1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,680 If you have your Bibles, we're going to be in John chapter 7, chapter 8 primarily. 2 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:21,400 We are in our fourth week of going through our beliefs, going through our core values 3 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,240 that we hold as a church. 4 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:25,240 This is who we are. 5 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:27,080 This is what we believe in. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,640 And the truth is they're all connected. 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,360 They're all connected with the Bible being our starting point. 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:39,640 With the Bible being where we begin, everything else flows from the understanding that the 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,280 Bible is truth. 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,760 So it forms our beliefs about who God is. 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,400 It forms our beliefs on salvation. 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,800 It forms our beliefs on how we should live and how we should go through our Christian 13 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:54,440 walk. 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:59,600 Last week we looked at our core value of having Christ-centered relationships and the small 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:06,000 morning builds on that idea as we look at our core value of biblical grace and truth. 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,600 And the truth is there's some tension. 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,320 There's some tension in those two realities. 18 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:17,800 We want grace for us, but have a hard time giving it to others. 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:24,600 We want to give truth to others, but we don't like it so much when truth is given to us. 20 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:33,240 For instance, I have had my fair share of situations where I've been pulled over by a police officer 21 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,440 or a deputy. 22 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,280 I've been pulled over for speeding. 23 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,800 I've been pulled over for having a brake light that was out. 24 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,960 I've been pulled over for not having a front license plate. 25 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:48,320 Now each of those times that I've been pulled over and the lights are in my rear view mirror, 26 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,280 I'm hoping for grace. 27 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:59,240 I'm hoping that I'm just going to be given a warning even though the truth is I was speeding. 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:00,880 The truth is I did have a brake light out. 29 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,160 The truth is I was missing a front license plate. 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:11,400 I still wanted grace and many times I have received grace by just being given a warning. 31 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,120 But what happens? 32 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:18,040 What happens to me and potentially to you when somebody else comes flying past me down 33 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,240 the highway? 34 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,000 I think to myself, I hope there's somebody waiting up there and is going to pull them 35 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,000 over. 36 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,880 I mean, I'm going seven over the speed limit. 37 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,800 They got to be going at least 15 or 20 over the speed limit. 38 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,520 I hope they get busted for it. 39 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:38,480 Like I can't be the only one that's taught those things. 40 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:45,120 And I'm hoping that our passage this morning, as we look at it, will help us all understand 41 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,280 a little better between the relationship between biblical grace and truth. 42 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:50,280 This morning, Abby Coy, she here? 43 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:51,280 I haven't seen her yet. 44 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:52,280 She here? 45 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,240 Abby's going to read our passage this morning. 46 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,880 I invite you to stand as she comes. 47 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,120 Join us as we honor the Lord's word together. 48 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,920 She's going to read the end of chapter seven and 11 verses of chapter eight. 49 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:05,920 All you, Abby. 50 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:10,920 They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives early in the morning. 51 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:12,920 He came again to the temple. 52 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,440 All the people came to him and sat down and taught them. 53 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,000 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, placing her 54 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:22,000 in the midst. 55 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,520 They said to him, teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 56 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,480 Now in the law of Moses commands us to stone such woman. 57 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:31,920 So what do you say? 58 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,360 This they said to test him that they might have some charge to bring against him. 59 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,960 Jesus spent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 60 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,440 And as they continue to ask him, he stood up and said to them, let him who is without 61 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,200 sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. 62 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,440 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 63 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:56,920 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. 64 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,160 And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 65 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,400 Jesus stood up and said to the woman, woman, where are they? 66 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:05,720 Has no one condemned you? 67 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,240 She said, no one, Lord. 68 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,520 And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. 69 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,320 Go and now on, sin no more. 70 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:12,320 Amen. 71 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:13,320 Let's pray. 72 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:14,320 Father, thank you for Abby. 73 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:15,320 Thank you for the word. 74 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,800 Thank you for just the example of who Jesus is. 75 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,360 And I pray, Father, that his words will seep into our hearts this morning. 