Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Faithful Transformations Through Everyday Encounters
Imagine discovering the essence of faith through a simple dinner at Texas Roadhouse. That's what happened when we met our waitress, Nicole, whose story of faith and family sparked a heartfelt conversation. From her daughter's church involvement to her ex-husband's transformative spiritual journey, we explored how everyday interactions can lead to profound connections. Sharing our own experiences of faith from a young age, we invited Nicole, and now you, to embrace a journey that promises transformation and a deeper understanding of life's purpose.
Ever wondered how the Old Testament connects to the teachings of Jesus? Think of it as the Marvel cinematic universe, where each part sets the stage for the next. We tackle the complexities and significance of the Old Testament and how Jesus reframed its teachings. This isn't just about laws and history; it's about the continuity of God's faithfulness and the profound messages that flow from old texts to new narratives. Through storytelling, we make these discussions relatable and meaningful, inviting you to see faith in a new light.
Our exploration doesn't stop there. We dive into personal tales of transformation, highlighting how embracing faith at a critical age can reshape lives. From a teenager's struggle with identity to a family's newfound joy in faith, these stories underscore the impact of aligning with the Word of God. We celebrate moments like a child's excitement for baptism, illustrating the beauty and understanding that come from engaging with both the Old and New Testaments. Join us for a heartfelt conclusion with a prayer, urging you to embark on your own transformative journey with Jesus.
you know, speaking of, you know sharing our faith. The boys are playing basketball right now and they play upward basketball, and so this is Griffin's second year, so he's clearly an expert. We go to practice and he's like, should I tell them what to do? I'm like no, that's I'm the coach, buddy. I'm like you're good, but I appreciate it. And then Everett this is his first year and so he's kind of learning the ropes and we had a really like crazy game yesterday afternoon and it was like really intense.
Speaker 1:And so afterwards we go out to Texas Roadhouse to eat. We saw Madison and Brandon there, woo-woo, shout out to Madison and Brandon. If you guys ever go to Texas Roadhouse, you should just acknowledge them. We try to embarrass them because I feel like that's kind of my role in their life. And so we go there and we're having a meal and you know we're just kind of doing our thing. And so our waitress her name is Nicole, and so she serves us and about halfway through she realizes that you know the Griffin's wearing an Upward jersey and she's like, oh, she's like, well, my daughter plays Upwards and you know they played out at Crossroads and she's telling us a little bit kind of her story and you know she's like, yeah, she's like, you know my ex-husband is is. You know, he's like he's found Jesus. He's like if you ever go there, he's like this really tatted up guy but for the last couple of years he's been bringing people to Jesus and baptizing them. I'm like that's the coolest story that I've heard today. And so she's kind of sharing about her experience and she's talking about, yeah, she's like my daughter keeps inviting me to church and she's like I keep thinking about it. And then she's like I'm not really sure, and so we kind of get to the end of our meal and so I kind of explain who I am and how we know Madison and Brandon and where we go to church, and so we're having.
Speaker 1:We get to the end of our meal, I just kind of feel compelled and I stop her and I'm like, listen, I'm going to. This is my spiel, right as as a preacher to church. But but, but as someone who has had faith in Jesus since I was 15 years old, I was like I'm going to tell you and I know you've heard this before and maybe you haven't and I and I see you're kind of on the fence about, you know embracing this idea of church, and let me just tell you it'll change your life. I was like I remember when I was 15 years old and I came to know who Jesus was, and if you would have asked my 14-year-old self, if you would have told me at 14 years old that I'd be standing on pulpit preaching, I would have laughed at you, as would have everyone around me. But I told her that the best thing I can tell you is that it's not always an easy journey, but when you really give your life to Jesus, it'll change everything for you. I was like it's kind of interesting, because you talk about your ex-husband and she's like yeah, that's what he says all the time. I'm like well, he's telling you the truth. I was like I can verify on his behalf and you've seen it. You've seen it in his life, you've seen it in your kid's life. I'm telling you it'll change your life. And I was like listen, I preach over in Fowlensby. Crossroads is a good church. You can go there, I'm not against it, but if you want to come check us out, that's cool too. And I was like you know that church is actually pivotal to getting me into ministry. And I was like. So, whatever you decide, let me just encourage you in this moment go to church, get plugged in, figure out what your daughter and your ex-husband have already figured out, that Jesus will change your life Right.
