Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ 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).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: In a world defined by noise and self-reliance, true peace is found only by surrendering to the hidden wisdom of Christ and His easy yoke.
Pastoral Analysis: This sermon offers a compelling call to spiritual rest and wisdom, anchored in Matthew 11. However, it is significantly compromised by two major issues: a moralistic approach to sanctification that neglects the enabling power of the Gospel, and a failure to properly fence the Lord's Table during communion. While the pastoral tone is warm and the illustrations are engaging, the theological execution risks reducing Christianity to a system of moral effort rather than a relationship of grace.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon exhibits a compromised theological state characterized by homiletical imbalance and sacramental negligence. While the core Gospel engine is flagged as failed due to moralistic tendencies, the errors do not rise to the level of active heresy (Path C). The teaching tolerates a worldly compromise where behavioral commands are detached from Gospel grace, and the sacramental table is opened without biblical fencing, reflecting a church culture that prioritizes accessibility and moral effort over doctrinal precision and spiritual danger.
Big Idea: Amidst the noise of life and human wisdom, believers must seek the hidden wisdom of Christ and take His easy yoke to find true rest and relationship with God. [00:43:05 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Matthew 11:16-19
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - The pastor maintains a respectful and warm tone, using personal anecdotes and humor appropriately. No coarse language or pejoratives were detected.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented primarily as a model to imitate (taking His yoke) and a source of wisdom to acquire, rather than as the Savior whose finished work enables the believer to obey."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 17 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 2
📖 View 2 Passages Read Aloud
-
Psalms 45:10-16
[00:31:01 ▶️ 📄]
"oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your people in your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. Daughter Tyre will seek favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold woven robes. In many colored robes she is led to the king behind her the virgins her companions follow with joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king in the place of ancestors you oh king shall have sons you will make them princes in all the earth i will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever"
-
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
[00:40:05 ▶️ 📄]
"But what will I compare this generation? it is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one other we played the flute for you and you did not dance we wailed and you did not mourn for John came neither eating nor drinking and they said he has a demon and the son of man came eating and drinking and they said look a glutton a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds at that time Jesus said I thank you father lord of heaven and earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants yes father for such was your gracious will all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son and anyone whom the son chooses to reveal him come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burdens are light"
Key References: Proverbs, Matthew 11:16-19, Matthew 11:25-30
💧 Liturgy & Sacraments
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ❌ No (Open Table Risk)
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
- Open Invitation: 🔴 Active Commission (Unbelievers Explicitly Invited)
- Verbatim Warning: "God invites to his table all who earnestly seek to love God, who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with each other and in love with each other. So all of you are willing and able to come to this table who are willing and able."
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 1,941 words
📌 View 9 Key Topics Addressed
-
Divine Wisdom and Humility
[00:44:31 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the human tendency to shout and seek self-justification with the biblical call to actively seek God's wisdom, which is revealed to the humble. -
Biblical Exegesis of [Matthew 11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11&version=KJV)
[00:45:08 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor interprets the 'children in the marketplace' metaphor as a description of a generation too noisy and self-absorbed to recognize the Messiah's arrival. -
National and Personal Reflection
[00:13:31 ▶️ 📄]
> The service opens with a reflection on the 250th anniversary of the nation, pivoting from national pride to the theological truth that hope is found in God, not in flags or governments. -
Wisdom and Noise
[00:49:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the 'noise' of life, distractions, and self-centeredness with the 'hidden secrets' and simple wisdom God offers through Jesus. -
The Yoke of Christ
[00:55:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explains the metaphor of the yoke, contrasting the heavy burden of the Law/self-effort with the 'easy' and 'light' burden of a relationship with Christ. -
Communion and Remembrance
[01:03:39 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects the Last Supper narrative to the current service, urging the congregation to perceive the 'hidden secret' of Christ's presence in the sacrament despite worldly distractions. -
Communion and the Eucharist
[01:04:43 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recites the words of institution, explains the mystery of faith, and leads the congregation in the prayer of consecration and communion. -
The Lord's Prayer
[01:06:51 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor invites the congregation to pray the Lord's Prayer together with confidence. -
Sharing the Gospel
[01:22:06 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor concludes by urging the congregation to take the 'hidden knowledge' out and openly proclaim the mysteries of their faith to others.
🖼️ View 6 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:25:26 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about visiting his 96-year-old aunt in hospice in Ohio. Despite having Parkinson's and mistaking him for his mother, the aunt blessed him with a cross and met his eyes, illustrating a moment of profound connection and faith amidst difficult times. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:45:29 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the analogy of a loud household where family members shout at each other rather than having conversations, comparing this dynamic to the 'children in the marketplace' in Matthew 11 who are too noisy to hear God's message. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:46:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the biblical analogy of children in the marketplace playing flute and dirge to illustrate how the generation missed the Messiah because they were too focused on their own performance and noise to hear God's celebration or mourning. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:47:08 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor references John the Baptist's imprisonment and beheading as an example of the people failing to 'dance for joy' when the Messiah came, instead rejecting him. -
Sermon Illustration
[01:04:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor describes the disciples at the Last Supper having their 'eyes glazed over by the world' and 'ears plugged up by the noise,' causing them to miss the hidden secret of Christ's body and blood. -
Sermon Illustration
[01:09:43 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor makes a self-deprecating joke about his clumsiness, attributing it to his robe: 'And here I thought my robe was the reason why I was clumsy.'
🚀 View 3 Calls to Action
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:57:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor invites the congregation to pray together, specifically asking them to seek God's hidden wisdom and presence during communion. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:59:04 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor invites the congregation to participate in the communion service. -
Pastoral Charge
[01:22:14 ▶️ 📄]
> Go out and share one's relationship with Jesus Christ with others.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is not intact. The sermon suffers from Homiletical Imbalance (Moralism), where behavioral commands are issued without being anchored in the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit or the finished work of Christ. This results in a message that relies on human self-effort rather than Gospel grace. |
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon presents sanctification as a matter of human commitment and behavioral correction ('seek wisdom,' 'take His yoke') without adequately connecting these actions to the monergistic work of God's grace, leaning towards moralism. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is cited and applied, though the hermeneutical lens is skewed by moralism. The text itself is treated with respect. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The hermeneutic tends to extract moral imperatives from the text while downplaying the theological foundation of grace that enables those imperatives. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The doctrine of God and Christ is not explicitly contradicted, though the practical outworking of Christ's work is diminished by moralism. |
| Sacramentology | ❌ FAIL | The pastor failed to fence the Lord's Table, inviting all who are 'willing and able' without warning against partaking in an unworthy manner, directly contradicting 1 Corinthians 11. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the 'why' behind the 'what,' focusing on surface-level behavioral adjustments rather than deep theological truths. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
✅ The Law And Wrath:
"We have broken your law." [00:59:54 ▶️ 📄]
✅ Total Depravity And Inability:
"We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will. We have broken your law. We have rebelled against your love." [00:59:43 ▶️ 📄]
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. This proves God's love toward us." [01:00:45 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Homiletical Imbalance (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralism
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor issues behavioral commands to 'seek wisdom' and 'take Christ's yoke' as if they are achievable through human willpower or moral effort, without explicitly anchoring these obligations in the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit or the finished work of Christ's grace.
