Good morning to those of you on our online family.
Pauldin, that is you. We are so excited for you
to gather and be a part of the family there in
Pauldin. We hope that you are enjoying good hospitality
and that your community is blessed today because
you gathered. And same with Baghdad. Randy, I
saw that you kind of said you guys were out there
today, and we're so grateful that you're a part
of our online family. We get to walk alongside.
There is... I think her name was Georgia. She
is in Johannesburg, South Africa on a missions
trip and wanted to be a part of the family. How
fun is that? Right. So rest of the online fam,
wherever you happen to be, whatever you happen
to be doing. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to Prescott.
We're glad you're here. We're glad you're here.
I know we say that a lot. And I want to just
slow down for a moment because. Some of you,
if you've been coming for a while, you're like,
why do we say that so often? Right. Like, why
are we still saying you're welcome? You're welcome.
I meet people on the weekly who it is their first
time here. It's their first time at a Heights
gathering or they've only been a few times. So
they feel and part of that is if that's you today,
whether that's here in the room or that's across
screens that you go, hey, that's me. I'm new
here. I just want you to know before we get into
anything else that we are so glad that you are
here. that you belong here, that if you're on
the, wherever you are on that journey, right?
Like that if you're a cynic and you're here,
welcome, you belong here. And if you're a skeptic,
right? Like you've been burned by faith and you're
like, I got all kinds of skepticism about this
thing, if it's real or not, and whatever else
comes along with that, welcome to you. You're
welcome here with your skepticism, right? And
what you'll find is we're just a group of people
who We belong together because we're human. And
part of being human is stumbling towards discovering
a God who is madly in love with each of us. And
he has chased us down and he has rescued us and
he is transforming us. And that changes everything,
right? And so the hope is that as you hang out
with the family, you discover. That what we've
discovered along the way that this Jesus really
is the real deal. And we can't wait for you to
meet him. Right? Like that's the whole point.
So if that's you, welcome. Glad you're here.
I don't know about you, but anybody else got
allergies? Okay. All right. Some of you. It's
not right to watch the Winter Olympics. With
allergies. Like there's just something wrong
with that dynamic, right? Like it just does not
feel right that we're in February and we have
allergies. So God bring the snow. No? Anybody
ready for a good snow? I am. Yeah. The rest of
you that don't like snow, you'll be fine. You'll
be fine. It melts in a week. Okay, so there's
a game today, apparently. Okay, let's get it
out of the way. You ready? Patriots fans. Seahawks
fans. Okay, you remember everything I said about
being welcome here? Patriots fans, you are welcome.
In the family. But you are way outnumbered. That
has happened at every single gathering so far
this weekend. So I don't know what that says.
What is interesting, Drake May, those of you
that don't know, Drake May is a quarterback for
the Patriots. Drake May, I got to hear his testimony
this week. The man knows Jesus, loves Jesus.
It was pretty incredible. If that's not enough
to make you like him, he married his middle school
sweetheart. That's pretty incredible, right?
But Drake May, so I'm kind of torn. Like I like
that story. And then I hear testimonies from
the Seahawks side and I like those stories. But
here's the bottom line. Sorry, Patriots fans.
I think the Seahawks have a full rounded team
and you could be in trouble. We'll see. We'll
see. Who knows? I don't have a dog in a fight,
so I don't care. I just hope it's a good game
and I get some food. So there you go. Real simple,
real simple. Some of you, okay. Who could care
less about football? So communication one -on
-one, they're like, know your audience. So I'm
glad I've been talking for months about football.
It's great. It's great. It's so fun. But welcome.
We are normal. Life is hard. Life is hard and
we need each other. And so we get to laugh and
we get to cry together. We are heading into a
new collection. Specifically, this collection
of talks has been... kind of rattling around
in our world behind the scenes for about two
years. God gave this idea and I've been really
passionate about it. I got to hang out with Pastor
David Bleckley two years ago and I told him about
it and he was excited about it. And I'm like,
we have to do this. It is so impactful or can
be for our church family. And so we've been trying
for two years to get this into the teaching.
And every time God has just gone, nope. not time
yet. Nope, it's not time yet. Well, we are here
and the collection is called Just Camping. And
the hope is that as a church family, we gain
some language in our interactions with each other
as we walk through the hard things of life, as
we walk through the things that surprise us in
life, that we have some language and some commonality.
