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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson -The Challenge of Belief (Part 2)

May 12, 2025 | S25:E135

Allen Jackson -The Challenge of Belief (Part 2)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Faith #Church #Challenges #Bible #Religion #Culture #Truth #SpiritualGrowth #Belief #inActive #AllenJacksonMinistries #AllenJackson #KingdomofGod

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson -The Challenge of Belief (Part 2) | May 12, 2025
  • ...
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  • Allen jackson: it's good to be with you again.
  • 00:00:05.531 --> 00:00:07.166
  • You know, we're walking through a season of some pretty
  • 00:00:07.266 --> 00:00:08.233
  • Unprecedented turmoil.
  • 00:00:09.735 --> 00:00:12.071
  • There are cars burning and car dealerships burning, and there
  • 00:00:12.071 --> 00:00:15.908
  • Are judges.
  • 00:00:15.908 --> 00:00:17.242
  • There's just a lot of stuff.
  • 00:00:17.242 --> 00:00:19.011
  • Well, i'm really excited about our offer this month.
  • 00:00:19.011 --> 00:00:20.813
  • In fact, we chose it because i think it will bring you
  • 00:00:20.813 --> 00:00:23.649
  • A pathway of stability in the midst of all the turmoil.
  • 00:00:23.649 --> 00:00:27.319
  • It's written by a good friend of mine, rob morgan.
  • 00:00:27.319 --> 00:00:29.288
  • "the lord is my shepherd," and it seems to me we need to know
  • 00:00:29.288 --> 00:00:32.858
  • The tranquility that comes from a shepherd who is marking a path
  • 00:00:32.858 --> 00:00:36.295
  • For us and then standing watch over us when we know there's
  • 00:00:36.295 --> 00:00:39.898
  • Predators about.
  • 00:00:39.898 --> 00:00:41.667
  • We're living in a predatory season.
  • 00:00:41.667 --> 00:00:43.569
  • We need to know the lord is a shepherd, and i believe this
  • 00:00:43.569 --> 00:00:47.339
  • Offer can make a real difference in your life.
  • 00:00:47.339 --> 00:00:48.974
  • In fact, it's important enough that we'll make it available for
  • 00:00:48.974 --> 00:00:51.643
  • A gift of any amount.
  • 00:00:51.643 --> 00:00:53.479
  • I think it's far more important that you have it in your hand
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  • Than the cost attached to it.
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  • God is moving in the earth and we want to move with him.
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  • Our shepherd will lead us through.
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  • You'll enjoy the book.
  • 00:01:02.087 --> 00:01:03.489
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:01:03.489 --> 00:01:31.817
  • Allen: we're living in a season when the church is struggling.
  • 00:01:31.884 --> 00:01:35.821
  • Church with a capital c, not a single congregation.
  • 00:01:35.821 --> 00:01:38.891
  • There's amazing churches and remarkable churches, but--i did
  • 00:01:38.891 --> 00:01:42.594
  • An interview recently with one of the leading statisticians on
  • 00:01:42.594 --> 00:01:46.765
  • Evangelicalism in north america and the statistics are very,
  • 00:01:46.765 --> 00:01:51.036
  • Very unsettling: the diminishment of biblical
  • 00:01:51.036 --> 00:01:53.372
  • Worldview, the engagement in formal gatherings like this.
  • 00:01:53.372 --> 00:01:57.910
  • I mean, the church is struggling.
  • 00:01:57.910 --> 00:01:59.978
  • We're a bit addled.
  • 00:01:59.978 --> 00:02:02.114
  • It feels pretty biblical to me.
  • 00:02:02.114 --> 00:02:05.417
  • I think current events have left us in stunned silence.
  • 00:02:05.417 --> 00:02:08.921
  • The things that are being said in public, the things that we
  • 00:02:08.921 --> 00:02:11.256
  • Are watching, they're hard to process.
  • 00:02:11.256 --> 00:02:14.860
  • And we step into our churches and we read our passages from
  • 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:17.429
  • The scriptures and we look through the windows of our
  • 00:02:17.429 --> 00:02:19.665
  • Churches and what's happening out there is so dramatically
  • 00:02:19.665 --> 00:02:22.768
  • Different than what we're reading and what we've imagined
  • 00:02:22.768 --> 00:02:25.137
  • It's hard to assimilate it.
  • 00:02:25.137 --> 00:02:28.941
  • I could pick almost any aspect of our culture and we could talk
  • 00:02:28.941 --> 00:02:33.412
  • About it.
  • 00:02:33.412 --> 00:02:34.746
  • We're being overwhelmed currently with illegal activity,
  • 00:02:34.746 --> 00:02:38.283
  • And we have been a nation founded upon the rule of law.
  • 00:02:38.283 --> 00:02:42.621
  • I mean, from our inception until today the laws haven't always
  • 00:02:42.621 --> 00:02:45.424
  • Been godly.
  • 00:02:45.424 --> 00:02:46.792
  • There have been some seasons that were very ungodly, but
  • 00:02:46.792 --> 00:02:48.560
  • Those principles have bound us together.
  • 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:51.029
  • And in recent years, and i don't mean the last 2 or 3 or 4 but in
  • 00:02:51.029 --> 00:02:55.000
  • A broader period, they've been put in a shredder things that
  • 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.871
  • Were foundational to our well-being, simple things like
  • 00:02:59.871 --> 00:03:02.774
  • The boundaries of a nation.
  • 00:03:02.774 --> 00:03:04.509
  • I've had the privilege of traveling a good bit.
  • 00:03:04.509 --> 00:03:06.378
  • I've got a little blue passport.
  • 00:03:06.378 --> 00:03:08.981
  • It's necessary for me to enter other countries, and it's
  • 00:03:08.981 --> 00:03:11.883
  • Necessary for me to re-enter this country.
  • 00:03:11.883 --> 00:03:15.320
  • I've been in times and places with people who lost
  • 00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:17.422
  • Their passports.
  • 00:03:17.422 --> 00:03:18.790
  • It's a problem.
  • 00:03:18.790 --> 00:03:21.193
  • I've had to go stand in line at consulates to help people get
  • 00:03:21.193 --> 00:03:24.896
  • Papers to come into the country.
  • 00:03:24.896 --> 00:03:27.132
  • I've had to find alternative forms.
