Near to the Heart of God

December 10, 2023

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Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 read aloud during the Advent candle lighting as the candle of peace scripture

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.

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Psalm 145:18

the anchor verse about the Lord being near to all who call on him, framing the whole sermon

18 Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

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Psalm 145:1-21

worked through verse by verse as the main text of the sermon

1 I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever and ever.

3 Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation will commend your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts.

5 Of the glorious majesty of your honor, of your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts. I will declare your greatness.

7 They will utter the memory of your great goodness, and will sing of your righteousness.

8 Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.

9 Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.

10 All your works will give thanks to you, Yahweh. Your saints will extol you.

11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power;

12 to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahweh is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.

14 Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 Yahweh is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.

18 Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20 Yahweh preserves all those who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh. Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

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James 4:8

cited alongside Psalm 145:18 as a parallel: draw near to God and he will draw near to you

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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Colossians 3:15-16

read at a wedding the prior week, referenced as encouragement to speak to one another in psalms and hymns

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

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Exodus 3:5

God telling Moses to remove his sandals on holy ground and commanding him to go to Pharaoh

5 He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”

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Exodus 34

God proclaiming his own name to Moses as compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in faithfulness

1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

3 No one shall come up with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

4 He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets.

5 Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name.

6 Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,

7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”

8 Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

9 He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us; although this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

10 He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which you are shall see the work of Yahweh; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you.

11 Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12 Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you:

13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles;

14 for you shall worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15 “Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice;

16 and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.

17 “You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.

18 “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 “All that opens the womb is mine; and all your livestock that is male, the firstborn of cow and sheep.

20 You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before me empty.

21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22 “You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year’s end.

23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.

24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh, your God, three times in the year.

25 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the morning.

26 “You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 Yahweh said to Moses, “Write you these words: for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28 He was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain, Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

30 When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.

31 Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.

32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them all the commandments that Yahweh had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34 But when Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35 The children of Israel saw Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

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Matthew 5

God causes the sun to rise on evil and good, rain on righteous and unrighteous; love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.

15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.

16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.

19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’

22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.

23 “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’

28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’

32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’

34 but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.

37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

39 But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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Jeremiah 29:12

then you will call on me and I will answer you, spoken during captivity in Babylon

12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

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Galatians 6:7-10

do not be deceived, God is not mocked; sow to the flesh or the spirit; do not grow weary in doing good

7 Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith.

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John 6

the feeding of the five thousand and the bread of life discourse, used to illustrate wonderful works versus the deeper message of God

1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.

2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.

3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”

6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,

9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.

12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”

15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,

17 and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.

19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.

20 But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.

23 However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”

28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.

33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.

37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.

40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”

42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”

43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.

46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.

47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his…

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Pastor Ray opened with the story behind the hymn "There Is a Place of Quiet Rest," written by Cleland McAfee in 1903 after his two nieces died of diphtheria within twenty-four hours of each other. That image, of quiet rest near to the heart of God in the middle of grief and loss, shaped everything that followed. The sermon worked through Psalm 145, asking who and what is near to the heart of God, and why telling the stories of what God has done matters as much as knowing the theology behind them.

What was said

Pastor Ray began by telling on himself. He had a nightmare that week, woke up in a cold sweat having dreamed he stood in front of a congregation with absolutely nothing to say. When he fell back asleep, he woke up with a line from a hymn in his head: "There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God." He had sung that song his whole life without knowing where it came from. Looking it up, he found McAfee writing it after unimaginable loss, unable even to enter the quarantined house where his brother's family was grieving, and having his choir sing it beneath the darkened windows. That is where the sermon started, with the question of how anyone finds quiet rest in the middle of hard things.

From there Pastor Ray moved to Psalm 145, a psalm of David. He traced David as a man after God's own heart, not because David was sinless but because David always came back, always returned to "but I trust in your unfailing love." The psalm opens with a declaration: I will exalt you, my God the King, I will bless your name forever and ever. Pastor Ray said that is a choice, made in the face of things we do not understand and cannot control, the same choice David made repeatedly across his life.

The psalm says one generation will praise God's works to another, and that the praise does not only flow one direction, from old to young. Pastor Ray connected this to his Aunt Laura writing her memoir and asking family members to contribute stories of things God did that nobody could have set up on their own. That led to a distinction he returned to several times: the psalm separates meditating on the glorious splendor of God's majesty from meditating on His wonderful works. Both matter. In the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd followed Jesus for the bread and missed the larger message. Pastor Ray said you can miss one for the other.

Pastor Ray then told the Wichita story at length. Driving north from Mexico in January 2007, praying the whole way because a newborn nephew in Jackson was fighting for his life, he stopped for gas in Wichita. A Mexican man with a broken-down truck spoke quietly to him in Spanish. Pastor Ray helped diagnose and fix the truck, and in the middle of their conversation the man called his wife in Mexico on a Nextel phone and asked if she knew a tall gringo. She said a name. It was Pastor Ray's name. She had been doing business with him the entire time he was a missionary in Rio Bravo. He said that story blesses him every time he tells it, blesses the woman every time she tells it, and probably blesses the man whose name he never learned. Shame on us, he said, if we do not tell those stories.