76 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,240 I pray that we will take his example as we apply it to our own lives. 77 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,040 We ask all these things in your name. 78 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:28,040 Amen. 79 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:29,040 Thanks, Abby. 80 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,040 Great job. 81 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:37,800 Now, before we jump into this passage, we need to note a couple things real quick. 82 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,880 If you're using the ESV like we use here at the church, if that's the translation that 83 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:48,520 you have, you will notice a footnote that indicates that John 7.53 through John 8.11 84 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,360 is not included in the earliest manuscripts. 85 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,440 Some other translations will have a similar footnote. 86 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,520 Some translations remove it all together and just put it in the footnote. 87 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:05,520 This is what is known as a textual variant, which has been identified through the process 88 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,480 of textual criticism. 89 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:12,840 And we could easily spend our time this morning talking about whether or not this passage here 90 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,720 in John should even be in the Bible at all. 91 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:22,080 And if you're interested in studying more of that, you won't have any problem finding 92 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,120 opinions on that matter. 93 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,180 So then the question becomes, if that's the case, if that's the case, why have I chosen 94 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:31,400 to use this passage this morning? 95 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:37,440 I mean, but even the critics, even the critics who don't believe that this belongs in John's 96 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:50,200 Gospel almost all agree that this is an authentic account in relation to how Jesus has interactions 97 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,920 with religious leaders, how Jesus has interactions with women. 98 00:05:53,920 --> 00:06:00,600 And even more importantly, this story is consistent with the teaching and actions of Jesus that 99 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,080 we find in all four other gospel accounts. 100 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,040 I'll use some of those other passages later to prove that point. 101 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,680 Now, but here's what we know. 102 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:16,600 Jesus loves with the perfect balance of grace and truth. 103 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,120 He loves with the perfect balance of grace and truth. 104 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,140 Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Boosts, and he teaches in the temple, and the people 105 00:06:24,140 --> 00:06:26,800 are marveling at his teachings. 106 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:32,760 But the Pharisees and the chief priests who are worried about losing their power, worried 107 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:38,040 about the influence that Jesus is having, send officers to arrest him, send officers 108 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:39,520 to arrest Jesus. 109 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:45,560 But when those officers hear Jesus teach and see how many in the crowd believe that he 110 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,840 is the Messiah, they return without arresting him. 111 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:55,960 The next morning, Jesus returns to the temple to teach, and those same Jewish religious 112 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:03,520 leaders hatch a plot to trap Jesus into doing something or saying something that they can 113 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,160 eventually use against him. 114 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:11,680 There is a sense in which the information that is not presented to us in this passage 115 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,640 is just as instructive as what we do have. 116 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:22,320 When these religious leaders bring before Jesus the woman who they claim is caught in 117 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:23,600 adultery. 118 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:28,120 A lot of questions are immediately raised. 119 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:33,240 The most obvious one being, where is the man? 120 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:34,240 Where is the man? 121 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:39,520 After all, the sin of adultery involves two people. 122 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:40,640 It involves two people. 123 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,040 And according to what we know in Deuteronomy 22, according to what we know in Leviticus 124 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:52,080 chapter 20, both the man and the woman were subject to being punished by death. 125 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:57,240 The second thing we know is that someone could be put to death for a capital offense like 126 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:02,120 this only upon the eyewitness of two or three witnesses. 127 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,200 Deuteronomy 17 says that one witness was not enough. 128 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:13,800 In the case of adultery, that means that no one could be put to death merely based on 129 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:19,720 the circumstantial evidence, like observing a woman leaving her house and going to another 130 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:21,520 man's house at ninth. 131 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:28,560 The act itself had to be witnessed by one or two witnesses, by more than one witness. 132 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:35,280 We also see in Deuteronomy 17 that the witnesses were to be the first ones to carry out the 133 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:36,920 death penalty. 134 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:42,800 So as this encounter progresses, we'll see that is important and very relevant aspect 135 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:44,720 of the law of Moses. 136 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:50,120 Now although we can't know for sure, there is pretty good evidence here that this was 137 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,320 a setup. 138 00:08:53,320 --> 00:09:00,120 Since that is likely the only way this woman could have been caught, red-handed like this. 139 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:06,120 And the fact that the man isn't there brought before Jesus is a little fishy as well. 140 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:12,120 What we do know for sure is that these religious leaders didn't care a bit about this woman. 