  • 00:03:27.132 --> 00:03:28.934
  • It's not a simple thing.
  • 00:03:28.934 --> 00:03:31.970
  • And in recent years--and it's more than a single
  • 00:03:31.970 --> 00:03:34.373
  • Administration who--whichever side of the political
  • 00:03:34.373 --> 00:03:37.109
  • You--spectrum you stand on, just take a deep breath for a moment.
  • 00:03:37.109 --> 00:03:39.311
  • This isn't politics, this is the reality of the world we live in.
  • 00:03:39.311 --> 00:03:42.848
  • We took our borders down.
  • 00:03:42.848 --> 00:03:47.552
  • We will lose our freedoms and liberties without that.
  • 00:03:47.552 --> 00:03:51.990
  • That's not an expression of hatred any more than locking the
  • 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:55.961
  • Doors on your home or not leaving the car--keys in your
  • 00:03:55.961 --> 00:03:58.530
  • Car is an expression of hatred, and most unsettling it was
  • 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:04.303
  • Facilitated by the people with authority over us and they were
  • 00:04:04.303 --> 00:04:08.640
  • Telling us it was our imagination.
  • 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:13.211
  • We're a nation of immigrants.
  • 00:04:13.211 --> 00:04:15.113
  • We've been built upon policies of immigration from the nations
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  • Of the world.
  • 00:04:18.116 --> 00:04:20.619
  • And it will inform and define our future, but we can do it in
  • 00:04:20.619 --> 00:04:23.922
  • An orderly process, in a legal process.
  • 00:04:23.922 --> 00:04:28.126
  • Counseling millions of people to do something illegally as
  • 00:04:28.126 --> 00:04:31.930
  • A means of joining us is a very bad precedent to establish.
  • 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:38.103
  • Another thing that's not normal that we've been watching for
  • 00:04:38.103 --> 00:04:40.605
  • Some years now is this censorship, the diminishment of
  • 00:04:40.605 --> 00:04:43.308
  • Free speech.
  • 00:04:43.308 --> 00:04:45.510
  • You'll be deplatformed.
  • 00:04:45.510 --> 00:04:46.912
  • You'll be shut down.
  • 00:04:46.912 --> 00:04:49.881
  • If somebody disagrees with you, they can say, "well, what you
  • 00:04:49.881 --> 00:04:52.184
  • Said was hateful and you don't have a right to say that."
  • 00:04:52.184 --> 00:04:55.287
  • That is not has--what has brought strength to us
  • 00:04:55.287 --> 00:04:57.823
  • As a people.
  • 00:04:57.823 --> 00:05:00.359
  • It's confusing.
  • 00:05:00.359 --> 00:05:02.027
  • It's disorienting.
  • 00:05:02.027 --> 00:05:07.132
  • Recently they've been uncovering hundreds of billions of dollars,
  • 00:05:07.132 --> 00:05:11.436
  • Our tax dollars that have been stolen, fraudulently directed,
  • 00:05:11.436 --> 00:05:15.707
  • Wasted while those in authority have been demanding more.
  • 00:05:15.707 --> 00:05:20.812
  • That's unsettling.
  • 00:05:20.812 --> 00:05:22.180
  • You think, "oh, that can't be true."
  • 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:24.516
  • They wouldn't be paying social security benefits to hundreds of
  • 00:05:24.516 --> 00:05:27.919
  • People that are more than 120 years old.
  • 00:05:27.919 --> 00:05:31.523
  • They wouldn't be paying unemployment benefits to people
  • 00:05:31.523 --> 00:05:33.759
  • Not born yet.
  • 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:35.093
  • Nobody would do that.
  • 00:05:35.093 --> 00:05:36.762
  • It's disorienting.
  • 00:05:36.762 --> 00:05:38.096
  • You think, "well, somebody is making that up."
  • 00:05:38.096 --> 00:05:40.499
  • And then there's data.
  • 00:05:40.499 --> 00:05:43.001
  • Then we get mad at the messenger.
  • 00:05:43.001 --> 00:05:44.336
  • "why would you tell us that?
  • 00:05:44.336 --> 00:05:46.705
  • It's uncomfortable."
  • 00:05:46.705 --> 00:05:48.740
  • Our justice system has been weaponized.
  • 00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:52.043
  • We've had bad seasons of justice in this nation when it
  • 00:05:52.043 --> 00:05:54.780
  • Was perverted.
  • 00:05:54.780 --> 00:05:56.148
  • We've worked very diligently to overcome that.
  • 00:05:56.148 --> 00:05:59.184
  • We've watched something happening in recent years that's
  • 00:05:59.184 --> 00:06:01.520
  • Very uncomfortable.
  • 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:03.455
  • It's not left to those arena.
  • 00:06:03.455 --> 00:06:04.823
  • Our churches, our denominations, our christian schools and
  • 00:06:04.823 --> 00:06:07.259
  • Universities have stepped away from biblical authority.
  • 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:11.363
  • They are boldly, brazenly, frequently, determinedly
  • 00:06:11.363 --> 00:06:15.700
  • Advocating for false gospels, inserting things like dei
  • 00:06:15.700 --> 00:06:19.471
  • And crt.
  • 00:06:19.471 --> 00:06:22.407
  • It's disorienting.
  • 00:06:22.407 --> 00:06:23.775
  • You think, "wait a minute.
  • 00:06:23.775 --> 00:06:25.110
  • That's the tradition i grew up in.
  • 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:27.579
  • I've got a heritage there."
  • 00:06:27.579 --> 00:06:32.284
  • Just about any arena we pick up.
  • 00:06:32.284 --> 00:06:35.887
  • The deterioration of trust in our public institutions.
  • 00:06:35.887 --> 00:06:40.992
  • You know, my--i grew up with a tremendous degree of reverence
  • 00:06:40.992 --> 00:06:45.897
  • For the basic sciences.
  • 00:06:45.897 --> 00:06:47.232
  • I started my academic career that way.
  • 00:06:47.232 --> 00:06:50.302
  • And we've seen the deterioration of trust in places that i
  • 00:06:50.302 --> 00:06:53.839
  • Thought were cornerstones of trust.
  • 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:55.807
  • Well, c--the cdc, places like the fbi.