Jennifer Flanagan then shared her own story from the congregation. While bicycling in Idaho Falls during the difficult season of placing her husband Wes in an Alzheimer's unit, she stopped on the sidewalk to answer her phone, tired and struggling. The voice on the line was Pastor Ray, who happened to be driving through and recognized her, loaded her bicycle onto his Yukon, and took her the rest of the way. He said you cannot make things like that up.

The psalm moves toward the line that had been pulling at him all week: the Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He placed that alongside Exodus 34, where God describes Himself to Moses as compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in faithfulness, forgiving wrongdoing. He said David was recalling exactly that when he wrote the psalm, and that it is the same God who shows up in both. The Lord is good to all, His mercies are over all His works, and finding fault with that puts a person's own reasoning above the judgment of God.

Pastor Ray closed with David's final statement in the psalm: my mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. He said that is a choice, the same one David made when he wrote "but I trust in your unfailing love" after confessing how surrounded and discouraged he felt. Whatever fills the heart comes out of the mouth. If we dwell on the goodness of God, that is what flows. The service moved into communion, which Pastor Ray described as itself a proclamation of a mighty act of God, the new covenant made by Jesus that generations had been longing for and that the stories of God's works in our own lives point toward.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Ray shared that waking up with the line 'there is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God' pulled him out of a Christmas funk. Where do you tend to turn when the busyness of a season crowds out peace, and what has helped you find your way back?
Cleland McAfee wrote that hymn in the middle of terrible grief and quarantine, unable even to be with his family. Has there been a time when you felt cut off from the people you wanted to be with in a hard moment, and how did God meet you there?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Well, good morning, everybody. How are you? Are you well fed? Yeah. Very good.

Will you stand with me? We're gonna sing. My voice is a little thin this morning. So would you fill in? I think you're gonna know all the songs.

Hark the Herald Angel Sings. Hymn number two seventy seven if you wanna grab a hymnal. Amen. Thank you for singing out. We got another one here.

It came upon a midnight clear. Probably, probably my favorite Christmas hymn but it is a wide range. So, please help me with it, alright? Amen. Y'all can have a seat.

We've got a few announcements. I'll try not to rush through em. I want to see it to Juana. That's Brian McCooey, leader of game time at Awana with bows all over his head. Kids club starts tomorrow night, Monday, 05:45.

This will be right here in this room. Starting out around the game circle. They'll spread out all over the whole church. 05:45, 06:00 start up through 07:30. We have some paper calendars, twenty twenty four calendars.

They're available in the lobby or in the church office one. $10 a piece, paper calendars. Write down stuff on a paper calendar. You know the only thing better than writing something down on a paper calendar is scratching it off. Right?

Progressing. Proceeds go towards youth programs. We've been doing that for years. This is what the Christmas season looks like here at First B as far as services and what's going on. Today, between services, the scouts serve breakfast.

There may be some left down there right now. Scouts were as one group. However many show up, we'll go as one group and we'll go around town and sing. If you have some people that you like for us to visit, they're close by here, let us know and we'll try to work them into our route. The twenty fourth, no morning services on twenty fourth.

Two weeks from today, there won't be any morning services, but Christmas Eve services will happen at 04:30 and six So Christmas Eve service, 04:30 and six like always, but we're not going to do the morning services that morning. And then on the twenty fifth, that's Monday, we're not going to do services that day. But that's what it looks like. Angel Tree, there are tags. I can see them in the foyer out there right now.

We have been replenishing as you take them away, there are more. So there are some out there. If you would like to buy a gift for a child in a needy family or for a needy family, You can pick up one of those. It will tell kind of who it's for and describe it a little bit, allow for you to have some judgment on what you think they ought to have. Get that, bring it back wrapped, but with the tag attached so we don't have to unwrap it to figure out what it is and who it's for.

Okay. Thank you. I love Tanya administrates that and just love that she does that. It's a busy time. Thank you.

That's good. That's great. That happened. Fellowship of Christian Athletes. So this is sort of a next steps to see how we can start up a real active working group of fellowship Christian athletes here in Jackson at the high school.

So the meeting, kind of an informative forming type meeting will happen here Tuesday evening, 06:45 at Frisbee, Families of High Schoolers, Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Tim and Arlen Erastorza have been on the board for FCA for quite some time and they go to church here, they've moved here, they go to church here. And so it's here. They said there'd be supper available. Taco Tuesday.

If you want to know more about Fellowship with Christian Athletes and how you can help in getting that started here in the valley, this is the time. Tuesday, 12:12, 06:45. Anything else? The candle of peace. So, it's the second Sunday in Advent and Heidi is our reader and candle lighter along with Marion Caddoll.

Come on forward. Thank you. The yellow mic is on Blake, if you want to. Here you go. One.

Okay. It's not on. Morning.

This Sunday, the second in Advent, we light the candle of peace. As we prepare to celebrate the coming of the prince of peace, we're reminded that God God's timing is always perfect, and his provision is always sufficient. Second Thessalonians three sixteen, now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in in in and in every way. The Lord be with you

all. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Would you stand?

