WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 I'm really excited about hearing the message 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:04.440 today. We're in our second week of Advent. We 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:07.059 missed out on that first week due to the weather 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:10.599 last week, but we would have heard about hope 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:14.699 last week. And as we move into Advent, we remember 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:19.379 that Advent is about arrival. Advent is remembering 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:22.480 that in a moment in time that Jesus, the Son 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:26.429 of God, decided to arrive. And part of that story 00:00:26.429 --> 00:00:30.190 is that he was then crucified to bear the sins 00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:33.289 of the world, resurrected to prove that sin had 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:36.509 been forgiven and death had been defeated. And 00:00:36.509 --> 00:00:38.869 he ascended to the right hand of God the Father. 00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:42.090 We believe that one day he will come again. And 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:46.350 we wait again. We live in Advent every year, 00:00:46.429 --> 00:00:49.509 waiting for the arrival of Jesus to come and 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:52.619 make all things new. So we need to be reminded 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:55.439 on a regular basis of things like hope, of peace, 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.619 of joy, and of love. And today, I'm really looking 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:01.359 forward to hearing the message because it's from 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:04.180 Dave Hodge. If you'll please welcome him up, 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:06.560 and he's got some really good things to share 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:21.010 with you today. Well, I am... I always want to 00:01:21.010 --> 00:01:25.430 apologize because when I went to Indiana Wesleyan 00:01:25.430 --> 00:01:27.250 University to study ministry, I told God I never 00:01:27.250 --> 00:01:30.370 want to speak in front of anybody. I have one 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:32.290 of those Moses conversations, you know, like 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:34.349 Moses, hey, I stutter, you know, I can't talk 00:01:34.349 --> 00:01:37.390 well in front of people. But my thing was I sweat 00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:41.689 in front of people. And so I have asked God to 00:01:41.689 --> 00:01:45.030 make it cold in this room just for me and my 00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:48.480 comfort, not yours. I'm sorry. So that's just 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.540 what we have to deal with today. The Lord of 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:56.239 Peace is here with me today. Just before I get 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:00.219 started, there's a little bit of an intro. Look 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:02.680 if you had one shot or one opportunity, would 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:04.840 you seize everything you ever wanted in one moment? 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.159 Would you capture it or just let it slip away? 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:14.000 Yo. Eminem. Not the two chocolate guys. You know, 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:17.710 the rapper. I just say that because... This might 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:21.009 be my one shot in front of you at this church. 00:02:21.689 --> 00:02:24.710 I attend here, have been a part of the house 00:02:24.710 --> 00:02:27.490 since it started way back in the day, and then 00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:30.849 I disappeared because I was the chaplain at Arrowhead 00:02:30.849 --> 00:02:33.750 Ranch for 15 years and was out there on Sundays 00:02:33.750 --> 00:02:37.150 and would try to pop in the very end, but then 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:39.689 I just kind of did stuff, tried to pop in different 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:41.889 churches. And then also with my position at Youth 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:43.810 Hope, I was in and out of churches all the time, 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:47.469 speaking and just visiting. And now I'm at World 00:02:47.469 --> 00:02:50.590 Relief, which is not a new position for me in 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:52.250 a weird way because even though I've only worked 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:54.729 there for six months, I've been a part of World 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:57.469 Relief for over 20 years when I was working at 00:02:57.469 --> 00:02:59.370 Youth Hope because of all the refugee families 00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:01.919 that we worked with in youth centers. I was kind 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.159 of shocked my first week. I was like, why is 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.039 there three kids from Bosnia and two from Kenya 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:07.879 walking into my youth center in the Quad Cities? 00:03:08.139 --> 00:03:10.419 I didn't think that's where I would be ministering 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:13.979 to, you know, that kind of population. But it 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:15.979 happened. And it was awesome because I thought 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:17.900 God was going to call me to go minister overseas 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:21.520 after college. And I came back to the Quad Cities. 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:24.300 So it's a big difference. You just get to cross 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:27.020 rivers instead of oceans over and over again. 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:29.900 Every single day you cross a river. or another 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:32.500 river, back and forth, if you're that kind of 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:34.099 person. Some of you stay on your side of the 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:36.759 rivers, and that's okay. But that's what we get 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.759 to do here. And so I just want to get a little 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.900 business out of the way. I came to support World 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:45.840 Relief today in kind of a weird way. And my job... 00:03:46.349 --> 00:03:49.949 What I do as the church mobilizer is I get to 00:03:49.949 --> 00:03:54.750 pair churches with families of refugees and immigrants 00:03:54.750 --> 00:03:57.389 in our community. And we created this system 00:03:57.389 --> 00:04:00.349 a lot of many, many years ago. This has been 00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:03.039 a part of where we leave. But we've reinstituted 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:06.219 this in a kind of sense of urgency because of 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:08.360 what's going on in our country with immigrants 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.879 and refugees and organizations that work with 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:13.979 those. Obviously, all of the funding was rescinded 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:15.400 at the beginning of the year for World Relief. 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:17.579 That was promised not just to our organization, 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:20.720 but to help resettle families. And so we lost 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.360 a lot of our staff, a lot of our caseworkers. 