WEBVTT 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:12.800 Hey, welcome back here to the Semi -Seminary 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:14.740 and tonight we're going to do something a little 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:17.859 different. Now we've spent weeks and some of 00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:20.660 you have been here for every mile of it, walking 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:24.460 the dusty roads of Jesus' parables. Seeds in 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:26.679 the wind, coins in the dark, fathers running, 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:30.000 shepherds counting to one. So before we move 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.659 on, for Advent begins its slow burn towards Bethlehem, 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:37.619 I wanted us to stop and look back, to name what 00:00:37.619 --> 00:00:40.619 these stories have been doing to us while we 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:43.960 weren't paying attention. And because it's the 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:47.079 night before Thanksgiving, and because Jan and 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:49.340 Gigi deserve a holy Sabbath from the Wednesday 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:51.759 night kitchen, we're not in the fellowship hall 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.899 tonight. No clatter serving spoons, no smell 00:00:54.899 --> 00:00:58.310 of garlic bread drifting from the hallway. We're 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:01.310 tucked away here in the vestry, lights low, scripture 00:01:01.310 --> 00:01:04.590 open, letting the quiet do its own kind of teaching. 00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:08.849 This isn't a new parable, it's just a summation. 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:14.370 The evening examine of the whole journey. If 00:01:14.370 --> 00:01:16.629 you've got a plate warming back home or a pie 00:01:16.629 --> 00:01:19.269 cooling on the counter, settle in anyway. Let 00:01:19.269 --> 00:01:22.230 your heart catch its breath. Let the word rise 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:25.250 in you one more time like leavening dough. And 00:01:25.250 --> 00:01:29.510 when we've walked this recap road together, I'll 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:37.430 see you on the other side. Picture this. You've 00:01:37.430 --> 00:01:39.870 walked dusty roads with a sower who can't stop 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:43.250 scattering seed in the most ridiculous places. 00:01:43.870 --> 00:01:46.170 You've stood in a vineyard at sunset watching 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:50.980 coins drop into undeserving hands. You've climbed 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:53.640 through brambles with a shepherd who just refuses 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:57.099 to come home until every last sheep is accounted 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:01.000 for. And you've watched tables flip and trees 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.019 wither. You've smelled bread rising and seen 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.000 mustard growing wild where it was never planted. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:12.080 And somehow in all of that walking and in all 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.979 of that listening, something inside of you shifted. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.280 Maybe you can't even name it yet. Maybe it's 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.879 just a loosening in your chest, a different kind 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.139 of breathing. Maybe it's the way you look at 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:30.340 the guy who cut you off in traffic or the version 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:33.139 of yourself you see in the mirror on bad mornings. 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:38.300 Jesus has been teaching you the way he always 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:42.099 teaches, not with PowerPoints and outlines, but 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.650 with farmers and bread makers. Desperate fathers 00:02:45.650 --> 00:02:49.569 running down roads with their robes hiked up 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:52.330 to their knees. And if you've been listening, 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:55.550 I mean, if you've really been listening, these 00:02:55.550 --> 00:02:58.110 stories have been doing something to you that 00:02:58.110 --> 00:03:03.610 lectures never could. They've been rewiring how 00:03:03.610 --> 00:03:07.610 you see the world. Tonight, we're not starting 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.389 a new parable. We're starting at the end of the 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:16.129 road looking back. To name what happened. Because 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:19.729 Jesus just doesn't tell you about the kingdom. 00:03:20.669 --> 00:03:24.530 He hides it in stories until it rises in you 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:28.969 like leaven in dough. Until you realize the feast 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:32.330 you've been waiting for is already on the table. 00:03:33.030 --> 00:03:36.370 And your name has been on the guest list the 00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:41.430 whole time. Parables aren't riddles to be solved. 