And you can clap. Go ahead. We're going to sing infant holy, infant lowly. Thank you, ladies.

Christ the baby is lord of all. Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping vigil till the morning noon, sing free the morrow Christ the babe is born for you Christ the babe was born for you Amen.

How joyful, joyful, we adore you. Y'all can have a seat. Would you pray with me for God's blessing on this offering but also on our time together this morning. Lord, I I pray that you would do lord what only you can do. I pray that you would multiply and bless.

That which we give over to you, Lord. Everything that I've hit this week has been about God taking in whatever is given in to you, Lord. You take it and you bless it and you multiply it. We're going to celebrate communion at the end. We've been reading about the feeding of the 5,000.

We see an angel tree back there of people coming in and gifts that are given being multiplied. The message that's attached gets carried forward. Lord God Almighty, may we be willing and humble servants, part of plan a, there's no plan b, that we would speak of your mighty acts, that we would speak of your good gospel. May we be a part of the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ incarnation, his perfect life lived out, and his sacrificial death. May we be a part of the spread of that good news.

In Jesus' name, pray and ask that you would allow us to do your will, lord, in your way every every day. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Judy. So this week, a little confessional preaching, all right?

Don't get don't worry. This week, I got back into town on Tuesday and I went to bed that night, you know, beat, tired. No one's Sunday's coming. No one's a big weekend for Pasco has four performances for the show. And I've got we've got company coming into town.

My mom and my brother, my dad, my aunt and uncle and cousin are all staying with us. And I had a lot we had a lot of stuff going on. That was going to start about Thursday, people coming in. And I do this most weeks. I'm up here doing this.

And I had the nightmare of nightmares. I don't have a ton of nightmares, but I had the nightmare of nightmares on that night, Tuesday night. And I woke up in a cold sweat, and I just felt so terrible. And I thought this is this is this is bad. And it was that I got up to say something.

It wasn't actually this church. No. It's a dream, so it's weird. But I got up to say what I had to say, and I had nothing to say. It was just absolute blank.

And then I thought, well, I'm good with people. So I stepped down, and I sat next to a guy right here, and I started talking to him, and I had nothing to say. Absolute blank, completely mute. No good words, no bad words, no nothing. It just wasn't nothing was I was completely blank.

Had nothing to say. And I was mortified. I mean, there's it's standing up here is hard. Standing up here and having nothing to say is real hard. Service, I got out of my mouth.

You all talk amongst yourselves. People just started talking about what's going on. And it was terrible. I wake up in a cold sweat and it took me a long time to go back to sleep. I almost never go back to sleep honestly.

But when I fell back asleep, I woke up with this line in my head. And it's a line from a song. It was written in 1903, Cleland McAfee, Doctor. Cleland McAfee is a Presbyterian minister. And it says, uh-oh, Blake.

We're going to do the offering again. We didn't get enough that time. Sorry. That's not true. Sorry, that's not true.

There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. Now I have sung that song my whole life. It was written in 1903 when I was born in '71. It was a song that was in rotation at church. We've sing it here from time to time.

Hymn number six seventeen, I think, in our hymnal. Cleland McAfee wrote it. I've never thought about the origin story for that. But I looked it up. And it's a tragic story, it's a hard story for a wonderful song.

There is a place of quiet rest. And in the bustle of this season and in considering everything that's going on and everything that's got to go on and has a deadline, it's got to happen before this. There's this date and there's that date and there's this date and we got to get it done, got to get it done, got to get it done. There's not enough time in the day to get it There is a place of quiet rest

near to the heart of God. It's so good.

And it just calmed my whole everything. And then I thought, where does that come from? Where's the scripture that that comes from? I know he's got a scripture. It was written by a pastor.

Hope he's got a scripture. But where the song comes from is tragedy struck his family. It was his brother's his brother's daughters. There were two of them. Diphtheria was going around.

And Cleland McAfee's two nieces of the same brother died within twenty four hours of each other. There's nothing worse. I mean, there are a lot of people in this family that have got this family right here who have lost children. And I can't think of anything worse than a parent losing a child. They lost two within twenty four hours of each other to diphtheria.

And if that were not bad enough, diphtheria is one of those diseases that must be quarantined. And so the mother and father have their brother who's a minister who'd love to minister to them, but they're completely closed off from him. He's completely closed off from them. And as he was considering this double catastrophe, it just broke his heart. The situation was made even more difficult because of the quarantine.

He wasn't able to go inside, express condolences, or be there with him just to hold on and cry with him. Well, how could it have been any worse? So McAfee stayed up late, I can testify, praying, considering, trying to figure out what he would say to comfort his family and the congregation of which these nieces had been a part. And this wonderful hymn flowed into him and through him, presented the story, the outcome of his meditation about how can this be comforted. So he wrote the song and music.

The choir learned the new song Saturday Evening at their regular Saturday afternoon, evening choir practice. And then after they learned it, that night, they went over to the quarantine home of Howard McAfee, his brother, family. And they threw rocks up to the window and sang the new hymn, Beneath the Darkened Windows. They shared the song with the congregation at a communion service, which we're here for a communion service at the end of this one today too. They shared that song with them the following day.

