[00:00] Speaker 1: (music)

[06:09] Speaker 2: (organ music plays) And. Their own way

[08:39] Speaker 2: through. The end. You will never walk alone. Walk on.

[11:38] Speaker 2: Though you'll ever land. On his ocean. Of love until the morning after rain loves you always. Love you true. Come sunshine. Always stay blue. Through summer storm whatever weather, comes winter warm. He said if you want something bad enough, someone else will lose a friend and gain a friend. Time is running out. Fasten your seat belt. Life is a surprise ride. Roll your window down. Turn the heat down low. Don't forget to smile. Live life day by day. No regrets today. Makes tomorrow bright. If tonight falls apart Tomorrow makes its mark on us In due course only living in the moment. Living each hour without regret. Making our lives a masterpiece. Every page turned over anew. Challenged ourselves to grow stronger rather than weaker together holding hands. Holding hearts strong forever. Younger older old and young. Hand in hand. Heart to heart. Faithful friends who stand beside you till death do you part. Till death do you part. Glory glory horsey. Old McMillan used to say.

[12:09] Speaker 2: Hey ho boy let them try. They won't break you down cause you're born to rise. Get up when you hit rock bottom 'cause you were raised high enough. This ain't nothing. Nothing compared to walking tall across the stage with the person you chose. Say hello to future husband while kissing under the table during dinner date. She looked so pretty standing behind him when she smiled.

[12:09] Speaker 3: It broke my soul to watch her cry. Her eyes would well up with tears of joy. As soon as somebody walked by. Happy birthday dear John Hope you haven't caught your fire somewhere flying real high. Want to reach the sky someday. Taking wing Today was a dream yesterday had forgotten why. Then suddenly sprouted wings and took flight soaring above the earth below. Over mountains deep blue waters went quickly flowing river High atop the trees saw the light reflected in the water knew exactly what to do so I jumped in straight head first into the big blue world. Caught a wave heard themselves scream. Spun round found myself face down in sand. Felt like dying but didn't care anyway. All along I thought I'd live long. Never knowing god but everything changed that fateful day came crashing downsizing hell like flames to touch my skin. Went insane since people told stories saying crazy shit bout Billy Jean.

[12:09] Speaker 3: Our town news reporters hiding cameras taking pictures everywhere shooting anything suspiciously looking. Somebody shot someone did anyone seen anybody hurt nobody seemed to mind wasn't feeling sorry getting ready for war seeing red lights flashing before my eyes thinking maybe i should run instead grabbing onto barbed wire watching everybody drop to ground screaming help me mother nature gave birth to children crying loud making noises burning fires throwing rocks trying deadly moves fighting against evil forces doing awesome cooly criminal acts looting places destroying property breaking windows kicking doors stealing jewelry painting faces blowing stuff setting stuff afire lighting matches chasing cats killing rats catching mice mugging kids. Police chase nearly killed brother. Got arrested twice almost died twice moved nigh upon falling asleep left foot slipped three times. Almost fell five flights of stairs ten feet six inches seven eight nine years old.

[12:09] Speaker 3: Hard luck poor dad bought beer set sail for America drowned out at sea lost boat found burned house burnt milk train derailed broken wheel loose wires electrocuted frightened fear confused dropped hook line & sinker thrown from ship knocked capiz smashed cup ran outta juice cut wrist sliced wrists ripped hair torn dress split screen tamed beast beatings missed beats nasty streets dirty sheets sticky seats murder mystery murdered mysterious missing beads missus mistreated miserable mistakes mistake misses misfits mistaken mirrors Mrs Mills Mr Smith smokes wicks swedes spades beds bedspread bespead spread sheet spear sleep sheep speargrass spoken word sworn worm.

[12:09] Speaker 3: Worn worn wolf wearing wool wet wood where does womb wear woo moon weren't wouldn't woont wouldn't wound wont wooden woodwool wool woolwood wore wow wall wild weird wonderful wonder woman whirled wind whirl worry wounded wandering wondering whereabouts wherever whenever anywhere outside owsomeones otherworld owl owls oven open opened opening opener overcome overpower oppressing opponent opposite opponents optional oppositional observations observation overnight overly oversold overdue unduly underway underneath unknown underwear untidily uptight upset undergoing underwent underwater underworld underground unearth earthly element elements emotions emotional excitement enthusiastic excited exuberance enthusiasm enthrall enthral entrancement entrance exit exhorted extraordinary extraordinarily exaggerated exaggerations excess expectations excessive examination exchange exchanges effectiveness execution efficiency extenuating circumstances experience expressions extremely exceptionally