141 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:17,800 And we just saw the penalty for adultery was death for both the man and the woman, but 142 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,320 the method of carrying out that penalty is not stated. 143 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:28,680 So it's likely that this was a very young girl, potentially a teenage girl who's dragged 144 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:34,320 into the temple, who's dragged in front of all of these people, probably with little 145 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,160 or no clothing on. 146 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:43,000 And these religious leaders were merely using her as a pawn to try and trap Jesus and were 147 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:48,440 willing to publicly humiliate this girl for that reason. 148 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,600 But before we're too quick to criticize them, we need to take an honest look at ourselves. 149 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,200 We need to take an honest look at our lives. 150 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:01,360 It's very easy for us to slip into the trap of using the Bible for our own selfish ends 151 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:02,360 too. 152 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:08,200 We can use the Scriptures to judge others and to bring down our enemies while at the same 153 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:12,880 time failing to apply those same truths to our own life. 154 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:19,280 And then we justify our hypocrisy by claiming that our sins aren't nearly as bad as those 155 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,520 of the other person. 156 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:29,800 The Jewish leaders are just arrogant enough that they think they can outwit Jesus by using 157 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:35,480 their greatest strength, which is their knowledge and understanding of the law of Moses. 158 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:41,600 And on the surface, the trap they set for Jesus here in this story is quite clever on 159 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,480 a couple of different levels. 160 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:49,840 First, even though the law of Moses specified death by stoning for adultery, that sentence 161 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:56,640 was never actually carried out in Jesus' day because the Roman law forbid Jews of actually 162 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:00,120 carrying out that penalty. 163 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:05,080 That is why a short time after this, you know the story, the Jewish leaders have to take 164 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:11,480 Jesus to Pilate to have his own death penalty carried out by the Roman government. 165 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:18,600 So if Jesus said that this woman should be stoned, he would violate Roman law, and if 166 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:23,760 he said that she should be set free, he would have been accused of violating the law of 167 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:31,760 Moses, that he had previously claimed that he did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 168 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:38,280 But there's another potential conflict here that is less apparently apparent, but probably 169 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:39,960 more important. 170 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,240 The tension between grace and truth. 171 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:49,500 If Jesus says that the woman should be stoned, he would be upholding the truth of the law, 172 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:55,080 but he would be violating the idea of grace for sinners that he had been consistently 173 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:59,960 teaching and demonstrating during his earthly ministry. 174 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:06,720 On the other hand, if he said that she should not be punished, he would be exhibiting grace 175 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,760 but also disregard the truth of the law. 176 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,120 But Jesus doesn't fall for the trap. 177 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:14,360 He doesn't fall for it. 178 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,160 He just remains in the sitting position that he was already in, which is very typical for 179 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,400 a rabbi when he was teaching. 180 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,920 And it says that he just bends down and rides on the ground. 181 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:29,680 The religious leaders are getting impatient with Jesus, and so they keep asking him for 182 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:31,080 his answer. 183 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:36,720 When he is ready, Jesus finally speaks and he says, let him who is without sin among you 184 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:41,400 be the first to throw the stone at her. 185 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,600 Now I love how one of the commentators that I read this week described what happened here. 186 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:47,880 He said, the law is like a boomerang. 187 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:53,600 You aim at it others and it comes back and it knocks you in the head. 188 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:58,480 You aim at it others and it comes back and these religious leaders who are experts in 189 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:04,000 the law, who are experts in the scriptures, they aim it at this woman. 190 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,760 They aim it at Jesus. 191 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:12,040 But as we'll see, that same law is going to come back and knock them in the head. 192 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:20,600 Jesus is not in any way teaching here that he intends to excuse people for being obedient 193 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:26,120 to the truth of the law or that he expects us to do that either. 194 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:31,880 How many times have you heard someone who has been confronted about some sin in their 195 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:38,760 life, who have been called out on how they are living their life in this sin, and they 196 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:46,000 use this verse as a weapon claiming that the other person has no right to point out his 197 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,480 or her own sin because he or she isn't sinless and therefore they shouldn't be throwing stones 198 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:52,480 at me. 199 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,840 I mean, we've used that, right? 200 00:13:54,840 --> 00:14:00,840 Jesus actually agrees in this story with the religious leaders that this woman is guilty 201 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,920 and deserves to be stoned. 