Theological Status: Theologically Sound
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
🧐 Overview
Sermon Summary: Even the greatest heroes of the faith, like John the Baptist, had moments of profound doubt. This sermon explores how Jesus responds not with condemnation, but with affirmation and a call to trust His unexpected, and ultimately better, plan for salvation and life.
Big Idea: John the Baptist's doubt is relatable to all humans, as everyone questions whether their current path or belief will fulfill their needs and desires. [00:35:02 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: This is a faithful, expository sermon on Matthew 11:2-15. The pastor effectively uses John the Baptist's doubt as a pastoral entry point to discuss the nature of faith, the unexpected methods of Christ, and the process of sanctification. The sermon correctly frames salvation as a free gift and sanctification as a process of trusting the 'Master.' The public reading of Scripture was excellent, with a large, uninterrupted block of text forming the foundation of the message. The doctrine is sound, the tone is encouraging, and the application is clear.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia — The sermon is doctrinally sound, pastorally warm, faithful to the text, and encourages the congregation in their faith while holding fast to the truth.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Biblically Sound
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ✅ PASS | The pastor clearly articulates that salvation is a 'pure and free gift' and that Christ's death on the cross was substitutionary, absorbing the punishment deserved by sinners. The call to 'trust the process' is correctly applied to sanctification, not justification. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | The sermon is grounded in the authority of Scripture. The pastor prays for the Holy Spirit's illumination and demonstrates high reverence for the text by reading a lengthy, coherent passage as the sermon's foundation. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | The hermeneutic is soundly expository. The pastor derives his main points directly from the passage in Matthew 11, correctly interpreting the historical context of John's doubt and Jesus's response. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | God is presented as sovereign, merciful, and just. The person and work of Christ are central, portraying Him accurately as the unexpected Messiah who both challenges human pride and affirms the struggling believer. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | Neither communion nor baptism was observed in the provided transcript. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: Matthew 11:2 (Expository)
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 15 | Referenced: 2 | Alluded: 11
Passages Read Aloud:
-
Matthew 11:2-3
[00:30:04 ▶️ 📄]
"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
-
Matthew 11:4-5
[00:31:50 ▶️ 📄]
"Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them."
-
Matthew 11:6-15
[00:32:48 ▶️ 📄]
"And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the king's houses. What did you go to see? They went to see a prophet. A prophet, yes, and I tell you more than a prophet. This is the one of whom it is written in the Old Testament, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, and will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah. He is the one you've been waiting for to come and tell you that the Messiah is coming. He is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
-
Matthew 10:32
[00:56:15 ▶️ 📄]
"He who acknowledges me before the world, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven."
Key References: Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 10:32
Christological Connection: Thematic: The pastor connects the text to Jesus by showing how Christ's actions and identity subverted the expectations of John the Baptist and his contemporaries, revealing a Messiah who saves through suffering rather than earthly power.
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Introduction: The Universal Question of Doubt [00:34:52 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor introduces John the Baptist's doubt as a relatable human experience, framing his question 'Are you the one?' as the question everyone asks of something or someone they hope will bring fulfillment.
- Point 1: Jesus's Gentle and Affirming Response [00:39:27 ▶️ 📄] : The sermon highlights that Jesus welcomes doubters and does not condemn John. Instead, Jesus publicly affirms John's greatness, demonstrating that He is a Savior who both challenges and has our back.
- Point 2: The Offense of the Unexpected Messiah [00:43:04 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor explains that Jesus is 'offensive' because His methods and demands—total surrender, service, and suffering—contradict human expectations of power and self-determination. The unexpected nature of a suffering Savior is the very thing we need.
- Conclusion: Trusting the Master's Process [00:52:10 ▶️ 📄] : The sermon concludes with a call to trust the 'Master' and His process for sanctification, even when it's difficult and not what we expect, drawing an analogy to learning any skill under a master teacher.
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Doubt and uncertainty in faith [00:35:02 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor discusses how John the Baptist's doubt reflects the common human experience of questioning one's faith and life choices.
- Doubt and questioning [00:39:12 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor discusses how Jesus welcomes doubt and questioning.
- Unexpectedness of Jesus [00:47:14 ▶️ 📄] : Jesus is described as unexpected in his approach and actions.
- Trusting the process [00:52:10 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor emphasizes the importance of trusting the process and the Master in achieving growth and becoming the person one wants to be.
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Theology | Excellent Framing of Doubt
Your approach of normalizing John's doubt and explicitly stating 'doubters welcome' ([00:39:59 ▶️ 📄]) is deeply pastoral. It creates a safe space for congregants to be honest about their struggles, which is essential for genuine spiritual growth.
Homiletics | Faithful Expository Preaching
The sermon was a model of expository preaching. You read a substantial, coherent portion of Scripture and allowed the main point of the text to be the main point of your sermon, rather than using the text as a jumping-off point for other ideas.
Christology | Robust Portrait of Christ
You presented a wonderfully balanced picture of Jesus: He is offensive to our pride and demands control ([00:44:01 ▶️ 📄]), yet He also has our back and affirms us in our weakness ([00:41:12 ▶️ 📄]). This avoids the common pitfalls of a purely therapeutic or purely judgmental Christ.
Soteriology | Clear Distinction Between Justification and Sanctification
You rightly identified salvation as a 'pure and free gift' ([00:53:50 ▶️ 📄]) and then correctly framed the 'trust the process' portion of the sermon as the work of sanctification. This distinction is vital for protecting the doctrine of grace.
🧠 Questions for Reflection
Use these questions for personal study or small group discussion:
- The pastor said that everyone looks to something or someone to 'make it all make sense.' What have you been looking to for fulfillment, and how has that worked out?
- The message described a Jesus who was not what people expected. How does the idea of a Savior who works through weakness and suffering, rather than political power, challenge or appeal to you?
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
.
[00:00:26] .
[00:00:26] .
[00:00:28] She's talking now.
[00:01:02] It's been a nice week.
[00:01:23] Chalice, Iscariot, Pilate, Alpha, Thessalonians, Thessalonians, Thessalonians, Thessalonians
[00:01:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
[00:02:22] Let us pray.
[00:02:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning.
[00:03:00] Welcome everyone to worship this morning at Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:03:05] Glad everybody's here.
[00:03:06] We pray as always this will be an opportunity for all of us to worship our Lord in spirit and in truth.
[00:03:12] Announcement, we've got an announcement to make and then some changes to the agenda.
[00:03:19] So we are taking down the Christmas decorations after worship this morning.
[00:03:24] The worship committee will be doing that.
[00:03:26] Anyone who would like to stay and be a part of that?
[00:03:30] You would be greatly, it would be greatly appreciated.
[00:03:32] The more people here, the more fun we will have for less of a time.
[00:03:37] So a double win.
[00:03:39] So anybody wants to stay, Karen Cornett will be making that happen, leading that charge.
[00:03:44] And so she will be happy to give you something to do.
[00:03:48] So we'll do that after worship today.
[00:03:51] And then if you get your bulletins out, which I probably already have, I would like to note that the bulletin is at least 98 to 99% correct.
[00:04:01] However, there are some key changes that we need to make.
[00:04:04] Number one is on your schedule on New Year's Eve, Wednesday the 31st,
[00:04:11] It would probably be a great idea to have a communion service at 9 o'clock on New Year's Eve, but we will not be doing that this week.
[00:04:19] That will not be happening.
[00:04:21] We will talk about that happening another year.
[00:04:23] So that is not happening.
[00:04:24] So if you just strike that.
[00:04:26] And then if you will go to your bulletin.
[00:04:31] About a halfway down, ordination installation of the class of 2028 elders.
[00:04:36] That is not happening today.
[00:04:38] That's a mistake.
[00:04:39] I apologize for that.
[00:04:40] But if you want to just take that and then right up above prelude, the congregational meeting that we've been planning on having for two weeks, properly announced, is going to happen directly.
[00:04:53] Okay?
[00:04:54] So that's what will happen then.
[00:04:55] So...
[00:04:59] Before the worship of our Lord, we'll do our worship service.
[00:05:02] We have a brief congregational meeting, which I'm now calling to order and asking our clerk of session, Campbell Donaldson, to take appropriate notes for this meeting.
[00:05:11] Let us pray together.
[00:05:13] Mighty God, thanks for great Christmas, coming new year, all your many blessings.
[00:05:19] We have some business of this congregation to attend to.
[00:05:23] We pray your Holy Spirit would be with us to attend to this business well.
[00:05:29] So guide our decisions, and thank you for the privilege of being in this congregation.
[00:05:33] We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
[00:05:36] As announced, there is a congregational meeting for the election of our new elders.
[00:05:44] We will be electing five for the class of 2028 that will serve a three-year term.
[00:05:52] Three elders are ineligible to serve another term, and we thank them for their service.
[00:05:59] Those folks from the Class of 2025 are Dale Burgess, Joy Miller, Johnny Wilkinson.
[00:06:08] We thank them for their service.
[00:06:10] I've been authorized by the nominating committee to put into nomination two elders from the Class of 2025.
[00:06:18] Who are eligible to serve a next term and they have graciously agreed and they are Bill Hart and Lee Williams.
[00:06:26] So on your slate of elders will be Bill Hart and Lee Williams and three individuals brought to us from the nominating committee and they are Nick Johnston, Shannon Knox, and Walter Teeter.
[00:06:41] So on behalf of that committee, the nominating committee, I'm placing those five nations, those five names into nomination for elder to serve a three-year term ending December 31, 2028.
[00:06:54] We now open the floor to other nominations.
[00:07:04] Hearing none, we will entertain a motion to close nominations from the floor and elect this slate of elders by acclamation.
[00:07:13] Do I have such a motion?
[00:07:16] So moved from John Edmiston.
[00:07:17] I second on that.
[00:07:19] Second on that from Rick Lyerly.
[00:07:22] Any discussion on that?
[00:07:24] All those in favor, please say aye.
[00:07:28] Aye.
[00:07:28] All opposed, no.
[00:07:31] Very good.
[00:07:32] Is there any other business which, as we are gathered for meeting, that anyone would like to bring before this congregation?
[00:07:40] Hearing none, let us pray together.