It's been more than a century, so one hundred and twenty years since he wrote it. I'm not singing a song right now. I'm singing a line of it. But this is the scripture that pulled him. Pulled at his heart and and near to the heart of God, there is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.

And he said, how can we experience that in the midst of the difficulty and the grief and the hard stuff? There's plenty of hard stuff. Can I get a witness? Yes, there's plenty of hard stuff. Y'all all hear plenty of it and you're going through plenty of it.

Hard stuff. And in this position, I hear probably more than most, right? And Cleland McAfee did too. But this, the Lord is near to all who call upon him. And to all who call upon him in truth.

James says something like that too, right? Draw near to God and he'll draw near to you. Seek me and I will be found by you. And I started thinking about near to the heart of God, near to the heart of God. Who's near?

What's near to the heart of God? Well, I know Christ is. We're coming off of our regularly normal Sunday morning pattern of just starting where we left off last week. We're coming into the Christmas season. I'm gonna do but I thought about there's a long history before we get to that long expected Jesus.

And there's a lot of Bible before we get to that that the long lay the world in sin and error pining for, right, the birth of Messiah. I wanna go back to the Old Testament during the wedding last week. Excuse me. I'd be a little scattered. During the wedding last week, one of the readings was come from Colossians three.

Three fifteen says, songs. It's good for us to go back and be speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. So as I was thinking about who's near to the heart of God, well, David is a man after God's own heart. David knew what the old covenant was like, broke it several times, as we all do. But he was looking forward to the new covenant a thousand years before Jesus.

Psalm of David, a man after God's own heart. Now this was Psalm one forty five eighteen that and we'll get back to that. There are 17 verses in front of it and there are three after it. But that's what we're gonna go through today. I will exalt you, my God, the king.

I have breath in my lungs when I wake up in the morning. This is a great way to start the day. I will exalt you, my God, the king, and I will bless your name forever and ever. There are some things I don't understand. There are some things that I don't get.

I don't understand the pain. I don't understand it. But I'm gonna exalt you, my God, the king, the one who makes a way when there is no way. I will bless your name forever and ever. And every day, lord, every day, I'm tempted not to, but that is my own human stuff.

I trust you, Lord. Was David good at that? I mean, some people say, well, he's good at sinning. But he's really good when he figured out that he had sinned at saying, God forgive me. Right?

Going back to him and saying, God forgive me. He also knew what it was like to struggle. And he said, Lord, how long will I wrestle with my thoughts? How long will I have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

But he always got back to, but I trust in your unfailing love. So this psalm today is about speaking that out, about praising. I will exalt you, my God the king. I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.

That's my modus operandi. That is the way I'm gonna go forward. I'm gonna keep on praising you. Great is the Lord and he is highly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. If you think you found the end of the goodness and greatness of God, you have not.

You have not. It's unsearchable. It is beyond us how good God is. One generation will praise your works to another, Lord. That's not just grandparents to parents to kids.

That's kids to parents and grandparents. The blessing goes from one generation to another, not just in one direction. To he to see the kids pop up and take off for children's church on a Sunday morning is a delight. It makes us all smile. One generation will praise your works to another, and they will declare your mighty acts.

Now David, when he's thinking about this, David very well could have been thinking about all those stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, all of that stuff could have been thinking about that. Other people since David are thinking about David. Biblical, mighty acts. But God is still in the business of mighty acts. Has God done anything in your life that you feel like, I gotta tell somebody about that.

Okay. Y'all look like an oil painting right now. Alright. Has God done anything in your life that you feel like that was God? That was amazing that God did that.

There's no way I could have orchestrated that. There's no way anybody else could have orchestrated that. God did it. If there is, then be telling it. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

When he puts something there and you think of it and you go, goodness gracious, God is so good. Tell somebody. One generation will praise your works to another and will declare your mighty acts. Aunt Laura, Aunt Laura. Aunt Laura's not here right now.

Aunt Ella and Uncle Scott and Alison are here. But Aunt Laura is writing a memoir. And every time I talk to anybody back home, they say, Aunt Laura's writing this memoir. And she called and she said, Ray, do you remember that story? I want you to include that in my memoirs.

And I thought, that's my memoir. But she said, no, no, no, it's got to be written down and we've got to tell it. And that's what this Psalm is really about. It's saying, I'm gonna tell it. I'm gonna tell what God has done.

And so she is telling a lot of her memoirs. But she contacted Emily, her daughter, and John, her son, and me and said, would y'all include your story? It's one of those things that there's no way you could have done it. But it's something that God did that's cool. And so yeah, we'll do that.

I resisted writing it down. I just said, I'm gonna tell it and you write it down. How about that? No, you write it down. It's important.

David wrote this song down. And a thousand years before Christ and three thousand years for us, it's still blessing. Bless my socks off all week long. Turn me from a Christmas funk, a Grinchey, Scroogey time to actually praising God for the glorious splendor of his majesty, for turning my heart on your wonderful works, Lord, I'll meditate. If I don't have something to say, if I draw a blank on that, I need to meditate more on who God is, the glorious splendor of God's majesty, and on his mighty works.

