WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.679 Well, happy Labor Day. 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:02.479 Glad you're here. 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.559 Happy college football season, right? 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:08.960 I I don't I needed yesterday. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.480 More out of redemption. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.759 I'm a Georgia Bulldog, and it had been nine months since what happened to us, right? 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.000 Some of you know what I'm talking about. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:21.120 So a few of you, I know who you are, are happy about that. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.640 As we played for the national championship against Alabama. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.879 Now, to fill you in, if you play Alabama, you don't expect to win, right? 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:29.600 You don't. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:34.560 You just go and you you just like this slight hope, like just maybe something could happen. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:40.079 Like all their players could be injured in one play, and then maybe you're playing their third team and you have a chance, right? 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.240 So that national championship game, it started late at night, eight or nine o'clock at night. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:51.920 And so our whole family, my wife and I, and our three little girls, we all wanted to watch it, but we're so into it, we don't watch it with other people because you know you have to talk and stuff. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:52.799 We have to focus. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:57.759 So we watched it at our house, all by ourselves, or in our den, and we're all there watching it. 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:00.000 And man, that first half was amazing. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:04.640 I mean, we it's like all of a sudden we thought maybe we can beat this unbelievable team. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:05.359 This could happen. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.079 It's 13 to zero at halftime, if you don't remember. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:09.040 13 to 0. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.560 And just this little bit inside of you is like hopeful. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:13.519 This could happen. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:14.480 This could actually happen. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:18.079 I mean, our defense is shutting down their offense or their quarterback. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:19.200 He couldn't do anything. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:20.560 It was amazing. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:23.280 And then halftime comes. 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.400 And Coach Sabin, Alabama coach, he goes in there because he can do whatever he wants. 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:30.879 He's won so many times, he can take so many risks. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:31.680 It doesn't matter. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:33.359 He can't be fired, right? 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:37.680 And he pulls out his senior quarterback and he plays the freshman. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:41.920 Like, who thinks you're gonna put a freshman in the second half of the national championship game? 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:43.439 And he plays this freshman. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:48.879 This guy comes out, he runs all over the field, he's throwing deep balls, he's scrambling. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:51.359 It is painful, right? 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:52.480 It is painful. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:54.079 And nobody saw it coming. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:03.359 And the cameras would kind of scan the UGA players or the fans, and everybody's like, you know, oh, you know, it's like the end of the world, the world's ending, my life. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:07.200 And they would say, Oh, their hearts are breaking. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:12.560 And then they'd show this kid scrambling all over and like, you know, throwing it long. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:17.599 I mean, like amazing play after amazing play, and they'd say, Oh, this kid has heart. 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:24.560 And eventually they score 10 in the third, we score seven, they score ten in the fourth, we score none. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:29.680 They win by three, and my insides are just breaking. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:36.879 I look down to the end of the couch, and one of my little girls just is just sad and she's starting to tear up, my dog's crying. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:39.120 Right? 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.080 Our hearts are breaking, right? 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:44.159 Our hearts break when we lose something. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:45.360 We say something, we say something like it. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:47.759 We use this language when we lose something. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.360 You lose a game and you go, oh, it broke our hearts, right? 00:02:52.080 --> 00:03:03.439 But but even more so, you lose a job, you lose a relationship, you lose innocence, you lose health, you you lose the dream of what you thought life would be like. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:04.560 And we use that phrase. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:05.680 That's a phrase we use. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:07.280 My heart was broken. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:08.479 I had a broken heart. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:09.919 I have I have a broken heart. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:10.879 And what are we saying? 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.039 Because the heart's an organ, right? 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:21.360 Heart's an organ, it's about the size of an adult fist, pumps 115,000 times a day. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:26.240 2,000 gallons of blood will be pumped through your body today. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.719 You could disconnect the heart from your body, it'll keep pumping. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:32.080 Like it's amazing. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:33.599 This organ is amazing. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:41.280 The heart is complex and amazing, and it sends out life to every limb and part of your body. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:49.919 So when we say our heart is breaking, my heart was broken, or Jesus lives in my heart. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.439 Well, we're not saying or talking about the organ, we're talking about something else, right? 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:57.439 But it's sort of the same thing, right? 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:04.319 Like the organ, right, is complex, it's amazing, it sends out life to every limb and part of your body. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.599 And when Jesus in the scriptures talks about the heart, same thing. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.280 That's why he uses the term. 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:12.479 The inner part of us. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:14.080 That's what this heart is. 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:21.920 The inner part of us that's complex and amazing and sends out life to every limb and part of your body. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:34.959 Counselor and Pastor Paul Tripp, he says it this way: the heart is the center of your personhood, the seeds of your thoughts and your desires and your emotions and your motivations and your values. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:36.319 So keep all that in mind. 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.040 Let me reread Mark 7, 14 through 23. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:41.439 So some of that was in your bolts, and some of it won't be. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:46.639 And he called the people to him again and said to them, Hear me, all of you understand. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:50.639 There's nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.759 But the things that come out of a person are what defile him. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:58.000 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked about him about the parable. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.000 And you know they're going, like, what's he talking about? 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:01.360 It's so different, so radical. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:05.759 Verse 18, and he said to them, Then are you also without understanding? 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:14.720 Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart, but his stomach, and is expelled? 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.639 He's getting a little graphic there, verse 20. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.560 And he said, What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:26.160 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:34.399 Sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:39.519 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:40.639 So a few points. 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.079 Point number one is this we are the problem. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:52.879 You and I, we are the problem because our hearts are a mix of good and evil. 00:05:53.680 --> 00:06:03.680 So, my friend David, he tells a story about when he was a teenager and his father needed to move to Germany, and they moved their family to Germany to finish his PhD. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:05.759 He was a teenager, so he had to leave his friends. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:06.639 Leave a school? 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.720 That's not an easy thing to do when you're a teenager. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.079 So when he gets to Germany, he's upset, he's angry. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:20.879 And he starts going into his room and shutting the door and playing angry, hateful, heavy metal rock. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:31.360 So his father lets it go by for about a week, pulls him aside about after a week, and he says, David, um, I know you're listening to horrible music. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:32.800 It's not good for you. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.079 I know that. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:36.319 I'll let you listen to it. 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:42.639 But I only ask that you ask yourself one question. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.360 Why do you want to listen to it? 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:47.839 And he left him alone. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:50.480 Now, maybe you wouldn't parent like that. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:52.160 Okay, maybe you wouldn't. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:54.879 But what was his dad doing? 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:57.920 Well, his dad knew this passage. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.199 The music does not defile his son. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:11.279 His son has a heart that wants to listen to that music, which is the bigger and deeper issue. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:22.560 Now, my friend kept listening to the music for a while, and then eventually the love of his father, the questioning of his father, helped him see that he was angry. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.759 And when his anger subsided, guess what? 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.879 He didn't want to listen to the music anymore. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:30.879 Right? 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.079 You see, the world is real and it influences. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:36.800 There's evil in the world, it influences, sure it does. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.120 But all the evil is not out there. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:41.519 It's in here. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:43.759 It's in your children. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:46.399 It's in your sweet granny. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:48.000 Right? 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.439 You already know it's in your spouse and your sibling. 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:52.800 You already know that. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:54.800 And it's in you. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:59.759 He or she or they or that or those people. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:02.160 They're not the problem. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.319 You're the problem. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:06.720 Because you're a sinner. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:08.800 I'm the problem because I'm a sinner. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.399 It's my heart. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.399 And it it'll be effortless. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:20.560 It will be effortless in your life to continue to always blame other people. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.399 And to never engage your own heart. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:35.679 It'll be effortless for all the evil to always be out there and to be them and it for never, ever, ever for it to possibly be you. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.720 And then to think if I just get all the external things in place, right? 