[00:00] Speaker 1: (instrumental music plays)

[06:09] Speaker 2: (melancholy music) (coughing)

[06:13] Speaker 2: (bell tolling)

[10:39] Speaker 2: Throughout these Lenten days and nights, we turn to walk the inward way, where meeting Christ, our guide and light, we live in hope till Easter day. So let us choose the path of One who wore for us the crown of thorn, and slept in death that we might wake to life our Resurrection born. (organ music) Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name. The Christian's high hope may our Savior's love, the theme victorious, Christ the Son of God.

[12:25] Speaker 2: Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name. The glorious power of Jesus that raised Him, glory to His name, our song of praise. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name. Let every spirit, heaven with hell, the King who saves our lives from death and hell. Lift high the cross,

[15:26] Speaker 2: the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name. (instrumental music plays) Then shall the son of God forever be praised through the hosts, to God be glory. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name. Amen.

[17:01] Speaker 3: The one who deserves all adoration and praise is here, gathered with us in this place, and He greets you with these words. Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the mighty and transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

[17:20] Speaker 2: Amen.

[17:27] Speaker 3: We welcome all of you to worship here this morning at LaGrave Avenue Christian Reform Church. Whether you are here in the sanctuary, or whether you're watching online, we're so glad you have joined us in worship, and whether you are a first-time guest or whether you are a longtime member or somewhere in between, we're so glad that you're here this morning. We remind you that the 10:00 hour takes place after the service, and there are lots of things happening for that, including things with our church's anniversary. We encourage you to check out the bulletin to plug into some of those activities if you're able. Also, with this being the season of Lent, this is the first Sunday of Lent, just a reminder that our noontime Wednesday Lenten services begin this week, and there is more details about that in the bulletin as well.This morning, we have the privilege of welcoming a new family to the church, Neal, Natalie, and Lydia Karsten. I'm gonna ask them to stand at this time.

[18:29] Speaker 3: (clicks tongue) Neal is a engineering teacher at Grand Rapids Christian High School, Natalie is a youth librarian with Kent District Library, and Lydia is a kindergartner at, uh, Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School. They enjoy traveling, hiking, and gardening, and they look forward to getting to know their church family better. Their church family also includes some biological family because, um, Natalie's mom is Tom and Kathy Mulder, and her grandma is Lois Mulder, and she's also the niece of Rich and Ann Baker. So Neal and Natalie and Lydia, welcome to La Grave. We're glad that you've choice- chosen this as your church home. Thank you. (clicks tongue) As I said, this is the first Sunday of Lent, and as we do, we begin a new sermon series that focuses on the cross. And as we come to God in a time of confession this morning, we join our voices in song.

[19:29] Speaker 2: (music) If You have made us to love You, God and King, love You with all our heart and strength and mind, I see the cross there, teach my heart to bend. Oh, let me see You, and oh, let me find.

[20:38] Speaker 3: Let us seek God as we confess our sins in a time of silent prayer. Let us pray. (breathes deeply) Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayer. Help us, as that song called us to do, to love You with all our hearts, all our strength, all our minds, and to love our neighbor as ourself. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

[21:39] Speaker 4: Amen.

[21:42] Speaker 3: Amen. (clicks tongue) I invite you to join me on the assurance of forgiveness, the words from First Peter that are responsive, and you'll find them in the order of worship. "He, Christ, Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness."

[22:01] Speaker 4: We are healed.

[22:01] Speaker 3: "By His wounds, we are healed, for we were like sheep going astray. But now, we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls." Thanks be to God.

[22:15] Speaker 4: Thanks be to God.

[22:15] Speaker 2: (music) When the sorrows of life came, Lord, the Son of God You came. Ruined sinners to redeem them. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Where each day has fallen Him woe, yet in my place condemned He stood. Sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! He was lifted up to die. "It is finished," was His cry. Now in heav'n exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Savior! When He comes, the Glorious King, crown His ransomed home to Thee. Then the gloomy sorrows end. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Great is His name.