Now these things were separated. Meditate on this. That verse says that I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will on your wonderful works. They're two different things. Now this week also, I was supposed to do the blurb on John six, which the first being the Bible plan, I did the writing on that.

Jesus feeding the 5,000. Jesus fed 5,000 and then he walked across the lake, Sea Of Galilee. He just provided for all of those people, 5,000 men plus women and children, leftovers, and he provided for them and they got food that would satisfy for a while. And then he walked across the lake, I think to get away from him. He recognizes what was in their hearts.

He knew that they were there for the bread. He got that. And it was so miraculous. They wanted to make him their king and he walked away from that earthly power. He walks across the lake.

Disciples catch up with him. They get to the other side. The people find him again, and then Jesus has the discourse on the bread of life, and he says, listen, I I understand why you're here. You're under because I've provided for you. The wonderful works.

You saw the wonderful work, you think, I'm gonna stick with this guy. But they really didn't explore the message that he had about the goodness of God, the glorious splendor of the majestic God who does provide. It's two separate things, but both of them are important. Don't miss the one for the other. Right?

God does wonderful works because he is good. People will speak of the power of your awesome acts. People will. This is not just me. Okay?

I am a person. But people will speak out of the power of your awesome acts. I ask you if you had a story of one of those times in life where it was just amazing how God did that. There's nothing that I could have done that set that up and it was a blessing for me. It was a blessing for the other person and it's a blessing every time I get to retell that story.

I have one. Do you have one? I won't make you say it. This is where the communication broke down. I mean, the system broke down in the first service and somebody spoke one.

I will tell of your greatness. It's not just me. Other people will also speak of the power of your awesome acts. I'll tell of your greatness.

Can you go to

the Wichita story now, Blake? So I've got one. This is the one Antler asked me to write down actually. But when we were in Mexico as missionaries, Pascal was born in March 2006, and we were there until her first birthday, March 2007. But in January 2007, we got a call.

We lived right there where that star is in Rio Bravo, Mexico, just south of McAllen, Texas. And we had been home for Christmas. And we were coming back very early January and we're driving and we got to Houston and we got a phone call from Jackson, Wyoming. And that was Tonya's sister, Probably our brother-in-law actually. And Palmer Wetzel had been born and his lungs were underdeveloped.

And when you're born with underdeveloped lungs, that's one thing. When you're born at six thousand three hundred feet with no oxygen, it's tough and it happens. And so he was born, we didn't know whether he would live or die. We loved him before we knew him. And we were riding and we were in Houston, we had a choice.

We knew we had employees in Mexico, we had to go home and pay. Or we could turn right and we can go be with the family that was suffering and pray and be here. And so we went south and we got to pay our employees. By the way, writing checks out Angel, Tovar, Medinas, Hernandez, Dos Milos, Pesos, Consangos, Centavos. It's like crazy.

And there we had like 20 employees to write all the checks by hand. And so we got there. We're praying the whole time, thinking the whole time, Lord bless this journey. We're taking off in our Toyota Camry wagon. Here we go.

And we take off and we head up, straight up, and we get to Wichita, Kansas. Need to use the restroom, pull off, get gas, whatever. And we pull in to this place just off the turnpike. And when I'm walking by, there's a man there and he's a Mexican man with a long leather coat with a fur collar and he says, And do I look like I speak Spanish, by the way? I mean, look at me, do I look like I speak Spanish?

That guy walks by, I walked by and very quietly says, And I said, Yes, I got him. I got him. What do you need? And he said, need something. The truck broke down.

And I said, Well, what happened exactly? Which one is it? He says, Chevy truck. It's about a 'ninety four Chevy truck. I said, Okay.

I said, we've had several of these things. I got a few of them. I know exactly what's going on. When he said, I said, what happened? He said, throw off Lucis.

All the lights just boom. At one time, all the lights go off. I said, yes, you threw a belt. And so he says, we don't know anything about it, but we're broken down. And I said, well, I've got the tools and I'll run to the parts place.

I'll bring the part back. Looked and confirmed that's what it was. Went to parts place, come back. It's one bolt, one pulley, idler pulley, putting it back on, adjusting, and we're talking back and forth. He's holding Pascal, He was traveling from California to Virginia.

Now, I'm traveling from Rio Bravo to Jackson. We hid in Wichita, and he says, That accent in Spanish. He said, I know that you're American, but your accent sounds norteno, And it doesn't sound northern in English, obviously. But he says, where'd you learn Spanish? I said, well, I learned it mostly in Georgia and Alabama.

And then the same old story, two years in high school, two quarters in college. And he says, no, no, no, no. Mean the accent. Where'd you learn Spanish? And I said between Reynosa and Matamoros.

And he goes, which town? And I said, Rio Bravo, et Amolipas. And he goes, really? He said, do you? What do you do?

And I said, I'm a missionary there. We're building schools for the deaf. And we're trying to give them a language so they can hear and understand the gospel. And he goes, what do you build out of? I said, well, build forms out of wood, but we mostly build out of concrete.

He said, do you know of a place called Maderas Mexico? And I said, yeah, wood from Mexico. I said, yeah, I know Maderas Mexico. I said, no, well. And he has a Nextel phone and he goes, Norma.