I also hope for you as an individual that what
happens is you are steeled in your faith and
you are able from this point forward, when we
get done with this, it's going to go all the
way through Easter, that when we get done, there
is just a slogan known to you personally. known
to our church, that we are just camping and instantly
it frames up some huge theological truths about
what it means to be human and what it means to
be here right now. And so the hope is that when
we walk away from this collection, we are all
going together with clarity of what it means.
But to get there, if you'll let me, if you'll
do the honor. I would love to be vulnerable for
about five minutes if that's okay. So 23 days
ago, my father -in -law, he got up. It was a
Friday, and it was a fishing tournament weekend.
And so he got up, did his normal prep. They went
down there to, him and his son, who do the fishing
tournaments together, went down there to kind
of scout the lake. Is that the right term? I
don't know what the fishing term is, but they
went down there to figure out where are the fish
biting? How are they biting? They had a phenomenal
Friday. They caught, we have a picture of the
fish they caught. I mean, just an amazing, amazing
Friday. They got back to the campsite. They're
hanging out. doing what they normally do. They're
strategizing, right? How are we going to win
this tournament? Where do we need to go first?
Where are we going? And so they got their plan
in place. They eat dinner, and it's an early
start. And so they go to bed, and that's Friday
night. Saturday morning at 5 .50 a .m., I received
a call, a quite panic call, that my father -in
-law was unresponsive. And that's all we knew
at that point. And for the next hour, we just
waited for news of what was happening. And within
that hour, we got news that he was gone. And
completely unexpected. If you knew him, the man
still... was working construction. Like he was
still working on motors in his spare time and
going to fishing tournaments. And there's this
unexpected nature to it, right? And we got the
news, began to tell other people some things
you need to know about him. I was trying to figure
out the years. He's been a part of this church
family for 25 years plus maybe. He would always
sit right back there at the 8 o 'clock service,
and his chair was empty this week. And what you
need to understand about him is he knew and loved
Jesus an awful lot. He has been building into
the kingdom. He was one of the family members
that jumped on board when we decided that God
was leading us to start Park Collective. And
he was one of the family members that was a part
of that. That he was faithful with what God had
given him. If you went to a men's breakfast,
he was probably someone who helped cook your
food. Because he served on that team. He had
a men's Bible study that he was at weekly. This
is who he is. So there's this reality of when
people ask, how are you doing? We're living in
the and, the world of the and. And what I mean
by that is this, that yes, he is gone, right?
And. I know where he is, right? It's sudden and
shocking and all of that, right? And we have
complete peace because we know where he is and
who he's with. The end changes everything. We
can see the goodness of God leading up to it.
I could stand here and tell you stories of where
we've seen the hand of God in the last year preparing,
not for, we didn't know what was coming, but
he's been preparing and we miss him on the daily,
right? Like it's still painful. So we're living
in the world of the end. And I think, I think
this is what Paul was getting at. When in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse
1, it says this, for we know. Okay, we got to
be really clear. When Paul says for we know,
he's not going, hey, there's a question mark
here. We've been kind of sitting around and talking
about. He's going, no, no, no, we know. This
is what we're confident in. This is what we understand
to be true. This is what we are banking on. This
is what we are living our lives on. This is how
we exist in the present. He goes, for we know
that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God, an eternal house
in heaven, not built by human hands. He goes,
we know, right? Like we are confident in this.
We are living with this reality. That if the
earthly tent, the original language there, is
a temporary dwelling. When he talks, when Paul
is talking about this body, this earthly body
you have, it is a temporary dwelling. And he
goes, if this temporary dwelling, and his next
words is, We live in is destroyed. That word
destroyed is that if you were to take a tent
and dismantle it, the tent lies flat on the ground.
That is the word destroyed is to dismantle, to
tear down. That if the earthly tent, if this
body is laid flat, we have a building from God,
an eternal house in heaven. Notice the difference
that's being created. Temporary dwelling, laid
flat. When that happens, we have a permanent,
and he uses the word eternal. We have an eternal
dwelling, house compared to tent, from God. And
this last part's important, not built by human
hands. You know why? Because everything you build
with your hands will fall apart. will corrode,
will not last. Everything that has ever been
built by human hands does not last. And he says,
wait a minute, what you're getting, what happens
is you are receiving from God something that
cannot fall apart, that will not fall apart because
it's not built by your hands, it's built by God's
hands. And so he goes, you can have confidence
that this earthly body, when it lays flat, which
by the way, you know what has a hundred percent
hit rate? You know what it is? Death. Death never
misses. Go back through the Bible, right? When
sin entered. Notice what happens from when sin
enters at the beginning of the story over and
over and over. What is recorded on the pages
of the Bible for you is, and they died, and they
died, and they died, and they died. Why? Because
what God is getting at is no one escapes because
it's got 100 % hit rate. Because of sin, everybody
will die. You're not going to beat it. I'm not
going to beat it. So what Paul is saying is get
a correct perspective, get a correct perspective
on what this life actually is. That this life
is just a tent. And you are just camping. You're
just camping. This life that we think is so much
and so big and we got to do, you're just camping.