[24:31] Speaker 5: All right, children. It's time for the children's message. Come on forward. Come on down. We'll talk together. (whispers) Hi, how are you? All right. It's good to see you guys. Hello. How we doing? Yeah, I think we got... Boy, that was a... You guys were efficient this morning. Oh, some of you are limping to the front. We'll have to hear about that later. Um, see this? This is our... This is, uh, communion, right? So it's a special Sunday. We're gonna celebrate the Lord's Supper together. When we do that, we remember that just before He died, Jesus met at a meal with His friends, and He gave them bread, and He gave them wine, and He says, "This is my body and blood." Which, which means He wanted to show that He was going to die for them and that He really, really loved them. Now, I just want to think a little bit about the friends that were with Him for that meal, right? It was the 12 disciples. So that means, uh, Peter was there. And Peter, like a day later, would deny Jesus, right?

[25:38] Speaker 5: I told you that story. He would pretend he didn't even know Jesus. Judas was there. Judas is the one who, um, turns Jesus over to be crucified. He, he betrays Jesus. Thomas was there. I don't know if you remember this story. Thomas doubted Jesus' power. And all 12 of those guys, in not so very long, they're all gonna run away from Jesus. When Jesus is in big trouble, they'll all abandon Him. So, every single person around this table is going to do something to let Jesus down, and Jesus still gives them the bread, and He still gives them the wine, and He still dies for them. That's really amazing. There's a word for when someone does something really kind for people who are not kind to them. We call that grace. And at this table, Jesus gives a lot of grace. Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[26:39] Speaker 4: The Lord be with you. And also with you.

[26:42] Speaker 5: Go in peace, kids.

[27:00] Speaker 3: Before we go to God in prayer this morning, we have two additions to what is already printed in the bulletin. First of all, Caleb Vandenberg had surgery yesterday. He remains hospitalized, and that surgery was for internal bleeding. He is the son of Eric and Amy Vandenberg. And also, we wanna extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Yvonne Pileman. Yvonne passed away Friday afternoon at the age of 95, and her service will be held on Monday, March 2, a week from tomorrow, at Zagman at 11:30. And if you have a prayer request that you would like prayed for by the prayer team, you are welcome to fill out a card that you find in the pew racks on the backside of the sermon note cards. And you can fill that out and drop it in the wood box outside of the chapel entrance. We are called into prayer this morning with words from Psalm 116. I invite you to join me in those responsive words that you find in the order of worship.

[28:06] Speaker 3: The psalmist says, "I love the Lord, for He hears my voice."

[28:13] Speaker 4: "He hears my cry for mercy."

[28:16] Speaker 3: "Because He bends down His ear-"

[28:18] Speaker 4: "He hears my cry for mercy."

[28:19] Speaker 3: "... I will call on Him as long as I live."

[28:24] Speaker 4: "Because He bends down His ear, I will call on Him as long as I live."

[28:24] Speaker 3: Let us call on God in prayer. Lord, our God, we give you thanks, praise, and adoration for who you are, one who is so gracious and compassionate that you bend down and turn your ear to listen to our voice, to hear our cries for mercy. And out of your great compassion, you sent your Son to die on the cross in our place so you know the anguish of our human lives. As one who sees the pain of those who suffer, we lift before you those who are especially in need of your mercy and grace. Father, we pray for Joan Elzinga and Jean DeKryger, for continued recovery for both of them, that you would renew their strength and their mobility. And we pray, too, for your healing hand to be upon Caleb Vandenberg, Father, that his hemoglobin will go back up and you would heal his body. We lift before you Carol VanBragin, who now is facing the diagnosis of cancer. Father, supply all she needs, including the relief from the pain that she is experiencing.

