Good morning. Good morning to those of you on
our online family. Paul, then that's you. Mike
and Sue, we love you a bunch. We're so thankful
for what God is doing there in your home with
a whole bunch of people around you. Hopefully
breakfast was included, but if not, just know
Mike and Sue, we love you a bunch. In Baghdad,
we're so grateful for Randy and all that you're
doing and how you continue to push things forward
there alongside with Andrew and Jennifer. We're
just grateful for our Baghdad family, grateful
for our online family. Wherever you happen to
be, somebody was driving back from California,
be safe. But wherever you are, whatever you're
doing, we're just thankful that we get to do
life together. Life's better when we get to do
it with somebody, right? Okay, a couple of you.
That's cool. That's cool. You know, I get it.
You don't like people. That's what we're going
to take away from that. But no, seriously, it's
good that we get to do stuff together. We get
to laugh together. Maybe we get to cry together.
We get to mourn together. Like our dear Bears
friend over here is, I mean, you come down yet?
You still floating? Packer fans. I noticed you
don't have your jersey on, though. You know what
I'm saying? I noticed. I noticed. It's a painful
one. I get it. I get it. Sunday night was something.
Yeah. For those of you that don't know, I think
I walked back and forth from my kitchen at least
three times with my hands raised. And then in
between that, sitting on my couch going, babe,
I just don't think we're going to do it. It's
not going to turn out. Right? And as the game
progressed and we missed the field goal, I'm
like, Lamar's got way too much time. Some of
you were like, who's Lamar? You'll figure it
out later. But Lamar's got way too much time.
He's going to drive the field. Like, we're going
to lose, babe. I just know it. And wouldn't you
know it, right? A little back story. Did you
see the priest going with the holy water in the
end zone before the game? True story on national
news. That happened to be the end zone where
the field goal was missed. That said, Dirty Bird's
lost because of, you know. So the Steelers live
for another day. The highs and lows, the emotions,
right? Like we ride the waves. We'll see if I'm
here next week. We'll see what happens. And those
of you that are like, why are we talking about
football? We're a family. If you came to my house,
guess what we talk about? Football, right? Like
if I come to your house, we talk about something
else. And so just. Family, we do life together.
We do normal life together. One of the beautiful
parts that, I don't know if you felt this, but
like during worship, that King of Kings song,
which is the last song we sang, it's like the
narrative of scripture, right? So it's the narrative
of scripture in song. And I don't know if like
when the church of Christ was born and the spirit
lit the flame, I don't know if inside of you,
it's like, oh, it just feels so good, right?
Like it feels like the Steelers winning. But
no, the idea of the spirit lighting the flame,
that what we're doing here when we call this
church, it's not the building, it's not the organization,
it's not any of that. It's human beings that
God has rescued and put his spirit inside of
and lit a flame. And so on a cold morning, you
should be alive because the spirit of God has
lit a flame in his church that will not be put
out. And that's you. That's me. That's this thing
we call the family of God. And it's beautiful.
And we get to do this together. And we get to
remind ourselves, right, like of the gifts we've
been given. Last week, if you were here, we started
a new collection called Do Something Different.
You're going to see me do this a lot, what this
represents. There was a planner's box here. And
inside of that planner's box is the things that
God has always wanted for humanity and in Jesus
has restored and redeemed. And what prayer does
is waters those so that those things can grow
and we become the people that God made us and
intended us to be. Right? It's this beautiful
gift of prayer. We talked about last week this
gift that we get to water. And I don't know about
how you feel, but for me, the idea of do something
different is because I don't need more information.
I hit this wall of I don't need more information
on prayer. I just need to do something different
because if I want a prayer life and I have all
this information, obviously information hasn't
equaled a healthy prayer life. And so I got to
do something different. I got to pray. If I want
a different outcome, I've got to change what
I'm doing. And so what we discovered is if that's
the case, then I got to change the way I think
about prayer. I got to change the way I view
prayer. I can't view prayer as this thing that
is this religious activity that I do. Prayer
has to be more than that. And that's when we
got to last week going, prayer is this gift that
God gives that we water. And this week. And to
get there, we're going to go to Canada. You ready?
So my wife and I and our family, our two oldest
daughters, we lived in Canada for about five
and a half years. Now, when you think of Canada,
you may go, oh, British Columbia. It's so pretty.
