Scandalous Grace: Why Your Past Doesn’t Disqualify You from God’s Plan

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
All hail the power of Jesus' name Let angels prostrate fall Bring forth the Lord of diadem And crown Him Lord of all Bring forth the Lord of diadem
[00:01:22] Let's pray.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We try on this terrestrial board To Him all majesty ascribe And crown Him Lord of all To Him all majesty

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
His report says I am healed His report says I am filled His report says I am free His report says victory

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Who's report will you believe?

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Let the church say, Who's record will you believe?

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Oh oh oh oh oh

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I am healed, I am free, in his name is victory I am healed, I am free, in his name is victory

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Thank you.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
To worship, I live, to worship, I live, I live, to worship
[00:09:46] All to worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live to worship you All to worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live to worship you
[00:10:19] God bless you.

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
To worship you, I live, I live to worship you I found my purpose now, yeah Oh, to worship you, I live To worship you, I live, I live to worship you Oh, to worship you Oh, to worship you I live to worship you

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Good morning everybody.
[00:12:20] Welcome to Center Church as you're all coming in and grabbing your seats.
[00:12:24] I just want to point out a couple of things that are happening in the next few days.
[00:12:30] We have some special events coming.
[00:12:34] One of them is tonight at 5 o'clock.
[00:12:38] We have our Lessons and Carols service.
[00:12:41] I hope that you'll come and be a part of that.
[00:12:45] We're also inviting everybody to bring some cookies or a snack to share with everyone.
[00:12:49] It's a kid-friendly event.
[00:12:51] Coloring pages and of course the kids are gonna be in there singing with us but that is tonight at 5 and put that on your calendars and then of course it is Christmas in just a few days and so we're going to be having our traditional Christmas Eve service at 6 o'clock on Wednesday evening with candlelight and all that good stuff also at 1215 in the afternoon
[00:13:17] Our Wednesday communion service, our midday communion service is going to be held.
[00:13:22] So come check that out.
[00:13:25] Join us for a special Christmas Eve communion.
[00:13:29] That is it, though.
[00:13:30] I hope that I'll see you there.
[00:13:32] And I want to invite John and Samantha to light our Advent candle.

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
During Advent, we light this wreath remembering that Christ has come to bring light into our darkness.

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel told Mary, You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
[00:14:05] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.
[00:14:09] The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever.
[00:14:15] His kingdom will never end.

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
In Gabriel's announcement, we hear a voice from beyond ourselves, a voice quite literally from out of this world.
[00:14:26] Only God is able to give true and lasting peace.
[00:14:30] Only God can create a new kingdom where no evil and no disappointment can ever enter.
[00:14:36] The news from Luke is that God himself has entered this world.
[00:14:40] His own blood will be shed in order to guarantee that all bloodshed will one day come to an end.

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Today, as we worship, we remember that Jesus Christ, the Lord, is our hope.
[00:14:54] Jesus Christ is our future.
[00:14:57] Jesus, our Savior and our God.
[00:15:01] The little strings of lights in the dark places remain lit.
[00:15:05] By His grace in the dark places until He comes again.

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
I want us to take a moment now and prepare our hearts as we enter into worship.
[00:15:21] I just want to invite you to take a deep breath.
[00:15:32] Know that the Lord sees you as you're coming into this place.
[00:15:35] Whatever you bring with you, your joys, your sorrows, your excitement about Christmas,
[00:15:47] Maybe the sadness of loss.
[00:16:00] However we come in, know that your Lord is calling you to worship Him today.
[00:16:06] And so I want to invite you to stand with me as we say this call to worship.
[00:16:17] Our King and Savior now draws near.
[00:16:22] O come, let us adore Him.
[00:16:24] Let's worship the Lord together.

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled
[00:16:52] Joyful all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies With angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem
[00:17:15] Sing glory to the newborn King.
[00:17:26] Christ by highest heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord Laid in time behold Him come Offspring of the Virgin's womb Veiled in flesh
[00:17:48] Christ the Godhead see Hail the Incarnate Deity Pleased as man with men to dwell Jesus our Emmanuel Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King
[00:18:21] Born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of Righteousness Light and life to all He brings Risen with healing in His wings

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
While He lays His glory by More than men know, more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King
[00:19:10] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:19:16] Amen.
[00:20:06] There is none but like you Who can pour my heart like you do For all creation sings of you
[00:20:39] There is none, none like You Who could know my heart like You do
[00:21:28] So we can run straight into your arms I'm afraid Cause every time we need you We're met by love And we can lift our hands to heaven We're full of faith Cause every time we worship We see your face And we can run straight into

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
We too were made by the Lord

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
There is no one like you, you Lord, you Lord There is no one like you
[00:23:13] You love!
[00:23:23] You love!
[00:23:23] There's no one!

[00:23:23] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
There is no one!

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Let us pray.
[00:23:56] Every time we worship, we see your face And we can run straight into your arms, unafraid Every time we need to, we're met by love
[00:24:19] We see your face, we see your face We see your face, we see your face
[00:24:52] There is no one like you, Lord, you, Lord.
[00:25:13] There is no one like you, Lord, you, Lord.
[00:25:18] There is no one like you, Lord.
[00:25:33] You, Lord.