Norma is his wife. Norma. And she says, And he says, you know a big gringo? And she says, Like I did business with her all the time. Now, we're going to Jackson, they're going to Virginia.

We meet in Wichita. And this is where we live in Rio Bravo, Mexico. That's where we live, the Blue Star. The Green Star is where he and his wife live. And that's where her business is.

I've known her the whole time I've been in Mexico, all the years I've been there. And he asked, do you know a tall gringo? And she calls my name. And when he says, why? And he goes, He's fixing my truck.

And she said, Are you home? It's right after Christmas. She wasn't expecting me. He's here to work, you know? And he goes, No.

I'm in Wichita. Isn't that cool? Now every time I think of that story, it blesses me. And every time that Norma thinks of that story, it blesses her. And every time this guy, I don't even know his name, blesses him.

He made it to Virginia. I did hear that. Isn't that great? Now, shame on me if I don't tell people about that sort of thing. Right?

Shame on me if I don't tell people about how that kind of thing works. I look back and I see Conor and Maria here. Last year, Chris, Maria's husband called and said, would you do my funeral? How often do you get somebody asking for that? Would you do my funeral?

They say I have six months, but I know I don't. He died on Valentine's Day. He said to me, he said, I want you to meet my wife and my son before you do the funeral though. So I went in and he took me to his house to loan me a tool. And when I walked through the door, I've known Maria since I got here.

I've known Conner since I got here. And when I walked through the door, they both come up and run and he felt like, amen, This is exactly what needs to happen. Shame on me if I don't tell the story that God has done. Now it didn't have anything to do with me because I can't orchestrate nonsense like that. I just can't do it.

But God can. And may we be telling the story that God gives. Not just the Bible story. Tell that too. But may we be sharing the story that God gives because it's a blessing for all peoples.

People will speak of the power of your awesome acts and I will tell them of your greatness, and they will burst forth in speaking of your abundant goodness. The overflow of the heart is what allows the mouth to speak. Whatever is filling our hearts. And if we dwell on the negative bad stuff, it's gonna fill our hearts and what comes out of our mouth is gonna be complaining, and grumbling, and ugliness, and strife, and all kinds of mean nasty things. And so if we will dwell on the goodness of God, what will flow forth from us is the goodness of God.

We'll recognize what he is doing. They will burst forth in speaking of your abundant goodness, and they will shout joyfully of your righteousness. Now hold on a second. Y'all are looking like an oil painting. Can we get a hallelujah on the count of three?

Alright. Shout joyfully. One, two, three. Hallelujah. Alright.

That's good enough. Okay. Thank you for being with me. The Lord is gracious and he is compassionate and he is slow to anger and he is great in mercy. That's my God.

That's who he is. If you go back to the story in Exodus three five where God says, take off your sandals Moses, because the place where you stand is holy ground. I want you to go to pharaoh. I want you to tell him this. You're my guy to do this.

And Moses says, I I can't I do that. And he says, no, I want you to go to him. You're the one. You go to him. He says, but I have a I I got a stammering tongue and I can't do that.

And he says, Moses, tell him I am sent you. The self evident, self existent one. Right? And that's the description we get of who God is. I'm I just am.

But when God goes to describe who he is later on in Exodus, Exodus 34, It says, and the Lord descended in the cloud and he stood there with Moses as he called upon the name of the Lord. The Lord is near to all who call upon him. Moses called upon the name of the Lord. And the Lord, I am met him there. The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in faithfulness and truth.

He gives, he keeps faithfulness for thousands and he forgives wrongdoing. He forgives violations of his law. He forgives sin. That's how God is. And so, the psalmist is recalling that, David.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He's slow to anger. He's great in mercy. The Lord is good to all. He does not discriminate.

There's no favoritism with God. The Lord is good to all. If you look in Matthew five, you'll see that God causes his son to rise on both the evil and the good. He sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. The goodwill towards men is flowing from God.

By the way, let's back back up and read this section. I say to you, y'all be loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you. Yeah, there's a lot of ugliness out there. Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that's bad, but the way that we get through this and over this is by proclaiming the goodness and greatness and the love of God. And if you get resistance, that's not on you.

That's on them. I say you, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you so that you may prove yourself to be the sons of your father who's in heaven. He causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. He sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do that. Everybody does that. Love the ones who are aggravated and frustrated with you. Love the ones that have wronged you and offended you.

The Lord is good to all. Be good to all. And his mercies are over all his works. We as human beings often are fault finders. We think, well, would have done that different.

You're setting your own human reason and your own human understanding above that of almighty God. Woah. Back up. Job did that. And then Job, brace yourself like a man, Job.

Where were you when I set the stars in place at just the right place? Just the right tilt of the earth. Just the right place for the sea to stop on the sand. And then Job says, but but okay. I misspoke.

Forgive me, Lord. The Lord is good to all. His mercies are over all of his works. All your works will give thanks to you, Lord, and your godly ones will bless you. Your godly ones will bless you.