We went up there in the summer. And it was so,
yeah, you went up in the summer, didn't you?
Right? But you may have British Columbia in mind,
or maybe you have the East Coast in mind. But
we were two and a half hours north of Toronto.
Okay? So we were. I'm kind of not straight north,
a little west -ish to it. And what you need to
know about it is this, that we lived in the snow
belt. Okay, a couple of you kind of giggled because
you've lived in a snow belt, right? Like by snow
belt, what that means is that the lake effect
brought massive amounts of snow to our house.
I don't know if it was anywhere else, but it
was our house. And I mean, we're talking so much
snow that like you, my kids' memories are that
we could create snow caves where they could actually
have like beds that you could put in there and
tables and they could go in and play whatever.
They were young at the time, right? Because we
were in the snow belt. Now, what happened is
about October. You would start to get news of
the weather changing, right? Like fall is here,
which winter was quickly behind it. And you would
normally in October get the first snow. And the
first snow is like, oh, it's so pretty. Let's
go for a walk, right? And you would go out in
the snow and enjoy it. Maybe go sledding. The
kids were excited to go sledding in October,
right? And then November hit and everybody's
thankful for November because of, you know, just
the time of the year it is. We give thanks and
we enjoy. and it's still, the snow is good. And
then you get to December and it's like, oh, we
just need a white Christmas, right? Like a white
Christmas just feels right. And then January
hits, it's like it's a new year, the snow should
be gone. The only problem is the snow was still
there sometimes until April. And what would happen
inevitably for my wife is right around February,
she would start to get. this seasonal depression.
Oh, it was bright out like it was white. Sometimes
it would snow in October and it would be white
on the ground until April. You talk about longing
for spring, right? But the clouds would be gloomy
and you wouldn't see the sun because of the cloud
cover. And this could last days and days. And
sometimes she would, in February, it was like,
oh, when is this season ever going to end? When
is winter going to be done? In fact, we have
friends that would jettison around this time.
They would book flights and they would end up
in places like Florida so they could experience
summer in the midst of winter. You ever notice
that we aren't very good with winter? You ever
notice that people are like, I just have to make
it through the winter, man. Pastor Todd, right?
Like this literally San Diego boy. He didn't
even know what winter is. But it's like, I just
gotta get through winter. It's so cold. But you
notice that nobody doesn't say that unless you
live in Phoenix in the summer. Like the spring,
nobody's like, I just gotta get through spring.
I just gotta endure. But what if, what if, what
if the circumstances and the seasons in your
life are really intentional? and integral to
your growth in your life? Like what if winter
spiritually, and by that I mean like things that
are painful, circumstances that I'm going through,
things that are difficult, things that cause
me stress and anxiety and grief and all the emotions
in between. What if those things are in your
life because God is taking you back and allowing
those moments to actually move you into experiencing
the gift of prayer that waters the things that
God actually wants to grow. And it's only through
winter that those things can grow. I think somewhere
along the way, we got confused that when you
meet Jesus and you walk with Jesus and you become
a follower of Jesus, that you don't have winter
no more. But that's just not simply the case.
And if you turn to Psalm chapter one and verse
one, it says this, blessed is the one who does
not walk in step with the wicked or stand in
the way of sinners or stand in the way that sinners
take, sorry, or sit in the company of mockers.
So blessed is the one, God is on the side of
the one who walks in step, doesn't walk in step
with those that are sinful, right? So it takes
a different path, the righteous path is what
it's talking about. Verse two, but those, but
whose delight, so those people whose delight
is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on
his law day and night. So it's talking about
somebody who has right actions. They meditate
on God's word. following after what God wants
us. They're upright within their actions. And
then listen to this, verse three. That person
is like a tree planted by streams of water, which
yields its fruit in what? Season. And whose leaf
does not wither, whatever they do, prospers.
So it talks about this person who is upright,
who is righteous, who is doing the right things,
pursuing God, meditating on his law. But then
it says what? That there will be seasons of production.
Seasons of bearing fruit. It doesn't say that
they bear fruit all the time. It doesn't say
that everything is good all the time. It says
that in season. And that idea of season. It's
something that I think when we slow down and
grasp it, and when we slow down and let it be
what God intends it to be, that what actually
happens is it takes us and it moves us into experiencing
the gift of prayer that God always intended for
it to be. That without that season, the growth
wouldn't occur. Here's what I mean. Like if I
had my way today, there would be a whole bunch,
a whole bunch of trees lining the stage today.