[00:07:43] Almighty and everlasting God, thanks for the work of this church.
[00:07:46] We thank you for the elders who are serving, who have ever served in the past.
[00:07:52] There are elders yet to come.
[00:07:55] Specifically, for the work of Dale and Joy and Johnny, we thank you for their energy and effort, their leadership, for the new folks coming, and for those who have signed on to continue to serve.
[00:08:12] For Bill and Lee and Nick and Shannon and Walter, we pray your blessing upon them that they might lead this congregation in a way that pleases you.
[00:08:23] We thank you for the work that is before us all.
[00:08:26] Help us do it well.
[00:08:30] We pray all these things asking your mercy in Jesus' name.
[00:08:33] Amen.
[00:08:34] Thank you for your time this morning.
[00:08:35] Let us now prepare our hearts and minds for the worship of our Lord.
[00:09:21] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:09:55] Let us pray.
[00:10:54] Let us pray.
[00:11:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray together.
[00:11:26] Almighty and everlasting God, we're privileged and pleased to be here this morning, ending one year, looking forward to a new year, as your grace allows.
[00:11:36] In all days and all ways, we want to be found faithful.
[00:11:40] Thanks for bringing us here.
[00:11:43] It matters.
[00:11:45] It matters how we go from this place and into the week and into the year so Holy Spirit be with us not only in this hour but as we move forward that we might live out the privilege of being enjoying the life you have given us and enjoying the salvation you have given us and enjoying the work that you have given us in our lives and to do it well to enjoy the blessings you've given us make us a thankful people
[00:12:12] Make us a generous people, a hopeful people, an obedient people that we may be found faithful with the life and the hope and the purpose you've given us.
[00:12:24] There are times and places where we have not been faithful.
[00:12:26] We are sinners.
[00:12:27] Have mercy on us.
[00:12:29] Change us.
[00:12:30] Make us hate our sin.
[00:12:31] Change us into the people you want us to be.
[00:12:33] Keep working on us.
[00:12:36] Help us trust you'll bring that work to completion.
[00:12:40] Receive our worship in this hour and in the week to come.
[00:12:43] We pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:12:47] And hear us now please as we pray together the prayer our Lord taught his disciples.
[00:12:52] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:12:57] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:13:04] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts
[00:13:09] As we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
[00:13:18] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:13:23] Amen.
[00:13:24] Our opening hymn for the morning is 151.
[00:13:28] Stand again as we sing, please.
[00:13:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
The Christian men rejoice With heart and soul and voice In need to what we say Used, used, Jesus Christ is born today
[00:14:03] And as before him bow, and he is in the manger now, Christ is born today, Christ is born today.
[00:14:28] Lift wrists again, rejoice, with arms and song and voice,
[00:14:30] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:14:44] Amen.
[00:14:59] Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice.
[00:15:21] Now ye need not fear the grave.
[00:15:21] Peace, peace, Jesus Christ was born to save.
[00:15:22] All to one and all to one.
[00:15:23] Please be seated and let us embrace the opportunity to pray for other people.
[00:15:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let us pray together.
[00:15:50] Mighty and everlasting God, thank you for how you've blessed us.
[00:15:56] We pray that we would be so moved to not only enjoy our blessings, which is our great privilege and part of why you give them, but also to be a blessing to other people with the time and the energy and the money and the love and the passion and the talent you've given us.
[00:16:16] You've blessed us in order to be a blessing.
[00:16:19] So help us figure out how to do that.
[00:16:22] Open our eyes to the opportunities.
[00:16:23] Move our hearts to want to enjoy it.
[00:16:32] Cause making you happy to be a great source of joy for us.
[00:16:39] Cause imitating the way and the tone and the commandment of Jesus Christ
[00:16:49] Cause us to see doing that great joy for us.
[00:16:55] Cause us to remember we have had burdens and people have helped us carry our burdens and how we've appreciated it.
[00:17:03] So to that end, we pray for your church to get the gospel out in a way that pleases you.
[00:17:08] We start with ourselves.
[00:17:10] We move to your church throughout the community and the world.
[00:17:13] Bless it.
[00:17:15] Prosper the other congregations.
[00:17:17] Help them do well.
[00:17:19] All on the same team.
[00:17:24] Help us carry our end well.
[00:17:28] There's people you put in our paths individually and as a church.
[00:17:32] We are unique in the opportunity to help.
[00:17:37] To share the gospel.
[00:17:39] Help us all have an explanation for the hope that is in us to anyone who asks.
[00:17:42] Help us live lives of salt and light which cause people to notice and
[00:17:48] Attract them to you, give you praise.
[00:17:51] Pray for our missionaries, Justin and Kristen, Rob and Sandy, all those on the mission field doing your work.
[00:17:59] Strengthen, encourage, prosper them.
[00:18:04] And help us see the hungry and the thirsty, the sick and the imprisoned, the hungry, the grieving, the lonely, the afraid, the doubting,
[00:18:19] Bring them to more security, to more safety, to better knowledge, to more confidence.
[00:18:25] Help us be part of that for them as you have picked us up and carried us and given us confidence and plenty.
[00:18:34] Help us bring you our five loaves and two fish.
[00:18:38] Watch you multiply them and use them for good.
[00:18:46] It's a great privilege to be your people.
[00:18:47] It's a great privilege to be part of your work.
[00:18:49] Set that in our hearts and minds.
[00:18:51] Enable us to embrace it and live it.
[00:18:54] We pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:18:58] Amen.
[00:19:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, see that baby, go into Bethlehem, see that child, go into Bethlehem, see that baby, go into Bethlehem, go to take a wife.
[00:19:39] Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take a bath Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem Go into Bethlehem
[00:19:57] We'll go over yonder and see the wise men On a journey they travel afar We'll go over yonder and see the wise men Led to Bethlehem by a star Go on to Bethlehem, see that baby
[00:20:13] Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take a bath Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem Go into Bethlehem
[00:20:29] Let's sing together.
[00:20:46] See that child going to Bethlehem See that baby going to Bethlehem Gonna take a bath I'm gonna sing heavenly melodies when I see that child I'm gonna sing heavenly melodies when I see that child
[00:21:12] I'm gonna shout shout shout hallelujah when I see that child I'm gonna shout shout shout hallelujah when I see that child Oh, going to Bethlehem, see that baby Going to Bethlehem, see that child Going to Bethlehem, see that baby
[00:21:36] Go on to Bethlehem, Go on to Bethlehem, Go on to Bethlehem Look over yonder and see the angels From the heavens they come to earth Look over yonder and see the angels Singing praises of a baby's birth
[00:21:57] Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take our blood
[00:22:17] See that baby going to Bethlehem See that child going to Bethlehem See that baby going to Bethlehem Gonna take a walk Going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem To see that going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem
[00:22:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Our children will now come forward and bring forth the Pennies for Hunger offering, half of which goes to FeedNC and the other half goes to a feeding program administered by Purity Ruchugo and Sister2Sister over in Kenya.
[00:23:16] and then there'll be some some other elders they'll come down and collect the morning offering so if our kids would come forward and collect that offering and then our ushers will do the same as always it's a great opportunity for all of us to consider all our many blessings and how we may use them in the service of our lord
[00:23:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:24:19] Amen.
[00:24:21] Let us pray.
[00:25:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Thank you.
[00:25:26] Thank you.
[00:25:29] Thank you.
[00:25:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:26:15] Let us pray.
[00:26:40] Let us pray.
[00:26:43] Let us pray.
[00:27:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray.
[00:28:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Matthew 11 is our text for the morning.
[00:28:45] Continue to look at how the prophets shape us here in the Christmas season.
[00:28:50] We'll continue into 2026, Lord willing, about what the prophets in general teach us.
[00:28:58] Thanks for being here.
[00:29:01] Finish off the year strong.
[00:29:02] Thank you.
[00:29:04] Week after Christmas, week after Easter, always, you know, had the high season, had the big high day.
[00:29:10] Now it's like, you know, figure out how to do it.
[00:29:12] So thanks for being here.
[00:29:14] Thanks for being here.
[00:29:16] So last time we saw John the Baptist, John the Baptist is going to be one of our key players in this text.
[00:29:21] Last time we saw John the Baptist, he was getting arrested for pointing out to Herod some certain aspects of gross immorality.
[00:29:29] Herod, not a great guy, and his children, talking to Herod's children at this point, also not great guys.
[00:29:35] And so he's imprisoned for telling the truth, and so he languishes in prison for some time.
[00:29:44] And so we have this reading from the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 11, verse 2.
[00:29:51] We'll pick up in verse 2.
[00:29:55] Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him,
[00:30:04] Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?
[00:30:07] I think it is reasonable and right for us to interpret in this that John has a question.
[00:30:13] John's not quite sure.
[00:30:15] John, who knows, knew from in his mother's womb.
[00:30:21] Here's the voice of Mary, and it's like excited as the text Luke tells us.
[00:30:27] He's hardcore.
[00:30:29] This is the one not worthy to untie his sandal.
[00:30:33] He gets sent to prison.
[00:30:34] I think it's very reasonable, appropriate, helps us rightly interpret the reading to say that John is expressing doubt or question.
[00:30:48] Because as we know from John's preaching, he was looking for, A, someone who's going to bring judgment,
[00:30:57] and particularly on the Romans and and everybody someone who is a little harder if you will someone who is a little bit more direct certainly all the Jewish people were looking for someone to kick the kick the Romans out and re-establish Israel as you know powerful nation at the very least running their own country and if not taking their place first among all the nations of the world
[00:31:24] And here's this guy, he just walks around and talks and does miracles, which are interesting, but not what they were expecting.
[00:31:33] He just talks and does miracles, helps a few people along the way.
[00:31:39] It gets people's attention.
[00:31:40] This is not what they had in mind.
[00:31:43] Are you the one who is to come or should we be looking for another?
[00:31:46] And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see.
[00:31:50] This should remind you of something we talked about about three weeks ago when Jesus begins his program in Luke 4 and quotes Isaiah, I've come to release the captives and set people free and things like that.
[00:32:07] Verse 4, Jesus answered them and said, Go tell John what you hear and see.
[00:32:10] The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.