Why It's Dangerous: This reduces the Christian life to a system of self-effort, leading the congregation to believe they can achieve spiritual rest through their own discipline rather than relying on God's grace. It creates a burden of performance.
Biblical Correction: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
🟠 Major Failure to Fence
Root Cause: Sacramental Negligence
"As we get into worship for our communion service, I want you to know that God invites to his table all who earnestly seek to love God, who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with each other and in love with each other. So all of you are willing and able to come to this table who are willing and able." [00:58:47 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor invites all who are 'willing and able' to come to the table, omitting the biblical warning against partaking in an unworthy manner.
Why It's Dangerous: This exposes the congregation to spiritual danger by encouraging unexamined participation. It fails to uphold the seriousness of the sacrament and the command to self-examination, potentially leading to judgment upon those who partake without discerning the Lord's body.
Biblical Correction: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Warmth | Engaging Personal Illustrations
The pastor effectively uses personal anecdotes, such as the visit to his aunt in hospice, to create an emotional connection with the congregation and illustrate the reality of faith amidst suffering.
Clarity of Message | Clear Call to Spiritual Rest
The central proposition regarding seeking hidden wisdom and taking Christ's yoke is clearly articulated and addresses a genuine need for peace in a noisy world.
Homiletical Style | Effective Use of Analogy
The analogy of the noisy household and children in the marketplace effectively illustrates the spiritual deafness of the congregation to God's voice.
📜 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_07]
[00:00:00] We come together. There are a few announcements. I will try to rattle them off, but also to celebrate them all.
[00:06:24] We will be decorating the church for VBS this week, and we need help moving these altar rails, getting the backdrop set up, and assembling the drapes and all that down from the attic.
[00:06:38] If you are able today to take a few minutes after worship, please come and stay after as we prepare for this great outreach into the community.
[00:06:50] There are a number of also things in the back, decorations that we can still help out.
[00:06:57] There are needs of still, if you would like to volunteer and you haven't asked yet, this is us asking you to please come and volunteer.
[00:07:06] here, we would love your help throughout this wonderful outreach into our community.
[00:07:12] We are still in need of cardboard, paper egg cartons for VBS. If you have any of those, we would love you to donate them by July the 12th. That's actually next Sunday. So please, if you have that, that would be greatly appreciated. We also have this wonderful
[00:07:32] sign-up sheet that will be in the back in the narthex. This is a sign-up sheet for nursery volunteers. If you would like or feel called to serve in this capacity, it will not be every
[00:07:46] Sunday, but we do want to offer up a way of saving some money for the church by having volunteers instead of paid. Also, we would allow you to serve in wonderful children that we do have in here.
[00:08:00] and I'll be honest with you, it's been a while since I've been able to serve in the nursery, but every time I did when I was younger, I enjoyed that. I had about as much fun playing with the
[00:08:11] kids as I was supposed to be the one in charge, but my wife always said I'm the biggest child she has ever had, but that's another story altogether. But if you would like to sign up,
[00:08:24] this clipboard will be in the narthex for you to sign up we also have as you can see our purple heart homes our donation is now up to 1974 our goal is 2500 and we are closing this is the last
[00:08:46] sunday but if you would like to give a last minute donation to push us over the top that would be great. If you can't get it today, please get it in by the end of the week so that we can get it in
[00:08:57] so that we can celebrate not only hitting our goal but exceeding the goal as God has always been more than abundant in getting those done. Also want to let you know that July the 6th, Monday,
[00:09:11] the church office will be closed in observance of the 4th of July. We didn't take it off on Friday, so we're going to take it off on Monday. So please note that if you need to get a hold of
[00:09:23] the office, please call in on Tuesday. You'll also note in the back, there is some Upper Room devotionals back there. July, new Upper Room devotionals are back there. This is an outreach for you to be able to do a devotion daily, to gain access and to grow in your walk with the Lord.
[00:09:44] now we have these but we also have many other um informational um information and uh materials back there that you can gain if you just stop by the informational one there's information about the stevens ministry there's information about grieving there's different ways in which we can help you
[00:10:04] along the way please check that out uh i know that it's just sitting in our narthex but it has a purpose, and I hope that you will engage with it. I also have one big announcement. I know it's
[00:10:16] Fourth of July, and it's not to be overshadowed, but I do want to announce this. We have one in our midst that has risen to the office of assistant chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Fire Department. He is now assistant chief, and I would like to acknowledge that of our own Jeffrey
[00:10:36] I know his family is proud of him and I know we are proud of him as his church family. Thank you so much for serving our community in that way. As we do this, I believe these are all of our
[00:10:58] announcements, but we do have one beautiful announcement. As you can see, these beautiful flowers that are on the altar are given in honor of Cheryl for her birthday on Thursday. We acknowledge that and we thank you for all the stuff you do around the church as well
[00:11:14] as you celebrate your birthday. These are our announcements beforehand. Are there any other
[00:11:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:11:20] announcements that we have for the betterment of the community? I'm going to get myself in trouble
[00:11:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:11:32] if I do that. You know that. Well, this is where I get in trouble. All right, so we're going to acknowledge these birthdays and we're going to go ahead and sing happy birthday. Now I'm on the list
[00:12:12] of a couple of people so I apologize for that up front. I do also have one last announcement which I was about to mess up. Every Sunday we come up here on Communion Sunday and we sing, we have
[00:12:26] this music in the background. As a community as we come up to the beautiful altar to receive communion today. We are going to be singing a song. It is found on page 628. It is, what's the
[00:12:40] name again? Eat This Bread. It will be on your screen. Before we even get started, we're going to let the choir show us what it sounds like so that we can follow along. But as you're walking
[00:12:52] up, as you are standing in line to receive the elements, sing along. Let us sing this song together as we worship God, as we receive the elements as well. These are the announcements for the betterment of the community. If you are visiting us online or in person, we thank you so
[00:13:12] much. We are so glad that you are here and we hope that the Spirit of God moves in you and that the Word of God is preached and that the heart of the gospel is preached not only in word but in the
[00:13:23] sacrament of communion today. Let us now take our hearts and our minds to worship as we chime
[00:13:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:13:31] in the hour and draw near to God. Generations born, generations gone. Stories written across towns and cities, fields and neighborhoods, mountains and coastlines. 250 years, people People have built lives here, raised families, served neighbors, worked with their hands,
[00:17:49] dreamed of something better.
[00:17:51] And like every nation in history, we've known moments of courage, moments of sacrifice, moments worth celebrating, and moments that remind us how much we still need grace.
[00:18:08] Because no nation is perfect.
[00:18:11] No flag can carry the weight of our hope.
[00:18:15] No government can heal every wound.
[00:18:19] No generation has ever built a lasting future without wisdom beyond itself.
[00:18:26] Scripture reminds us, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, not because a nation is powerful, but because people who seek God learn to pursue what is right, to love mercy, to act justly, to walk humbly.
[00:18:45] So as America marks 250 years, we celebrate, we remember, we give thanks that God would guide us with wisdom, shape us with truth, and teach us to love our neighbors well.
[00:19:05] Because our greatest hope has never been found in a nation.
[00:19:10] Our greatest hope always been found.
[00:21:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:21:01] Can I have all the children come down?
[00:24:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:24:00] You can hear me?