You wouldn't even be able to see the band. They'd
be gone. Just a bunch of trees. but we're in
winter, so those trees would look what? Bare,
they'd look dead. They'd look just like sticks
in a bucket. And then I realized that's really
expensive to do the whole stage. So what then
I thought was I'll just get one from home. And
I'm like, that's not a good idea. It's not gonna
be good for the tree, right? Why? Because what's
interesting with a tree when it comes to winter
is the tree begins to, acts intentionally because
of the circumstances that it's in. Oh, what do
I mean by that? Well, you see those things, those
leaves that are beautiful, those leaves that
are the new growth of the last year? When winter
starts to come, the tree blocks off the energy
supply, the food supply to the leaves. It begins
to cut off. The output of energy. Why? Because
it knows in winter, I have to do something different.
I have to store the energy different. And so
then what you notice, like, I don't know where
you live, but where I live, I got a neighbor's
tree, and they got a big tree in their yard,
and that tree turns red when the leaves start
to get cut off. And then after red, it turns
darker, and they're dead, and they fall to the
ground, and then they blow into my yard. And
then I just let them blow into the next person's
yard. It's great. We just share. All fall on.
But the tree is doing something different because
it knows what? It's in a different season. And
so as this is taking place, what's happening
is scarcity. So scarcity of sun, scarcity of
water. scarcity of temperature is telling the
tree that it needs to do something different.
So internally, what the tree begins to do is
it takes its starches, changes it to sugar, and
then what that allows it to be, it becomes like
an antifreeze inside of the tree. Why? Because
when freezing temperatures come, if there was
water inside, it would explode, essentially,
the cells inside the tree, and the tree would
be damaged. So what is it doing? It knows that
it needs to change. Why? Because of the season
that it is in. The gift of the tree. And here's
my favorite part. That although the stage would
look dead, although the trees look dead, what's
happening inside is the buds are growing inside
of the branches and they stay inside of the branches
and they develop inside of the branches until
it's time for that new growth that you can't
see right now, that winter produces. Winter produces
this new growth that's inside that then grows
outward. And what your season of winter is doing
in your life is it's a gift that you would do
something different, that you would pray intentionally
and begin to water. Why? Because here's what
we discover in winter. Prayer is less about the
outcome and is more and is more about the character
being formed in you. Prayer is less about the
outcome. This is what winter teaches us, right?
Because winter pushes us to take this gift and
use it. And what we discover is the outcome isn't
what's actually in focus. What's happening is
the circumstances and the desire for an outcome
is pushing me forward into prayer. And as I get
into prayer, what happens is God is forming my
character. He is growing the things that he always
wanted to grow inside of me. And winter is the
catalyst to get me. Think about examples from
the Bible. You got Jesus in the garden, right?
Jesus is perplexed. He's in the garden. He's
overwhelmed. And he wants a specific outcome.
Take this away. Is there any other way? And what
happens is the outcome is denied. He still goes
to the cross and he dies. The difference is the
character being formed in him, he is now what?
He is connected, aligned with the will of God.
And because he's aligned with the will of God,
therefore he goes to the cross. You think about
Paul for a second, right? Paul had a thorn, we're
told. The thorn, we don't know what it was. It
was an ailment of some sort. It was extremely
painful, uncomfortable. He wanted it to go away.
He didn't like it. And so he prayed that it would
be removed. He steps in in a winter season. He
asked God, and what happens is it's not removed.
The outcome doesn't change. But what has changed
is Paul discovers that your grace is sufficient,
that God, your grace is sufficient even in my
weakness. Right? This song we just sang, even
in my weakness, you are still these things. That's
what Paul discovered because of the ailment in
his life, the winter season of the thorn. And
what's discovered is that you are actually strong
when I am weak. Your grace is sufficient even
in this. Anybody thankful for a lesson that Paul
learns that we don't have to learn, right? Like
we get to stand on the ground that he had. That
we get to sit here going, God's grace is going
to be sufficient. How do I know? Let me tell
you about this. Zechariah and Elizabeth, we talked
about them at Christmas. In a season of barren,
the outcome was we want a kid now. And God goes,
no, it's going to be much longer. And what's
grown in them is a faithfulness to the journey,
even beyond the hope that they had. That they
still were grown to a point that they go, we'll
still serve you. We'll still follow you, even
though, even though. The outcome's not what we
wanted. Prayer is less about outcome, and it's
more about the character that God's forming in
you. It's interesting, Jesus, when he talks about
prayer, in Matthew chapter seven, in verse seven,
it says this. So Jesus is teaching, it's the
Sermon on the Mount. One of the first recorded
messages we have from him, verse seven, ask and
it will be given to you. Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone
who asks receives, he who seeks finds. And to
the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
And so what we get from Jesus is very clear.