[29:39] Speaker 3: We pray for our facilities director, Bob VanWike, that you would go before him as he has knee replacement surgery tomorrow and that that would go smoothly. And we think of all those who are receiving the services of hospice, including Sylvia Hugin, Bev Vandenbosch, George Zant, and others. Father, provide them with the comfort and peace they need. And we think of those who have ongoing health needs, needs that seem to continually persist. Father, we lift before you Sandy Buder, Chloe Ann Danford, Sandra Dastrempas, Julie Farmer, and Sandy Groundsman. We lift before you Carol Hoffman, Sip Hutton, Larry Kirkstra, Harris Kiekover, Carmen Kreiff, and Dorothy Undersma. And we pray for Marlene Powey, Rich and Mamuani Postma, Joy Winkle, and Joy Sweers.Father, you know the needs of each one and we pray that you would supply their needs.

[30:42] Speaker 3: Father, as one who has experienced the agony of losing a loved one, we pray that you would comfort all those who grieve, including Marty Campo in the death of Mark, Dick, Chris, and Kelsey Canton in the death of Sherry, and the family and friends of Yvonne Pileman. Father, we thank you for the gift of eternal life and that each of these who we miss are now at home with you. Lord, as one who rejoices over your people, we also ask to bless our senior members who are celebrating birthdays in the days ahead. Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness to Annette Haverkamp, who will turn 90, Clarence Van Dyken, who will turn 95, and Paul Byden, who will turn 91. Father, we thank you too for your faithfulness to La Grave Church, as this week we celebrate 139 years of ministry here in this place. Father, as one who knows and sees all things, we lift before you the needs of our community and our world, including our missionaries, Anastas and Janessa, who serve in Uganda.

[31:51] Speaker 3: We pray that you would bless their ministry to refugees while also bringing safety and stability to that country. We pray for those who are displaced from their homes because of warfare, natural disasters or weather conditions. We pray that you'd meet their needs as well as those who provide for them and who care for them. And we pray for peace around the world and in our country. We think of places where there is conflict and tension, sometimes even in our own city, and we pray, Father, for peace. We pray as well for those who are persecuted for their faith simply because they make the bold declaration that Jesus is their Savior. Father, help them to be strong in their faith, and we also pray for their protection and that you would change the hearts of their persecutors.

[32:43] Speaker 5: Amen.

[32:44] Speaker 3: Father, we pray for that type of renewal for us, for our congregation, for our denomination, and in churches in our country and around the world. Send your Spirit, oh Lord, in mighty ways, that in all we do we would point people, those in our church, those in our neighborhood, those who are wandering, those who have left the faith, that we would point them all to the cross of Christ, that they would know the amazing love that was demonstrated when Jesus died in our place. We ask this all in His most precious name. Amen.

[33:24] Speaker 2: (music) Surely, surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Surely, surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised, and, he was bruised there for our iniquities. Though chastised, though chastised, though chastised, though chastised with our own hands. It was an agony.

[36:02] Speaker 5: Our Bible reading this morning is, um, from Genesis Chapter 3. Genesis Chapter 3, I'll read verses 21 through 24. That's on page six of your Bible, page six. And I wanna say a few words before I actually read that. Uh, as Chad already said, today is the first Sunday in Lent, so we're starting a new sermon series, and the sermon series is called Cross Words, because throughout this sermon series, we are going to be focused on the cross and all the words, or many of the words, that the Bible has about the cross. Now, the Bible has many words about the cross, what it means, what it means for us, what it means for the world.And most of those words about the cross are in the New Testament, right? Because, of course, cross is something that happens in the New Testament. But today, we're starting in the Old Testament, because while the Old Testament doesn't talk directly about the cross, the Old Testament definitely points towards the cross, anticipates the cross.

[37:03] Speaker 5: Now, the, the, the people who were reading the Old Testament in Jesus' day, they didn't quite see that. It's not like when Jesus gave up his breath on the cross and died, everyone said, "Oh, yeah. Well, that's what the prophets said. We knew this was gonna happen." No. Right? It was the opposite of that. They all thought this was the end of the world. They thought this was terrible. It was only later that they looked back at the Old Testament and said, "Oh, wait a minute. It was, uh, there was stuff in there all along." If you want a story that sort of illustrates that, and maybe some of you have thought of this already, the Emmaus Road story, right? The Emmaus Road story, that's what that's about. So Jesus has just risen from the dead and he runs into two of his disciples who don't recognize him, and they're sort of lamenting Jesus' crucifixion.

