1 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,910 Good morning. Hey, if you've got kiddos or if 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:12,960 you are kiddo would like to go to Sunday school, now's your 3 00:00:12,970 --> 00:00:15,900 time. I see some running running out 4 00:00:15,910 --> 00:00:18,720 of here. If any adults run out of here, I 5 00:00:18,730 --> 00:00:22,770 won't take it personally either. Hey, on that note, are there any 6 00:00:22,780 --> 00:00:24,830 turkeys in the oven? Like anybody? 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,910 Did anybody leave a Turkey in the oven and come to church and 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:29,870 like you gotta run to get it out by a certain time? 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,640 I'm seeing no hands. I don't know that I would put my 10 00:00:31,650 --> 00:00:35,450 hand up to that question either. Anybody running out of here to 11 00:00:35,460 --> 00:00:37,650 put a Turkey in the oven? No. 12 00:00:37,660 --> 00:00:38,890 OK, great. Right on. 13 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:40,630 Good. Hey, it is. 14 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,280 It's good to have you with us. It's good to be together and to 15 00:00:43,290 --> 00:00:45,680 worship together. My name is Grant and I'm one of 16 00:00:45,690 --> 00:00:48,830 the pastors here at the church. We are in a couple of minutes 17 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:54,330 going to be into Luke chapter 10 and reading a story that is 18 00:00:54,340 --> 00:00:57,410 familiar, I think to many, many people, like both inside the 19 00:00:57,420 --> 00:01:00,350 church and outside the church. We're going to read the parable 20 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,810 Jesus is teaching of the Good Samaritan. 21 00:01:03,180 --> 00:01:05,030 But the interesting thing is that we're actually probably 22 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,120 going to spend more time on the lead up to that parable than the 23 00:01:08,130 --> 00:01:10,420 parable itself. But you can find that in Luke 24 00:01:10,430 --> 00:01:14,230 chapter 10 and it's Luke is about this far through your 25 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,840 Bible. And if you don't have a Bible, 26 00:01:16,850 --> 00:01:19,670 we've got Bibles in the back of the sanctuary toward these doors 27 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,150 over here. And if you don't have one and 28 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,300 would like to take one of those Bibles homes, great, fantastic. 29 00:01:26,310 --> 00:01:28,870 That's our gift to you. I'm not sure what all 30 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:30,080 translations there are over there. 31 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:31,350 There's a couple different options. 32 00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:35,430 I'm going to be reading from the New International Version today, 33 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:38,550 but we're also going to have it up on the screen for you. 34 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,430 Before we do that, before we get into it, let me pray as we 35 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,430 begin. God, thanks for your love, 36 00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:47,350 thanks for your grace, and thanks that you're with us. 37 00:01:48,190 --> 00:01:51,640 Yeah, on a, on a weekend like today, on on a day like today, 38 00:01:51,650 --> 00:01:54,920 on this Sunday, as we gather, we do want to pause and and be 39 00:01:54,930 --> 00:01:56,650 intentional about saying thank you. 40 00:01:57,410 --> 00:02:00,800 And so as we've sung, as we've prayed already, God thanks for 41 00:02:00,810 --> 00:02:03,810 who you are. Thanks for who you've created us 42 00:02:03,820 --> 00:02:07,130 to be and who you call us to be. And thank you that you've left 43 00:02:07,140 --> 00:02:12,620 these teachings to encourage us and challenge us and convict us 44 00:02:12,690 --> 00:02:15,220 in that direction. God, thanks for these are your 45 00:02:15,230 --> 00:02:16,760 words. Thanks that you speak to us. 46 00:02:17,540 --> 00:02:20,310 And so would you do that today? We pray in the strong name of 47 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,800 Jesus, Amen. So I don't know about you, but I 48 00:02:24,810 --> 00:02:28,100 think, and I think I'm right on this, we live in a time when 49 00:02:28,110 --> 00:02:32,810 it's never been easier to access information and consume content. 50 00:02:33,530 --> 00:02:39,960 Like it is easy to find answers to every single question that 51 00:02:39,970 --> 00:02:42,620 you might have. Like there's an answer to every 52 00:02:42,630 --> 00:02:44,660 question. It might not be the right 53 00:02:44,670 --> 00:02:48,180 answer, but there are answers to every single question that 54 00:02:48,190 --> 00:02:50,070 you've got and it's at your fingertips. 55 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,560 So you can pull out your phone and you can Google or ChatGPT. 56 00:02:55,570 --> 00:03:00,420 I guess now whatever answer, there is always something 57 00:03:00,430 --> 00:03:04,650 constantly waiting for you, waiting for me, another podcast 58 00:03:04,660 --> 00:03:07,970 to listen to, another sermon to listen to, another YouTube 59 00:03:07,980 --> 00:03:11,510 video, go watch Google, social media, all of it. 60 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:16,350 This like weird mix of information and opinion, fact 61 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,170 and fiction, knowledge and experience. 62 00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:22,940 And I think with the rise of AI and AI generated content, and I 63 00:03:22,950 --> 00:03:28,090 don't know if you've dabbled in that world, it's scary, it's 64 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:32,370 only going to become harder to recognize what is true and good 65 00:03:32,380 --> 00:03:37,450 and helpful from what is false and divisive and harmful. 