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.089 We kind of had to pull back a little bit. And 00:04:27.089 --> 00:04:31.370 we had just resettled about 200 or 270 individuals 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:34.610 from October to January. And we were trying to 00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:36.470 figure out how in the world do we serve them 00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:38.370 well in their community and help them get established 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:41.569 well. And so we started looking to churches. 00:04:43.870 --> 00:04:46.769 There's no better place than a place that says, 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.769 hey, we are hope, we are love, we are kindness, 00:04:49.870 --> 00:04:51.910 we are goodness, we are grace. And we want to 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:54.810 come around people and be the hope of the world. 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:57.329 We want to be the comfort, be the peace to those 00:04:57.329 --> 00:05:01.290 people. And so churches have been rising up and 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:04.430 taking on some of those roles. Right now we have. 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:08.459 18 churches or 18 groups, families that are matched 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:10.660 with 13 churches. Some churches have done more. 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:14.620 We just got to celebrate them last Friday. And 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:16.540 that was just awesome to be in a room full of 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:20.379 churches who have experienced being peace and 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:22.800 being hope and being love, but also receiving 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.060 that from the families and to hear their stories 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:28.079 of life change in their own hearts through serving 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.639 other people has been amazing. And so Greg and 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:33.540 I have been talking. about the opportunity for 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:35.579 our church to see if that might be something 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:38.000 we might want to be interested in. And there 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.680 is no pressure because I know many of you are 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.639 serving all throughout the Quad Cities and organizations. 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:46.819 Many of you are at home serving your families. 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.579 Many of you and your jobs have amazing roles 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:52.160 serving our communities. And so I know it can 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:54.300 be a busy season and it can be hard. But if you 00:05:54.300 --> 00:05:57.519 have interest in being part of a House Good Neighbor 00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:59.800 team, there are a couple of families that we've 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:01.810 looked at and identified that do live. in the 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.670 Greenbush area or at least close to it if not 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:07.069 on the very outskirts that we would love to look 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:09.629 at maybe partnering with and coming around them 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:12.790 as a good neighbor team and so if you have interest 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:15.470 in that I will be around afterwards because there's 00:06:15.470 --> 00:06:18.410 lots of food out here for us to eat after church 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:20.589 today so I of course will be sticking around 00:06:20.589 --> 00:06:23.069 and you can find me and I'd love to get your 00:06:23.069 --> 00:06:25.689 name and information and then we'll kind of have 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:29.790 a formal meeting about meeting as a team forming 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:33.649 a team, voting on some team leaders that would 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:35.910 help kind of orchestrate those things and keep 00:06:35.910 --> 00:06:38.930 things organized for everybody. And then we would 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:41.449 kind of talk about reaching out to families and 00:06:41.449 --> 00:06:43.730 meeting them in the community and seeing if they're 00:06:43.730 --> 00:06:45.629 interested in partnering with us. And then we'd 00:06:45.629 --> 00:06:46.990 get you partnered with a family, and then we 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:49.149 would get you rolling and have plenty of training 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:52.050 and plenty of fun along the way. And so if you're 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:54.810 interested in that... Please see me afterwards. 00:06:55.069 --> 00:06:57.370 I simply just need a phone number or email from 00:06:57.370 --> 00:06:59.790 you so I can reach out and we can set up a time 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:03.069 to get together. So with all that said, I want 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:04.810 to get that out of the way first because that's 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.569 the business part. And now I just wanted to take 00:07:07.569 --> 00:07:12.209 a few moments just to talk about Advent and peace 00:07:12.209 --> 00:07:15.889 this morning as Greg generously offered for me 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.750 to share with you just from my heart this morning 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:25.660 about this. So what is peace? It's one of those 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:31.920 things that we think about as an end result to 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:36.139 conflict ending. We hope peace comes. We have 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:38.040 that probably in our hearts and minds every single 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.699 day that we watch the news. We see that's all 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:44.040 going on all over the world. We want Christ to 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:46.439 return. We think about the return of Christ in 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:50.779 Advent. We want peace. But like many of the things 00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:54.519 of Advent, hope, love, peace, joy. We have this 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.579 idea that they're outcomes through something 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:00.259 that we've been through. So therefore, we found 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:03.800 hope in hard circumstances. We found peace after 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.439 a conflict's been ended. We found joy because 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:08.920 something good's happened. We found love because 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.939 we met our prince or princess. And we think this 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:14.160 is what it's all about, the happily ever after. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.720 We finally have it. And then the movie ends. 