James goes, you're a mist. And the idea is of
like shooting water, a mist in the air. You're
just a mist here today, gone tomorrow. Right?
When we get correct perspective because of sin
and what sin has done in death entering, you
are just camping. And that changes everything.
That changes the way we relate to everything
around us. My father -in -law was just camping.
And you know what? That verse tells me that it's
not up for debate. He has an eternal dwelling
that was built by God himself. That's reality.
Which is why we live in the world of the end,
right? I'm sad. We're sad. We don't want him
back. He's in a better place. But I wonder if
we actually believe that. And so what Paul is
getting at here is he's going, hey, this is temporary.
This dwelling is temporary. It's like a tent.
So if you would let me, I'd love to go back because
he has such confidence in what he's saying. I'd
love to go back to the verses prior and kind
of build through using the tent as kind of a
picture of what Paul's getting at. So if you
jump back into chapter four, verse 13, it says,
it is written. And so he's quoting Psalms here,
right? He's quoting the Psalmist. I believed,
therefore I have spoken because I believed I
spoke up, right? So there's a deep connection
there. And so then Paul says, if that's what
the Psalmist said, since we have the same spirit
of faith or spirit of God, we also believe, therefore
we speak. So what he's getting at and what he's
framing up is right before this, he's talked
about how difficult life is, that he is pressed,
he is crushed on all sides, but they're not broken.
And so what he's getting at is the faith that
is required. He goes, we have believed, that
is where our faith is, therefore we have spoken.
You know what's interesting with tense? Tense
are suitable. And what I mean by that is when
you move a tent to ground, it becomes suitable
for that ground. The tent adapts to where you
have it. If you have it in the living room, there's
not much adaption going on. I talked to a guy
last night. He was telling me that they went
camping and they got there at dark and it was
raining and they had to set up the tent. And
so he was telling me about setting up his tent
in the dark and the rain. And I was like, this
is why I don't go camping ever. This does not
sound fun. And then it carried on. He goes, well,
when we got it all set up, we climbed into it
and realized there was a root and they were laying
on it all night. But you got your tent set up.
So what are you going to do? Right. Because the
tent adapts. The tent is suitable. And I was
like sleeping on that. That's why I don't do
it. But the tent adapts. It is suitable. You
know what this life is and what Paul's saying
here? This life, because it is temporary. Because
it is this tent, it is suitable to live by faith.
You get to live by faith here. How do I know
that? Because the hit rate of death is what?
100 %? Every single person in this room, across
screens, at our other locations today, you are
all living by faith. Why? Because this life,
this... temporary tent is suitable for living
by faith. You're living by faith. Here's what
I mean. Everybody, everybody knows death is coming.
So everybody has a thought of what's beyond.
Now you may put your trust in a whole bunch of
voices. You may put them in scientists. You may
put them in people that think they know. You
may put them in gurus. You may put them in whatever,
the latest podcaster. What we have is we have
left by God through his people. This is the reality
of what is to come. And by faith, I get to step
into that in this temporary life and go by faith,
I know what is coming. We're going to spend weeks
together all the way to Easter talking about
the importance of what this means, not only in
our daily life, but on large theological sense,
what happens. Because the more you know, the
more faith you can apply, the way it changes
how you hold on to this life. And he says specifically
then, right? Like this life is suitable for faith.
You know what's amazing about worship, right?
Worship, if you just got a raise or you just
got a new job or your kid just got into whatever
college or you just had like the greatest win
from a sports perspective, right? Like whatever
it happens to be. It's easy to come in this room
and go, you're a good, good father, right? It's
easy to come in this room and go, oh God, we
worship you. I can sing at the top of my voice.
Tell you what, when you're in pain, worship is
an act of faith. Because in faith, you step in
through the pain and you still worship. You realize
something? You'll only do that here. For all
of eternity, you'll never have to worship through
the pain ever. That's only here, right? For all
of eternity, pain won't be a part of our worship.