66 00:03:38,380 --> 00:03:42,890 And I realized that also it's not always that simple as what 67 00:03:42,900 --> 00:03:47,670 is absolutely only false and divisive and what is good and 68 00:03:47,780 --> 00:03:51,760 helpful. Sociologists called this age the 69 00:03:51,770 --> 00:03:56,790 age of consumption, and it's this age where information 70 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:01,760 technology, where global networks shape both global 71 00:04:01,770 --> 00:04:06,440 culture and economy and like immediate culture and economy, 72 00:04:06,450 --> 00:04:10,740 real world, like your lived experience shaped by these 73 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:12,930 things. And, and it's increased our 74 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:16,079 awareness of what is happening around the world in some great 75 00:04:16,089 --> 00:04:18,620 ways. It's given us the ability to 76 00:04:18,630 --> 00:04:22,140 remain connected in real time across oceans, even into space. 77 00:04:22,150 --> 00:04:25,490 It's also given the rise to things like the armchair expert, 78 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:34,730 to fact checking and to cyber condrea, which is a term better 79 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:40,880 known as Googling your medical conditions and then worrying 80 00:04:40,890 --> 00:04:43,370 about what Google tells you. You now have. 81 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:47,590 That's the thing. I highly recommend you don't do 82 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:53,820 it, but everybody does. That's yeah, creates, I think 83 00:04:53,830 --> 00:04:58,130 this environment though, for us at the end of the day where it's 84 00:04:58,140 --> 00:05:03,700 easy to believe that we have access and possession of both 85 00:05:03,710 --> 00:05:08,330 truth, what is right and morality, what is good. 86 00:05:10,330 --> 00:05:13,880 But here's the thing. More knowledge doesn't 87 00:05:13,890 --> 00:05:20,940 necessarily lead to more life. Right knowledge doesn't always 88 00:05:20,950 --> 00:05:24,360 lead to right action or right living. 89 00:05:24,870 --> 00:05:29,900 In other words, like I can know the right thing about something 90 00:05:29,910 --> 00:05:33,990 and then not do the right thing I know to do. 91 00:05:34,890 --> 00:05:37,880 I can know something but not have it change my life. 92 00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:40,560 And I'll give you a very real world example for me, and it is 93 00:05:40,570 --> 00:05:44,180 painfully ironic that I just picked up a cup of coffee. 94 00:05:44,390 --> 00:05:47,220 The next line is I might know my headache is caused by 95 00:05:47,230 --> 00:05:49,870 dehydration, but I still take Advil with coffee instead of 96 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,370 water when it hits. Like I might know what is right 97 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,910 and then still not do it. I might know that eating a whole 98 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,910 pint of ice cream won't lead me to a better sleep, but I still 99 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,100 do it. That that's like, that's like a 100 00:06:03,110 --> 00:06:05,280 meat example. That's not like a general Hey we 101 00:06:05,290 --> 00:06:10,380 all do like that's a me example. You might know that you need to 102 00:06:10,390 --> 00:06:13,130 budget. You might even know how to 103 00:06:13,140 --> 00:06:17,210 budget, but then don't let it actually change the way you pull 104 00:06:17,220 --> 00:06:19,520 out your wallet and spend day-to-day. 105 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:22,690 You might know that your kids are gonna grow up fast or 106 00:06:22,700 --> 00:06:25,090 grandkids are gonna grow up fast, but still you prioritize 107 00:06:25,100 --> 00:06:29,340 work or TV or screen time and checking out when you are called 108 00:06:29,350 --> 00:06:32,350 to be present. You might know that regular 109 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,850 prayer and reading your Bible is foundational flourishing of 110 00:06:34,860 --> 00:06:39,710 faith and life, but you let business push it aside and don't 111 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,820 get around to doing it. You might know that God has 112 00:06:42,830 --> 00:06:47,000 designed you for rest, and yet you keep working through the 113 00:06:47,010 --> 00:06:50,710 weekends and don't prioritize healthy Sabbath like we know, 114 00:06:51,510 --> 00:06:55,930 but we don't always do. Knowledge alone is never gonna 115 00:06:55,940 --> 00:06:57,890 lead to true life transformation. 116 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:00,650 I can intellectually assent towards something. 117 00:07:00,660 --> 00:07:03,900 I can work hard at it. I can know the thing and I can 118 00:07:03,910 --> 00:07:07,700 still not have that thing transform how I live. 119 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:12,810 And that's I think in part why Paul says, listen, I can have 120 00:07:12,820 --> 00:07:15,560 the gift of prophecy. I can fathom all mysteries. 121 00:07:15,650 --> 00:07:18,780 I can have all knowledge. I can have faith that can move 122 00:07:18,790 --> 00:07:24,090 mountains, but if I do not have love, I am nothing. 123 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,950 Today's passage is one of, I think, the most well known 124 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:30,930 parables of Jesus. And it's known, like I said, 125 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:32,850 inside the church. It's known outside the church. 126 00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:35,410 It's got language that's permeated and kind of exploded 127 00:07:35,420 --> 00:07:38,530 outside of Christianity. The parable has taken on a life 128 00:07:38,540 --> 00:07:42,270 of its own, meaning of its own. To be a Good Samaritan can 129 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,290 simply mean to just be a good person who generally does the 130 00:07:45,300 --> 00:07:47,630 good right thing to help out other people. 131 00:07:48,850 --> 00:07:51,440 But here's the thing. Just because a parable is known 132 00:07:51,910 --> 00:07:54,100 doesn't mean that it's lived out well. 133 00:07:54,590 --> 00:07:56,910 And I might even argue that this parable, though it might be the 134 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,080 most well known of Jesus's teachings or one of, is probably 135 00:08:00,090 --> 00:08:03,360 the least lived out or one of the least lived out. 136 00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:05,190 And so this is where we're going to start. 137 00:08:05,230 --> 00:08:07,680 On one occasion, the text begins. 