[00:32:19] All of which is fantastic, not helping us with the Romans, not helping us with how we're being oppressed, not helping us with how our life isn't going the way we want.
[00:32:29] And I would argue that John is saying, quite frankly, I'm sitting here in jail, I was expecting more.
[00:32:36] I was expecting more.
[00:32:38] I was not expecting this.
[00:32:43] And so Jesus says in verse 6, And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
[00:32:48] We'll come back to that.
[00:32:51] Verse 7, As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John.
[00:32:56] What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
[00:33:01] A reed shaken by the wind?
[00:33:02] What then did you go to see?
[00:33:04] A man dressed in soft clothing?
[00:33:07] Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the king's houses.
[00:33:10] What did you go to see?
[00:33:11] They went to see a prophet.
[00:33:15] A prophet, yes, and I tell you more than a prophet.
[00:33:17] This is the one of whom it is written in the Old Testament, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, and will prepare your way before you.
[00:33:25] Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
[00:33:31] That's a pretty nice thing for Jesus to say.
[00:33:34] That's a pretty affirming thing for Jesus to say.
[00:33:39] It's a big deal for Jesus to talk about somebody like that.
[00:33:45] From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
[00:33:54] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah.
[00:34:00] He's the one you've been waiting for to come and tell you that the Messiah is coming.
[00:34:06] He is Elijah who is to come.
[00:34:09] He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
[00:34:12] That is the reading of God's word for the morning.
[00:34:14] Let us pray together.
[00:34:18] Almighty and everlasting God, we pray humbly that your Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that inspired the recording of these words, we pray he, your Holy Spirit, would be present with us as he has been and would now in a unique way be in our hearts and minds and souls, influencing us, showing us, teaching us what the word has to say, and enabling us then to live as the word teaches.
[00:34:38] Focus us then not on our flesh,
[00:34:42] But upon your body and our place in it, the work you have for us to do, the lives you want us to lead, we pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:34:49] Amen.
[00:34:52] I think it's fair to say that John the Baptist is doubting, which should make all of us feel good.
[00:35:02] You and I either have doubted, we are doubting, or we will doubt.
[00:35:07] What Jesus is doing, what Jesus is about, whether I've gotten this Jesus thing I've gotten into, should I get into it at all, but once I've gotten into it, is it working?
[00:35:17] Is this going to work?
[00:35:18] Is this going to work out for me?
[00:35:19] Is this the right thing to do?
[00:35:20] You know, when John asks, are you the one who is to come or should we be looking for another?
[00:35:26] That is a question at some level every human being asks.
[00:35:33] It is not just a question for Jews of that time.
[00:35:37] It is not just a question for us around Christmas or we consider Jesus.
[00:35:40] Here's the thing about human beings.
[00:35:43] What John is asking is, are you the one who's going to help me make it all make sense?
[00:35:48] Are you the one who's going to show me the way to the real life?
[00:35:51] Are you the one who's going to make me content and fulfilled?
[00:35:53] Are you the one who's going to make my life matter?
[00:35:56] Are you the one who's going to secure me and make me okay in this life and the next?
[00:36:00] All those kinds of things.
[00:36:02] That is what John is asking.
[00:36:03] And here's what's true about human beings.
[00:36:05] We all ask that.
[00:36:08] To borrow a phrase from another preacher, we all messiify something.
[00:36:16] We all look at something and say, are you this person?
[00:36:23] Are you this relationship?
[00:36:24] Are you this success?
[00:36:26] Are you this work?
[00:36:27] Are you this money?
[00:36:28] Are you this approval?
[00:36:31] If I can just get to here, I will be somebody.
[00:36:35] It will be okay.
[00:36:38] And if it's not working, it's like, should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:41] If this relationship doesn't provide it, if this success doesn't provide it, if this way of thinking or living doesn't provide it, should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:48] The human beings are constantly asking, is this the one?
[00:36:51] Is she the one?
[00:36:52] Is he the one?
[00:36:53] Is it the one?
[00:36:54] Is this the one?
[00:36:55] Or should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:59] John's question is the question we all ask all the time.
[00:37:04] And here's the other thing that happens.
[00:37:06] We struggle.
[00:37:08] This isn't working.
[00:37:10] This is what I expected.
[00:37:13] I think it should encourage us that John the Baptist, who Jesus says is a pretty big deal, he struggles.
[00:37:20] You struggle.
[00:37:22] I struggle.
[00:37:25] You're going to struggle in this life, in this flesh.
[00:37:30] You're not what we were looking for.
[00:37:34] Quite frankly, I was looking for a little bit more movement on elevating Israel, and quite frankly, I was looking for more judgment on the sinners.
[00:37:42] That's what John the Baptist was looking for.
[00:37:45] And Jesus comes and says, Hey, I'm doing exactly what I told you I was going to do.
[00:37:48] Good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, etc.
[00:37:55] John the Baptist is looking for what we're looking for.
[00:37:58] And kind of how we assume God is.
[00:38:01] God is strong.
[00:38:03] God will come strong.
[00:38:06] God will use his strength to lift up the right people, i.e.
[00:38:09] us.
[00:38:11] And he will use his strength to fix things.
[00:38:17] And Jesus is fixing some things, fixing some things for some individuals over here and doing some teaching.
[00:38:23] And John is sitting in prison.
[00:38:24] You know, John is probably saying, if I could, he says, I heard about that release to the captives.
[00:38:29] I'm ready to sign up for that.
[00:38:31] I'm ready to get out of prison.
[00:38:32] I would imagine sitting in prison hurts your confidence about, you know, am I on the right plan?
[00:38:38] Am I on the right path?
[00:38:39] Have I hooked my wagon to the right guy as I languish in prison?
[00:38:45] Or as we languish in whatever we may feel like we might be languishing in.
[00:38:49] It's not working.
[00:38:53] Jesus says, blessed are those who are not offended by me.
[00:38:58] And I would argue that he's, John the Baptist is, he's offended or he's, you know, the Greek there kind of says that don't, blessed are those who don't stumble because of the way I'm doing it.
[00:39:11] John the Baptist is not getting what he expected.
[00:39:12] I would argue that there are all kinds of times where we're not getting what we expected.
[00:39:15] We're good.
[00:39:16] We're trying to be good.
[00:39:17] And it's not working.
[00:39:23] Here's the first thing I like about Jesus' response.
[00:39:27] This is the Savior we need.
[00:39:28] Notice how he doesn't say, You tell John not to doubt me!
[00:39:32] Or rip his head off or something, you know?
[00:39:35] Notice how Jesus does not say, You can't doubt me.
[00:39:41] What are you doing doubting me?
[00:39:42] No one is better informed than John the Baptist, and he doubts.
[00:39:49] The Bible's full of people who doubt.
[00:39:51] The Bible's full of people who are mad.
[00:39:53] Lord, how long are you going to let this go on?
[00:39:55] Why don't you do this?
[00:39:59] I would love for our reputation to be, in part, doubters welcome, questioners welcome, the offended welcome.
[00:40:12] Because Jesus is, as we're about to find out, as we know, he says some kind of offensive stuff.
[00:40:18] Every one of us redeemed sinners knows that there are times when we're doubting and we're afraid.
[00:40:24] And Jesus said, come on in.
[00:40:27] Let's figure it out.
[00:40:30] And that's the kind of church we need to be.
[00:40:32] Come on in.
[00:40:33] We'll figure it out.
[00:40:35] Because Jesus doesn't have a problem with doubting and questioning.
[00:40:37] What he has a problem with is, you know, when we look at the Pharisees throughout his self-righteous, moralistic religion, nothing wrong with morals.
[00:40:45] We want to be good people.
[00:40:47] But self-righteous, superior to you, moralistic religion, that's his problem.
[00:40:50] Or, you know, kind of, yeah, or religion in name only, following me in name only, yep, you know, I come to worship, he says to people, that time the prophets are saying for centuries, you come to worship but it doesn't affect your lives.
[00:41:02] That's what he has a problem with.
[00:41:04] Not our doubts, not our questions, and frankly, not our anger.
[00:41:12] I love in this passage how Jesus has John the Baptist back.
[00:41:16] This is the Savior you need.
[00:41:19] John the Baptist says, I'm a little nervous, a little worried.
[00:41:24] And Jesus says, blessed are those who are not offended by me.
[00:41:27] And then he goes on to say, have you seen my boy John the Baptist?
[00:41:31] There's nobody better than him.
[00:41:33] Who did you go out to see?
[00:41:34] Did you go out to see just some talker that would be shaken by whatever was popular?
[00:41:40] Reed blown in the wind?
[00:41:41] No.
[00:41:41] Did you go to see some big deal that is influential because of his position?
[00:41:47] He's not rich.
[00:41:47] He's not powerful.
[00:41:48] You went out into the desert because you know why?
[00:41:50] What we're looking for is someone
[00:42:13] Like Jesus, what you have enjoyed in your life in the mentors or the teachers or the people who've made you better are people who both challenged you, blessed are those who are not offended by me, and who have your back.
[00:42:28] Have you seen my boy John the Baptist?
[00:42:29] He's quite something.
[00:42:32] You are both and.
[00:42:34] You and I are both and and Jesus knows it.
[00:42:37] And he knows we need to be challenged.
[00:42:38] He knows our doubts need to be heard.
[00:42:40] And it's like, stay with me.
[00:42:42] Stay with me.
[00:42:43] Trust it.
[00:42:45] And I believe in you and I know what you've got in you.
[00:42:48] That is exactly what he says about John the Baptist here.
[00:42:52] That's exactly who we need.
[00:42:56] We need to hear the things that he says that are going to offend us.
[00:43:04] Jesus warns us, don't be offended by me, because he says some pretty offensive stuff.
[00:43:09] Like, you're not good enough.
[00:43:14] Here's how you know you have real teachers.
[00:43:18] Here's how you know you have real coaches.
[00:43:20] Here's how you know you have somebody that's going to make you better.
[00:43:23] When you present what you've got, they go, that's not good enough.
[00:43:27] That is offensive to us.
[00:43:29] That is bothersome to us.
[00:43:32] Now, the people who do that and then say, I will walk with you and get you better, I got your back.
[00:43:40] That's who we're looking for.
[00:43:42] Jesus is the ultimate example of that, of someone who challenges you greatly.