We will just see and therefore worship. But here
we, by faith, why? Because this life is suitable
for you to live by faith. He carries on then
after talking about, we believe, therefore we
speak. Verse 14, because we know. Again, this
confident language, right? We know the one that
who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will
also raise us with Jesus and present us with
you to himself. We'll unpack this more in weeks
to come. For today, here's what you need to grab.
His confidence, his confidence to live by faith
is that he looks at an empty tomb and he goes,
if God can raise Jesus, he can raise me. And
if God can raise Jesus, he can raise you. So
the same God that raised Jesus is going to raise
you to life because he has resurrection power.
So while yes, we are in this temporary dwelling,
we know is what he says. He's not sitting there
going, hey guys, what do you think? Do you think
that's a, no, he goes, we know. How do we know?
Because Jesus was raised from the dead. Therefore
you will be raised from the dead and he will
present. Here's what's, you ever notice on a
tent that there are no roots? There's no roots
to a tent. You're like, huh? There's no roots
to a tent. We were sitting in teaching prep and
Pastor Michael later, he jotted down this thought.
And I'm like, that is brilliant. There's no roots
to a tent. What I mean by that is this, that
if you went camping with your buddy, right? And
your buddy, you pull up in the parking lot and
you're about to head out and you notice your
buddy's got a cement mixer on the back of his
truck. And you're like, what are you doing with
a cement mixer? He's like, man, when we get to
that campsite, I'm gonna pour a slab that's gonna
be perfect for a... You don't do that. Why? Because
you're not putting down roots when you go camping.
Right? And this is what he's getting at when
he says, wait, wait, you are made. You are made
to be raised to life through Jesus. Right? This
has blown my mind in thinking of the concept
of who God is and how he's so all -knowing, that
God is so all -knowing that in creation, when
everything was perfect and death wasn't a part
of it, he knew sin would enter, death would come
along, and if he didn't design us this way, you
would get stuck in a broken, sinful environment
forever. But he designed that you could be released
from your earthly tent. So that you, you could
experience what he always wanted for you to experience
for all of eternity, the new heavens, new earth.
So what you have, what you have is this beautiful
moment where God goes, don't put down roots here
because you're living in a tent. And just as
weird as it would be to put a slab underneath
your tent and begin to frame up. Could you imagine
you get to the site and somebody starts to frame
around their tent because they're. You'd be like,
it's a tent, man. What are you doing? I wonder
how many times people look at us and go, aren't
you Christians? Don't you believe you're temporary?
Don't you believe this life is here today, gone
tomorrow? Why are you building like it's forever?
And another thing that is interesting with this
idea of there's an empty tomb, therefore resurrection.
It's this. It's made to move. Right? It's made
to move. It's not meant to stay in one location.
God, by design, designed you not to stay here.
Right? Like God knew, God knew in his sovereignty
that you're not staying put. And so what's beautiful
about a tent, a tent's designed to move. A tent
might be here, and then it might be over here.
Right? And so your tent may be on earth today,
but guess what? It's not staying. No matter how
much face cream you put on. It ain't staying.
Sorry, Misty, I won't block you. That would be
mean. We're going to move our tent. Why? Because
tents were made to move. You weren't meant to
stay. You're meant to be resurrected by Jesus.
How do I know that? How can I have the same confidence?
Because the tomb is empty. Verse 15, all of this
is for your benefit so that grace, so that the
grace is reaching more and more people. may cause
thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
So we'll talk about this in weeks to come connected
to the tent idea and just camping. We'll unpack
this further. But the idea behind it just for
today is this, that you weren't designed to stay.
You weren't designed to stay. Jesus, when he
leaves, he goes, as you are going, it's supposed
to be moving. You're not putting a permanent
thing in place, right? Like as you're going.
And it says here that it's gonna give more glory
to God. Verse 16, therefore, therefore, based
on all of that that we just talked about, Therefore,
we do not lose heart. What do we do? We double
down. We actually don't shy away. We double down.
Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly
we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day. Outwardly, we're falling
apart. Paul's talking about the persecution that
he'd gone through, the hardships that he'd gone
through. He uses language like we are crushed,
but not broken. And what is he getting at? This
outward tent, it's vulnerable to the elements.
A tent is vulnerable to what's around it. You
ever been in a tent in a windstorm? Another reason
to not go camping. Right? It's vulnerable to
that environment. If it rains, what a miserable
experience. Especially when it leaks. You ever
been in a tent and it leaks? But you know what?