138 00:08:07,730 --> 00:08:11,830 On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 139 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,840 And if you have a Bible you can highlight that stood up to test 140 00:08:14,850 --> 00:08:19,840 Jesus teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal 141 00:08:19,890 --> 00:08:22,430 life? What is written in the law? 142 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,380 He replied that's Jesus. How do you read it? 143 00:08:25,260 --> 00:08:27,250 He that is the expert in the law. 144 00:08:27,260 --> 00:08:30,250 Some other translations might say lawyer, he answered. 145 00:08:30,260 --> 00:08:33,460 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, 146 00:08:33,470 --> 00:08:36,710 with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your 147 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,530 neighbor as yourself. You have answered correctly, 148 00:08:39,539 --> 00:08:44,640 Jesus replied. Do this and you will live. 149 00:08:44,690 --> 00:08:49,540 Do this and you will live. What must I do to inherit 150 00:08:49,550 --> 00:08:52,400 eternal life? Sounds like a great question. 151 00:08:53,220 --> 00:08:57,050 It sounds like an honest conversation question leading to 152 00:08:57,060 --> 00:09:01,230 hopefully honest conversation about how life is intended to be 153 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:06,980 lived and what might it mean to inherit or gain or live into 154 00:09:06,990 --> 00:09:08,490 eternal life. It's a great question, but 155 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:11,040 here's the thing. It comes with the wrong 156 00:09:11,090 --> 00:09:14,090 motivation. Here's, like I said, an expert 157 00:09:14,100 --> 00:09:15,930 in the law, which is also a lawyer. 158 00:09:15,940 --> 00:09:18,190 Now listen, like this isn't a chance to beat up on your lawyer 159 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:22,110 friends, OK? This is an expert in the Jewish 160 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,130 law. It's an as. 161 00:09:23,140 --> 00:09:26,770 He's an expert in understanding, in knowing it and in its 162 00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:31,000 interpretation how you are to think about it. 163 00:09:31,050 --> 00:09:35,880 So that's why many translations just say an expert in the law. 164 00:09:37,110 --> 00:09:39,330 And like I said, he's got a great question, but he has the 165 00:09:39,340 --> 00:09:42,480 wrong motivation. The expert in the law, he's not 166 00:09:42,490 --> 00:09:45,180 asking the question because he genuinely wants to hear Jesus 167 00:09:45,190 --> 00:09:47,920 answer. What must I do to live into your 168 00:09:47,930 --> 00:09:50,220 Kingdom? What must I do to have eternal 169 00:09:50,230 --> 00:09:53,800 life? He's asking a question in order 170 00:09:53,810 --> 00:10:01,150 to test or trap Jesus, he says. It says he rises to test him. 171 00:10:02,420 --> 00:10:08,030 Now, we could spend all of our time on this one line, but we 172 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:13,260 won't, I promise. What's your posture, though, 173 00:10:13,510 --> 00:10:15,780 when you come to Jesus? I think that's just one question 174 00:10:15,790 --> 00:10:20,660 that each of us needs to ask of ourselves, probably over and 175 00:10:20,670 --> 00:10:23,580 over again. Is that one of humility and 176 00:10:23,670 --> 00:10:27,240 earnest attempt to learn and to sit and to understand, or, or is 177 00:10:27,250 --> 00:10:30,400 it one that rises to test or to prove or to get something from 178 00:10:30,510 --> 00:10:31,780 Him? Do you treat worship as a 179 00:10:31,790 --> 00:10:34,880 bargain? Like if I do this then God will 180 00:10:34,890 --> 00:10:39,110 you do that? Like I, I need you to do for me, 181 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,440 God. Would you if I do? 182 00:10:42,450 --> 00:10:45,420 We ignore Jesus's commands but still expect his blessing in our 183 00:10:45,430 --> 00:10:47,230 lives. Do we demand proof while 184 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:52,590 withholding our our devotion? How do we engage with who Jesus 185 00:10:52,660 --> 00:10:55,030 is? So an expert in the law, he 186 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,710 rises to test Jesus. What must I do to inherit 187 00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:00,410 eternal life? And Jesus responds with a 188 00:11:00,420 --> 00:11:04,850 question of his own. What is written in the law? 189 00:11:04,860 --> 00:11:08,450 He replied, how do you read it? And I almost think that this is 190 00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:11,010 a moment in Jesus life. He says, hey, listen, OK, expert 191 00:11:11,020 --> 00:11:13,560 in the law, You want to play this game, I'll play your game. 192 00:11:13,570 --> 00:11:16,970 You want to speak this language, I'll speak your language. 193 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:21,680 He can do it. I shouldn't try to speak the 194 00:11:21,690 --> 00:11:25,660 language of a lawyer or or like an engineer or some of these 195 00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:26,940 other things I got no business doing. 196 00:11:26,950 --> 00:11:30,000 But this is like he's pushing against this expert. 197 00:11:30,010 --> 00:11:34,310 He says, OK, you wanna come with this question and I think Jesus 198 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:35,820 knows his heart with this motivation. 199 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,520 What do you say is written? What do you see there? 200 00:11:39,530 --> 00:11:42,320 What is written in the law? I'll play your game, the lawyer 201 00:11:42,330 --> 00:11:43,540 answers. Love the Lord your God with all 202 00:11:43,550 --> 00:11:46,320 your heart, soul with all your strength, all your mind, love 203 00:11:46,330 --> 00:11:50,890 your neighbor as yourself. These two lines here the lawyers 204 00:11:50,900 --> 00:11:56,550 response are typical response to this question in Jesus day. 205 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,090 Many experts in the law would sit around discussing and 206 00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:03,410 arguing and debating this very question and leading to this 207 00:12:03,420 --> 00:12:07,330 very answer. The lawyer quotes 2 verses from 208 00:12:07,340 --> 00:12:11,930 Deuteronomy 6 and from Leviticus 19 that were commonly squished 209 00:12:11,940 --> 00:12:16,570 together like this to answer Jesus or the answer the the 210 00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:19,710 question what must I do to inherit eternal life. 211 00:12:19,940 --> 00:12:22,510 They were also put together to actually, at the end of the day, 212 00:12:22,590 --> 00:12:26,110 represent the law and the commandments, all that the 213 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,870 people of Israel had to do and all they had to follow. 