WEBVTT 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:23.600 Merry Christmas, everybody. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.879 Turn to your neighbor and say Merry Christmas. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:34.640 Turn to your other neighbor and say, I didn't say say anything. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:37.439 Say you look good. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:46.880 It's always wonderful to be together right before Christmas and celebrate the birth of our Savior. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:58.560 It's just a joy, and it's always a wonderful service because we get to have the kiddos in the house with us, and they're going to play a special part in the service in just a moment. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:03.520 But before we get there, I feel the need for a dad joke since I didn't do one last week. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:10.879 Anybody else feel like a Christmas dad joke is in order today, Mike? 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:12.560 Thank you for that affirmation. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.200 Listen, Brenda, don't hit him. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:17.920 He's just excited for the dad joke. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:18.640 All right, here we go. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:20.640 Here's the first dad joke. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:24.319 What kind of photos, what kind of photos do elves take? 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:28.560 You're really Elfies. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:35.519 Elfies is what kind of photos elves take. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.359 Here's another one. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.599 What is a parent's favorite Christmas carol? 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:43.840 Silent night. 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:45.359 That's exactly right. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.599 All the parents said yes, please. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:53.120 And then one more, one more, and everybody's going to be so thankful for this. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:58.959 What do rain, why do reindeer like Miss Claus so much? 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:03.280 Why do reindeer like Miss Claus so much? 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.280 Well, she slays. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:09.199 You're welcome. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.840 I'll be here all holiday season. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:13.599 Merry Christmas. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:20.719 If you have your Bibles, grab those and stand with me this morning as we read God's Word. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:26.879 We're going to be in Luke chapter 2, looking at the story of Jesus' birth. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:42.319 Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 1, it reads this way In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:47.840 This was the first census that took place while Comarius was governor of Syria. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:52.319 And everyone went to their own town to register. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:03:06.159 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth and Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, to the town of David, because he belonged to the house and the line of David. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:13.599 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and expecting a child. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:18.960 And while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:22.400 And she gave birth to her firstborn son. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:32.960 She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:46.879 Church, this is God's word, and the title of my message this morning is The Sound, the Sound, The Sound of Presence. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:52.400 The sound of God with us. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:53.840 Say that after me. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.039 God with us. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:01.919 Turn to your neighbor and say, God with us. 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:07.039 Turn to your other neighbor and say, God with us. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:12.479 Turn around the person behind you and say, God with us. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:23.680 Is there anyone in the house this morning thankful that we serve a God who is with us? 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.519 Father, we thank you this morning for your word. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:33.040 Your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.000 It shows us the way to go and how to arrive there safely. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:40.720 And I pray this morning that we wouldn't just be hearers of your word, but that we'd be doers of it. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:44.000 In Jesus' mighty name, and everybody said, Amen. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:45.439 You may be seated. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:58.879 So we're gonna look into the Christmas story a little bit this morning, but I am gonna need a little bit of help. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.720 We've got kiddos in the house with us this morning. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:10.399 And so if you're elementary age, I want to invite you to come join me right down in front this morning. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.199 Church, we put your hands together for all the kids. 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:18.480 You can have a seat right there, right there, down in front this morning. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:25.120 Maybe a parent or an adult or two might join me this morning. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.240 No, everybody's saying you asked for it, you got it. 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:30.319 Good luck. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:33.759 Thank you, thank you, thank you. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.160 Don't these kiddos look great? 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.040 You guys are awesome. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:50.399 And look beautiful this morning, look handsome today, and I just want to spend a minute with you imagining the Christmas story together. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:57.600 I imagine that for weeks you've been imagining what's under the Christmas tree. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:05:58.720 Have you been? 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:01.519 Levi, have you been imagining what's under the Christmas tree? 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:05.199 I know you, I know you, Addie, have you been imagining what's under the Christmas tree? 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.839 I know you have, I know you've been imagining. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.199 We all are imagining what's under Judah, what you've been dreaming about underneath the Christmas tree? 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.000 A baseball bat. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:28.879 I think, I think, listen, if your parents don't provide that, I'll I want you to go see Miss Julie Kent, and she'll make sure you get one. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:30.160 Okay? 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:30.639 Okay. 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:32.160 Julie, I just saw you. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:33.839 He's got she's got him. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:35.839 We got you. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:42.399 You you've been imagining for weeks what is underneath the Christmas tree. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.720 But for a moment this morning, I want us to imagine the Christmas story together. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:58.720 The story that we just read is seven verses, but it tells a massive story. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.279 And so I want you to do something for me, right where you are. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:12.560 I want you to close your eyes for just a moment, because sometimes it's easier to see in the spirit with our physical eyes closed. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:23.120 Imagine with me for a moment that a decree goes out from a far, far away land. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:36.079 A Roman emperor by the name of Caesar Augustus issues a decree in Rome and sets the entire world into motion. 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:48.959 People all across the known world are now scurrying their things together to observe the degree that Caesar has issued. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.199 They don't have a choice in the matter. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:55.680 If they don't do it, there'll be great punishment to pay. 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:02.079 Rome is known for governing with an iron fist, so they have no choice. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:08.560 One man's word moves, puts the entire world in motion. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:17.120 And down in a little town called Nazareth, I can hear Joseph sigh. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.000 The decree is heard. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:28.319 And there's this deep breath, this deep sigh. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.399 See, he's in Nazareth, but he's from Bethlehem. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:51.360 Which means he's got to pack up himself, his wife Mary, some belongings, and begin the long trek to Bethlehem. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.840 This is no vacation, this is hard work. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:05.279 Bethlehem is a hundred miles away, and they've got to traverse it on foot. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:10.320 Over mountains, through valleys, across rivers. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:12.559 They've got to go. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:23.120 And so the weight of the moment, I imagine, begins to settle upon Joseph, knowing the difficulty of the journey. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:30.320 They pack a few things up, and I imagine they they they had a mule or a donkey to help them on this journey. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:34.000 Mary is very, very pregnant. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:38.399 This is going to be a very, very difficult task. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:44.320 And they begin their journey. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:52.879 I can I can almost hear their slow shuffle along the road. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.759 The roads in that day were pretty treacherous. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:57.039 They were dangerous. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:00.480 Bandits were hiding in every place. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:11.440 I'm sure Joseph and Mary's hearts were filled with worry and anxiety about not just the length of the journey, but the things that they would encounter along the way. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.840 Mary is incredibly pregnant. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:20.639 Church, how many of you guys know we kind of make the Christmas story a Hallmark movie, but this was no Hallmark movie. 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:36.480 This is difficult days instigated by a decree from a man far, far away that has no clue the magnitude of what he is asking for this family in particular. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:49.120 After many, many, many days, it probably took them a minimum of a week, probably two, to get to Bethlehem. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.799 Can you imagine how exhausted they were? 00:10:53.919 --> 00:11:03.840 Can you imagine how relieved they were that they finally made it to the place they were called to go to so they could be counted? 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:13.679 But when they get there, they find no room whatsoever. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:25.360 See, the the town is filled with families just like themselves who have come from all different parts of the globe to be counted, and door after door slams in their face. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:27.440 I'm sorry. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.759 There's no room for you here. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:40.080 Over and over again, they hear rejection after rejection, and I'm sure with every rejection, Joseph's anxiety grows. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:45.440 He's looking at his wife and he knows it's not going to be long. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:53.759 Finally, they find a man that says, I don't have any room in my house, but but I have a barn. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.919 It's actually more like a cave. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.600 It's where I keep my animals. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.840 It'll provide a little cover, a little shelter. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:11.279 It's not clean, it's not sanitized, it's not a nice, neat, pretty little place, but it's better than nothing. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.000 And they say yes. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:28.960 So after a hundred miles walking, exhausted and tired, they try to settle into this cave-like barn next to animals. 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:41.120 I bet animals, I bet a cow is probably moving, and sheep are bleeding, and maybe there's a dog barking in the distance. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.000 It stinks. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:47.840 It's a messy place. 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:57.039 In the middle of the night, the sound shifts. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.799 Mary's pain begins to grow louder. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:07.600 Her pain begins to grow louder than the animals. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:17.600 I imagine the animals begin to quiet down at the sound of the pain of birth that is beginning to flow through Mary. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:24.480 And then in a singular moment, one voice rises above the rest. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:29.200 And it's the sound of a baby crying. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:35.600 It's the sound of God becoming man. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:42.000 It's the sound of God with us. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:57.840 I want you to know, boys and girls, this morning, the most important sound that humanity has ever heard in the entire history of humanity is the sound of that baby crying. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:04.240 Because that baby crying sounded our hope. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:07.120 It sounded our redemption. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.879 It sounded our salvation. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:16.639 It sounded God with us. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.840 Can I tell you what's really amazing about this story? 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:41.600 It blows my mind is that the creator of the universe, the one whose hands flung the stars in the sky, has to be wrapped up with cloths so he doesn't get cold. 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:49.279 He reaches for Mary's face to find comfort. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:58.399 And he does all of this, church, not in a royal palace, but in a messy manger. 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:05.600 Why in the world would God choose to come to us in that kind of way? 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:08.879 Why wouldn't he come through a clean hospital room? 