202 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:11,320 He's not in any way giving her a pass or giving her a license to sin. 203 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:17,440 We know that Jesus does want us to confront sin in the church because he gave us specific 204 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:22,000 instructions about how we are to do that in Matthew 18. 205 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:28,960 Paul also writes frequently about the need to confront sin within the church. 206 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:35,480 What Jesus is doing in this story is to help his adversaries understand their own complicity 207 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:36,680 and sin. 208 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:41,080 Essentially, what he's saying is you are absolutely right. 209 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,400 This woman is a sinner. 210 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,960 She is guilty and she deserves to be stoned to death. 211 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:53,600 But since you are all concerned about the truth of the law here, let's make sure that 212 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,240 we fully apply it to this text. 213 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:05,720 The same law that condemns her also requires the eyewitnesses that testify against her 214 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,360 that they must be the first ones to throw the stones. 215 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,520 Just make sure you do that. 216 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:17,000 Make sure you are guiltless in this manner is what Jesus is telling them. 217 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,560 So Jesus really turns the tables on them here. 218 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:26,080 He reframes the entire debate here and points out that the question is not whether this 219 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,320 woman is guilty and deserves to be punished. 220 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,360 Jesus agrees with the religious leaders on that point. 221 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:40,680 The question is who is sinless in this manner and is qualified to carry out that punishment? 222 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:45,720 And the answer to that question is that all of the people there, out of all the people 223 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,280 there, Jesus is the only one who is qualified to do it. 224 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:54,360 And after speaking those words, Jesus bends down again and writes in the sin. 225 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,240 And we don't know what he wrote. 226 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,920 Don't be believing that somebody knows what he wrote. 227 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:08,720 But the text seems to indicate that these religious leaders responded to what Jesus said and not 228 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,360 what he wrote in the dirt. 229 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,840 Apparently just like the woman, they are convicted of their own sin. 230 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:19,160 They're convicted of their own issues. 231 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:26,080 But they demonstrate here that it is always more comfortable to focus on the sins of others 232 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,880 rather than to confront their own sin. 233 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,640 And so one by one, these religious leaders leave. 234 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:37,480 They drop their stones and they leave beginning with the oldest. 235 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:42,600 Perhaps it's because the older ones had committed more sins in their lives than the younger 236 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,240 ones. 237 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,680 Maybe it's because they were wiser. 238 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:49,200 We aren't really told. 239 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,600 We just know that they leave one by one. 240 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,440 And Jesus and the woman are the only ones left. 241 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:59,320 And Jesus now stands up and he addresses the woman directly. 242 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:01,280 He says, where are they? 243 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,720 Has no one condemned you? 244 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:04,720 Where are they all going? 245 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:09,640 She looks around, she goes, no one, Lord, to which Jesus replies, neither do I condemn 246 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:10,840 you. 247 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,040 Go and sin no more. 248 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:17,640 Now how could Jesus do that? 249 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:23,760 How can a holy God just say, just go and sin no more? 250 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:29,000 Jesus knew that according to the truth of the law, someone had to die for her sin. 251 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:34,680 But I believe that as Jesus witnessed this entire event unfold, he knew that Jesus had 252 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:41,000 to do in his heart that very soon he would be the one to die in her place. 253 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,360 Her sin would not go unpunished. 254 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:52,240 But as an act of grace, Jesus would bear that penalty on her behalf. 255 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:58,600 So we see here that Jesus loves with the perfect balance of grace and truth. 256 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,840 So how do we do that? 257 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,160 How do we live with the perfect balance of grace and truth? 258 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,440 The first thing is we can never ignore sin. 259 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,400 We can never excuse sin. 260 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,520 There are a lot of reasons that some of us have a tendency to excuse sin in the lives 261 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:18,520 of others. 262 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:22,400 Some of us might genuinely believe that that's the most loving thing to do. 263 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:23,800 Let's just ignore that. 264 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,240 Let's not have any confrontation. 265 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:26,240 Let's ignore that. 266 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,040 I'm going to love them through it. 267 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,480 Others of us just don't like confrontation of any kind. 268 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:33,600 We don't want to lose friendships. 269 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,920 We don't want to lose relationships over it. 270 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:42,800 So we will use what Jesus says in that passage as an excuse not to address sin in the lives 271 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,720 of others by saying things like, I have my own sin. 272 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:47,800 I have my own issues. 