[00:24:04] Oh, my kids.
[00:24:07] Come on.
[00:24:07] Wow, what a crowd we have here today. Thank you so much. And everyone is dressed so lovely in blue and red and white. This is just great. Thank you. So what I was thinking about today
[00:24:27] was talking about how blessed we are, especially at this holiday where we have wonderful opportunities in this great place that we live. We have enough food. We have water. We have a roof over our heads. We have a wonderful place to come and worship and share Jesus with
[00:24:48] each other. A lot of people don't have those opportunities. And so when you get those chances in life, I think it's important to take the time and look at everyone in their eyes and talk
[00:25:03] and make an appointment with that person that you are giving yourself to them at that time.
[00:25:10] Because a very wise Mary Stutz told me, we're all children at heart.
[00:25:15] So this is quite fitting here.
[00:25:18] And one of the things that I appreciated, and I can tell you, last week I was away, I flew to Ohio.
[00:25:26] I have an 86-year-old, sorry, 96-year-old aunt who is in hospice now, and she has Parkinson's.
[00:25:35] so she was they propped her up at the table for me because they said Kathy's coming from North Carolina and I look just like my mom and when she saw me she cut my face in her hands and said
[00:25:47] Chrissy my mom's name is Christine I said no you're not in heaven yet it's me Kathy I'm still here she goes I'm waiting God's going to take me but he sent me you she gave me a kiss on my
[00:26:02] forehead. She blessed me with a cross. She met my eyes with hers. And we had a moment together. I haven't seen my Aunt Anna in 30 years. And her, some of her kids were flying in that weekend
[00:26:17] because it's getting near the end. And I was blessed to be able to have the time, to have the money, to have the opportunity to go and see her. And I wanted to make sure that I did that. So I
[00:26:30] also met with my cousins that I hadn't seen. My mom is one of nine, and there's 33 of us first cousins, and in Aunt Anna's home alone, the nine, five of the nine were there, and we all went to
[00:26:45] lunch together and giggled because all we can do is look like our parents, but our lives are nothing alike, and we all shared how differently we have evolved and grown, but that we all have our faith,
[00:26:59] and that's the thing that helps us hang in there during these difficult times that's what we shared that's what i wanted to share today i thank you kids for coming to help me share i thank you all
[00:27:13] for always making me feel so well and i know that richard is looking up there and saying she's doing it again thank you lord for helping her because she never knows what's going to come out of her
[00:27:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:27:24] mouth amen and now let's rise to sing our opening worship song that can be found in number 428 in
[00:28:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:28:01] your red hymnal for the healing of the nations please stand today's first scripture reading
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:31:01] is from psalms 45 here oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your people in your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
[00:31:18] Daughter Tyre will seek favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth.
[00:31:25] The princess is decked in her chamber with gold woven robes. In many colored robes she is led to the king behind her the virgins her companions follow with joy and gladness they are led along
[00:31:42] as they enter the palace of the king in the place of ancestors you oh king shall have sons you will make them princes in all the earth i will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations
[00:31:58] therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever good morning please join me in our
[00:32:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:32:20] affirmation of faith i believe in god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth and in jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day he
[00:32:43] rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
[00:32:57] the holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting amen on this the 250th anniversary of a new nation under god
[00:33:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:33:32] we come together in worship affording freedoms our forefathers and foremothers did not have We come together today to acknowledge that we are standing in a place where we proudly are able to claim the Christ, our Messiah, our risen Lord.
[00:33:50] That wasn't always the case.
[00:33:53] And it is still not always the case all over the world.
[00:33:58] So today we come celebrating not only a nation, but an ideal, an understanding that we have the rights, no, the obligation to worship.
[00:34:11] with everything we have for there have been many who have placed their hearts and lives on the line for this freedom we get to have today so as we gather together today and offer up our offerings
[00:34:25] may we remember those offerings that many have paid not only in uh in words and indeed but in blood to give us this right to worship today and may we honor them with all that we have
[00:34:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:34:41] in life. Please come forward to receive our tithe and our offering. You may be seated. Let us pray,
[00:38:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:38:20] please. Holy and gracious God, on this day we remember the birth of our nation. We pause, remember that every blessing we enjoy, every freedom, every opportunity, every hope flows first from your hand. You have blessed us abutly, not so we may cling to comfort, but so we may
[00:38:46] participate in your redeeming work. You have entrusted us with resources, influence, and freedom, not for self-preservation, but for the kingdom proclamation. So take these gifts, O Lord, our offerings, our gratitude, our lives, and use them to shine your light in place
[00:39:09] shadowed by fear, division, or despair. Make us people who steward blessings faithfully, who seek justice courageously, who love mercy generously, and who walk humble with you.
[00:39:25] may our nation be shaped not by pride but by compassion not by power but by service not by self-interest but by the self-giving love of christ bless these gifts and bless us in giving that through us your kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven amen i have been away a little bit
[00:40:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:40:05] and I'll be honest with you, reading God's word is never far from me, but it's something else when we get together and read it together. So today, as we lift up the word of God from the gospel of
[00:40:18] Matthew, as we lift up the word of God and have his word teach us something new, may God move in you and me as children and instill wisdom as we hear his word. Again, this word will come from
[00:40:38] the Gospel of Matthew, the 11th chapter, and I will start in verse 16. I'll read until 19 and then come back on the verse 25. Hear now God's word. But what will I compare this generation?
[00:40:58] it is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one other we played the flute for you and you did not dance we wailed and you did not mourn for John came neither eating nor drinking
[00:41:17] and they said he has a demon and the son of man came eating and drinking and they said look a glutton a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds at that time Jesus said I thank you father lord of heaven and earth because you have
[00:41:44] hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants yes father for such was your gracious will all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son
[00:42:03] and anyone whom the son chooses to reveal him come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and humble in heart
[00:42:23] and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burdens are light this is the word of god for us the people of god thanks be to god will you pray with me
[00:42:39] Come Holy Spirit and enliven the hearts of your people As we hear your word may it penetrate deep into our hearts And pull away our walls of learned and discretions Pull away our reasoned and walls that we have put up before you
[00:43:05] Come Holy God and show us your simple wisdom the solace of the hidden things yet to be revealed in us in your mighty name we pray amen i don't know about you but sometimes in life families dynamics can get a little bit uh crazy you ever
[00:43:34] had any of those family dynamics maybe when they turn teenagers they're a little bit harsh and they grind against their parents. Or maybe when they're really young, they struggle with it.
[00:43:46] Don't start laughing, mother. In the middle of the sermon, my mom starts laughing at me. I get that.