[37:52] Speaker 5: And Jesus asks them what they're sad about and they say, "Oh, well, we, we were followers of Jesus, and we thought he was gonna redeem Israel. And, and then he died, so I, I guess we were wrong about that." And Jesus says to them, in so many words, "Oh, come on, you guys. Didn't you read the prophets? The Messiah was always supposed to suffer these things." And then, now quoting what Jesus says, or what happens, "Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures, the Old Testament, concerning himself." Right? He explained, this was always the way it was supposed to happen. Today, in this sermon, I'm gonna try to do for you what Jesus did for those two men on the road. Um, I'm probably not gonna do it as well as Jesus. I wish Luke had given us Jesus' words. That would be really great. He didn't. But I'm gonna try to do what Jesus did for those, those two men. And that means my text for today is the entire Old Testament.

[38:54] Speaker 4: (laughs)

[38:55] Speaker 5: Don't worry, I will not read it all. But I will do what Jesus did, because j-... In, in, in the Emmaus Road story, it says Jesus started from the beginning. He started with Moses. So that's what I'm gonna do. Start with the Book of Moses, Genesis. Genesis 3, and th- to, just to set the scene, this is the end of the fall story, which means Adam and Eve have sinned, um, th- the, he- they've brought a curse upon the world. Th- the creation has been devastated by their sin, and this is how that account ends. "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. And then the Lord God said, 'The man has become like us, one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life and eat and live forever.' So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

[39:53] Speaker 5: And after he drove the man out, he placed, on the east side of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." This is the word of the Lord.

[40:08] Speaker 4: Thanks be to God.

[40:12] Speaker 5: Let us imagine that we're standing in the heavenly courtroom in the moment after Adam and Eve have sinned, and their sin has brought devastation upon the earth. And we're standing behind God the Father, and God the Father is looking out over the wreckage of his creation, and he's facing a decision. He's gonna decide, "What do I gotta do with this mess? Am I gonna bulldoze this thing? Is this thing a dead loss? Is it a complete write-off? I'm gonna bulldoze this thing, get rid of it, and start all over again? Or am I, am I gonna try to redeem this creation?" That's the decision sitting in front of him. And, and let's imagine that right before God makes this decision, um, a consulting firm shows up to help him with this decision. Now, obviously, God does not need consultants. This must, this firm must've been hired by one of the angels. But this consulting firm shows up, and they're gonna advise God on his decision. They introduce themselves.

[41:13] Speaker 5: They are from Common Sense Consulting, and they show us their business card, and it says, "Common Sense Consulting. Maximum profit, minimum pain." Interesting. "At Common Sense Consulting, we leverage your resources to take hold of the low-hanging fruit so that you can actualize actionable outcomes that move the needle on future results." Wow, that's, that's impressive. The consulting team has finished their analysis, and they come with a 300-page book full of charts and graphs, and the lead consultant leads, uh, comes forward and, and she gives her initial assessment. "Uh, we have serious concerns about this creation venture, sir," she says. "Our structural engineers have been through everything, and the damage is significant. This isn't just some thorns and thistles we're talking about. Uh, sin has corrupted every member, so, uh, reconstruction of this is going to take considerable cost. And our team has also looked at your workforce.