273 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,560 I can't be calling out sins of others. 274 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:55,480 I have no business pointing out sin in someone else's life when I have my own sin issues. 275 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,520 And so we'll use this passage as an excuse not to confront it. 276 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,880 Well that might seem like the most loving thing to do. 277 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:09,160 Allowing sin to live unchecked in the lives of the people that we love. 278 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:14,200 To allow sin to continue to live in the lives of people we care for and do life with is 279 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,600 not loving at all. 280 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:22,080 This is why we've seen Jesus consistently point out sin in the lives of the people he 281 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:23,560 encounters. 282 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:29,400 We clearly see that with the story of the woman at the well and here again with this 283 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,560 woman here caught in adultery. 284 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:33,640 But and this is the key. 285 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:35,680 This is the key. 286 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:42,520 We've seen that he always does so with great compassion out of genuine concern for the 287 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,920 other person and not to make himself look good. 288 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,520 Not to be compared to anybody else but out of genuine concern he sees people walking 289 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,360 and sin and he points it out. 290 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:58,200 Now I've seen this executed badly so many times and I'm sure you have as well. 291 00:19:58,200 --> 00:19:59,680 Years ago maybe they still do it. 292 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,720 It's not in the news as often but years ago there was this church Westboro Baptist Church 293 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,560 and they were constantly in the news for picketing something. 294 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:08,660 Remember that? 295 00:20:08,660 --> 00:20:09,660 They're always in the news. 296 00:20:09,660 --> 00:20:11,040 They were always picketing something. 297 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,720 They would be at funerals. 298 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:19,240 They'd be at abortion clinics and they'd be at parades and they'd be calling out sin. 299 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:26,320 They'd be with their megaphones as a family is putting their loved one in the ground. 300 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:33,200 They'd be on the outside of the funeral with megaphones saying hey the reason your son 301 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,120 is dead is because he was gay. 302 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:43,600 As women are walking into an abortion clinic on probably one of the worst days of her life 303 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:47,720 they'd be shouting things like you're a murderer at her. 304 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,320 This was in the news it seemed like every single week. 305 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:57,680 Now as being homosexual, bisexual, transgender or any of the other letters in that thing 306 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,920 sinful absolutely. 307 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,440 We cannot excuse that sin. 308 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:12,720 We cannot ignore the fact that our children are being maimed by doctors in this country. 309 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,080 It's sinful. 310 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:21,160 A kid that doesn't know his left from his right should not be allowed to decide what 311 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,080 his gender should be. 312 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:30,920 A kid that can't understand that and then have parents and a doctor listen to them and 313 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:36,680 put them on hormone blockers or let them transition to another gender. 314 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,880 That is evil and sinful. 315 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,280 That's the truth. 316 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,920 But our country is consumed by it right now isn't it? 317 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,600 I hate the fact. 318 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:56,040 I hate the fact that there are schools that put litter boxes in the bathrooms because 319 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,760 some kid is identifying as a cat. 320 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,640 I mean this is our reality right now isn't it? 321 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,840 This is our reality and we need to stop letting it happen. 322 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,880 I mean I felt convicted this week because we've done a great job. 323 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,680 If you come to our Wednesday night prayer meeting which I highly encourage any of you 324 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,080 to do, we do a great job of praying for our government. 325 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:25,840 We do a great job of praying for our leaders but I have not been as diligent in praying 326 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:31,360 for our school administrators, praying for our teachers, praying for our school board 327 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:33,920 members, praying for our local government. 328 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,080 That is where we can begin to see change. 329 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:45,080 Now in our culture right now those are the big obvious sins but we need to be just as 330 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:49,880 diligent by not making excuses for other sins. 331 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:55,640 Like some parents who let their kids decide their gender. 332 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,880 We can't have the same attitude towards sin that's not allowed there. 333 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,440 Let them do what they want to do. 334 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,800 I hear things often you've probably said them, I've said them we're all guilty of it. 335 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,520 Oh that's just them, they have a temper. 336 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:11,280 We excuse their sin. 337 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,760 Oh that's just who she is, she's a gossip. 338 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,680 You just got to take it with you. 339 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,240 They just live in sin because they can't afford to have two separate houses. 