If you are a redeemed person, if you're someone who's trusted in Jesus, you will be blessing God and looking at the positive attributes of God, and that'll be filling your heart and coming out of your mouth. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom. Think about this. It's a kingdom that's drawn out of every nation, every tribe, tongue, people. They're called out of and into.

They'll speak of the glory of your kingdom and they will talk of your might. They will talk about an overcoming God that provides a way where there is no way. To make known to the sons of mankind your mighty acts. Do y'all remember Rahab when she was hiding the spies? Do you remember when she was talking to the spies?

And she said, we know of the mighty works of God. We know what your God has done. We've heard about how he did this and how he did that. We know this. God was calling her into his family.

We know how God got you across the river because people are saying it, because people are telling the story. God in flesh. Christmas season. We're looking forward to the Christmas season because it celebrates the incarnation of deity in human flesh. Oh, Jesus.

To make known to the sons of mankind your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. David's writing this. David, king David is writing this. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

I don't wanna do anything, Lord, that would throw that off track. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your power, dominion, endures throughout all the generations. It's gonna keep on going and it's good. God is good to all and it's gonna keep on going. The Lord is faithful in his words.

You know what's so great about scripture? It's trustworthy. It's true and it's good. And if God has said that it will be, it will be. And it can be trusted.

When he puts out an offer, an invitation, it can be accepted and trusted. When he puts out a warning, it should be heeded because God is faithful in his words. And he is holy. Absolutely set apart. Absolutely other, higher than all.

He is holy in all of his works. God created and it was good. He's holy, set apart. I love the old joke. I wouldn't have this in the first service, but I love the old joke.

That says, there's a scientist that says we can do anything God can do, we can do these days. We can clone. We can do all this kind of stuff. And so God accepts the scientist's challenge. Alright?

Make life. So the guy gets a little dirt and starts God says, woah, woah, get your own dirt. Ex nihilo. He has made it out of nothing. He spoke it to be.

He is holy in all his works. The Lord supports all who fall. Unintentional yodeling here. Lord God, he supports all who fall and David fell. Right?

But God is there. How does John the Baptist describe Jesus? How how has Jesus described that a bruised reed he would not break off and a smoldering wick he would not extinguish? He's gentle. He's gentle.

The Lord supports all who fall. He raises up all who are bowed down. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you at exactly the right time. The eyes of all, Lord, look to you. Ultimately, we know from creation around us, from conscious within us, we know to look to you and you give food in due time.

The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due time. You, Lord, open your hand and you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Oh, man. Shame on us for finding fault with almighty God. He is the provider, Jehovah Jireh of everything that is good.

He satisfies the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all of his ways, and he is kind in all of his works. Does one of you all have a story? Hey, Jennifer Flanagan, yellow microphone. There you go.

I was so hoping you would ask. It was about four and a half years ago and Wes and I had moved to Idaho Falls because it was time for him to be in an Alzheimer's unit. And I

Hold it close and speak up. There you go. Thank you.

It was about four and a half years ago Wes and I had moved to Idaho Falls because it was time for him to be in an Alzheimer's unit. And you can imagine all of the upset and changes in life it brought. Well, I needed to have some work on a vehicle and it they needed to have the vehicle all day long. And I thought, how am I gonna how am I gonna do this? So I thought the bicycle.

This non athlete on a bicycle. So I took the pickup, dropped it off, got the bicycle out of the back, and bicycled back to Morning Star so I could have lunch with Wes. But I stopped at a thrift shop on the way because I had my purse dangling from this side of the bicycle handlebars and my coat and an umbrella this side, and my pet. If I could just consolidate all this in a backpack on my back, at least it would all be in one place and maybe I could be a better bicyclist. So I found one, went on and had lunch with Wes.

And I thought I better start back because it's uphill on the return trip, and I knew it would take me longer. So about halfway, my cell phone rang. It was in my purse, which was in the backpack, and my bicycle did not have a kickstand, so I had to carefully stop, which was a challenge in itself, lay the bicycle down, unzip the backpack, unzip the purse, answer the cell phone. So I was talking there on the sidewalk and I hear Jennifer. I think who in Idaho Falls knows me?

It was pastor Ray. He he says, I wasn't sure it was you, but I could tell whoever it was was very tired.

So I was never so glad to see it. It went on all my life.

And he he was in what was the

At the Yukon. Yeah.

Yukon. Yep. And I think it was freshly painted. And he had the passenger seat in front was full of I'm sure he was doing errands for everyone in Jackson Hole. So he gets out, puts some towels over the beautiful finish on the Yukon, puts my bicycle up there, straps it on, moves everything in the front seat to the back seat and takes me the rest of the way.

That's fun. It was it was It was serendipitous.

That's good. That's perfect. Thank you. You can't you can't make stuff up. Be thinking of it.

Not all of us have the opportunity here right now. We've got communion still to go, but be thinking of us a time when God did that and tell somebody. Would you tell somebody about a mighty act of God that he did? He orchestrated because you couldn't have. He made a way when there was no way.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and he's kind in all of his works. Lord, forgive us for finding fault with what you've done. You are kind to us, merciful, leaning towards us. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. That That sounds a little bit like James.