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:20.829 And they fool us because they don't show us after 00:08:20.829 --> 00:08:23.910 the ending of what really happens and what life 00:08:23.910 --> 00:08:27.490 is really like as you have to love someone. And 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:29.850 it's one of those things that there's all of 00:08:29.850 --> 00:08:32.149 these things that we look at, especially when 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:34.950 it comes to the essence of who Jesus is. And 00:08:34.950 --> 00:08:37.289 we think about it's when Christ returns, we will 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:41.110 have this ultimately. But that is not necessarily 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:46.509 it. It's part of it, but it's not all of it. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.279 Because peace comes in the midst of conflict. 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:55.659 Hope comes in the midst of hard times. Joy comes 00:08:55.659 --> 00:08:59.220 in the midst of sadness. And love comes in the 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:03.840 midst of struggles. And that is the beauty of 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.779 who Jesus is. Because Jesus is present in all 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:10.720 of it. I'm going to fast forward and tell you 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.740 a funny story that I came across on Facebook. 00:09:14.819 --> 00:09:17.139 Maybe it's not funny to you. Maybe it's just 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:20.559 funny to me. But in 2017, 11 -year -old boy in 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.259 Arizona named Andrew survived being stung by 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:30.379 over 400 times by African bees. Andrew was airlifted 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.440 to Phoenix Children's Hospital, treated, and 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.120 made a full recovery. It's surprising because 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.600 he also had an allergic reaction to stinging 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.299 insects, which added to the danger. Andrew said 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:46.700 he coped with the pain by focusing on his favorite 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:50.919 Dragon Ball Z character, Vegeta, and calling 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.720 in his full force power, humorously telling reporters, 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:01.779 I am Andrew, but you can call me Vegeta. That's 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:05.720 amazing to me. 11 -year -old child in the midst 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:11.419 of being stung by 400 bees. calls and brings 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.419 in his favorite Dragon Ball Z character to get 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:18.440 him through that turmoil, that experience. And 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:22.919 maybe Andrew doesn't know about Jesus. But I 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:24.940 hope for some of us who do, when we're going 00:10:24.940 --> 00:10:28.720 through the midst of our hardest things, are 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:34.139 we calling on Jesus to get us through? We're 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:36.340 just going to look at a quick passage in Luke. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:42.240 It's Luke 1, 26 -38. It is tradition here for 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.259 you to stand as we read this passage. I would 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:46.440 invite you to do that if you would like, or at 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:48.299 least turn your hearts to God as we just kind 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:54.279 of listen. It says, In the sixth month of Elizabeth's 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:57.460 pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:01.139 to a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to 00:11:01.139 --> 00:11:03.919 be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:07.830 of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel 00:11:07.830 --> 00:11:09.909 went to her and said, Greetings, you who are 00:11:09.909 --> 00:11:13.789 highly favored. The Lord is with you. Mary was 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:16.110 greatly troubled at his words and wondered what 00:11:16.110 --> 00:11:18.809 kind of greeting this might be. But the angel 00:11:18.809 --> 00:11:21.470 said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. You have 00:11:21.470 --> 00:11:24.590 found favor with God. You will conceive and give 00:11:24.590 --> 00:11:27.269 birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 00:11:27.909 --> 00:11:30.690 He will be great and will be called the Son of 00:11:30.690 --> 00:11:33.419 the Most High. The Lord God will give him the 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.700 throne of his father David, and he will reign 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:38.639 over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:42.019 will never end. How will this be, Mary asked 00:11:42.019 --> 00:11:45.340 the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.379 the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:50.779 of the Most High will overshadow you. So the 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:53.320 Holy One to be born will be called the Son of 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.129 God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going 00:11:57.129 --> 00:12:00.230 to have a child in her old age, and she who has 00:12:00.230 --> 00:12:02.789 said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth 00:12:02.789 --> 00:12:06.649 month. For no word from God will ever fail. I 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:09.309 am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May your 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:14.129 word to me be fulfilled. And then the angel left 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:18.470 her. Have a seat. Let me just open up in a word 00:12:18.470 --> 00:12:23.409 of prayer real quick. God, I just thank you for 00:12:23.409 --> 00:12:26.110 this word. I thank you for this story, this passage 00:12:26.110 --> 00:12:29.669 of scripture that you've left for us to be reminded, 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:33.809 Lord, that you have a plan. You've always had 00:12:33.809 --> 00:12:36.669 a plan since the fall. You've always had it in 00:12:36.669 --> 00:12:39.490 place that you knew that your son, Jesus, would 00:12:39.490 --> 00:12:43.730 come in physical form. To be present with us 00:12:43.730 --> 00:12:46.070 on this earth, to walk in the shoes that we would 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:49.490 one day walk ourselves, to live a life of struggle 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:51.830 and hardships and things, Lord, that we would 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:53.850 question of wondering why is this happening? 00:12:54.850 --> 00:12:56.870 And that you would come to die on a cross so 00:12:56.870 --> 00:12:59.350 that we could have salvation. And then in our 00:12:59.350 --> 00:13:02.389 hardest moments, we could find peace in you because 00:13:02.389 --> 00:13:04.470 your Holy Spirit and your presence is with us. 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:06.909 And so, Lord, as we just kind of pull a couple 00:13:06.909 --> 00:13:08.789 of things out, I just pray that we would look 00:13:08.789 --> 00:13:12.460 to you in all things, in all ways. And trust 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:14.799 in a Savior who loves us and brings peace in 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.940 the midst of trials. In your name, amen. So just 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:20.940 a couple of things here I just want to pull out. 