This is vulnerable to the elements. It is going
to wear down, right? And that's what he's saying,
that outwardly we're wearing down. It's taking
its toll because this, this that we try and hold
on to, that we keep getting extra gym memberships
and whatever else we can get, right? Injections
and whatever. We're trying and he's going outwardly,
it's wasting away. Inwardly, through the spirit
of God, you are experiencing a renewal. On the
inside. So while the outside may not look good,
the inside. You ever met somebody who has reached
that point of life where they're a little aged,
right? They've lived a full life and you sit
with them for five minutes and you go, you're
so alive on the inside, but you can barely walk
to get a cup of coffee. Why? Because outwardly
they are wasting away, but inside they are being
renewed by the Holy Spirit. They're being restored.
They're being revitalized. They're experiencing
life at its fullest. Verse 17, for our light
and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all. We'll
talk about this in weeks to come. So what do
we do? What do we do, church? We fix our eyes.
We fix our eyes. It's what we focus on. It's
what we look on. It's what we're consumed with.
It's what we choose to put in front of us. We
fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is
unseen. Why? Because what is seen is temporary.
And what is unseen is eternal. You realize that
everything you see around you today from a physical
perspective will not be here someday. Everything
around you. That chair that you're like, I don't
know if I like this chair. I don't know if it's
comfy. Who cares? You won't be here. Right? It
won't be here. That's what he's getting at. He
goes, we fix our eyes on all this stuff, right?
This building, to the best of my knowledge, was
built and designed that if the church wasn't
here, it would be a blessing to the community
and become a warehouse if it was needed to. Right?
Like the idea of we try and hold on to this stuff,
right? Like we try and hold on to permanence
of the physical. The physical is not permanent.
And that's what he's getting at. So what do we
do as believers? Because we know the tomb is
empty, right? Like we know the tomb is empty.
We know without a shadow of a doubt, we're going
to be raised to be with Jesus. So what do we
do? We focus, we set our eyes on what is eternal,
not on what is temporary. Friday was the first
time for me I'd walked into his house. See what's
caught my mind with that? Is when he got up and
he left his house and locked it up on Friday
morning, he fully intended to walk back in. on
Saturday night. He fully intended to be at the
8 a .m. service the next morning. And as his
body, that is a tent that had been dismantled,
lay flat in the dirt. Someone else, his son,
had to pack up. His favorite fishing rods. Someone
else had to prepare the boat to come home. Someone
else had to pack up the campsite. Someone else
had to drive his truck. Someone else had to park
his boat back in the garage. Where when I walked
in Friday, that boat is sitting. The man loved
bad coffee. I don't get it. But you know what
was also there? His bad coffee. His room that
he expected to come back to. It's all still there.
The sink that he thought he would clean, still
there. The clothes, he didn't care about clothes
much, but he really cared about his fishing stuff
and his hunting stuff. So camo and fishing are
all hanging in his closet. Friday, we found his
medals from Vietnam. You would know he's a hero.
He would never tell you. But we found his medals
and his pictures. We also found his baseball
trophies and his monuments to the years he coached
his kids in baseball. His golf clubs, they're
still there. The things he cared so much about
are all still there. What is Paul getting at?
This is temporary. It's temporary. And I can
just imagine That my father -in -law watching
me go and touch his golf clubs. He's like, don't
you, don't, don't you? But you know what I think?
I don't think that's what he's saying at all.
Because what I think he's saying is, wow, wow,
wow. Because God Almighty is in his presence.
Isn't it crazy? That we can get so hung up in
this life. Giving everything we have to hold
on to the temporary. I just need to tell you
today because I just lived it. It all stays behind.
Every part of it. Every piece. Everything that
meant something. Everything that mattered to
him. It's all still there. So we fix our eyes
where? on what is eternal. We get our eyes off
of this life because it's not going to last.
You know, the only thing, we're going to talk
about this in weeks to come, the only thing you
take off the planet is people. That should at
least get an amen. The only thing we take off
the planet is people. That's it. Why? Because
you're eternal. The people around you are eternal.
And so Paul says, this is how he lands at it.
It ends with the unseen is eternal. And then
the very next verse is, we know, we're not questioning
that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God, an eternal house
in heaven, not built by human hands. You are
just camping. Paul's done camping, guys. Paul's
my father -in -law. He's done camping. You're
just camping. This is temporary. It reminds me
of upgrading my phone. There's a... I'm sure
you've upgraded your phone. If not, I want to
see it because it's probably worth a whole lot
of money at this point. And it'd just be kind
of fun to reminisce. I'm sure I had one at one
point. But I got an offer from the phone company
prior to the phone I have now, like a while ago.