  • 00:06:55.807 --> 00:07:00.645
  • It's bizarre.
  • 00:07:00.645 --> 00:07:01.980
  • It's unsettling.
  • 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:03.348
  • Churches have not been trustworthy.
  • 00:07:03.348 --> 00:07:05.984
  • Institutions have not been trustworthy.
  • 00:07:05.984 --> 00:07:08.587
  • We have powerful voices, celebrities, influential people
  • 00:07:08.587 --> 00:07:13.058
  • Calling evil good and good evil and all of that rolled together
  • 00:07:13.058 --> 00:07:17.929
  • Leaves the people of faith addled.
  • 00:07:17.929 --> 00:07:20.565
  • We're like the disciples who were looking at an empty tomb
  • 00:07:20.565 --> 00:07:23.101
  • Going, "jeez, i wonder where they hid the body."
  • 00:07:23.101 --> 00:07:26.505
  • It isn't that we haven't heard the truth, that we haven't known
  • 00:07:26.505 --> 00:07:29.574
  • The truth.
  • 00:07:29.574 --> 00:07:30.942
  • We've understood the definition of marriage.
  • 00:07:30.942 --> 00:07:33.144
  • We understand the definition of family.
  • 00:07:33.144 --> 00:07:36.214
  • Those are not expressions of hate.
  • 00:07:36.214 --> 00:07:38.283
  • It's the blueprint for flourishing.
  • 00:07:38.283 --> 00:07:41.953
  • We understand the notion of the sanctity of human life and why
  • 00:07:41.953 --> 00:07:45.657
  • Children deserve the voice of those who can protect them, but
  • 00:07:45.657 --> 00:07:51.596
  • The messaging is confusing.
  • 00:07:51.596 --> 00:07:53.064
  • It cascades over us like a waterfall, and i feel like we've
  • 00:07:53.064 --> 00:07:56.535
  • Been as addled and as--we're as off balance as the disciples
  • 00:07:56.535 --> 00:08:00.205
  • Were when they went to the ges--garden of gethsemane, into
  • 00:08:00.205 --> 00:08:03.475
  • That empty tomb.
  • 00:08:03.475 --> 00:08:05.944
  • They couldn't stay awake and pray with jesus, and they
  • 00:08:05.944 --> 00:08:08.547
  • Couldn't interpret what was happening around them.
  • 00:08:08.547 --> 00:08:11.650
  • So i want to wrap this up with some good news; some things that
  • 00:08:11.650 --> 00:08:15.887
  • Are true that i believe you can count on, that you can bet your
  • 00:08:15.887 --> 00:08:19.858
  • Future on, that you can plan your eternity on.
  • 00:08:19.858 --> 00:08:24.296
  • They're not just allen's opinion, they're rooted in
  • 00:08:24.296 --> 00:08:26.531
  • The fundamental precepts of scripture.
  • 00:08:26.531 --> 00:08:29.301
  • They're biblical statements to be candid that i think we
  • 00:08:29.301 --> 00:08:31.369
  • Struggle to believe.
  • 00:08:31.369 --> 00:08:32.737
  • There are so many voices competing with so many competing
  • 00:08:32.737 --> 00:08:34.940
  • Messages that you're not sure these are reliable.
  • 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.742
  • I want to give them to you this easter weekend as bedrock of
  • 00:08:37.742 --> 00:08:40.912
  • Our faith.
  • 00:08:40.912 --> 00:08:42.314
  • The first is that jesus of nazareth is unique.
  • 00:08:42.314 --> 00:08:46.418
  • He's not one of many ways to god.
  • 00:08:46.418 --> 00:08:49.621
  • He's not one of several options that will enable you to a land
  • 00:08:49.621 --> 00:08:52.691
  • At the same place.
  • 00:08:52.691 --> 00:08:54.893
  • There's been no one else like him in human history.
  • 00:08:54.893 --> 00:08:58.663
  • In your notes in john 14 and verse 6, jesus said, "i'm the
  • 00:08:58.663 --> 00:09:02.300
  • Way, the truth, and the life.
  • 00:09:02.300 --> 00:09:05.103
  • No one comes to the father except through me."
  • 00:09:05.103 --> 00:09:09.274
  • Jesus is either the only way to the father or he's a deceiver.
  • 00:09:09.274 --> 00:09:13.712
  • I choose to believe him.
  • 00:09:13.712 --> 00:09:16.114
  • He's changed my life.
  • 00:09:16.114 --> 00:09:18.249
  • I've met multiplied thousands of people whose lives have been
  • 00:09:18.249 --> 00:09:21.453
  • Transformed when they chose to acknowledge jesus is lord of
  • 00:09:21.453 --> 00:09:24.823
  • Their life.
  • 00:09:24.823 --> 00:09:27.292
  • It's beyond understanding.
  • 00:09:27.292 --> 00:09:29.828
  • I mean, i could give you the facts and the principles of
  • 00:09:29.828 --> 00:09:32.197
  • The summary.
  • 00:09:32.197 --> 00:09:33.565
  • I suspect most of you know them.
  • 00:09:33.565 --> 00:09:35.367
  • But the reality is jesus said there's no other way.
  • 00:09:35.367 --> 00:09:38.737
  • "no one will make their way into the kingdom of god except
  • 00:09:38.737 --> 00:09:41.406
  • Through me."
  • 00:09:41.406 --> 00:09:42.741
  • We have good news for the world.
  • 00:09:42.741 --> 00:09:44.809
  • Everyone is welcome at the foot of the cross.
  • 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:47.579
  • Doesn't matter whether we're male or female, short or tall,
  • 00:09:47.579 --> 00:09:50.115
  • Whether our iq is high or low.
  • 00:09:50.115 --> 00:09:52.283
  • Doesn't matter about our economic status or the color of
  • 00:09:52.283 --> 00:09:54.686
  • Our skin.
  • 00:09:54.686 --> 00:09:56.054
  • The ground at the foot of the cross is level.
  • 00:09:56.054 --> 00:10:00.525
  • Allen: the question i'm asked most often is, "how do i know
  • 00:10:04.763 --> 00:10:07.165
  • What god wants me to do?
  • 00:10:07.165 --> 00:10:08.533
  • If i just knew what god wanted me to do, i would do it,
  • 00:10:08.533 --> 00:10:10.769
  • Whatever it is."