Speaker 1:And so when we talk about sharing the gospel, I think a lot of times we overwhelm ourselves with how difficult it is. What am I going to say? What scriptures do I need to know? How do I lead them to accept Jesus? And really most of the conversations we have are just that, they're just conversations. It's a chance to tell someone about Jesus. Just that there's conversations. It's a chance to tell someone about Jesus, to talk a little bit about my life and my story, and so that's kind of where the entirety of this series is headed.
Speaker 1:It's all about understanding the story. There's a couple years ago, there's a church that I was the youth minister at and I had preached a couple passages out of the Old Testament, and so I get done preaching and as I walk, everyone always wants to talk to the guy that preached, and they always give you really encouraging words, or they don't, depending on the context. And so this older gentleman in the church and I love him to death he's a fantastic guy. He walks up to me and he says we're a New Testament church I don't know why you're teaching the old and I was like, because it's there, like it's important, right, it's important that we understand where the story started, right? So I preached on this topic a couple years ago and it's like this and I'm a Marvel fan, so stick with me Endgame was phenomenal.
Speaker 1:If I could erase my memory and go back and re-watch that movie again, it'd be the coolest thing ever. In a 10-year time span, marvel created this masterpiece of movies that told this incredible story. The finality of that was crazy powerful. But this is great if you start with Iron man, where it all started, or, you could argue, the Hulk, depending on the Edward Norton Hulk, but we don't talk about that one. It started 10 years before.
Speaker 1:So before you get to the end of the story, there's this buildup of all the events that happen. One of the things my wife accuses me of is, if we're watching a movie and I'm bored, I'll Google the end of it just so I can stop watching it because I'm not interested. I just want to know what happens and then I'll move on, right. There's a reason I don't watch documentaries, especially if I know the end, because I'm like, well, no one's going to live anyway, so what's the point? Right, and so I get bored.
Speaker 1:But you have to understand. The Old Testament sets the stage for who Jesus is. You can't understand the new without the old. You might understand glimpses of it, but to really understand how significant the life of Jesus was, you've got to journey through the Old Testament. You have to see who God is.
Speaker 1:Now the hard part is when you get into the Old Testament. Some of it's challenging I'm not going to sit here and lie and act like it's not Some of the passages. When you read through Leviticus, that stuff seems a little crazy to us. When you get to Numbers and you're like why do I care about all these generations of people who have died thousands of years ago, about all these generations of people who have died thousands of years ago, right? So the Old Testament is written specifically for Israel. It's their history, it captures their history, who they are, how God came to be. You know, talk about Moses, right. All of those stories David and Goliath, Shadrach, meshach and Abednego all of these stories set the stage for the coming of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Now here's where things shift a little bit. Now that we have Jesus. You have to approach the Old Testament through the light of who Jesus is. So some of it changes. There's a reason why we don't do animal sacrifices anymore, and it's not because we ran out of animals. There's things about the Old Testament that were really good then, but Jesus has kind of refocused and repurposed them right, and so we have to understand that.
Speaker 1:So Matthew 5, 17 through 20, jesus himself says this Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly, I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law, until everything is accomplished. Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven, for I tell you that your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. You will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. So he's talking about the law, right? So this is their Old Testament, this is everything that they have and he's saying listen, I haven't come to abolish these things, but I've come to bring new purpose to them, to fulfill them. All of the prophecies, all of the sacrifices, everything that we've brought that you now know, it still exists, it's still purposeful, but now that I'm here, some of it changes a little bit.
Speaker 1:One of the greatest examples I think we see of this is when Jesus has the encounter with the woman caught in adultery, right? So? So a group of men, they go find this woman and she's been caught in adultery, probably because they knew where she was, because some of them probably knew who she was. So they find this woman and they bring her to Jesus and, and they're trying to trap him, they say she's been caught in adultery. The law tells us to stone her. By the way, that's biblical Old Testament. If you're caught in adultery, you get stoned to death. Seems a little harsh, right, but we're talking about Old Testament's interesting because you're talking about a world that's chaos and a God who's trying to bring control right. So the Old Testament law said that she should be stoned.