[00:43:57] But you know, all of us have those dynamics in families. And so one of the things that I said was we need to be better about relationships in my family. And so earlier, about the last week,
[00:44:09] started reading the Proverbs. And we started reading them to try to give ourselves some wisdom in how we're going to walk and work with each other. And one of those things that I learned in that process is over and over and over again, it talks about wisdom and how you must lunge and
[00:44:31] run after it. That you must seek it with everything you've got. And wisdom is in the same sentence as God? Are you seeking him with all you've got? Because if you don't, you just might
[00:44:49] miss the hidden things God is revealing. You see, in this passage of scripture, he's sitting there talking to the Pharisees that are standing there, and he's trying to explain to them who John the Baptist is. And he's a precursor to this verse. He says, what should I call you? What should I
[00:45:08] compare this generation with. You are like children who are in the marketplace and you're shouting back and forth between each other because the loud noise makes it impossible to have a normal conversation. Okay, my household is loud. Oftentimes we don't have conversations. We shout
[00:45:29] at each other. We are like the children and I'm counting myself as one of them. Sometimes we shout at each other trying to get ourselves heard and that's what he compares this generation that he's
[00:45:42] trying to give them secret wisdom allow them into this wonderful thing god has done in being born and walking with us allowing the simple wisdom not of something complex but so simple that it could transform their lives. You see, wisdom, wisdom is hard fought and something that sometimes
[00:46:11] we don't chase after near enough. And God, through Jesus, was talking to them and saying, you're like children. You say, we played the flute and you didn't dance. In the translation, you miss it. It's literally talking about a wedding flute, a celebration. We celebrated
[00:46:34] and then you didn't hear us.
[00:46:36] I want you to hear me when I say this.
[00:46:40] It wasn't us who was doing the celebrating, but in this passage, we think it is.
[00:46:48] God gave us something to celebrate and we did not dance.
[00:46:55] When John the Baptist proclaimed, he who I am unfit to untie his sandals has come, you rounded him up.
[00:47:08] Didn't dance for joy that the Messiah was coming.
[00:47:13] You rounded him up, put him in prison, and beheaded him.
[00:47:17] How often times are we shouting across the marketplace saying we missed it.
[00:47:23] We missed the great joy that God had for our lives.
[00:47:27] Because we were too busy, like little children in the market, trying to be heard.
[00:47:36] Trying to be right.
[00:47:37] trying to fill the world with our own brand of wisdom.
[00:47:47] How often do we do this in our own lives?
[00:47:54] Now, I want you to hear the second line of that one.
[00:47:57] In my version here in this passage, I want you to hear it because it sounds a little bit different.
[00:48:04] It says, we wailed and you did not mourn.
[00:48:08] It actually says in the other translation, we played the dirge, the funeral procession, and you did not mourn. See, he was proclaiming what was gonna happen in his own life. If John is the thing you're supposed to celebrate that the Messiah
[00:48:32] is here, and now God says, I'm gonna play a dirge, I'm going to walk to the cross, and you shout for cheers of joy you shout of years of cheers of celebration crucify him crucify him we've won
[00:48:58] do you see how it is mystery to us and to god why he's talking to this generation why they haven't heard what it is it is indeed like the children in the marketplace who have this hidden knowledge
[00:49:16] given to them yet miss it because of the noise the noise of life the noise of distractions the noise of grief the noise of pain the noise that drowns out the truth that Jesus is trying to give
[00:49:34] them Jesus is sitting there and he says I gave you John and you have a law unto yourself you looked into the law you looked into the Torah and I want you to hear this this will come back later
[00:49:53] there's a symbol that understand as Jewish people understand the Torah is a yoke it is something you place upon your shoulders it is the thing that frames the work you do so hear that right before
[00:50:09] he says that he says I gave you John and he lived according to the Nazarite law to the Torah to the tea and you did not hear him. And I, the son of man, have come giving thanks, breaking bread and
[00:50:26] drinking with sinners and tax collectors and you did not hear me. It seems to me Jesus is pointing out the noise. How you've missed it. You've missed the simple gospel, the simple truth of what he's
[00:50:44] trying to give you. Brothers and sisters, our households are noisy. Our lives are noisy.
[00:50:55] And too often times we miss the gospel being whispered to us by the Savior who could change our lives. And he leaves it with this. This first part, he leaves it and says, yet wisdom is vindicated in her deeds.
[00:51:18] Remember I told you Proverbs, wisdom?
[00:51:22] She is referred, she, she, she.
[00:51:25] Seek her with everything you've got.
[00:51:26] Learn from her, grow for her.
[00:51:28] I want you to hear a passage of one of the Proverbs this morning and see if you can't hear the line of what he's trying to say.
[00:51:39] Listen, children, to the father's instruction and be attentive that you may gain insight for I give you good process and do not forsake my teachings when I was a son with my father tender and my mother's favorite he taught me and he
[00:51:59] said to me let your heart hold fast to my words and keep my commandments and live get wisdom insight do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth do not forsake her
[00:52:20] and she will keep you love her and she will guard you the beginning of wisdom is this get wisdom and whatever else you do get insight prize her highly and she will exalt you she will honor you
[00:52:38] in her embrace and she will place on your hair a fair garland and she will bestow upon you a beautiful crown you see too many people and you can see it on facebook in conversation we have
[00:53:00] wisdom to give to other people yet we never listen for the voice of wisdom we never seek the words of Christ to guide us. We have our own plans and our own ideas of what would be right.
[00:53:21] When was the last time you checked with your Savior to hear his words, to read his words, and to bury them deep in your heart? Not only that it would not stay there, but that it would
[00:53:39] flourish and sprout out life from you. That you would come to other people, not to shout over them like in the marketplace, but allow this wisdom to transform your life, to let God transform your life. Our second part of the passage, Jesus looks up and goes, thank you, God, for you have
[00:54:06] been able to give me this wisdom and this knowledge. And I thank you, oh God, that I know you and you know me, and this relationship is open as we have it. Man, I wish they could get it, that they could
[00:54:26] see through the noise that they would take solace in the hidden secrets of the wisdom that you have given and you have placed in their lives man i wish no i hope that they will hear our voice
[00:54:45] because i freely give it to them because in that first verse he says i thank you that you've given it to me and anyone i choose to reveal and then he turns to the crowd turns to the very people he
[00:55:02] just got done calling children calls to us who read the scriptures today and says the final words of this beautiful passage come all who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest
[00:55:26] take my yoke upon you remember the yoke the law he just told you his yoke that I know the father and the father knows me that our relationship is the most important take the yoke of the
[00:55:47] relationship seriously folks because if you do the wisdom will inbound it will take seed in your heart. And when you do, the noise gets turned down. The conversations get turned down.
[00:56:13] And the volume of God's wisdom in your life gets turned up. The relationship becomes center stage.
[00:56:23] And you want to know what happens when that happens? No, you don't get an easy life. That's not what happens. You get a companion of Christ in your life who helps you bear the loads,
[00:56:40] the loads that you would think imaginably heavy. Jesus says, take my yoke upon, for I am gentle and humble in heart. Take my yoke, for it is easy and my burdens are light, because the world has
[00:57:05] not drowned out the most important thing, the hidden secret that I have wanted you to know from the moment I created Adam. I'm right here, right beside you. I walk with you and I reveal
[00:57:32] my heart to you. Listen to the hidden secrets and take, take heart that you may have peace.
[00:57:44] will you pray with me come holy God as we enter into communion today may you reveal your hidden secrets to us may your abounding presence be felt in this sacrament and may we oh God
[00:58:08] listen for the hidden secrets and may we seek after her the wisdom of our lives with all that we have that we might not miss it through the noise, but see you for who you are. And may our burdens be ever light
[00:58:30] and our yoke easy as we come side by side with you. In your mighty name we pray.
[00:58:47] As we get into worship for our communion service, I want you to know that God invites to his table all who earnestly seek to love God, who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with each other
[00:59:02] and in love with each other.