[42:18] Speaker 5: Our HR specialists have conducted extensive interviews with your two main employees, and we have serious doubts about their reliability. Team dynamics are poor. In our interviews, the two subjects blamed themselves over and over, and in fact, honestly, sometimes, sir, they blamed you. We advise against spending more resources on retraining, because the return on investment would be negligible. We recommend termination. Better to start fresh.""In conclusion, further investment in this project is not advisable at this time. We, we advise a complete demolition and a new build." Team submit their report, they're ushered out of the heavenly courtroom, the doors close behind them, and the whole creation holds its breath as they wait to see what God will do. Now you know what God does, right? He does not demolish. He rebuilds. He sticks with His people, He sticks with His creation. Here's the thing, though. Are the consultants wrong in their analysis?

[43:32] Speaker 5: They say that the renovation is gonna be complicated, and the costs are going to be ridiculously high. Are they wrong about that? No, they're not wrong. They're absolutely right. From the perspective of moral accounting, God redeeming this earth makes absolutely no sense. Sin, as you probably know or at least sense, has its own moral accounting system. So for example, if in my younger self I got in a fight with my sister, which sometimes happened, and say I was just, it was my fault. I'm just not being nice and I get in a fight with her, and I take my red Kool-Aid and I splash it all over her white sweater, her new white sweater, and she runs upstairs crying. I have incurred two debits in the moral accounting system, okay? One thing I've done is I've hurt the relationship with my sister, I've damaged the trust that she has for me. And the second thing I've done is I've damaged her brand new sweater.

[44:35] Speaker 5: And somehow, I gotta pay the debt in both of those, I gotta find ways to, to, to, to fix those two debits. For the hurt relationship, what do I gotta do? I gotta go to her and I gotta apologize. I gotta say I'm sorry and I gotta mean it. And I gotta be the one to go to her, right? She's up in her room, I gotta go up to her room and apologize to her. And then going forward, I gotta show that I mean to do things differently. And for the second debit, I gotta do something about that sweater. Either I'm gonna clean it or I'm gonna have to buy her a new one. That is how the moral accounting of that situation would work. I think you would all agree with that. If you were a parent and those were your two children, that's how you would superintend this, right? In our passage, God does not follow the normal rules of moral accounting. Even though He's the offended party, right, even though Adam's sin has gone against Him, who is it that goes and reconnects?

[45:40] Speaker 5: I didn't read that part, but you know the story, right? Who, who seeks out whom when the break occurs? God seeks out Adam. The offended party seeks out the offender. God calls out in the garden, "Where are you?" And then at the end of the passage, when Adam and Eve are shivering with their own shame and with their own pain and with their own fear, all of which they had brought upon themselves, what does God do? He comes to them and He makes them clothing. He makes these clothes that He throws around their shoulder to protect them against the sin that they made. Psalm 103 has this famous line about God's character, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, abounding in steadfast love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve." That last line is interesting and important, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve." The psalmist is saying that God does not follow the laws of moral accounting the way that we think He will.

[46:47] Speaker 5: God pays more of the cost than you would expect, and He absorbs more of the misery. God makes the clothes, God makes the first move towards the offender. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. That pattern, so important, of God absorbing more of the misery than He should and paying more of the debt, the cost, than He should, is repeated throughout the Old Testament over and over and over again. Just one example. God's people are on their way to the, uh, to the promised land. They're in the wilderness. And, and God has done so much for them already, right? He's rescued them from Egypt, He's chosen them as His people, He's gonna take them to this land of milk and honey. He's given them the law, these rules that are gonna teach them how to live with each other so that they can live in harmony and peace with Him and with one another. They have every opportunity. He's basically putting paradise in their laps. The law, a land, His presence. How long does it take them to screw it up?

[48:03] Speaker 5: No time at all. Moses is still on the mountain getting the rest of the law when they make two golden calves and worship them. They throw away paradise. It takes them about 20 minutes. They do Adam and Eve all over again. What happens? God is angry and He definitely punishes them. You remember that. A lot of people die. But He does not abandon them, right? That's what you'd expect. They cheated on Him in the marriage, but He does not leave the marriage. He sticks with the marriage. He keeps giving them the manna. He keeps leading them with the pillar of fire. He still brings them to the promised land. He absorbs more of the misery and pays more of the cost than you would expect. He does not treat them as their sins deserve.And this pattern of absorption and payment, right? Throughout the cycle of the judges, they sin, they cry out, God brings them back. He absorbs and he pays the cost. Throughout the kings, right? The kings, they mess up over and over again.

