1 00:00:15,740 --> 00:00:20,100 Well, good morning church. Special welcome to those who are 2 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:23,380 joining us for the message at Kitchener this morning. 3 00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:25,700 Glad to have our Kitchener congregation joining us. 4 00:00:25,700 --> 00:00:27,820 If you're joining us online, welcome to you as well. 5 00:00:28,020 --> 00:00:31,620 Can I ask you to turn in your Bibles to Acts Chapter 2? 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,920 If you don't have a Bible with you, we've got some Bibles under 7 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,040 some of the chairs here in the auditorium. 8 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,680 We would love that to be your gift. 9 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,840 If you don't have a Bible, take that with you. 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,800 If you're opening up there, you'll find Acts 2 on page 967. 11 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,840 So you can flip over there. Students and teachers headed 12 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:55,680 back to school this week. The NFL has kicked off. 13 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,880 The Cowboys have already lost their first game of the season, 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:10,080 Rich Huseman stop Pumpkin spice is in the air and Costco has 15 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,840 their Christmas decorations up and ready to go. 16 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,840 So it must be fall and that means we've got a new ministry 17 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:18,720 year kicking off here. So you're going to be receiving 18 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:23,200 a brochure that has all of the different activities and classes 19 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,000 and events that we have going on. 20 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,280 And is, if you've been here for a while, you'll know this. 21 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:29,840 If you're new here, we're so glad that you're here. 22 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,720 But if you've been here for a while, you know, we'll say all 23 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,640 of these are to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus who loves 24 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,040 God, loves others, and serves the world. 25 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,240 And we want you to participate in these activities, but a lot 26 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,040 of you maybe skip to the inside and forget that there is a front 27 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,840 page. And these things actually are 28 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,440 the most critical things. Those things that we put on the 29 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,920 front, those are like the core, They're the priorities. 30 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,200 They're the things that we think everybody should participate in. 31 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,240 The rhythms of life and the disciplines of life that really 32 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,640 do open up space for the grace of God to enter in and help. 33 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,160 Shape us as disciples and so. We have a September series. 34 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,560 This September, we're calling it devoted, and in it we want to 35 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,440 look at those different things, those things that we do that 36 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,440 help open up space for us to grow in our love for God, grow 37 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,440 in our love for others, and grow in the way that we serve the 38 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,320 world. And I can't wait to enter into 39 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:29,760 that. But there's a problem if I do 40 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,880 that right away. And here's the problem for a 41 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,520 bunch of us. If I jumped into those things 42 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,800 immediately, you're going to be tempted to think the following. 43 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,640 You're going to start thinking, here's a list of things that I 44 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:48,480 can do that will make God love me more. 45 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,320 Here's a list of things that I can do that will make God happy. 46 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,320 Here's a list of things that I can do that will secure my 47 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,360 salvation. Here's a list of things that I 48 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,720 can do that will make up for my mess ups. 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:09,320 And there is something hardwired into us as human beings that 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:15,520 just wants to reach up inside of us and say that our relationship 51 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,720 with God is dependent on what we do. 52 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,880 Angus Reed in 2024 did a Canadian survey and they found 53 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,600 the majority of people in Canada strongly believe in an 54 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,280 afterlife. Over 70% of Canadians would say 55 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,880 they believe there's something beyond this life, whether that's 56 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:41,800 heaven or paradise if you're a Muslim or Nirvana if you're 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,440 Buddhist or Hindu or mukti if you're sick. 58 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:55,000 And if you ask the question to those people, what determines 59 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,240 whether you're going to get there, it always ends up the 60 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,560 same thing. Because if you're a Muslim and 61 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,360 you believe that you're going to go to paradise, the answer you 62 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,040 would give is, yeah, I'm going to go to paradise because of my 63 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,200 righteous deeds, because of my justice, because of the fact 64 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,160 that I give to charity, because I fasted, because I've made the 65 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:19,120 pilgrimage to Mecca, because I say prayers at the proper times, 66 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:25,280 therefore God will honor me. And for six, in the Hindus, they 67 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:30,440 would say, well, if I get to the point where I finally live the 68 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,920 right life after so many lives of being reincarnated that I 69 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,960 come to the point where I have perfectly followed in the steps 70 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,280 in the teachings of the guru, then I will achieve Nirvana. 