00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:46.449 They're doors to be walked through. Jesus doesn't 00:03:46.449 --> 00:03:50.250 hand you a map. He puts you on the path and says, 00:03:50.490 --> 00:03:54.849 walk it with me. Feel what it's like when the 00:03:54.849 --> 00:03:59.090 ground shifts. Taste what mercy does when it 00:03:59.090 --> 00:04:03.849 doesn't ask permission first. A parable is a 00:04:03.849 --> 00:04:07.330 type of theater of the mind for people who've 00:04:07.330 --> 00:04:13.020 learned to not trust their eyes anymore. It's 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:17.939 truth wrapped in ordinary things, seeds and coins 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:22.759 and dinner parties. So that when it finally lands, 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:27.060 you can't claim you don't understand because 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:32.079 you were standing right there. You saw it yourself. 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:38.160 And here's the scandal. Jesus doesn't explain 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.980 them to everybody, just to the ones. who have 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:45.240 the ears that have learned how to hear past all 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:50.000 of the noise. And it's not cruelty, it's respect 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.279 for mystery. So he tells stories about things. 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.779 Farmers and shepherds and bakers, they all would 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:01.720 know in their bones. And while the religious 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:06.000 experts are busy analyzing the syntax, the broken 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.959 ones in the back are whispering, wait, that's 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:14.879 me. He's talking about me. And parables don't 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:19.259 give you answers. In fact, they really give you 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:23.839 something better. They give you a way to recognize 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:28.160 grace when it shows up wearing work clothes and 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:34.149 smelling like a dirt road. The disciples asked 00:05:34.149 --> 00:05:37.649 him why he does this. Why parables? Why hide 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:40.209 the kingdom in the stories about dirt and dough 00:05:40.209 --> 00:05:43.829 instead of just telling us straight? His answer 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:48.089 is strange and beautiful and a little unsettling. 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:53.149 My friend, the reading of the word, the gospel 00:05:53.149 --> 00:05:56.930 according to Matthew chapter 13, beginning verse 00:05:56.930 --> 00:06:00.639 10. Then the disciples came and said to him, 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:04.019 Why do you speak to them in parables? And he 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:07.000 answered them, To you it has been given to know 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.920 the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:13.160 them it has not been given. For to the one who 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.459 has, more will be given, and he will be given 00:06:16.459 --> 00:06:21.139 an abundance. But from the one who has not, even 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:25.939 what he has will be taken away. This is why I 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:30.209 speak to them in parables. Because seeing they 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:34.990 don't see, and hearing they do not hear, nor 00:06:34.990 --> 00:06:39.029 do they understand. Indeed, in their case, the 00:06:39.029 --> 00:06:43.129 prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, You 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:45.470 will indeed hear but not understand, and you 00:06:45.470 --> 00:06:48.889 will indeed see but never perceive. For this 00:06:48.889 --> 00:06:51.850 people's heart has grown dull. And with their 00:06:51.850 --> 00:06:54.689 ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they 00:06:54.689 --> 00:06:57.410 have closed, lest they should see with their 00:06:57.410 --> 00:07:00.050 eyes and hear with their ears and understand 00:07:00.050 --> 00:07:04.689 with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. 00:07:07.110 --> 00:07:11.889 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:15.629 your ears because they hear. For truly I say 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:18.750 to you, many prophets and righteous people long 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:23.139 to see what you see. And did not see. And to 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:28.980 hear what you hear. And did not hear it. The 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:32.060 word has gone out like seed on the wind. Some 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:34.339 hearts are soft enough to catch it. Some ears 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:36.860 have learned to hear past the noise of religion 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:41.839 and empire and self -protection. But those who 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:48.959 have ears. Hear. Jesus. But the parables isn't 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:51.759 giving you a theology exam. He's giving you a 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.199 key. Because every parable unlocks a door, and 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:00.199 every door opens onto the same room, the kingdom 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:03.360 of God breaking into the world you thought you 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:11.170 knew. The keys only work if you turn them. If 00:08:11.170 --> 00:08:14.470 you hold them up in the light and admire their 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:17.410 craftsmanship, you're still standing outside. 