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The Lord is with you.
[00:26:01] The Lord is with you.

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
You are, You are There is no one like You You are, You are There is none like You
[00:26:45] No one else can touch my heart like you do, Lord Oh, I could search for all eternity, Lord And find there is none like you, Lord There is none like you
[00:27:17] No one else can touch my heart like you do, Jesus I could search for all eternity long And find there is no one like you I could search for all eternity long

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
I invite you this morning, professing the truth of those words, Lord, that we can come before you unafraid, that there is none other like you who is so patient and so gracious and so kind to us.
[00:28:43] who invites us to stand in your holy presence not based on how much we've deserved it this week but based on the blood of Jesus Father as we consider your holiness as we consider your perfection we also recognize all of our imperfections
[00:29:10] We recognize our need to confess our sins and to lay them before you to receive your grace once again.
[00:29:16] And so we take this moment silently before you to confess our sins.
[00:29:38] Let's pray a prayer of confession together printed on your screen.
[00:29:45] Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us as we are sorely hindered by our sins from running the race that is set before us.
[00:30:00] Let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us
[00:30:07] Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit we honor and glory now and forever.
[00:30:17] Amen.
[00:30:18] And as we confess our sins, we proclaim these words from the prophet Jeremiah.
[00:30:24] He says, The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I've made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
[00:30:34] In those days, at that time, I will cause a righteous branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
[00:30:46] In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety, and this is the name by which it will be called.
[00:30:55] The Lord is our righteousness.
[00:30:59] Jesus Christ, our Lord,
[00:31:01] who's coming we look forward to and we announce this season he is your righteousness in Christ you've been made right with God and so we all proclaim together thanks be to God amen well everybody welcome again to center church we're so glad to have you with us in these last weeks of advent as we approach Christmas
[00:31:27] It's a glorious time to remember what Christ has done for us.
[00:31:32] It's a glorious time for us to live out this mission that God has given us, that we're making room for everyone to experience joyful, life-transforming connection to Jesus and his people.
[00:31:44] And I hope during this season you
[00:31:47] Have an opportunity to share Christ's love with others.
[00:31:50] I want to invite our ushers to come up now and to collect our offering.
[00:31:55] We do this every week as an expression of our worship, a reminder, especially during these
[00:32:00] consumer driven materialistic seasons that really God is the one who provides for us and has given us everything we have if you're a visitor with us here today please don't feel like you have to give we're so glad you're here and as this offering is collected I want to invite Jim Niffen down to share with us a little bit about what he and Cheryl have been up to lately

[00:32:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning.
[00:32:26] First of all, Merry Christmas.
[00:32:29] Cheryl and I started something in our home about seven years ago, or maybe eight now.
[00:32:34] We do it every Christmas.
[00:32:36] It's an organization called Neighbor Hope.
[00:32:39] It was founded by Norm and Becky Wetland when they were in their 30s.
[00:32:44] And a minister came to town and was telling them how they need to reach their neighbors, need to go evangelize.
[00:32:49] And they're like, what can we do?
[00:32:50] You know, we have jobs, we have kids.
[00:32:53] and they prayed and prayed and prayed and God gave them the idea of hosting a neighborhood Christmas party for their neighbors in which at some point during the gathering they would share the gospel and what Christmas is all about.
[00:33:05] So we've been doing that now for seven or eight years at our home in Mooresville and it's had a profound effect.

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Well, over the years, Jim's had the chance to share a little bit about this with us and try to encourage the congregation to participate in the future years.
[00:33:22] And this year, you were telling me a little bit about how it went.
[00:33:26] And so I was just wondering, what was the turnout like for you guys this year?

[00:33:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, we don't have that big a house.
[00:33:30] We have a ranch home.
[00:33:32] We had the most people so far this year, 40 of our neighbors.
[00:33:36] And I passed out 40 invitations, and we had 40 people there, 10 of which were children.

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Wow, that's amazing.
[00:33:42] And I think we have a video that we can show?

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It's a quick snippet of what it was like.

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Rain of beams from heaven above Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia Christ the Savior is born
[00:34:18] I am Thine, Holy Thine Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace

[00:34:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Well, as we watch that scene, I'm curious, are all your neighbors Christians?
[00:35:08] Are they familiar with these things?

[00:35:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
No, usually each year we have a time where we go around and I'll ask each person, what was your most memorable Christmas and why?
[00:35:17] And they would go around and share.
[00:35:19] I would say 90% of our neighbors do not go to church.
[00:35:23] I highly doubt they believe in God at all.
[00:35:27] No, what are you... 90%, 80%, but the idea is this is not us here singing Silent Night.
[00:35:35] These are some people who have never experienced something like that, and many times they come up to us afterwards and say, you know, this is the best Christmas gathering I've ever been to.
[00:35:45] I just feel something different here.
[00:35:48] So, and again, these are all neighbors.
[00:35:50] We don't invite friends, family, coworkers, people from the church.
[00:35:54] It's just our neighborhood.

[00:35:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Except for Jim, your friend.
[00:35:58] Jim is scoping it out for next year.
[00:36:03] Well, I'll say it's really impressive to see all these people gathered in your home.
[00:36:09] It also, when you're asking us to try to do it, it's kind of scary.
[00:36:13] It sounds like a huge challenge.