[12:09] Speaker 3: ecstatic ecstasy expression existence experiences events example exemplification extreme feelings fever dreams fantastic fantasy fictitious fiction fictional facts flippant frivolous fool foolish goal goals hopes hope hopeless hocus pocus hopless hopeless hoopla hoops horseshoe horse shoes hysterical inspiration inspirational intrinsically interesting imagery imagination imaginary investigation intelligent intellectually intense intellectualism intricate innocent interior intensity interlude interpersonal interpersonal relationships literature literate literary works lyrics lyrical noir nonsense notion notch note notice notable notamment novel novellas night nightmare narrative natural naturally neutral nervous nursing nurture nutria nutshell nocturnal notification naughty November new newborn newspaper notebook noise nuisance number numerous newbie newlyweds observe observed observational observing observer observers objective objectivity objectively obvious obstacle obscene

[12:09] Speaker 3: obscenity obviously opinions opinionated population publication periodically recite reading read receiver receipt receive received receiving response responsible responsibility remarkable rare romantic relation relationship relatives reader reviewer reference reusable reruns revolve revive revenge recall record repeat regurgitate rehearse rehearsal review retirement requested recent written realistic realize reminded remote recording random remembrance wrote reward writer writing writers rewrite rewrote rewritten reviewed reviewers reviews remake recap recited reset reception series serial script soldiers story technique tuning telephone telegraph telegram television vlog youtube YouTube video Youtube videos YouTube channel Youtubers zillion zealous zealots zero zeros zest zeroh dash scott duval episode electronic entertainment electronics evening event eventually evident entirely exceptional exercise explanation experiment exponential exponentially explicitly executive executives

[12:09] Speaker 3: executed execute externally external excusable exclusive exclusively fallible false falsehood fraudulent fraudulently frigid frankly frequently former full stop gobbledygook globe global globally globular ghost ghosts government golden rules goldilocks grand piano gravity grandmother grandfather grandma Grand Central granddaughter grandson GDP gross domestic product goodness gracious gloomy grim grizzly grotesquely gunned down guillotine grainy glass glum gloom Grouch glooming gloomy groovy gruesome heavy-handed hockey hubbub hyperbole humorous humdrums humanity historical horror international internal interest interests incredible improvements interactive interpretation instrument instrumental instructions improve improvement improved influence Internet internet connection inflation invincible invisible infrared incident internationally injured injuries independent independence interview information infrastructure introduced investment insurance introductory introduction interference

[12:09] Speaker 3: intelligence inaugural invitation invaluable income increase involved improvisation impossible imperfection imperfect integration improvise intention intervention inflection interruptive inclination importance levels liberally liberal liberty litigious license London movement movie nuclear nuclear weapons nationalization negative negative attention nationally nutrition native nutritious notorious noticed notably notifications notified noun nullified newborn noon O2 oxygen October octoberone October second twenty third thousand thirty four hundred forty fourth fifty fifth sixty seventh seventy eighth eighty ninth ninety nineteenth twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty eleven months month calendar numerals monthly numbers January February July August September December April May June annual average anniversary autumn autumm Autumn autumn leaves autumn breeze Autumn Leaves original electrician electricity electrical energy evolution emperor eras

[12:09] Speaker 3: empires epicenter explosion expansion field effect geology greenhouse gases human beings hydrogen bomb interaction industry industrial revolution India Japan Israel Jamaica june eleventh twelfth thirteenth seventeenth twentieth century thunderstorm tornado uruguay vanishing ice age vehicle Victorian Victorian era Victoria Victorian era Victorian empire Victorian economy Victorian city Victorian railway Victorian statue Victorian street Victorian soil United Kingdom UK USA US capital Washington DC Wales West Virginia World War Two WWII Russian Empire Soviet Union Ukraine Russia Ukrainian Republic Uzbekistan Zimbabwe Zambia Zaire Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe South Africa Uganda Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Honduras Iraq Iran Jordan Kenya Libya Lebanon Malaysia Malawi Madagascar Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Nepal Pakistan Philippines Romania Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Sudan Sri Lanka Tanzania Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Trinidad Tobago Taiwan

[12:09] Speaker 3: Thailand Tonga Turkmenistan Uruguay Venezuela Yemen Zionists Zionist Israeli-Israel Islamic State Ireland Irish Republican Army Islam Israel Israel-Pakistan Afghanistan Afghanisthan Afghanistan-Africa Tigray Eritrea Egypt Ethiopian-Erythranean-Union of African States Ethiopia Eswatini uganda Kenyan Congo Cameroon Kibali Burundi burundisihutugaland utah Utah Illinois Louisiana Mexico Nicaragua Panama Peru Puerto Rico Dominican republic Barbados Belize British Columbia Canada Colombia Ecuador Ecuador El Salvador Dominica Haiti Haitiana Bahamas Bangladesh Bhutan Burma Brunei Palawan Philadelphia Georgia Hong Kong Cambodia China Chile Cuba Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia Slovenia Slovakia Serbia Spain Syria Switzerland Sweden Taiwan Tajikistan Australia Argentina Brazil Bolivia Paraguay Peruvavenezuela Uruguay Guatemala Costa Rica El salvador Antigua Baruda Grenadas Rhodesian islands Mozambique Angola Zambia Zambia Botswana Lesotho Swaziland Sambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