[00:43:48] I'm not just a little teacher who you can pick and choose cafeteria-style what you like, what you don't like.
[00:43:54] You're either all in or not.
[00:43:56] I'm in control.
[00:43:57] You're lost and weak without me.
[00:43:59] Jesus says that.
[00:44:00] That offends us.
[00:44:01] He's offensive because he demands complete control.
[00:44:06] You may have spent some time with your family over the holidays.
[00:44:09] You may have been brought back into contact with people who like to take control and tell you what to do, that have to have it their way.
[00:44:18] It's your favorite part of the holidays, I would imagine.
[00:44:21] We do not like it when people come in and take control.
[00:44:26] Jesus Christ says, you know, you have to give me control.
[00:44:31] It's not your money.
[00:44:32] It's not your time.
[00:44:35] And if you want to be great, be a servant.
[00:44:38] That's bothersome to us.
[00:44:39] You know, we say, that won't work.
[00:44:41] That doesn't work.
[00:44:44] I'm helping all these needy people.
[00:44:45] Hey, tell John the Baptist what you see.
[00:44:47] I'm helping all these needy people.
[00:44:49] Get up and do the same.
[00:44:52] That doesn't sound very successful.
[00:44:53] Jesus says, I define success.
[00:44:56] You signed up with me, and when you signed up with me, you signed up to get out of hell.
[00:45:01] You did.
[00:45:02] We did.
[00:45:03] That's one of the reasons we signed up.
[00:45:05] Guess what?
[00:45:06] You're out.
[00:45:07] It's one of the great gifts of the gospel.
[00:45:10] Life here and eternal life outside of hell.
[00:45:12] Fantastic.
[00:45:14] Here's some of the other things you signed up for.
[00:45:17] For Jesus Christ to define success for you.
[00:45:23] For Jesus Christ to define the good life for you.
[00:45:26] Nobody does that for me except me.
[00:45:29] That's offensive that you would do that.
[00:45:31] Jesus says, that's what I'm doing, not, you know, just make your pick.
[00:45:35] He says, blessed are those who are not offended by me and follow me.
[00:45:43] And Jesus likes it, I would argue, when we get offended.
[00:45:51] Because he will say, now I've got to bring you around to my way of thinking, but at least you're getting it.
[00:45:59] At least you're getting when what I say bothers you, when what Jesus says bothers you, Jesus said.
[00:46:05] When I feel like you're crowding in on me, Jesus, Jesus is going, at least you're beginning to feel it now.
[00:46:13] If you are not feeling pressed upon by me, you're not listening to me, Jesus says.
[00:46:21] Jesus doesn't mind your offense, just like he doesn't mind John the Baptist's offense, just like he doesn't mind the questions that people throughout the Bible ask.
[00:46:30] Why are you doing it this way?
[00:46:31] How long is this gonna go on?
[00:46:34] When we feel this is changing me, when we feel this is pushing me in a direction I don't wanna go, Jesus is saying, at least you're getting it.
[00:46:45] If you think I'm nice and smooth, Jesus says, you're not listening to me.
[00:46:50] You're listening to this other idea that you expected me to be.
[00:46:54] You expected me to come up and show up and help you get what you wanted and agree with you.
[00:47:02] And the Jesus that we're going to try to follow in 2026 that we've been trying to follow is different from that.
[00:47:07] It's not what we expected.
[00:47:09] John's doubt comes from this Jesus is unexpected.
[00:47:14] And we say thank God.
[00:47:17] John the Baptist, big judgment guy.
[00:47:19] Jesus is coming in judgment.
[00:47:21] His first coming at Christmas, he comes in mercy.
[00:47:24] When he comes again, he will come in judgment.
[00:47:27] And he is telling us to prepare for the judgment.
[00:47:32] But before that, he's saying, I want everybody in who wants in.
[00:47:37] And here's what I'm going to do.
[00:47:38] You were looking for a king with a spear in his hand.
[00:47:45] To come get them in line and come get you what you wanted.
[00:47:50] Here is the king that I am.
[00:47:52] I am the king who's going to take a spear in my side and absorb the punishment you deserved.
[00:48:01] Because if we expect the God to come and clear out all the evil and destroy all the evil, there's a problem with that for us.
[00:48:13] And that is, we will go down with all the other evil.
[00:48:17] If the God we want is one who just comes and clears out the evil, then we will go down with it in our sin.
[00:48:28] The God who says, I see your evil and I still love you.
[00:48:31] I see your evil and I call you to be better.
[00:48:33] I see your evil and I will bear its punishment and I will go to the cross and I will go to hell for you to absorb the punishment you deserve.
[00:48:43] We didn't expect that.
[00:48:49] And we gladly celebrate that that's what we got.
[00:48:54] And then we understand as people of integrity that when you get that part that you didn't expect, this whole other thing about forgive 70 times 7, and if you want to be great, be a servant, and all that kind of stuff, it's a set.
[00:49:08] It comes together.
[00:49:10] And if we're going to honor the real Jesus...
[00:49:13] If we want the strength and victory of the real Jesus, we will work on embracing both.
[00:49:23] It really always gets down to what you want.
[00:49:26] Here's one of the marks, if I may, that's different between kids and adults.
[00:49:32] And we're mixed bags on this.
[00:49:35] Stacy and I, a few years ago, we just noticed that whenever we wanted something, we just got it.
[00:49:41] It's one of the perks of being adults.
[00:49:43] It's also one of the perks of being adults with, you know, no children in the house.
[00:49:46] All right?
[00:49:46] We just, when we wanted something, we just got it.
[00:49:51] And so four or five years ago, we said, you know, and we noticed that Christmas was getting too big or something like that.
[00:49:58] And so we said, you know what we're going to stop doing?
[00:50:00] We're going to stop buying each other presents.
[00:50:02] That'll be, you know, we're going to stop buying each other presents, which sounded great.
[00:50:08] I was like, after a couple years, I was like, I want presents, alright?
[00:50:12] I want presents.
[00:50:14] And she's like, this great gift giver, as a side note, she's this great gift giver, and it's like, she's like, spending all this energy, and I was like, watching what she gets on the field, I was like, God, that's fantastic.
[00:50:23] She thinks about it all year, she does it all year.
[00:50:25] You know, we'll be somewhere in May, she says, I'm getting so-and-so for this for Christmas, it's like, I would lose this by Labor Day, alright?
[00:50:34] So, I said, we're getting each other presents for Christmas this year.
[00:50:39] and we did and she was it was fantastic all right you had a very small budget it's fantastic and you know I didn't mess up either so I was pretty pumped about myself all right here's one of the differences between kids if you will and I would argue grown-ups grown-ups still want stuff for Christmas but if I could put it this way kids the important question is what do you want for Christmas
[00:51:05] And I would argue that grown-ups are more, what do I want to be in the new year?
[00:51:12] What plans do I want to make?
[00:51:13] What trips do I want to take?
[00:51:15] What do I want to change?
[00:51:16] What new habits?
[00:51:16] What old things do I want to get rid of?
[00:51:18] How do I want to get better?
[00:51:19] You know, the old song, if every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world it would be.
[00:51:25] If every two weeks of your life could be the first two weeks in January, what a wonderful life you would have.
[00:51:30] You'd be at the gym, you'd read through the Bible in six weeks.
[00:51:34] If the rest of the year could be like the first two weeks in January, what a wonderful life you would have.
[00:51:41] But I would argue, think about that for a second.
[00:51:44] Kids are what am I getting for Christmas?
[00:51:46] Adults are what do I want to be in the new year?
[00:51:49] It's all about what you want.
[00:51:51] We are what we want.
[00:51:55] I'm not talking about stuff.
[00:51:58] We are what we want.
[00:52:03] And one of my prayers for the new year, which I hope will extend beyond the first two weeks in January is,
[00:52:10] Lord God Almighty, make me trust the process.
[00:52:15] Make me trust the process you are putting me under.
[00:52:19] Make me trust the Jesus process.
[00:52:23] Because everything at which you are good now, which you weren't good before, there are things in your life
[00:52:32] Where you were not good and you either needed to become good to keep your job or to get through school or to make money or because you enjoyed it and wanted to you take lessons.
[00:52:42] You were once not good and you have become good.
[00:52:48] And I would argue that there are two things which are universal to almost all of those situations.
[00:52:57] One is you worked hard at it, good for you.
[00:53:01] You practiced, you studied, you grounded out.
[00:53:05] And the second thing at something where you wanted to get better and you got better is there was a master.
[00:53:14] A master math teacher, English teacher, music teacher, sports coach, guy at work, gal at work.
[00:53:23] There was a master who told you what you needed to do.
[00:53:30] And there were times in that process where you said, this is not working.
[00:53:34] This is not what I expected.
[00:53:35] This is harder than I expected.
[00:53:36] My progress is not as fast as I expected.
[00:53:41] And everything at which you got good, you worked and you trusted the process of the Master.
[00:53:50] And so while we roll out of 25 and into 26, and we consider our salvation, which is a pure and free gift,
[00:53:57] And we consider our salvation, we thank God, and then we say, how do I show you and how do I live into the fullness of this?
[00:54:06] What do I want?
[00:54:06] What do you want?
[00:54:08] Included in our prayers for what we want in the new year, let us pray for the ability to work hard at it and to trust the Master and trust the process.
[00:54:18] Because as we read today and as we know, so often it's not what we expect.
[00:54:25] We don't think it's going to work.
[00:54:29] And the great good news of the gospel is people looked at the crucifixion and they said, this isn't going to work.
[00:54:34] And then the resurrection happened and it worked.
[00:54:37] God has a plan.
[00:54:40] And if we will work at it and work in it and trust the process and trust the master, the offer of the gospel is it will work.
[00:54:47] It will work into turning you into the joy you want, the person you want to be, the blessing you want to be.
[00:54:54] It will very often be not what we expect and we will complain and we will be offended
[00:55:00] And we will say it's not working.
[00:55:02] And Jesus will look at us and he says, blessed are those who trust me and trust the process.
[00:55:10] And surround yourself with other people who trust me and trust the process.
[00:55:15] And I who began a good work in you, I will see it into completion.