[00:36:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
We just didn't know what to expect.
[00:36:20] We'd never done it before.
[00:36:22] And every year, it got more intimate.
[00:36:25] People began to know each other and say different things, because we would ask a different question every year.
[00:36:31] And we'd be in a circle.
[00:36:34] This year was a little more challenging because a lot of new neighbors came.
[00:36:38] And with that, our regular neighbors were trying to get to know the new neighbors.
[00:36:46] And then we had a lot of kids who loved the singing.
[00:36:50] But you didn't have to have a guitar player.
[00:36:53] I'm just letting you know.
[00:36:55] If you want to sing, you can sing acapella without Jim's lovely guitar.
[00:37:00] You can do it on a CD.
[00:37:02] Now they have TV thing.
[00:37:04] You can sing along with the TV.

[00:37:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
That actually brings up my next question.
[00:37:09] You know, Christmas, the next Christmas is a long time away.
[00:37:12] Is it hard to host this kind of event?
[00:37:16] And maybe how could we reach out like this throughout 2026?
[00:37:22] Are there any thoughts that you have?

[00:37:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, NeighborHope.com, if you go on there.
[00:37:27] Even for something like this, they have dozens of ways to do it.
[00:37:30] We just picked out the way that we felt comfortable with.
[00:37:33] And it doesn't have to just be Christmas.
[00:37:35] You could have a neighborhood gathering for Easter, for Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, anything like that.
[00:37:41] What we're doing this year is after Neighbor Hope,
[00:37:44] we've got the names and addresses of our neighbors we're going to reach out to each neighbor have them over to our house for a cookout and be able to get more intimate with you know what was your faith like what's your background like and get to befriend them more but it's not hard and it's not expensive and it's a lot of fun and the neighbors are jazzed they're really excited to come the new ones particularly couldn't believe they were invited to a house that they didn't even know they didn't know anybody there and what's the name of your neighborhood

[00:38:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
It's called Spring Acres.

[00:38:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Spring Acres.
[00:38:15] Well, let's pray for your neighborhood and let's pray for our neighbors.
[00:38:19] Father, we are so amazed just by the good news of Jesus and sometimes we forget that it really is good news that is for all people and seeing this scene of
[00:38:33] Jim and Cheryl's home filled with people hearing this good news some of them for the first time Lord we we long to see you move in the hearts of our neighbors as well of our friends and our family members those people that you've put us in their lives we think of the five names that we've prayed for through November Lord we lift them up to you and we ask God that you would give us a heart for this community for Lake Norman and for the world
[00:39:01] We pray this, that you would bless especially this ministry and the follow-up with these people throughout the year.
[00:39:06] And we ask maybe that, Lord, you might bless us that we could see people being baptized as a result of this, coming to faith and knowing you intimately, seeing transformation in their homes and in their whole neighborhood.
[00:39:18] We pray this in Christ's name.
[00:39:20] Amen.
[00:39:21] Amen.
[00:39:26] Well, please join with us as we sing our next song.
[00:39:30] And you can stand as well.

[00:39:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
The first moment the angel did say
[00:40:00] In fields as they lay In fields where they lay keeping their sheep On a cold winter's night There was so deep Noel, Noel
[00:40:34] Born is the King of Israel They looked and saw, they saw a song Shining in the east
[00:41:02] of God, and to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued.
[00:41:33] The Lord is the King of Israel Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel The Lord is the King of Israel
[00:42:02] And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far To sleep for a King was there
[00:42:30] And to follow the song wherever it went Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel
[00:43:10] Christ the King of Israel Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Father
[00:43:38] God has made heaven and earth of naught, and with his love mankind hath wrought.
[00:44:05] Lord is the King of Israel Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Lord is the King of Israel

[00:44:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Amen.
[00:44:35] Well, as we have been reminded of this peace that has been given to us through Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to stand and greet your neighbors and pass the peace of Christ to one another.
[00:44:45] And kids, you are now dismissed for the Christmas party.

[00:45:05] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
.
[00:45:26] .
[00:45:26] .
[00:45:26] Let's pray.

[00:45:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Well, if you will make your way back to your seats and join with me as we sing the doxology.