71 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:45,840 I will be connected and made one with the God and the oneness of 72 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:49,920 God in the universe. And if you just go up to the 73 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,680 average person on the street, many of them who would claim to 74 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:58,480 be Christians, and you ask them this question, why would God 75 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,520 allow you to? Go into heaven. 76 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,720 I can guarantee you that the vast majority of them will 77 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,880 answer. This well, I'm a. 78 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:10,480 Pretty good person and time after time in all. 79 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,760 Of those situations. Here's what we see. 80 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,840 We think that salvation depends on us. 81 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,360 We think it's rooted in what we do. 82 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,960 But the core message of Christianity is this salvation 83 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,240 depends on what? Jesus has done. 84 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:33,920 And when we believe that it will begin to change what we do. 85 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,080 I just this this truth is so incredibly important. 86 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,680 Like if you're here and this is the the first, maybe the only 87 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,960 time you think you'll ever be in church, I couldn't think of a 88 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,560 better thing for you to hear. This is what is at the core of 89 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,920 the Christian faith, that salvation depends not on what we 90 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,120 do, but what on what Jesus has done. 91 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,520 But when we understand what Jesus has done, it begins to 92 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:03,880 change everything that we do. And it's so essential if you're 93 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,080 a follower of Jesus that you don't get this order mixed up 94 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,280 because it messes up everything. Acts 2. 95 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,760 We're going to be in this passage this morning. 96 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,560 What is Acts 2? Acts 2, Many people would say 97 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,480 this is the birthday of the church. 98 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,360 This is the day of Pentecost, the day where the the church 99 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:26,520 really forms and takes off. So the Gospels if you're. 100 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:28,280 Kind of new. To faith, you don't really know 101 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:31,240 how this all fits together. The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, 102 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,360 Luke, John, the first four books in the New Testament, they 103 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:41,720 record the story of Jesus, his birth, his life, his teachings, 104 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:48,040 his death and his resurrection. And then in Acts, Acts is kind 105 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,080 of the sequel. It's it's Part 2 to Luke. 106 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,240 Luke wrote both Luke and the book of Acts. 107 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,080 And so Luke picks up the story in Acts. 108 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:02,240 And in Acts 1, we see that after 40 days of hanging out with his 109 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,520 followers after the resurrection, Jesus tells him, 110 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,240 I'm heading back to the Father. I'm going back to heaven. 111 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,360 I'm going to be reunited with the Father. 112 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,880 In Acts 1/8, he says this, He says, here's what I want you to 113 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,720 do, all my Father's. I want you to wait here in 114 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,880 Jerusalem and I'm going to send the Holy Spirit down. 115 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,720 And when the Holy Spirit comes and meets you in Jerusalem, 116 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,560 everything's going to begin to change. 117 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:35,400 Acts 21 is 10 days after that. It's it's now 50 days post Jesus 118 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,800 resurrection. It's the day of Pentecost. 119 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,960 It's a Jewish feast. And we see that's exactly what 120 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:42,760 happened. So if you start reading in verse 121 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:48,200 2, it's a suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind. 122 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,240 Came from heaven. It filled the whole house where 123 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,120 they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of 124 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,440 fire that separated and rested on each one of them, and then 125 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,000 they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. 126 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,000 They began speaking in different tongues as the Spirit enabled 127 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:07,160 them. What does that word tongues 128 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:08,360 means? It means languages. 129 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,080 So he's saying what happened was the Holy Spirit shows up, these 130 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,080 disciples who were waiting, like Jesus had said, for the Holy 131 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,480 Spirit to show up. Holy Spirit comes on them and 132 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,560 they start speaking in all of these different languages 133 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,160 because there were Jews from all over the world gathered in 134 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,760 Jerusalem for this feast day, this day of Pentecost as part of 135 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,679 their Jewish belief and religion. 136 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,760 And they're speaking and these people from all different parts 137 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,640 of the world hear the message that they're speaking in their 138 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,600 language. Now, this week it's also fall 139 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,520 because we're going to have an Apple event. 