1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,600 So we continue our sermon series, The Mess and the 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,700 Miracle, our Advent sermon series this morning. 3 00:00:08,700 --> 00:00:13,740 And we are going to be in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. 4 00:00:13,740 --> 00:00:17,640 Now, I told my staff and my council this is the shortest 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,280 sermon notes I've ever written, and it is true. 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,620 It is not even a full page. 7 00:00:23,620 --> 00:00:28,060 But I will do my best to really encapsulate what I believe the 8 00:00:28,060 --> 00:00:32,200 Mess and the Miracle is in our Advent journey of John 1. 9 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,640 Because you see, John 1, the Gospel of John, this very first 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,500 chapter, is a vision and a version of Christmas. 11 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:44,000 Now, it's not one that you will probably hear read on either 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,820 December 24th in a service or on December 25th in a service. 13 00:00:48,820 --> 00:00:52,180 Because we go to Luke or we go to Matthew because they give us 14 00:00:52,180 --> 00:00:55,820 real good detail about the shepherds and the angels and 15 00:00:55,820 --> 00:01:00,320 even the lowly animals, the manger and all that it is. 16 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,900 However, what John does is he encapsulates the person of 17 00:01:05,900 --> 00:01:07,200 Christ. 18 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,500 So we are going to be in the beginning of John, John 1. 19 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:14,940 And so we are going to start with the very first verse. 20 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:17,100 And a lot of you know these verses. 21 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:19,880 And for some of you, you have never really tied them to 22 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,680 Christmas, but let's journey in that this morning. 23 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:24,180 In the beginning was the Word. 24 00:01:24,180 --> 00:01:26,820 The Word was with God and the Word was God. 25 00:01:26,820 --> 00:01:28,920 He was in the beginning with God. 26 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,860 All things were made through Him and without Him was not 27 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:33,860 anything made that was made. 28 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:38,420 In Him was light and that light was the life of men. 29 00:01:38,420 --> 00:01:40,660 The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has 30 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:43,200 not overcome it. 31 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,360 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 32 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,500 He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that 33 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:51,200 all might believe through Him. 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,140 He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light. 35 00:01:55,140 --> 00:01:58,280 The true light which gives light to everyone was coming 36 00:01:58,280 --> 00:01:59,620 into the world. 37 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:02,720 He was in the world and the world was made through Him, yet 38 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,720 the world did not know Him. 39 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,800 He came to His own and to His own people did not receive Him. 40 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,460 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He 41 00:02:14,460 --> 00:02:17,460 gave the right to become children of God who were born 42 00:02:17,460 --> 00:02:20,400 not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,440 man but of God. 44 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,340 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen 45 00:02:26,340 --> 00:02:32,920 His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father full of grace 46 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:34,260 and truth. 47 00:02:34,260 --> 00:02:36,780 That is the gospel of our Lord this morning. 48 00:02:36,780 --> 00:02:42,700 So we see in John 1 we see a narrative about three different 49 00:02:42,700 --> 00:02:43,700 people. 50 00:02:43,700 --> 00:02:44,700 Okay. 51 00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:48,700 The first narrative we see is about the Word, right? 52 00:02:48,700 --> 00:02:52,540 The Word that becomes flesh is who? 53 00:02:52,540 --> 00:02:54,040 Jesus, okay. 54 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,240 And we see that that part of God's plan, He is coming into 55 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:58,240 the world, right? 56 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,520 If you don't know the word light after reading those 14 57 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,620 verses, you weren't listening because light is mentioned 58 00:03:04,620 --> 00:03:07,520 multiple, multiple times and we'll get to that in a second. 59 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,520 And then the second person that we're talking about is who? 60 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:12,520 John, right? 61 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,700 John the Baptist, so we understand. 62 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:19,560 John the Baptist, not John who wrote the gospel but Jesus' 63 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,040 cousin John, John the Baptist who came as witness, some would 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,040 say the last prophet. 