[00:55:21] That's the offer of the new year.
[00:55:23] That's the offer of every day in the gospel.
[00:55:26] Embrace it.
[00:55:28] Embrace it every day.
[00:55:31] God promises that you will be glad you did.
[00:55:37] Let's pray together.
[00:55:40] Almighty and everlasting God, follow then, please, the preaching of your word with the blessing of your Holy Spirit.
[00:55:45] And where, if because of human error in the preacher, there may be something false or misleading in the preaching, cause that error to be quickly forgotten and do no harm.
[00:55:55] But if because of your grace working alone, there may be some truth in the preaching,
[00:56:01] Cause that truth to be burned into our hearts and minds and souls that your truth might lead us in the everlasting way.
[00:56:06] We pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:56:09] Amen.
[00:56:11] Jesus said, He who acknowledges me before the world, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
[00:56:15] We acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Lord by the way we live day in, day out.
[00:56:19] That we might be reminded of the great privilege and responsibility that we have to live in such a way that everyone knows that Jesus is our Lord, and that we might practice doing it.
[00:56:27] In church, we stand together and say the words of the Apostles' Creed.
[00:56:29] So let's do that now.
[00:56:30] Let's stand together, please.
[00:56:35] And before God in the world, let us confess in whom we believe.
[00:56:39] I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
[00:56:48] who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
[00:56:58] He descended into heaven.
[00:57:00] The third day he rose again from the dead.
[00:57:04] He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:57:10] From this he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:57:14] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting.
[00:57:27] Amen.
[00:57:27] Our final hymn is 138.
[00:57:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:58:01] Amen.
[00:58:37] In the shepherds we have trampled,
[00:59:20] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
And a little holy nature
[01:00:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
The message of Christmas is always a fantastic Savior has been born for you and lives the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died that we may have hope and confidence and strength when things are great, we're sitting in jail, some equivalent in life, when we doubt he's there, excuse me, when we're rolling he's there and when we doubt I would argue he's there even more.
[01:00:26] You have a Savior who demands a lot of you, who expects a lot of you, and empowers you, and has your back when you fail, and will see you to completion.
[01:00:37] We are what we want.
[01:00:40] What we want for ourselves, for our family, for our church, for whatever we're involved in, in the coming year.
[01:00:47] Let us pray that we would want what God wants, let us listen for what He wants, let us chase after what He wants, and trust that when we chase that,
[01:00:56] We'll find what we've been looking for.
[01:00:58] We'll find what satisfies us.
[01:00:59] We'll find what pleases Him and what enables us to bless those around us.
[01:01:04] Trust Him.
[01:01:05] Trust the process.
[01:01:07] He loves you enough to die for you.
[01:01:11] As you go, my friends, may the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit may rest and remain with each of you this day and always.
[01:01:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
All praise to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
[01:01:47] As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
[01:02:05] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray
.
[00:00:26] .
[00:00:26] .
[00:00:28] She's talking now.
[00:01:02] It's been a nice week.
[00:01:23] Chalice, Iscariot, Pilate, Alpha, Thessalonians, Thessalonians, Thessalonians, Thessalonians
[00:01:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
[00:02:22] Let us pray.
[00:02:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning.
[00:03:00] Welcome everyone to worship this morning at Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:03:05] Glad everybody's here.
[00:03:06] We pray as always this will be an opportunity for all of us to worship our Lord in spirit and in truth.
[00:03:12] Announcement, we've got an announcement to make and then some changes to the agenda.
[00:03:19] So we are taking down the Christmas decorations after worship this morning.
[00:03:24] The worship committee will be doing that.
[00:03:26] Anyone who would like to stay and be a part of that?
[00:03:30] You would be greatly, it would be greatly appreciated.
[00:03:32] The more people here, the more fun we will have for less of a time.
[00:03:37] So a double win.
[00:03:39] So anybody wants to stay, Karen Cornett will be making that happen, leading that charge.
[00:03:44] And so she will be happy to give you something to do.
[00:03:48] So we'll do that after worship today.
[00:03:51] And then if you get your bulletins out, which I probably already have, I would like to note that the bulletin is at least 98 to 99% correct.
[00:04:01] However, there are some key changes that we need to make.
[00:04:04] Number one is on your schedule on New Year's Eve, Wednesday the 31st,
[00:04:11] It would probably be a great idea to have a communion service at 9 o'clock on New Year's Eve, but we will not be doing that this week.
[00:04:19] That will not be happening.
[00:04:21] We will talk about that happening another year.
[00:04:23] So that is not happening.
[00:04:24] So if you just strike that.
[00:04:26] And then if you will go to your bulletin.
[00:04:31] About a halfway down, ordination installation of the class of 2028 elders.
[00:04:36] That is not happening today.
[00:04:38] That's a mistake.
[00:04:39] I apologize for that.
[00:04:40] But if you want to just take that and then right up above prelude, the congregational meeting that we've been planning on having for two weeks, properly announced, is going to happen directly.
[00:04:53] Okay?
[00:04:54] So that's what will happen then.
[00:04:55] So...
[00:04:59] Before the worship of our Lord, we'll do our worship service.
[00:05:02] We have a brief congregational meeting, which I'm now calling to order and asking our clerk of session, Campbell Donaldson, to take appropriate notes for this meeting.
[00:05:11] Let us pray together.
[00:05:13] Mighty God, thanks for great Christmas, coming new year, all your many blessings.
[00:05:19] We have some business of this congregation to attend to.
[00:05:23] We pray your Holy Spirit would be with us to attend to this business well.
[00:05:29] So guide our decisions, and thank you for the privilege of being in this congregation.
[00:05:33] We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
[00:05:36] As announced, there is a congregational meeting for the election of our new elders.
[00:05:44] We will be electing five for the class of 2028 that will serve a three-year term.
[00:05:52] Three elders are ineligible to serve another term, and we thank them for their service.
[00:05:59] Those folks from the Class of 2025 are Dale Burgess, Joy Miller, Johnny Wilkinson.
[00:06:08] We thank them for their service.
[00:06:10] I've been authorized by the nominating committee to put into nomination two elders from the Class of 2025.
[00:06:18] Who are eligible to serve a next term and they have graciously agreed and they are Bill Hart and Lee Williams.
[00:06:26] So on your slate of elders will be Bill Hart and Lee Williams and three individuals brought to us from the nominating committee and they are Nick Johnston, Shannon Knox, and Walter Teeter.
[00:06:41] So on behalf of that committee, the nominating committee, I'm placing those five nations, those five names into nomination for elder to serve a three-year term ending December 31, 2028.
[00:06:54] We now open the floor to other nominations.
[00:07:04] Hearing none, we will entertain a motion to close nominations from the floor and elect this slate of elders by acclamation.
[00:07:13] Do I have such a motion?
[00:07:16] So moved from John Edmiston.
[00:07:17] I second on that.
[00:07:19] Second on that from Rick Lyerly.
[00:07:22] Any discussion on that?
[00:07:24] All those in favor, please say aye.
[00:07:28] Aye.
[00:07:28] All opposed, no.
[00:07:31] Very good.
[00:07:32] Is there any other business which, as we are gathered for meeting, that anyone would like to bring before this congregation?
[00:07:40] Hearing none, let us pray together.
[00:07:43] Almighty and everlasting God, thanks for the work of this church.
[00:07:46] We thank you for the elders who are serving, who have ever served in the past.
[00:07:52] There are elders yet to come.
[00:07:55] Specifically, for the work of Dale and Joy and Johnny, we thank you for their energy and effort, their leadership, for the new folks coming, and for those who have signed on to continue to serve.
[00:08:12] For Bill and Lee and Nick and Shannon and Walter, we pray your blessing upon them that they might lead this congregation in a way that pleases you.
[00:08:23] We thank you for the work that is before us all.
[00:08:26] Help us do it well.
[00:08:30] We pray all these things asking your mercy in Jesus' name.
[00:08:33] Amen.
[00:08:34] Thank you for your time this morning.
[00:08:35] Let us now prepare our hearts and minds for the worship of our Lord.
[00:09:21] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:09:55] Let us pray.
[00:10:54] Let us pray.
[00:11:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray together.
[00:11:26] Almighty and everlasting God, we're privileged and pleased to be here this morning, ending one year, looking forward to a new year, as your grace allows.
[00:11:36] In all days and all ways, we want to be found faithful.
[00:11:40] Thanks for bringing us here.
[00:11:43] It matters.
[00:11:45] It matters how we go from this place and into the week and into the year so Holy Spirit be with us not only in this hour but as we move forward that we might live out the privilege of being enjoying the life you have given us and enjoying the salvation you have given us and enjoying the work that you have given us in our lives and to do it well to enjoy the blessings you've given us make us a thankful people
[00:12:12] Make us a generous people, a hopeful people, an obedient people that we may be found faithful with the life and the hope and the purpose you've given us.
[00:12:24] There are times and places where we have not been faithful.
[00:12:26] We are sinners.
[00:12:27] Have mercy on us.
[00:12:29] Change us.
[00:12:30] Make us hate our sin.
[00:12:31] Change us into the people you want us to be.
[00:12:33] Keep working on us.
[00:12:36] Help us trust you'll bring that work to completion.
[00:12:40] Receive our worship in this hour and in the week to come.
[00:12:43] We pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:12:47] And hear us now please as we pray together the prayer our Lord taught his disciples.
[00:12:52] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:12:57] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:13:04] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts
[00:13:09] As we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
[00:13:18] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:13:23] Amen.
[00:13:24] Our opening hymn for the morning is 151.
[00:13:28] Stand again as we sing, please.
[00:13:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
The Christian men rejoice With heart and soul and voice In need to what we say Used, used, Jesus Christ is born today
[00:14:03] And as before him bow, and he is in the manger now, Christ is born today, Christ is born today.
[00:14:28] Lift wrists again, rejoice, with arms and song and voice,
[00:14:30] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:14:44] Amen.
[00:14:59] Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice.
[00:15:21] Now ye need not fear the grave.
[00:15:21] Peace, peace, Jesus Christ was born to save.
[00:15:22] All to one and all to one.
[00:15:23] Please be seated and let us embrace the opportunity to pray for other people.