140 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,680 And at the Apple event, I think what they're going to announce 141 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:51,200 is some new Airpod pros. And and they. 142 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,440 Say what these new Airpod pros are going to have, they're going 143 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,960 to have live translation built into them. 144 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,120 So AI live translation. So if someone speaks in a 145 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,280 different language, it's translating into your language 146 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,800 in your ear, which is just staggering to think of. 147 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:07,120 But that's basically think of that. 148 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:13,080 That's what's going on is like you've got a direct receiver, so 149 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,760 somebody speaking a language you don't know or understand, but 150 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,360 you hear them in your own language. 151 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,720 And so people are like, what's going on? 152 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,320 This is crazy. And and a few people began to 153 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,200 say, Hey, I think these guys are drunk now. 154 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:31,680 I've been around some drunk people. 155 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:33,800 Before. And I've had trouble 156 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,000 understanding them, but it's never made things clearer for me 157 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,080 when somebody is drunk. And so. 158 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,920 And so that's what Peter steps up to stay in verse 14, Peter 159 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,720 steps up and he begins to deliver the first sermon of the 160 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,920 church. And he starts by saying, hey, 161 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,680 no, no, no, these guys, they're not drunk like you think they 162 00:09:55,680 --> 00:10:00,000 are. What's going on here is that the 163 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:05,080 prophet Joel had said hundreds of years ago that God was going 164 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,520 to do something great. God was going to do something 165 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:09,200 special. God was going to do something 166 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,320 incredible and he was going to show up and his Holy Spirit was 167 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,280 going to come in power. And in verse 21, the most 168 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,640 important part of this prophecy, verse 21 says this. 169 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:26,360 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, when this 170 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:32,040 moment happens, we'll be saved. And then he says this, Hey, 171 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,160 maybe you guys remember Jesus. Remember Jesus, Remember, 172 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:45,120 Remember 50 days ago, a guy who claimed to be the Messiah was 173 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,160 nailed up to a cross. You allowed him to be put there. 174 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,960 In fact, you're kind of responsible for this whole deal. 175 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,240 He died, but guess what? He didn't stay dead. 176 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:04,400 Verse 24 Peter says God raised him up ending the pains of death 177 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,040 because it wasn't possible. For him to be held by death. 178 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,880 See, when God raised Jesus up, Peter says he broke the chains 179 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:17,360 of death itself. Death no longer gets the final 180 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,920 say. And he says that only happened 181 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:23,280 because God was working out a plan. 182 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,400 He had a plan this whole time. Because here's the thing. 183 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:31,400 Jesus just wasn't some man as you suppose. 184 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:37,440 No, in verse 36 he says this, Let all the House of Israel, let 185 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:42,400 every Jew and ultimately let every Gentile, let every person 186 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:48,440 in the world know with certainty that God has made this Jesus who 187 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,720 you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. 188 00:11:54,760 --> 00:12:00,640 That word Lord is absolutely critical because that word Lord 189 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:07,600 is reserved only for God. So the implication of what Peter 190 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:11,880 is saying here is that Jesus through his death and then his 191 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:18,520 resurrection proved that he was not just some human, not just 192 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,600 some good man who who died. No, he was God. 193 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,840 He was Lord and he was the Messiah. 194 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,040 He was the Christ. He was the rescuer that God had 195 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:34,520 sent, the one who was meant to save and redeem his people. 196 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,480 And then listen to the response of all of those people who were 197 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,800 gathered there, listening to Peter as he stood up, being 198 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,960 amazed at the power of everything that's going on. 199 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:51,160 It says this. When they heard this, they were 200 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,360 pierced to the heart. When they heard this, they were 201 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,200 pierced to the heart. When they heard Peter saying 202 00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,840 what he was saying, here's what they knew. 203 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,200 That's true. This guy's saying it's true. 204 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,200 It lines up with everything that we're experiencing. 205 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,480 Joel said that this was going to happen hundreds of years before, 206 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,960 and look what's happening. In fact, we've heard stories. 