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[12:09] Speaker 2: [piano music... and leads the wicked home. Sing praise to Him who stands in the way. For sinners here above. (piano music plays)

[12:57] Speaker 3: Oh, human hearts, while earthly brighten, lights of Lord above. Give those who live in darkening nights, to those who trust His love. Most high praise the Lord, with all things from Christ have confessed. For this is glory and good shame, He will for children bless. Ah. Amen.

[13:57] Speaker 5: It's our God who is our glory and our strength and it's our privilege and our call to come before Him for worship this morning. So receive His greeting. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through the mighty and present work of God's Holy Spirit. Amen.

[14:15] Speaker 3: Amen. (paper rustles) .

[14:21] Speaker 5: It's my honor to welcome you to worship on this cold Sunday. Um, if you are feeling a little slow, a little sluggish, a little under the weather, you are in good company. You've already noticed that Larry is at the piano this morning and not at the organ and that's because the organ's a little under the weather. Um, we have a cypher going on when it gets cold and dry in here, sometimes that affects how the organ plays. And there was someone out to work on it last week and it wouldn't perform its tricks. And this morning, of course, Larry came into practice and what should happen but the tricks. So, um, we're here, we're worshiping. It's great to be together and in the presence of our God with a piano because we have backup. So cheers to you for pivoting this morning, Larry. And we're glad to worship together. Um, if you're worshiping with us here, we have the privilege of being together.

[15:10] Speaker 5: Welcome also to those who are on the livestream this morning, worshiping from home or from wherever you are. After worship, if you're here, there's coffee and conversation, uh, down the hall into the right in the multipurpose room. There's also a number of 10:00 hour events happening so check out page seven of your bulletin for things happening this morning. We will, um, turn our hearts now toward confession. Um, confession is the time in our service when we come before God with acknowledgement of our sin, acknowledgement of our need. And, um, just to introduce this part of the service a little bit, I wanted to talk about, um, one of Paul's purposes in the words that we'll read together. One of Paul's goals in writing the letter of 2 Corinthians was to encourage the Gentile Christians in Corinth to participate in a relief offering for believers hundreds of miles away, different ethnic backgrounds, people they would never know in-person.

[16:09] Speaker 5: Um, to knit a sense of unity together in the church across miles through the sharing of generosity. So let's join our hearts and our voices in this call to confession from 2 Corinthians. "And now brothers and sisters," Paul writes, "we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches."

[16:33] Speaker 3: In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

[16:44] Speaker 5: "For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability."

[16:50] Speaker 3: Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people.

[17:01] Speaker 5: "But since you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we have kindled in you. See also that you excel in this grace of giving." Let's pray. Loving God, You call us to giving and You call it a grace. Not merely a responsibility or an obligation but a way of life that allows us a glimpse of Your generous heart. As we come to You, open our eyes again to the riches of Your grace. You who have given us faith and hope and love and life and breath and everything else. Everything we have belongs to You. So forgive us when we forget or when we cling to any of our resources as if they can save us. Teach us to trust in Your provision. And grant us the joy of participating in Your work with free and generous hearts. Amen. (piano music plays) .

[18:29] Speaker 6: (singing) Hear the good news of Christ. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor so that you, through His poverty, might become rich. Thanks be to God. (piano playing) (singing) Take my life and let it be consecrated more to Thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in endless praise. Let them flow in endless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my silver and my gold, not on Thy throne I will roll.

[21:23] Speaker 6: Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself and I will be ever only all for Thee. Ever only all for Thee

[22:22] Speaker 7: All right, children, it's time for the children's message. Come on up. Here we go. You're here already, front and center. I have some things to show you today. Give me a second here. All right. How are we doing? I think this is, uh, where is everybody this morning? Well, it's so good to see you. So I have in my hands an... Apple ... apple. That's obvious. Let's talk a little bit about the parts of the apple. On the outside of the apple you have the...

[23:04] Speaker 6: Skin.

[23:05] Speaker 7: Skin, yes. And then inside of the apple you have that white stuff which I think they sometimes call it the flesh of the apple. I think that's right. If I'm wrong, someone will tell me after the service. (laughs) And then what's inside, like if you- once you eat all the- the white stuff?

