jesus 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:43.960 came to earth and lived a life in perfect relationship 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:48.539 with God. And for the joy set before him, he 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:52.420 endured the cross. In his death, in his resurrection, 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:54.819 in his ascension, he restored the relationship 00:33:54.819 --> 00:34:00.799 we get to have with God. Man, the ultimate restoration 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:03.759 of relationship could not have happened without 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:12.320 mercy. Because we don't deserve that. We can't 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:16.599 earn that. That's mercy. That is by his mercy. 00:34:16.679 --> 00:34:19.460 When we are hungry, he feeds us. When we are 00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:22.260 thirsty, he gives us living water. When we are 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:26.400 a stranger to him, he welcomes us home. When 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:28.360 we're naked, he clothes us with righteousness. 00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:31.239 And when we are sick, he takes care of us. And 00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:33.980 when we are in the prison of our own sin, he 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:38.519 visits us. He does not abandon us. This is what 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:42.559 we too are to offer each other. This is what 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:45.760 it takes to imitate Jesus. He's not calling us 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:48.659 into right relationship just with God the Father, 00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:53.320 but with each other. This is the justice he is 00:34:53.320 --> 00:34:56.380 calling us into by imitating his mercy to restore 00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:59.940 healthy relationships with those around us. We 00:34:59.940 --> 00:35:02.539 can join the justice work that God is doing and 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:05.239 has been doing in breaking down the systems of 00:35:05.239 --> 00:35:10.159 judgment. So engage others, engage each other 00:35:10.159 --> 00:35:13.480 in mercy rather than favoritism, partiality. 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:17.860 and prejudice, because mercy triumphs over judgment. 00:35:21.420 --> 00:35:24.119 You know, there's something interesting about 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:27.280 this idea of justice being more than just punishment 00:35:27.280 --> 00:35:32.880 for wrongs. Vanessa Grace, can I have you pass 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:38.039 out this side? Caden, can I have you pass out 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:54.489 this side? If punishment fulfilled justice, if 00:35:54.489 --> 00:35:56.789 punishment fulfilled justice, what would our 00:35:56.789 --> 00:36:04.309 world look like? If that was it, what got me 00:36:04.309 --> 00:36:09.849 was, what would our parenting look like if all 00:36:09.849 --> 00:36:12.969 I did was punish my kids and never restore that 00:36:12.969 --> 00:36:19.039 relationship? Justice is not satisfied with punishment. 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:24.260 Punishment is a means to an end, yes, but not 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:28.860 the end itself. The end is repentance. The end 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:33.719 is renewal. The end is restoration. This is what 00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:38.519 we are seeking. One way we get to share in all 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:40.840 of this is through communion. And communion is 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:43.679 the experience of forgiveness for our sins because 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:48.219 of the mercy God has shown us. It is the restoration 00:36:48.219 --> 00:36:51.400 of relationship with our God, and we get to experience 00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:54.579 it not alone, not in isolation, but as a community. 00:36:57.800 --> 00:37:02.280 Take a moment and look around this room. This 00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:05.219 is your church, not the building. Don't talk 00:37:05.219 --> 00:37:06.420 about the building. Don't look at the walls. 00:37:07.659 --> 00:37:11.760 Make that awkward eye contact with someone. This 00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:15.579 is your church. And you may have chosen to come 00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:17.880 through those doors and into this building, but 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:20.199 you don't get to choose who else walks through 00:37:20.199 --> 00:37:26.820 those doors. Let us do justice by engaging in 00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:28.699 relationships without preferential treatment. 00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:32.980 Show mercy in place of judgment and start here. 00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:37.000 Start here in this room. That's the goal of everyone 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:39.940 in this room, I think, right? That's what we're 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:46.210 pursuing, this right relationship. And then continue 00:37:46.210 --> 00:37:48.309 on your employment, your hobbies, your vacations, 00:37:48.309 --> 00:37:53.550 your grocery runs. Wherever you go, as you go, 00:37:53.670 --> 00:38:01.190 engage others in mercy. So as a community that 00:38:01.190 --> 00:38:06.389 seeks a right relationship, let's take this together. 00:38:06.409 --> 00:38:09.050 On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took 00:38:09.050 --> 00:38:11.469 the bread, saying, this is my body, broken for 00:38:11.469 --> 00:38:21.679 you. Eat and do this in remembrance of me. After 00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:24.059 the meal, he took the cup, saying, this is my 00:38:24.059 --> 00:38:27.619 blood poured out for you. Drink and do this in 00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:37.280 remembrance of me. Let's pray. Father, we just 00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:40.780 thank you for this day and for this church. Lord, 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:43.780 I pray that you would engage our hearts and our 00:38:43.780 --> 00:38:47.139 minds to sometimes step out of our comfort zone 00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:52.329 in what we are used to. to make sure that we 00:38:52.329 --> 00:38:55.369 are not operating in a system of preferential 00:38:55.369 --> 00:39:00.269 treatment, Lord, that we can lift those up that 00:39:00.269 --> 00:39:03.250 feel oppressed, that feel left out, or just feel 00:39:03.250 --> 00:39:06.309 neglected. Lord, build relationships here in 00:39:06.309 --> 00:39:10.309 this church that we may be a shining example 00:39:10.309 --> 00:39:13.750 of your justice, that we may reflect and imitate 00:39:13.750 --> 00:39:17.449 you. Lord, we just thank you for your forgiveness 00:39:17.449 --> 00:39:22.550 of our sins. may continue to as we go out here 00:39:22.550 --> 00:39:25.449 today to follow you and to know you