214 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,170 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, 215 00:12:32,180 --> 00:12:34,410 with all your strength. That's from Deuteronomy, and do 216 00:12:34,420 --> 00:12:37,150 not seek revenge. Do not bear a grudge against 217 00:12:37,220 --> 00:12:39,850 anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. 218 00:12:39,860 --> 00:12:43,700 I'm the Lord your God. That's from Leviticus and so the 219 00:12:43,710 --> 00:12:46,830 lawyer, what I want us to see here gives the correct answer, 220 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,920 but I also want us to notice Jesus response because Jesus 221 00:12:52,930 --> 00:12:55,740 doesn't say to this guy, hey great, you answered correctly 222 00:12:55,790 --> 00:12:58,700 like a plus. You get the reward. 223 00:12:58,770 --> 00:13:00,720 Here's eternal life, you win the prize. 224 00:13:00,730 --> 00:13:04,340 You know the right thing to say. This isn't A+ on the exam. 225 00:13:04,350 --> 00:13:07,920 She just doesn't say, hey great, you passed the test. 226 00:13:07,930 --> 00:13:13,030 What he does say is do this and you will live. 227 00:13:14,410 --> 00:13:18,920 Don't just know it, he says, do it. 228 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,110 Allow it to actually transform your life. 229 00:13:23,180 --> 00:13:27,030 In Leviticus 18, which many believe that Jesus is quoting 230 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,830 from here, it simply says this. Keep my decrees and laws for the 231 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,370 person who obeys them will live by them. 232 00:13:35,750 --> 00:13:40,980 Do this and you will live. Jesus knows that knowledge of 233 00:13:40,990 --> 00:13:43,080 the law doesn't necessarily mean living by the law. 234 00:13:43,950 --> 00:13:47,630 To know something is not the same as daily committing to do 235 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,290 the thing that you know to understand is not the same as to 236 00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:52,730 put into action. The expert of the law knows what 237 00:13:52,740 --> 00:13:56,810 is technically correct in the eyes of the law, but Jesus knows 238 00:13:56,820 --> 00:13:59,510 and is pushing against the fact that He probably isn't living it 239 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,360 out in the way that it was intended. 240 00:14:02,050 --> 00:14:04,500 The man hasn't let it shape his heart in his mind, hasn't 241 00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:09,130 changed his life. To know about Jesus is not the 242 00:14:09,140 --> 00:14:12,220 same thing as knowing Jesus. Last week, Justin left us with 243 00:14:12,230 --> 00:14:15,550 this great quote from William Barclay, who says that to listen 244 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:20,170 Christianity, it's not just about knowing Jesus, but knowing 245 00:14:20,180 --> 00:14:21,610 Jesus. He says it's not just about 246 00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:25,330 knowing Christ, it is about knowing Christ. 247 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,210 And there's a difference. To do that, Barclay says, 248 00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:31,650 requires not earthly wisdom, but heavenly grace for a crowd. 249 00:14:31,660 --> 00:14:34,490 Puts it another way, he just says having the right answers 250 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:35,890 does not mean that one knows God. 251 00:14:35,900 --> 00:14:38,180 He's a little harsher and to the point. 252 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:44,000 He says just because you know the right answers does not mean 253 00:14:44,010 --> 00:14:48,520 that you actually know God. Listen, I think this is one 254 00:14:48,530 --> 00:14:50,850 thing that pastors especially have to wrestle with every 255 00:14:50,860 --> 00:14:54,290 single day of our lives. There's a difference between 256 00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:56,190 knowing about something and knowing the person. 257 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:58,760 There's a difference between knowing about scripture and 258 00:14:58,770 --> 00:15:01,120 allowing scripture to actually transform your heart and your 259 00:15:01,130 --> 00:15:03,380 mind. And there's a reason why, like I 260 00:15:03,450 --> 00:15:06,260 will always have a Bible up here with me when I preach. 261 00:15:06,270 --> 00:15:08,580 And even though we're reading from a screen or highlight, I've 262 00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:11,330 got stuff all over the place. Like for me, this at the end of 263 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,520 the day of saying to to someone this morning, like at the end of 264 00:15:14,530 --> 00:15:15,920 the day, all of the lights could go out. 265 00:15:15,930 --> 00:15:17,160 All of the power could be shut off. 266 00:15:17,170 --> 00:15:19,340 You take away iPad, take away tablets, take away screens, 267 00:15:19,350 --> 00:15:22,880 lights, everything. Like we sit under this, this is 268 00:15:22,890 --> 00:15:27,620 what we have, but knowing about this is not the same as allowing 269 00:15:27,690 --> 00:15:30,950 what is here to transform your heart and your mind and your 270 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,580 life. And so I want to simply ask you 271 00:15:33,590 --> 00:15:39,320 this, like, do you know about Jesus, or do you know Jesus more 272 00:15:39,330 --> 00:15:41,120 than that? Are you known by Jesus? 273 00:15:42,180 --> 00:15:46,170 Do you experience his presence? CS Lewis family famously said 274 00:15:46,180 --> 00:15:49,360 that about the Psalms as a whole, one of the books in the 275 00:15:49,370 --> 00:15:53,080 Bible. He says that in it, in the 276 00:15:53,090 --> 00:15:56,750 Psalms there I find an experience fully God centred, 277 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:01,570 asking of God no gift more urgently than his presence, the 278 00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:05,050 gift of himself, joyous to the highest degree, he says, an 279 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:07,350 unmistakably real. But that's the thing that he's 280 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,070 pursuing here, an experience that is wholly God centred, not 281 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,950 me centred and asking God no gift more urgently, nothing 282 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,740 else. Accept his presence. 