340 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,920 So we make excuses for all of these sins. 341 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,560 That's not what Jesus does ever. 342 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,600 He calls sin what it is. 343 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:35,360 I was sitting at a baseball game last night and a little outside in Waterloo. 344 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:37,240 Terrible cell phone signal. 345 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,080 Didn't matter I was watching the game. 346 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:48,600 Well somebody did have a good signal and finds out that our Donald Trump had been shot. 347 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,640 And I'm sitting with all these parents. 348 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:55,600 I got parents on my right, I got parents on my left were watching this baseball game. 349 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,080 They all know who I am. 350 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,800 They all know what I do. 351 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:05,920 They know why I'm not at the game today because I want to be here. 352 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:11,120 To my right there's people upset that he didn't die. 353 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,960 To my left there's people that are angry at the Democrats. 354 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:20,960 Now I'm right here in the middle of it. 355 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:26,680 Would have been loving and gracious to call those people a bunch of idiots and say you 356 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,040 don't know what you're talking about? 357 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:38,360 Would it have been loving and kind to go to my left and say you're part of the problem 358 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,240 too with all this hate going on? 359 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:47,480 No, it wouldn't have been. 360 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,440 So thinking of the long game, I have to just stop. 361 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,840 God give me what I say here because I've got to come into both ends. 362 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:56,840 Both sides want me to pick a side. 363 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:58,000 What do I do? 364 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,000 My family's here. 365 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:00,000 What do I do here? 366 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,080 I've got to do life with these people. 367 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:03,240 Many of them non-believers. 368 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:08,240 How do I speak truth and love? 369 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,160 So I just said I just hate the state of our country right now. 370 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,560 I hate that hate is winning so many times because that's the truth. 371 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,640 I didn't condemn anybody but that's the truth, is it not? 372 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,600 We've got to speak truth but the next step is we've got to give grace. 373 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,680 As I was working on this message this week, I kept getting the feeling that God led me 374 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:36,280 to preach this passage because I needed to be reminded of this particular lesson in my 375 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:37,400 own life. 376 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:42,960 Well, I don't think I necessarily go around looking for the sin and the lives of others 377 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:49,240 or comparing the sins of others to my own as I reflect on my life. 378 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:55,680 I can see that I've often had the tendency to exercise truth rather than to exercise 379 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,840 grace so maybe that's you too. 380 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:05,440 But I want to address the issues I've seen with getting grace out of balance with truth. 381 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:10,200 Grace cannot be the excuse we use to appease a culture of sin. 382 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:17,600 What I mean by that is we can't become accepting of sin under the banner of grace. 383 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:23,040 There are denominations of Christians that are condoning homosexual lifestyles. 384 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:28,840 They are elevating them to positions of spiritual authority and claiming that anyone who is 385 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,920 against that is a homophobe, is a sexist. 386 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,680 That's grace without truth. 387 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:44,720 We can love the homosexual without waving the pride flag or celebrating Pride Month. 388 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:50,440 We can love the girl having an abortion without celebrating her choice. 389 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,040 Grace and truth do not have to be contradictory to each other. 390 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:59,800 I mean, I wish our church was filled with homosexuals because I'm going to love them 391 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:05,920 and I'm going to expose them to the truth as soon as I can. 392 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,000 Think about the woman at the well. 393 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,160 Her whole life is characterized by—that's what she was known for. 394 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:13,360 That's what Jesus calls out. 395 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:14,440 He calls her out on it. 396 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,720 He doesn't shy away from it. 397 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:23,080 He doesn't beat around the bush, but he doesn't condemn her either, just as he didn't condemn 398 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:24,760 the woman caught in adultery. 399 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:29,600 In both those situations, he spoke truth covered in grace. 400 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,360 The difference in those stories is we don't know what happened to the woman who was caught 401 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,880 in adultery after her interaction with Jesus. 402 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,520 But the woman at the well, she left rejoicing. 403 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,520 She left telling everyone she knew about him. 404 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,600 She invited people to come to him because she not only heard the truth, but she received 405 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:49,600 the grace. 406 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:56,240 Jesus always had the perfect balance between grace and truth, and we should strive. 407 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:01,000 As believers, we should strive to have the same balance. 408 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,120 The other night, we were leaving a baseball game—that's my whole life, if you don't 409 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:08,520 know—we were leaving a baseball game while we were driving home. 410 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,720 I told Sina something was wrong. 