[00:46:10] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

[00:46:40] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[00:46:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Good morning.
[00:46:43] We have a treat.
[00:46:44] You can be seated.
[00:46:44] We are welcoming Brian Martin to preach the word for us today.
[00:46:50] Thank you, Brian.
[00:46:51] Let's give him a round of applause.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Good morning.
[00:47:02] You might not should applaud.
[00:47:03] Haven't preached yet?
[00:47:05] You're not sure what you're going to get?
[00:47:07] No.
[00:47:10] Merry early Christmas.
[00:47:11] I think our family is leaving this week.
[00:47:13] We will not be here for Christmas.
[00:47:15] But Christmas is a wonderful time.
[00:47:18] We get to celebrate the birth of Christ.
[00:47:21] And today's message, we will read all about it.
[00:47:25] But the word to take away is grace.
[00:47:29] And Christmas is about the grace of Christ as he came as a baby into this world.
[00:47:34] to live and die to live a life we couldn't live to die a death that we deserved to die all for our sake such that we would inherit eternal life for those who believe in him the text today we're gonna we will begin with Matthew 1 1 through 6 but let me pray before we start God we thank you for your word Lord give us a love for your word you know as David talks about
[00:47:59] In the Psalms, the love that he had for your word, for the commands of God.
[00:48:04] Lord, I pray that we would have that heart such that we would love your word.
[00:48:08] We would want to do what it says.
[00:48:10] We pray that you would, no matter where we come into this service, Lord, you would meet us where we are, convict us.
[00:48:17] Lord, show us how you would have us to leave this place.
[00:48:20] Help us to live in grace, your grace, but also extend grace to others, Lord, where that's needed.
[00:48:29] Just help us, Lord, grow one step closer to you this day, we pray and ask all in Jesus' name.
[00:48:33] Amen.
[00:48:35] Amen.
[00:48:36] Let's read from our text.
[00:48:37] John, I'm going to read from Matthew, and then we're going to read from, we'll read the 11th chapter of Psalms, or excuse me, 1 Samuel.
[00:48:47] I cannot read that.
[00:48:49] Well, let me try this.
[00:48:50] This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
[00:48:56] Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
[00:49:03] Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.
[00:49:08] Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Abinadab, Abinadab the father of Nashon, Nashon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David, David was the father of Solomon whose mother had been Uriah's wife.
[00:49:37] Anything odd you read there in verse 6?
[00:49:40] Is anything a little different?
[00:49:41] We would think it would say Solomon, whose mother was Bathsheba, but instead it says Uriah's wife.
[00:49:50] So we will talk more about that in the word today.
[00:49:53] And we'll skip over to 1 Samuel 11.
[00:49:56] We'll read selected verses through this.
[00:49:58] In the spring at the time when kings go off to war, David, King David, sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.
[00:50:07] They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Israel.
[00:50:12] So instead of going out with his men, what does David do?
[00:50:16] He remains in Jerusalem.
[00:50:19] They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
[00:50:25] One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
[00:50:29] From the roof he saw a woman bathing.
[00:50:33] The woman was very beautiful and David sent someone out to find out about her.
[00:50:38] The man said, she is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
[00:50:44] Then David sent messengers to get her.
[00:50:47] She came to him and he slept with her.
[00:50:50] Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.
[00:50:54] Then she went back home.
[00:50:57] The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, I am pregnant.
[00:51:01] So David sent his word to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite.
[00:51:05] And Joab sent him to David.
[00:51:08] Then David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet.
[00:51:13] So Uriah left the palace and
[00:51:15] And a gift from the king was sent after him.
[00:51:18] But Uriah slept at the entrance of the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to the house.
[00:51:25] David was bold, Uriah did not go home, or he was told Uriah did not go home.
[00:51:32] So he asked Uriah, haven't you just come from a military campaign?
[00:51:37] Why did you not go home?
[00:51:39] Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open country.
[00:51:48] How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife?
[00:51:52] As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing.
[00:51:57] In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
[00:52:01] In it he wrote, Put Uriah out in front where the fighting was the fiercest.
[00:52:05] Then withdraw from him so that he was struck down and would die.
[00:52:10] When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
[00:52:14] After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.
[00:52:21] But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
[00:52:25] Let's stop there.
[00:52:27] That gets into chapter 12.
[00:52:29] You know what's interesting as I read this, and you know this story, David and Bathsheba.
[00:52:35] The thing that stands out, I think, most to me as I read this is, how is David referred to in Scripture?
[00:52:42] Does anyone know?
[00:52:43] What do you often hear about David?
[00:52:46] He's a man after God's own heart.