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.440 Or why wouldn't he come through a golden palace? 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:17.039 Why would God choose to come to us through a messy barn? 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.320 Because that's who he is and what he does. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:33.200 See, God comes into the most messy places and makes them holy because He is there. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:43.600 Anybody thankful today that God is willing to come into your mess, and his coming into your mess makes your mess sacred. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:51.679 It's it's a I want you to hear me this morning. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:16:02.480 God loves to come to right where you are because he's God with us. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:17.919 He doesn't ask us to come up to him, but he comes to us and makes his habitation his home with us in order to change us because wherever he is, there is change. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:21.679 And boys and girls, this is what I want you to know. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:28.960 This is the story of Christmas, the story of God with us. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:38.960 When you came in this morning, Pastor Summer provided you a packet that helps to outline some of this story. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.720 And so I'm going to dismiss you back to your seats and back to those packets. 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:50.960 Church, will you put your hands together for these wonderful children that joined me this morning down in front? 00:16:53.919 --> 00:17:00.159 I'm not going to be long, but I do want to just share a couple of thoughts with you this morning about this story. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:03.919 Pastor Noah alluded to it a moment ago. 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:15.039 I am just absolutely amazed at the Christmas story more every year. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:20.720 The beauty of it, the majesty of it, the miracle of it. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:27.599 The Christmas story gives us a very special name for Jesus, and it's the name Emmanuel. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.359 Everybody say Emmanuel. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:32.559 And it means God with us. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:45.599 It is the name of God that helps to describe how John declared, the word has become flesh and made his dwelling among us. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:18:03.599 I cannot overemphasize the significance of Emmanuel because every other religion and every other God on the planet says, Come to where I am, and yet our God says, I'm going to come to where you are. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:36.000 That He comes to where we are in our mess, in our difficulties, in the hardest and the loneliest of our places, we have the confidence that God is with us. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:41.359 He comes to a poor family, not a king. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:43.920 He comes to a feeding trough, not a throne. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.480 He comes to shepherds, not socialites. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:54.960 He comes to a world that is not ready, that is not tidy, that is not peaceful, and says, I will be with you. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:05.759 See, I believe that the greatness of God, that God's greatness is his nearness. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.200 It's what David declared in the Psalms. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.240 He said, Where can I go from your presence, O Lord? 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.799 If I go to the heights of the heaven, you are there. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.279 If I go to the depths of the sea, you are there. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:25.039 If I cross or traverse the world, you are there. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.160 That is the greatness of our God. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:29.920 That He's with us on the mountain. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.279 He's with us in the valley. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:36.480 He's with us as we're going through the most difficult and darkest days of our lives. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.119 He never leaves us, he never forsakes us. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:44.880 He's a friend that sticks closer than a brother, a very present help in time of trouble. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.359 Emmanuel is with us. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.119 It's the beauty of who God is. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:58.319 That means when you're scared, he's with you. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:02.960 When you're sad, he's with you. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.680 When you're laughing, playing, he's with you. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.720 When your family is doing great, he's with you. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:16.160 When it's going through a hard time, he is with you. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:23.119 If you don't hear anything else this morning, I want it to drill down into the depths of your heart today. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.000 There's no place you can go that God's not there. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.160 This is the greatness of who he is. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:38.000 When I say God is, I want you to say with us. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:21:13.279 Everybody say God is God is God is God is God is God is when I'm scared, God is when I'm doing God, God is God is with us through every situation and circumstance of our life. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:18.640 The greatest gift of Christmas is not a present. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:21.920 It is present. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:30.559 We look underneath the Christmas tree and we wonder at the presents that are there. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.039 Those aren't the greatest gift. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:36.799 The greatest gift is Emmanuel. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.440 I'm so thankful today. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.519 That God's not just with us when it's good. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.880 I'm even more thankful that God's with us when it's not. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:56.640 I'm thankful that he never leaves us. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.599 Never forsakes us. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:06.240 Jesus is God saying, I'm not just sending you something, I'm sending you myself. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:15.119 The Bible tells us that God is the giver of all good gifts, and the greatest gift that he could ever give us is himself. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:19.839 It's not a present, it's his presence that we most desperately need. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:22.480 And that's what we are celebrating today. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.599 That's what Christmas is all about. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:35.359 Christmas is about the celebration of a God who has come near to us to be with us for all time. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.880 I want to go back to the manger for just a moment as I wrap this up. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:43.200 I told you I wasn't going to be long this morning. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.960 For once, a pastor was telling the truth when he made that statement. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:56.400 The manger is an interesting image that we have in this story. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.920 Manger is a fancy way of saying feeding trough. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.559 That's what the manger was. 