411 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:18,440 The interior lights in our van seemed brighter than—I was like, that light is bothering 412 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:19,440 me. 413 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,000 It's driving me crazy. 414 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,840 Something looked different to me. 415 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,520 She goes, yeah, the lights are different. 416 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:26,520 The lights are weird. 417 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:28,040 The boys in the back, they agree. 418 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:29,960 Yeah, something's off here. 419 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,560 Now, we were having trouble with our battery that day, so we just kind of chalked it up 420 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:34,560 to that. 421 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:35,560 Some issue, I'll have to take it in. 422 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:36,560 Maybe it's an electrical thing. 423 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:37,560 I don't know. 424 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:45,760 We're headed down the highway back home, Sina finally notices a text from Jenny Berklow. 425 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,000 We were just with them. 426 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:53,960 They helped jump our car because it was dead in the parking lot. 427 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:58,440 She just texted and said, hey, your headlights aren't on. 428 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,200 Your headlights aren't on. 429 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,520 When we were jumping, I turned the headlights off when we were jumping in. 430 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:08,000 I forgot to turn them back on. 431 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,120 It was that time of day where you didn't really need the headlights, but it's probably 432 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:12,280 a good idea to have them on. 433 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,440 It wasn't dark, but it's just one of those things I didn't notice. 434 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,560 We felt like something was off, and we're looking for a solution. 435 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:22,720 Like I'm adjusting the dimmer. 436 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,560 I'm looking at all the lights. 437 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:25,640 We're trying to figure this out. 438 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:32,320 I knew something was off, but I didn't realize until we got the text, hey, your lights are 439 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:33,320 off. 440 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,040 Sure enough, as soon as I turned them on, everything inside the van went back. 441 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:40,880 Oh, that's what it's supposed to look like. 442 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:45,480 And then not only that, but it kept others safe around us. 443 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,200 Jenny didn't call me an idiot. 444 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,280 She might have thought it, but she didn't call me it. 445 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,880 She didn't make fun of us. 446 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:58,080 She just simply said, hey, your headlights are off. 447 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:04,480 Sometimes we need people in a loving way to tell us that our headlights are off. 448 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:09,240 Sometimes we need to, in a loving way, tell people that their headlights are off. 449 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,080 I mean, that's what Matthew 18's all about. 450 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:21,680 So here at Cornerstone, I want to remind us, I want to remind all of us, this is a great 451 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,160 place to not be okay. 452 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,280 It's a great place to not be okay. 453 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:35,000 This is a great place to not pretend that you have everything in your life together, 454 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:41,840 and we expect you to have some sort of great spirituality and pretend that. 455 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:49,840 But no, but no, that we are going to love you in such a way that the truth of God's 456 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:59,800 word is going to be exposed to you, and we're going to help you not stay that way. 457 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,840 I'm grateful that Jesus treats me like that. 458 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:12,000 He loves me enough to not let me continue a lifestyle of sin, but at the same time, 459 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,360 he extends grace to cover that sin. 460 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:21,560 And out of gratitude for what he has done for me, out of gratitude, that's where it 461 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:22,560 comes from. 462 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:28,880 I want to live in a way that I also love others with that same balance of grace and truth. 463 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:33,320 I pray that our church does too. 464 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:40,200 If you live a sinless, perfect life, I would love to meet you after this service, because 465 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:48,520 the reality is I don't need to be up here, you do. 466 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,160 We're all messed up people, aren't we? 467 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,080 We're all sinners. 468 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,480 None of us are perfect. 469 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:06,840 So we want to consistently speak the truth and love while evaluating our own self, while 470 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:14,120 confessing our own sin, and we want to extend grace to others while at the same time speaking 471 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,040 truth into their life. 472 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,000 Is it always popular? 473 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:19,800 Absolutely not. 474 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:20,800 Is it uncomfortable? 475 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,160 A lot of times it is. 476 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:30,240 But when I think back to men and my wife and other people that have called me out on my 477 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:36,800 sin, once I get past the defensive part, right, we're all there. 478 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:44,240 Once I get past the defensive part and I really evaluate what they said, it makes me value 479 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:49,160 them so much more because they did it out of love. 480 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:54,880 So you'll never see me picketing anything. 