  • 00:10:10.769 --> 00:10:12.404
  • Well, our offer this month i think will help.
  • 00:10:12.404 --> 00:10:14.005
  • It's by a good friend of mine, rob morgan.
  • 00:10:14.005 --> 00:10:15.840
  • "the lord is my shepherd."
  • 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:17.542
  • He's going to unpack the scripture that tells us how to
  • 00:10:17.542 --> 00:10:20.178
  • Follow the lord's guidance and understand his abiding presence
  • 00:10:20.178 --> 00:10:24.015
  • And his comfort.
  • 00:10:24.015 --> 00:10:25.383
  • It'll help you chart a course and know the path that god has
  • 00:10:25.383 --> 00:10:28.987
  • For you.
  • 00:10:28.987 --> 00:10:30.321
  • Get a copy.
  • 00:10:30.321 --> 00:10:31.690
  • It'll make a difference in your life.
  • 00:10:31.690 --> 00:10:33.024
  • Female announcer: life can be overwhelming, but true peace
  • 00:10:33.024 --> 00:10:34.592
  • Is possible.
  • 00:10:34.592 --> 00:10:35.960
  • Pastor robert morgan's book "the lord is my shepherd" reflects in
  • 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.697
  • The specific ways psalm 23 speaks to our lives today.
  • 00:10:38.697 --> 00:10:41.933
  • It will help you find rest for your soul and discover the joy,
  • 00:10:41.933 --> 00:10:45.403
  • Inspiration, power, and peace found in psalm 23.
  • 00:10:45.403 --> 00:10:49.074
  • In today's culture it's essential to know god is leading
  • 00:10:49.074 --> 00:10:51.776
  • Us, charting our path, and watching over us.
  • 00:10:51.776 --> 00:10:55.046
  • Request your copy of "the lord is my shepherd" when you donate
  • 00:10:55.046 --> 00:10:57.549
  • Any amount at allenjackson.com or by calling ...
  • 00:10:57.549 --> 00:11:04.456
  • Announcer: we are committed to helping you grow in your faith
  • 00:11:04.456 --> 00:11:06.825
  • And have tools for your journey no matter your schedule.
  • 00:11:06.825 --> 00:11:09.127
  • Get daily encouragement and insight with pastor allen's
  • 00:11:09.127 --> 00:11:11.896
  • Daily devotion right in your inbox.
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  • Just sign up on the website.
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  • A commute, and make sure to follow pastor allen on social
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  • Media to stay up to date with
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  • Everything happening here with
  • 00:11:28.413 --> 00:11:30.281
  • Allen jackson ministries.
  • 00:11:30.281 --> 00:11:35.053
  • Allen: jesus of nazareth has changed everything.
  • 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.423
  • He is the way, the truth, and the life and i don't care
  • 00:11:38.423 --> 00:11:42.393
  • Who--you say something else.
  • 00:11:42.393 --> 00:11:44.329
  • I don't care if it comes from a pulpit of an elaborate community
  • 00:11:44.329 --> 00:11:47.766
  • Of faith.
  • 00:11:47.766 --> 00:11:49.100
  • I don't care if it comes from a powerful politician or
  • 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:51.503
  • A celebrated athlete.
  • 00:11:51.503 --> 00:11:54.038
  • I choose to believe what jesus has said to us, and i would
  • 00:11:54.038 --> 00:11:58.176
  • Invite you to do the same.
  • 00:11:58.176 --> 00:12:00.345
  • I know there'll be competing voices.
  • 00:12:00.345 --> 00:12:01.980
  • There'll be competing voices in your own heart.
  • 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:03.882
  • There are in mine from time to time.
  • 00:12:03.882 --> 00:12:06.184
  • But jesus is unique.
  • 00:12:06.184 --> 00:12:08.553
  • There's a component of his kingdom that i would tell you
  • 00:12:08.553 --> 00:12:10.755
  • About, and it's a second point of belief and it's good news.
  • 00:12:10.755 --> 00:12:14.559
  • The message jesus bought--brought to us is framed
  • 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.962
  • By grace and mercy.
  • 00:12:17.962 --> 00:12:20.532
  • Grace is favor that you don't deserve.
  • 00:12:20.532 --> 00:12:22.600
  • You didn't earn it.
  • 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:23.935
  • It's an expression of the character of god towards you.
  • 00:12:23.935 --> 00:12:27.305
  • Mercy is when you deserve judgment or punishment and
  • 00:12:27.305 --> 00:12:30.642
  • It's withdrawn.
  • 00:12:30.642 --> 00:12:32.443
  • Jesus's message to you and me is a message of grace and mercy;
  • 00:12:32.443 --> 00:12:36.548
  • That we can be forgiven no matter who we've been or where
  • 00:12:36.548 --> 00:12:39.284
  • We've been; no matter how deep the pit, how dark the
  • 00:12:39.284 --> 00:12:42.720
  • Ungodliness, how perversed our thoughts.
  • 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.790
  • If we will come to him and acknowledge our condition, we
  • 00:12:45.790 --> 00:12:50.195
  • Can receive grace and mercy.
  • 00:12:50.195 --> 00:12:52.797
  • Look at romans chapter 2 and verse 4.
  • 00:12:52.797 --> 00:12:56.768
  • Says, "do you show contempt
  • 00:12:56.768 --> 00:12:58.102
  • For the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and
  • 00:12:58.102 --> 00:12:59.671
  • Patience, not realizing that it's--god's kindness leads you
  • 00:12:59.671 --> 00:13:04.242
  • Towards repentance?"
  • 00:13:04.242 --> 00:13:05.577
  • Now, there's a piece of this equation that i have to
  • 00:13:05.577 --> 00:13:07.712
  • Tell you.
  • 00:13:07.712 --> 00:13:09.080
  • It's lost in much of contemporary evangelicalism.
  • 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.250
  • The grace and mercy of god are not infinite.
  • 00:13:12.250 --> 00:13:15.887
  • There is an end to them.
  • 00:13:15.887 --> 00:13:18.423
  • If there was no end to the grace and mercy of god, there would be
  • 00:13:18.423 --> 00:13:21.426
  • No story of noah.