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:56.159 Like if I if I protect myself from them and from him and her and that, if I protect myself and I protect my kids from all of that evil, then we will be okay and we will be holy and we will be happy. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.200 And it'll be easy to do that. 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:02.240 But it doesn't work. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:07.120 Because your heart is a mix of good and evil. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:11.039 Just like their heart is a mix of good and evil. 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:19.039 Point number two is this the external is not sufficient to deal with the problem because the problem is our hearts. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.679 This is what Jesus is saying in this passage. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:31.440 The scene in the passage is a group of people trying to manage their imperfection and their sin and their guilt by means of external solutions. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:40.480 Down to the way of like, hey, let's form a rule about washing our hands the right way and the dishes the right way so that we eat the right food. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:47.519 If we get all this in place, all these rules, and then we can obey the rules, then we can feel holy or sanctified or approved by God. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:48.080 Right? 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:49.679 It's a form of legalism. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:50.159 Right? 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:59.440 Legalism is uh I will obey and then I will be accepted or absolved of my sin and I will then be loved by God. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:09:59.759 Right? 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.279 Obey, then accept it. 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.480 But the gospel's the other way around. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:04.000 The gospel is no, no, no, no, no. 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:14.559 Like you're the problem, you're a sinner, and yet you're fully loved, and Jesus' work is enough for you, so you are accepted, therefore, hopefully, you will obey. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:21.200 And Jesus sees a group of people who have it the wrong way around. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:32.720 I read a recent article, it's a couple weeks ago, about some famous pastors who are absorbed in celebrity culture. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:42.159 And so I read this article, and my first reaction is I go to their Instagram feed, and you know, so I can sit in judgment over them and feel better about my life, is why I was doing this. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.080 And it actually worked. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:56.559 Um I felt very proud of myself for about 30 minutes as I was looking through their feed, and it was picture after picture of them with celebrity after celebrity, and they're like all in strange leather jackets, right? 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:58.240 Like, I mean, that's always part of it. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:06.799 And I'm just like, judgment over them, like they're so horrible, you know, all they care about is fame, blah blah, you know, and I would never, you know. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:12.480 Like how quickly I or you skip over compassion. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:15.200 Right? 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:21.039 There's a self-righteousness in me that does not want to die. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:27.919 You see, there is evil out there. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:29.440 There is. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:31.919 But there's evil in here. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:40.799 And that's why Jesus gives us a laundry list here in this passage of like, hey, will you see yourself yet? 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:41.360 Right? 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:45.519 Like, can you will you let down on all those rules trying to make yourself feel righteous? 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:48.000 Can you see yourself yet? 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:49.600 Do you remember the David story? 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:52.879 Remember that brave guy in the Old Testament? 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:55.120 He takes down Goliath. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:02.080 But before that, the prophet Samuel, he's looking to anoint a new king, and he shows up and there's all these brothers and they're lined up, and they're all the studs. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.240 Like, these are the guys who have it under control. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:08.720 I mean, they're the guys that they look like, they're captain of the football team type of guy, right? 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.840 Like they're the one you think would be anointed to be king. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.039 And Samuel looks through all of them and he's like, no, none of them. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:16.480 Like, is there another one? 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:17.600 Is there somebody else? 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:20.639 And the brothers are like, there's another one, but like he's the runt, man. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.639 Like he's keeping the sheep like out. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:24.000 You don't want to see him. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:24.720 It doesn't matter. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:26.480 He's inconsequential. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.000 No, no, no, that's that's the one. 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:34.960 That's the Bible actually says, oh, that's the man after God's own heart. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:35.440 Right? 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.120 The Bible said, this guy has a heart after God's heart. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:48.799 And then the storyline's amazing, sad, because he eventually becomes king and he lusts after a woman. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:51.120 He has an affair with a woman. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.919 The storyline gets worse and worse. 00:12:54.480 --> 00:13:02.720 There's a pregnancy, there's trying to be a cover-up, then there's uh put Uriah on the front line to have him killed. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:04.720 Same man. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.840 The same man. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:10.639 Same heart. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.600 And then he repents. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:21.279 And he weeps in sorrow, and he writes these unbelievable psalms for us, these beautiful poems for us to read. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:22.799 Same man. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:24.960 Same heart. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.080 A heart that is a mix of good and evil. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:32.080 Okay, maybe at this point you're thinking, I came to church on Labor Day. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.240 I should be rewarded for this. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.559 And you are depressing me. 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:43.279 This is the most depressing sermon I've ever heard up till this point. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.679 Well, I heard it put this this way this week. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:58.320 By accepting Jesus' diagnosis of our inner selves, we allow ourselves to become a more mature, aware person. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.519 You see, this is why. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.200 Because it explains you. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:08.559 Until you accept this diagnosis, you don't have an explanation of yourself. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:13.519 You don't have an explanation why you're not getting better in certain areas of your life. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:18.799 Or why in one area it gets better, and then there's another area all of a sudden that pops up. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.240 You don't have an explanation for that unless you're a sinner. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:33.120 And then all of a sudden, if you're a sinner, and then if you're a sinner saved by grace, you have an explanation of yourself and you have a rescue of yourself and you have a power to deal with all of this. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:44.799 And then point number three, a gospel lens of sin and grace upon yourself takes you into your heart and then leads you outward. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:50.639 A gospel lens of sin and grace upon yourself takes you into your heart and then leads you outward. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:55.919 And all I have to say about that is because you're humbled that you're a sinner. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:58.879 Just like him and her and them and that person. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.240 She's so horrible, but yeah, I'm horrible like her. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.080 And all this creates compassion for other people. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.639 Because yeah, they don't have their act together. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:11.440 But I also don't have my act together. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:13.039 Point number four. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.120 You can forgive yourself. 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:24.480 You can forgive yourself because you are loved and forgiven in that heart that is a mix of good and evil. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:30.320 Have you forgiven yourself yet for not being perfect? 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.279 I know maybe you've forgiven other people, but I'm not talking about you forgiven other people. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:41.759 Have you forgiven yourself yet for not being perfect? 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:58.399 For that thing you did, or you think you can't be forgiven of that, or that missed opportunity, or you haven't lived up to the standard your parents set, or you thought you'd be at by whatever age, or there was a mishap, there's a something happened, or there's shame, or there's guilt. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:05.200 And there's gonna be part of your heart that keeps condemning you for not being perfect. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:16.320 But the grace of God, Jesus' word for you, that takes your sin on the cross, fully pays for it, so his righteousness is given to you. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:21.840 You are forever his beloved, forever righteous, forever, always, secure. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.399 Heart is good and evil, and yet God sees you as his beloved. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:32.559 Have you forgiven yourself yet? 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:33.919 That you're not perfect. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:40.000 It's the only way for you to experience growth and grace. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:42.480 Any transformation. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:51.120 So, church, go into your heart and see what the Holy Spirit will show you. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:17:01.759 And know whatever you see, whatever you see, you are absolved and accepted because of Jesus' work for you. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:07.039 And see, the scriptures have been, the scriptures have been speaking to the heart the entire time. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:10.400 Song of Solomon chapter 2 says this. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:11.599 This is how God speaks to us. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:12.240 Listen to this. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:18.240 My beloved speaks and says to me, Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:28.000 For now the winter is past and the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in her land. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:32.240 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:33.920 They give forth fragrance. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:36.400 Arise, my love, my fair one. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:37.359 This is you. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:38.720 This is you. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:39.759 Arise, my love. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:40.799 That's you. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:42.559 My fair one. 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:44.079 And come away. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:49.759 My brothers and sisters, may you have hearts to receive. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:51.839 Let's pray together. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:59.599 God, thank you for the gift of Jesus that proclaims that we are your beloved. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:14.400 That you see us through the blood of Jesus, your grace toward us, not our work, not our performance, not our, you know, you don't see our sin, but you see your son. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:24.160 May our identities be formed by your love for us, our acceptance and absolution in the work of Jesus. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:40.480 May our hearts, while they are a mix of good and evil, may they know your love more and more and more, and be transformed by your goodness and your power. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.319 Through your grace is greater than our sin. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:47.599 In Jesus' name we pray all things and we hope in. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:48.559 Amen.