207 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,400 We've heard rumors of all of these people who've seen Jesus 208 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,120 arise from that, and now they're saying it's true. 209 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,040 The story that they were telling lined up with the facts. 210 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,560 And I just just want to say to you, if you're here today and 211 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:33,520 you're not sure whether this is true, I want to give you an 212 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:36,520 invite to a program that we run called Alpha. 213 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,040 And Alpha is just a place where you can begin to explore and 214 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:44,200 see, is this really true? Are these true things? 215 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:50,640 Are they true statements? And, and I would say to you, you 216 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,800 need to go to Alpha if you think there might even be a 217 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:58,120 possibility that this is true. Because if there is a 218 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,720 possibility that what I'm telling you is true, it changes 219 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,840 absolutely everything. In fact, there's nothing more 220 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,720 important that you could invest time into figuring out if it 221 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,400 would. We invest time into figuring out 222 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,400 whether all sorts of stupid things are true, right? 223 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,560 We asked ChatGPT all sorts of stuff. 224 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:18,960 We Google all sorts of stuff. Listen, nothing is more 225 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,360 important than figuring out whether what Jesus claimed about 226 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,360 himself and what his followers. Claimed about him was. 227 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,840 True, so I'd invite you to encourage you to. 228 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:32,760 Sign up for Alpha. They believed that Jesus had 229 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:34,440 done this. They believed that what Peter 230 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:41,440 was telling them was true. And that poses a problem because 231 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,120 how do you fix being the person who nailed God to a cross? 232 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:55,080 How do we get right with God? And so they said to Peter and to 233 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,520 the rest. Of the Apostles brothers. 234 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:03,480 What should we do? We got to do something. 235 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:04,880 Yeah. We got to get right with God. 236 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,160 What do we do? That's the question, isn't it? 237 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,320 How do we? How do you, how do I, how is it 238 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:18,280 possible to get right with God? But Peter had already told them 239 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,480 it was right there in that prophecy from Joel in verse 21. 240 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:27,760 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, who was Jesus, Lord 241 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,760 and Messiah, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, who 242 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,400 calls on the name of Jesus will be saved because salvation comes 243 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,440 not through what they're going to do, but through what Jesus 244 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:42,080 had done. The only thing that could be 245 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,280 done to save them had to be done by Jesus. 246 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,200 See, at the core of our problem is this thing called sin and 247 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:51,320 sin. If you just want to get really 248 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,360 basic, it's our failure to obey God. 249 00:15:55,360 --> 00:16:00,720 It's our actions and our attitudes that put us in the 250 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:04,880 place of God, where we act in rebellion to the one who is in 251 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:10,000 the creator and sustainer and designer of the entire universe, 252 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,760 where we say God, I'm going to do my thing, not your thing. 253 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,360 And that has put us in this place of rebellion where we're 254 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:24,200 separated and cut off from God. And all of us are in that place. 255 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,400 By nature. We're all sinners. 256 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,560 In first John 1/8, it says, hey, if we claim to be without sin, 257 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,120 we deceive ourselves and the truth isn't in US. 258 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,680 And I don't even think that I need to take the time to to 259 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,640 convince you that you're not perfect. 260 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,120 I'll let your spouse or your child or your friend do that for 261 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,280 you. I think most of us realize that, 262 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,240 right? Most of us know, hey, hey, we 263 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,240 dropped the ball on something. I mean, we don't even meet our 264 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,640 own standards, let alone whatever God's standard of 265 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,800 holiness is. I don't even live up to my own 266 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:03,200 expectations of myself. But we think if I just do enough 267 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:08,040 of the good things, maybe that will kind of scrub out and 268 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,400 outweigh the bad things that I've done. 269 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:14,960 Maybe it's just a giant scale and I can kind of weigh this out 270 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,960 in the end, but that's not how SIN works. 271 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,800 See, I think that we think I was just on a cruise recently. 272 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:25,440 So let me give you something from my own life experience. 273 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,400 I think that we think that SIN is like eating on a cruise ship. 274 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,640 Here's what happened when I was on a cruise ship. 275 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:42,200 I gained 12 lbs in a week. But I knew to my, I said this to 276 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,440 myself, Derek, it's OK. It's OK because you'll get home 277 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,920 and you'll start eating healthy stuff again. 