65 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:26,500 We'll get to that in a second. 66 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:30,280 But then the third, this one might be a little, maybe it's 67 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:31,280 tough. 68 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,080 I'll put a cup of coffee and a conversation with Pastor Jim on 69 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:35,080 this one. 70 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:41,080 What's the third person? 71 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:42,360 I'm not elevating it to lunch. 72 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,120 It's not that hard. 73 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,960 No, I already said Jesus. 74 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:49,800 No. 75 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,500 Who said us? 76 00:03:51,500 --> 00:03:53,840 Okay, Nick, you've gotten way too many coffees. 77 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,340 But no, it's the world, right? 78 00:03:56,340 --> 00:03:59,580 That the world engages the light. 79 00:03:59,580 --> 00:04:02,640 The world knows who the light is because of John and the 80 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:08,120 witness that John brings but we play a part in this narrative. 81 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,520 And that should be super exciting. 82 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,980 We get to be brought into the Christmas story, the Jesus 83 00:04:14,980 --> 00:04:19,820 narrative, we get a part to play. 84 00:04:19,820 --> 00:04:21,820 But that's the great disappointment, isn't it? 85 00:04:21,820 --> 00:04:27,160 That when you read John 1, it sets from the very beginning 86 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,900 what the issue is and we talked about it last week when we were 87 00:04:30,900 --> 00:04:32,540 in the Garden of Eden. 88 00:04:32,540 --> 00:04:37,400 We talked about the mess that sin created, that in the sin 89 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,980 being, you know, Adam and Eve, that after sin had entered the 90 00:04:40,980 --> 00:04:44,980 world and got put in our kind of in our bloodline, we see the 91 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:48,180 first thing that Adam and Eve do when they hear the sound of 92 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:52,520 their father, God, in the garden, they hide, right? 93 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,160 We use the term held, right? 94 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,860 That they created their own version of hell because the 95 00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:59,660 definition of hell is an eternity without God. 96 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:04,640 That instinctively because of sin, when we do something that 97 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,880 we think our parents, like let's go when we're kids, we do 98 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,440 something that we think our parents disapprove of, we try 99 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,040 to hide it. 100 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,220 We either try to hide from them or we try to hide what we do, 101 00:05:16,220 --> 00:05:20,520 the truth of the situation. 102 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:21,820 So we see that in Adam and Eve. 103 00:05:21,820 --> 00:05:25,520 We see the mess that not only was created but the mess that 104 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:30,260 was sustained from Genesis chapter 3 that is still a 105 00:05:30,260 --> 00:05:33,600 problem today in 2023. 106 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,800 So we play a part in this. 107 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,440 But the part that you play, the part that I play, even the part 108 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:44,640 that the kids are going to play today, yes, even the pre-Ks, the 109 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,420 part we play in this is actually sin. 110 00:05:48,420 --> 00:05:55,780 We represent the sin of the world because we are the world. 111 00:05:55,780 --> 00:05:57,460 Now that's probably not something you're going to put 112 00:05:57,460 --> 00:05:59,500 on your Christmas cards, right? 113 00:05:59,500 --> 00:06:01,500 You're not going to, we're probably not going to get from 114 00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:02,620 the Schleichers this morning. 115 00:06:02,620 --> 00:06:04,620 You know, I'm only picking on you because you're sitting in 116 00:06:04,620 --> 00:06:07,000 the car, you know, Merry Christmas from the Schleichers. 117 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,300 You are the sin of the world. 118 00:06:09,300 --> 00:06:10,300 Right? 119 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:12,300 You're not going to get that from the fishers like, hey, 120 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:14,300 Christ brings darkness but you bring death. 121 00:06:14,300 --> 00:06:15,740 Merry Christmas. 122 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:17,640 Hopefully you don't do that. 123 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,180 If you're planning on doing that, use this as the Holy 124 00:06:20,180 --> 00:06:22,180 Spirit's prompt to have you not do it. 125 00:06:22,180 --> 00:06:23,680 Just don't send one out then. 126 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:24,680 Right? 