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.500 It's probably obvious stuff, but to me when I 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:27.220 just read scripture, I play it over in my mind 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:29.460 over and over again of what does this really 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:31.620 look like? What is really happening? I try to 00:13:31.620 --> 00:13:34.639 picture it. I try to visualize it. And in my 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:38.259 mind, it's probably very strange. situation than 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:40.460 most of us would look at scripture and read and 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.320 just say, oh yeah, we know the story. But Mary's 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:49.159 just a young girl. She's a teenager. I have two 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:55.340 teenagers in my house, both girls. And I wonder 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:57.200 sometimes as a father what in the world is going 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:01.240 on. But that's okay because God has used it in 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.460 my life to change me and grow me in my relationship 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:05.899 closer with him. of understanding what it means 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:09.120 to be a father and to call him father. But when 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.659 I look at this, I laugh a little bit because 00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:16.419 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.899 what kind of greeting this might be. And then 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:22.080 the angel says, don't be afraid, Mary, for you 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.360 have found favor with God. And I go, but was 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.840 Mary afraid? Because she just sounds troubled. 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:30.480 She sounds like a 16 -year -old girl who's like, 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.789 huh? I don't get it. I didn't catch it. Can you 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:35.929 repeat that for me? I wasn't paying attention. 00:14:36.129 --> 00:14:39.009 I was just scrolling on my phone. Were you calling 00:14:39.009 --> 00:14:41.850 me? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. You know, that's 00:14:41.850 --> 00:14:44.250 what I think of. But Mary is like perplexed by 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:47.210 this. She is troubled by this. She's wondering 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:50.350 why an angel has appeared to her. And even though 00:14:50.350 --> 00:14:53.750 she doesn't seem frightened, the Lord, the angel 00:14:53.750 --> 00:14:56.649 says, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found 00:14:56.649 --> 00:14:59.080 favor with God's eyes. And there's all kinds 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:01.120 of things that wrap up in that, right? It's that 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:04.139 anxiety. It's that pressure of what is happening? 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:06.759 What is going on? What is this angel saying to 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:08.919 me? Why is there an angel in my room? This is 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.179 strange. I don't know what's going on. All kinds 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:15.399 of things. But the angel brings words of peace. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.720 Brings words of peace. Says it's okay. Just still 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.580 your mind right now. Pay attention. Just open 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:27.059 up your heart and listen. In the midst of this 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:32.860 moment, Let me just give you permission to stop, 00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:36.879 not be afraid, and just listen. And I think that's 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:40.340 for all of us, it's a huge reminder. Because 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:42.940 we live in a world that produces thoughts in 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:46.940 our mind over and over and over again. We can 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.500 be listening to stuff, we can be taking in all 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:51.519 that people are telling us, we can be taking 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:53.639 everything in from the news and social media, 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.580 and we can live in a state of anxiety where our 00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:00.440 mind is constantly rushing all the time. And 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:02.600 sometimes we just need a reminder from God that 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.379 says, it's okay, just stop. Stop listening to 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:10.659 those things. Just pause for a minute, don't 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.840 get anxious, don't worry, don't be afraid. Let 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:17.539 me be peace to you in this moment. And I think 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:20.360 that's something that we often forget, that we 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.980 have the ability, like Andrew, to lock into and 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:26.919 say, God, in the midst of this turmoil, in the 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:28.740 midst of this anxiety, in the midst of these 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:33.440 things, I need peace. I went through a huge period 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:37.120 of my time where I had huge anxiety. I think 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:39.960 it was triggered from a moment where I had an 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:43.000 allergic reaction to a flu shot one year, and 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:46.769 I was out at our camp at a retreat. And I woke 00:16:46.769 --> 00:16:48.929 up in the morning and my arm had swollen to the 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:54.570 size of a softball. And I called Tricia, I think, 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:57.929 or somebody that was a nurse. If you have a friend 00:16:57.929 --> 00:17:00.350 that's a nurse, I apologize. You know how it 00:17:00.350 --> 00:17:03.470 is. You get called about everything. And Tricia 00:17:03.470 --> 00:17:06.970 delivers babies. But I still call her about everything. 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:10.450 I'm sure she loves that. But it's great to have 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:12.869 a friend who's a nurse. And they're like, hey, 00:17:12.910 --> 00:17:14.450 you should probably get to the hospital. It sounds 00:17:14.450 --> 00:17:16.349 like you're having an allergic reaction. And 00:17:16.349 --> 00:17:19.170 so I'm like 45 minutes outside of town at our 00:17:19.170 --> 00:17:21.210 camp. And I get in the car and start driving 00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:25.529 myself in town. And I got right next to Arrowhead 00:17:25.529 --> 00:17:28.559 Ranch, probably 20 minutes within. And literally, 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.039 I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like I 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:31.500 was going to pass out. I felt like I was going 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:33.799 to just die on the side of the road somewhere. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.220 And so I just passed Arrowhead, and I turn in, 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:39.140 and I go in, and I see their nurse. And I'm like, 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:40.539 hey, I don't know what's going on. I feel like 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:44.039 I'm going to pass out. They called my father 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.500 at the time. He came up, picked me up, took me 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:50.259 to the hospital. But from that experience, whenever 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:52.579 I'd get in the car to go drive after that, I 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:54.200 would start feeling like I couldn't breathe. 00:17:55.670 --> 00:17:58.769 And so I had this anxiety that was building into 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:01.390 me of, hey, you had this experience, and now 00:18:01.390 --> 00:18:02.630 you feel like you're going to have it again. 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:04.970 And so I was on medication for a while, trying 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:06.750 to control it, and I finally got off of that. 00:18:07.549 --> 00:18:10.069 But I just used scripture over and over and over 00:18:10.069 --> 00:18:13.869 again. That God does not give you a spirit of 00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:19.990 fear, but a joy and a sound mind, right? And 00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:21.690 I use that stuff over and over again, just reminding 00:18:21.690 --> 00:18:23.529 myself that Jesus, in this moment while I'm driving, 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:25.750 you are present, you are with me, you have a 00:18:25.750 --> 00:18:28.349 plan, everything is going to be okay. And so 00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:30.390 just using those things to call on Jesus in those 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:32.430 moments, through that practice, through that 00:18:32.430 --> 00:18:34.890 experience, I have found that is something that 00:18:34.890 --> 00:18:39.450 I do all the time now. When I feel anxious, when 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:41.190 I feel stressed out, when I start getting worried, 00:18:41.329 --> 00:18:43.349 I just have to stop myself and say, Jesus, in 00:18:43.349 --> 00:18:47.480 this moment, I need you to be peace. And we're 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:50.299 reminded that we're given that. This angel reminds 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:53.140 Mary, hey, don't be afraid, Mary. God's found 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:55.519 favor with you. God has a plan for you. God is 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:00.259 with you in this moment. Secondly, Jesus is bringing 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:04.660 peace to all of us. You will conceive and give 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.079 birth to a son. You're to call him Jesus. He 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.539 will be great, and he will be called the Son 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:11.539 of the Most High. The Lord God will give him 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:14.180 the throne of his father David, and he will reign 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.119 over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.839 will never end. This is a huge piece for all 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.900 of us in the scripture. Now we're not just talking 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:25.660 about Mary. Now we're talking about who Mary 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:27.380 will bring into the world, whose God is going 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:30.480 to use to bring Jesus into the world, and Jesus 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:35.150 is... kingdom will reign and never end. This 00:19:35.150 --> 00:19:38.329 is where, not just the anxiousness, but this 00:19:38.329 --> 00:19:40.569 is where we get to walk and live every single 00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:43.869 day. Because we live after this story, guys. 00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:47.809 Jesus has already died on the cross for us. Jesus 00:19:47.809 --> 00:19:50.029 has already risen from the dead for us. Jesus 00:19:50.029 --> 00:19:52.650 has already spent his Holy Spirit to live and 00:19:52.650 --> 00:19:55.470 dwell in us. And if we call him our savior, if 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:58.309 we call him our friend, then Jesus is with us 00:19:58.309 --> 00:20:03.009 and present in his kingdom now. Not just in the 00:20:03.009 --> 00:20:07.029 end. And that is the beauty that we get to walk 00:20:07.029 --> 00:20:10.109 in as believers every single day that we are 00:20:10.109 --> 00:20:12.930 walking in the kingdom of God, not just waiting 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:16.029 to get to it. And if we're walking in the kingdom 00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.470 of God, then Jesus is present with us and his 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:24.150 peace is with us in all circumstances. And that 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:28.430 is an amazing key to unlock. If you're going 00:20:28.430 --> 00:20:31.779 to level up. with anything. Level up with understanding 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:35.140 that every single day. And if I talk in video 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:36.900 game terms, I'm sorry. It's the world I live 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:38.940 in. You know, I play board games all the time. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.400 And this is how my mind thinks. If we're on an 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.380 adventure and I am a person who's just being 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:48.299 called on this adventure, if you know anything 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:51.720 about the hero's journey, he starts as some little 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:53.720 kid in his bedroom and it's dark and it's quiet 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.099 and he's scared and he's alone. And then something 00:20:56.099 --> 00:20:59.420 happens and he's called into adventure. And guess 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:02.980 what that hero has to face to become the hero 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:10.660 he's supposed to be? Conflict. Trials. Tribulations. 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:15.579 He's got to face them. Because on the other side 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:19.059 of those things is greatness. It's perseverance. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:24.599 It's overcoming. It builds into who we are. And 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:27.380 there's no surprise to me that when Jesus says 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:30.140 that you will face trials of many kind, but you 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:36.000 will find joy in it, not after it, that there 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.660 is peace in it as we go through it. Because on 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:42.759 the other side, on the other side, what God is 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:45.700 doing for us is something we can't even fathom. 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:49.000 But it will be beautiful, and it will be good. 00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:52.440 Because many of us that are experiencing hard 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:55.039 times right now, are wondering what's on the 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.700 other side. But there's many of us that have 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:02.420 experienced hard times over and over and over 00:22:02.420 --> 00:22:05.839 again, which seems to be the point of what we 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.019 experience in life sometimes. We have these hardships 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:10.299 that we go through, but as we overcome them, 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:13.099 we learn from them and we grow, and then we have 00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:14.859 more, and then we overcome them and we grow. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.440 I stand before you as a person who, like, I'm 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:22.180 kind of the last standing member of my family. 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:25.859 I experienced loss of my brother at a very young 00:22:25.859 --> 00:22:28.019 age. Both my parents have passed away. All my 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:30.319 grandparents have passed away. My uncles, my 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:33.700 aunts, they've all passed away. I've experienced 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:36.960 death at a very young age. At seven years old, 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:40.480 my best friend died from a random fever. And 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.180 remember, I can still smell the pew, you know, 00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:45.039 just sticking your face in and burying it at 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:49.119 the funeral. And I asked God why that had to 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:51.420 happen as a young kid going, why is this happening? 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:53.700 But that would be the pattern of my life over 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:57.460 and over again. In the midst of it, finally, 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:59.420 I was like, okay, there's a reason for this. 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:02.799 There's still beauty in this because the more 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.400 and more that I experienced grief and loss, the 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:07.099 more and more I met people who has experienced 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:09.960 grief and loss. And we realize it's a part of 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:13.839 life. And instead of running away from it, we 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:16.799 get to run into it and come alongside each other 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:18.779 and say, hey, let me just be with you in this 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:23.059 moment because there's peace here. And I understand 00:23:23.059 --> 00:23:25.900 it and I feel it. And I want to bring that to 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:29.460 you also. After my brother passed away that first 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:33.319 summer, I was at church camp and I just young 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:36.299 dumb kid just stood up. after a message and just 00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:38.039 raised my hand and said, hey, can I say something? 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:39.359 They're like, sure. And I was like, hey, listen, 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:41.279 my brother just passed away this past year and 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.079 it's been really hard, but I know there's other 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:44.579 people here that have probably experienced the 00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:47.920 same thing. And in that dumb moment, God used 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:50.339 that to show me something real because I was 00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:52.220 like, hey, if you want to meet after this, I'll 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:55.099 be over on this park bench. Just kind of want 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:56.799 to meet other people and pray with you if you've 00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.059 been through that. And out of my surprise, I 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:01.359 didn't know if anything would really happen. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:02.859 I just felt like it's something I needed to do. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:05.500 But in that moment, like, people started trickling 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:09.200 over. And then there's probably, like, 20 of 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.779 us just standing around, not just kids and teens 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:16.180 my age, adults. And I was like, hey, guys, my 00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:17.920 name's Dave, and this is what I've been through, 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:19.420 and if you just want to share your story, I'd 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:21.440 love to hear it. And people just started sharing 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.000 their stories of loss. And out of that, we just 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.119 started praying for each other. And that was 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:29.839 the moment that God said, hey, Dave, this is 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.839 what God can do with what you've experienced. 00:24:32.970 --> 00:24:35.089 This is what you can do with what you've been 00:24:35.089 --> 00:24:38.309 through. That you can be a person who's experienced 00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:40.930 something horrible that I can restore and make 00:24:40.930 --> 00:24:44.589 beautiful. Because I'm a God who brings peace 00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:48.910 and offers that to us who follow him to be able 00:24:48.910 --> 00:24:52.450 to bring peace to others. One of those weird 00:24:52.450 --> 00:24:54.609 parts of this passage, if you realize this, is 00:24:54.609 --> 00:24:57.049 when this whole passage starts, it tells us that 00:24:57.049 --> 00:24:59.450 this is the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy 00:24:59.450 --> 00:25:03.750 before we're told the story. And that's important 00:25:03.750 --> 00:25:06.809 because previously in this passage, an angel 00:25:06.809 --> 00:25:10.150 shows up to Elizabeth and tells her that she's 00:25:10.150 --> 00:25:13.430 going to be with child and she's very old. And 00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:15.190 she doesn't have the same response that Mary 00:25:15.190 --> 00:25:19.690 does. She laughs. And then the angel gets very 00:25:19.690 --> 00:25:23.779 angry. It's interesting. There's exclamation 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:27.259 points after every word the angel says to Elizabeth 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:29.240 after that. And he's like, okay, you laughed. 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:30.799 I know this is going to happen. You just need 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:32.140 to believe and trust because this is going to 00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:34.460 happen. I found that kind of just interesting 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:37.799 to me. But part of this Mary story is it's just 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.880 not Mary who's experiencing something. It's also 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:46.460 Elizabeth. And so as soon as this happens, after 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:49.960 this passage, Mary leaves and goes visits her. 00:25:51.690 --> 00:25:54.569 Mary leaves and goes and visits Elizabeth, who's 00:25:54.569 --> 00:25:57.990 already experiencing what she's about to experience. 00:25:58.930 --> 00:26:02.089 Elizabeth is six months into her pregnancy. Mary 00:26:02.089 --> 00:26:04.950 has no clue what this is going to entail for 00:26:04.950 --> 00:26:08.089 her. But yet she goes to someone who's already 00:26:08.089 --> 00:26:12.730 experiencing it. Another miraculous birth. And 00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:14.769 as soon as she arrives, her and Elizabeth are 00:26:14.769 --> 00:26:17.660 immediately connected. It says that John the 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:21.279 Baptist notices Jesus in Mary's belly and leaps. 