[00:59:04] So all of you are willing and able to come to this table who are willing and able.
[00:59:12] So please, as we do so, we remember that we are also a people who need to confess, a people who need to recognize God's desire, who have listened to the noise in our lives over and over again.
[00:59:30] Let us confess together before God our confessionary prayer as we ask God to have mercy on us.
[00:59:43] Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart.
[00:59:49] We have failed to be an obedient church.
[00:59:52] We have not done your will.
[00:59:54] We have broken your law.
[00:59:56] We have rebelled against your love.
[00:59:58] we have not loved our neighbors, we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray.
[01:00:06] Free us for joyful obedience through Christ our Lord. Amen. Hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. This proves God's love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven
[01:00:45] in the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven glory to God Amen now join me in the great thanksgiving the Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the Lord our God
[01:01:50] it is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you Father Almighty creator of heaven and earth you formed us in your image you breathed into us the breath of life and when we turned away
[01:02:10] and our love failed your love remained steadfast you delivered us from captivity to sin and made a covenant to be our sovereign god and so with your people on earth and all of company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn holy holy holy lord god of
[01:02:32] power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your son
[01:02:47] Jesus Christ. Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to
[01:03:00] announced the time had come when you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. By his baptism of suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water
[01:03:24] and the Spirit. And when Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and in the holy spirit on the night in which he gave himself up he took the bread
[01:03:39] gave thanks to you father almighty blessed are you oh lord our god king of the universe who brings forth the grain from the earth he took it and he broke it and as he broke the bread
[01:03:58] he turned to his disciples and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me. He looked out at the hidden secret that he was breaking right in front of them
[01:04:18] and their eyes perhaps glazed over by the world. Their ears plugged up by the noise of the world were unable to hear it. And so at the end of supper, he took the cup, gave thanks to you,
[01:04:43] father blessed are you oh lord our god king of the universe who brings forth the fruit of the vine he turned to his disciples and gave him the cup and said drink from this all of you for this is
[01:05:02] the blood of the new covenant shed for many for the forgiveness of sins do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Do you think they tuned in at that moment, that they heard his voice,
[01:05:24] his hidden secrets of what they were being offered in his body and his blood? And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving in a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the
[01:05:56] mystery of faith. Christ is died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and cup. May they be for us the body and blood
[01:06:12] of Christ that we might be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood. By your spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Until Christ
[01:06:27] comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. Brothers and sisters, with the confidence of faith, we now come together
[01:06:51] to pray the prayer that he taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[01:07:00] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[01:07:15] And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[01:07:20] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[01:07:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:07:25] Amen.
[01:07:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:07:30] That was your yoke.
[01:07:34] Simple prayer, simple life, a simple wisdom granted for us if we only hear it.
[01:07:43] I will now ask, if I would, to have the communion servers please come forward.
[01:08:41] One body broken, and though we are many, we are unified in this body broken, this hidden mystery given for us, the Savior who gave himself for us.
[01:08:58] Likewise, though we are many, we drink of one cup, of one Savior, of one sacrifice given for us all for the remission of sins and for the grace to live as children of God.
[01:09:43] And here I thought my robe was the reason why I was clumsy.
[01:09:58] Before we have communion, I want you to hear this song that we will be singing again as you come to the table.
[01:10:05] Sing the song together as we receive this hidden secret, this hidden mystery of communion together.
[01:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:10:13] let us hear this song first. Come in mystery, a wondrous thing that God would give himself
[01:17:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:17:52] for us and to love us and to share in the mystery that we might take upon his easy yoke and his light burdens. Join me together as we respond in prayer. Eternal God, we give thanks
[01:18:13] for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
[01:18:18] Grant that we might go into the world in the strength of your Spirit to give ourselves to others.
[01:18:25] In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[01:18:28] Amen.
[01:18:32] Now let us, as you are able to stand for our closing worship song found on page 526, what a friend we have in Jesus.
[01:21:56] We'll be made plain.
[01:21:57] only if we take that hidden knowledge out and share it with those around us.
[01:22:06] Note that the passage ended with Jesus openly telling them what he desired for them.
[01:22:14] So go out and openly proclaim the hidden mysteries in your heart.
[01:22:21] The relationship of your Lord and Savior and share that with someone else.
[01:22:27] In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, I send you out to go and do the mission of Christ.
[01:22:38] Amen.
[00:00:00] We come together. There are a few announcements. I will try to rattle them off, but also to celebrate them all.
[00:06:24] We will be decorating the church for VBS this week, and we need help moving these altar rails, getting the backdrop set up, and assembling the drapes and all that down from the attic.
[00:06:38] If you are able today to take a few minutes after worship, please come and stay after as we prepare for this great outreach into the community.
[00:06:50] There are a number of also things in the back, decorations that we can still help out.
[00:06:57] There are needs of still, if you would like to volunteer and you haven't asked yet, this is us asking you to please come and volunteer.
[00:07:06] here, we would love your help throughout this wonderful outreach into our community.
[00:07:12] We are still in need of cardboard, paper egg cartons for VBS. If you have any of those, we would love you to donate them by July the 12th. That's actually next Sunday. So please, if you have that, that would be greatly appreciated. We also have this wonderful
[00:07:32] sign-up sheet that will be in the back in the narthex. This is a sign-up sheet for nursery volunteers. If you would like or feel called to serve in this capacity, it will not be every
[00:07:46] Sunday, but we do want to offer up a way of saving some money for the church by having volunteers instead of paid. Also, we would allow you to serve in wonderful children that we do have in here.
[00:08:00] and I'll be honest with you, it's been a while since I've been able to serve in the nursery, but every time I did when I was younger, I enjoyed that. I had about as much fun playing with the
[00:08:11] kids as I was supposed to be the one in charge, but my wife always said I'm the biggest child she has ever had, but that's another story altogether. But if you would like to sign up,
[00:08:24] this clipboard will be in the narthex for you to sign up we also have as you can see our purple heart homes our donation is now up to 1974 our goal is 2500 and we are closing this is the last
[00:08:46] sunday but if you would like to give a last minute donation to push us over the top that would be great. If you can't get it today, please get it in by the end of the week so that we can get it in
[00:08:57] so that we can celebrate not only hitting our goal but exceeding the goal as God has always been more than abundant in getting those done. Also want to let you know that July the 6th, Monday,
[00:09:11] the church office will be closed in observance of the 4th of July. We didn't take it off on Friday, so we're going to take it off on Monday. So please note that if you need to get a hold of
[00:09:23] the office, please call in on Tuesday. You'll also note in the back, there is some Upper Room devotionals back there. July, new Upper Room devotionals are back there. This is an outreach for you to be able to do a devotion daily, to gain access and to grow in your walk with the Lord.