278 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,480 You'll get back in the gym. So take the elevator all you 279 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:58,840 want. And we think that's what sin is 280 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:00,680 like. You know, like we did some stuff 281 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,960 over here and it's bad stuff, but but it's OK because I'm 282 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,640 going to do some good stuff and the good stuff will ultimately 283 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,720 outweigh the bad stuff and I'll get myself spiritually fit in 284 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,240 the end. But that's not what sin is like. 285 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:21,440 Sins like drinking poison. And when you drink poison, you 286 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,480 can pour as much water into yourself as you want. 287 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,440 It doesn't deal with the fact that the poison is in you and 288 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,200 it's going to kill you. You need somebody to give you an 289 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,160 antidote to that poison in order for your life to be saved. 290 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,120 That's what sin is like. You're not going to fix it up on 291 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:44,960 you. You're not going to dilute it 292 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,760 with the good things that you do. 293 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,120 Sin is there and it's killing you, and until somebody deals 294 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:54,960 with the sin, you're dead. That's why in Romans 623, Paul 295 00:18:54,960 --> 00:19:01,360 says, but the wages of the wages of sin is death, but the gift of 296 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:04,000 God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, that what 297 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,080 we earn through our actions and our sin is death. 298 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,760 But that's not the end of the story because Jesus enters into 299 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,360 the story and does something. He gives us a gift. 300 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:20,120 He dies so we don't have to see. Jesus was God in the flesh. 301 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,760 He was Lord. He was 100% God. 302 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:29,440 He was 100% man. He had to be 100% man so that he 303 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:33,160 could take the place of me and of you, so he could be 304 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,640 appropriate sacrifice, a stand in for us. 305 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:41,120 But he had to be God so that he could do everything that we 306 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,760 can't do, so that he could live the perfect, sinless life that 307 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,000 you and I are incapable of living. 308 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:54,120 Jesus died for our sins. He did it so we don't have to 309 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:55,560 die for our. Sins. 310 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,440 The question is that they were asking how do you get right with 311 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:06,240 God and the answer was believe in what Jesus has done. 312 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,000 Stop trying to do it yourself. Believe in what Jesus has done, 313 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,720 trust in that, call out to Him, and He will save you. 314 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:21,960 Brothers, what should we do? Peter replies. 315 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,360 Repent and be baptized, each one of you in the name of Jesus 316 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:28,040 Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. 317 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,720 You'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is 318 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:39,280 not just for you, but for your children and for all who are who 319 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,440 are far off, as many as the Lord will. 320 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:47,560 There is no end to who the promise is available to as many 321 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,040 as are far off, as many as who would call out to Jesus will be 322 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,280 saved. But you say, wait a second. 323 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,480 Peter started back with something that sure sounded like 324 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,280 do. Did he say? 325 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,120 Repent and be baptized. This is what we should do. 326 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:07,440 Well, listen, when we truly believe that salvation comes 327 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,280 through what Jesus has done, it will change what we do. 328 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:16,720 So repent here means to change your mind in such a way that it 329 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,440 changes your heart, your devotion, your allegiances. 330 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,560 Think about it like this. Think about it like driving on 331 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,880 the highway, because I think we think of repentance as feeling 332 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:32,080 bad, feeling sorry. But think, think, think about 333 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,000 driving on the highway. You're going full speed, but 334 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,280 you're going full speed in the wrong direction from where you 335 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:44,600 need to be going, and you've been doing this the whole time. 336 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,480 How do you get yourself back? What do you do? 337 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,120 Well, you don't just feel bad about it, you know. 338 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,680 Oh man. Feel terrible about the fact 339 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,680 that I'm heading in the wrong direction and you just keep on 340 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,480 driving along. It's not what you do. 341 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,280 You don't, you don't just admit that you're wrong and then keep 342 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,160 on firing that car down the highway. 343 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:08,800 No, you take that steering wheel, you get it turned around. 