And they were like, we'll send you two free new
phones. You just got to turn in yours. And so
they sent the phones to us. And I put it on the
counter. And day after day, my kids be like,
Dad, when are you going to upgrade your phone?
I'm like, I don't know. And so now weeks have
gone by. Dad, when are you going to upgrade your
phone? And what I realized is I hadn't upgraded
my phone because I didn't believe from the phone
I was using, even though the one I had had a
cracked screen, it was shattered. I didn't believe
that the phone I was getting was actually an
upgrade. I wonder how many of us in this life.
don't believe that what we get, what we are getting
is an upgrade when we die. I wonder how many
of us are holding onto this life because we don't
believe the upgrade is coming. We hold onto this
like, no, this is better. The earthly tent is
not better. Why? Because what you have is a permanent
dwelling from God himself. But what Jesus does
Is he gathers around the table and he tells him
something that matters. Because when he sits
around the table with his disciples for, maybe
you've heard it called the Lord's Supper, communion,
Eucharist. When he gathers with them, he takes
elements that are connected to his death. Why?
Because he knew if life was gonna come, it had
to come through death. He knew he had to die.
That's why he sits around that table. And what
does he tell them? Hey, I gotta die. Because
the only way for life to come for all of humanity,
the only way for the resurrected life to come
is I have to go through the doorway of death
to get to the resurrected life. And so Jesus
knew that death is just a doorway. It's a life.
And what you hold in your hand is a reminder
that Jesus went through death, through the doorway
of death, and he experienced resurrected life
because the tomb is empty so that you could have
life today. I don't know how you feel. But what
Jesus was doing is he's purchasing for you the
upgrade. In his body and with his blood and with
his life, as he lays it down, he gives it up.
They crucify him. They put him to death. Your
sin, your debt, your shame, your guilt, all of
it is put on him. Your separation from God, right?
Because death separates us. He takes that separation
and closes it to where you're united. How are
we united? Through Christ. So what you hold in
your hand is the way that you and I have received
the promise of the upgrade. That when this life
is over, I will walk through the doorway of death.
When this tent is dismantled, we will walk through
into resurrected life all because of Jesus. So
I don't know about you. I feel like saying thank
you to him. And so the next moments are yours
just to tell him thank you. Thank you for what
he's given you in this life. And also thank you
for the promise that you have of eternity. Because
of his death. For you. So the next moments are
yours and then we'll take it all together. What
you hold in your hand is hope today. What you
hold in your hand is promise today. That the
same God who showed up to die in your place,
the same God who gave his body, will raise you
to life. That same God is coming back, as we
sang earlier. And so he took bread. And what
I love about it is this, some point in your day
today, even if you hate carbs, you're going to
have some form of bread and something to drink.
Because that's how simple it should be that we're
reminded that we're just camping. That every
time you would eat bread, every time we would
gather and do this together, it's a reminder
that we're just camping. That eternity is waiting.
And so he took his body or he took bread and
said, this is my body given for you. Do this
and remember to me. He took a glass of wine.
And he talks about how it represented his blood,
that in his blood, it was a new covenant. In
his blood, there was forgiveness of sins. In
his blood. Those who were separated and not right
with God got to be right with God because we
get the righteousness of Jesus. And it came to
you through his blood being shed on the cross.
He goes, don't forget it. Don't forget it. And
so he handed him a cup. He said, take drink.
Do this in remembrance of me. God, we're so grateful
this morning. Thank you for loving us. Thank
you for the truth that you were a God who did
not stay distant. You came near. God, that you
have taken our place. That you have gone through
the doorway of death so that we may experience
life. You have gone through the doorway of death
that we may know what is waiting on the other
side is resurrection life. You are proof of that.
And we say thank you today. God, I pray over
this room. I pray over those that don't know
you. I pray that today would be a day of them
taking their faith and placing it in you, that
they would know with confidence that when they
say yes to you, when they give their life to
you, God, you, you rescue them. You are their
promise of eternity. God, for the rest of the
church family, as we process what it means to
be in a temporary dwelling, a tent, would you
remind us that this is This is not permanent.
Give us courage to say no to the things we need
to. Give us courage to not bow down today to
things that don't deserve it. But God, give us
eyes to fix on eternity today. Thank you for
loving us. Thank you for your grace and your
mercy. Thank you for salvation. Thank you that
we, we are just camping, which means we spend
eternity with you in our forever home. We are
grateful. And everybody said. Amen.