If you have a need, which what winter season
does in our life is it creates, And out of that
need, it says with that need, what you're to
do is to ask, right? So you are to go in prayer
and you are to ask, you are to water. Tyler Stanton
wrote a book on prayer, and inside of that, he
did a phenomenal job at unpacking kind of this
idea of what's being built within this framework
that Jesus is giving when it comes to prayer.
And what he said is the idea of the ask leads
you to the seeking. Because when you ask, you're
going to God himself, right? And so in going
to God himself, you seek. So ask out of need,
which leads you to... seeking and what you discover
is a person who is with you in the mess. But
then culturally, he says, there's this knock
and it says that the door will be opened. And
culturally, what this means visually of this
is that when you go to God and you ask out of
need and you seek and you discover that there's
a person in the mess with you. then what the
knock actually becomes is the door is opened,
and it's not just, hey, come inside. It's, hey,
come inside and take a seat at the table. And
you may go, okay, so what? When you go to God,
you didn't start at the table. You were given
the gift of prayer. You begin to water. You're
asking because of the circumstances, because
of the season that you're in. And what happens
is you discover that there's a person in the
mess with you. You seek him. And what happens
is that person, that God goes, hey, come sit
at the table. You see, you would only sit at
the table with people. That you go, I'm on your
side. It's an invitation by God, even in the
winter, for you to know God is what? On my side.
He hasn't abandoned me. It's an invitation to
the table where you sit face to face with almighty
God. And being face to face, he's expressing
to you, I am happy to be here with you, even
in the midst of your mess of winter. In fact,
he's inviting your winter to the table. The God
of the universe, the creator of you, the one
that knows, by the way, you ever notice that
when people smile, they smile full of teeth?
You notice that? Like they're like, hi. You know
that God knows what's going on behind your teeth,
right? We smile and it's like fake, right? Like
we get to fool people. We're in a winter season.
It's not fun. It's hard, but I can smile and
you think it's good. And God goes, I know what's
happening behind it. And so what happens is you're
invited to the table. You're invited to the table
where you sit face to face. I'd love to share
with you. What a conversation at the table sounds
like in a winter season. In Psalm 143, the context
here is that David, we don't know from the life
of David if this was written when he was being
pursued by his enemies, right? Like, so he's
living in caves. He doesn't know if he's going
to live till tomorrow. He knows he's been anointed
king, but he doesn't see any outcome of that.
And so he's like been. On the run, so to speak,
he's exhausted, and he doesn't know how it's
going to turn out. There's so many unknowns,
and it's just a long. And so we don't know if
it was written out of that. We don't know if
it was written when his son was in rebellion,
and again, his life was on the line. We don't
know. But what we know is this is an honest conversation.
And the invitation, don't miss how you got here.
You got here because in your life, something
isn't as you want it to be. And so out of that,
what comes is you request, you ask, you through
the gift of prayer, water. And what God begins
to grow is he grows that, hey, I'm in it with
you. You begin to see him in the midst of it
with you. He's still working, but he goes, hey,
come sit down at the table with me. And what
it's an invitation to in the winter season is
to be honest. And David starts like this in verse
one. He says, Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to
my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness.
Come to my relief. I mean, right out of the gate,
he comes with his ask, right? Like, Lord, you
got to hear this. And if you get into the emotions
of what he's feeling, he feels unheard by God.
He feels unseen by God. He feels like there's
silence with him and God. And so he approaches
the table. He approaches this intimate moment
of relational context. And what does he say?
Hey, I feel like you don't hear me. Yet, in your
faithfulness, because I see who you are. I see
that you're God. I see that you've been faithful.