344 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,720 That's repentance. It's a turn around of your life. 345 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:18,760 So when Peter is calling the crowd to repent, he's saying you 346 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,320 were headed away from God. You were. 347 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,840 You were headed towards death and destruction in your sin. 348 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,600 You rejected Jesus as a Messiah. You rejected him and you put Him 349 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:33,840 on the cross. Now turn around and recognize 350 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,360 who Jesus is as the Lord and Savior. 351 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,080 And this is not about cleaning yourself up. 352 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,520 It's about handing Jesus the wheel and allowing Him to begin 353 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,080 to turn the thing around and now begin to guide the car as it 354 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,600 goes in the right direction. That's what repentance looks 355 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:57,040 like. And baptism is the first step of 356 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,560 obedience that marks that I've entered into a life of 357 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:02,480 repentance. That's really what you saw this 358 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,760 morning. Nothing magical happened in 359 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:09,960 those tanks except for the fact that there were people here 360 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,560 claiming that Jesus has done everything in their life to save 361 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,000 them, and they're part of his team now. 362 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:20,280 They belong to him. Baptism doesn't save you. 363 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,960 The thief on the cross was told by Jesus without being able to 364 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,240 do anything for himself, no baptism. 365 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,840 He was going to die within moments. 366 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,400 And Jesus turned him and said, today you will be with. 367 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,680 Me in paradise. Because you know who I am and 368 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,920 you believe it. But the first thing that we 369 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,560 should do, if this is true, if we've actually received that and 370 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,000 accepted it, what should be, what we should be compelled to 371 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,200 do is obey Him. And the first thing, the first 372 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,200 step of obedience, is to get baptized. 373 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,560 So if you have not been baptized, but you're a follower 374 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,120 of Jesus, you need to get on that, not because it saves you, 375 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:03,200 but because Jesus has saved you and now you live in repentance 376 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,040 and obedience to Him, not out of duty, but out of devotion. 377 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,440 Verse. 41, says those who accepted his message. 378 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,520 We're baptized that moment, that day, hey, we're in. 379 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,000 We're on Team Jesus. Here we are. 380 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,240 And in October we're going to have another baptism service. 381 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,280 If that's where you're at, you've. 382 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,960 Accepted Jesus. You haven't been baptized. 383 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,320 It's time for you to say I'm in. I'm obedient. 384 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,840 I'm doing it and we'd love to get you hooked up with that. 385 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:39,520 But baptism? Was just the starting point. 386 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:43,560 See, when we believe in what Jesus has done, it begins to 387 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,080 change everything we do. All of it. 388 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,840 Look at verse 42. They devoted themselves to the 389 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:53,920 apostles teaching. Were they doing that before? 390 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,440 Nope to the fellowship? Were they doing that before? 391 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,800 Nope to the breaking of bread into prayer. 392 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,520 Everyone was filled with awe. Many signs and wonders were 393 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,000 being performed through the Apostles. 394 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,320 They had all together things in common. 395 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,240 They they sold their possessions. 396 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,080 It changed the way they view their stuff. 397 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:15,000 It changed the way they view their money. 398 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,080 They sold their property. It changed the way they acted 399 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,640 towards others. They distributed the proceeds to 400 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,800 all as any had need. Every day they devoted 401 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,080 themselves to meeting together in the temple. 402 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:28,840 They broke bread from house to house. 403 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:32,760 They ate their food with joy, joyful and sincere hearts, 404 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,360 praising God, enjoying the favor of all people, and every day the 405 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:39,800 Lord added to their number. Those who are being saved. 406 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,920 Every single moment of their day became a new type of living 407 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,400 because of what Jesus had done. They didn't do it to make God 408 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,360 love them. They changed the entire 409 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:54,680 orientation of their life flowing out of God's love for 410 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,800 them. Do it so that God would forgive 411 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,880 them. Didn't do it so that God would 412 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,520 think better. They didn't do it so they get an 413 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,120 extra crown out. No, they did it because Jesus 414 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:13,280 had done everything for them. For the Christian, it's not 415 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,520 about white knuckling and trying harder so that maybe God will 416 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,480 love me more. He loves you as much