Speaker 1:So they bring her before Jesus, and I love Jesus so much because he doesn't interact with them right away. He just kind of kneels down and like starts to draw. You ever had someone like, do that, like you come to them with a problem, and they just sit there and like ignore you. You and you're like, okay, now this is making me mad. And so Jesus comes in and he's not really paying attention to them. I can imagine they keep pressing him. And then he finally gets up and he says well, to any of you who have not sinned, feel free to throw the first stone. And of course we all know what happens, or maybe you don't, but they all drop their stone and they all walk away, right? So once again Jesus took something that was Old Testament. But you have to filter it through his lens of grace and mercy. Now he doesn't accept her sin. He tells her listen, don't go and don't do this anymore. He's not okay with the sin, but the approach is different. His focus is different. So the Old Testament is still necessary. It's still something that we have to understand, right?
Speaker 1:I love this quote. It says do we need the Old Testament? That's a familiar question often asked. But as an Old Testament scholar, john Goldengay, turns that question on its head, he says do we need the New Testament. What's new about the New Testament? After all, the Old Testament was the only Bible Jesus and the disciples knew. Jesus affirmed it as the Word of God. Do we need anything more? And what happens when we begin to look at the Old Testament, which is the First Testament, not as a deficient old work in need of Christological makeover, but as a rich and splendid revelation of God's faithfulness to Israel and the world? In this cheerfully provocative yet probingly seriously book, john Golden Gay says the question and views is from a variety of angles and under his expert hand, each facet unfolds a surprising richness of the Old Testament and challenges us to recalibrate our perspective on it. And so, once again, his approach is the Old Testament is all they had. That's how they lived their life.
Speaker 1:To me, I've always understood that, as you and I don't get to discount it. We can't act like it's not worth studying. So here's why I think the Old Testament's important. It's the foundation for the New Testament. It sets the tone. It's the foundation for the New Testament. It sets the tone. It's Jesus' only Bible, God's first special revelation, so long before Jesus God had showed himself to the world. It teaches about God's divinity. It teaches about the relationship between God and Israel. It teaches about Jesus, it contains a message of hope and it teaches about God's forgiveness.
Speaker 1:You know one of the things that we often see when we come across people who are looking for faults in Scripture, they go to the Old Testament and they start to say how could God do this? How could he let this happen? Why would he flood the entire earth? Why are people who are not living in accordance with his will, why? Why is god punishing nations? So two things when I approach this is, I have to understand two things. One I'm not god I'm. I don't get to make final decisions on what God decides he's going to do. He is coming at this from someone who is holy and perfect and righteous. I am not. I make bad decisions all the time. So God's approach is sitting from a place that you and I don't understand. The other part of it is for all of the times that we see God do things that we don't understand.
Speaker 1:The Old Testament is a story of grace. If I was God, I would have wiped Israel out way sooner. Have you ever read the Old Testament and see how many times they fail God and they let other gods in and they do crazy things that they shouldn't do. I would have wiped them off the mat and started again, but he doesn't. He continues to bring this remnant out of them and show them mercy and show them grace. Jesus comes to the nation of Israel, who God spares, over and over and over again in the Old Testament, even though they deserve any punishment he would bring upon them. So the Old Testament isn't this book of suffering and pain and punishment. It's there, but when you really read it at large, it's grace. It shows the mercy of who God is. We find Jesus in the Old Testament.
Speaker 1:In the book of Genesis, jesus is the seed of the woman who would defeat sin and death. In Exodus, he's the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he's the high priest In Numbers, he's the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Deuteronomy is the prophet who would teach people to love God. Joshua he's the captain of the Lord's army who brings salvation. In Judges, he's the perfect judge and lawgiver. In Ruth, he's the kinsman redeemer. Jeremiah is the weeping Messiah Lamentations he assumes the wrath of God on behalf of others. Ezekiel he's the son of man. Book of Daniel, he's in the fire with the people. And Hosea, he's the faithful husband who stays with people even when they betray him. And Joel he sends the spirit to his people. And Amos he delivers justice to the oppressed. Obadiah, he's the judge of those who do evil. And Jonah he's the greatest missionary, who perceives the undeserving with mercy.