  • 00:13:21.426 --> 00:13:23.862
  • If there was no end to the grace and mercy of god, there would be
  • 00:13:23.862 --> 00:13:26.664
  • No story of lot.
  • 00:13:26.664 --> 00:13:29.067
  • Grace and mercy are not infinite.
  • 00:13:29.067 --> 00:13:32.070
  • There is a purpose for grace and a purpose for mercy.
  • 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:36.708
  • We just read it in romans chapter 2.
  • 00:13:36.708 --> 00:13:41.246
  • God's kindness is intended to lead you towards repentance.
  • 00:13:41.246 --> 00:13:45.783
  • The purpose for grace and mercy is to lead us to repentance.
  • 00:13:45.783 --> 00:13:51.956
  • Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change
  • 00:13:51.956 --> 00:13:55.293
  • Of behavior.
  • 00:13:55.293 --> 00:13:57.562
  • We live in a culture that needs to repent, but it will require
  • 00:13:57.562 --> 00:14:02.133
  • The people of faith to have an attitude of repentance.
  • 00:14:02.133 --> 00:14:06.237
  • The purpose of grace and mercy is not license.
  • 00:14:06.237 --> 00:14:09.574
  • It's not about sloppy christianity.
  • 00:14:09.574 --> 00:14:12.410
  • The reason god shows us grace and mercy is to give us an
  • 00:14:12.410 --> 00:14:17.048
  • Opportunity to change our mind and change our thought.
  • 00:14:17.048 --> 00:14:23.154
  • One more component, one more fact i don't want you to
  • 00:14:23.154 --> 00:14:26.057
  • Question or doubt.
  • 00:14:26.057 --> 00:14:28.026
  • We're going to look at luke 7, and this is the principle to
  • 00:14:28.026 --> 00:14:31.062
  • Whom those that are forgiven much love much.
  • 00:14:31.062 --> 00:14:36.567
  • Seems so simple, but it gets lost in religious people.
  • 00:14:36.567 --> 00:14:39.637
  • I've spent my adult life in the midst of religious people.
  • 00:14:39.637 --> 00:14:42.907
  • Jesus is in a home.
  • 00:14:42.907 --> 00:14:44.242
  • There's a woman who's come and knelt at jesus's feet, and it's
  • 00:14:44.242 --> 00:14:48.680
  • Offended jesus's host and jesus turns to his host and speaks
  • 00:14:48.680 --> 00:14:52.884
  • To him.
  • 00:14:52.884 --> 00:14:54.218
  • And he said to the woman--"toward the woman and
  • 00:14:54.218 --> 00:14:56.154
  • Said to simon, 'do you see this woman?
  • 00:14:56.154 --> 00:14:57.755
  • I came into your house.
  • 00:14:57.755 --> 00:14:59.123
  • And you didn't give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet
  • 00:14:59.123 --> 00:15:02.293
  • With her tears and she wiped them with her hair.'"
  • 00:15:02.293 --> 00:15:04.963
  • That's a pretty humbling expression, isn't it?
  • 00:15:04.963 --> 00:15:08.833
  • You can understand why the host is a bit upset.
  • 00:15:08.833 --> 00:15:11.269
  • This woman has a reputation not as the most godly in
  • 00:15:11.269 --> 00:15:13.705
  • The community.
  • 00:15:13.705 --> 00:15:15.073
  • She's kneeling at jesus's feet with her tears dripping upon him
  • 00:15:15.073 --> 00:15:18.843
  • And she's wiping them with her hair.
  • 00:15:18.843 --> 00:15:21.846
  • Jesus's rather religious host is offended, and jesus is bringing
  • 00:15:21.846 --> 00:15:25.616
  • To him a bit of correction.
  • 00:15:25.616 --> 00:15:27.085
  • He said, "'you didn't put oil on my head, and she's poured
  • 00:15:27.085 --> 00:15:29.354
  • Perfume on my feet.
  • 00:15:29.354 --> 00:15:30.888
  • Therefore, i tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she
  • 00:15:30.888 --> 00:15:34.692
  • Loved much.
  • 00:15:34.692 --> 00:15:36.294
  • But he's been forgiven little loves little.'
  • 00:15:36.294 --> 00:15:39.964
  • And jesus said to her, 'your sins are forgiven.'
  • 00:15:39.964 --> 00:15:42.367
  • And the other guests began to say amongst themselves, 'who is
  • 00:15:42.367 --> 00:15:45.703
  • This who even forgives sins?'"
  • 00:15:45.703 --> 00:15:49.140
  • That strikes me that the other people at the table chose to
  • 00:15:49.140 --> 00:15:51.843
  • Align themselves with their host and not with the woman that
  • 00:15:51.843 --> 00:15:54.912
  • Jesus is commending.
  • 00:15:54.912 --> 00:15:57.849
  • But here's the question.
  • 00:15:57.849 --> 00:16:00.518
  • In your own imagination, have you been forgiven little or have
  • 00:16:00.518 --> 00:16:04.622
  • You been forgiven much?
  • 00:16:04.622 --> 00:16:07.392
  • And i'll tell you how to understand that.
  • 00:16:07.392 --> 00:16:08.726
  • It's not about the depth of your sin.
  • 00:16:08.726 --> 00:16:11.095
  • It's not about the--it's not trying to evaluate whether
  • 00:16:11.095 --> 00:16:14.332
  • You've committed big sin or little sin, gross sin or
  • 00:16:14.332 --> 00:16:17.335
  • Minor sin.
  • 00:16:17.335 --> 00:16:18.836
  • The question about whether you've been forgiven little or
  • 00:16:18.836 --> 00:16:20.872
  • Forgiven much is directly connected to whether you have
  • 00:16:20.872 --> 00:16:23.641
  • Repented little or you have repented much.
  • 00:16:23.641 --> 00:16:28.279
  • Self-perception is very, very important; how you see yourself,
  • 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:33.217
  • How you understand yourself, your self-awareness.
  • 00:16:33.217 --> 00:16:36.988
  • When peter was confronted the first time with the power of god
  • 00:16:36.988 --> 00:16:40.324
  • Through jesus's ministry, peter said, "go away from me.
  • 00:16:40.324 --> 00:16:42.493
  • I'm a sinful man."
  • 00:16:42.493 --> 00:16:44.796
  • And jesus said to him, "come, follow me.