283 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,800 See, when Jesus says do this and you will live, I think what he's 284 00:16:23,810 --> 00:16:25,470 doing is holding up a mirror to this guy. 285 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:31,090 Like Jesus wants this man asking himself like do I do the thing I 286 00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:32,610 know to be good and true and right? 287 00:16:32,620 --> 00:16:35,840 Like, probably not, At least not all the time. 288 00:16:37,710 --> 00:16:40,240 It's not in the way that maybe I'm intended to, but there's no 289 00:16:40,250 --> 00:16:41,700 humility or conviction in the Lord. 290 00:16:41,710 --> 00:16:44,780 Like Jesus isn't saying, yeah, go away and just do all the 291 00:16:44,790 --> 00:16:47,890 things. Jesus is holding up a mirror to 292 00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:49,310 say no. Actually, at the end of the day, 293 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,940 you can't do all the things. You're gonna run around trying 294 00:16:52,950 --> 00:16:55,540 to do them. You're gonna run around trying 295 00:16:55,550 --> 00:16:59,910 to stack up credit and earn grace, and he wants this lawyer 296 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:03,230 to step back and actually think and consider and realize and be 297 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:04,960 humble. But the lawyer doesn't do that. 298 00:17:04,970 --> 00:17:08,220 The lawyer does none of it. The lawyer double s down so, but 299 00:17:08,230 --> 00:17:11,400 he, the expert in the law, the lawyer, this guy, he wanted to 300 00:17:11,410 --> 00:17:14,599 justify himself. That's a dangerous game. 301 00:17:15,790 --> 00:17:18,700 And so he asked Jesus, who is my neighbor? 302 00:17:20,450 --> 00:17:22,800 I think the guy should have quit while he thought he was ahead, 303 00:17:25,970 --> 00:17:27,940 but he wanted to justify himself. 304 00:17:29,420 --> 00:17:32,240 See this lawyer, like he's looking for an out now. 305 00:17:32,250 --> 00:17:35,860 He wants to know who Jesus considers a neighbor. 306 00:17:36,740 --> 00:17:39,550 And it could be that he's just still trying to test Jesus and 307 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,070 catch him. Like maybe he's gonna say 308 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,780 something and slip up and, you know, say something that we can 309 00:17:43,790 --> 00:17:45,700 consider heretical. I think it's deeper. 310 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,550 At the end of the day, only a righteous Jew could be 311 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,390 considered a neighbor by another righteous Jew. 312 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,980 That was the worldview. Neighbor wasn't just who you 313 00:17:55,990 --> 00:17:57,890 lived next door to. It wasn't like whoever was in 314 00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:00,660 proximity to you who was around to be considered a neighbor, you 315 00:18:00,670 --> 00:18:03,790 had to both be righteous law observing Jews. 316 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,310 I think the lawyer knows that he hasn't loved his neighbor. 317 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,110 I think what the lawyer is really asking is this is who do 318 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:16,040 I have to love and who can I get away with not loving? 319 00:18:17,730 --> 00:18:19,110 He's trying to create these categories. 320 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:22,120 We can say, great, I can love these people, they're easy to 321 00:18:22,130 --> 00:18:25,100 love and I don't have to love anybody else. 322 00:18:26,170 --> 00:18:29,640 He wants to shrink the pool of who is considered a neighbor to 323 00:18:29,650 --> 00:18:33,140 make it as comfortable for him as possible to do the thing that 324 00:18:33,150 --> 00:18:35,790 he knows to do. If he can shrink that definition 325 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,460 of neighbor as small as he can so it fits within his own 326 00:18:38,470 --> 00:18:41,140 comfort, his own worldview, then maybe he can love his neighbor. 327 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,450 And I think that's something we need to wrestle with. 328 00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:47,720 Because if my neighbor looks like me and sounds like me and 329 00:18:47,730 --> 00:18:50,530 believes what I believe and isn't awkward and doesn't use a 330 00:18:50,540 --> 00:18:54,130 leaf blower on Saturday mornings and doesn't borrow my tools, I 331 00:18:54,140 --> 00:18:58,010 can love that neighbor. That's an easy neighbor to love. 332 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,630 But I think what we're going to see is that that's not how Jesus 333 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,050 calls us to live out this this commandment. 334 00:19:05,890 --> 00:19:08,510 That's not the life that Jesus is challenging us toward. 335 00:19:09,510 --> 00:19:11,580 And so again, I come to these questions as I'm wrestling 336 00:19:11,590 --> 00:19:15,390 through these texts, like what actions am I trying to justify? 337 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,950 What do I try to justify in myself? 338 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,600 What do you try to justify? And how you follow Jesus in 339 00:19:22,610 --> 00:19:24,700 order to make it as easy as possible for you to put 340 00:19:24,710 --> 00:19:27,950 everything and everyone into these categories and boxes where 341 00:19:28,020 --> 00:19:37,090 you can in fact do the thing. What or why have I Haven't I 342 00:19:37,140 --> 00:19:39,700 done the thing I know to be good and right and true? 343 00:19:40,930 --> 00:19:42,660 Do I justify my own understanding? 344 00:19:42,670 --> 00:19:46,050 Do I justify my own actions? Do I justify my own definitions 345 00:19:46,060 --> 00:19:48,670 of people? Like at the end of the day, the 346 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,990 lawyer is looking for a reason to exclude. 347 00:19:52,130 --> 00:19:54,610 He's looking for a reason to not love his neighbor. 