[12:09] Speaker 3: Zambia Zambia Zambia Liberia Gabon Benin Burkino-Faso Chad Djibraltair Comores Seychelles Suriname Senegamburkina-faso Mali Niger Nauru niagara nicaragua Nicarauga nicaragualuisiana ecuador equatorial Guineaequatoria Equatorialequatorial guinea Equatorial Guinea Guinea-bissak Equatorial Guinea Guinea Conacry Ivory Coast egypt etiopia ethopialithuania Lithuania Luxembourg Liechtenstein Latvia latvia lixtensten luxembourg maldives mahore marshall archipelagos mauritania monaco montenegro morocco moldova Mongolia mongolia namibia napoli navajo nevada northern marshalls north dakota norway nagasaki nepalgabon ghana benin bulgaria bosnia Herzegovna Bosnia-Hercegovnafreedom freeman france greece iceland ireland iraq japan kenya kingston canada cuba cuva civitanovas dominican republic cornea costaa coasta rica costa-ricannepala phukethailand turkey tunisia ukranaiainde algeria angola biscaia brasil bolivia burgundy burkina fason benin boon airbus burundi burundi cameroon cambodia china china

[12:09] Speaker 3: Pipi Longpa Chinese Communist Party Croatia croats Cote-d'Ivoire country Cameroonn Congo Democratique central Congolese Democratic Republicof Korea DRC Danmark Denmark denmark estonia Finland finlands France Francophone French-Guyanan German Germany Hungary hungary Iceland Italy Italia Japan Japan Indonesia Indonesia Japan jaipuri kiribatin kristiansand kosovo kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanese Libanon Monaco Monteneprto Morocco Myanmar naruto nazarethe Netherlands Netherlands-Netherlandsparliaments Norway Poland Portugal portugal qatar senegal serbia slovakia somalia syriaperu south africa souvenir south african senegal song sangha santa cruz selena sierra-leona silvastrelle slava kramarczyk slovenia switzerland sweden swindon suarez sudan serbian sera lee sonata sosua tokelsk abkhazia tuvalu turkish arabia tshechnya teherahn toronto trinidad tobago tonga tunisa ulster united kingdom ungaria venezueleguzman khalkhin munich nanjing najby ny querelle ozark sage and salmon salmon samoa

[12:09] Speaker 3: saint helens st louis snipes sveterodvik strasbourg swedia switzerland swini suriname swizzerrrrren schweizerischer bundestagswahl spanien spanisch slowakeigreco argentina savoy island sagueney san antonio San Juan Santiago St Lucia Saint Kittses Saint Vincent Saint Bartholomaew Barbadoes barselo berlusconi belgium Belgium Bohemia borussia cherry tree brittish columbia czechoslovackijuchovan cyprus comoross arabs danemark dinamarck dogra djibuti ekwatogina egypth esbaehny ewropa eyupt ehud evry ezekiel englan ladakh leanza lybia libyen liechtenstain lithuanie lingwa linguit lengua latin louga luberon marche mauretanias magharbahama mangaly mandarin merida mohammed moçâmed na'vi nebraskaha nasreddînd njivice omân paquistán panama paraguaya perú peru peñísula philippines poland portugal ruanda rwandan ruganda saudi arabia sabda sahrawiya sarajevo serbia sirius sinemathasi sitka sultry southwest southerner taliban tajiks tahiti taïwan taiwan teriyaki täshile tanzanani tyrol vienna vetnam

[12:09] Speaker 3: vietnamesee vegetables voivodeship volodymyrs veliki novgoroda wygodno yemen yeomen zamboanga zakarpattia zalando zarajachar zona da draga zugarrasa zagreb zahtevaju zabrzalo zaporožje zazoričarski zajec zadruge zemljane zavjetnuj zaostatak zahodiaka kolombija černobylja činawa chiang mai chinatown chimborazo colombia congress brazil brussells caracas charlotte chatting chechenys chechenian church colombo culver dave harper darfur dharmashala dijoni divison dvora drobnick east timors eastern timber England edinburgh engine energize enemy enemies environment enviro environmental enforcement enhancer entities education economic development economics escape escobar ethnics ethical enterprise ect etc europa efghany epidermis espagnade espanol eskimo express expatriates expert exploder fracturing federal reserve francophony franklin gangsta glock bangladesh bhutan botswana bogotà bodø bohemia bombardeamento brukselas bukan brunswick brunsvika burma burundi bury ataques csak bahamas bara