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:12.799 It was a stone feeding trough that was used in barns of that day to feed animals. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:17.759 So think about this with me for a moment. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:24.960 Later in his life, Jesus called himself the bread of life. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:27.680 The bread of life. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:29.839 Everybody say bread of life. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:36.400 So the bread of life was laid in a feeding trough. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.200 In a place called Bethlehem. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:45.039 Do you know what Bethlehem means in Greek? 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:51.119 It literally translates house of bread. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:24:03.279 So the bread of life was laid in a feeding trough in a place called the house of bread. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:16.400 From his inception, it was like God was saying, through this child, I'm going to feed all of humanity for all of time. 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:47.839 The bread of life, born in a place called House of Bread, laid in a feeding trough, so that whosoever would would have the opportunity to come and partake of a bread that never grows old, that never grows stale, that always is fresh, is always on point in every way to feed us every morning. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.000 I'm thankful for the bread of life today. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:25:21.279 What's amazing is later in his life, his death and his resurrection turned that feeding trough we call a manger into the very first communion table where all of us are invited to partake of bread that leads to everlasting life. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:29.279 In just a moment, we're going to take communion together to celebrate the bread of life. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.559 You should have received that when you came in this morning, the communion elements. 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:42.400 If you don't have any of those, please raise your hand and one of our ushers will be happy to serve you those elements this morning, guys. 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:43.680 We have some people with their hands up. 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.240 If you could help me with that, I would appreciate it. 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:56.559 I can think of no better sacrament to participate in today than communion. 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:06.559 Because in Jesus' birth, he was pointing us to his death to give us life evermore. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.519 Have a few more over here to my left, I think, guys. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.519 If you could help me with that. 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:22.079 Thank you. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:24.240 Anybody else? 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:31.359 I want you to stand with me where you are this morning. 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:51.119 Before we take communion, though, which is an acknowledgement of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and our commitment to following and serving Him. 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:55.680 I'm going to give you an opportunity, if you don't know Jesus, to come to know Him. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:27:13.279 With every head bowed and every eye closed this morning, if you're here today worshiping with us here right before Christmas, and you've not given your life to the bread of life, I want to give you that opportunity today. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:31.119 The Bible tells us that if we acknowledge Him as Lord, recognize that He is the Son of God and has come to take away the sins of the world, that He gave His all so that we might have life and it more abundantly. 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:35.119 If you're here today and you've not given your life to Jesus, I want to pray for you. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:39.359 So with every head bowed and every eye closed this morning, if that's you, would you just raise your hand? 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.400 I want to pray for you today. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:43.279 If there's anyone here, I'll just wait just a moment. 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.039 Anyone here today? 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:50.240 Pastor, I want to give my life to Jesus. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:52.319 I'll wait just a moment longer. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.240 Okay, you can look at me. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.240 Church, we're gonna participate in communion today. 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:08.160 I celebrate that every person here today knows the Lord. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:14.640 In order to lead you in communion, I need somebody to bring me some communion elements, though. 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:18.319 Thank you, Pastor Noah. 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:19.839 You're always on point. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:23.440 If you would take the bread today. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:35.599 Right before Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified, he gathered his disciples around him. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:41.599 And he says, This is the bread of the new covenant. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:46.960 This is representative of my body that is broken for you. 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:52.319 And by my stripes, you're healed. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:55.839 Anybody thankful for healing today? 00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:09.359 Father, we acknowledge you, your son, as the bread of life and his body that was given for us that we might have it in everlasting life. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:18.079 Today we partake of the bread and say thank you for life and healing in every way. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:21.119 In Jesus' name, you may partake of the bread. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:27.839 If you would peel back the next layer and you'll find the juice there. 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.440 Jesus then took the cup. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.400 He says, This is the cup of the new covenant. 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:38.640 This juice is representative of my blood that I shed for you. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:45.119 This is so important because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:47.680 There is no remission of sin. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:59.839 But when Jesus shed his blood on Calvary's hill, we, when we acknowledge him as Lord, receive salvation, forgiveness, and redemption. 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.720 Anybody thankful for forgiveness today? 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:12.960 Lord Jesus, we thank you for your blood that you shed to earn our salvation, to earn our forgiveness. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.599 So today, we say thank you with every fiber of our being. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:32.720 We say thank you, Jesus, that you loved your life not unto death, but you gave it freely that we might have forgiveness, that we might have grace upon grace, upon grace, upon grace. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:35.119 God, we thank you for grace today. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:43.599 We take the cup and say thank you, Jesus. 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:45.039 You may take now. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:19.119 Jesus, we say thank you today for your wonderful, miraculous goodness and graciousness to us today. 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:21.839 We worship you this morning.