In your faithfulness, And your righteousness,
would you come to my relief? I need you to hear
me ask this, God. Verse two, do not bring your
servant into judgment for no one living is righteous
before you. I love that he's asking for mercy,
right? Like he's recognizing, he's recognizing
in the honesty, he's going, I'm not everything
I should be. I understand I don't deserve this.
I understand that I need your mercy in this moment.
He's being honest with God. I understand that
there's sin in my life. There's confession that's
happening. He's going, I deserve judgment, but
don't give me judgment. Give me mercy. The enemy
pursues me. He crushes me to the ground. He makes
me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.
That is what winter feels like. You ever been
in a season of winter and you're just like, man,
I am crushed. He's pursuing me. He's relentless.
It feels dark. It feels dead like those trees.
Verse four. So my spirit grows faint within me.
My heart within me is dismayed. You talk about
honesty before God. He goes, I don't know if
I'm going to make it. I don't know. I feel like
I'm fading. I feel like I'm going to fall. I
feel like I can't. And he's sitting at the table
with God and he's telling God, I don't know if
I can make it. You want to talk about being honest
with God? We need to stop smiling with God and
start being honest with God. God, I don't know
if I'm going to make it through today. God, I
feel crushed by what's happened. God, I'm frustrated.
And notice verse five. I remember the days of
long ago. I meditate on all your works and consider
what your hands have done. You know what winter
does? Winter gives you time. You ever notice
that in winter things slow down? And in the midst
of moving slower, what it gives you time to discover
is your memory. You begin to reflect. You begin
to see the handwork, the handiwork of God. In
this context, you're sitting at the table. Why?
Because I had an ask and I went and I prayed.
And out of that, I realized there's a relationship.
I knocked and God goes, come on in, sit at the
table. It's an invitation. Winter is an invitation
to the table. You get to the table and as you're
going all the ways, I don't know if I'm gonna
make it, Jesus just slides a handout onto the
table. And you look down and you go, there's
a hole in it. And your mind goes to a cross where
on the cross, God, provided everything you will
ever need for this life and the one to come.
In this moment, it's really hard. It's really
hard face to face with God who wants to be here
with you and to see what he has done. All of
a sudden, your mind starts firing. You start
to see all the ways that he's been faithful to
you over your life. You start to see all the
works as the psalmist says here. You go, man,
there's so much at this table. And what you discover
at the table is you discover that the table's
not empty. You discover that all of the nourishment
you needed has been provided. You discover and
you're reminded. Things like, he's my daily bread.
He's all I need today. All of a sudden at the
table, you realize it's not just the person,
but it's everything he has given you to make
it through today. It's everything that he has
given you to make it through whatever it is you're
facing, whatever it is you're struggling with.
And it started in honesty. And what happens is,
is in the midst of the honesty, in the midst
of the, I need you to hear me. I am dying down
here. I'm not gonna make it. In the midst of
that, he goes, and then I caught a glimpse of
who you are. And I caught a glimpse of what you've
done. And I'm reminded because winter allows
me to remember. And all of a sudden what's on
the table is this nourishment that is all I will
ever need. The psalmist continues, I spread out
my hands to you. I thirst for you like a parched
land. All of a sudden, the psalmist realizes
I need you. You're the answer to this. Answer
me quickly, Lord. My spirit fails. Do not hide
your face from me, or I will be like those who
go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me
word of your unfailing love. What has he done
in this moment, sitting at the table with God
himself? He realizes, wait, your love has never
failed. And so he goes, in the morning, Bring
me word of your unfailing love, for I have put
my trust. Remember, what did we say prayer was?
Prayer is growing the things inside of you like
trust and dependency, that you would see him
as your provider. Those things are being built
through prayer, but where? At the invitation
to the table. Where I went from, I'm not going
to make it to, I trust you. You have given me
everything I need. Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from
my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach
me to do your will, for you are, you are. What
does the table do? It reminds me that you are
my God. And what's crazy, you guys, he's happy
to be at the table with you. The God of the universe.
You're not even, some of you aren't even happy
to be at the table with yourself because all
you see is your failures and all you see is your
guilt and your shame and all you see is your
shortcomings. All you see is the ways that you
don't measure up. That's the point is when I
get to the table, I realize that I'm not enough,
but he is enough and it allows me to go. So I'm
going to trust you. You're my God. So in a winter
month, When you don't think you're going to make
it in a winter month where you're seeking an
outcome, what you get is you get transformation.