00:08:18.910 --> 00:08:23.129 If you analyze the metal composition and debate 00:08:23.129 --> 00:08:29.189 the design, you're still locked out. These stories 00:08:29.189 --> 00:08:33.750 demand something from you, not performance, not 00:08:33.750 --> 00:08:37.049 protection, just the willingness to step through 00:08:37.049 --> 00:08:40.759 the door they opened and see. What's on the other 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:44.139 side? See if you can think back to the first 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:48.200 one that you heard. Maybe it was the sower flinging 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.179 seed on rocks and weeds and good soil without 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:55.220 discrimination. You listened and somehow you 00:08:55.220 --> 00:08:58.100 recognized the voice. Not because you understood 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:02.899 every detail, but because somewhere deep past 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:07.580 the noise of your life, Past the religious scripts 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:10.500 you've memorized. Past the shame that told you 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:14.639 God only loves you when you're useful. Somewhere 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:19.019 you heard mercy calling your name. And then we 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:22.240 kept going, week after week. The vineyard workers 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:25.539 who got grace instead of fairness. The tenants 00:09:25.539 --> 00:09:30.100 who refused to yield fruit. The leaven hidden 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:32.980 in flour until the whole batch was transformed. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:38.039 Each story did its work, chipped away at that 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.799 calcified theology that said you had to earn 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:45.120 your seat at the table, loosening that grip of 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.940 the lie that said grace was scarce. You better 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:51.340 behave or you're going to lose your portion. 00:09:52.700 --> 00:09:55.879 And if you followed along, you might have started 00:09:55.879 --> 00:10:00.460 to see a pattern. Grace comes first. Transformation 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:05.990 follows. It's never the other way around. The 00:10:05.990 --> 00:10:09.309 sower doesn't wait for worthy soil. The shepherd 00:10:09.309 --> 00:10:11.809 doesn't wait for the shepherd to find its own 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:16.250 way home. Father runs before the son finishes 00:10:16.250 --> 00:10:20.690 his whole rehearsed apology. Mustard gives shade 00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:24.549 before it's pruned. Leaven joins the flour before 00:10:24.549 --> 00:10:29.309 it lifts the dough. Welcome first. Change that 00:10:29.309 --> 00:10:36.639 actually lasts? And somewhere in there, maybe 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.139 on your truck on the way home, maybe at 2 a .m. 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:41.159 when sleep won't come, you realize something. 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:45.980 I have been trying to earn what has already been 00:10:45.980 --> 00:10:50.580 given to me. I have been climbing for a seat 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:56.860 that already has my name on it. That is what 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:00.750 parables do. They don't tell you that you're 00:11:00.750 --> 00:11:06.809 wrong. They show you that you're free. Let's 00:11:06.809 --> 00:11:10.090 name what some of these parables we have looked 00:11:10.090 --> 00:11:13.409 at have been teaching us. Grace operates on abundance, 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:19.389 not scarcity. The sower doesn't ration seed. 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:23.159 The vineyard owner doesn't run out of coins. 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:25.919 The shepherd doesn't say, well, I've still got 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:31.100 99. That's a pretty good percentage. There's 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:36.039 always enough. 30, 60, 100 fold. Three measures 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:38.899 of flour way more than one family needs because 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:46.899 when grace works, neighbors eat. Grace exposes 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:50.980 empire's logic. as the opposite of kingdom math. 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:55.740 The master who reaps where he doesn't sow, that's 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:59.720 not God. That's exploitation dressed up as authority. 