481 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:59,200 You'll never be seeing me on the street corner with my megaphone calling out speeders for 482 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,240 sinning. 483 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:07,320 You'll never see me at an abortion clinic with a megaphone condemning the choice that 484 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:11,200 they're making. 485 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:16,760 You might see me outside an abortion clinic when they're coming out and me just hug them 486 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,520 and walk with them. 487 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:26,840 And love them in such a way where they hear truth. 488 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:28,720 We need to be better. 489 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:31,640 All of us need to be better. 490 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:36,200 We want grace for others but we have a hard time giving it, right? 491 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,520 We want grace for ourselves but we have a hard time giving it. 492 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:44,180 And some of us just need to, in reality, like me, keep our mouth shut sometimes because 493 00:33:44,180 --> 00:33:50,480 sometimes the most loving thing to do is not to speak truth in that moment. 494 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,840 We have to speak truth and we have to give grace and we have to let the Holy Spirit of 495 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,600 God inside of us lead the way. 496 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,300 So I'm going to pray for us. 497 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:05,920 Some of us need to repent of the times that we have kept our mouth shut. 498 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:13,120 Or we've seen sin and just flat out ignored it. 499 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,840 Some of us need to repent of the fact that when we saw sin and we called it out immediately 500 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,920 and we didn't do it in a way that was filled with grace and love, we need to repent of 501 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,160 that today. 502 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:34,760 But more importantly, we need to present the, we need to lay this stuff before the Lord. 503 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:42,160 And as we interact with people, non-believers and believers alike, as we interact with people, 504 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:45,160 we want to do that in a way that honors the Lord. 505 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:51,440 That's the most important thing we can do because every situation is different. 506 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,520 But I want to tell the people to my right that I thought they were dead wrong. 507 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:56,720 Yes. 508 00:34:56,720 --> 00:34:59,280 Would that have been good for our relationship moving forward? 509 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:00,800 Probably not. 510 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,240 If I get the opportunity later, I will. 511 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:06,680 Maybe in a nicer way. 512 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:20,200 And so as we, as we just pray and as we worship and as we ask God to speak to our hearts and 513 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:26,920 convict us and challenge us. 514 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:31,120 Will you just trust His leading? 515 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:38,480 How is He calling you to respond? 516 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:42,600 Is He calling you to ask somebody to forgive you? 517 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,960 Is He calling you to point out sin? 518 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:53,760 I am, I have mentally prepared myself today for 400 of you to come say, hey, you're wrong 519 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,800 on this. 520 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:56,800 You're wrong on this. 521 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:02,320 I'm mentally prepared and I can handle it. 522 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,720 And if that's how you feel, then I'll take it. 523 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:15,680 But the truth of the matter is grace and truth aren't contradictory to each other. 524 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,160 They go hand in hand. 525 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:25,880 My prayer is that if 400 of you come to me today that you'll be met with grace and understand. 526 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:28,960 We'll test the waters and see. 527 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:35,560 So will you just pray and ask God, how do you, how does He want you to respond to this? 528 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:36,560 And then let's just see what happens. 529 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:37,560 Let's see what He does. 530 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:38,560 Let's pray. 531 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,760 Father God, we ask you. 532 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:48,280 And we ask you to be in our midst. 533 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:53,080 This topic has split denominations. 534 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:59,280 This topic has split families. 535 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:00,520 This topic has split churches. 536 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:09,480 And Father, we ask you, we ask you to speak to our hearts, that we will walk in both grace 537 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:16,360 and truth and we will walk as you lead us. 538 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:25,160 And so Father, I thank you for people in my life over the years that have said, hey, your 539 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:35,160 headlights aren't on and it's going to be dangerous. 540 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:54,240 I pray Father that your spirit in us will overcome our pride, will overcome our defense 541 00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:58,400 and that you will be glorified in how we walk in grace and truth. 542 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:03,080 Help us love people well. 543 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:08,400 Help us see past actions and see that they are loved by you. 544 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:09,400 Help us walk in truth. 545 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:14,000 So Father, I pray that you speak to each and every one of our hearts this morning. 546 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:15,240 We thank you for Jesus. 547 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:20,320 It does not condemn us but loves us. 548 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:25,960 I pray for salvation to come to this place for those individuals that have just for so 549 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,000 long felt condemned by you. 550 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:39,920 I pray that they see your good and your better. 551 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:41,920 So Father, I pray that you move in this place as we worship. 552 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:59,840 Amen.