[49:11] Speaker 5: And again and again, God absorbs and he pays the cost, more than his share. Where is all this going to lead? How long can God keep absorbing? How long can God keep paying? How much is he willing to absorb? How much is he willing to pay? You know the answer. He's willing to absorb and pay everything, all of it. On the cross, Jesus will absorb all the pain and he will pay all the cost. And he will weave us once again clothes, right? Clothes of righteousness and eternal life, that he will throw around our undeserving shoulders. There are places in the Old Testament, when you're thinking about how the Old Testament anticipates the cross, there are all kinds of little places where you have events or words that sort of show up later. So like in Psalm 22, it talks about how, the psalmist talks about his, how his hands and his feet are pierced and how they divide his clothes. And that's also what happens to Jesus on the cross. In Isaiah 53, right?

[50:24] Speaker 5: It says that "Like a lamb led to the slaughter, he opened not his mouth." And sure enough, at the crucifixion, Jesus doesn't much answer his accusers. And at Passover celebrations, right, you have this, the slain lamb and the blood of the lamb protects the people. And, and then Jesus is crucified and his blood saves us on the Passover weekend. Those are all great little anticipations. They're not little, they're big anticipations. But for me, the most important road from the Old Testament into the New Testament that points to this cross, is this gracious intuition in the heart of God.

[51:04] Speaker 6: Got it. Got it.

[51:05] Speaker 5: This pattern that he does over and over again, where he absorbs-

[51:10] Speaker 6: Exactly.

[51:10] Speaker 5: ... more than he deserves and pays more than should be expected. Because when we see that, we realize that that merciful inclination that we see in Genesis 3 is already at the heart of God at the beginning. The cross of Jesus Christ-

[51:26] Speaker 6: You got it.

[51:27] Speaker 5: ... is in the heart of God the Father, right from the very beginning. God has a cross-shaped heart.

[51:36] Speaker 6: You gotta know why.

[51:38] Speaker 5: Because when you realize that, you realize that our consultants were right about what they said. From accounting perspective, this makes no sense. But it turns out that God does not have the heart of an accountant, he has the heart of a father. And from that heart comes our salvation. When I was reflecting on this heart of a father and how much it means to the world, how much it means to us, I thought of a story.

[52:07] Speaker 6: Amen.

[52:07] Speaker 5: And it's actually a story that I told, um, actually not that very long ago, about a year ago, but I told it at night. And I don't know how to say this delicately.

[52:18] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[52:18] Speaker 5: But many of you were not there. Uh, and it's a great story, and it illustrates this really well. Uh, it's a story, uh, told by a woman named Sherry Ann. And it was a story she told at the funeral of her dad. Her dad was a guy named Tom DeGroat, who was a member of my previous church. Died, I don't know, 20, 25 years ago already. And, uh, Tom was not a wealthy man. Uh, but Tom, one of his prized possessions was a 1955 Cadillac that he owned. Uh, he wasn't ... He, he had most of his life drove beaters, but when he got a little bit more money, he bought a used Cadillac, which was his pride and joy. Kept it in his garage. And then, um, Sherry one day came to her mom and her dad, and said, "Mom and Dad, may I go to a youth event in town today?" There was some sort of youth gathering, and they're gonna have fun together, and they're gonna worship together, and she asked if she could go. And Tom said, "Yes, dear, you may go. And you know what? You could take the Cadillac." Wow.