[00:09:44] now we have these but we also have many other um informational um information and uh materials back there that you can gain if you just stop by the informational one there's information about the stevens ministry there's information about grieving there's different ways in which we can help you
[00:10:04] along the way please check that out uh i know that it's just sitting in our narthex but it has a purpose, and I hope that you will engage with it. I also have one big announcement. I know it's
[00:10:16] Fourth of July, and it's not to be overshadowed, but I do want to announce this. We have one in our midst that has risen to the office of assistant chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Fire Department. He is now assistant chief, and I would like to acknowledge that of our own Jeffrey
[00:10:36] I know his family is proud of him and I know we are proud of him as his church family. Thank you so much for serving our community in that way. As we do this, I believe these are all of our
[00:10:58] announcements, but we do have one beautiful announcement. As you can see, these beautiful flowers that are on the altar are given in honor of Cheryl for her birthday on Thursday. We acknowledge that and we thank you for all the stuff you do around the church as well
[00:11:14] as you celebrate your birthday. These are our announcements beforehand. Are there any other
[00:11:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:11:20] announcements that we have for the betterment of the community? I'm going to get myself in trouble
[00:11:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:11:32] if I do that. You know that. Well, this is where I get in trouble. All right, so we're going to acknowledge these birthdays and we're going to go ahead and sing happy birthday. Now I'm on the list
[00:12:12] of a couple of people so I apologize for that up front. I do also have one last announcement which I was about to mess up. Every Sunday we come up here on Communion Sunday and we sing, we have
[00:12:26] this music in the background. As a community as we come up to the beautiful altar to receive communion today. We are going to be singing a song. It is found on page 628. It is, what's the
[00:12:40] name again? Eat This Bread. It will be on your screen. Before we even get started, we're going to let the choir show us what it sounds like so that we can follow along. But as you're walking
[00:12:52] up, as you are standing in line to receive the elements, sing along. Let us sing this song together as we worship God, as we receive the elements as well. These are the announcements for the betterment of the community. If you are visiting us online or in person, we thank you so
[00:13:12] much. We are so glad that you are here and we hope that the Spirit of God moves in you and that the Word of God is preached and that the heart of the gospel is preached not only in word but in the
[00:13:23] sacrament of communion today. Let us now take our hearts and our minds to worship as we chime
[00:13:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:13:31] in the hour and draw near to God. Generations born, generations gone. Stories written across towns and cities, fields and neighborhoods, mountains and coastlines. 250 years, people People have built lives here, raised families, served neighbors, worked with their hands,
[00:17:49] dreamed of something better.
[00:17:51] And like every nation in history, we've known moments of courage, moments of sacrifice, moments worth celebrating, and moments that remind us how much we still need grace.
[00:18:08] Because no nation is perfect.
[00:18:11] No flag can carry the weight of our hope.
[00:18:15] No government can heal every wound.
[00:18:19] No generation has ever built a lasting future without wisdom beyond itself.
[00:18:26] Scripture reminds us, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, not because a nation is powerful, but because people who seek God learn to pursue what is right, to love mercy, to act justly, to walk humbly.
[00:18:45] So as America marks 250 years, we celebrate, we remember, we give thanks that God would guide us with wisdom, shape us with truth, and teach us to love our neighbors well.
[00:19:05] Because our greatest hope has never been found in a nation.
[00:19:10] Our greatest hope always been found.
[00:21:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:21:01] Can I have all the children come down?
[00:24:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:24:00] You can hear me?
[00:24:04] Oh, my kids.
[00:24:07] Come on.
[00:24:07] Wow, what a crowd we have here today. Thank you so much. And everyone is dressed so lovely in blue and red and white. This is just great. Thank you. So what I was thinking about today
[00:24:27] was talking about how blessed we are, especially at this holiday where we have wonderful opportunities in this great place that we live. We have enough food. We have water. We have a roof over our heads. We have a wonderful place to come and worship and share Jesus with
[00:24:48] each other. A lot of people don't have those opportunities. And so when you get those chances in life, I think it's important to take the time and look at everyone in their eyes and talk
[00:25:03] and make an appointment with that person that you are giving yourself to them at that time.
[00:25:10] Because a very wise Mary Stutz told me, we're all children at heart.
[00:25:15] So this is quite fitting here.
[00:25:18] And one of the things that I appreciated, and I can tell you, last week I was away, I flew to Ohio.
[00:25:26] I have an 86-year-old, sorry, 96-year-old aunt who is in hospice now, and she has Parkinson's.
[00:25:35] so she was they propped her up at the table for me because they said Kathy's coming from North Carolina and I look just like my mom and when she saw me she cut my face in her hands and said
[00:25:47] Chrissy my mom's name is Christine I said no you're not in heaven yet it's me Kathy I'm still here she goes I'm waiting God's going to take me but he sent me you she gave me a kiss on my
[00:26:02] forehead. She blessed me with a cross. She met my eyes with hers. And we had a moment together. I haven't seen my Aunt Anna in 30 years. And her, some of her kids were flying in that weekend
[00:26:17] because it's getting near the end. And I was blessed to be able to have the time, to have the money, to have the opportunity to go and see her. And I wanted to make sure that I did that. So I
[00:26:30] also met with my cousins that I hadn't seen. My mom is one of nine, and there's 33 of us first cousins, and in Aunt Anna's home alone, the nine, five of the nine were there, and we all went to
[00:26:45] lunch together and giggled because all we can do is look like our parents, but our lives are nothing alike, and we all shared how differently we have evolved and grown, but that we all have our faith,
[00:26:59] and that's the thing that helps us hang in there during these difficult times that's what we shared that's what i wanted to share today i thank you kids for coming to help me share i thank you all
[00:27:13] for always making me feel so well and i know that richard is looking up there and saying she's doing it again thank you lord for helping her because she never knows what's going to come out of her
[00:27:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:27:24] mouth amen and now let's rise to sing our opening worship song that can be found in number 428 in
[00:28:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:28:01] your red hymnal for the healing of the nations please stand today's first scripture reading
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:31:01] is from psalms 45 here oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your people in your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
[00:31:18] Daughter Tyre will seek favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth.
[00:31:25] The princess is decked in her chamber with gold woven robes. In many colored robes she is led to the king behind her the virgins her companions follow with joy and gladness they are led along
[00:31:42] as they enter the palace of the king in the place of ancestors you oh king shall have sons you will make them princes in all the earth i will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations
[00:31:58] therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever good morning please join me in our
[00:32:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:32:20] affirmation of faith i believe in god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth and in jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day he
[00:32:43] rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
[00:32:57] the holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting amen on this the 250th anniversary of a new nation under god
[00:33:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:33:32] we come together in worship affording freedoms our forefathers and foremothers did not have We come together today to acknowledge that we are standing in a place where we proudly are able to claim the Christ, our Messiah, our risen Lord.
[00:33:50] That wasn't always the case.
[00:33:53] And it is still not always the case all over the world.
[00:33:58] So today we come celebrating not only a nation, but an ideal, an understanding that we have the rights, no, the obligation to worship.
[00:34:11] with everything we have for there have been many who have placed their hearts and lives on the line for this freedom we get to have today so as we gather together today and offer up our offerings
[00:34:25] may we remember those offerings that many have paid not only in uh in words and indeed but in blood to give us this right to worship today and may we honor them with all that we have
[00:34:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:34:41] in life. Please come forward to receive our tithe and our offering. You may be seated. Let us pray,
[00:38:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:38:20] please. Holy and gracious God, on this day we remember the birth of our nation. We pause, remember that every blessing we enjoy, every freedom, every opportunity, every hope flows first from your hand. You have blessed us abutly, not so we may cling to comfort, but so we may
[00:38:46] participate in your redeeming work. You have entrusted us with resources, influence, and freedom, not for self-preservation, but for the kingdom proclamation. So take these gifts, O Lord, our offerings, our gratitude, our lives, and use them to shine your light in place
[00:39:09] shadowed by fear, division, or despair. Make us people who steward blessings faithfully, who seek justice courageously, who love mercy generously, and who walk humble with you.