[00:52:49] What do we see are the sins of David in this passage?
[00:52:53] These aren't small sins.
[00:52:56] David had Bathsheba, who was the wife of Uriah, brought to him.
[00:53:02] He saw her bathing.
[00:53:04] He lusted after her and he had her brought to him and he slept with her.
[00:53:08] So he committed adultery with her.
[00:53:12] She becomes pregnant.
[00:53:14] And then in order to cover up the pregnancy, what does he do?
[00:53:17] He goes and gets Uriah.
[00:53:21] Uriah was something to know about Uriah.
[00:53:23] Uriah was a good friend of David.
[00:53:25] And he had been part of the men who, when David was running away from Saul, he had been one who had protected and given his life, really sacrificed his life to protect David.
[00:53:38] And now David has Uriah brought back.
[00:53:41] He's trying to cover up the sin that he had with Bathsheba.
[00:53:44] He wanted Uriah to come back from battle to sleep with his wife and the pregnancy to look like whose?
[00:53:51] Uriah's and not David's.
[00:53:52] So we see in David adultery.
[00:53:55] We see he's trying to cover up sin.
[00:53:57] And now that when he figures, you see in Uriah the Hittite, this man of the honor of Uriah, Uriah, instead of going to sleep with his wife when he comes home from battle, what does he do?
[00:54:11] He sleeps at the doorstep of the palace where David is.
[00:54:15] He said, my men are out in battle.
[00:54:17] How can I be with my wife?
[00:54:21] How can I lie with my wife and be with her when my men are out there in battle?
[00:54:27] So it's so interesting in this passage.
[00:54:29] David then writes a letter, sends it with Uriah.
[00:54:35] Uriah is literally carrying the letter that says you're going to put Uriah in the most fierce part of the battle such that he will die.
[00:54:43] Uriah doesn't read that letter.
[00:54:44] He has it turned over.
[00:54:45] Next thing we know, Uriah is killed and David is made known.
[00:54:50] So the sins of David, murder, cover up, lying, and now he hasn't been killed, murder.
[00:54:59] Isn't this amazing?
[00:55:00] How is it that David is a man after God's own heart?
[00:55:04] Do you ask yourself that question?
[00:55:06] I had asked myself that question as I enter this passage.
[00:55:12] Grace.
[00:55:13] It's got grace.
[00:55:14] We're going to talk today a lot about God's grace, but also one thing we see in David is great repentance.
[00:55:25] You know, as we approach Christmas, Christmas is about God's grace in sending his child to live for us, to die for us, to rise again on the third day, and right now is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:55:38] But also, in the story of David, we see immense brokenness.
[00:55:44] We see immense brokenness.
[00:55:46] God's grace on this man.
[00:55:47] But in David, and if you've read Psalm 51, which is a response to the sin that we'll read in 1 Samuel 12, Nathan comes and confronts David with his sin.
[00:55:58] And David repents.
[00:56:00] He turns from his sin.
[00:56:02] So as we approach Christmas, Christmas is a time that we do we remember God's grace, but that also we live a lifestyle of repentance.
[00:56:11] My big idea as I came here today was that no matter your sin, God's grace covers it.
[00:56:21] And no matter your pain, God will redeem it.
[00:56:25] It's interesting in Matthew when we read verse 6 where it talks about Solomon came from Uriah's wife.
[00:56:35] You know, typically in a genealogy, you would not have, you would put your best people, you would put your best foot forward, right?
[00:56:45] It's like when I was in the military, I was in the Air Force, what used to get me was when people wrote
[00:56:50] Performance Report, or when we did our, I can't even remember what it was called, but we would write out, we were tasked to write out like a resume or what you did in order to get promoted.
[00:57:01] And I remember I would read some of these of other people and I was like, you did what?
[00:57:05] Did you really do that?
[00:57:08] You said 200 people came to that?
[00:57:10] I think I saw more like 50 people came to that.
[00:57:12] Right, it was embellishing.
[00:57:15] I saw a lot of embellishing and I think I too was encouraged.
[00:57:18] You wanted to make yourself look good.
[00:57:20] So if you were to write your own genealogy, are there people in your own genealogy that you would leave out?
[00:57:26] Let's be honest.
[00:57:27] Is there anyone in your genealogy you would leave out?
[00:57:30] Sure.
[00:57:31] Is there anyone you would put in?
[00:57:32] Sure.
[00:57:34] You know what's so interesting?
[00:57:37] When Matthew writes this, and Logan's preached in other weeks, Jesus' genealogy is different.
[00:57:45] Jesus' genealogy is one where we find women
[00:57:50] are written into the genealogy.
[00:57:51] That's not typical.
[00:57:52] That's not what would have happened typically, right, for women to be written in.
[00:57:58] You've got people from other places of despised lands like we did last week with Ruth being a Moabitess and folks from Canaan.
[00:58:08] And you have a prostitute.
[00:58:10] And then today we read where Solomon, the line through which Jesus would come, we have
[00:58:17] The Bible says that David was born from an adulterous relationship where David took Bathsheba to be his wife.
[00:58:25] You know, it's interesting.
[00:58:26] That's not the genealogy that we would write if we would write our own.
[00:58:31] But you know what?
[00:58:32] That is the genealogy of our Savior.
[00:58:35] Because our Savior came for sinners.
[00:58:38] I am a sinner.
[00:58:39] You are a sinner.
[00:58:40] And again, today is all about grace.
[00:58:45] Job's racing I was a chaplain for a lot of years and I heard over and over and over God's grace is just it's too easy it can't be that easy God can't just forgive me for my sins it's got it I've got to do something there's got to be a catch you know my my daughter for Christmas she's got an early Christmas present and what do you think she got she got a magic set right magic set all right do you guys you see anything in here
[00:59:16] Nothing in there, nothing in there.
[00:59:19] Wally Kazam, this is what my daughter says, Wally Kazam.
[00:59:23] A rabbit!
[00:59:31] All right, who has ever been to a sermon where a pastor pulled a rabbit out of a hat?
[00:59:35] Anyone?
[00:59:36] It's a first.
[00:59:38] But what is the deal with magic, right?
[00:59:42] If you didn't know, there's a little latch here that comes open.
[00:59:46] Not a real rabbit, not harming rabbits.
[00:59:51] But there's a catch with magic, right?
[00:59:54] There always is.
[00:59:54] Anytime you go to a magic show, you think, well, there's got to be a catch.
[00:59:57] There's something behind it.
[00:59:58] There's something I don't know.
[00:59:59] There's something, there's some kind of deception going on.
[01:00:02] And, you know, I think many people approach grace the same way.
[01:00:07] I think when we think about grace, we think there's got to be a trick.
[01:00:11] Have you ever not been fully honest about yourself and about the sin in your life?
[01:00:18] Have you ever felt too afraid to tell someone about you, yourself, your past?
[01:00:23] I have.
[01:00:25] I've been there.
[01:00:26] We're too afraid because with grace we feel like, I'm good with God, but I just don't know about people.
[01:00:34] People won't accept me.
[01:00:37] You know, at the end of the day, one of my favorite writers is Brennan Manning.
[01:00:43] He wrote this book, Ragamuffin Gospel, which I recommend.
[01:00:47] But he talks about, and really in scripture talks about, our church is to be a hospital for sinners, right?
[01:00:55] It's a place where the sick come.
[01:00:58] My longing is that our church, my wife and I and our daughter, we're part of this church, and I want this church, I know Logan does, for it to be a place where we can bring our sin, that we fall before God, that we realize how desperately we need Jesus, that there wouldn't be a catch, but that we could be real with one another, and that we could bring our sin, and that we could be accepted.
[01:01:24] Because at the end of the day, God's love and God's grace is scandalous.
[01:01:29] It doesn't make sense.
[01:01:31] You know, why would Matthew in his genealogy include all these, you know, with women and people from outside places that were despised and a prostitute and a king who would come from an adulterous relationship?
[01:01:47] Because it points back to grace.
[01:01:50] It's not about what we do, but it's about what God has done for us through Jesus.
[01:01:56] So again, the big idea, no matter your sin, God's grace covers it.
[01:02:00] No matter your pain, God will redeem it.
[01:02:03] I want to look real quickly.
[01:02:04] Point one, the consequence of David's sin.
[01:02:08] These are my three points.
[01:02:09] Consequence of David's sin, the scandalous love of God, practicing a lifestyle of repentance.
[01:02:14] The consequence of sin.
[01:02:16] As we get into this, we've looked at David's sin, adultery, attempt to cover up his sin, murder of Uriah.
[01:02:22] Even when Uriah was murdered, you also see that other Israelite men were murdered.
[01:02:28] So a lot of people died in David's cover-up of his sin.
[01:02:32] But something we don't often think about is Bathsheba.
[01:02:37] You know, what's interesting is you can't really learn a whole lot about Bathsheba in this passage.
[01:02:43] Bathsheba, as you look through the scriptures, you learn very little about her.
[01:02:47] You can't deduce a whole lot about her.
[01:02:51] But can you see pain in the life of Bathsheba?
[01:02:55] From the text, she was forced to sleep with David.
[01:02:58] She became pregnant by him.
[01:03:01] So there you see the pain of being forced to have sex with a man who was not her husband.
[01:03:06] She had pregnancy outside of wedlock.
[01:03:08] Can you imagine the pain of being ostracized by others around her?
[01:03:14] You have the death of her husband Uriah in battle.
[01:03:18] And then finally you have the death of her child.
[01:03:21] David and Bathsheba, as a result of the sin in their relationship, their first child died.
[01:03:29] Can you imagine the pain?
[01:03:31] We often go right to David and we see the sins of David.
[01:03:35] But sit in just a minute and think of the pain of Bathsheba.
[01:03:39] Bathsheba's pain and caused by David's sin is immense.
[01:03:46] And then in Uriah the Hittite, we see a faithful friend, a warrior to David as king.
[01:03:52] He wouldn't sleep with Bathsheba.
[01:03:54] We see honorable actions.
[01:03:56] He returns from battle.
[01:03:57] He sleeps instead with his wife.
[01:03:59] He doesn't sleep with his wife.
[01:04:01] He sleeps at the entrance to the palace.
[01:04:04] This is an honorable man.
[01:04:05] So there's a lot we learn in 2 Samuel chapter 11 in this first part.
[01:04:12] But there are great consequences to David's sin.
[01:04:16] Not only to David, but also to Bathsheba.
[01:04:20] But point two, God's love is scandalous.
[01:04:24] God's grace forgives the most grievous of sins and redeems the most horrific of tragedies.
[01:04:31] Is there a sin in your life that you struggle to forgive yourself for?
[01:04:38] I have.
[01:04:39] I have that.
[01:04:40] I have those in my life.
[01:04:43] God's grace covers it.
[01:04:46] God's grace redeems you from that.
[01:04:50] And for those of you in this world, like Bathsheba, I've never lost a child.
[01:04:56] I've never lost a spouse.
[01:04:59] But in life comes a lot of tragedy and a lot of pain.
[01:05:05] But I think as we see in this story, through Bathsheba, even through her pain, they would come to have Solomon and through David's line would come the true King, Jesus Christ.
[01:05:19] So in that way, we say that Bathsheba's pain was redeemed.
[01:05:26] You know, it's interesting, the definition of grace in the New Testament means favor, blessing, and kindness.
[01:05:33] With respect to God, it's grace is choosing to bless us rather than to curse us.
[01:05:39] It's undeserved.
[01:05:42] Years ago, this has been a long time ago.
[01:05:43] Does anyone remember Redbox?
[01:05:46] You do?
[01:05:47] Does it still exist?
[01:05:49] No.
[01:05:50] Like Blast Buster, it is gone.
[01:05:53] Redbox, years ago, I watched a movie.
[01:05:56] I can't even remember where I was.
[01:05:57] It was in the military, I think.
[01:05:58] But I watched a video, and it got stuck in my laptop.
[01:06:02] Okay, I'm cheap.
[01:06:03] Anyone else here cheap?
[01:06:05] Okay, I'm cheap.
[01:06:06] The red box got stuck in my laptop and I freaked out.
[01:06:10] I was like, oh no, I'm going to have to pay for this disc.
[01:06:14] I know it doesn't cost that much.
[01:06:16] I looked up online.
[01:06:17] I had a friend that did it and he's like, okay, it's like 30 bucks.
[01:06:20] You pay for the video and that's it.
[01:06:23] So I got my credit card out.
[01:06:24] I looked up the red box number and I called him.
[01:06:27] I called the lady with Redbox and I confessed my sin to the lady at Redbox.
[01:06:33] I said, ma'am, my video is in my laptop.
[01:06:36] I can either send you my laptop or I can pay you my money.
[01:06:39] Which would you prefer?
[01:06:41] She said, sir, don't worry a thing about it.
[01:06:44] I'm sorry for your struggles.
[01:06:47] And my thought was, you're sorry for my struggles.
[01:06:50] I just ate your video and you're sorry for my struggles.
[01:06:54] She goes on to tell me, sir, don't worry about returning that video.
[01:06:58] And because of your troubles, I'm going to give you two free rentals.
[01:07:04] I said, no, you don't understand.
[01:07:08] I think you heard me wrong.
[01:07:10] I can't return your video.
[01:07:13] I don't care.
[01:07:15] Keep the video.
[01:07:16] I hope you get it out of your laptop.
[01:07:18] But we're going to just not worry about that and send you two free rentals for your troubles.
[01:07:24] I know that seems like a silly illustration, but to a guy that's fairly cheap, that was a blessing.
[01:07:32] You know, it's interesting.
[01:07:34] If you're ever in life and maybe you have that situation where you've just been shown immense grace,
[01:07:40] Where you've just gotten more than you deserve.
[01:07:44] It's undeserved.
[01:07:48] That's really how God would have us to live.
[01:07:53] Pastor and author Paul Tripp
[01:07:55] He wrote a book, Broken Down House.
[01:07:57] He says this of grace.
[01:07:59] It should be the thing that greets your mind and fills your heart as you wake each morning.
[01:08:04] It should be your final thought as you settle in for a night of sleep.
[01:08:07] It should be that thing that directs how you respond to others.
[01:08:11] It should alter how you think about finances, possessions, decisions, relationships, and everything.
[01:08:17] It should be a central theme of your existence.
[01:08:22] I think he's right.
[01:08:23] We have been shown the grace of Jesus.
[01:08:26] I don't want any of us to feel that shame of the sin in our lives that is too big to be forgiven because in this passage, in this passage, in verse 6 of Matthew, by saying Uriah's wife, instead of saying the name Bathsheba, it points back to David's sin.
[01:08:43] It's invoking that scene of what David did in taking Bathsheba and covering up
[01:08:50] The his own sin and having Uriah killed it brings that up and it and it and it highlights that sin Tim Keller in his commentary on this passage he says this he says Matthew isn't disguising the adulterous affair between David and Bathsheba in this genealogy David was the father of Solomon whose mother was Uriah's wife
[01:09:14] Matthew isn't putting down Bathsheba, he's putting down David.
[01:09:18] He says it's a booby trap.
[01:09:20] Imagine the typical moral respectable person of the day and they're reading Jesus' genealogy and they're shocked by some of the people in the story like Tamar.
[01:09:29] Why even bring that up?
[01:09:32] Who is this Jesus with these kinds of people in his genealogy?
[01:09:35] I don't want that guy at my party.
[01:09:39] Then suddenly they get to David.
[01:09:42] Oh, David.
[01:09:44] Boy, I'd like to have David at my party.
[01:09:47] Remember, he's a hero.
[01:09:49] Logan preached weeks back about David and Goliath, the hero he destroyed.
[01:09:54] He destroyed the great Goliath.
[01:09:56] David's a warrior.
[01:09:58] But by putting Uriah's wife, he evokes the whole incident again, does Matthew.
[01:10:04] Uriah was one of David's best friends.
[01:10:07] When running from Saul, Uriah had voluntarily put his life on the line to protect David.
[01:10:12] Keller says, what is Matthew doing?
[01:10:14] He's saying, here is the best guy in the genealogy, David the king, and he has done something worse than all these women they're snubbing.
[01:10:24] None of them had done anything like David.
[01:10:26] Why is Matthew doing this?
[01:10:30] Keller says, grace.
[01:10:33] The very best person here, David, on his own merits, on his own record, on his own moral accomplishments, not even David deserves to be in the family of God.
[01:10:45] Let that sink in.