127 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:26,680 If that's what you want, don't send one out. 128 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:31,160 But that is the truth of the season. 129 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,720 And if you look at the world, the world wants to create this 130 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,360 season that has nothing to do with the truth, everything to 131 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:38,820 do with consumerism and all that other junk. 132 00:06:38,820 --> 00:06:43,760 But at the heart of the problem, the heart of the solution is 133 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,840 sin. 134 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:50,200 That Jesus didn't come because it was a nice day. 135 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,580 Jesus didn't come because, you know what, it was just getting 136 00:06:52,580 --> 00:06:55,780 too boring up there in heaven so he's going to come as a baby 137 00:06:55,780 --> 00:07:00,220 into a manger, a feeding trough. 138 00:07:00,220 --> 00:07:04,380 He came because there was a plan set in place from Genesis 139 00:07:04,380 --> 00:07:05,520 chapter 3. 140 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,620 And what John is teaching us, what John is cultivating for us 141 00:07:09,620 --> 00:07:12,900 is that the sin that we will deal with because of Genesis 142 00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:15,760 chapter 3 are two different levels of broken 143 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,460 relationships. 144 00:07:17,460 --> 00:07:22,100 The mess we find ourselves is that we are a people of broken 145 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:24,200 relationships. 146 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,580 We see it in John 1. 147 00:07:26,580 --> 00:07:31,620 There is an intent to have a good, awesome relationship. 148 00:07:31,620 --> 00:07:33,320 We have that ability. 149 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,960 Christ, because of Christ in God's plan, we should be able 150 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,560 to have healthy relationships in this life. 151 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,360 But we don't because of the sin that is in the world. 152 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,020 And it's not just the person maybe in front of you or across 153 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:47,960 the sanctuary that you have a problem with. 154 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,400 We had a problem with Jesus. 155 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,600 That we actually have a problem with the truth. 156 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,340 We have a problem with the solution. 157 00:07:56,340 --> 00:07:59,440 We have a problem with Christ. 158 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,920 But the one person that we do need to focus on as well is 159 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:04,580 John. 160 00:08:04,580 --> 00:08:06,440 Now, John wasn't perfect. 161 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:07,620 No. 162 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:08,720 You read John, right? 163 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:10,680 John was more like his zealot, right? 164 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,120 John, yeah, he called it like it was, but he had his righteous 165 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,120 anger, but John was not perfect. 166 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,020 John was not the Savior. 167 00:08:19,020 --> 00:08:21,160 Just because you're in the bloodline of Jesus doesn't make 168 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,240 you Jesus. 169 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:28,700 But we see here that John is bearing witness. 170 00:08:28,700 --> 00:08:30,600 And that's an interesting word. 171 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,780 When I say the word witness, what comes to mind for you? 172 00:08:33,780 --> 00:08:36,240 A couple people. 173 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,540 When you hear the word witness, what comes to mind? 174 00:08:40,540 --> 00:08:43,020 A truth teller, okay? 175 00:08:43,020 --> 00:08:44,520 A courtroom, absolutely. 176 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:49,520 Expound on that. 177 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,160 Witnesses come to give truth or give testimony, right? 178 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,200 Because the opposite of that is perjury. 179 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,960 And so that they give testimony to what they saw. 180 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,300 I see this daily with my three boys. 181 00:09:02,300 --> 00:09:10,640 They love to bear witness about what the others have done. 182 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,680 It happens on a regular occurrence, right? 183 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:19,520 When one of them is in the eye line of me or my wife, I'll 184 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:20,520 throw myself in there. 185 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,780 When one of the four boys are in the eye line of Carrie, 186 00:09:23,780 --> 00:09:27,400 knowing that we've done something wrong, we love, 187 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:34,300 instead of owning it and saying, I did that, I am sorry, we love 188 00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:39,100 to initially bear total truth and witness to what the others 189 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:41,800 have done in the situation. 