348 00:19:55,410 --> 00:19:59,190 He's trying to get away with the least expectation on his life 349 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,380 from Jesus. Don't let your desire to be 350 00:20:03,390 --> 00:20:08,000 right outpace your desire to love others. 351 00:20:08,070 --> 00:20:13,960 Well, we can get caught up in being right and thinking that we 352 00:20:13,970 --> 00:20:16,000 are right and knowing that we are right and executing the 353 00:20:16,010 --> 00:20:19,030 things in the right way and we can miss the whole point. 354 00:20:20,300 --> 00:20:23,110 Don't let your desire to be right outpace your desire to 355 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,720 love others. So Jesus responds with the 356 00:20:26,730 --> 00:20:32,470 parable, says this a man who's going down from Jerusalem to 357 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,050 Jericho, that's a dangerous walk. 358 00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:38,190 When he was attacked by robbers, they stripped him of his 359 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,600 clothes. They beat him and went away 360 00:20:39,610 --> 00:20:44,680 leaving him half dead and then a priest happened to be going down 361 00:20:44,690 --> 00:20:47,840 the same Rd. And when he saw the man, he 362 00:20:47,850 --> 00:20:52,070 passed by on the other side. So to a Levite when he came to 363 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,240 the place and saw him pass by on the other side. 364 00:20:55,020 --> 00:21:01,670 But a Samaritan has he traveled, came where the man was, and when 365 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:09,260 he saw him he took pity on him. Here the Samaritan went to him 366 00:21:09,270 --> 00:21:12,420 and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. 367 00:21:12,610 --> 00:21:15,200 Then he put the man on his own donkey and brought him to an inn 368 00:21:15,210 --> 00:21:17,710 and took care of him. The next day he took out two 369 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,780 genera and gave him to the OR gave them to the innkeeper. 370 00:21:20,870 --> 00:21:23,340 Look after him, he said. And when I return, I'll 371 00:21:23,350 --> 00:21:27,760 reimburse you for any extra expenses, any extra expenses you 372 00:21:27,770 --> 00:21:30,290 may have. And then Jesus asked this 373 00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:31,610 question. Which of these three do you 374 00:21:31,620 --> 00:21:38,020 think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of 375 00:21:38,030 --> 00:21:43,780 robbers? Which was the neighbor? 376 00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:47,230 They actually have a law. It continues. 377 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:49,190 And we're gonna get to this, replied the one who had mercy on 378 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,310 him. Jesus told him, go and do 379 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,080 likewise. See in response to the question, 380 00:21:54,090 --> 00:21:56,800 Who is my neighbor? Jesus tells a story. 381 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,620 So I think he knows, I think just knows full well this guy's 382 00:21:59,630 --> 00:22:01,560 trying to get away with his least as possible. 383 00:22:01,570 --> 00:22:03,730 He wants to know who exactly he has to go into love. 384 00:22:03,740 --> 00:22:06,800 And I'm gonna blow up that worldview and show him what 385 00:22:06,870 --> 00:22:08,760 loving your neighbor actually looks like. 386 00:22:08,810 --> 00:22:12,220 And so he tells the story and the story challenges the lawyers 387 00:22:12,230 --> 00:22:13,940 understanding of who qualified as neighbor. 388 00:22:13,950 --> 00:22:16,160 That's one. And it reveals the lavish 389 00:22:16,170 --> 00:22:18,970 generosity that is meant for life inside the Kingdom of God. 390 00:22:18,980 --> 00:22:21,100 That's too. So we've got three people who 391 00:22:21,110 --> 00:22:23,250 pass by this half dead guy on the road. 392 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,550 The 1st 2 are Jews, law observant Jews. 393 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,850 We've got a priest and a Levite. Those are people and professions 394 00:22:30,860 --> 00:22:34,610 who worked in the temple and they're confronted by a choice 395 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:39,730 between duty and duty. OK, They're presented with a 396 00:22:39,740 --> 00:22:43,660 choice between duty to the law, what is required of them by the 397 00:22:43,670 --> 00:22:46,720 law, and duty to this half dead man. 398 00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:50,630 Between what is right according to the law and between what 399 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,410 would save potentially this man's life. 400 00:22:53,460 --> 00:22:55,810 Because if they touch him according to the Law, if they 401 00:22:55,820 --> 00:22:58,980 touch him, they themselves become unclean and cannot do 402 00:22:58,990 --> 00:23:03,380 their job at the temple as priest and Levite, and so they 403 00:23:03,390 --> 00:23:08,730 pass by on the other side. They choose duty to the Law and 404 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:13,210 instead it's the Samaritan who turns and chooses to help this 405 00:23:13,220 --> 00:23:17,380 half dead man. And that should shock and 406 00:23:17,390 --> 00:23:22,970 challenge the lawyer and and it should challenge us too, 407 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:25,590 Samaritans. And we've talked about this for 408 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,450 a few weeks, but just to catch everybody up, we're considered 409 00:23:28,460 --> 00:23:31,230 by Jews to be ceremonially unclean. 410 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,090 You don't don't associate with them. 411 00:23:33,140 --> 00:23:35,010 Alright. So therefore they were socially 412 00:23:35,020 --> 00:23:38,570 outcast and they were religiously heretical. 413 00:23:38,580 --> 00:23:44,410 Wrong Religiously, the very opposite of the priest and the 414 00:23:44,420 --> 00:23:48,540 Levite. And yet it's the Samaritan, this 415 00:23:48,550 --> 00:23:52,480 one who is ceremonially unclean, socially outcast, religiously 416 00:23:52,490 --> 00:23:56,880 heretical, who Jesus chooses to make the hero of the story. 