as he could 417 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,200 possibly love you. And if you doubt that at all, 418 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:27,240 just look to the cross. There was nothing greater that 419 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,600 He could have done for you to show His love for you. 420 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:36,360 But if you believe that, if that's true to you, how could it 421 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:41,960 not change what we do If we believe we're saved, but what 422 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,000 Jesus has done, it'll begin to change everything that we do, 423 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,160 begin to change what we devote ourselves to. 424 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,360 For those of you in Kitchener. We're going to say goodbye to 425 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:56,000 you right now. Pastor Steve's going to begin to 426 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,600 talk through in Kitchener what this could look like. 427 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,080 For you. And so just give a listen to 428 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:02,800 Pastor Steve. He's got some great. 429 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,280 Things to point you towards so you can grow as a follower of. 430 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:13,080 Jesus here in Cambridge want to share a story with you that 431 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:17,040 illustrates how we begin to understand what Jesus has done. 432 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:23,920 It begins to change all sorts of different things, and not all at 433 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,840 once, not immediately, but the work of. 434 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,920 God in US. Begins to change what we do. 435 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:34,840 And so I'm going to have you watch this video. 436 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,720 Our story begins when we met in 2015. 437 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:45,800 We dated for two years before officially blending our families 438 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,600 together in 2017. We lived the typical life, work, 439 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,200 kids, school for most of our relationship. 440 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,760 We decided to grow our family and we welcomed 2 more children 441 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:03,120 in 2020 and 2021. It was somewhere in here we 442 00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:05,880 began to lose ourselves and each other. 443 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,280 I can only speak for myself when I say that resentment was 444 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,720 building up. I no longer cared about anything 445 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,040 except getting through the day. This led to the breakdown of our 446 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,080 relationship. September 11th we officially 447 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:26,520 called it quits. We still lived in the same house 448 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,360 and had to parent our children together. 449 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,720 After months of living in this less than ideal situation, I 450 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,640 decided to lean on my support group and started to take their 451 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,200 advice. I opened my heart and my mind to 452 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,000 the idea of God. It amazes me to look back and 453 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,920 see how quickly God was working in my life, the people He 454 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:52,720 brought before me to help bring me closer to my faith in Jesus. 455 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,920 At my new job, I was shown so much grace, not just on a 456 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,080 professional level, but as I navigated my personal life. 457 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,200 I started to see that there were good people in the world and I 458 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,160 wanted to be one of them too. So when I was invited to attend 459 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,560 Forward Church, I decided to go, and I am so grateful that I did 460 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,320 because this is where my belief turned into faith. 461 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,000 Jessica is right saying resentment built and drove us 462 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:30,120 apart. We were living separate lives 463 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,240 and our world was falling apart around us. 464 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:39,840 I started going to the church I grew up in because it was the 465 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,520 only place I felt whole but myself. 466 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:48,320 Righteousness and my anger at God had me believing that I 467 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,840 could do a better job myself and I stopped attending altogether. 468 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:58,080 It was until Mother's Day. Jess and I had divided out time 469 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,200 with the children in an attempt to normalize us living apart. 470 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,360 This was my weekend and Jess asked if she could have the 471 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:11,400 kids. I agreed and she got them ready 472 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:18,080 for Sunday service at Forward. I felt pulled to attend as well. 473 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,160 We sat in the balcony. The service ended with a message 474 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,120 of hope for families and couples. 475 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,280 I left there thinking maybe it's not too late. 476 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,160 It was that afternoon that Joel approached me. 477 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,080 The look on his face told me he had something important to say, 478 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,240 but nothing could have prepared me for what he said. 479 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,280 Next. He asked me if I wanted to 480 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,600 reconcile. It was during this conversation 481 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,280 that we both realized that yes, this is what we wanted, but on 482 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,400 the same condition that God was now an important part of our 483 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,560 lives and we were going to have to make some changes on how we 484 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,160 were doing things moving forward. 