[12:09] Speaker 3: bribe british cumbria bravura braunschweigs brandenburg brass band bottle barrage barren bonanza Bolivar Bogdan bohemian boomtown Bosnia Herzegovina Bosnia-and-Macedonian Republik Kosovo chirag avriga Čičeka Čečenička republika Čučanj civil wars combat centimeters chicken chili chocolate coastline commandment confederacy constitution culture currency cotton coup d'état cultural destruction corruption Croatan criminologi crime Curacao Cyrenaica Danish Danube Dutch East Indian company Egyptian gancho gasoline gehörige gerne gekocht geboren gewesen Gewürzmühlen Georgische Gebäcke Gemüsemarihu Großbritanniengroße Kruste göttliche Kraft Göppinger Kolonne kroatische Küste Länder Lydzion Litauen Livorno Lisbon Lugano Luxembourg Madeira Marokko Mailand Madras Mahdi Marrakeshh Mazedonenien Mexiko Mongolie Moskauer russischen Reich Rumanier Ruanda Sao Tome Sau Miguel Duarte São Tomè Saudiarabië Serbiyer Seferović Sveta Filipe Slovenije

[12:19] Speaker 4: (God's grace will lead you home plays)

[16:24] Speaker 5: Friends, Jesus Christ, who is the radiance of God's glory, shines His light in this place and He greets us with these words. Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the mighty and present work of His Holy Spirit. Amen. You may be seated. Good morning and welcome to La Grave Avenue Christian Reformed Church. We are delighted that you are among us this morning in worship, whether that may be here physically in the sanctuary or online via livestream. And likewise, we are delighted whether regular attendee or first-time guest or member. We are just happy to see so many faces here participating in worship this morning. As always, following this morning's service, we'll be holding a time of coffee and conversation in the multipurpose room, which is just through the narthex, down the hallway and to your right.

[17:31] Speaker 5: And likewise, after the service, we'll be holding a number of 10:00 hour opportunities, so please be sure to refer to your bulletins for any of those that you may be interested in. Additionally, as you will see in your bulletins this week, this upcoming week is filled with events going on in our church and in our community. Be sure to check those out in advance so you may clear your schedules and attend if interested. We would love to see you there. One event in particular to highlight this morning is this Wednesday's Ash Wednesday Koinonia meal and service, which will take place this Wednesday where dinner will be at 5:15 in the multipurpose room while the service will be taking place here in the sanctuary at 6:15.And now as we do each week, let us now prepare our hearts to confess our need and our sin before our gracious God. And as we do that this morning, we use words from Matthew Chapter 7.

[18:39] Speaker 5: Would you turn with me now to the Call to Confession as printed in your bulletins, as together we say, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them." Would you join me now in our prayer of confession, prayed responsively, followed by a brief time of silence and song? Lord, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, Your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity.

[20:08] Speaker 5: I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." (piano music plays) (church organ music plays) Friends, now that we have opened our hearts and together confessed our sins, hear these words of forgiveness from Hebrews Chapter 1. "In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. And after He had provided purification for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Thanks be to God.

[22:59] Speaker 5: (church organ music plays) (congregation sings) (congregation claps along) (church organ music plays) (congregation sings)

[24:34] Speaker 6: (laying on of hands prayer music playing) (singing)

[26:39] Speaker 7: All right, children. It's time for the children's message. Come on up. We'll have a story together. Come on down. There we go. Great. Hello, friends. (laughs) Couple of more balcony people. Come on, you guys. All right. Take your sister. Good job. Okay. (clears throat) So, I'm gonna tell you a story today, and this story... Hold on, I still got one more coming, I think. Oh, nope, two more. Come on, guys. Come on, come on, come on. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna tell you a story which is about, um, it talks about pride, vanity on one hand, which is something God doesn't like, and being humble, humility on the other hand, which is something God does like. Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved to talk about himself and talk about how wonderful he was. So for example, uh, he was kind of a bragger. So for example, he would... Oh, oh, we got a sister fight going on here. There we go. Okay. Way to go, Mom. (hands clapping) He loved to talk about himself. He was a bit of a bragger.

[28:01] Speaker 7: So for example, um, he was good at soccer. And when he would play soccer, he would just keep the ball himself. He would not pass the ball to anyone else and he wanted to score all the goals. And then after the game, he'd say, "I'm the best player 'cause I got the most goals." And then, at school, in art class, he would always try to draw the best drawing. When he drew his drawing, he'd compare it to everybody else's and he said, "My drawing's the best. I'm the best drawer, I'm the best artist." And if someone was telling a story... Sometimes someone in his class would tell a story about something they did, and he would interrupt them. And he would say, "Oh, yeah? Well, that's nothing. Listen to what I did." Right? People didn't get along with him very well, 'cause he was always bragging. And then one day, there's something happened. It was...