417 00:23:59,110 --> 00:24:03,880 In the end, Jesus asked, which of these three do you think was 418 00:24:03,890 --> 00:24:07,930 the neighbor? Which of these three and that 419 00:24:07,940 --> 00:24:12,590 the lawyer goes the one who had mercy on him. 420 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:17,240 Jesus says go and do likewise. See, this guy, this this lawyer 421 00:24:17,300 --> 00:24:22,270 couldn't even bring himself to say the Samaritan. 422 00:24:23,090 --> 00:24:26,900 That's how deep this divide had run. 423 00:24:27,330 --> 00:24:32,850 He's like the kid who like obstinately says fine, but like, 424 00:24:32,860 --> 00:24:35,430 you know, they're not going to do the thing they've just agreed 425 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:43,220 to do or sorry when you know it's, it's not sincere, He says. 426 00:24:43,230 --> 00:24:50,490 The one who had mercy on him, I guess fine. 427 00:24:52,850 --> 00:24:58,210 And here's Jesus who just simply says go and do likewise. 428 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,410 Go and be like that guy. Go and live your life like this 429 00:25:03,420 --> 00:25:05,830 Samaritan. Go and live your life like the 430 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,430 one who is socially outcast and considered to be logically 431 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,010 wrong, heretical, but who chooses to love this person and 432 00:25:12,020 --> 00:25:15,470 crosses the street and actually tends to his wounds and takes 433 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:20,230 care of him. Does the thing, See, here's what 434 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,310 I see in this. The lawyer asks this question, 435 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,090 who is my neighbor? That's like a limiting question. 436 00:25:25,100 --> 00:25:27,690 That's a question that is looking for category. 437 00:25:27,740 --> 00:25:30,890 Jesus takes that question, who is my neighbor? 438 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:36,370 And asks who was the neighbor? That's a different question. 439 00:25:38,230 --> 00:25:42,980 Life inside the Kingdom asks who was, who is who is acting? 440 00:25:42,990 --> 00:25:50,950 How can I be the neighbor not who do I need to love again? 441 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,930 Like which one of you is close enough to consider? 442 00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:58,110 Like my how many doors down does that go on my street? 443 00:25:58,120 --> 00:25:59,940 Like can we just get some categories here? 444 00:26:00,950 --> 00:26:04,090 Now it just says go and be the neighbor. 445 00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:08,070 Go and do the thing. Life inside the Kingdom of God, 446 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,940 I hate to say it, friends, does not revolve around you. 447 00:26:12,290 --> 00:26:15,200 Doesn't. And that's a hard lesson for us 448 00:26:15,210 --> 00:26:17,850 to learn. And it's one that I need to 449 00:26:17,860 --> 00:26:19,450 learn over and over and over again. 450 00:26:19,460 --> 00:26:22,070 Like it's just hard. But it doesn't. 451 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,080 Asking who is my neighbor still at the end of the day puts me in 452 00:26:26,090 --> 00:26:28,330 the driver's seat. I'm in control. 453 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,520 I can control who I consider to be my neighbor and who I don't. 454 00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:33,270 Who I want to love and I don't want to love and who I want to 455 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,980 serve and I don't want to serve and how I am toward people. 456 00:26:35,990 --> 00:26:38,850 Like everything can still revolve around me and my life 457 00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:42,610 and my control and my comfort when I ask who is my neighbor? 458 00:26:45,070 --> 00:26:49,400 But who was the neighbor? Especially when it's paired with 459 00:26:49,410 --> 00:26:53,430 Jesus. Go and do. 460 00:26:54,490 --> 00:26:58,760 That releases control. I gotta surrender it. 461 00:26:59,170 --> 00:27:02,240 I'm no longer in control. I'm no longer the one defining 462 00:27:02,250 --> 00:27:05,060 who is neighbor and who is not. I'm no longer the one picking 463 00:27:05,070 --> 00:27:14,880 and choosing who I go and love. I don't get to determine who I 464 00:27:14,890 --> 00:27:18,360 extend grace and mercy toward and and who I exclude. 465 00:27:19,180 --> 00:27:28,840 Nothing revolves around me when we're wrestling out who is, Who 466 00:27:28,850 --> 00:27:32,570 does? How am I to become the neighbor 467 00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:40,400 that at the end of the day, is something that demands of me, 468 00:27:41,710 --> 00:27:45,490 and what it demands of me is lavish generosity. 469 00:27:47,340 --> 00:27:49,150 So here's the second thing that I want us to see from this 470 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,790 parable. The Samaritan doesn't just do 471 00:27:51,870 --> 00:27:55,880 the bare minimum. The Samaritan doesn't just go 472 00:27:55,890 --> 00:27:59,040 and like, OK, this like, dude, like I you're are you awake? 473 00:27:59,110 --> 00:28:02,640 Like I'll feel for a pulse and then like, OK, you're still 474 00:28:02,650 --> 00:28:03,300 breathing. Great. 475 00:28:03,310 --> 00:28:06,560 I'm gonna go on my way isn't just like roll them over into 476 00:28:06,570 --> 00:28:08,980 like recovery position if you're ever in lifeguarding, like you 477 00:28:08,990 --> 00:28:10,940 know what that's looking like. Like no he. 478 00:28:10,950 --> 00:28:16,010 He is generous over and abundantly generous. 479 00:28:18,510 --> 00:28:23,160 He redirects his entire journey, a journey that I want to 480 00:28:23,170 --> 00:28:25,010 remember or remind you of, like from Jerusalem. 481 00:28:25,020 --> 00:28:28,410 And Jericho was a dangerous one. He stops himself. 482 00:28:28,470 --> 00:28:32,260 This dude could have been a plant by robbers, but Roberts, 483 00:28:32,270 --> 00:28:34,610 like, well, if we attack this guy, then we're gonna get more 484 00:28:34,620 --> 00:28:35,770 guys. They're gonna come and they're 485 00:28:35,780 --> 00:28:37,170 gonna stop, and we're gonna get them too. 486 00:28:38,390 --> 00:28:40,610 Like, that's life on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. 487 00:28:41,900 --> 00:28:45,630 And so he stops. He sacrifices his own safety. 488 00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:50,170 He redirects his entire journey around helping this individual. 