190 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,340 That sounds a lot like Genesis chapter 3, but that is how our 191 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:47,540 relationships work. 192 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:49,040 Because what's the quote? 193 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:55,780 If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me. 194 00:09:55,780 --> 00:09:58,220 I appreciate all of you being good stewards of only one 195 00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:00,960 person, but it's really everybody. 196 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,000 If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me. 197 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,700 Because we don't know how to stand on our own even when 198 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:12,240 we're wrong. 199 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,340 Think about that in your life. 200 00:10:15,340 --> 00:10:18,340 When you bear witness to things or people bear witness of you, 201 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:22,780 what are they actually bearing witness of? 202 00:10:22,780 --> 00:10:27,880 What truth are you giving the world or your family or your 203 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:32,720 neighbors or the kids in your class or insert whoever here? 204 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,020 What are they witnessing? 205 00:10:36,020 --> 00:10:39,100 If I sat down, I'm not going to make this personal because 206 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:41,540 that's going to be super awkward, but if I sat down with 207 00:10:41,540 --> 00:10:45,340 eight of the closest people in your life and I said, so, what 208 00:10:45,340 --> 00:10:49,900 do you bear witness about this person's life? 209 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:52,680 I hope it's a really fun conversation. 210 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,140 I hope it's, oh man, this person, they're so helpful, 211 00:10:56,140 --> 00:10:59,120 they're thoughtful, they're compassionate, you know, they 212 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,080 know really what my love language is and they really 213 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:03,280 speak to that. 214 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:04,780 They're very considerate. 215 00:11:04,780 --> 00:11:07,660 They're self-aware. 216 00:11:07,660 --> 00:11:11,720 But if I had to guess, because I get to handpick, not you. 217 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,200 Because if I let you handpick, my guess is it would be all the 218 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,760 people that think really good things about you or the people 219 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,700 you paid to have that conversation that when we get to 220 00:11:23,700 --> 00:11:30,980 the heart of it, what are people witnessing about our life? 221 00:11:30,980 --> 00:11:35,080 Well, that person's actually more of a tyrant. 222 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,880 That person comes across this way, but really behind closed 223 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:39,980 doors they're like this. 224 00:11:39,980 --> 00:11:48,300 Sustaining these relationships is hard, is messy. 225 00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:51,860 But wouldn't it be a lot easier, just like we learned last week 226 00:11:51,860 --> 00:11:56,940 to this week, that even in our mess we could stand before not 227 00:11:56,940 --> 00:12:02,740 only God, not only his church, but our friends and family and 228 00:12:02,740 --> 00:12:06,420 say, yeah, I made a mess of that. 229 00:12:06,420 --> 00:12:08,580 And I got this blind spot in my life. 230 00:12:08,580 --> 00:12:11,220 I don't know why I keep going back and it's so attracted to 231 00:12:11,220 --> 00:12:17,760 this sin that we open ourselves up vulnerability to say, man, 232 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:21,600 I know I fall. 233 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,240 I know that I can go to Christ in forgiveness. 234 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,740 And not in a cheap way. 235 00:12:26,740 --> 00:12:30,340 Not as Paul refers to it, cheap grace, that Lord, thank you for 236 00:12:30,340 --> 00:12:31,240 forgiving me. 237 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,980 I'm sorry for what I did Friday. 238 00:12:33,980 --> 00:12:36,240 And we'll set the appointment next Saturday so I can 239 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,180 apologize for next Friday as well. 240 00:12:39,180 --> 00:12:41,520 That's not how it works. 241 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,260 But if we're looking at the heart of the miracle that is 242 00:12:45,260 --> 00:12:50,600 Advent, it is the miracle that we can live in the world, good, 243 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:56,860 bad, and ugly, knowing that there's grace. 244 00:12:56,860 --> 00:13:01,300 Knowing that there's forgiveness. 245 00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:05,540 Maybe we don't do it when we're little kids, but we should do 246 00:13:05,540 --> 00:13:08,280 that as adults. 247 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,420 That if we're adults of faith. 248 00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:12,880 Now if you're here this morning and you don't have faith, if 249 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,880 maybe this idea of Jesus is a very distant one, maybe you 250 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,660 don't fully get it or maybe you've been burned by that on 251 00:13:18,660 --> 00:13:21,420 behalf of the church, I am so sorry that you were burned by 252 00:13:21,420 --> 00:13:23,620 that, I would love to talk to you about that. 253 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:26,260 I'll pay for the coffee that time. 254 00:13:26,260 --> 00:13:29,100 But understand that if you're here this morning and you claim 255 00:13:29,100 --> 00:13:33,340 Jesus, you claim the miracle of Advent, you claim that the word 256 00:13:33,340 --> 00:13:37,780 that came flesh dwelt among us, that our example is here with us 257 00:13:37,780 --> 00:13:45,280 today, then things like grace, forgiveness, humility, 258 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:50,180 tenderness, compassion, that should be what people witness 259 00:13:50,180 --> 00:13:52,860 about us. 260 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:56,660 Us individually, us as a church. 261 00:13:56,660 --> 00:13:57,620 Is there still truth? 262 00:13:57,620 --> 00:13:59,200 Absolutely. 263 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,360 You don't deny that. 264 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,260 Passion and compromise are two very different things. 265 00:14:05,260 --> 00:14:08,800 But that we understand that when we come alongside someone that 266 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:13,180 is stuck in sin, in a season of sin, in an ideology of sin or 267 00:14:13,180 --> 00:14:17,080 an identity of sin, understand that we come alongside them not 268 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:18,720 as perfect. 269 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,780 You can't come alongside someone that's unperfect. 270 00:14:20,780 --> 00:14:23,320 If you believe you're perfect, it doesn't work. 271 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,960 But that we come alongside going, I'm messy just like you. 272 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,460 Let's work at this together. 273 00:14:29,460 --> 00:14:31,060 We know where we're going. 274 00:14:31,060 --> 00:14:32,260 We know what the end goal is. 275 00:14:32,260 --> 00:14:35,200 The end goal is the cross. 276 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:40,040 But maybe, just maybe, we got to walk through the manger first. 277 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:44,640 Maybe we got to sit low in what we're dealing with, being honest 278 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:52,880 with who we are, understanding that in Christ, the true light, 279 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,980 that is what we are bear witnessing to. 280 00:14:56,980 --> 00:14:59,220 So I leave you with this thought. 281 00:14:59,220 --> 00:15:02,120 When people see your Christianity, when people see the 282 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:06,100 way you live your life and you walk out your faith, are they 283 00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:11,740 witnessing the true light of Christ or are they witnessing 284 00:15:11,740 --> 00:15:13,940 the darkness of the world? 285 00:15:13,940 --> 00:15:19,740 Because if there's a blend of that, I think the darkness is 286 00:15:19,740 --> 00:15:21,480 going to be the one that wins. 287 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,620 Even though we know in the story it doesn't. 288 00:15:24,620 --> 00:15:29,120 But if your witness is that of forgiveness and grace and hope, 289 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,060 then you are the witness of the miracle because you've gone 290 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:35,860 through the mess. 291 00:15:35,860 --> 00:15:40,000 But if it's the other side, think about the damage that's 292 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:45,760 doing, the hurt and pain that's causing, the hypocrisy that is 293 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,340 being walked out. 294 00:15:48,340 --> 00:15:50,840 Next week, we're going to be in the book of Esther and we're 295 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:56,340 going to see someone who is standing to be the witness, even 296 00:15:56,340 --> 00:16:03,360 amidst pain and hardship, even if she loses everything, yet she 297 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,460 still stood. 298 00:16:05,460 --> 00:16:07,460 Let's pray. 299 00:16:07,460 --> 00:16:11,200 Father, for this morning I give you thanks for the prophecy 300 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,860 that you've given, John, for our hearts. 301 00:16:14,860 --> 00:16:17,260 Father, though we camped in it just a little bit, may we read 302 00:16:17,260 --> 00:16:18,940 that this week? 303 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:24,780 Read the implications of what it means for you to dwell among us 304 00:16:24,780 --> 00:16:31,280 that the world would see that, the incarnation alive. 305 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,720 But God, now as I hear those kids getting ready to come up 306 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,820 the stairs, I pray a peace not only over them but over all of 307 00:16:37,820 --> 00:16:41,160 us, that we would journey with them, the story they're going to 308 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,460 tell, the songs they're going to sing, the Christ that they're 309 00:16:44,460 --> 00:16:46,360 going to praise. 310 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,440 Father, we give you thanks for that and we pray all this in 311 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:49,740 your holy son's name. 312 00:16:49,740 --> 00:16:51,800 Amen. 313 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,580 Our offering this morning is for Highway Connections, a wonderful 314 00:16:54,580 --> 00:16:56,300 ministry that we partner with. 315 00:16:56,300 --> 00:16:58,800 So at this time, Deacons, come on up and take our morning 316 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:24,780 offering.