  • 00:16:44.796 --> 00:16:47.131
  • I'll make you a fisher of men."
  • 00:16:47.131 --> 00:16:49.767
  • And he took peter.
  • 00:16:49.767 --> 00:16:51.102
  • Peter had a hard time.
  • 00:16:51.102 --> 00:16:52.537
  • Peter's mouth would run ahead of his brain almost every time.
  • 00:16:52.537 --> 00:16:57.608
  • One of my favorite stories of jesus's ministry is when a
  • 00:16:57.608 --> 00:16:59.811
  • Father came to jesus with a great need for his child and
  • 00:16:59.811 --> 00:17:03.448
  • Jesus said, "if you have faith, everything is possible."
  • 00:17:03.448 --> 00:17:05.683
  • And the man said, "oh, i believe."
  • 00:17:05.683 --> 00:17:07.852
  • And then you could almost hear his brain engage and he said,
  • 00:17:07.852 --> 00:17:10.755
  • "oh, but help my unbelief."
  • 00:17:10.755 --> 00:17:13.357
  • That's my invitation to you this easter weekend; to establish
  • 00:17:13.357 --> 00:17:17.328
  • That jesus of nazareth is lord, christ, and king, that he's
  • 00:17:17.328 --> 00:17:21.566
  • Unique; to understand that every one of us needs to receive mercy
  • 00:17:21.566 --> 00:17:26.504
  • And grace, that every one of us need an attitude of repentance
  • 00:17:26.504 --> 00:17:31.342
  • And humility that says, "god, if there's anything in me."
  • 00:17:31.342 --> 00:17:35.246
  • The problem in our culture is not the person that you imagine
  • 00:17:35.246 --> 00:17:38.683
  • To be your adversary.
  • 00:17:38.683 --> 00:17:40.852
  • It's not the person of another political party.
  • 00:17:40.852 --> 00:17:42.987
  • It's not the person of another denomination.
  • 00:17:42.987 --> 00:17:45.256
  • It's not the person of a behavior that you don't
  • 00:17:45.256 --> 00:17:47.492
  • Approve of.
  • 00:17:47.492 --> 00:17:48.860
  • The challenge we face right now is the indifference of the
  • 00:17:48.860 --> 00:17:51.963
  • People of faith.
  • 00:17:51.963 --> 00:17:54.065
  • If we can change, if we can have our lives ignited to the reality
  • 00:17:54.065 --> 00:17:59.437
  • Of the power of god--what we're watching is difficult
  • 00:17:59.437 --> 00:18:02.240
  • To process.
  • 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.308
  • It will take the holy spirit to help us discern truth from
  • 00:18:04.308 --> 00:18:08.279
  • Fiction in the world in which we live.
  • 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.815
  • It will take the holy spirit to help us be prepared for what's
  • 00:18:10.815 --> 00:18:13.651
  • Coming on the earth.
  • 00:18:13.651 --> 00:18:14.986
  • It's going to intensify, but we don't have to be frightened any
  • 00:18:14.986 --> 00:18:19.123
  • More than the disciples had to be frightened in jerusalem.
  • 00:18:19.123 --> 00:18:21.392
  • Were they afraid?
  • 00:18:21.392 --> 00:18:22.760
  • They were locked in a room, but jesus stepped into the room and
  • 00:18:22.760 --> 00:18:26.931
  • Said, "all right, now we got to go."
  • 00:18:26.931 --> 00:18:29.267
  • And they're forever changed.
  • 00:18:29.267 --> 00:18:31.302
  • And i believe the spirit of god is walking throughout the earth
  • 00:18:31.302 --> 00:18:34.605
  • This easter weekend, stepping into the midst of countless
  • 00:18:34.605 --> 00:18:37.775
  • Gatherings of people saying it's time to move, and i want to give
  • 00:18:37.775 --> 00:18:42.413
  • You that invitation.
  • 00:18:42.413 --> 00:18:44.649
  • Let's use this as a benchmark.
  • 00:18:44.649 --> 00:18:47.318
  • Let's put a line in the sand, a stake in the ground and say,
  • 00:18:47.318 --> 00:18:50.021
  • "that easter weekend i took a position in the kingdom of god
  • 00:18:50.021 --> 00:18:54.225
  • To walk forward in a new way."
  • 00:18:54.225 --> 00:18:57.161
  • I'm going to invite you to say a little prayer with me and
  • 00:18:57.161 --> 00:18:59.697
  • Then we're going to take communion next.
  • 00:18:59.697 --> 00:19:01.032
  • But we're going to say a prayer first.
  • 00:19:01.032 --> 00:19:03.167
  • I'm going to ask you to pray with me, and then we're going to
  • 00:19:03.167 --> 00:19:05.169
  • Receive communion and i'm going to pray for you.
  • 00:19:05.169 --> 00:19:08.472
  • I'm going to ask you just to close your eyes for a minute,
  • 00:19:08.472 --> 00:19:10.942
  • Forget the people around you, and repeat this little prayer
  • 00:19:10.942 --> 00:19:15.146
  • With me.
  • 00:19:15.146 --> 00:19:16.514
  • We're going to do exactly what i--we just talked about.
  • 00:19:16.514 --> 00:19:18.182
  • We're going to acknowledge jesus as lord, we're going to ask him
  • 00:19:18.182 --> 00:19:20.818
  • To forgive our sins, and then we're going to say to him,
  • 00:19:20.818 --> 00:19:24.188
  • "we'll follow you."
  • 00:19:24.188 --> 00:19:26.324
  • If you've never prayed that before, this is a good time
  • 00:19:26.324 --> 00:19:28.259
  • To begin.
  • 00:19:28.259 --> 00:19:29.627
  • If you've prayed it a thousand times, one more won't hurt you.
  • 00:19:29.627 --> 00:19:32.763
  • I want that part of my life to be fresh and alive and vibrant.
  • 00:19:32.763 --> 00:19:37.868
  • Will you say this prayer with me?
  • 00:19:37.868 --> 00:19:41.372
  • All right.
  • 00:19:41.372 --> 00:19:42.740
  • "almighty god--" well, you can speak louder than that, folks.
  • 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:47.011
  • I've been to ball games.
  • 00:19:47.011 --> 00:19:48.346
  • This many people would run folks off.