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:23.180 And there's this beautiful thing that happens 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:27.339 where Elizabeth actually blesses Mary. And then 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:31.259 through Elizabeth blessing Mary, Mary produces 00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:34.799 this beautiful song that we have recorded in 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:38.440 Luke about her experience of being a mother and 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:41.180 carrying the child, the Savior of the world. 00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:44.690 And so this reminds me over and over again that 00:26:44.690 --> 00:26:47.210 God uses Mary or Elizabeth to bring peace to 00:26:47.210 --> 00:26:50.849 Mary. And I think vice versa for both of them. 00:26:51.029 --> 00:26:58.410 And Mary stays three months with Elizabeth. Together, 00:26:58.470 --> 00:27:01.430 they just live in fellowship and caring for each 00:27:01.430 --> 00:27:04.009 other through their pregnancies. And I think 00:27:04.009 --> 00:27:07.549 that's beautiful. Because Mary could have done 00:27:07.549 --> 00:27:11.710 anything. Mary could have ran and hid. She could 00:27:11.710 --> 00:27:14.230 have isolated herself. She could have just sat 00:27:14.230 --> 00:27:16.210 with this, this puzzling, how is this going to 00:27:16.210 --> 00:27:19.309 happen? What are Joseph and I going to do? How 00:27:19.309 --> 00:27:20.650 are we going to explain this to the world? What 00:27:20.650 --> 00:27:22.730 are people going to think? She could have isolated 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:26.210 herself and tried to live in this fear of what 00:27:26.210 --> 00:27:29.309 does this mean that God is calling her to? But 00:27:29.309 --> 00:27:32.589 instead, she goes because she's heard that Elizabeth 00:27:32.589 --> 00:27:37.490 is experiencing something similar. And so here's 00:27:37.490 --> 00:27:40.869 a hard reminder. If we are sitting in something 00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:43.069 that we feel like we're carrying and nobody understands, 00:27:43.450 --> 00:27:48.329 there's people who do. And please go to them. 00:27:48.690 --> 00:27:52.430 Please go find them. Please run to them. Because 00:27:52.430 --> 00:27:56.109 we're not meant to do this alone. We're not meant 00:27:56.109 --> 00:27:57.970 to do it alone. We're not meant to carry the 00:27:57.970 --> 00:28:01.130 weight of the world on our own shoulders. That 00:28:01.130 --> 00:28:04.849 is not peace. We're meant to call on Jesus and 00:28:04.849 --> 00:28:08.230 we're meant to call on each other. Because we 00:28:08.230 --> 00:28:11.170 as believers and followers of God get to be peace 00:28:11.170 --> 00:28:15.269 to other people. What a cool opportunity that 00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:17.930 we've been blessed with. If we follow Jesus, 00:28:18.210 --> 00:28:23.450 we get to bring peace givers. We get to be peacemakers. 00:28:25.230 --> 00:28:28.130 And some of the hardest wars you will ever fight 00:28:28.130 --> 00:28:30.190 in will be on a couch sitting next to someone 00:28:30.190 --> 00:28:37.250 who needs you. But we get that opportunity. To 00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:40.750 love God and to love others. When Jesus says, 00:28:40.769 --> 00:28:42.930 I've come to give you life and life to the full, 00:28:43.029 --> 00:28:45.490 I think that's just simply the key. When God 00:28:45.490 --> 00:28:48.589 calls us to love him with everything and to really 00:28:48.589 --> 00:28:51.910 love other people as he loves us, to me, that 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:54.549 sends me on a mission every single day. When 00:28:54.549 --> 00:28:56.490 I wake up, what can I do today, God? What can 00:28:56.490 --> 00:28:59.029 we do together? How can we go bring love? How 00:28:59.029 --> 00:29:01.490 can we go bring peace today? What's that going 00:29:01.490 --> 00:29:04.549 to look like? And there's days, man, where I'm 00:29:04.549 --> 00:29:07.740 just blown away. In my adventure mind, in my 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:09.480 adventure life, this is how I get through every 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:11.200 single day. I wake up and say, God, what are 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:14.980 we doing today? How can we bring peace? How can 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:17.680 we be joy? How can we bring love and hope into 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:20.960 the world? What does that get to look like? And 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:22.640 if you start to experience that and start to 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:24.859 practice that, oh my gosh, I can't tell you the 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:28.140 adventure that you will begin to live. Because 00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:30.380 there's so many people who are just struggling 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:33.420 around and going, where do I find this? What 00:29:33.420 --> 00:29:36.269 does it look like for me? And sometimes it can 00:29:36.269 --> 00:29:39.150 look like us just walking up to them and just 00:29:39.150 --> 00:29:41.349 saying, hey, how are you doing today? Really? 00:29:42.670 --> 00:29:44.309 Can I sit with you for a little bit and just 00:29:44.309 --> 00:29:46.490 hear about what's going on in your life? Can 00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:48.710 I pray with you? Can we bring peace to who you 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:56.769 are? How are we doing? Good? How are we doing 00:29:56.769 --> 00:29:59.990 on time? I don't know what that means. Tell me. 00:30:01.670 --> 00:30:05.319 Five minutes? Okay, let's... Give me the freedom 00:30:05.319 --> 00:30:07.539 to do something, okay? This is going to be weird, 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:10.059 but this is just how I live. Because I can't 00:30:10.059 --> 00:30:14.359 just take words in and process them and walk 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:17.519 out of here and remember anything. But if I can 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:21.799 experience something, I often don't forget those 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:25.579 moments. So I've been a part of a program practicing 00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:28.619 spiritual direction for the last two years. Spiritual 00:30:28.619 --> 00:30:31.289 direction is literally just sitting. with someone 00:30:31.289 --> 00:30:34.450 in the presence of God and asking God to speak 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:37.230 to that person and I get to be the person to 00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:39.230 ask them the questions they don't want to be 00:30:39.230 --> 00:30:42.230 asked sometimes I get to be the person that gets 00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:45.250 to help them look for God and seek God in some 00:30:45.250 --> 00:30:47.170 moments that are hard for them to even want to 00:30:47.170 --> 00:30:49.490 process but they know they need to and when they 00:30:49.490 --> 00:30:52.430 do something beautiful happens and so we're just 00:30:52.430 --> 00:30:55.089 going to do a group experiment I'm going to practice 00:30:55.089 --> 00:30:56.750 spiritual direction right now with all of you 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:59.539 And so it's going to be one of those awkward 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:01.420 moments for some of us because it's just weird 00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:04.759 that people are around us. And we may have kids 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:06.839 with you or you may have a sweetie with you who's 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:09.579 pulling on you and laughing at you and chomping 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:13.519 you. But I'm just going to ask you to do something 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:18.740 real quick just to close your eyes. And if you 00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:21.019 would just take a moment to take some deep breaths 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:24.339 and breathe in and breathe out and just allow 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:28.029 yourself to just to calm. And to seek peace. 