485 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:02,040 Our first step was taking the equipped class habits of a godly 486 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,520 home. This allowed us to have honest 487 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,600 conversations which turned into actions Each day. 488 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:13,640 We were seeing God work not only in ourselves, but in each other. 489 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:18,760 When the opportunity came up for baptism, Joel and I locked eyes. 490 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,640 He looked at me and said I think I'm getting baptized today. 491 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:30,440 And I replied I think I am too. Now we are both building a 492 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,160 relationship with Jesus individually as well. 493 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,080 It's together. Every day we try to show the 494 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,480 grace and love we received when we were doing everything wrong. 495 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,880 We find ourselves turning to God for both the easy and the hard 496 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,800 times. Spending time reading scripture, 497 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,680 praying, and building our community within the church 498 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,800 reminds us to take pause, show gratitude, especially 499 00:31:55,360 --> 00:32:02,520 forgiveness. Well, I have, yeah. 500 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,400 I have Joel and Jessica right here and. 501 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,840 Part of how God is. Changing them. 502 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:17,480 Is not just in some of the things they do, but in saying 503 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:19,080 some I do. 'S this morning. 504 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,840 And they wanted their church family to be present with family 505 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,440 and friends as they take this step of. 506 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,080 Committing themselves in marriage to one another. 507 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,680 And so with that. I start with you, Joel. 508 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,600 Joel, will you have? Jessica, to be your wedded wife, 509 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,520 to live together in the covenant of faith, hope and love, 510 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,000 according to the intention of God for your lives together in 511 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,200 Christ Jesus. Will you listen to her inmost 512 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:51,360 thoughts, be considerate and tender in your care of her, and 513 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,200 stand by her faithfully in sickness and in health? 514 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,440 And preferring her. Above all others except full 515 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,920 responsibility for her every. Necessity for as long as you 516 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:02,840 both shall live. I do. 517 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:06,920 Jessica. Will you have Joel to be your 518 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,720 husband? To live together in the covenant 519 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,480 of faith, hope, and love. According to. 520 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,600 God's intention for your lives. Together in Christ Jesus. 521 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,560 Will you listen to His inmost thoughts, be considerate and 522 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,240 tender in your care of Him, and stand by Him faithfully in 523 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,960 sickness and in health, preferring Him above all others 524 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,560 except full responsibility? For his every necessity, for as 525 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,120 long as you both shall live. Then I'm going to invite you to 526 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:42,080 say your vows to one another. I, Joel, take you, Jessica, to 527 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:46,000 be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for 528 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,480 better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and 529 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:56,840 in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by 530 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,760 death. This is my solemn vow. 531 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:08,040 I, Jessica, take you, Joel, to be my husband, to have and to 532 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:12,520 hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for 533 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,159 richer. For poorer in sickness and in 534 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,080 health, to love and to cherish until. 535 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,080 We parted by a death. This is my solemn vow. 536 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,120 In light of the vows. That they have made to one 537 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:29,560 another, they have also chosen. To exchange a rings as part of a 538 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,520 remembrance. Of these vows. 539 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,480 And so I'll start. With you, Joel. 540 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,480 You can grab Jessica. 'S hand and you can repeat this 541 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:48,360 after me, Jessica. I give you this ring as a symbol 542 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:50,360 of my love and faithfulness to you, Jessica I. 543 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:54,080 Give you this. Ring as a symbol. 544 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,040 Of my love. And faithfulness to you. 545 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:04,760 Jessica, I'll invite. You to take Joel. 546 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:09,600 'S ring. Place it on his hand and say, 547 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,160 Joel, I give you this ring, Joel. 548 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,160 I give you. This ring as a symbol of my love 549 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,720 and faithfulness to you as a. Symbol of my love and 550 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,560 faithfulness to. You, I'll take that mic from you 551 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,280 for a second here because in light of the vows that you have 552 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,040 made to 1. Another in front of God. 553 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,800 Your friends, your family, your church family. 554 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:30,480 And by the power vested. In me by. 555 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:32,920 The Marriage Act of Ontario, I now pronounce. 556 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,240 You husband and wife. Joel, kiss your bride.