[53:22] Speaker 5: So Sherry gets in the Cadillac. It's a big car, right? Big car, Cadillac, especially back then, really big. And she starts to back out of the garage, and she starts to turn the wheel, but she starts to turn the wheel a little sooner than she should. And the front end, the driver's side front end, or the passenger side's front end hits the outside, uh, foundational sort of corner of the garage. And those cars are built like tanks, right? A lot of steel in those old Cadillacs. And so the car is damaged, but the force of the impact pulls the entire front of the garage off its foundation. So Sherry gets out of the car, and she's looking, and she sees the damage to the car, she sees the damage to the garage. And she thinks, "My dad is gonna kill me." Tom gets out of the house, sees what's happened, looks at the car, looks at the garage, looks at his crying daughter.

[54:18] Speaker 5: And he reaches into his wallet and he pulls out five bucks, which in those days was like 40, and he says, "Here honey, go have fun at the youth event." What did Tom do there? He absorbed more than his share of the, of the misery, and he paid more than his share of the cost. He showed a cross-shaped heart, which he didn't learn from himself, he learned that from his heavenly Father. The cross-shaped heart of God through Jesus Christ has found its way into him. And that was so powerful in Sherry's life. Think about when she told that story. Where was she? At his funeral.... of all the things he ever did in his life, that was the one thing that Sheri remembers impacted her so deeply.

[55:10] Speaker 4: Lord, rest her soul.

[55:11] Speaker 5: The cross-shaped heart manifesting itself in really life. Here's the thing. In a moment, something like what happened to Sheri Ann is going to happen to you. You're gonna come to this table to meet your Lord the same week that you crashed his car again. You will come to this table aware that you have not loved God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. You have been half-hearted. Once again, you failed to do some things that you know you ought to have done, and done some things you know you ought not to have done. You have crashed this car and you'll come to the table and all you'll have in your hands is a need for forgiveness. And once again, Jesus will absorb that sin into Himself, He will remind you that He's already paid the debt, and He will reach into Himself and He will say, "Here is my body. Here is my blood. It's for you." And He will send you forth with His blessing, clothed in His grace. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of forgiveness.

[56:31] Speaker 4: Amen.

[56:32] Speaker 5: Thank you, Holy Spirit, for the gift of new life. Thank you, Father, for your cross-shaped heart.

[56:39] Speaker 4: Amen.

[56:39] Speaker 5: Amen. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gifts that you give us at this table, gifts, Lord, that you started giving right from the very beginning. As soon as we started sing, uh, sinning, you started giving us these gifts.

[56:59] Speaker 4: (laughs)

[57:01] Speaker 5: Lord, uh, we pray that, um, the food we receive here will go right down to the center of our hearts and make us joyful and giving people. We pray that your cross-shaped heart will start to take root in us, take further root in us so that we can be joyful people in this world. In Jesus' name, amen. (gentle music) (footsteps shuffling) (door clacks) (gentle music)

[58:15] Speaker 4: (gentle music) Beneath the cross of Jesus I long to take my stand. The shadow of the Mighty One within a weary land. A hope within the wilderness, a rest upon the wave, From the worry of the noontide heat and the burdens of the day. I take the cross of Shadow for my abiding place; I ask no other sunshine than the sun-shadow of its face. Content to let the world go by, to know the way for us, My sinful self, my only shame, my glory on the cross. Amen.

[59:58] Speaker 5: Please take out your liturgy of the Lord's Supper as we approach the table of the Lord. This is a place of grace where we receive His holy food, His manna in the wilderness. If you're a visitor with us and, uh, but at your home church you partake of communion, you're welcome at the table at your home church. We welcome you at this table here to share this holy food. And if you're a visitor, you should know that all our bread is, is gluten-free, so you, if that's an issue for you, you can partake freely. Let's join our hearts as we approach our Lord. The Lord be with you.

[01:00:32] Speaker 4: And also with you.

[01:00:33] Speaker 5: Lift up your hearts.

[01:00:35] Speaker 4: We lift them up to the Lord.

[01:00:36] Speaker 5: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.

[01:00:39] Speaker 4: It is right for us to give thanks and praise.

[01:00:43] Speaker 5: With joy, we praise you, gracious God, for in your great love, out of nothing, You created the heaven and earth and everything in them. You made us in your image and kept covenant with us even when we fell into sin.

[01:00:56] Speaker 4: We give You thanks through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who by His life, death, and resurrection opens to us...

[01:01:08] Speaker 5: We praise You that Jesus took the form of a suffering servant, emptying Himself on the cross and giving up His life for us and for our salvation.

[01:01:17] Speaker 7: We praise You for sending Your Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Guide, who sustains our faith, who nourishes our hope, and leads us in the paths of life.

[01:01:31] Speaker 5: Therefore, we join our voices with all saints and angels and the whole creation to proclaim the glory of Your name. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.

[01:01:52] Speaker 3: Let us continue to pray. Almighty God, show forth here among these people the presence of Your life-giving Word and Holy Spirit. Sanctify us through this sacrament. Grant that all who share the communion of the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ, may be one in Him and remain faithful in love and hope. And as this grain has been gathered from many fields into one loaf, and these grapes from many hills into one cup, grant, O Lord, that your whole Church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom. We pray this with the words You taught us, saying... Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

[01:03:07] Speaker 5: Congregation, on the night He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread. And after giving thanks for it, He broke it and He said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (organ music plays)

[01:03:25] Speaker 7: Your holy Son, who said to die,

[01:06:20] Speaker 7: died for sinners, the pious sign; to open up the city's door and to be called the Lamb of God. Oh Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God, I love the holy Lamb of God. Oh, wash me in His precious blood, my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Your gift of love they pierced tonight, they bowed their sword, their heads denied. The humble King, they laid in a tomb and sacrificed the Lamb of God. Oh Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God, I love the holy Lamb of God. Oh, wash me in His precious blood, my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. I once was lost, I should have died, but You have called me to be inside. To be a part of Your sacred heart, and to be called the Lamb of God. Oh Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God, I love the holy Lamb of God. Oh, wash me in His precious blood, my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

[01:07:21] Speaker 5: People of God, this is the body of Christ. Take, eat, remember, and believe that Christ gave this body for the complete forgiveness of all your sins.

[01:07:52] Speaker 3: In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and He said, "This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink of it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again." (organ music plays)

[01:08:39] Speaker 2: Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away, slain for us, and we remember the promise here that all who come in faith find forgiveness at the cross. So we share in this bread of life, and we drink of His sacrifice as a sign of our bonds of peace around the table of the King. The body of our Savior, Jesus Christ, torn for you. Eat and remember the wounds that yield a death that brings us life, paid the price to make us one. So we share in this bread of life, and we drink of His sacrifice as a sign of our bonds of love around the table of the King. The blood that cleanses every stain of sin, shed for you. Drink and remember He drained death's cup that all may enter in to receive the life of God. So we share in this bread of life, and we drink of His sacrifice as a sign of our bonds of grace around the table of the King.

[01:11:36] Speaker 2: And so with thankfulness and faith, we rise to respond and to remember our call to follow in the steps of Christ as His body here on earth. As we share in His suffering, we proclaim Christ will come again and we'll join the feast of Heaven around the table of the King.

[01:12:39] Speaker 3: Take, drink, remember, and believe that the precious blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was shed on the cross for the complete forgiveness of all our sins. (organ music plays)

[01:13:28] Speaker 2: There lies a name among those lost, upon which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Nor care I what death I should cost, save it were then for Christ my Lord; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through His blood. See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; tears, once love, now let sorrow be, for 'twas love bought so

[01:16:27] Speaker 2: rich a price. Where, O Lord, where, O Lord, can I repay Thee, Lord? Not guilty, not worthy, are we, Lord, but still letting something be, give us thy soul, thy life, O Lord.

[01:16:57] Speaker 5: Congregation, you've been fed at God's table. Now go with His peace. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all.

[01:17:10] Speaker 2: Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. (instrumental music plays) (bell rings) (instrumental music plays)

[01:19:37] Speaker 8: (organ music) (crowd chattering)