  • 00:19:48.346 --> 00:19:50.948
  • Use your outdoor voice, if you will.
  • 00:19:50.948 --> 00:19:53.217
  • "almighty god, i'm a sinner and i need a savior.
  • 00:19:53.217 --> 00:20:00.224
  • I believe jesus is your son, that he died on a cross for my
  • 00:20:00.224 --> 00:20:05.696
  • Sin, and that you raised him to life again that i might
  • 00:20:05.696 --> 00:20:12.803
  • Be justified.
  • 00:20:12.803 --> 00:20:15.273
  • Forgive me of my sin, and i forgive all those who've sinned
  • 00:20:15.273 --> 00:20:20.311
  • Against me.
  • 00:20:20.311 --> 00:20:23.481
  • Jesus, be lord of my life.
  • 00:20:23.481 --> 00:20:26.984
  • All that i am, all that i have, all that i'll ever be, i want to
  • 00:20:26.984 --> 00:20:33.557
  • Serve you.
  • 00:20:33.557 --> 00:20:35.426
  • Amen."
  • 00:20:35.426 --> 00:20:37.328
  • Hallelujah.
  • 00:20:37.328 --> 00:20:38.663
  • That prayer will change your life.
  • 00:20:38.663 --> 00:20:40.564
  • It will change your life.
  • 00:20:40.564 --> 00:20:43.567
  • Now, with that--having made that statement, we have the freedom
  • 00:20:43.567 --> 00:20:46.971
  • To come to the communion table.
  • 00:20:46.971 --> 00:20:50.041
  • It's a reminder of what jesus did for us on the cross.
  • 00:20:50.041 --> 00:20:53.744
  • On that cross there was a divinely-ordered exchange that
  • 00:20:53.744 --> 00:20:56.480
  • Took place.
  • 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:57.815
  • The innocent, sinless, obedient son of god took all of the
  • 00:20:57.815 --> 00:21:01.519
  • Punishment that was due by divine justice for my
  • 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.822
  • Godlessness and my rebellion, and yours as well.
  • 00:21:04.822 --> 00:21:09.593
  • That exchange, he took the punishment for my godlessness
  • 00:21:09.593 --> 00:21:12.930
  • That i might have the blessings of his perfect obedience.
  • 00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:17.068
  • And every time we come to the communion table, we come in
  • 00:21:17.068 --> 00:21:20.237
  • Faith to receive what jesus made available to us.
  • 00:21:20.237 --> 00:21:24.475
  • Certainly the forgiveness of our sins, but also his life in our
  • 00:21:24.475 --> 00:21:28.079
  • Body, his peace in our minds, his provision for our lives, his
  • 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:32.883
  • Direction as we navigate our way through time; so that whatever
  • 00:21:32.883 --> 00:21:36.854
  • Challenge you may have come to this easter service with, jesus
  • 00:21:36.854 --> 00:21:40.524
  • Has made complete provision for through his redemptive work on
  • 00:21:40.524 --> 00:21:44.095
  • The cross.
  • 00:21:44.095 --> 00:21:45.463
  • Now, that is good news.
  • 00:21:45.463 --> 00:21:48.099
  • It's more powerful than any government program, any
  • 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:51.569
  • Government agency.
  • 00:21:51.569 --> 00:21:53.371
  • It's more powerful than any other expression of power known
  • 00:21:53.371 --> 00:21:57.108
  • To human beings.
  • 00:21:57.108 --> 00:21:58.943
  • I'm not saying those things aren't real or powerful, but the
  • 00:21:58.943 --> 00:22:01.779
  • Power of god expressed towards you and me through the
  • 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:04.582
  • Redemptive work of jesus is the most powerful force that you and
  • 00:22:04.582 --> 00:22:08.586
  • I will ever experience.
  • 00:22:08.586 --> 00:22:11.122
  • And tonight we're coming to the communion table.
  • 00:22:11.122 --> 00:22:14.692
  • Whatever you may have brought to this place tonight where you
  • 00:22:14.692 --> 00:22:16.961
  • Need god's help, we're going to ask him and we're going to
  • 00:22:16.961 --> 00:22:19.463
  • Invite him into the midst of that.
  • 00:22:19.463 --> 00:22:22.833
  • All right, in those little bags you had, you've got the elements
  • 00:22:22.833 --> 00:22:25.069
  • Of communion.
  • 00:22:25.069 --> 00:22:26.404
  • If you haven't found them yet--if you have, if you peel
  • 00:22:26.404 --> 00:22:30.474
  • Back that top cellophane layer you can get to that wafer.
  • 00:22:30.474 --> 00:22:35.946
  • Some of you have heard me say i used to say if there's sin into
  • 00:22:35.946 --> 00:22:38.048
  • Your life you won't be able to get it open until one service i
  • 00:22:38.048 --> 00:22:43.554
  • Couldn't get mine open and some camera operator zeroed in on it.
  • 00:22:43.554 --> 00:22:53.130
  • I got my wafer out tonight.
  • 00:22:53.197 --> 00:22:56.767
  • But we're going to come as disciples to receive the bread
  • 00:22:56.767 --> 00:23:00.271
  • And the body of jesus.
  • 00:23:00.271 --> 00:23:02.506
  • It was the night jesus was betrayed.
  • 00:23:02.506 --> 00:23:06.010
  • Just before they went to gethsemane and he was betrayed
  • 00:23:06.010 --> 00:23:08.345
  • By judas, he celebrated the passover meal with
  • 00:23:08.345 --> 00:23:11.749
  • The disciples.
  • 00:23:11.749 --> 00:23:13.317
  • The beginning of the meal he took bread and said, "this bread
  • 00:23:13.317 --> 00:23:15.653
  • Is my body broken for you.
  • 00:23:15.653 --> 00:23:18.055
  • As often as you eat this, do this in remembrance of me."
  • 00:23:18.055 --> 00:23:21.459
  • Let's receive together.
  • 00:23:21.459 --> 00:23:26.997
  • And then he took a cup and he said, "this cup is a new
  • 00:23:26.997 --> 00:23:30.367
  • Covenant sealed with my own blood.
  • 00:23:30.367 --> 00:23:34.104
  • As often as you drink it, you proclaim my death until you see
  • 00:23:34.104 --> 00:23:37.508
  • Me again."