[23:18] Speaker 6: The core.

[23:19] Speaker 7: The core. And then one more level down, what's inside the core?

[23:22] Speaker 6: Seeds.

[23:23] Speaker 7: Seeds. Seeds. Seeds. Guess what I got in my hands? I got a seed. A seed. How many seeds do you think are inside this apple?

[23:31] Speaker 6: Five. Four. Four.

[23:35] Speaker 7: Five? You guys are just really sure about the five thing. You know I- I think it varies. It's not always five, it's often five. And I- it would take, this apple I'd have to cut it up and it'd take awhile, and- and we don't have time for that. But I cut another one up about the same size. This is a little one and there was only three in this one. Three s- three seeds inside this apple, but I know sometimes there's as many as 10. So three seeds in this apple. Here's a question. How many apples are inside of this seed?

[24:06] Speaker 6: Um, one.

[24:06] Speaker 7: That... No. Let's just-

[24:09] Speaker 6: 100.

[24:09] Speaker 7: Let's think about... 100, yes, someone's catching on, 100. So it seems like a silly thing to say, how many apples are inside of this seed. Look at the size of the seed and look at the size of this apple. There's no way an apple could fit inside that seed. But if I plant this in the ground, what happens?

[24:24] Speaker 6: It will grow 100.

[24:26] Speaker 7: It'll grow a tree eventually. And then every year, what'll be on the- the branches of that tree?... apples, dozens of them. And what if I took the apples off that tree and planted the seeds in every single w- all of those apples, I planted those seeds, and they'd grow, like, a hundred trees, and they'd have apples. There could be hundreds. There could be thousands of apples inside one seed. Ah. It reminds me of something Jesus said. Jesus said, "If you have only a tiny little bit of faith, if you have faith the size of a tiny little seed, and you do something out of that little bit of faith, because of his power, he can make it grow into a big tree. He can make it grow into something wonderful. He can make it grow into a tree so big that the birds of the air can shelter in its branches." That's what I wanted to share with you this morning. Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[25:27] Speaker 6: The Lord be with you. And also with you.

[25:30] Speaker 7: Go in peace.

[25:48] Speaker 5: We have a joyful congregational announcement for you all this morning, and that is that Scotland Lou, or Scotty, Mustert was born to Mitch and Alexa, um, this past week on February 5th after the bulletin was produced. Scotty is a little girl, and she's doing well. Sip Hutton is expecting to move to Porter Hills, um, to continue his rehab this week. Let's go before our Lord in prayer. Eternal God, today we acknowledge that we can't wrap our minds around the things you have seen and the things you have done. The way we count it, you have witnessed thousands and thousands and thousands of years of our time. Creeping glaciers carving fjords, sudden shuddering earthquakes casting mountains into the heart of the sea, the movement of people, the rise and fall of nations, and individual lives too.

[27:00] Speaker 5: As we recognize changes within our own lifetimes, the changeability of our own bodies, the growth of children or grandchildren or nieces and nephews, the ebb and flow in the dance of human relationships, we pause to marvel and remember that you are God and we aren't. We seek to be your faithful people in a world we did not create and do not control. And so we cry holy, holy, holy Lord, God of eternal power and might. We rest in the generosity of your love, your forgiveness, your constant presence, your untiring work to bring all things together under one head, our Lord, Jesus. We thank you, God, for establishing a body of Christians on this very street corner in Grand Rapids almost 140 years ago this month. La Grave Church is part of your big plan to reconcile things in heaven and things on earth. And we are here to witness it, to participate in it in a small way.

[28:16] Speaker 5: As our church members and council make plans for the future, show us your ways, give us your heart, give us your long-term vision. Establish the work of our hands as we partner for the good of our neighbors and the glory of Jesus. Keep shaping us as a body into the image of Christ. Thank you for the weekday presence of your people all over this city, as they work in many different sectors. Strengthen those in administration and business, nonprofit and teaching, medical work and law enforcement. Encourage caregivers and others whose work is not compensated financially, but is crucially important. In whatever way we serve, with our hands, with our minds, with our hearts, with our prayers, help us to seek first your kingdom, to use the gifts that you have given to us readily and cheerfully for others.

[29:17] Speaker 5: We pray also for those who feel weak in many different ways today, students who may feel that they don't belong at school, adults who sacrifice to meet others' needs, those whose faith feels as if it's hanging by a thread, people who feel at war as their bodies disintegrate or deteriorate. Out of the riches of your grace, Jesus, fill in our empty parts, our broken parts, our fragile parts. You are the God who created us and loves us, who sees us at our worst and loves us still. So pour your love into us and make us whole. It is a joy for us to be able to raise our requests to you in wait and expectation, and now we do that also on behalf of those in specific need for strengthening after hospitalizations. For Joan Elzinga, Margene Greene, Sip Hutton, and Marlene Powey. We continue to pray for the Faber family and for Connie Devries as they say goodbye for this life to Ken.

[30:27] Speaker 5: We rejoice in the birth of Scotty Lou Mustert to Mitch and Alexa, for your claim that we will witness later this morning on the life of Evelyn Marie Kukkulis in the sacrament of baptism.Bring these two newest siblings in faith to answer your call on their lives. Help them to know and love you as they grow. Strengthen our hands, dear Lord. We can hold nothing in them apart from your grace, but they are yours to use as you will and we offer them. Help our lives to bring you joy. Amen.

[31:04] Speaker 6: (piano music plays) O Christ, who spared not any cost or any grace withheld, but poured forth Your redeeming blood in love unparalleled. What would You have me offer more? What else I count as loss? The darling gifts of fellowship that brings me near the cross. Why should I cling to this dear gift? I grasp in foolish pride. But You gave Yourself for me, the victim there of sin and strife. To know You is my heart's desire, worth every sacrifice. What treasure more be to my eyes than to bear me the perfect prize?

[34:04] Speaker 6: (piano music plays) Yet if behind my open hands, my heart drinks from the cup, teach me nothing offered You is ever truly enough. All other gain without a glimpse, just one glimpse of Your face, my sacrifice for God's good pleasure, the riches of Your grace. (piano music plays)

[36:49] Speaker 7: (piano music plays)

[36:58] Speaker 7: (piano music plays)

[40:56] Speaker 7: 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. (piano music plays) Our Bible reading this morning is from the Gospel of Mark, Mark chapter 12. Uh, I'll read verses 41 through 44. This continues our sermon series on stories depicted in our windows. Today's story is in the fourth set of windows, right? So sets of three, one, two, three, four, and it's in the n- window closest to me in that set down at the bottom. I can just see the picture right from here where I am, and it's a woman who's got a child on her hip and she's putting money into a receptacle. And there's a couple guys behind her doing the same thing. Uh, that's the story of the widow's offering, or I use the old King James, the widow's mite, right? You remember that language? And this is the story. Listen.

[42:49] Speaker 7: "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting in their money in the temple treasury.Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more to the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put everything, put in everything, all she had to live on." This is the word of the Lord.

[43:34] Speaker 6: Thanks be to God.

[43:36] Speaker 7: So what jumps out at me, first of all, in this passage, and maybe what jumps out at you too, is the way that Jesus sees. The way that Jesus looks at the temple crowd, and when he looks at that temple crowd, he sees that crowd differently than most of us regular humans would see. And you can tell that in the way that he picks the widow out of the crowd. It's pretty clear that the disciples do not pick the widow out of the crowd. They're not, their attention is not on the widow because in verse 43, right, Jesus has to call them over and say, "See that wi- widow? She is the one who you should pay attention to." And I don't blame the disciples for that, um, because there's lots of things, there would have been lots of things in the temple that day. When you look at this passage and when you look at its context, there are lots of things in this temple that would distract them. There are a lot of bright, shiny objects in the temple. And what are these bright, shiny objects?

[44:38] Speaker 7: If you look at our passage and context, there's at least three. Um, first there's the guys in the flowing robes. Right before our passage, immediate before, Jesus warns the disciples about the teachers of the law. And he says, specifically, you know, they, they love to put on the flowing robes and th- they love to be greeted in the marketplace and they love the best seats at the banquets. They love to be seen. They love to have attention. So there are lots of guys in flowing robes at the temple that day, and they would've attracted attention. They would've been walking around, working the crowd. "Mr. Mayor, how are you? Brother Trophimus, how's business?" They would've been distracting. And I know something about this, because I have some experience with flowing robes.

[45:28] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[45:29] Speaker 7: This is a real, this is, this is real, this, this distraction of flowing robes is real. Just, um, nine days ago on Friday, we had our ecumenical service with the Catholics and the Presbyterians over at the cathedral. And it was a nice service. And I arrived, it was at the cathedral I arrived, and I was dressed like a regular, regular guy. And I had to walk up from the back to the front to go to the vestry to put on my flowing robes. Uh, on the way up, I, nobody paid attention to me. I mean, if there was a grave person, they might smile, but nobody else paid attention to me. Got my robe on, came back, guess what? Everybody's paying attention to me. Right? Everybody's looking at you. And sometimes it's nice attention, sometimes they look a little frightened of you, but attention. Guys in the flowing robes would've sucked up a lot of the attention. And so with the big givers.

[46:23] Speaker 7: People were coming into the temple to make their offering, and Mark tells us many rich people threw in large amounts. That's an interesting verb. Threw in. Ballo, to throw. Why did they throw it in? I, I think when you hear, uh, how the, the temple boxes were constructed, you'll understand why. So there were temple receptacles for the offering, and they don't look like our, our mir- our, uh, window is wrong here. Um, they were like boxes, and then they had a, a, a funnel which you could throw your money into that would, would go into the boxes. It was shaped like a shofar, shaped like a trumpet, and it was made of brass. So when you put, when you put money in, it, it would, it would make sound. And if you put more money in, it would make more sound. And in fact, because of the trumpet shape, right, it would be amplified, right? It would literally be trumpeted all over the temple, your gift. It was an early fundraising device, right? It incentivized you to give more money.

[47:26] Speaker 7: You can kinda see this. So when, when, when a rich person came in and just threw in a whole load of, of coins, it sounded like a slot machine paying off.

[47:39] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[47:40] Speaker 7: You can imagine the guys in the flowing robes going over. "Brother Vandersma, thank you for your gift. You're very generous." There's one other thing that would've been grabbing the attention of the disciples and others in the temple, and that would've been the temple itself. Immediately after our passage, you can see that the disciples are focused on the temple because they say, "Jesus, look at this place. Look at the big stones. Look at how beautiful it is." And there was lots and- was beautiful in the temple, right? There was gilded columns, there was carving, there was tapestry, and these disciples are from Galilee, right? They're not used to seeing magnificent structures. They would've been, and they were, in awe of what they saw. Jesus was less impressed.

[48:28] Speaker 7: Uh, when they say, "Oh, wow, look at the temple," he responds to them, and this is a loose translation of the Greek, "Temple shmemple."

[48:37] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[48:37] Speaker 7: "It's all gonna be thrown down." That's what he says. If you want an architectural tour of the temple grounds, Jesus is not your man. So you could imagine the disciples in that place with the crowds around, or any of us for that matter, going, "Wow, look at the temple. Wow, listen to how much money that guy gave. Wow, look at all those guys in the flowing robes." But Jesus...He zeroes in on this woman. The small tink of her two coins going in the temple treasury, and he says, "Look at her. Pay attention to her." What is it about Jesus' way of seeing that makes him focus in on this woman? Well, I think you know. Like every other human being in our fallen condition, our attention gets attracted to shiny objects, to things that are flashy on their exterior, to show. It's who we are. It happens to all of us. But Jesus is different. Jesus sees down into the heart. It is this sincere and fully committed heart of this woman that draws Jesus' attention.

[49:55] Speaker 7: In that way, this story reminds me of the story of the anointing of David in the Old Testament, in Samuel. I think most of you remember that story, remember the prophet Samuel is sent to anoint someone to be the next king of Israel. He goes to Jesse's house, he knows it's one of Jesse's sons, and in walks Eliab. And Eliab is, you know, he's got matinee idol looks and he's strong and he's amazing. And Samuel thinks, "Well, surely this is the one chosen to be king." But then the Lord says, you remember, "The Lord does not look at the things that other people look at. The Lord looks at the heart." Other people in the temple see the glitz and the glamour. What shines out to the Lord is the heart of this woman. Our stories about giving, and in Scripture, giving and the heart are always associated.

[50:48] Speaker 7: Jesus doesn't come out and say that here, but he does that in plenty of other places, most famous being in the Sermon on the Mount where he says, "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also." It's always about the heart. Now there are some commentators and some people who read this passage, and they're tempted to focus on the proportional size of the woman's gift. They think, "Oh, what impresses Jesus is that she gave such a high percentage of her adjusted gross income, as compared to those others." And she did. But it's not that, 'cause it's never about the surface things with Jesus. It's always about the heart. Can't just be about the gift. Can't be about the surfaces. First Corinthians 13. "If I give all I possess to the poor, 100% of my adjusted gross income, but I do not have love, I gain nothing." Has to come from here. Or in our call to confession this morning, you, you read that little bit from Second Corinthians eight. You guys said the words.

[51:55] Speaker 7: The Macedonians had been giving to the church and Paul's very impressed. Why is he impressed? Because, quote, "Even though they were poor, their overflowing joy welled up into deep generosity." It's about the heart. And that means that what captures Jesus' attention in the temple that day about that woman is what me, what I want for my life and I know what you want for your life. I do not wanna be a half-hearted person. You do not wanna be a half-hearted person. I know this about you. Right? Nobody wants that. I don't want my life to be a show, and the things I do to be putting on a show for other people. I want it to come from here. I don't wanna just do acts of generosity, I want to be a generous person. I don't wanna do compassionate things 'cause I know you're supposed to, right? I want my heart to actually hurt when I see people in need, and then my compassion would come outta that. I don't wanna have to grit my teeth to do acts of kindness for other people.

[53:09] Speaker 7: I want that kindness to come from here. That's what we want, right? Now we're, we're fallen people and we know in this world, and we teach it to our kids, sometimes you gotta grit your teeth and, and do the right thing even though you don't feel it, right? That happens. But that's not what we want. We want it to come from here. When I think about how giving is supposed to come from the heart, I think of a movie, came out more than 20 years ago, that probably some of you have seen but most of you haven't. It's, uh, by the director Danny Boyle, it's called Millions. The movie Millions. And in that movie, it centers around a boy, he's about nine years old, his name is Damien. And, uh, Damien lives in a working class town in England with his brother and his dad. His mom has just died. He's only nine years old, he's had a tough life. His mom has died and his family is mourning that. But his mom was a person of faith, and Damien is a person of faith too. He prays to God, he believes in God.

[54:11] Speaker 7: He has imaginary conversations with saints in the movie. He talks to Saint Francis, he talks to Joseph, he talks to Paul. He's a kid with real faith in his heart. And one day when he's playing down by the railroad tracks that run through his town, he was in a little fort there, he finds a duffel bag that's been thrown from the train. And he opens the duffel bag, and inside is 200,000 pounds, okay? Some thieves, some bank robbers have thrown this from the train as they're going, they intend to pick it up later. And he finds this money, and he's so excited about the money and all he wants to do with it is give it away. Because in his nine-year-old heart, he's heard stories of poor people, he's heard about places that are in need, and so he hides all the money on his bed and he spends his days giving it away. He just jams in- into donation boxes just incredible amounts of cash.And then his dad finds out that this money is there.

[55:17] Speaker 7: His dad is hurting from the loss of his wife and he's overwhelmed from the burden of trying to raise these two boys, and so when he finds out that Damien has given all this money away, and especially 'cause he's doing it 'cause of his faith, this is what he says. He gets angry, and this is what he says. And now I'm quoting from the movie. "Damien, I spend every moment of every day working to pay the mortgage for you and your brother. I'm owed this money. Look around you, Damien. We're on our own. No one is smiling down on us, Damien. No one is looking out for us, so we're looking out for ourselves." Damien, who believes in God and believes his mother is in heaven says, "Well, what about Mom-" And his dad cuts him off. "Mom is dead, Damien. You'll never see her again and neither will I. And the money is ours. We'll take it to town tomorrow and change it and spend it. Do you hear?