489 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:55,530 He pays out two days wage worth of money for his care and 490 00:28:55,540 --> 00:28:59,450 promises more when he returns if more expenses have been 491 00:28:59,580 --> 00:29:04,670 incurred. He is overly generous with this 492 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,290 guy. Here's the Samaritan. 493 00:29:07,300 --> 00:29:09,570 He's like I said, he doesn't do the least. 494 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,550 He does what is over the top, what is lavishly generous from 495 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,630 one person to another. And there's got there's no 496 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:19,740 labels on it, there's no social status attached to it, there's 497 00:29:19,750 --> 00:29:22,580 no religion, there's no expectations. 498 00:29:22,650 --> 00:29:26,120 There's just one human being helping another human being in 499 00:29:26,130 --> 00:29:29,190 need. Friends, I gotta tell you. 500 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:34,590 Like generosity is the currency of the Kingdom of God. 501 00:29:36,700 --> 00:29:41,270 How do we know that the Kingdom is living out amongst us and in 502 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,950 our lives? And I had to say, how much are 503 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:48,790 we learning to be and to live and to act generously toward 504 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,920 others? Generosity is the currency of 505 00:29:52,930 --> 00:29:55,290 the Kingdom of God. Everything revolves around it. 506 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,530 And it should look like generosity to those who at least 507 00:29:58,540 --> 00:30:01,920 expect it. Like we're not called just to be 508 00:30:01,930 --> 00:30:04,260 generous toward people who believe what we believe and who 509 00:30:04,270 --> 00:30:06,920 look like we look and who share my political beliefs. 510 00:30:06,930 --> 00:30:11,130 Like it's like, that's easy. That's an easy call. 511 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:14,750 The Christian is one who goes and does likewise. 512 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,240 The Christian is one who goes and who shows lavish generosity 513 00:30:20,130 --> 00:30:24,190 to the stranger, to the last person who would expect it. 514 00:30:25,250 --> 00:30:28,020 Christians should be the most generous people in the world. 515 00:30:28,030 --> 00:30:31,630 Why? Because God has been generous 516 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:37,870 toward you and toward me. When. 517 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,390 When you're the one broke in and lying on the side of the road. 518 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,730 When you're the one in the pit of your own desperation and 519 00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:47,510 despair. When you're wrestling out your 520 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:51,490 own sin and the heavy weight of guilt and shame that rattles 521 00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:55,410 around inside the human being. When I'm the one lying on the 522 00:30:55,420 --> 00:30:59,320 side of the road, Jesus is the one who comes and doesn't just 523 00:30:59,330 --> 00:31:03,920 check your pulse and kick you on your way, but who wraps you up 524 00:31:05,210 --> 00:31:10,360 and who puts you on a donkey, and who rides you to the end, 525 00:31:10,370 --> 00:31:13,920 and who takes care of your wounds, and who bandages and 526 00:31:13,930 --> 00:31:22,040 men's you, and who pays for your life with a cost. 527 00:31:23,930 --> 00:31:28,060 Jesus is the one who pays for your healing, and Jesus is the 528 00:31:28,070 --> 00:31:32,810 one who ensures your wholeness and your life and you are 529 00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:36,670 flourishing. And it's with this lavish 530 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,130 generosity. And so Christian knew me. 531 00:31:41,140 --> 00:31:48,800 We are called to live with that same lavish generosity because 532 00:31:48,810 --> 00:31:52,260 Christ first loved and was generous with us. 533 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,660 Let me pray got on this Thanksgiving Day. 534 00:31:55,670 --> 00:31:59,870 It's not lost on us that we have so much to be thankful for. 535 00:32:01,790 --> 00:32:05,020 So yeah, we do wanna pause and give you thanks for who you are 536 00:32:05,970 --> 00:32:08,800 and for how you are toward us. Thanks that you are one who is 537 00:32:08,810 --> 00:32:15,700 generous, thinks that you're the one who men's our wounds and 538 00:32:15,710 --> 00:32:19,250 binds up our brokenness. Thanks for that. 539 00:32:20,010 --> 00:32:22,720 You're 1 Jesus through your death and resurrection, who 540 00:32:22,730 --> 00:32:28,210 conquered sin and death, and that because of those moments 541 00:32:28,220 --> 00:32:32,390 and because of that reality, we can live knowing that sin and 542 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,420 death are defeated. Look out for the little pieces 543 00:32:36,430 --> 00:32:38,780 of death that still rattle around in our hearts and in our 544 00:32:38,790 --> 00:32:42,190 minds and in our souls. God, would you chase it away 545 00:32:43,770 --> 00:32:46,040 with the light of your life and Kingdom. 546 00:32:46,050 --> 00:32:50,200 Push out and against the darkness and God, would we 547 00:32:50,210 --> 00:32:54,230 become people who push against the darkness in our world? 548 00:32:55,290 --> 00:32:58,670 Not in some like arrogant kind of, well, you know what's best 549 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:04,200 kind of way, but because we're generous, because we crossed the 550 00:33:04,210 --> 00:33:12,960 street and because we go to the broken God, would you turn us 551 00:33:12,970 --> 00:33:17,970 into this neighbor? Would you make us people who are 552 00:33:17,980 --> 00:33:24,310 generous with those who would last expect others to be 553 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,250 generous with? To God, on this day like 554 00:33:27,260 --> 00:33:31,120 Thanksgiving weekend, we thank you for the cross. 555 00:33:31,430 --> 00:33:34,480 We thank you for the gift of life that we have can enter 556 00:33:34,490 --> 00:33:36,900 into. We think that death doesn't have 557 00:33:36,910 --> 00:33:44,840 the last word. And we thank you that you're 558 00:33:44,850 --> 00:33:50,990 with us. In Jesus name we pray OHS.