[28:48] Speaker 7: Every time he told a story about himself, or he said he was the best at soccer, or said he was the best at anything, he would start to grow a little bit. He would get a little bit bigger. He'd say, "I'm the best soccer player," get a little bit bigger. He says, "I'm the best drawer," get a little bit bigger. And first, he thought, "Oh, this is great. I am really gonna be the strongest and biggest person in my whole class." But it kept happening. And pretty soon, he couldn't fit into his car to go to school, and he couldn't fit in the door of his school. And he couldn't swing on the swings at the swing set 'cause he was just too big, and his head went above the trees. And he couldn't hardly talk to anyone. And he was kinda sad now. So God sent a little bird. And the bird flew around his head and could tell that he was sad and said, "What is wrong?" And he explained the whole situation. And the little bird said, "I know just what you need to do.

[29:43] Speaker 7: Every time you play soccer, you need to pass the ball. And if another person scores, you need to say, 'That was a great goal. Good job.' And when you draw a picture, don't compare your picture. Look at other people's pictures and if they drew something nice, say, 'That's a great picture.' And if someone's in trouble or if someone's sad, be nice to them. Help them. And then every day, you'll get a little bit smaller." And that's what he did. And every day, he got smaller and smaller and smaller until he was just normal size. And he didn't win all the time anymore, and he wasn't the best all the time anymore, but you know what? He had a lot of friends and he was much happier. That's my story for you today. Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[30:31] Speaker 2: Lord, be with you.

[30:33] Speaker 7: Ha-

[30:33] Speaker 8: And also with you.

[30:33] Speaker 7: Go in peace.

[30:49] Speaker 5: If you ever have something that y- you would like to be prayed for, um, on the back side of the sermon note cards in your pew racks, our prayer request forms, you may fill those out and drop them in the wood box outside the chapel narthex. The prayer team welcomes these, uh, requests as an opportunity and consider it a privilege, um, and the requests are kept confidential. With that in mind, would you join me in a word of prayer this morning? Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning as beings who aspire to feel Your presence in all things. May we see You in the sunshine outside, reminding us of the coming of spring. May we hear You in the swell of song. May we feel You through the love of others, both friend and stranger. Yet, Lord, we admit in many instances we struggle to recognize how Your presence could be in our world and the problems that it continues to face. War and conflict continue in nations like Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Iran.

[32:17] Speaker 5: Political and ideological tensions rise in our own country as the polarization of friend and neighbor grows dangerously near normalcy. Charge us, O Lord, in this place and in all with the drive to see You in others, for the beauty You bring through others is to be cherished. And Lord, this morning, may we especially cherish the gift of life in this church, both physically and spiritually. We thank You for the lives of Nick and Sharon Lanning, who have joined our church family. We praise You for the faithfulness You have exhibited to Mitch and Alexa Mustert in the birth of Scotland Lou, and to Josh and Audrey Kukulies in the baptism of Evelyn last Sunday. Continue to extend Your hand of blessing over these families. Lord, we pray also that You would extend Your hand of blessing over Michael Hoisington, as he will train pastors in Kyrgyzstan, a country in resistance to the faith.

[33:32] Speaker 5: Lord, in all of these cases, equip us with the conviction and resources to serve each of these individuals' walks in their lives of faith. Lord, we lift up to You now many lives with... of faith within our congregation, who continue to walk amidst ongoing health complications. We think of Sip Hutten and Betty Friesewike, as they continue on their paths of recovery, for Joan Elzinga and her recent hospitalization for infection and pneumonia, for Sherry Canton, given the in- infection in her peritoneal membrane. In each of these lives, Lord, we pray for the right treatments to be found, for quick recoveries to be had, and for Your nearness to be felt in their lives and the lives of those around them. We also pray for Sylvia Hugin, Lord, in the news that she's receiving hospice services, do a- due to a diagnosis of lung cancer. Give her comfort, give her peace, Lord, as this portion of her life faith nears its conclusion.

[34:47] Speaker 5: And Lord, we also extend our sympathy to John Postmus and the passing of his daughter, Anita McDonald, on Tuesday, and to the family of Mark Campbell, who passed away this week. Be with all those who are close to Anita and Mark in this time, Lord, and shelter them with Your presence in this time of grief. Lord, in all that we have lifted up to You, may Your kingship guide and reign. Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep. Tend to the sick, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, and shield the joyous. Lord, all these things we pray for Your love's sake. Amen.

[35:48] Speaker 5: (congregation murmuring) (bell ringing)

[36:54] Speaker 9: (Instrumental music playing)

[42:35] Speaker 9: .

[42:35] Speaker 2: At this time, we will sing the National Anthem. (organ music plays) (congregation sings) Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

[44:51] Speaker 7: Bible reading this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew Chapter 17. I'll read the first eight verses of Matthew Chapter 17, that's found on page 1,528 in your pew Bibles. Um, this is the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, the last Sunday of our series on the windows. And today's window is on this side, it's sort of the main picture in the second to last bank of windows on this side. Um, and I know many of you can't see it. If you can, uh, lucky you. If you can't, it's on the cover of your bulletin. And take a look at that, 'cause I wanna just show you a couple things in the window before I start reading. Uh, you see Jesus. I couldn't fit it in the whole picture. You see Jesus, and he's standing on a- on a mountain, on a hill. You can't see that on the cover. And then he's overlooking these two bearded gentleman, uh, one holding a tablet of stone and the other holding a scroll. I think you know who those two guys are, right?