[00:15:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let us pray together.
[00:15:50] Mighty and everlasting God, thank you for how you've blessed us.
[00:15:56] We pray that we would be so moved to not only enjoy our blessings, which is our great privilege and part of why you give them, but also to be a blessing to other people with the time and the energy and the money and the love and the passion and the talent you've given us.
[00:16:16] You've blessed us in order to be a blessing.
[00:16:19] So help us figure out how to do that.
[00:16:22] Open our eyes to the opportunities.
[00:16:23] Move our hearts to want to enjoy it.
[00:16:32] Cause making you happy to be a great source of joy for us.
[00:16:39] Cause imitating the way and the tone and the commandment of Jesus Christ
[00:16:49] Cause us to see doing that great joy for us.
[00:16:55] Cause us to remember we have had burdens and people have helped us carry our burdens and how we've appreciated it.
[00:17:03] So to that end, we pray for your church to get the gospel out in a way that pleases you.
[00:17:08] We start with ourselves.
[00:17:10] We move to your church throughout the community and the world.
[00:17:13] Bless it.
[00:17:15] Prosper the other congregations.
[00:17:17] Help them do well.
[00:17:19] All on the same team.
[00:17:24] Help us carry our end well.
[00:17:28] There's people you put in our paths individually and as a church.
[00:17:32] We are unique in the opportunity to help.
[00:17:37] To share the gospel.
[00:17:39] Help us all have an explanation for the hope that is in us to anyone who asks.
[00:17:42] Help us live lives of salt and light which cause people to notice and
[00:17:48] Attract them to you, give you praise.
[00:17:51] Pray for our missionaries, Justin and Kristen, Rob and Sandy, all those on the mission field doing your work.
[00:17:59] Strengthen, encourage, prosper them.
[00:18:04] And help us see the hungry and the thirsty, the sick and the imprisoned, the hungry, the grieving, the lonely, the afraid, the doubting,
[00:18:19] Bring them to more security, to more safety, to better knowledge, to more confidence.
[00:18:25] Help us be part of that for them as you have picked us up and carried us and given us confidence and plenty.
[00:18:34] Help us bring you our five loaves and two fish.
[00:18:38] Watch you multiply them and use them for good.
[00:18:46] It's a great privilege to be your people.
[00:18:47] It's a great privilege to be part of your work.
[00:18:49] Set that in our hearts and minds.
[00:18:51] Enable us to embrace it and live it.
[00:18:54] We pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:18:58] Amen.
[00:19:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem, see that baby, go into Bethlehem, see that child, go into Bethlehem, see that baby, go into Bethlehem, go to take a wife.
[00:19:39] Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take a bath Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem Go into Bethlehem
[00:19:57] We'll go over yonder and see the wise men On a journey they travel afar We'll go over yonder and see the wise men Led to Bethlehem by a star Go on to Bethlehem, see that baby
[00:20:13] Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take a bath Go into Bethlehem, go into Bethlehem Go into Bethlehem
[00:20:29] Let's sing together.
[00:20:46] See that child going to Bethlehem See that baby going to Bethlehem Gonna take a bath I'm gonna sing heavenly melodies when I see that child I'm gonna sing heavenly melodies when I see that child
[00:21:12] I'm gonna shout shout shout hallelujah when I see that child I'm gonna shout shout shout hallelujah when I see that child Oh, going to Bethlehem, see that baby Going to Bethlehem, see that child Going to Bethlehem, see that baby
[00:21:36] Go on to Bethlehem, Go on to Bethlehem, Go on to Bethlehem Look over yonder and see the angels From the heavens they come to earth Look over yonder and see the angels Singing praises of a baby's birth
[00:21:57] Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, see that child Go into Bethlehem, see that baby Go into Bethlehem, gonna take our blood
[00:22:17] See that baby going to Bethlehem See that child going to Bethlehem See that baby going to Bethlehem Gonna take a walk Going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem To see that going to Bethlehem Going to Bethlehem
[00:22:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Our children will now come forward and bring forth the Pennies for Hunger offering, half of which goes to FeedNC and the other half goes to a feeding program administered by Purity Ruchugo and Sister2Sister over in Kenya.
[00:23:16] and then there'll be some some other elders they'll come down and collect the morning offering so if our kids would come forward and collect that offering and then our ushers will do the same as always it's a great opportunity for all of us to consider all our many blessings and how we may use them in the service of our lord
[00:23:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:24:19] Amen.
[00:24:21] Let us pray.
[00:25:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Thank you.
[00:25:26] Thank you.
[00:25:29] Thank you.
[00:25:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:26:15] Let us pray.
[00:26:40] Let us pray.
[00:26:43] Let us pray.
[00:27:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray.
[00:28:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Matthew 11 is our text for the morning.
[00:28:45] Continue to look at how the prophets shape us here in the Christmas season.
[00:28:50] We'll continue into 2026, Lord willing, about what the prophets in general teach us.
[00:28:58] Thanks for being here.
[00:29:01] Finish off the year strong.
[00:29:02] Thank you.
[00:29:04] Week after Christmas, week after Easter, always, you know, had the high season, had the big high day.
[00:29:10] Now it's like, you know, figure out how to do it.
[00:29:12] So thanks for being here.
[00:29:14] Thanks for being here.
[00:29:16] So last time we saw John the Baptist, John the Baptist is going to be one of our key players in this text.
[00:29:21] Last time we saw John the Baptist, he was getting arrested for pointing out to Herod some certain aspects of gross immorality.
[00:29:29] Herod, not a great guy, and his children, talking to Herod's children at this point, also not great guys.
[00:29:35] And so he's imprisoned for telling the truth, and so he languishes in prison for some time.
[00:29:44] And so we have this reading from the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 11, verse 2.
[00:29:51] We'll pick up in verse 2.
[00:29:55] Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him,
[00:30:04] Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?
[00:30:07] I think it is reasonable and right for us to interpret in this that John has a question.
[00:30:13] John's not quite sure.
[00:30:15] John, who knows, knew from in his mother's womb.
[00:30:21] Here's the voice of Mary, and it's like excited as the text Luke tells us.
[00:30:27] He's hardcore.
[00:30:29] This is the one not worthy to untie his sandal.
[00:30:33] He gets sent to prison.
[00:30:34] I think it's very reasonable, appropriate, helps us rightly interpret the reading to say that John is expressing doubt or question.
[00:30:48] Because as we know from John's preaching, he was looking for, A, someone who's going to bring judgment,
[00:30:57] and particularly on the Romans and and everybody someone who is a little harder if you will someone who is a little bit more direct certainly all the Jewish people were looking for someone to kick the kick the Romans out and re-establish Israel as you know powerful nation at the very least running their own country and if not taking their place first among all the nations of the world
[00:31:24] And here's this guy, he just walks around and talks and does miracles, which are interesting, but not what they were expecting.
[00:31:33] He just talks and does miracles, helps a few people along the way.
[00:31:39] It gets people's attention.
[00:31:40] This is not what they had in mind.
[00:31:43] Are you the one who is to come or should we be looking for another?
[00:31:46] And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see.
[00:31:50] This should remind you of something we talked about about three weeks ago when Jesus begins his program in Luke 4 and quotes Isaiah, I've come to release the captives and set people free and things like that.
[00:32:07] Verse 4, Jesus answered them and said, Go tell John what you hear and see.
[00:32:10] The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.
[00:32:19] All of which is fantastic, not helping us with the Romans, not helping us with how we're being oppressed, not helping us with how our life isn't going the way we want.
[00:32:29] And I would argue that John is saying, quite frankly, I'm sitting here in jail, I was expecting more.
[00:32:36] I was expecting more.
[00:32:38] I was not expecting this.
[00:32:43] And so Jesus says in verse 6, And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
[00:32:48] We'll come back to that.
[00:32:51] Verse 7, As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John.
[00:32:56] What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
[00:33:01] A reed shaken by the wind?
[00:33:02] What then did you go to see?
[00:33:04] A man dressed in soft clothing?
[00:33:07] Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the king's houses.
[00:33:10] What did you go to see?
[00:33:11] They went to see a prophet.
[00:33:15] A prophet, yes, and I tell you more than a prophet.
[00:33:17] This is the one of whom it is written in the Old Testament, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, and will prepare your way before you.
[00:33:25] Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
[00:33:31] That's a pretty nice thing for Jesus to say.
[00:33:34] That's a pretty affirming thing for Jesus to say.
[00:33:39] It's a big deal for Jesus to talk about somebody like that.
[00:33:45] From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
[00:33:54] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah.
[00:34:00] He's the one you've been waiting for to come and tell you that the Messiah is coming.
[00:34:06] He is Elijah who is to come.
[00:34:09] He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
[00:34:12] That is the reading of God's word for the morning.
[00:34:14] Let us pray together.
[00:34:18] Almighty and everlasting God, we pray humbly that your Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that inspired the recording of these words, we pray he, your Holy Spirit, would be present with us as he has been and would now in a unique way be in our hearts and minds and souls, influencing us, showing us, teaching us what the word has to say, and enabling us then to live as the word teaches.
[00:34:38] Focus us then not on our flesh,
[00:34:42] But upon your body and our place in it, the work you have for us to do, the lives you want us to lead, we pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:34:49] Amen.
[00:34:52] I think it's fair to say that John the Baptist is doubting, which should make all of us feel good.
[00:35:02] You and I either have doubted, we are doubting, or we will doubt.
[00:35:07] What Jesus is doing, what Jesus is about, whether I've gotten this Jesus thing I've gotten into, should I get into it at all, but once I've gotten into it, is it working?
[00:35:17] Is this going to work?
[00:35:18] Is this going to work out for me?
[00:35:19] Is this the right thing to do?
[00:35:20] You know, when John asks, are you the one who is to come or should we be looking for another?
[00:35:26] That is a question at some level every human being asks.
[00:35:33] It is not just a question for Jews of that time.
[00:35:37] It is not just a question for us around Christmas or we consider Jesus.
[00:35:40] Here's the thing about human beings.
[00:35:43] What John is asking is, are you the one who's going to help me make it all make sense?
[00:35:48] Are you the one who's going to show me the way to the real life?
[00:35:51] Are you the one who's going to make me content and fulfilled?