Draw near to God, he'll draw near to you. Then you will call, Jeremiah twenty nine twelve. Then you will call on me and I will answer you. Now, during your captivity in Babylon. There's hard stuff, But he says, call on me and you'll be heard by me.

And he will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. The fear of God's beginning of knowledge is beginning of wisdom. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He will also hear their cry for help and he will save them. The Lord watches over all who love him.

And then there's a quick, there's a quick, there you go, Connor. I love that you love him. The Lord watches over all who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked. David knows that. He knows that.

God is not mocked. If you go to Galatians and see, it says don't be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a person sows, that's what they're gonna reap. This is what I'm talking about.

You are going out and you're seeing all the ugliness and you're filling your heart with it and it's flowing out of your mouth. That's a sowing and reaping situation. But if you're looking for the things that God has done, don't be deceived. He's not mocked. Whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap.

If you sow to the flesh, you're going to reap destruction from the flesh. But the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. So let's don't become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we don't become weary. Let's go do it. So then, while we have the opportunity, let's do good to all people, especially those who are of the household of faith.

My mouth, David says. My mouth sounds sort of like Joshua. As for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. I'm choosing to do that, Lord.

Just like I said, David does feel surrounded by enemies, and he does have wandering ugly thoughts. And he does occasionally sin and fall short. But you know what he chooses is to say, but I trust in your unfailing love. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. That's what's gonna fill my heart.

That's what's gonna fill my mouth, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever. All flesh sounds like, well, does that mean everybody's gonna be saved? No. It's no matter what. Whether their sin is justly condemned or mercifully forgiven, both of those things both of those things bless God's holy name.

Now he's leaning for us with favor, mercy, grace, and all it takes to accept it is calling out to him in belief. Back to the song. I'll sing the song.

There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. A place where sin cannot molest near to the heart of God. Oh Jesus blessed redeemer, sent from the heart of God. Hold us who wait before thee, near to the heart of God. There is a place of comfort sweet near to the heart of God.

A place where we, our savior, meet near to the heart of God. Oh Jesus blessed redeemer sent from the heart of God. Hold us who wait before thee near to the heart of God. I'll ask

the ushers to come forward. We're gonna go into a time of communion. Jesus lived a perfect life. Because he was submitted to the spirit, he was and will remain near to the heart of God. If you wanna draw near to God, you do so through Christ.

Now we practice here an open table. That means that if you have put your faith in Christ, whether it was eighty, ninety years ago, or it is during this service, just now that you say, you know what, Lord? I'm gonna praise you and I'm gonna bless your name forever for providing the salvation I need through Christ. Then this table's open to you. We're gonna distribute the cracker first.

It's a representation of Jesus's body. Then we'll come back and distribute the little plastic cup of grape juice as a representation of his spilled blood, second. But it's an open table. If you believe, you're welcome to partake. May I pray before we begin now?

Lord God, I pray that you'd bless every soul, every person in the room. Those who believe, Lord, I pray that you would bless them. Taking you in metaphorically, Lord, taking you in. That's why so many disciples walked away. It was a hard teaching that we really have to let you do this, Lord, because we can't do it.

It's an old covenant versus new covenant thing, Lord. And you have made the way when there was no way. Lord, I pray that everyone who believes and partakes would be blessed. But I also pray if there's anybody in the room who does not believe and allows the bread and the cup to pass by and don't partake. I pray Lord that you would soften their heart and you would use one of these witnesses present here with us this morning or anyone else to speak the truth in their lives that would sit deep in their hearts and would blossom from that seed.

In Jesus name, I ask your blessing on this little representation of Jesus' body. Amen. On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and he said to his disciples who were there with him, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat of it and do it in remembrance of me. Amen.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us access to your perfect record by your blood. But Lord, thank you for the perfect record for walking it out, for walking it out, submission to the spirit. You walked it out. You're tempted in all the way just as we're tempted but without sin. And Jesus, we can see an example that is worth following.

May we decrease and may you increase, Lord. I'm thankful. Thankful. Ask your blessing, Lord, on this cup as we pass it that remembers your shed blood, innocent, righteous blood for guilty and unrighteous people. Lord God, would you bless this cup as we distribute it?

Amen. In the same manner that he had taken that bread, he took the cup, probably a common cup at the time, a little plastic cup of Welch's for us. He took that and he said to them, this is the new covenant in my blood. Wow. They've been longing for.

They've been longing for the way that God would make a way. They've been longing for a new covenant where God would take it upon himself, where he would provide like he does. This is a new covenant in my blood, Jesus said to them and still says to us, this is the new covenant. Take this and drink it up. Take it in.

Do it in remembrance of me. Amen. Now Paul says in Corinthians, he says that as often as we do this, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. That is a mighty act of God. This is the redemptive power of Jesus' death that we're proclaiming just by doing this whenever we do.

And it means an end to the power of sin and darkness. Praise God for the incarnation of Jesus. Would you stand? And we're gonna sing the doxology. If Judy would give us a G.

Thank you.

All praise him above ye heavenly host praise father son and holy ghost

Amen. May the Lord bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace that you can share with those around. Amen.

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Christmas Grief Communion Near To God Praising God Telling Your Story

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