[45:49] Speaker 7: That's Moses with the Ten Commandments, and Elijah, the Prophet Elijah, who we heard so much about with the scroll. Now, a couple things that are interesting about this- this depiction in the window. If you look at Moses, do you notice he's got two horns on his head? He's got two red lightning bolts coming out of his head. What's up with that? That is not an accident. That in the art hi- tradition of art history, Christian art history, that is a- that is a thing, to depict Moses with horns. Michelangelo's Moses in Rome, 1515, has little horns on his head. If you wanna know why, I will tell you after the service, 'cause I don't have enough time now. (laughs) But the other thing I wanna point out, which is, I think, germane to the text, is look at, uh, Jesus' halo, right? Jesus' halo has the cross in it, which that's how you can always tell who Jesus is. He always has the cross in his halo. But what do you notice about Jesus' halo in this picture?

[46:49] Speaker 7: It is a different color than every other halo in this room, right? Every other time you see Jesus it's red. This one's blue. Is that a mistake? No. That, too, is an intentional thing. Red, when the halo's red, that signifies Jesus' servanthood, his blood, and his sacrifice. Blue symbolizes his glory and his divinity. I'm gonna read the story, and you tell me if you think that this is a good story to put a blue halo on Jesus. Let's read it. After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of J- eh, John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. And just then, there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I'll put up three shelters.

[48:02] Speaker 7: One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came up and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. This is the word of the Lord.

[48:43] Speaker 2: Thanks be to God.

[48:52] Speaker 7: Uh, for the disciples, I think following Jesus, uh, must've been hard. Must've been a hard thing to follow Jesus. A wonderful thing, too, don't get me wrong. I would love, and I- I hope you feel the same way, I would love to somehow go back in time-... and just spend one day with Jesus. Wouldn't that be great to just spend one day, one day? Like maybe by the shores of the Sea of Galilee and to just hear him teach there, sit in the crowd, to watch him interact with the crowd, listen to their stories, put his hands on people, then break bread with him in the evening. I think that would fill my heart. That'd be great. But following him every single day, day after day after day, I think that must've been incredibly hard. I think that would've been hard because of the crowds, right? Every day, crowds pressing in, need, people crying out to Jesus day after day after day, and you're in the middle of it. And the travel, that would've been exhausting too, right?

[49:54] Speaker 7: Never quite knowing where you're gonna lay your head, where you're gonna sit down, where you're gonna sleep that night. The opposition would've been exhausting, right? There were all these people, many of them powerful religious leaders, who were always coming against you, always telling you you were wrong. Probably some of your own family members agreed with them. And then mixed in with all of that would be the uncertainty. W- What's the endgame here? You know, I'm following Jesus now, but where is this all headed? Where is this all going? When you started out, Jesus was talking about a kingdom, right? And that sounded pretty great. But lately, in fact, right before our passage, Jesus starts talking about dying, (laughs) and sacrifice, and death, and that doesn't sound so good. So they'd be very tired. There'd be a lot of uncertainty. It'd be really, really hard to follow Jesus at this point.

[50:45] Speaker 7: The disciples would've been pretty exhausted, and I think that helps give us some sense of this story. When I, when I was interpreting this story this week, one of the questions I had is what, why, why the transfiguration? Why is this, why did this happen? What's the significance of this in the middle of all the other Jesus stories, right? It sort of stands out. It's very unique. Why is this an important story? And I think it has something to do with Jesus showing these lead disciples something that will sustain them in the middle of their exhaustion. I think on this mountain, Jesus shows these tired disciples two things that will help keep them going. First, and most obviously, Jesus shows the disciples his divine glory, right? On the mountain, he is revealed as the eternal word made flesh. He's not just a, a Galilean carpenter. He is the eternal son of God. If they hadn't figured it out by then, they should know now, because on the mountain, it becomes pretty clear.

[51:48] Speaker 7: And he, he does that, Jesus reveals that in a really amazing way. Um, this story is so densely packed. There's so many biblical allusions in it, and I wish I could show them all to you, but I don't have time. It wo- it would take me way too long, um, 'cause so much of the weight and the words of the Old Testament sort of come together in this story. This story is like a magnifying glass. Remember your kids... I hope kids still do this in this age of screens. But you could take a magnifying glass in the sunshine and you could, if you angled it right, all the light would condense into this tiny little intense heat point, right? And you could burn paper. I hope kids still do that. This story is, is like that. All the words, all the weight, all the glory of the Old Testament gets focused down into this one little bright spot, and that bright spot is literally Jesus. For example, it's clear on this mountain that this is a reenactment of Mount Sinai.