[00:39:25] may our nation be shaped not by pride but by compassion not by power but by service not by self-interest but by the self-giving love of christ bless these gifts and bless us in giving that through us your kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven amen i have been away a little bit
[00:40:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:40:05] and I'll be honest with you, reading God's word is never far from me, but it's something else when we get together and read it together. So today, as we lift up the word of God from the gospel of
[00:40:18] Matthew, as we lift up the word of God and have his word teach us something new, may God move in you and me as children and instill wisdom as we hear his word. Again, this word will come from
[00:40:38] the Gospel of Matthew, the 11th chapter, and I will start in verse 16. I'll read until 19 and then come back on the verse 25. Hear now God's word. But what will I compare this generation?
[00:40:58] it is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one other we played the flute for you and you did not dance we wailed and you did not mourn for John came neither eating nor drinking
[00:41:17] and they said he has a demon and the son of man came eating and drinking and they said look a glutton a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds at that time Jesus said I thank you father lord of heaven and earth because you have
[00:41:44] hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants yes father for such was your gracious will all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son
[00:42:03] and anyone whom the son chooses to reveal him come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and humble in heart
[00:42:23] and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burdens are light this is the word of god for us the people of god thanks be to god will you pray with me
[00:42:39] Come Holy Spirit and enliven the hearts of your people As we hear your word may it penetrate deep into our hearts And pull away our walls of learned and discretions Pull away our reasoned and walls that we have put up before you
[00:43:05] Come Holy God and show us your simple wisdom the solace of the hidden things yet to be revealed in us in your mighty name we pray amen i don't know about you but sometimes in life families dynamics can get a little bit uh crazy you ever
[00:43:34] had any of those family dynamics maybe when they turn teenagers they're a little bit harsh and they grind against their parents. Or maybe when they're really young, they struggle with it.
[00:43:46] Don't start laughing, mother. In the middle of the sermon, my mom starts laughing at me. I get that.
[00:43:57] But you know, all of us have those dynamics in families. And so one of the things that I said was we need to be better about relationships in my family. And so earlier, about the last week,
[00:44:09] started reading the Proverbs. And we started reading them to try to give ourselves some wisdom in how we're going to walk and work with each other. And one of those things that I learned in that process is over and over and over again, it talks about wisdom and how you must lunge and
[00:44:31] run after it. That you must seek it with everything you've got. And wisdom is in the same sentence as God? Are you seeking him with all you've got? Because if you don't, you just might
[00:44:49] miss the hidden things God is revealing. You see, in this passage of scripture, he's sitting there talking to the Pharisees that are standing there, and he's trying to explain to them who John the Baptist is. And he's a precursor to this verse. He says, what should I call you? What should I
[00:45:08] compare this generation with. You are like children who are in the marketplace and you're shouting back and forth between each other because the loud noise makes it impossible to have a normal conversation. Okay, my household is loud. Oftentimes we don't have conversations. We shout
[00:45:29] at each other. We are like the children and I'm counting myself as one of them. Sometimes we shout at each other trying to get ourselves heard and that's what he compares this generation that he's
[00:45:42] trying to give them secret wisdom allow them into this wonderful thing god has done in being born and walking with us allowing the simple wisdom not of something complex but so simple that it could transform their lives. You see, wisdom, wisdom is hard fought and something that sometimes
[00:46:11] we don't chase after near enough. And God, through Jesus, was talking to them and saying, you're like children. You say, we played the flute and you didn't dance. In the translation, you miss it. It's literally talking about a wedding flute, a celebration. We celebrated
[00:46:34] and then you didn't hear us.
[00:46:36] I want you to hear me when I say this.
[00:46:40] It wasn't us who was doing the celebrating, but in this passage, we think it is.
[00:46:48] God gave us something to celebrate and we did not dance.
[00:46:55] When John the Baptist proclaimed, he who I am unfit to untie his sandals has come, you rounded him up.
[00:47:08] Didn't dance for joy that the Messiah was coming.
[00:47:13] You rounded him up, put him in prison, and beheaded him.
[00:47:17] How often times are we shouting across the marketplace saying we missed it.
[00:47:23] We missed the great joy that God had for our lives.
[00:47:27] Because we were too busy, like little children in the market, trying to be heard.
[00:47:36] Trying to be right.
[00:47:37] trying to fill the world with our own brand of wisdom.
[00:47:47] How often do we do this in our own lives?
[00:47:54] Now, I want you to hear the second line of that one.
[00:47:57] In my version here in this passage, I want you to hear it because it sounds a little bit different.
[00:48:04] It says, we wailed and you did not mourn.
[00:48:08] It actually says in the other translation, we played the dirge, the funeral procession, and you did not mourn. See, he was proclaiming what was gonna happen in his own life. If John is the thing you're supposed to celebrate that the Messiah
[00:48:32] is here, and now God says, I'm gonna play a dirge, I'm going to walk to the cross, and you shout for cheers of joy you shout of years of cheers of celebration crucify him crucify him we've won
[00:48:58] do you see how it is mystery to us and to god why he's talking to this generation why they haven't heard what it is it is indeed like the children in the marketplace who have this hidden knowledge
[00:49:16] given to them yet miss it because of the noise the noise of life the noise of distractions the noise of grief the noise of pain the noise that drowns out the truth that Jesus is trying to give
[00:49:34] them Jesus is sitting there and he says I gave you John and you have a law unto yourself you looked into the law you looked into the Torah and I want you to hear this this will come back later
[00:49:53] there's a symbol that understand as Jewish people understand the Torah is a yoke it is something you place upon your shoulders it is the thing that frames the work you do so hear that right before
[00:50:09] he says that he says I gave you John and he lived according to the Nazarite law to the Torah to the tea and you did not hear him. And I, the son of man, have come giving thanks, breaking bread and
[00:50:26] drinking with sinners and tax collectors and you did not hear me. It seems to me Jesus is pointing out the noise. How you've missed it. You've missed the simple gospel, the simple truth of what he's
[00:50:44] trying to give you. Brothers and sisters, our households are noisy. Our lives are noisy.
[00:50:55] And too often times we miss the gospel being whispered to us by the Savior who could change our lives. And he leaves it with this. This first part, he leaves it and says, yet wisdom is vindicated in her deeds.
[00:51:18] Remember I told you Proverbs, wisdom?
[00:51:22] She is referred, she, she, she.
[00:51:25] Seek her with everything you've got.
[00:51:26] Learn from her, grow for her.
[00:51:28] I want you to hear a passage of one of the Proverbs this morning and see if you can't hear the line of what he's trying to say.