[00:35:53] Are you the one who's going to make my life matter?
[00:35:56] Are you the one who's going to secure me and make me okay in this life and the next?
[00:36:00] All those kinds of things.
[00:36:02] That is what John is asking.
[00:36:03] And here's what's true about human beings.
[00:36:05] We all ask that.
[00:36:08] To borrow a phrase from another preacher, we all messiify something.
[00:36:16] We all look at something and say, are you this person?
[00:36:23] Are you this relationship?
[00:36:24] Are you this success?
[00:36:26] Are you this work?
[00:36:27] Are you this money?
[00:36:28] Are you this approval?
[00:36:31] If I can just get to here, I will be somebody.
[00:36:35] It will be okay.
[00:36:38] And if it's not working, it's like, should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:41] If this relationship doesn't provide it, if this success doesn't provide it, if this way of thinking or living doesn't provide it, should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:48] The human beings are constantly asking, is this the one?
[00:36:51] Is she the one?
[00:36:52] Is he the one?
[00:36:53] Is it the one?
[00:36:54] Is this the one?
[00:36:55] Or should I be looking for something else?
[00:36:59] John's question is the question we all ask all the time.
[00:37:04] And here's the other thing that happens.
[00:37:06] We struggle.
[00:37:08] This isn't working.
[00:37:10] This is what I expected.
[00:37:13] I think it should encourage us that John the Baptist, who Jesus says is a pretty big deal, he struggles.
[00:37:20] You struggle.
[00:37:22] I struggle.
[00:37:25] You're going to struggle in this life, in this flesh.
[00:37:30] You're not what we were looking for.
[00:37:34] Quite frankly, I was looking for a little bit more movement on elevating Israel, and quite frankly, I was looking for more judgment on the sinners.
[00:37:42] That's what John the Baptist was looking for.
[00:37:45] And Jesus comes and says, Hey, I'm doing exactly what I told you I was going to do.
[00:37:48] Good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, etc.
[00:37:55] John the Baptist is looking for what we're looking for.
[00:37:58] And kind of how we assume God is.
[00:38:01] God is strong.
[00:38:03] God will come strong.
[00:38:06] God will use his strength to lift up the right people, i.e.
[00:38:09] us.
[00:38:11] And he will use his strength to fix things.
[00:38:17] And Jesus is fixing some things, fixing some things for some individuals over here and doing some teaching.
[00:38:23] And John is sitting in prison.
[00:38:24] You know, John is probably saying, if I could, he says, I heard about that release to the captives.
[00:38:29] I'm ready to sign up for that.
[00:38:31] I'm ready to get out of prison.
[00:38:32] I would imagine sitting in prison hurts your confidence about, you know, am I on the right plan?
[00:38:38] Am I on the right path?
[00:38:39] Have I hooked my wagon to the right guy as I languish in prison?
[00:38:45] Or as we languish in whatever we may feel like we might be languishing in.
[00:38:49] It's not working.
[00:38:53] Jesus says, blessed are those who are not offended by me.
[00:38:58] And I would argue that he's, John the Baptist is, he's offended or he's, you know, the Greek there kind of says that don't, blessed are those who don't stumble because of the way I'm doing it.
[00:39:11] John the Baptist is not getting what he expected.
[00:39:12] I would argue that there are all kinds of times where we're not getting what we expected.
[00:39:15] We're good.
[00:39:16] We're trying to be good.
[00:39:17] And it's not working.
[00:39:23] Here's the first thing I like about Jesus' response.
[00:39:27] This is the Savior we need.
[00:39:28] Notice how he doesn't say, You tell John not to doubt me!
[00:39:32] Or rip his head off or something, you know?
[00:39:35] Notice how Jesus does not say, You can't doubt me.
[00:39:41] What are you doing doubting me?
[00:39:42] No one is better informed than John the Baptist, and he doubts.
[00:39:49] The Bible's full of people who doubt.
[00:39:51] The Bible's full of people who are mad.
[00:39:53] Lord, how long are you going to let this go on?
[00:39:55] Why don't you do this?
[00:39:59] I would love for our reputation to be, in part, doubters welcome, questioners welcome, the offended welcome.
[00:40:12] Because Jesus is, as we're about to find out, as we know, he says some kind of offensive stuff.
[00:40:18] Every one of us redeemed sinners knows that there are times when we're doubting and we're afraid.
[00:40:24] And Jesus said, come on in.
[00:40:27] Let's figure it out.
[00:40:30] And that's the kind of church we need to be.
[00:40:32] Come on in.
[00:40:33] We'll figure it out.
[00:40:35] Because Jesus doesn't have a problem with doubting and questioning.
[00:40:37] What he has a problem with is, you know, when we look at the Pharisees throughout his self-righteous, moralistic religion, nothing wrong with morals.
[00:40:45] We want to be good people.
[00:40:47] But self-righteous, superior to you, moralistic religion, that's his problem.
[00:40:50] Or, you know, kind of, yeah, or religion in name only, following me in name only, yep, you know, I come to worship, he says to people, that time the prophets are saying for centuries, you come to worship but it doesn't affect your lives.
[00:41:02] That's what he has a problem with.
[00:41:04] Not our doubts, not our questions, and frankly, not our anger.
[00:41:12] I love in this passage how Jesus has John the Baptist back.
[00:41:16] This is the Savior you need.
[00:41:19] John the Baptist says, I'm a little nervous, a little worried.
[00:41:24] And Jesus says, blessed are those who are not offended by me.
[00:41:27] And then he goes on to say, have you seen my boy John the Baptist?
[00:41:31] There's nobody better than him.
[00:41:33] Who did you go out to see?
[00:41:34] Did you go out to see just some talker that would be shaken by whatever was popular?
[00:41:40] Reed blown in the wind?
[00:41:41] No.
[00:41:41] Did you go to see some big deal that is influential because of his position?
[00:41:47] He's not rich.
[00:41:47] He's not powerful.
[00:41:48] You went out into the desert because you know why?
[00:41:50] What we're looking for is someone
[00:42:13] Like Jesus, what you have enjoyed in your life in the mentors or the teachers or the people who've made you better are people who both challenged you, blessed are those who are not offended by me, and who have your back.
[00:42:28] Have you seen my boy John the Baptist?
[00:42:29] He's quite something.
[00:42:32] You are both and.
[00:42:34] You and I are both and and Jesus knows it.
[00:42:37] And he knows we need to be challenged.
[00:42:38] He knows our doubts need to be heard.
[00:42:40] And it's like, stay with me.
[00:42:42] Stay with me.
[00:42:43] Trust it.
[00:42:45] And I believe in you and I know what you've got in you.
[00:42:48] That is exactly what he says about John the Baptist here.
[00:42:52] That's exactly who we need.
[00:42:56] We need to hear the things that he says that are going to offend us.
[00:43:04] Jesus warns us, don't be offended by me, because he says some pretty offensive stuff.
[00:43:09] Like, you're not good enough.
[00:43:14] Here's how you know you have real teachers.
[00:43:18] Here's how you know you have real coaches.
[00:43:20] Here's how you know you have somebody that's going to make you better.
[00:43:23] When you present what you've got, they go, that's not good enough.
[00:43:27] That is offensive to us.
[00:43:29] That is bothersome to us.
[00:43:32] Now, the people who do that and then say, I will walk with you and get you better, I got your back.
[00:43:40] That's who we're looking for.
[00:43:42] Jesus is the ultimate example of that, of someone who challenges you greatly.
[00:43:48] I'm not just a little teacher who you can pick and choose cafeteria-style what you like, what you don't like.
[00:43:54] You're either all in or not.
[00:43:56] I'm in control.
[00:43:57] You're lost and weak without me.
[00:43:59] Jesus says that.
[00:44:00] That offends us.
[00:44:01] He's offensive because he demands complete control.
[00:44:06] You may have spent some time with your family over the holidays.
[00:44:09] You may have been brought back into contact with people who like to take control and tell you what to do, that have to have it their way.
[00:44:18] It's your favorite part of the holidays, I would imagine.
[00:44:21] We do not like it when people come in and take control.
[00:44:26] Jesus Christ says, you know, you have to give me control.
[00:44:31] It's not your money.
[00:44:32] It's not your time.
[00:44:35] And if you want to be great, be a servant.
[00:44:38] That's bothersome to us.
[00:44:39] You know, we say, that won't work.
[00:44:41] That doesn't work.
[00:44:44] I'm helping all these needy people.
[00:44:45] Hey, tell John the Baptist what you see.
[00:44:47] I'm helping all these needy people.
[00:44:49] Get up and do the same.
[00:44:52] That doesn't sound very successful.
[00:44:53] Jesus says, I define success.
[00:44:56] You signed up with me, and when you signed up with me, you signed up to get out of hell.
[00:45:01] You did.
[00:45:02] We did.
[00:45:03] That's one of the reasons we signed up.
[00:45:05] Guess what?
[00:45:06] You're out.
[00:45:07] It's one of the great gifts of the gospel.
[00:45:10] Life here and eternal life outside of hell.
[00:45:12] Fantastic.
[00:45:14] Here's some of the other things you signed up for.
[00:45:17] For Jesus Christ to define success for you.
[00:45:23] For Jesus Christ to define the good life for you.
[00:45:26] Nobody does that for me except me.
[00:45:29] That's offensive that you would do that.
[00:45:31] Jesus says, that's what I'm doing, not, you know, just make your pick.
[00:45:35] He says, blessed are those who are not offended by me and follow me.
[00:45:43] And Jesus likes it, I would argue, when we get offended.
[00:45:51] Because he will say, now I've got to bring you around to my way of thinking, but at least you're getting it.
[00:45:59] At least you're getting when what I say bothers you, when what Jesus says bothers you, Jesus said.
[00:46:05] When I feel like you're crowding in on me, Jesus, Jesus is going, at least you're beginning to feel it now.
[00:46:13] If you are not feeling pressed upon by me, you're not listening to me, Jesus says.
[00:46:21] Jesus doesn't mind your offense, just like he doesn't mind John the Baptist's offense, just like he doesn't mind the questions that people throughout the Bible ask.
[00:46:30] Why are you doing it this way?
[00:46:31] How long is this gonna go on?