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:03.879 The tenants who think murder will get them the 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.960 inheritance, that's what happens when you mistake 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:12.379 violence for power. Jesus keeps pointing at empire, 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:17.080 saying, that is not how my father's house works. 00:12:19.149 --> 00:12:22.590 Grace does not require consent to start working. 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:26.730 The 11th hour workers didn't negotiate their 00:12:26.730 --> 00:12:30.309 wage. The lost sheep didn't agree to be found. 00:12:30.629 --> 00:12:34.570 The prodigal son didn't finish his speech before 00:12:34.570 --> 00:12:37.049 the father had already begun throwing a party. 00:12:37.409 --> 00:12:43.610 Grace moves first, always. We respond. We don't 00:12:43.610 --> 00:12:49.450 initiate. The kingdom is both small and pervasive. 00:12:49.850 --> 00:12:54.830 Mustard seed and leaven. It starts so small you 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:58.929 can often miss it. But give it time and it takes 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:06.169 over everything. Grace refuses to be contained. 00:13:06.950 --> 00:13:10.350 It gets into the cracks. It works its way through 00:13:10.350 --> 00:13:14.210 the whole lump until every room in your house. 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:19.679 Every habit, every grudge, every name you call 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:24.179 yourself, all of it. Another thing that we have 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:27.639 discovered is that humility is the posture of 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:31.259 the kingdom. Pick the lowest seat and wait to 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:35.620 be invited higher. Stop climbing for honor and 00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:38.840 start making space for the ones nobody invited. 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:42.240 The kingdom doesn't work like a ladder. It works 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.210 like a table. And there's always room for one 00:13:46.210 --> 00:13:51.450 more. This is the through line. This is the one 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:53.870 gospel these parables have been preaching together. 00:13:54.049 --> 00:13:57.929 It's this. The kingdom of God is not a performance 00:13:57.929 --> 00:14:03.570 you master. It's a feast you enter. And you don't 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:06.750 get in by being impressive. You get in because 00:14:06.750 --> 00:14:10.610 the host won't stop inviting people who don't 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:15.379 deserve it. So here's where we are with this 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:19.820 church. We have spent weeks in these stories. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.539 We've walked these roads. We've tasted the bread. 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:29.879 Now what? Well, stop trying to earn what's already 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:33.639 been given you. So are scattered seed on you 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.779 when you were rocky ground. The shepherd found 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:40.220 you and you were lost. You didn't even know you 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:47.529 were lost. It's done. Receive it. You'll also 00:14:47.529 --> 00:14:51.529 start recognizing grace in very ordinary places. 00:14:52.029 --> 00:14:55.490 Mustard seed in your backyard. A potluck where 00:14:55.490 --> 00:14:58.529 nobody checks credentials at the door. A moment 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:00.889 when you choose to forgive that debt because 00:15:00.889 --> 00:15:04.129 you just remembered the size of the one that 00:15:04.129 --> 00:15:08.830 got canceled on your behalf. Hopefully you'll 00:15:08.830 --> 00:15:13.129 quit hoarding and start scattering. When you've 00:15:13.129 --> 00:15:15.710 been given more than you can count, you stop 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:19.710 counting. You start making shade for people who 00:15:19.710 --> 00:15:22.809 won't thank you. You bake bread for neighbors 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:28.269 who didn't ask for it. You embrace the smallness. 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:33.070 God does his best work with specks of seed and 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:35.590 pinches of leaven and one guy picking the lowest 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:40.200 seat while everybody else fights for honor. Small, 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:46.539 fateful, ordinary acts of mercy. That is kingdom 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:54.139 work. The rest is just noise. And you learn to 00:15:54.139 --> 00:16:01.580 wait. Seed takes time. Leaven needs hours. Transformation 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:08.100 does not happen on our schedule. You plant, you 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:12.340 need, you trust, and you don't pull up the seed 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:17.139 to check to see if it's growing. And you make 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:22.059 room at your table, in your church, in your heart 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:27.139 for the 11th hour workers, for the prodigal who 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:30.399 smells like pig slop, for the version of yourself 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:36.330 that keeps showing up with empty hands. This 00:16:36.330 --> 00:16:38.470 is what it looks like when Wednesday night becomes 00:16:38.470 --> 00:16:43.070 the kingdom. When potlucks aren't just covered 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:49.350 dishes. They're a rehearsal for eternity. You 00:16:49.350 --> 00:16:52.169 don't have to be perfect. You just have to show 00:16:52.169 --> 00:16:55.120 up. Eat the bread that's been set in front of 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.059 you and trust the same grace that got you in 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:00.740 the door is working its way through your whole 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:06.259 life until, like leaven and dough, it's all rising. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:13.680 Friend, here's the last word. The kingdom is 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:23.230 not coming. It's here. It's been here. The whole 00:17:23.230 --> 00:17:29.109 time. Hiding in stories about farmers and bakers 00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:35.130 and fathers who won't stop running. So go scatter 00:17:35.130 --> 00:17:39.430 mercy this week. Make space at a table where 00:17:39.430 --> 00:17:43.170 someone thought they'd never be welcome. Forgive 00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:46.589 the dead. Pick the lower seat. Plant something 00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:51.049 small and trust God with the growing. And when 00:17:51.049 --> 00:17:55.809 you forget. Because we all do. When you find 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:58.069 your hands around someone's throat demanding 00:17:58.069 --> 00:18:01.269 payment for a debt, that's pocket change compared 00:18:01.269 --> 00:18:03.849 to what you've been forgiven. Remember this. 00:18:05.230 --> 00:18:08.329 Sower is still scattering. The shepherd is still 00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:11.809 searching. The father is still running. The leaven, 00:18:11.829 --> 00:18:15.029 man, that leaven is still working. The table 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:19.970 is still set. And your name is on the guest list. 00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:24.769 Not because you've earned it, but because that's 00:18:24.769 --> 00:18:28.329 how the kingdom works. Grace first. Transformation 00:18:28.329 --> 00:18:33.069 follows. And the host won't rest until the house 00:18:33.069 --> 00:18:37.390 is full and every last exile has found their 00:18:37.390 --> 00:18:50.950 way home. Amen? Well, friends, we've walked back 00:18:50.950 --> 00:18:53.490 through the whole trail tonight. Seed flung in 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:56.930 wild places. Workers paid grace instead of wages. 00:18:57.569 --> 00:19:00.769 Mustard that grew where nobody planted it. Leaven 00:19:00.769 --> 00:19:03.829 that worked while we weren't looking. Shepherds 00:19:03.829 --> 00:19:06.430 counting all the way down to one. Fathers running 00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:08.910 before apologies were ever finished. All of it 00:19:08.910 --> 00:19:13.869 stitched together like one stubborn truth. Grace 00:19:13.869 --> 00:19:17.420 comes first. transformation follows and the kingdom 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:21.779 is already breaking in all around us. If something 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:24.819 in this recap loosened your shoulders or quieted 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:27.380 a worry you've been carrying or maybe reminded 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:30.980 you that God isn't grading you, God's welcoming 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:34.680 you, then I hope you can take that with you into 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.660 tomorrow, into the Thanksgiving table, into the 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.319 places where gratitude comes easy and the places 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:45.549 where it doesn't. I'm grateful for you. Truly, 00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:49.150 for every ear that leans in, for every soul that 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:51.710 shows up tired and still listens for Jesus anyway. 00:19:52.549 --> 00:19:55.309 And if this episode blessed you, go on, throw 00:19:55.309 --> 00:19:58.029 that like in the offering plate the way we used 00:19:58.029 --> 00:20:00.809 to do when the ushers came down the aisle, slow 00:20:00.809 --> 00:20:04.009 and reverent. And if you want to know when we 00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:06.390 turn the lights on back here at church, when 00:20:06.390 --> 00:20:09.289 the next sermon drops, when the next study begins, 00:20:09.529 --> 00:20:13.039 tithe that subscribe button. He'll let you know 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.380 when the bells ring and the doors swing wide. 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.660 I hope your Thanksgiving is gentle, joyful, and 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:22.740 full of grace that you never saw coming. And 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:37.779 until next time, be blessed. It's late. The static's 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:41.000 humming. And if you ain't going to send your 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.559 money to me, then just whisper that like into 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.319 the plate. Every click's a candle in the dark 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:52.019 telling heaven we're still here, still listening. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:58.180 So before you turn that dial, throw it in the 00:20:58.180 --> 00:20:59.019 plate.