Where? Just like the tree. You go to my yard
right now, they look dead. But inside of them,
what's happening? The new growth is coming. And
in winter, maybe, just maybe. We need to do something
different and take a seat at the table. How?
Through the gift of prayer. Prayer is a gift.
Because when I pray, what I end up with is an
invitation. And I end up with an invitation to
sit. And like the psalmist, teach me your will
for you are my God. May your good spirit lead
me on level ground for your namesake, for your
glory, not mine. It's not about me anymore. It's
about you because I see who you are. Preserve
my life and your righteousness. Bring me out
of trouble. You're in your unfailing love. Silence
my enemies. Destroy all my foes for I am your
servant. Wow. What a difference from how we started
it. Where he goes, do you even hear me? It's
in the end. He's like, I'm your servant. What
do you need? Let's build your kingdom. He got
here by winter. He got here by taking. circumstances
that he didn't like by taking pain and suffering.
And what happens is, is in that he ends up at
a table with God himself, where God nourishes
him and transforms him and grows what needs to
grow in the next season of David's life. What
is God growing in this season in your life through
winter? Maybe it's stuff that you don't like
about yourself. Maybe it's stuff that you don't
like that's coming across your path. But what
I do know is this. You are invited to a table.
You're invited to sit. Can we just level the
playing field? None of us deserve to sit at the
table, okay? So if you're sitting here going,
I don't know if I should be at the table with
God, it might set on fire. Not only is there
a table and a seat for you, but he is happy to
be with you. He is the God through invitation
of winter declares, I am on your side in this.
That struggle that you have, that thing that
feels like it just keeps jabbing you like a thorn
is designed to take you to the table. The unknowns,
the uncertainties, the I don't know how this
works out, it's designed to take you to a table.
How? Because I go in prayer and I ask. the God
who can do anything. And what I'm reminded is
that there is more than enough nourishment for
everything I'll need. What you hold in your hand
is a reminder that through the body and blood
of Jesus, he provided everything you will ever
need in this life. That he's restoring all things
back to how he intended them to be. That wholeness,
that healing. That eternity is secure. And it
came through a table where he sat and he said,
this is the representation of me that you are
to carry forward as my people. So I'm curious.
We heard the psalmist. We heard his conversation.
What is the honest conversation you need to have
with God at the table today? What do you need
to tell him? What does he need to hear? Where
do you need to be vulnerable? Where do you need
to be honest? And where do you need to invite,
answer the invitation to sit? And so as you sit
at the table in these next moments, God is across
the table and he's happy to be. There. He is
happy to sit with you. So what do you got to
say to him? The next moments are yours and then
we'll take it all together. Jesus sat at the
table with his closest friends, also known as
the disciples. And he took bread and he goes,
this is my body. God in human form. This is my
body. And it is given for you. He knew. He knew
that at that table, one of those people would
betray him. He knew you would sit at the table
today with everything you carried to the table,
with all of your best moments and all of your
mistakes. And yet he's still happy to give his
body. Knowing you are at the table today. He's
happy to be at the table. Even, you guys, I'll
go first. Even knowing the fight with my wife
this week. True story. He's happy to sit at the
table in my failures. In my struggles. In my
not so great moments. And he's still happy to
go, this is my body given for you. Don't forget,
do this in remembrance of me. He took a cup of
wine and he talked about how everything was going
to be different. New covenant. And what makes
this table so special is when we are nourished
by it, what we understand is that because of
the blood of Jesus, in Christ alone, you are
free. In Christ alone, you are accepted. In the
blood of Jesus, you are forgiven. Right? That's
what we're given. And we come to this table and
we're reminded of all those things. We're reminded
that our future is secure. Why? Because it was
purchased through the blood of Jesus, not by
me. And so he took a cup of wine and he gave
it to them. And he said, take, drink, do this
in remembrance of me. God, we're just grateful
people. We just say thank you this morning. Thank
you for the gift of prayer. Thank you that in
prayer, it's an invitation in the hardest seasons.
That what the hardest seasons do, God, you use
them to lead us to a table where you are sitting.
And you are present. And you nourish us and remind
us that in Christ alone, we have been given everything.
And so we just say thank you. Thank you for grace
and thank you for mercy. And everybody said,
amen. Church, would you stand as we respond in
song?