[00:46:34] When we feel this is changing me, when we feel this is pushing me in a direction I don't wanna go, Jesus is saying, at least you're getting it.
[00:46:45] If you think I'm nice and smooth, Jesus says, you're not listening to me.
[00:46:50] You're listening to this other idea that you expected me to be.
[00:46:54] You expected me to come up and show up and help you get what you wanted and agree with you.
[00:47:02] And the Jesus that we're going to try to follow in 2026 that we've been trying to follow is different from that.
[00:47:07] It's not what we expected.
[00:47:09] John's doubt comes from this Jesus is unexpected.
[00:47:14] And we say thank God.
[00:47:17] John the Baptist, big judgment guy.
[00:47:19] Jesus is coming in judgment.
[00:47:21] His first coming at Christmas, he comes in mercy.
[00:47:24] When he comes again, he will come in judgment.
[00:47:27] And he is telling us to prepare for the judgment.
[00:47:32] But before that, he's saying, I want everybody in who wants in.
[00:47:37] And here's what I'm going to do.
[00:47:38] You were looking for a king with a spear in his hand.
[00:47:45] To come get them in line and come get you what you wanted.
[00:47:50] Here is the king that I am.
[00:47:52] I am the king who's going to take a spear in my side and absorb the punishment you deserved.
[00:48:01] Because if we expect the God to come and clear out all the evil and destroy all the evil, there's a problem with that for us.
[00:48:13] And that is, we will go down with all the other evil.
[00:48:17] If the God we want is one who just comes and clears out the evil, then we will go down with it in our sin.
[00:48:28] The God who says, I see your evil and I still love you.
[00:48:31] I see your evil and I call you to be better.
[00:48:33] I see your evil and I will bear its punishment and I will go to the cross and I will go to hell for you to absorb the punishment you deserve.
[00:48:43] We didn't expect that.
[00:48:49] And we gladly celebrate that that's what we got.
[00:48:54] And then we understand as people of integrity that when you get that part that you didn't expect, this whole other thing about forgive 70 times 7, and if you want to be great, be a servant, and all that kind of stuff, it's a set.
[00:49:08] It comes together.
[00:49:10] And if we're going to honor the real Jesus...
[00:49:13] If we want the strength and victory of the real Jesus, we will work on embracing both.
[00:49:23] It really always gets down to what you want.
[00:49:26] Here's one of the marks, if I may, that's different between kids and adults.
[00:49:32] And we're mixed bags on this.
[00:49:35] Stacy and I, a few years ago, we just noticed that whenever we wanted something, we just got it.
[00:49:41] It's one of the perks of being adults.
[00:49:43] It's also one of the perks of being adults with, you know, no children in the house.
[00:49:46] All right?
[00:49:46] We just, when we wanted something, we just got it.
[00:49:51] And so four or five years ago, we said, you know, and we noticed that Christmas was getting too big or something like that.
[00:49:58] And so we said, you know what we're going to stop doing?
[00:50:00] We're going to stop buying each other presents.
[00:50:02] That'll be, you know, we're going to stop buying each other presents, which sounded great.
[00:50:08] I was like, after a couple years, I was like, I want presents, alright?
[00:50:12] I want presents.
[00:50:14] And she's like, this great gift giver, as a side note, she's this great gift giver, and it's like, she's like, spending all this energy, and I was like, watching what she gets on the field, I was like, God, that's fantastic.
[00:50:23] She thinks about it all year, she does it all year.
[00:50:25] You know, we'll be somewhere in May, she says, I'm getting so-and-so for this for Christmas, it's like, I would lose this by Labor Day, alright?
[00:50:34] So, I said, we're getting each other presents for Christmas this year.
[00:50:39] and we did and she was it was fantastic all right you had a very small budget it's fantastic and you know I didn't mess up either so I was pretty pumped about myself all right here's one of the differences between kids if you will and I would argue grown-ups grown-ups still want stuff for Christmas but if I could put it this way kids the important question is what do you want for Christmas
[00:51:05] And I would argue that grown-ups are more, what do I want to be in the new year?
[00:51:12] What plans do I want to make?
[00:51:13] What trips do I want to take?
[00:51:15] What do I want to change?
[00:51:16] What new habits?
[00:51:16] What old things do I want to get rid of?
[00:51:18] How do I want to get better?
[00:51:19] You know, the old song, if every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world it would be.
[00:51:25] If every two weeks of your life could be the first two weeks in January, what a wonderful life you would have.
[00:51:30] You'd be at the gym, you'd read through the Bible in six weeks.
[00:51:34] If the rest of the year could be like the first two weeks in January, what a wonderful life you would have.
[00:51:41] But I would argue, think about that for a second.
[00:51:44] Kids are what am I getting for Christmas?
[00:51:46] Adults are what do I want to be in the new year?
[00:51:49] It's all about what you want.
[00:51:51] We are what we want.
[00:51:55] I'm not talking about stuff.
[00:51:58] We are what we want.
[00:52:03] And one of my prayers for the new year, which I hope will extend beyond the first two weeks in January is,
[00:52:10] Lord God Almighty, make me trust the process.
[00:52:15] Make me trust the process you are putting me under.
[00:52:19] Make me trust the Jesus process.
[00:52:23] Because everything at which you are good now, which you weren't good before, there are things in your life
[00:52:32] Where you were not good and you either needed to become good to keep your job or to get through school or to make money or because you enjoyed it and wanted to you take lessons.
[00:52:42] You were once not good and you have become good.
[00:52:48] And I would argue that there are two things which are universal to almost all of those situations.
[00:52:57] One is you worked hard at it, good for you.
[00:53:01] You practiced, you studied, you grounded out.
[00:53:05] And the second thing at something where you wanted to get better and you got better is there was a master.
[00:53:14] A master math teacher, English teacher, music teacher, sports coach, guy at work, gal at work.
[00:53:23] There was a master who told you what you needed to do.
[00:53:30] And there were times in that process where you said, this is not working.
[00:53:34] This is not what I expected.
[00:53:35] This is harder than I expected.
[00:53:36] My progress is not as fast as I expected.
[00:53:41] And everything at which you got good, you worked and you trusted the process of the Master.
[00:53:50] And so while we roll out of 25 and into 26, and we consider our salvation, which is a pure and free gift,
[00:53:57] And we consider our salvation, we thank God, and then we say, how do I show you and how do I live into the fullness of this?
[00:54:06] What do I want?
[00:54:06] What do you want?
[00:54:08] Included in our prayers for what we want in the new year, let us pray for the ability to work hard at it and to trust the Master and trust the process.
[00:54:18] Because as we read today and as we know, so often it's not what we expect.
[00:54:25] We don't think it's going to work.
[00:54:29] And the great good news of the gospel is people looked at the crucifixion and they said, this isn't going to work.
[00:54:34] And then the resurrection happened and it worked.
[00:54:37] God has a plan.
[00:54:40] And if we will work at it and work in it and trust the process and trust the master, the offer of the gospel is it will work.
[00:54:47] It will work into turning you into the joy you want, the person you want to be, the blessing you want to be.
[00:54:54] It will very often be not what we expect and we will complain and we will be offended
[00:55:00] And we will say it's not working.
[00:55:02] And Jesus will look at us and he says, blessed are those who trust me and trust the process.
[00:55:10] And surround yourself with other people who trust me and trust the process.
[00:55:15] And I who began a good work in you, I will see it into completion.
[00:55:21] That's the offer of the new year.
[00:55:23] That's the offer of every day in the gospel.
[00:55:26] Embrace it.
[00:55:28] Embrace it every day.
[00:55:31] God promises that you will be glad you did.
[00:55:37] Let's pray together.
[00:55:40] Almighty and everlasting God, follow then, please, the preaching of your word with the blessing of your Holy Spirit.
[00:55:45] And where, if because of human error in the preacher, there may be something false or misleading in the preaching, cause that error to be quickly forgotten and do no harm.
[00:55:55] But if because of your grace working alone, there may be some truth in the preaching,
[00:56:01] Cause that truth to be burned into our hearts and minds and souls that your truth might lead us in the everlasting way.
[00:56:06] We pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:56:09] Amen.
[00:56:11] Jesus said, He who acknowledges me before the world, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
[00:56:15] We acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Lord by the way we live day in, day out.
[00:56:19] That we might be reminded of the great privilege and responsibility that we have to live in such a way that everyone knows that Jesus is our Lord, and that we might practice doing it.
[00:56:27] In church, we stand together and say the words of the Apostles' Creed.
[00:56:29] So let's do that now.
[00:56:30] Let's stand together, please.
[00:56:35] And before God in the world, let us confess in whom we believe.
[00:56:39] I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
[00:56:48] who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
[00:56:58] He descended into heaven.
[00:57:00] The third day he rose again from the dead.
[00:57:04] He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:57:10] From this he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:57:14] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting.
[00:57:27] Amen.
[00:57:27] Our final hymn is 138.
[00:57:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:58:01] Amen.
[00:58:37] In the shepherds we have trampled,
[00:59:20] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
And a little holy nature
[01:00:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
The message of Christmas is always a fantastic Savior has been born for you and lives the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died that we may have hope and confidence and strength when things are great, we're sitting in jail, some equivalent in life, when we doubt he's there, excuse me, when we're rolling he's there and when we doubt I would argue he's there even more.
[01:00:26] You have a Savior who demands a lot of you, who expects a lot of you, and empowers you, and has your back when you fail, and will see you to completion.
[01:00:37] We are what we want.
[01:00:40] What we want for ourselves, for our family, for our church, for whatever we're involved in, in the coming year.
[01:00:47] Let us pray that we would want what God wants, let us listen for what He wants, let us chase after what He wants, and trust that when we chase that,
[01:00:56] We'll find what we've been looking for.
[01:00:58] We'll find what satisfies us.
[01:00:59] We'll find what pleases Him and what enables us to bless those around us.
[01:01:04] Trust Him.
[01:01:05] Trust the process.
[01:01:07] He loves you enough to die for you.
[01:01:11] As you go, my friends, may the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit may rest and remain with each of you this day and always.
[01:01:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
All praise to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
[01:01:47] As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
[01:02:05] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray
