Is Faith a Choice? Deconstructing a Popular Misconception

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Thank you for watching!

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
this morning and you're gonna hear more about that you who are newer to our here in our congregation on live and those of you watching online we are so so glad that you're choosing to worship with us
[00:08:38] If you are newer to our congregation, we hope that you'll take just a moment to come say hi to us after worship.
[00:08:46] We're going to be at a really cool little cart.
[00:08:48] We call it our connection station.
[00:08:49] It's straight out of those doors on the patio, and I'll be out there with some friends.
[00:08:53] And we just want to say good morning and shake your hand and welcome you.
[00:08:56] And we have a really cool gift we want to give you just for worshiping with us today.
[00:09:01] But most importantly, we want to make ourselves available to answer any questions you have about our church.
[00:09:06] We have a QR code right there on the screen behind us if you're not able to hang out with us after worship today no problem just scan that with your phone and you can fill out a little form that tells us a little bit about you and then you can have an opportunity to say hey I would like more information about this this this and this and I will make sure that you get all of your questions answered those of you online you have a very similar form available for you as well if you go to your menu you'll see a connect with us form and you
[00:09:34] There are also little cards in the pews if you prefer just to fill something out and put it in the offering plate.
[00:09:41] Either way, today is a beautiful day to worship the Lord.
[00:09:44] And guys, those of you who have been coming to our church for a while, use that QR code for yourself.
[00:09:49] We have a lot of great things starting up here in the life of the church.
[00:09:53] You're gonna want to know about them, okay?
[00:09:55] This QR code is kind of a one-stop shop.
[00:09:58] It's gonna tell you everything about what's happening in the life of the church.
[00:10:01] So we invite you to take advantage of it if you can.
[00:10:03] All right, friends, we're starting a new sermon series, so everybody put your curiosity caps on, okay?
[00:10:09] We're gonna tackle some curious questions, and we're looking forward to doing that with you, so come on, let's worship together.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Good morning church.
[00:10:16] My name is Carrie Wright.
[00:10:17] I'm the worship leader here.
[00:10:18] I'm excited to invite you into a space where we are, as Monica just said, getting curious about questions that we all have had.
[00:10:29] We put in our questions this summer about faith, about church, about worship, all the things, and in attempts to challenge our preachers.
[00:10:39] And so that's what we have done.
[00:10:41] So they're going to bring us some scripture today.
[00:10:43] They're going to bring us ways to think about what God intends for us.
[00:10:49] But the best thing about it is that it's allowing us to just open our minds and to see what God has in store for us.
[00:10:57] Hear these words.
[00:10:58] Faith is full of questions.
[00:11:01] And far from being evidence of a lack of faith, these questions represent our true wrestling with God about who God is, about who we are as children of God, about how we live faithfully.
[00:11:14] So this fall, and we're going to do this all the way up until Advent, we're going to sing the things that we know are true.
[00:11:23] We are children of love.
[00:11:25] We are God's children.
[00:11:26] Will you stand and sing with us?
[00:11:28] Let's get our worship on this morning.

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
I was walking the wayside Lost on a lonely road I was chasing the highlight Trying to satisfy my soul All these lies I believed in

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
I'm from heaven and I've never been the same I'm gonna climb a mountain, I'm gonna shout about it I am a child of love I found it all, I found a friend in Jesus
[00:13:07] Just when I thought it was over You broke me out of the grave I'm gonna shout that I'm a child of God
[00:14:48] I found a friend in Jesus I am a child of love I am a child of love I am a child of love

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
One of the blessings we have is to give back to God some of the blessings that we've been given.
[00:15:26] And this is a part of our worship every time we gather together.
[00:15:31] Because we have been so blessed, we are called to give to God and to give back.
[00:15:37] and to allow this church to continue serving in the world.
[00:15:41] I want to tell you about one of the ways that because of your giving, we have been able to allow Carter, our tech person, to be a full-time tech person.

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
So, praise to that.

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
This means that not only will he just do these services but he'll be able to help with so many of the things in our church to be able to help.
[00:16:04] I'm grateful for you all for the ways that you have given and the ways that you are moved to give to God and that allows us to continue working into the ministry that this church is called to do.
[00:16:16] So as we begin our next song, I invite you to give generously as the ushers hopefully will come by and pass the baskets.
[00:16:25] I'm going to tell you about the song that we're going to start.
[00:16:27] It's a new song for us.
[00:16:28] You may have heard it on the radio if you listen to Christian radio.
[00:16:31] Bless God.
[00:16:32] It says, I'm going to bless God in all the places.
[00:16:35] Bless God in the sanctuary, in the fields of plenty, but then also in the darkest valley.
[00:16:41] Bless God when my hands are empty because blessing God is what I'm called to do.
[00:16:49] Bless God when nobody's watching.
[00:16:52] So we're blessing God in all the good things.
[00:16:54] We're also blessing God when things are just not going the right way because God is still there walking with us, guiding us, moving with us.
[00:17:03] I invite you to sing this song with me.

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
One, two.

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Blessed are those who run to Him, who place their hope and confidence in Jesus.
[00:17:37] He won't forsake
[00:17:41] Blessed are those who seek His face, who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus.
[00:17:50] They won't be shaken.
[00:17:53] Come on and praise the Lord with me.
[00:18:11] Let your voice with me He's worthy of all the praise Blessed are those who walk with Him Whose hearts are set on pilgrimage with Jesus They'll see His glory
[00:18:37] Blessed are those who die to live, whose joy it is to give it all for Jesus.
[00:19:51] Bless God in the sanctuary Bless God in the fields of plenty Bless God in the darkest valley Every chance I'll get I'll bless your name Bless God when my hands are empty Bless God with the praise that calls me
[00:20:22] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:20:37] Amen.
[00:21:03] Sing if you love His name Come on and raise your voice with me He's worthy of all our praise Come on and bring your offering Sing if you know
[00:21:36] Amen.
[00:21:46] You may be seated.

[00:22:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I'm giving the church another dollar.
[00:22:20] So when Wes and I were first in ministry, the very first time we met each other, we were on staff together at a church.
[00:22:27] I was the associate pastor, Wes was the youth minister.
[00:22:30] And just to be clear, we asked permission before we went on a first date.
[00:22:34] And that is not, that's a true story.
[00:22:36] We went and asked permission.
[00:22:37] Anyway, but Wes would always do youth retreats and he would give, he would do shirts.
[00:22:42] And this was my favorite one and I've kept it all these years.
[00:22:45] And it says on the front,
[00:22:47] If you can read it, it says Christos Kyrios, and then underneath it says Kyrios.
[00:22:53] Christos Kyrios means Christ is Lord.
[00:22:57] And on the back of this shirt it said, The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
[00:23:00] And that's what we're talking about today.
[00:23:02] But I wanted to bring it because we're asking curious questions and how appropriate.
[00:23:07] But I love this shirt.
[00:23:08] Christos Kurios.
[00:23:09] I think it would make somebody curious.
[00:23:10] So, Wes is going to read the text this morning.
[00:23:13] And then we're going to just have an opportunity to share a little bit about these questions y'all are asking.
[00:23:20] Alright, everybody take a deep breath.

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us hear the Word of God from the Gospel of John chapter 14 verses 1 through 7.
[00:23:34] Do not let your hearts be troubled.
[00:23:37] Believe in God, believe also in Me.
[00:23:39] In My Father's house there are many dwelling places.
[00:23:43] If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
[00:23:48] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
[00:23:57] And you know the way to the place where I am going.
[00:24:01] Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going.
[00:24:04] How can we know the way?
[00:24:06] Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:24:11] No one comes to the Father except through me.
[00:24:14] If you know me, you will know my Father also.
[00:24:17] From now on you do know him and have seen him.
[00:24:21] This is the word of God for all people.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Thanks be to God.
[00:24:26] So, here's what you all wanted to talk about.
[00:24:30] We ask you all for your curious questions and we got lots of them.
[00:24:35] Lots and lots and lots of questions.
[00:24:37] And all of them were really good questions.
[00:24:40] Some of them we can answer in sermons and some of them we just can't even begin to touch in a sermon.
[00:24:46] Others of them are really things that we can talk about in worship that we think we can help you all with some of your questions.
[00:24:54] And the truth is that lots of your questions were really hard.
[00:24:59] And I don't know that I really wanted to answer some of them.
[00:25:03] Just be real honest with you, because they're hard.
[00:25:06] And they're complicated.
[00:25:07] And I don't want to diminish their complexity, but I also don't want to make anybody mad.
[00:25:14] And so I told Wes, I was a little nervous, and this is what Wes said to me.

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, I'm not.
[00:25:24] It's alright.
[00:25:26] If I'm wrong, I've been wrong before.
[00:25:29] and God is good you know these are hard questions which is why we are saved by faith not by knowledge we've been told by a lot of us have been told by other Christians that there are clear answers to these questions and that that the voice that that is
[00:25:52] Telling us that we need to have to be certain.
[00:25:54] That voice can often be far louder than a voice that comes out of humility.
[00:25:59] Certainty can feel better and safer.
[00:26:04] Tea can bring us comfort, but God isn't really.
[00:26:08] So we have to start and begin with what we do believe in our oldest creed, kind of a foundation.
[00:26:18] Christians across the centuries have who have wrestled with these questions together the truth that we all agree on kind of at the core of the gospel and that's the Apostles Creed so we're going to say that together as our starting point and in order to do that you kind of you have to stand up to say the Apostles that's right so please stand it's going to be on the screen there you go oh that's really kind of small but hopefully you know it

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker received by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
[00:27:00] The third day he arose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:27:08] From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:27:13] I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[00:27:25] Amen.
[00:27:26] Y'all may be seated.
[00:27:28] So we also think it would help us and you all as well if we laid out some just basic ground rules.
[00:27:37] Wes and I are not going to do this whole sermon series as a dialogue sitting up here together because it's real hard to do this.
[00:27:45] That's just being real honest.
[00:27:47] It's just harder than just preaching a sermon.
[00:27:49] Anyway, but we do wanted to do these first couple of sermons like this because we want you to understand that in all of the questions that you all are asking and all the things you're wrestling with, they are a dialogue.
[00:28:02] They need to happen in conversation.
[00:28:04] It's not one person telling somebody else.
[00:28:07] And we have to be in conversation about it because they are complex and because we all come at it from different perspectives.
[00:28:14] So we want to set the stage.
[00:28:16] And Wes and I, when we started doing this, said the things we were just going to agree to.
[00:28:19] And we're going to invite you all to just sort of agree with the ground rules with us.
[00:28:23] So here are the ground rules.
[00:28:24] Number one, we're going to engage with humility.
[00:28:28] We're going to be okay saying there's some stuff we don't know.
[00:28:32] And we're gonna be willing to say, I could be wrong.
[00:28:35] And that's harder for some of us than others of us.
[00:28:37] You know who you are.
[00:28:40] And if you don't, your spouse for sure does.
[00:28:43] So we're going to engage with humility and embrace what we don't know.
[00:28:46] The second thing is we're going to remain grounded in Scripture and in the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
[00:28:52] We are not going to be talking about what this person said out in the world or that person.
[00:28:56] We're going to stay rooted in what the Scripture says.
[00:28:58] Not in what we always heard or what we always assumed, but what the Bible actually teaches us about these things.
[00:29:05] And lastly, we're going to be willing to wrestle with God.
[00:29:08] That is all across the Bible.
[00:29:10] People wrestle with God.
[00:29:12] And that's okay.
[00:29:13] God's big enough to take your wrestle.
[00:29:15] So we want you to remember that the Scripture tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
[00:29:22] So we're going to accept the tension that exists when we're learning and growing.
[00:29:26] We're just going to be okay with wrestling with some questions and with walking out of here going, well, I don't know that I...
[00:29:31] So if y'all can agree with us that we're all going to engage these questions with humility, we're going to remain grounded in the Scripture, and we're going to be willing to wrestle with trust.
[00:29:46] Will you just say amen?
[00:29:49] Alright.

[00:29:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay, so...
[00:29:54] Before we begin looking at our reading this morning from John 14, I want to be clear that I'm focusing, that we are focusing on salvation, on the question about who will be saved.
[00:30:07] That was a question that showed up a number of times and it might have been like I have co-workers who are different religions or people I know who are atheists or
[00:30:17] You know, a family member who no longer goes to church and kind of has left the faith.
[00:30:23] What will happen with them?
[00:30:24] Who will be saved?
[00:30:26] Kind of salvation is the focus this morning.
[00:30:29] I'm not thinking about ethics or morality or missions or really not even our part.
[00:30:36] And that'll come up a little bit.
[00:30:38] But this morning, not so much our part that we do have to play in all this stuff, but really on salvation.
[00:30:46] On how and about who.
[00:30:49] So the starting point as soon as I began reading these questions, we began kind of categorizing the questions you all sent into us.
[00:30:59] And then we started thinking about scriptures we might want to use as starting points.
[00:31:04] With this question about salvation, I went immediately to John 14.
[00:31:09] And way, truth, and life, no one comes to the Father except through me.
[00:31:13] and that's a passage I've heard my entire life it's a very familiar with that with what Jesus says there and it's beautiful and inspirational and what Jesus teaches there encourages us to put our trust and hope
[00:31:30] in Jesus.
[00:31:31] That Jesus is going to prepare a place for us, that Jesus is going to take care of us, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:31:40] So I've heard it used in good, powerful ways, but I've also heard this passage used in ways that were judgmental and harsh.
[00:31:48] I've heard this teaching of Jesus used to condemn entire groups of people, even other Christians, who don't believe or live out their faith in one particular way.
[00:31:58] They don't believe like I believe.
[00:31:59] They don't live or act like I act.
[00:32:02] So they are condemned.
[00:32:04] They're not really true Christians.
[00:32:07] And using what Jesus says here in John 14 as a way to judge, condemn, or exclude people is, at best, a misreading of what Jesus is saying.
[00:32:16] And at worst, it's a way for some Christians to claim superiority over others who believe differently, to judge and reject anyone who doesn't understand or experience faith in exactly the same way, and to claim some kind of insider knowledge about who's in and who's out when it comes to salvation.
[00:32:36] and we shouldn't do that.
[00:32:38] Go back to that first rule about humility.
[00:32:41] So there are several different ways we can understand what Jesus means when he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:32:47] No one comes to the Father except through me.
[00:32:49] So we're going to take just a minute to break that down.
[00:32:52] Jesus begins with two simple words, I am.
[00:32:56] I am.
[00:32:58] This is one of eight statements in the Gospel of John that are known as the I am statements that Jesus says in the Gospel of John.
[00:33:06] I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Way, I am the Vine.
[00:33:11] I am the Resurrection.
[00:33:12] I am the Resurrection and the Life.
[00:33:14] And chapter 8 just finishes this long argument with the Pharisees by simply saying, I am.
[00:33:21] And so there's a deeper meaning here.
[00:33:23] It goes all the way back to the book of Exodus, to the story of Moses in Exodus 3 when Moses had killed an Egyptian, fleed for his life, went into
[00:33:37] When he became a shepherd, and he was on Mount Horeb, when Moses encountered God in the burning bush.
[00:33:44] And God spoke to him and told Moses, you're going to go back to Egypt, confront Pharaoh, and free my people.
[00:33:49] And Moses said, nope, uh-uh, I'm not doing it.
[00:33:52] And God said, yeah, uh-huh, you're going.
[00:33:55] And Moses said, well, they won't believe me.
[00:33:56] Who should I tell them sent me?
[00:33:59] Some bush that's on fire, they'll never believe that.
[00:34:02] Who should I tell them sent me?
[00:34:04] What name shall I use?
[00:34:06] And God says...
[00:34:07] which means I was, am, will be who I was, am, will be.
[00:34:14] I am who I was.
[00:34:16] I will be who I was.
[00:34:17] Basically, I am unchanging.
[00:34:19] I am the eternal one.
[00:34:20] I am completely unchanging.
[00:34:22] That's only true of God.
[00:34:23] That's not true of any of us.
[00:34:25] We are not unchanging.
[00:34:27] You are not what you were.
[00:34:28] And you are not what you will be.
[00:34:33] So this God is saying, tell them I, and here's the quote from Exodus, you shall say to the Israelites, I am has sent me.
[00:34:41] And so when Jesus says in John, I am, Jesus is equating himself with God, saying that he is the same God who liberates, who is unchanging, who saves, who rescues.
[00:34:54] And then Jesus says, I am the way.
[00:34:57] Jesus Christ is the way that God has chosen to save and redeem humanity.
[00:35:02] To rescue us from sin and death and to reconcile all of creation to Himself.
[00:35:07] The focus here in what Jesus says is entirely on Jesus and why He was sent to earth.
[00:35:13] John's Gospel culminates in how Jesus is the way to the Father, namely through His death on the cross and the resurrection.
[00:35:21] What Jesus does not mention here
[00:35:23] is any one person's individual choice to accept or follow Jesus.
[00:35:30] In chapter 14, Jesus is talking right here.
[00:35:33] He's talking to his disciples.
[00:35:34] They don't need to be convinced at this point to follow Jesus.
[00:35:37] They're already following.
[00:35:40] When we make what Jesus says here in John about a choice that we make, we're putting way too much weight on our decision.
[00:35:49] It is not our decision that saves us.

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
So I'm going to stop you.

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay.

[00:35:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Because what you just said needs a minute.
[00:36:03] I need everybody to take a deep breath.
[00:36:05] So I have always understood following the way of Jesus when it says Jesus is the way and I hope I'm not alone here.
[00:36:13] I always thought that meant that I had to choose to follow the way of Jesus and that if I chose to follow the way of Jesus that's how I would be saved.
[00:36:23] That's how I always understood that.
[00:36:25] So what you're saying is that what God has done for us in the incarnation and the death of Jesus on the cross, that is the way that God has chosen to reconcile the world to himself, not the way we're supposed to choose in order that we can be saved.
[00:36:42] Is that what you're saying?
[00:36:42] Because I think that's a radical brain shift.

[00:36:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, yeah, it is a bit of a change.
[00:36:47] Okay, just making sure.
[00:36:48] Are y'all okay?
[00:36:49] Everybody cool?

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Everybody take a deep breath.
[00:36:50] Everybody okay?

[00:36:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
All right.
[00:36:52] And if they weren't, is anybody going to really raise their hands and say, I'm not?
[00:36:56] It's kind of an unfair question.

[00:36:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Daniel says he's not.

[00:36:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
We'll talk later.

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
This is when Wes gets in the Greek and it gets hard.
[00:37:02] I'm just being honest.
[00:37:03] It gets hard here.

[00:37:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
What I'm saying, I've said it, some of you have heard me say this before about faith.
[00:37:08] We aren't saved by our faith in Jesus, but by Jesus' faithfulness to God.
[00:37:16] It is not my faith that led Jesus to the cross.
[00:37:20] It is the faithfulness of Jesus and the obedience of Jesus to God that led him to the cross.
[00:37:27] I know my faith.
[00:37:28] My faith ain't strong enough to save me.
[00:37:31] I don't know about your faith, but my faith tends to fluctuate.
[00:37:35] Some days it's great, some days not so much.
[00:37:39] My faith is not strong enough.
[00:37:40] There is nothing I can do, no action I can take that would be good enough or powerful enough to save me.
[00:37:49] It is the faithfulness of Jesus and Jesus' obedience to God that saves me.
[00:37:55] That same faith and obedience that led Jesus from the garden of Gethsemane to the cross, in the garden where Jesus prayed, not my will but yours.
[00:38:04] Now our faith and our choices do matter, but that's not what saves us.
[00:38:10] Like Paul says in Ephesians 2,
[00:38:12] For by grace you have been saved through faith, through the faith of Jesus.
[00:38:16] And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.
[00:38:22] That's what makes salvation real.
[00:38:25] That's what makes salvation, what we say, effective.
[00:38:29] Jesus does not say, no one comes to the Father except through their own personal decision to follow me.
[00:38:35] He says, no one comes to the Father except through me.
[00:38:39] Go off script for just a second.
[00:38:41] You do whatever you want to do.
[00:38:42] I thought of an analogy, actually two analogies, and like all analogies, they eventually fall apart.

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We're still going over time.
[00:38:51] Sorry.
[00:38:52] Go ahead.

[00:38:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay, I'm not even going to worry about that.
[00:38:56] Okay, so sometimes we treat salvation like we are calling ahead to reserve a table at a restaurant.
[00:39:05] Call ahead and say, I'm going to reserve my table.
[00:39:06] I want my spot.
[00:39:07] And then when our number gets called, we go sit at our table.
[00:39:11] Sometimes that's how we treat salvation.
[00:39:14] And usually we think that restaurant's really exclusive.
[00:39:19] And sometimes we try to make reservations for other people.
[00:39:24] But I prefer to think of salvation like a river.
[00:39:28] And the rich young man comes and asks Jesus, how do I inherit the life of the age to come?
[00:39:37] How do I inherit the kingdom?
[00:39:38] How do I inherit eternal life?
[00:39:41] And then Jesus says, you know, follow the commandments and then give all you have to the poor.
[00:39:45] But the big thing there is how do I inherit eternal life?
[00:39:48] Here's the thing, eternal life doesn't begin when you die.
[00:39:52] I wouldn't be eternal.
[00:39:53] When does eternal life begin?
[00:39:54] It doesn't.
[00:39:58] When does eternal life end?
[00:40:00] It doesn't.
[00:40:01] So think about standing on a river, bank of a river there.
[00:40:04] We'll make it a lazy river so it's not scary.
[00:40:06] Think it's a lazy river.
[00:40:07] You got your tube.
[00:40:09] And let's pretend lazy rivers exist out in the world.
[00:40:11] And you look to your right.
[00:40:13] The river's flowing that way.
[00:40:14] You look to your right.
[00:40:15] Can you see where the river begins?
[00:40:16] No.
[00:40:17] Can you see where the river ends?
[00:40:19] No.
[00:40:20] Does you jumping in the river make the river flow?
[00:40:23] No.
[00:40:25] You're invited to jump in the river.
[00:40:26] You don't create the river.
[00:40:28] You're not in charge of where it begins or where it ends.
[00:40:30] You just jump into the river.
[00:40:32] And then that's your experience of life and the living water.
[00:40:37] Now eventually, will that river, that living water... Go over a plunging waterfall?

[00:40:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Sorry.
[00:40:43] I'm not done.
[00:40:43] I was going to say, would it go over a plunging waterfall?
[00:40:46] Maybe.

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's a lazy river.

[00:40:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Oh.

[00:40:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay.
[00:40:49] Will that river eventually spread out and flood the whole world with living water?
[00:40:54] I hope so, but am I in charge of that?
[00:40:57] No.
[00:40:58] So, the invitation is not to create the river or not to figure out where the river stops.
[00:41:03] Our invitation from God is to dive into the living water.

[00:41:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
That's right.

[00:41:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
So, yeah, that was my analogy.

[00:41:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Sorry.

[00:41:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Back on schedule.

[00:41:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
That was really good.
[00:41:10] Thank you.
[00:41:11] It's a good analogy.
[00:41:12] Do you all like it?
[00:41:13] Yeah, it's good.
[00:41:14] Go ahead.
[00:41:14] Keep going.

[00:41:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let's not poll people.
[00:41:18] Jesus says that no one comes to God except through Him, through what Jesus does for us, for our salvation and for all of creation.
[00:41:26] Jesus then continues, He says, I am the truth, and this goes back to John 1, where in the beginning was the Word, Greek for that is logos, and that means the plan, blueprint, you could even say reality.
[00:41:39] Jesus says, I am the truth, and truth stands regardless of what we might believe or understand.
[00:41:47] Truth does not depend on our understanding or acceptance of that truth.
[00:41:51] There's an important question in John 18, Jesus before Pilate, and they're going back and forth, and Pilate asks, What is truth?
[00:42:00] Jesus says, I was sent to proclaim the truth.
[00:42:02] And Pilate says, What is truth?
[00:42:03] And Jesus doesn't answer him.
[00:42:06] Because Jesus is the complete embodiment of God's truth.
[00:42:10] Not a statement.
[00:42:11] Jesus himself is the embodiment of God's truth.
[00:42:15] The truth of God fully revealed in a person in Jesus of Nazareth crucified and raised from the dead.
[00:42:22] So then Jesus says, I am the life.
[00:42:25] God is the source of all life and the giver of the eternal life in which we put our ultimate hope.
[00:42:32] Again, in John 14, this is not about any particular choice that individuals must make.
[00:42:37] The focus is on Jesus.
[00:42:39] If our salvation completely depended upon an explicit and specific choice that we had to make or a certain amount or intensity of faith or conviction, then Jesus would have phrased this differently.
[00:42:51] He would have said, I am the way you must choose.
[00:42:53] I am the truth you must believe.
[00:42:54] I am the life you must accept.
[00:42:56] No one comes to the Father except through their faith in me.
[00:42:59] Jesus doesn't say that because the focus is not on my faith or your faith in this teaching the focus is on what God has done in Jesus Christ salvation is not up to us it is entirely God's work and what that means is that who is saved is also not up to us that's entirely God's business and when we make decisions about who's in and who's out those people are definitely going to that place
[00:43:29] Then we usurp what rightfully belongs to God.
[00:43:34] And we position ourselves as the judge.
[00:43:36] Jesus doesn't command us to judge other people but to love other people.
[00:43:41] And in that love, we're inviting them into the eternal life, the living water that we have received.
[00:43:48] So when it comes to salvation of ourselves, of those we love, of anyone and everyone else, we cannot claim absolute certainty or some kind of privileged insight.
[00:43:57] What we have is faith and hope.
[00:44:01] Bishop Will Willimon puts it this way, salvation, whether of all or a few, must always be an article of hope because it is a matter in the hands of a sovereign God.
[00:44:13] We put our trust in the God who revealed himself fully in Jesus, who points us to the ever-widening circle of God's mercy.
[00:44:20] All right, I'm pretty good at, I think, at unpacking Scripture and talking about theology, but Tony Ruth is really good at practical application.
[00:44:28] That's part of our tradition as Methodists.
[00:44:31] John Wesley was a really practical preacher and teacher.
[00:44:36] If you can't apply the truth we find in Scripture and theology, if you can't apply that into your life, there's not much of a point.
[00:44:42] So, we need to turn to some practical pieces of this and hand it over to Pastor Toni Reynolds.

[00:44:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
So, here's what I would say.
[00:44:50] When we were reading your questions,
[00:44:53] You were asking this technical thing, right?
[00:44:55] You were asking the technical question that Wes just unpacked a little bit.
[00:45:02] But you were asking it this way.
[00:45:03] You were saying things like, what about my Muslim coworker that's really kind?
[00:45:13] Is that person going to be condemned forever?
[00:45:15] What about my Jewish friends?
[00:45:17] One of you asked, what about native peoples who have never heard the gospel?
[00:45:22] Will they suffer for eternity?
[00:45:25] That was the question.
[00:45:26] Are people going to suffer for eternity?
[00:45:28] Is God going to reject them?
[00:45:30] Will I see them in heaven?
[00:45:33] And so I just want to do a quick poll.
[00:45:35] How many of you have ever wondered stuff like that?
[00:45:37] Yeah?
[00:45:39] So you're not alone in that question.
[00:45:41] More close to home, you all were asking this question too.
[00:45:46] I have people in my family who don't believe.
[00:45:51] And I really love them.
[00:45:52] and I'm really worried or my kids were raised in church this one I hear all the time my kids were raised in church and they're not going to church right now and I'm getting older and I can't make anybody do anything you know when they were little I could say get in the car we're going right and now it's got to be their choice and they're not choosing and I'm like did I fail did I do something wrong
[00:46:19] Have I messed up as a parent?
[00:46:22] A lot of fear and a lot of sadness and regret.
[00:46:25] And here's what I would say.
[00:46:26] Behind those questions, behind this question, what I heard in all those questions is real love and compassion.
[00:46:34] It's coming from a place of love and compassion.
[00:46:40] and a desire to reconcile, I think.
[00:46:43] The experience that you might have of a God whose love and scripture that we have heard interpreted, particularly if we grew up in the South, that said, if you have not made a profession of faith and asked Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior, then you're for sure going to you-know-where.

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I think you can say hell.