Speaker 1:Throughout the Old Testament we see glimpses of who Jesus is. Not only who he is, but he's there in his representation. So to discount the Old Testament, it's nonsense To act if it's not important to us and who we are. It sets up the greatest story ever told. Without the Old Testament, the New Testament doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The Old Testament sets the stage for who God is, everything he's done since Genesis, since the fall of humanity, that there's been a plan in place that will eventually lead to the sacrifice of his son for the sake of the world.
Speaker 1:To look at the Bible and say that we are only a New Testament church is to ignore the fact that God has always been who he is since the beginning, the moment the church came into existence. The New Testament church came into existence wasn't the first time. God had shown up. Thousands of years prior to that moment there's a recorded history of a God who loves His creation, whose desire is to draw them back. Jesus manifested that in the flesh for you and me. We actually got to see a side of God that physically they had never seen prior.
Speaker 1:Jesus came to fulfill not abolish it, not throw it away, not treat it like it wasn't necessary, but he came to fulfill the Old Testament, all of the prophecies, all of the truths, all of it. And, as I said earlier talking about the woman who's being stoned, we have to filter it through his lens. So when we look at the New Testament and we come across hard passages, we have to understand that Jesus refocused some of those teachings. But for the Old Testament specifically, we have to understand that Jesus refocused some of those teachings. But for the Old Testament specifically, we have to understand that God is trying to create a people who are holy and set apart, living among nations who are not. So it might seem extreme to us, but if you do just a little bit of study, a little bit of historical study, you realize that the nations around Israel, especially in the Old Testament, were not good people and God is trying to set them apart from everyone else.
Speaker 1:So Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets from the Old Testament. In several ways he fulfills the messianic hopes of Israel and God's overarching redemptive plan for the entire world, which are both testified to and anticipated in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfills the Old Testament sacrificial system. That's why you and I don't have to sacrifice at a temple anymore, which is sometimes referred to as ceremonial law. Through once and for all, his sacrifice and atonement on the cross, he fulfills the law in perfectly obeying its righteous requirements and standards on behalf of sinful humanity. So Jesus fulfilled every law. He was the perfect creation. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He also fulfills the law in the sense that he interprets it and applies it correctly. There was some misrepresentation, especially by the time he shows up, as to what the laws were for, but Jesus interprets them and applies them correctly, representing the final and perfect interpretation of the Torah. This final and perfect interpretation involves the heightening, expanding and deepening of the law in certain cases, as well as the sprinkling or covering of the law with his blood, which does away with the accusatory aspect of the law for those who accept the forgiveness of Christ.
Speaker 1:And Jesus fulfills the law by updating and even revoking certain teachings from the Old Testament that have become obsolete and no longer applicable to the New Testament church, and so, once again, we read the New Testament, we read the Old Testament through the light of Jesus, right? So here's some things that we don't do today. We don't have dietary restrictions. We don't consider any animals unclean Now, some of you do, but biblically we're not held to account. If I decide to eat bacon, I'm good, right, god's okay with that. We don't sacrifice animals at the temple. We don't perform rituals dealing with uncleanliness from touching dead bodies, regulations regarding mixing fabrics or planting different seed types together Can you imagine? Like, if you look at Old Testament, there were certain fabrics that weren't allowed to be mixed together, and so some of those things have changed because they've been reinterpreted through the life of Christ. It doesn't mean that they weren't relevant at the time. It just means that the standard that they had were not held to that same standard.
Speaker 1:So Jesus upholds the authority of the law for all time. It's important to understand that. However, it's not so much the law itself that is lasting, but his personal fulfillment of it. For the Christian, the Old Testament is authoritative as far as it's understood and interpreted in Christ. Without reframing our interpretation of the Old Testament around its fulfillment in Christ, christians could still justify sacrificing animals on altars for their sins and stoning children who are disobedient to their parents. By the way, I know the kids aren't up here, but can you imagine if we still followed that one?