[00:51:39] Listen, children, to the father's instruction and be attentive that you may gain insight for I give you good process and do not forsake my teachings when I was a son with my father tender and my mother's favorite he taught me and he
[00:51:59] said to me let your heart hold fast to my words and keep my commandments and live get wisdom insight do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth do not forsake her
[00:52:20] and she will keep you love her and she will guard you the beginning of wisdom is this get wisdom and whatever else you do get insight prize her highly and she will exalt you she will honor you
[00:52:38] in her embrace and she will place on your hair a fair garland and she will bestow upon you a beautiful crown you see too many people and you can see it on facebook in conversation we have
[00:53:00] wisdom to give to other people yet we never listen for the voice of wisdom we never seek the words of Christ to guide us. We have our own plans and our own ideas of what would be right.
[00:53:21] When was the last time you checked with your Savior to hear his words, to read his words, and to bury them deep in your heart? Not only that it would not stay there, but that it would
[00:53:39] flourish and sprout out life from you. That you would come to other people, not to shout over them like in the marketplace, but allow this wisdom to transform your life, to let God transform your life. Our second part of the passage, Jesus looks up and goes, thank you, God, for you have
[00:54:06] been able to give me this wisdom and this knowledge. And I thank you, oh God, that I know you and you know me, and this relationship is open as we have it. Man, I wish they could get it, that they could
[00:54:26] see through the noise that they would take solace in the hidden secrets of the wisdom that you have given and you have placed in their lives man i wish no i hope that they will hear our voice
[00:54:45] because i freely give it to them because in that first verse he says i thank you that you've given it to me and anyone i choose to reveal and then he turns to the crowd turns to the very people he
[00:55:02] just got done calling children calls to us who read the scriptures today and says the final words of this beautiful passage come all who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest
[00:55:26] take my yoke upon you remember the yoke the law he just told you his yoke that I know the father and the father knows me that our relationship is the most important take the yoke of the
[00:55:47] relationship seriously folks because if you do the wisdom will inbound it will take seed in your heart. And when you do, the noise gets turned down. The conversations get turned down.
[00:56:13] And the volume of God's wisdom in your life gets turned up. The relationship becomes center stage.
[00:56:23] And you want to know what happens when that happens? No, you don't get an easy life. That's not what happens. You get a companion of Christ in your life who helps you bear the loads,
[00:56:40] the loads that you would think imaginably heavy. Jesus says, take my yoke upon, for I am gentle and humble in heart. Take my yoke, for it is easy and my burdens are light, because the world has
[00:57:05] not drowned out the most important thing, the hidden secret that I have wanted you to know from the moment I created Adam. I'm right here, right beside you. I walk with you and I reveal
[00:57:32] my heart to you. Listen to the hidden secrets and take, take heart that you may have peace.
[00:57:44] will you pray with me come holy God as we enter into communion today may you reveal your hidden secrets to us may your abounding presence be felt in this sacrament and may we oh God
[00:58:08] listen for the hidden secrets and may we seek after her the wisdom of our lives with all that we have that we might not miss it through the noise, but see you for who you are. And may our burdens be ever light
[00:58:30] and our yoke easy as we come side by side with you. In your mighty name we pray.
[00:58:47] As we get into worship for our communion service, I want you to know that God invites to his table all who earnestly seek to love God, who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with each other
[00:59:02] and in love with each other.
[00:59:04] So all of you are willing and able to come to this table who are willing and able.
[00:59:12] So please, as we do so, we remember that we are also a people who need to confess, a people who need to recognize God's desire, who have listened to the noise in our lives over and over again.
[00:59:30] Let us confess together before God our confessionary prayer as we ask God to have mercy on us.
[00:59:43] Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart.
[00:59:49] We have failed to be an obedient church.
[00:59:52] We have not done your will.
[00:59:54] We have broken your law.
[00:59:56] We have rebelled against your love.
[00:59:58] we have not loved our neighbors, we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray.
[01:00:06] Free us for joyful obedience through Christ our Lord. Amen. Hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. This proves God's love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven
[01:00:45] in the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven glory to God Amen now join me in the great thanksgiving the Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the Lord our God
[01:01:50] it is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you Father Almighty creator of heaven and earth you formed us in your image you breathed into us the breath of life and when we turned away
[01:02:10] and our love failed your love remained steadfast you delivered us from captivity to sin and made a covenant to be our sovereign god and so with your people on earth and all of company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn holy holy holy lord god of
[01:02:32] power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your son
[01:02:47] Jesus Christ. Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to
[01:03:00] announced the time had come when you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. By his baptism of suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water
[01:03:24] and the Spirit. And when Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your word and in the holy spirit on the night in which he gave himself up he took the bread
[01:03:39] gave thanks to you father almighty blessed are you oh lord our god king of the universe who brings forth the grain from the earth he took it and he broke it and as he broke the bread
[01:03:58] he turned to his disciples and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me. He looked out at the hidden secret that he was breaking right in front of them
[01:04:18] and their eyes perhaps glazed over by the world. Their ears plugged up by the noise of the world were unable to hear it. And so at the end of supper, he took the cup, gave thanks to you,
[01:04:43] father blessed are you oh lord our god king of the universe who brings forth the fruit of the vine he turned to his disciples and gave him the cup and said drink from this all of you for this is
[01:05:02] the blood of the new covenant shed for many for the forgiveness of sins do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Do you think they tuned in at that moment, that they heard his voice,
[01:05:24] his hidden secrets of what they were being offered in his body and his blood? And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving in a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the
[01:05:56] mystery of faith. Christ is died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and cup. May they be for us the body and blood
[01:06:12] of Christ that we might be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood. By your spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Until Christ
[01:06:27] comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. Brothers and sisters, with the confidence of faith, we now come together
[01:06:51] to pray the prayer that he taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[01:07:00] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[01:07:15] And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[01:07:20] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[01:07:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:07:25] Amen.
[01:07:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:07:30] That was your yoke.
[01:07:34] Simple prayer, simple life, a simple wisdom granted for us if we only hear it.
[01:07:43] I will now ask, if I would, to have the communion servers please come forward.
[01:08:41] One body broken, and though we are many, we are unified in this body broken, this hidden mystery given for us, the Savior who gave himself for us.
[01:08:58] Likewise, though we are many, we drink of one cup, of one Savior, of one sacrifice given for us all for the remission of sins and for the grace to live as children of God.
[01:09:43] And here I thought my robe was the reason why I was clumsy.
[01:09:58] Before we have communion, I want you to hear this song that we will be singing again as you come to the table.
[01:10:05] Sing the song together as we receive this hidden secret, this hidden mystery of communion together.
[01:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:10:13] let us hear this song first. Come in mystery, a wondrous thing that God would give himself
[01:17:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:17:52] for us and to love us and to share in the mystery that we might take upon his easy yoke and his light burdens. Join me together as we respond in prayer. Eternal God, we give thanks
[01:18:13] for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
[01:18:18] Grant that we might go into the world in the strength of your Spirit to give ourselves to others.
[01:18:25] In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[01:18:28] Amen.
[01:18:32] Now let us, as you are able to stand for our closing worship song found on page 526, what a friend we have in Jesus.
[01:21:56] We'll be made plain.
[01:21:57] only if we take that hidden knowledge out and share it with those around us.
[01:22:06] Note that the passage ended with Jesus openly telling them what he desired for them.
[01:22:14] So go out and openly proclaim the hidden mysteries in your heart.
[01:22:21] The relationship of your Lord and Savior and share that with someone else.
[01:22:27] In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, I send you out to go and do the mission of Christ.
[01:22:38] Amen.