[00:47:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Well, I mean, you know.
[00:47:06] H-E double hockey sticks, right?
[00:47:10] So behind that, that's the question.
[00:47:13] We're wrestling with that because we all grew up hearing that.
[00:47:15] Did you not grow up hearing that?
[00:47:16] Some of you.
[00:47:18] That's what some of us grew up, especially if we were raised in the South, most especially if we were raised or we have family members of different traditions.
[00:47:26] And so I really want to—it's a real wrestle.
[00:47:29] And my heart says that these questions are not rooted in places of vitriol or judgment.
[00:47:36] That when you're asking that question, you're not asking it from a place of, I'm looking for somebody I can condemn.
[00:47:42] Although I'm guessing you've thought that at least once.
[00:47:45] But more from a place of love and concern.
[00:47:48] And so I'm compelled to answer this question truly, very pastorally.
[00:47:53] So here's what I want to say about it.
[00:47:55] Number one.
[00:47:56] If we're gonna wrestle with this question, and if we're gonna wrestle with what does it mean to say Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and what does it mean to ask who's gonna be saved, we have to give up our need to control the outcomes because it makes us feel safer.
[00:48:11] You're just gonna have to give up your need to control the outcome.
[00:48:14] We tend to want reassurance and known because it makes us feel in control and less powerless and less vulnerable.
[00:48:22] And I don't know about you, but I don't really like being powerless and vulnerable.
[00:48:26] And so we tend to want to sort of control the outcome because it helps us.
[00:48:32] When my Uncle Bud was dying, and I just preached a sermon this morning about the extravagance of my Uncle Bud, which is pretty funny because he was the stingiest person that ever lived, but not with seeds.
[00:48:41] He would just throw out seed liberally.
[00:48:43] and and throw it on all kinds of ground he didn't even care and that's how God God's like that God just throws out the seed anywhere the seed wants to fall he just scatters the seed with extravagance and he's wasteful he is absolutely wasteful about where he throws the word because he's just throwing it on everybody so my uncle bud was dying
[00:49:04] And he had not made a verbal profession of faith.
[00:49:08] And he was at that point in his dying process where he wasn't going to be able to speak anymore.
[00:49:13] Y'all know what I'm talking about.
[00:49:15] And one of his daughters-in-laws was just really emphatic that she needed to hear him profess faith in Jesus so that she could be sure where he was going.
[00:49:25] And I looked at her and I said, you know, that's what you need.
[00:49:30] That's about you.
[00:49:32] That's not about Bud at all.
[00:49:34] That's about you.
[00:49:37] Are we willing to trust that the Holy Spirit is at work in human hearts in ways that we don't know and can't understand?
[00:49:44] Are we willing to say that there might be something happening in my loved one that I'm not a part of and that they hadn't told me?
[00:49:53] Not because they didn't want to tell me, not because I'm a bad person, but because God's at work in them in ways that I can't even begin to wrap my mind around.
[00:50:04] I also think friends that we tend to want to know that we're on the right path and to do that we need there to be a wrong path and more importantly we need to know who's on it so we can compare ourselves against them and say see that's the wrong path and I'm on the right path.
[00:50:17] Right?
[00:50:17] They're clearly wrong and I'm clearly right.
[00:50:20] Again, that's about our wanting to feel more comfortable.
[00:50:24] And so we're looking for rules and for certainty.
[00:50:25] And I want to be clear.
[00:50:27] There are plenty of things that we are called upon to do and that it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
[00:50:33] I'm being very clear about that.
[00:50:34] If you have chosen to be a follower of Jesus Christ, there are ways that you are called to live.
[00:50:39] And Jesus absolutely has a strong focus on our call that we should go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
[00:50:45] But we cannot get hung up on comparing the paths.
[00:50:48] Because the one who saves, as Wes just told us, is Jesus.
[00:50:52] We play a part in sharing the good news, but you and I don't save anyone, nor are we the pearly gatekeepers.
[00:50:57] Ooh, I like that.
[00:50:58] Pearly gatekeepers.
[00:51:02] So long as you and I are focused on who's going to be saved, on other people, what it keeps us from doing is our work.
[00:51:11] Our good work of working out our own discipleship.
[00:51:14] And that, friends, that is your witness.
[00:51:17] That's your witness, and that's how other people come to know about Jesus.
[00:51:22] Jesus says, we've got to deal, remember this?
[00:51:24] He says you've got to deal with the log in your own eye before you start trying to get the speck out of your brother's eye.
[00:51:30] You've got to get serious about following Jesus.

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, and I think kind of what Jesus meant there, that kind of exaggerated image of a log in your own eye, is that we're going to have so much, it's going to take us so much to deal with that.
[00:51:44] That once we're done with that, we're not going to have any time to look at a splinter.
[00:51:47] We're going to be so focused on how we can grow in faith and getting to a place where God helps us to see clearly.

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Right, so managing your own salvation, friends, isn't that enough for each of you without taking on somebody else's?
[00:52:00] I mean, isn't that enough work for a whole lifetime without worrying about somebody else's situation too?
[00:52:05] My mama used to say, when I told her I was called to ministry, she's like, oh, I'm getting into heaven for sure.
[00:52:13] Which is a vestige, right, of those of you who were raised Catholic absolutely know about that.
[00:52:18] If we got a priest in the family, we are good to go, right?
[00:52:22] And I would tell her all the time, Mama, there are no coattails up in here.
[00:52:25] Like, I am getting on, I'm getting into heaven on the grace of God and nothing less.
[00:52:30] And that's the only way you're getting in either.
[00:52:32] So that's how we're going to get there.
[00:52:34] We have to rely on the grace of God.
[00:52:38] Here's the truth, friends.
[00:52:39] Our lives, more than the amount of scripture we know,
[00:52:43] For those of you who were raised Baptist, more than how good you are explaining the Romans Road, more than how bold you are in talking to others, your life is your witness.
[00:52:58] And people are watching.
[00:52:59] So if we're worried about who's being saved, my suggestion to all of us is that we start getting serious about our own relationship with Jesus and how we are following Jesus and praying that our lives might be a reflection of God in the world that others can see.
[00:53:15] Because Jesus says in John chapter 3 in that same big discussion he has with Nicodemus where he says the most famous thing he said, what did he say?
[00:53:23] Do you remember?
[00:53:23] For God so loved the world
[00:53:26] that He gave His only begotten Son that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.
[00:53:31] God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world might be saved through Him.
[00:53:35] In that same conversation, Jesus says, If I am but lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.
[00:53:42] So here's the question you need to be asking yourself.
[00:53:44] How am I lifting up Jesus?
[00:53:46] How am I lifting up Jesus in how I speak?
[00:53:49] And in how I refuse to gossip or talk negatively?
[00:53:52] Or how am I lifting up Jesus in how I'm engaging my spiritual growth and how I'm giving of myself and my time and my talents and all the things that God has given me?
[00:54:04] How and with whom am I serving?
[00:54:06] Wes had on, when he was in youth ministry, he had this thing, like a post-it note effectively, on his computer and it said, Your relationship with God is your ministry.

[00:54:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I found that quote in a book called your first two years in youth ministry and it said your relationship with Jesus is your ministry and so the starting point for ministry is my daily walk with Christ right and so I would say that's been true for us I would say I'm willing to speak for Monica and Carrie and Mark

[00:54:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We only do what we do up here.
[00:54:43] Our ministry, this ministry, completely, 100% is dependent upon our walk with Jesus on a daily basis.
[00:54:50] And so what I'm going to say to you is, you have a call to ministry too.
[00:54:53] Maybe not this ministry, but you have a call.
[00:54:56] And your relationship with Jesus is your ministry.
[00:55:00] Everything will flow out of your relationship with Jesus.
[00:55:05] There's this prayer, and the prayer book I use, one of them, is called Venite, and there's this prayer in it that would be, I pray it every morning, and every time I pray it, it's like a gut punch.
[00:55:18] It's at the end of the prayer time after I've prayed for everybody, and then it says, We entrust all who are dear to us to your never-ending love in this life and in the life that is to come, knowing that you will do far more for them than we can desire or ask.
[00:55:36] Here's the truth.
[00:55:37] God loves people more than you do.
[00:55:42] And more specifically, God loves your people more than you do.
[00:55:48] God loves Wes more than I love Wes.
[00:55:51] God loves Daniel and Mariana more than I love Mariana and Daniel.
[00:55:55] And that's hard to fathom, right?
[00:55:57] Think about how much you love your people.
[00:55:59] God loves them more than you love them.
[00:56:03] And so to pray that God will do for them, He can do more than what you've even thought to ask that God would do for them.
[00:56:13] So we just trust the people that we love to God.
[00:56:16] And here's the last thing I want to say.
[00:56:18] When we are reading the Scripture, we've got to pay attention to what my professors would call the full tenor of the Scripture.
[00:56:25] And what they meant by that was, Mickey Eford was my New Testament professor, and he would say, we take pieces out of, he's a loyal country boy from Kannapolis, and he would say, we just cut things out of the Bible and we slap it up on the wall and we say, that's what I believe.
[00:56:40] And we take it totally out of its context, right?
[00:56:43] And so we do that with this passage all the time.
[00:56:45] And his point in saying that was you can't do that.
[00:56:48] You've got to look at every scripture in the full tenor of the scripture.
[00:56:51] You've got to look at everything that God says in the big picture of the big God story.
[00:56:56] That's why you need to be a student, not just in devotion, but to be a student of the Bible.
[00:57:02] You need to really know the full tenor of the Scripture.
[00:57:04] Because here's a couple of things I want to point out to you.
[00:57:06] This very passage, where Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:57:09] No one comes to the Father except through me.
[00:57:11] Did you notice where it started?
[00:57:13] Verse 1 of chapter 14.
[00:57:15] In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
[00:57:21] It didn't say, in my Father's house there are lots of dwelling places for the people that I've chosen.
[00:57:27] Call and reserve a spot.
[00:57:28] Call and reserve a spot.
[00:57:30] It didn't say there's many dwelling.
[00:57:31] It says there's many dwelling places.
[00:57:34] Lots of them.
[00:57:35] Lots of different kinds of houses.
[00:57:36] There's craftsmen's and mansions and some of y'all want tents.
[00:57:39] I don't know why, but some of you get a tent, right?
[00:57:43] That's not biblical, by the way.
[00:57:44] This whole mansion thing, that's not actually in the Bible.
[00:57:46] Anyway, that's a whole other conversation.
[00:57:48] And just a few chapters before he says this in another one of those I am statements in John chapter 10.
[00:57:55] Put that on the screen.
[00:57:56] Jesus says this y'all.
[00:57:57] John chapter 10 verses 14 through 16.
[00:58:00] I am the good shepherd.
[00:58:01] I know my own and my own know me.
[00:58:03] I lay down my life for the sheep.
[00:58:05] And then he says this.
[00:58:06] I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
[00:58:10] And I must bring them also.
[00:58:12] And they will listen to my voice.
[00:58:15] So there will be one flock and one shepherd.
[00:58:19] What does that mean?
[00:58:20] I don't know.
[00:58:23] But it seems to me like God's saying He's got a plan.
[00:58:26] And maybe, part of what He's saying right there is He's talking to Jewish people and He's saying, I have people that aren't Jewish that are part of this fold.
[00:58:33] He's talking about the Gentiles.
[00:58:34] He's talking about you and me.
[00:58:37] So can we believe that Jesus, that God has some sheep that aren't in this fold already?
[00:58:44] Is that what this might mean?
[00:58:46] I don't know.
[00:58:48] But that gives me pause before I start telling you who's in and who's out.
[00:58:52] And maybe it should give you pause too.
[00:58:55] To stop and think about who might the sheep that know Jesus' voice that don't even look like sheep to me.
[00:59:02] That I've not even realized.
[00:59:04] This is where humility, I think, comes into play.
[00:59:07] And just as Wes said, Jesus didn't say, I'm the way you must choose.
[00:59:11] I'm the truth you must believe.
[00:59:13] I'm the life you must accept.
[00:59:14] He said, I am the way.
[00:59:17] I am the truth.
[00:59:19] I am the life.
[00:59:22] Everybody's coming to Jesus, y'all, on the grace of God.
[00:59:26] Want to know how you're getting in?
[00:59:29] It ain't anything you've done, nor nothing you will ever do.
[00:59:33] It's not any decision you ever made.
[00:59:36] It's not any choice that you...
[00:59:38] It's not how many committees you served on or how much money you...
[00:59:40] The grace of God.
[00:59:41] Amen?
[00:59:42] And thanks be to Jesus for it, yeah?
[00:59:45] So...
[00:59:47] What are we going to do about that?
[00:59:48] Here's a couple things I want us to spend just a minute praying about.
[00:59:55] Number one, if you're worried about who's going to be saved, my first question to us is going to be, how are we praying for other people?
[01:00:05] Are you praying for them?
[01:00:06] And how are you praying for them?
[01:00:08] That's the first question.
[01:00:09] And the second one is this.
[01:00:11] Be mindful of your witness.
[01:00:12] Friends, true discipleship is not born out of fear but out of a compelling encounter with God and Jesus Christ.
[01:00:22] Telling people that they are going to hell is not going to get it done.
[01:00:25] We're going to talk about that next week.
[01:00:27] But the most compelling thing that's going to bring people to Jesus is not your condemnation but your witness.
[01:00:36] So, here's a couple questions.
[01:00:39] Put them on the screen there.
[01:00:39] We want you to just kind of sit with and pray about for just a second.
[01:00:43] Connor?
[01:00:44] Oh, there you go.
[01:00:45] Not that one.
[01:00:46] Did I skip it?
[01:00:46] Did I not include it?
[01:00:48] Oh, come on.
[01:00:50] It's not on here?
[01:00:51] Come on!
[01:00:52] Alright, first question.
[01:00:54] How am I praying?
[01:00:55] So, either take this minute.
[01:00:57] I want you to actually pray for somebody you know that you're worried about from that place of humility.
[01:01:02] praying that God would be at work in ways and saying being willing to say God I don't even need to be part of it it doesn't need to make sense to me it doesn't need to be in the place I want it to be I just want you to be working and and putting people in their life and and tending the soil of their life I pray that my witness would bear witness and then the other way you want you to pray is to just take a minute and think what is your what is your witness
[01:01:30] How are you living such that somebody else might want to know more about the Jesus that you know that you could say, let me tell you about the grace that is saving my life.
[01:01:40] Let me tell you about the river.
[01:01:41] You want to get in?
[01:01:42] I got an extra tube.
[01:01:45] Let's get in the river together.
[01:01:47] In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, let's pray.