Speaker 1:So, deuteronomy 21, 8 through 21, it says if someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline them, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders the son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard. Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. Can we be honest? If we're reading the Old Testament, you come across that you're like well, that seems like a lot, but once again Jesus refocuses, repurposes, through through who he is. So when we come across passages like this, we have to look to the new testament to give us a better understanding. How does jesus understand this? How does jesus refocus this now?
Speaker 1:I don't know if they ever stoned anyone back then I would hope if my kids face fear of stoning, they would be the best kids that ever lived in the world, right? But once again, for whatever reason, in the Old Testament, god establishes these. He allows these to exist to set a nation apart. Now that we're part of the New Testament, now that Jesus has come, we have to interpret that through his lens. That's why we don't stone people. That's why it's okay for us to eat certain animals. That's why I don't have to worry about the fabric that's part of my shirt. Doesn't mean they weren't important. It just means they've now been reinterpreted through the life of Christ, the grace and mercy that he brought into play. But here's the thing yes, those laws are important, but the one thing that remains consistent in the Old Testament and the New is morality. The morality of the Old Testament still holds true in the New Testament.
Speaker 1:Jesus didn't change any of this. He didn't reestablish this. The way we're supposed to live, the things we're not supposed to engage in, the things that are called sin in the Old Testament are still sin in the New. That hasn't shifted at all. It still separates us from God. So you can't say well, back then that was a sin, it's still sin. God hasn't changed, he hasn't shifted who he is, but we still view it through the lens of Jesus. Adultery is still sin, but we don't stone the woman because she's found grace through Christ. But even in that grace Jesus says now go and stop doing that. He didn't give her a pass to continue to live as if what she was doing was okay. Sin is still sin. We have to call it what it is. We have to still understand that everything that we see from a morality standpoint scripturally is equal across the board.
Speaker 1:It doesn't mean we don't wrestle, like I said, with the old testament. There's some difficult passages in there. That's why when we, when I meet someone who's a new christian, there's a reason I don't send them to the old testament first. It's not that I don't love them, but I need them to understand the gospel. I need them to understand who jesus is, how loving and graceful and mercy is and the sacrifice he. And then we can go back and look at what God has called us to. Because here's the thing, and this is the crazy thing to live a life like Christ requires us to sacrifice and give up certain things about ourselves. I had a conversation Sarah. Hi, sarah, I'm picking on Sarah. I had a conversation with Sarah this morning about this.
Speaker 1:I think one of the hardest things about being a Christian is when we come to know who God is and we have that experience and the Holy Spirit's in us, all of a sudden there's like this conflict in us Because the person who I was before Christ if I'm honest, I kind of like that person just a little bit. I like those behaviors, I like those practices. When I come to Christ he challenges me to change and give up those things and that is really hard for some people to do. So when we look at the Old Testament and we think man, like God really was, you know, punishing them and calling them to do things different Listen, it's the same in the new. The difference is is you see it through the life of Jesus, but God still calls us to do hard things.
Speaker 1:One of the craziest things that drives me absolutely insane is the church and church people. We are not meant to look like the world around us. We are called to be different. There is something different about how we live, how we talk, the conversations we have, the kind of stuff we consume. We should be living in such a way that we are set apart. Our morality listen. This is a hard conversation, man, but it's needed.
Speaker 1:Our morality is not based on what we think is right or wrong. It's on what God has deemed sin for or not. That is what it comes down to. If God says it's sin, we call it sin. It doesn't mean we can't show grace. It doesn't mean we can't show grace. It doesn't mean we can't show mercy. It doesn't mean that we don't struggle with these things. But our morality is based off someone who sits up here above it all. So, just because I don't agree with something that God calls sin and I try to justify it and say well, that's not really sin, your opinion doesn't matter. In that case, god has set a standard that you and I are called to follow. We couldn't follow it, which is why Jesus came, because he did, but it doesn't mean that we don't strive to be everything we can.
Speaker 1:The Old Testament is necessary because it sets the stage that God is who he is and he's consistent His laws, his morality, his rules, the things he's calling us to the fact that we're supposed to be set apart as a people of God, in the same way Israel is supposed to be set apart as a nation of God. We don't look like the rest of the world. We live for something bigger. We have a higher power. We call him God. We model a life after his son. We call him Jesus, filled by the Holy Spirit. We live that out. So the world around us sees that there is something different and unique about these people. There's a reason why the Spirit has been gifted us and we talk about this when we talk about baptism.
Speaker 1:The Bible teaches us that the moment we're baptized, we receive forgiveness of our sins and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2.38, right, there's a couple other passages there, but that's the big one Peter's response on the day of Pentecost when people say what do we have to do to be saved? Be baptized, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of the sins and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in us is what allows us to look at Scripture and understand that this truth is our truth now. It empowers us to live out this truth. God established that truth in the Old Testament, he fulfills it in the New Testament and any church, any Christian who's choosing to follow Him today is going to live that out to the best of their ability. The beauty of it is. We live that out under the grace that Christ has afforded us.
Speaker 1:I don't live the way that I do us. I don't live the way that I do because I want God to show me grace and mercy. I live the way that I do because he already has. That's why it matters. So when we look at the New Testament, when we look at the Old Testament, yes, there are things that are hard to understand. Yes, we have to read the Old Testament through the lens of the new. But when you read them together you realize there's consistency. The God who showed grace and mercy to Israel is the same God who showed grace and mercy to us. The story of the Old Testament paints the picture of the coming Messiah who we experience in the new.
Speaker 1:Everything from Acts on is for those who have chosen to believe and follow him. It shows us how to live. It teaches us what we need. It shows churches how to function. Everything we do comes back to Scripture. We live the way we live because this is what the Bible tells us to do, and that's tough, that's a standard. Sometimes it feels insurmountable, but by the grace of God and the Spirit in us, it's possible. I know I've said this before and I'll say it probably forever when it comes to how I live my life, if I am in Christ, my opinions do not matter compared to what God has commanded me to do and the Bible calls us to live in such a way. That is oftentimes difficult and challenging and we wrestle with it and, like I said, especially when you become a new believer, you're kind of at battle with yourself. But here's what I know and I'll tell you the same thing I told that young lady last night who served us when you really embrace the message of the gospel, when you really accept the forgiveness that God has called you to, when you really try to live your life biblically sound, it's the greatest thing ever. It's not always easy, but it'll change everything for you.
Speaker 1:15 years old, I was a teenager who wished for death almost every day. I hated my life. It's not that I didn't know who God was, but I didn't think God was for me, because why in the world would God ever ask and love someone like me? But when I gave my life to him and I finally submitted my life to him, it changed everything for me. It wasn't overnight. I still struggle with who I was and who I was trying to become. I still struggle sometimes with who I was and who I want to become, but the more I live my life in tune with the Word of God, the better I live my life in tune with the Word of God, the better I am, the better the lives of those around me.
Speaker 1:You know one of my favorite things growing up in my house right now, my kids talk about Jesus a lot. That's a cool thing to have. I don't know if you know that If you didn't grow up in a household where you talk about God a lot, my kids are asking about Jesus all the time. Miles is three years old and likes to be practice baptized. I don't know what it is with him. We were at Texas Roadhouse last night and he's grabbing his nose and wants to be baptized. I'm like we're not. I love you but we're not there yet. But I love the fact that my kids.
Speaker 1:God has changed my life so much and he's done so much for me that I give. I have the gift and the opportunity to give that to my kids. I don't have to wait until they're 15 years old and they're wishing to die, because they're going to learn at a young age that life is for them, that Jesus loves them, that God has sacrificed for them, that their relationship with God is more important than anything else they could ever imagine. And the only way that I've been able to do that is because God took my life at 15 years old and turned me around and said now you're going to live for me. And I've never looked back.
Speaker 1:So when I tell you that embracing God, embracing Jesus, embracing the Scripture, will change your life, I am living proof. It will change your life. I didn't get here because I'm special or I'm a good speaker or whatever people say skill set-wise. I'm here in this place because, when I was at my worst and I was at my lowest, the God of all creation showed me that Jesus died for me, and it's changed my life every single day. So when you ask me do I think studying the Bible Old and New Testament is important, my answer is always going to be yes. Yes, because when you understand the God of the Old Testament, you see the beauty Of Jesus in the New Testament. Alright, let's pray.