  • 00:23:37.508 --> 00:23:39.176
  • Let's receive together.
  • 00:23:39.176 --> 00:23:45.516
  • Will you stand with me for this prayer?
  • 00:23:45.516 --> 00:23:52.857
  • Are you ready to receive?
  • 00:23:52.857 --> 00:23:56.594
  • I pray you are.
  • 00:23:56.594 --> 00:23:59.830
  • You see, receiving from god begins in our heart.
  • 00:23:59.830 --> 00:24:03.734
  • The reluctance isn't on god's side of the equation, the
  • 00:24:03.734 --> 00:24:06.871
  • Reluctance begins within us.
  • 00:24:06.871 --> 00:24:09.874
  • Sometimes there's so much emotion.
  • 00:24:09.874 --> 00:24:11.208
  • There's fear.
  • 00:24:11.208 --> 00:24:12.576
  • There's anxiety.
  • 00:24:12.576 --> 00:24:13.911
  • There's hatred.
  • 00:24:13.911 --> 00:24:15.279
  • We've been rejected and we're afraid god will reject us, and
  • 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.983
  • It takes a seed of faith in our hearts.
  • 00:24:18.983 --> 00:24:21.185
  • God said he's given every one of us a measure of faith.
  • 00:24:21.185 --> 00:24:24.154
  • You have everything you need tonight to invite god into your
  • 00:24:24.154 --> 00:24:28.459
  • Life if you'll take the bold step in your heart of saying,
  • 00:24:28.459 --> 00:24:31.896
  • "father, i believe in you.
  • 00:24:31.896 --> 00:24:34.331
  • I trust you.
  • 00:24:34.331 --> 00:24:36.267
  • I trust you're real.
  • 00:24:36.267 --> 00:24:38.068
  • I trust you're able.
  • 00:24:38.068 --> 00:24:40.004
  • I trust your love for me.
  • 00:24:40.004 --> 00:24:42.406
  • I trust your compassion for me."
  • 00:24:42.406 --> 00:24:45.509
  • I want to invite you to receive tonight as we pray.
  • 00:24:45.509 --> 00:24:49.313
  • Heavenly father, i thank you that in your great love for us
  • 00:24:49.313 --> 00:24:52.883
  • You sent your son to offer himself as a sacrifice on a
  • 00:24:52.883 --> 00:24:57.821
  • Cross that we might have life.
  • 00:24:57.821 --> 00:25:01.058
  • And as we gather before you tonight on this campus, across
  • 00:25:01.058 --> 00:25:04.428
  • Our nation, and around the earth, i thank you that you have
  • 00:25:04.428 --> 00:25:08.599
  • Made a way for us to be clean, to be justified, to be forgiven,
  • 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:14.939
  • To be acquitted; that we can be sanctified, set apart for your
  • 00:25:14.939 --> 00:25:19.243
  • Purposes; that every claim that satan may have had against us
  • 00:25:19.243 --> 00:25:23.948
  • Has been canceled through the blood of jesus.
  • 00:25:23.948 --> 00:25:27.251
  • And as we have received the bread and the cup now, we
  • 00:25:27.251 --> 00:25:29.720
  • Receive your life, your health into our bodies, your peace into
  • 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:34.992
  • Our minds.
  • 00:25:34.992 --> 00:25:36.994
  • I thank you for your protection over our lives, our homes,
  • 00:25:36.994 --> 00:25:40.164
  • Our futures.
  • 00:25:40.164 --> 00:25:41.765
  • I thank you for your provision; that just as you guided and
  • 00:25:41.765 --> 00:25:45.970
  • Directed our friends in the gospels, that you are guiding
  • 00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:48.639
  • And directing your friends in the earth today.
  • 00:25:48.639 --> 00:25:52.242
  • And i thank you for the presence of your spirit in our lives,
  • 00:25:52.242 --> 00:25:56.413
  • That you are raising up a triumphant church; a church
  • 00:25:56.413 --> 00:25:59.850
  • Bold, a church courageous, a church willing to serve and to
  • 00:25:59.850 --> 00:26:06.523
  • Honor you.
  • 00:26:06.523 --> 00:26:07.925
  • And we thank you for the great honor and privilege of
  • 00:26:07.925 --> 00:26:10.794
  • Being included.
  • 00:26:10.794 --> 00:26:12.363
  • In jesus's name, amen.
  • 00:26:12.363 --> 00:26:15.733
  • Allen: you know, before our congregation even existed, my
  • 00:26:15.733 --> 00:26:19.069
  • Family used to distribute christian literature.
  • 00:26:19.069 --> 00:26:21.138
  • We found that sharing books changed lives and so we spent
  • 00:26:21.138 --> 00:26:25.242
  • A lot of time and energy and resources honestly sharing books
  • 00:26:25.242 --> 00:26:28.812
  • Around our community.
  • 00:26:28.812 --> 00:26:30.280
  • Well, our offer this month is a book by a good friend of mine,
  • 00:26:30.280 --> 00:26:33.817
  • Rob morgan.
  • 00:26:33.817 --> 00:26:35.185
  • The title is "the lord is my shepherd."
  • 00:26:35.185 --> 00:26:36.987
  • It's a book about god's abiding presence, his guidance in our
  • 00:26:36.987 --> 00:26:40.424
  • Lives, and the fact that he charts a course for us.
  • 00:26:40.424 --> 00:26:43.560
  • It's a book i believe will change your life, but it's also
  • 00:26:43.560 --> 00:26:46.764
  • A really easy book to share with a friend.
  • 00:26:46.764 --> 00:26:49.366
  • So i want to give you an invitation.
  • 00:26:49.366 --> 00:26:50.701
  • Let's not just enjoy the word of god and what god does for us.
  • 00:26:50.701 --> 00:26:54.538
  • Let's decide to be a light in our families, in our community,
  • 00:26:54.538 --> 00:26:58.208
  • In your sunday school class, wherever that may be.
  • 00:26:58.208 --> 00:27:00.944
  • I believe this book is a wonderful tool not only for you
  • 00:27:00.944 --> 00:27:05.182
  • But for the people you care about.
  • 00:27:05.182 --> 00:27:06.650
  • The lord is my shepherd, that's the message we need now.
  • 00:27:06.650 --> 00:27:26.437