[01:01:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hi!
[01:01:55] We're so glad that you joined us today.
[01:01:57] We just started this really cool worship series, and I hope you can join us for the rest of these.
[01:02:03] If you've been worshiping online with us, or even if you've been here in person, we kind of queried the congregation asking, what kind of questions do you have about the Bible?
[01:02:11] What kinds of things are you have you always wondered about or if you have kids who've asked you like the hardest question about the Bible and you're like oh I'm gonna put that in there because I don't know the answer to that.
[01:02:22] Pastors Wes and Tony Ruth are being super brave in my opinion and they're tackling some of those questions.
[01:02:27] I hope that as we kick that off today that that has kind of gotten your thought process going because listen
[01:02:34] Just because we have faith in God and we read Scripture and we believe Scripture doesn't mean we don't have questions.
[01:02:40] It's okay to question.
[01:02:42] Matter of fact, I think it's encouraged all through Scripture to have good questions and to really kind of wrestle with some of these.
[01:02:49] And I want to reiterate there were some values that we're going to agree to while we talk to this.
[01:02:53] And I'm going to read them to you again because as we have these conversations about these questions, understanding that some people might answer them differently, and to be honest, sometimes that's
[01:03:04] So let's listen to these values again and hold on to these for the next few weeks as we go through the rest of this sermon series.
[01:03:12] First, let's all be humble in this, okay?
[01:03:15] We need to embrace the fact that we don't know what we don't know, right?
[01:03:19] And sometimes, I don't know is the only answer we can give.
[01:03:23] The second is to be grounded in Scripture and be grounded in the God who is love and who reveals Himself in Jesus.
[01:03:31] So underneath every question, that really is the answer, right?
[01:03:34] God is love and God is revealed through Christ.
[01:03:38] There it is.
[01:03:38] Also, and the truth that wrestling with God is really okay.
[01:03:44] I mean, it really is okay.
[01:03:45] It's okay to ask questions.
[01:03:46] It's okay to be curious.
[01:03:48] Matter of fact, I think curiosity is the most wonderful thing in the world.
[01:03:52] Our curiosity is what encourages us to dive deeper in Scripture, encourages us to get to know Christ more through God's Word and to ask really, really good questions.
[01:04:02] This tension is normal and it's expected, so I want to just share that with you as we wrap up.
[01:04:07] This first Sunday of this series, these questions are really, really good, and some of them are really hard.
[01:04:14] So let's wrestle with those together over the next few weeks.
[01:04:18] Next Sunday, quick announcement, believe it or not, Fuel Your Family on Sunday nights kicks off next Sunday.
[01:04:26] I know, where did summer go, right?
[01:04:29] But we have missed Fuel Your Family.
[01:04:31] We have missed being together.
[01:04:33] And if you have been joining us on Sundays for Fuel Your Family,
[01:04:36] I hope you can join us now there won't be programming this is just kind of our kickoff so I hope you can join us you can find more information about that on our website and hey if you are not getting our weekly Tuesday e-alerts our emails make sure you call the church office and ask how you can get on that mailing list and we'll make sure you're getting them because we email every Tuesday we don't spam you
[01:05:00] We email you every Tuesday just to let you know what's going on in the life of the church.
[01:05:04] And of course, Fuel Your Family is a big part of that.
[01:05:06] So make sure you mark your calendars for that.
[01:05:08] And then after that, we're going to get rolling with actual Fuel Your Family.
[01:05:12] So I hope that you'll be able to join us for that.
[01:05:15] Okay, so we're going to continue to tackle these curious questions about Scripture, about God, about our faith over the next few weeks.
[01:05:23] And I do hope you'll continue to join us.
[01:05:25] And hey, listen,
[01:05:26] I love that you're watching online, but if you're local, we'd love to have you here, okay?
[01:05:31] So join us in person if you're able.
[01:05:32] I'd love to meet you in person as well, as I know everyone here would love to as well.
[01:05:36] All right, so I'm going to close us out with a benediction.
[01:05:39] May God continue to encourage us and to prompt us to ask those curious questions so that we can deepen our faith in Christ.
[01:05:53] I'm glad you're joining us.

[01:05:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I'll see you next week.