[56:16] Speaker 7: All of it, 'cause it's ours." I feel sorry for Damien's dad, because what he has been through has clearly done something to his heart. Instead of generosity, there is fear and want. Instead of joy, there is just survival. When Damien's dad holds tight to that money, he gains the world, but loses his soul. The movie's a study between two kinds of hearts. So as you guys, as you live, and as you give, what's in your heart? Is it resurrection, joy, and eternal hope? Or is it fear and want, and worry? Do you feel more like Damien or Damien's dad from day to day? I think an honest answer for all of us is, "Well, depends on the day you catch me." Right? Right? Some days, the losses and angers and fears of our life weigh in on us and we get so overwhelmed that if we even see someone coming towards us with a look of need on their face, like we know they need something from us, there's something inside us that goes, "Oh, no. Please, no. I cannot give one more thing." Right?

[57:42] Speaker 7: That happens sometimes. But at other times, you're so full of the joy of God and the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the hope of this world, that you just naturally flow out to others. Which of those people is it more fun to be? The second person, right? The second person. Here's the good news that I proclaim to you. Your true self is that second person. If you belong to Jesus and you've been baptized into him and you've given yourself to him and his Holy Spirit is on you, your true self is that second person, that generous, joyful person. That fearful person, that wanting person, that angry person, that is not the real you. Jesus died to rid you of that self. He gave himself on the cross, he rose from the dead, he sent your Holy Spirit, so someday that angry, fearful part of you will be destroyed and all that will be left is joy and hope and peace and love. And it will fill the world.

[58:56] Speaker 7: Until that day, as you juggle these two people moment by moment, one of the best ways to make that joyful self come to the top is by giving. Let me finish with this story. It's a story that I heard more than 20 years ago from a woman pastor named Donna Bridgewater, who worked at a Methodist church in a, a, a big city in a downtown church. And it wasn't, it was one of those old churches that had kind of shrunk, an, um, old building, and they had a crisis. Their roof was leaking, which hits very close to home. And they needed to raise a whole lot of money really fast in order to fix this roof leak. They needed $90,000 and because there wasn't a lot of people, she got involved in that and, um, she was making phone calls, trying to raise this money, and then one day she had one really good fundraising day.

[59:50] Speaker 7: In the morning, they got $56,000 from a local foundation that was designed to help fix old churches, and then that afternoon, she got $35,000 from a generous church member, and there it was, $91,000. They had enough money to fix the roof. And so she was writing up her report for the facilities committee saying, "Hey, we did it," when there was a knock at her door. It was her secretary and said, "There's someone here who wants to see you." And she recognized the name of the person who was coming to see her. It was someone who she'd just helped the week before, a single mom with kids who needed just a little bit of money to tie her over till paycheck. And she'd given her $10. This woman was back, she came in and she had a child on her hip, just like in the picture, and she went into her pocket and slapped down $12 on her desk. And Reverend Bridgewater said, "Oh, come on. You don't need to do that. You don't need to pay that back.

[01:00:53] Speaker 7: That was a gift, and you certainly don't need to pay it back with interest." And she said, "Oh, no, no. That's not interest. The $10, that's p- paying you back, but the $2, you helped me when I was in need, so that $2 is a gift for somebody else. You must know there must be someone out there in need. I wanna help that person." You can see why that reminds me of this story, right? Despite very difficult circumstances, out of her heart-This woman gave what she had for the blessing of others. Reverend Bridgewater wrote up the report for Facilities Committee and how much money they received, and she wrote it up for $91,002. And while everyone was obviously super thankful for the big gifts, the gift that they talked about? Guess which gift they talked about. The $2.00. Because it was the gift that reminded them, and us now, that Jesus is real, that life is eternal, and you are surrounded by grace. Amen.

[01:02:03] Speaker 7: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this chance to come out of a world where we do hear a lot of me first, and a lot of fear. And, and sometimes that fear gets into our hearts. Thank you for be- able to come into this place and be reminded that we are a people of grace, that you have been overwhelmingly generous with us, and that generosity is our bottom line and grace is our bottom line. Let that live in us this week, Lord. May we be joyful people all the way down to the center of ourselves. Amen.

[01:02:38] Speaker 7: (instrumental music playing) Receive the blessing of your generous God. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and

[01:05:38] Speaker 7: abide with you all.

[01:05:40] Speaker 6: Amen. (singing)

[01:07:31] Speaker 8: (piano music)