00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:33.569 To seek Jesus' face. This is one of the beautiful 00:31:33.569 --> 00:31:35.450 things that I try to do every day. It's just 00:31:35.450 --> 00:31:39.230 to find a moment to sit quietly and to picture 00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:42.509 myself in an empty room. And if you can just 00:31:42.509 --> 00:31:45.509 see yourself sitting in a chair in a room in 00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:48.450 the quiet, maybe for Cindy there's snow falling 00:31:48.450 --> 00:31:53.269 down in the window behind you. Maybe you need 00:31:53.269 --> 00:31:54.930 that. Maybe you just need a moment just to sit 00:31:54.930 --> 00:32:00.059 quietly. in a room, by yourself, in the calmness, 00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:03.420 in the peace. And then I just want to invite 00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:09.940 you to invite Jesus into that room. If you can 00:32:09.940 --> 00:32:12.059 see yourself sitting in a chair and you can see 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:15.500 Jesus standing before you, just look into his 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:22.619 face and allow him to be peace. Allow his warmth. 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:25.960 that radiates off his body, bring you warmth 00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:30.119 to your heart, your mind, your soul, your lungs. 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:35.839 Just allow him to be in that space and breathe 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:41.980 him in. And if you can sit with that in a minute, 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:48.099 and you can feel something stirring inside of 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:49.799 you that's been stirring, if there's something 00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:52.400 that's bringing you anxiousness, or bringing 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:56.279 you hardship, or bringing you discomfort, if 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.339 there's something that is at war inside of you 00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:01.240 in this moment with him, will you simply just 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:04.220 give it to him? Will you just simply just reach 00:33:04.220 --> 00:33:06.579 out your hands and your mind and say, God, here 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:11.200 it is. Jesus, can you take this? I'm struggling 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:17.339 to carry it. And just allow him to speak peace 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:21.380 over you. Allow him to lay his hands on you. 00:33:22.320 --> 00:33:25.720 And to say, you are my child. And you are loved. 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:35.140 Do not be afraid. I'm with you. And just take 00:33:35.140 --> 00:33:37.720 a deep breath. Take a couple deep breaths. And 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:50.369 just be in that space. And some of us need this 00:33:50.369 --> 00:33:52.150 moment, and some of us are struggling with it, 00:33:52.170 --> 00:33:55.710 and that's okay. And if you need this moment 00:33:55.710 --> 00:33:59.150 to say, you know what, God, I don't really know 00:33:59.150 --> 00:34:02.329 if I'm carrying much right now, but I know there's 00:34:02.329 --> 00:34:06.369 a world around me that is. Would you bring somebody 00:34:06.369 --> 00:34:11.019 into my mind that needs peace? Would you bring 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:13.380 somebody to my heart that I know is going through 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:15.420 something maybe I haven't reached out to or haven't 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:17.820 talked to or I know I need to. Could you bring 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:19.880 somebody to mind, Jesus? Could we invite them 00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:23.059 into the room right now with me? Could I pull 00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:24.940 up a chair for them to sit with you for a minute 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:27.880 and just ask that you be peace in their life? 00:34:33.320 --> 00:34:35.920 Can you put it on my heart to say, God, can you 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:38.449 just be with them and I'll be with them? God, 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:40.769 when I leave this room, when I leave this church, 00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:43.809 when I go about my day, Lord, I will go visit 00:34:43.809 --> 00:34:46.670 them. I will call them. I will text them. I will 00:34:46.670 --> 00:34:49.190 let them know that you are with them, that you 00:34:49.190 --> 00:34:50.929 can be peace for them, Lord, in the midst of 00:34:50.929 --> 00:34:52.590 what they're going through as you are peace for 00:34:52.590 --> 00:34:58.769 me and what I'm going through. And if you can 00:34:58.769 --> 00:35:01.130 visualize yourself just asking God for peace, 00:35:01.250 --> 00:35:03.590 if you can visualize yourself sitting next to 00:35:03.590 --> 00:35:06.369 someone you know needs peace, Lord, we just thank 00:35:06.369 --> 00:35:09.360 you for that. We thank you for allowing us this 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:11.840 moment and this space just to seek you and to 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:15.340 seek your face and to be present with you. We 00:35:15.340 --> 00:35:17.800 thank you for who you are and how you love us 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:22.079 so deeply and how you care for us so deeply and 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:24.480 how in the midst of our hardest circumstances 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:27.840 you are present with us to be peace. And may 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:30.840 we have moments like this over and over and over 00:35:30.840 --> 00:35:33.780 again where we just stop and we just picture 00:35:33.780 --> 00:35:36.239 ourselves with you in the room. Standing before 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:39.019 us with love and warmth and goodness and grace. 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:42.000 God, we thank you for this day. We thank you 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.539 for this season. To use to remind us that you 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:48.000 are coming. And though your kingdom will come 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:50.400 again, that you have already come. And you have 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:53.519 died on the cross and rose again. And you have 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:56.619 sent your sweet Holy Spirit to live and walk 00:35:56.619 --> 00:35:59.599 with us daily. And Jesus, the beauty of it is 00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:02.199 there's no more temples. There's no more curtains. 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:05.659 There's a God who desperately loves us and wants 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:08.239 to be with us every moment. To be the peace, 00:36:08.260 --> 00:36:12.179 love, joy, and hope that we can live life to 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:14.980 the full with every single day. We thank you 00:36:14.980 --> 00:36:16.300 for this morning in your name. Amen.