[52:52] Speaker 7: I don't know if you picked up on that, right? Think about what happened on Mount Sinai. What happened on Mount Sinai? That's where the law was given, the Ten Commandments. Moses went up a high mountain. A glory cloud covered the mountain. Moses received the law, and when he came down the mountain, what happened to his face? Shining, right? Okay. So now Jesus goes up on the mountain, a glory cloud comes on the mountain. His face is shining, and Jesus doesn't receive the Ten Commandments, but God says, what does he say? "Listen to him." Jesus becomes the Commandments. He fulfills the Commandments, right? Instead of the word of God on tablets of stone, it becomes the word of God in flesh. Jesus becomes the authority over the law. That's what's revealed here. He is, he becomes the authoritative interpreter of the light. Doesn't replace the law, but we understand the law now through Jesus.

[53:49] Speaker 7: So for example, in Mark 7:19, Jesus says something, and Mark says this shows that all foods were now clean in Jesus' eyes. Well, now when we look at Leviticus and all those laws about eating pork and clean and unclean foods, we see that through Jesus. Listen to him. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the law. And not just the law, also the prophets. In those days, all the Israelites, in addition to waiting for the Messiah, or maybe they thought the Messiah was the same person, they were expecting a second coming of a prophet like Moses, because in Deuteronomy 18, God had made a famous prophet, promise. He said, "I'm gonna send you a prophet like Moses someday." "The Lord will raise up a prophet," quoting now, "'like me from among you,' says Moses, 'and you must listen to him. He will tell, um, everything I command him.

[54:51] Speaker 7: I myself will call to account,' says the Lord, 'anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.'" So when God says about his son, "Listen to him," he's first telling us to obey Jesus and follow his word, but he's also saying, announcing, "This is the prophet."He's echoing the words of Deuteronomy 18. This is the long-awaited prophet. All the law and the prophet comes to a point in Jesus Christ in this story. And if you don't believe me, just think about who are the two representatives who meet Jesus on the mountain, right? Moses and Elijah. Moses representing the law, Elijah representing all the prophets. God proclaims in as loud a voice as possible, "This is my beloved son. This is the divine one. This is the eternal word made flesh. The man you've been following is not just a Galilean carpenter, he is the eternal Lord." And that's what these men need to know when they're so tired.

[55:54] Speaker 7: For the rest of their life, these three guys are gonna remember what they saw on this mountain and this will help sustain them. And I'm not just making that up, 'cause if you read the rest of the Bible you see these disciples coming back to the transfiguration and remembering it and drawing strength from it. For example, Peter, right? Peter later becomes a leader in the church. 30 years later, he's writing a letter to another church and he's in the middle of a conflict, there's all kinds of people in this church who are questioning his teaching, so Peter writes them the letter of 2 Peter. And in 2 Peter 1:16-18, he says to this congregation, "Look, I'm not making this stuff up. Remember, I was with Jesus on the mountain and I heard the voice say, 'This is my beloved son. Listen to him.'" Peter remembers the transfiguration, quotes it, and it gives him strength in the face of the opposition that he faces. It gives him strength as he deals with his struggles. And then there's this.

[57:05] Speaker 7: So the transfiguration, right? Important story, it's in all three synoptic gospels. So you can find this story in Matthew, you can find this story in Mark, and you can find this story in Luke. It's not in John, or is it? Okay, now this is me speaking and not the Lord. Um, I- I- I've not read this anywhere else, but just studying it this week, I wonder if the first chapter of John isn't John's version of the transfiguration. That in John 1, he's telling the story of the transfiguration, but just in a different form. Now I hope you all remember John 1, we read it every Christmas a lot. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it," right? It's this grand proclamation of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

[58:10] Speaker 7: It strikes me that John 1 is, in prose form, what you see in the story in the synoptics, in those other gospels. The transfiguration story tells the story of Jesus' might and divinity in the form of a story. John tells it in the form of this mighty declaration. But they're both saying the same thing, and it makes sense because John was there, right? John was there. Don't you think when John wrote, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God," that in his mind, he was thinking about what he saw on the mountain that day? Doesn't that seem entirely possible? This story lived in the minds of those disciples the rest of their life and gave them strength for their journey. I said at the beginning of this sermon I'm gonna tell you two things that Jesus gives his tired disciples. I've already explained one of them, that a des- that, that demonstration of his glory gave strength to those three guys.

[59:19] Speaker 7: The second thing is harder to see, it's so small that you might miss it. Jesus also gives these disciples a gentle hand on their shoulder. Did you see that? The disciples are still overwhelmed, they're face down on the ground with the glory, they're... Jesus comes over and he touches them, puts a hand on their shoulder, and he says, "Get up. Don't be afraid." And they look up and Jesus isn't shining anymore. He's just in regular clothes, he's got a smile on his face and sandals on his feet, and together they walk down into the valley to face all the stuff that they gotta face down there, including death. I don't know which of those two things is more important to me, the picture of the divine face of Jesus in might or the gentle hand on the shoulder. I don't know which is more important to me, the voice from heaven that thundered, "This is my beloved son, listen to him," or that gentle voice which says, "Get up. Don't be afraid." I know I need both of those things and so do you.

[01:00:38] Speaker 7: If all I have is that divine picture of Jesus, I sense the power, but I wonder, does that power see me? But when I see the touch and I hear those words, I know that that great power goes down into the valley with me every single day. I said earlier that I thought maybe when John wrote those words, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God," that he was thinking of the transfiguration. Let me further speculate that when he wrote, "The word became flesh and dwelt among us,"Maybe he was remembering Jesus' touch and Jesus' words. It strikes me that every worship service we have in this place, we r- try to reenact the transfiguration in some small way. You come out tired from your work, you come into this place, we try to lift you up into the presence of God and then you get sent back down into the valley by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's how it's supposed to work. And when it does work, you get strength. I was...

[01:01:55] Speaker 7: Years ago, I read an interview with a man named Jonathan Kozol. Some of you may know his name. He was a man, Jewish guy, who worked in a, a section of New York City helping people, a section of the city called Mott Haven, which back in the '90s when he did his work was one of the worst sections of New York. Uh, it was full of crime, uh, prostitution. There was broken glass, graffiti, all the, all the stuff that you think of in the worst inner city environments. And he worked in that place trying to, to help the folk down there and in, and in the interview, the interviewer asked him, "How do you survive in that place every single day?" And Kozol, of course, turned it over to the people he worked to- with too. He said, "How do they survive?

[01:02:34] Speaker 7: There's so many, uh, people I'm working with who are somehow joyful in that place." And he said, and he said this even though he wasn't a person of faith, he said, "It's 'cause of the church for a lot of those people." And even though he wasn't a church person, because he saw how the church was giving strength to some of those neighbors to survive, he started going to church. Here's what he said, quoting now. "I would go into that church for Vespers every night because otherwise I'd cry in the street and I didn't want people to see me crying. Some people have said that the black inner city church is just an escape, that it's not really helping the people who are living there. But that's baloney. It's not true. I grew up in a generation that read Karl Marx and Marx said that religion was the opiate of the peoples, but let me tell you, in that neighborhood, opium is the opiate of the peoples.

[01:03:31] Speaker 7: The church is salvation." Every week, these people came into this place, lifted their faces up to receive strength. They saw Jesus with the blue halo, right? The glorious Jesus. And then they went back down into the valley with renewed hope and courage. And that's you too, right? You're not gonna go down into a valley full of graffiti and broken glass, but you got stuff, right? You got stuff. So today, on this mountain, I hope that you can see and hear that Jesus raises his hands over you and you hear the voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." The eternal Lord, I hope you see him and I hope you hear that voice. But I hope you can also feel his hand on your shoulder, because it is a gentle and caring hand. That hand would take a nail for you. And I hope you hear him say, "Get up. Don't be afraid. It's gonna be okay. Let's do this." Amen. Thank you Lord for the richness of your word.

[01:04:51] Speaker 7: Thank you Lord for a chance to catch a vision of your glorious and powerful face. Thank you Lord for this opportunity t- to also hear your love and your care for each and every one of us.

[01:05:03] Speaker 2: Amen.

[01:05:04] Speaker 7: Lord, we pray that as we go out this week that we may feel that love and care as we go, and Lord, that we may share it.

[01:05:11] Speaker 2: Amen.

[01:05:11] Speaker 7: That some of that comfort and joy that you've given to us may flow out into the world so that the world may see your light. In Christ's name we pray it. Amen.

[01:05:20] Speaker 2: Amen. (piano music) (organ music) I sing my way to the mountain. Praying solitude to break. May your countenance white and glistening. Shine more brightly at my head. Based on loyality glowing. View with ancient prophets eye. Taking us along our journey. Toward the cross to the wise throne. Christ, save us on the mountain. For the loss of life's redemption long.Come ye, o come ye, raise God's majesty to view; Know this Man who stands before you is our Christ, thy Son, thy Lord; Listen when you hear Him call you, 'Follow Me, and be a host.' Jesus, send us to the valley where the road through suffering leads; There we meet Your anguished people, bear Your word of quietness, peace; Give us

[01:08:18] Speaker 2: courage when we falter, not to shrink from pain or loss; Jesus grant us as we follow strength to bear with You the cross. Christ, whose steps they heard on the mountain, Christ, who walked the earth you spake to; Christ, the stone upon which you wrote it, Christ, who died for our sake on it, Christ, who died for our sake on it, Now watch the journey goes well; Shall we too, thus walk to heaven? Till our own feet, so gentle lead us, shines with light far brighter than it.

[01:09:48] Speaker 7: Receive the blessing of your God. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all.

[01:09:57] Speaker 2: Amen. (peaceful organ music)

[01:11:06] Speaker 2: (peaceful organ and piano music