[01:10:46] Not even David deserves to be in the family of God.
[01:10:49] On the basis of merit, no one, not even David deserves, excuse me, no one deserves to be in God's family.
[01:10:55] Yet on the grace of God, look who's sitting at the table as equals, a prostitute, a racially marginalized woman, and the king.
[01:11:05] Why?
[01:11:06] Because Jesus came to earth to bring us salvation.
[01:11:10] All we need is grace, and this is what Christmas is about.
[01:11:18] It's interesting, as we talk about grace, and I wanted to mention a point.
[01:11:24] We're talking about the scandalous love of God, something from this book that I took.
[01:11:28] Brennan Manning, in his own life, Brennan Manning, the author of this book, he's passed away since, but he was a Franciscan priest, but who struggled with alcoholism.
[01:11:37] He was an alcoholic and struggled all throughout his life with alcoholism.
[01:11:42] But God brought him to a point that he was radically transparent.
[01:11:48] about who he was and he preached the gospel of grace and from this book i want to read just a piece of what he wrote in this book he speaking of the furious love of god manning writes god is not moody or capricious meaning given to change in mood or behavior he knows no seasons of change praise god he has a single relentless stance towards us he loves us
[01:12:14] He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners.
[01:12:19] The kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there.
[01:12:26] No, it's for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious cast of people who understand they are sinners.
[01:12:33] The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their imperfect existence.
[01:12:41] The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.
[01:12:46] The good news means we can stop lying to ourselves.
[01:12:49] Amazing grace keeps us from denying that the battle with lust, greed, and pride still rages within us.
[01:12:56] It does.
[01:12:58] As a sinner who has been redeemed, I can acknowledge that I am often unloving, irritable, angry, and resentful with those closest to me.
[01:13:06] Anybody else resemble that?
[01:13:08] I do.
[01:13:10] When I go to church, I can leave my white hat at home and admit I have failed.
[01:13:14] God not only loves me as I am, but knows me as I am.
[01:13:17] To live by grace is to acknowledge my whole life story, the light and the dark side.
[01:13:25] A saint is not someone who is good, but who experiences the goodness of God.
[01:13:30] He's so right.
[01:13:32] That's a man who gets it, right?
[01:13:34] He gets it.
[01:13:36] Even this morning, you know, our family right now, we have a lot going on.
[01:13:39] We leave for Munich, Germany tomorrow.
[01:13:43] We're going to a Panthers game right after this service.
[01:13:46] And I was preaching.
[01:13:47] We just have a lot going on this morning as I'm trying to, and my anxiety was building this morning.
[01:13:52] I get nervous when I preach, and I get nervous before I do things like that.
[01:13:56] I had to fold laundry.
[01:13:57] I was upset.
[01:13:58] Do you ever have laundry that you just leave in the dryer for about a week?
[01:14:04] I do.
[01:14:04] It gets all wrinkled.
[01:14:05] It gets all messy.
[01:14:06] It's just a mess.
[01:14:07] I tell you, this is something about Carrie, and Carrie knows this.
[01:14:13] Does anyone else, when you throw clothes in the laundry, turn it inside out?
[01:14:19] Susie, do you really?
[01:14:21] Certain things.
[01:14:24] Carrie turns, and Audrey as well.
[01:14:25] She's been taught by her mom.
[01:14:27] You take things off and you turn it inside out.
[01:14:30] Y'all, this morning as I was doing those clothes, half of them were inside out.
[01:14:36] I admit, I was pretty furious.
[01:14:38] I had to turn the clothes inside out.
[01:14:41] I was mad.
[01:14:42] I said a few things I shouldn't say.
[01:14:44] But I can admit that, right?
[01:14:49] I get angry sometimes.
[01:14:52] You know, as a parent, I get angry sometimes.
[01:14:55] I get frustrated at Audrey.
[01:14:56] I get frustrated at Carrie sometimes.
[01:14:58] They get frustrated at me sometimes.
[01:15:02] But it's okay.
[01:15:04] You know, as Manning's saying here, it's those who are truly filled with light, those who have gazed deeply in the darkness of the imperfect existence.
[01:15:12] I'm imperfect.
[01:15:15] But God's grace, no matter your sin, no matter your pain, God will redeem it.
[01:15:21] God's grace is scandalous.
[01:15:25] And finally, living a lifestyle of repentance.
[01:15:29] I want to read from chapter 12.
[01:15:33] John, if you could bring up 1 Samuel, or excuse me, 2 Samuel chapter 12.
[01:15:41] I want to read, let me read, let me, you can actually keep it, John.
[01:15:44] I'm going to, let me just read out of my, so we don't, I'm going to cut this a little bit shorter.
[01:15:50] In 2 Samuel 12, David is confronted by the prophet, or by Nathan.
[01:15:54] Nathan confronts David on his sin.
[01:15:57] And he brings to him and he tells him a story.
[01:15:59] Tells him a story about a rich man and a poor man and they each have lambs.
[01:16:04] The rich man has a lot of lambs, the poor man has one lamb.
[01:16:08] Traveler comes to the rich man and the rich man wants to feed the traveler.
[01:16:13] So what does he do?
[01:16:13] Does he take a lamb from his own plentiful lambs?
[01:16:19] No, he goes to the poor man and he takes that one ewe lamb that that poor man has.
[01:16:25] And here is David's response.
[01:16:32] I think I could see.
[01:16:33] Nathan said to David, You are the man.
[01:16:37] This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.
[01:16:40] I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
[01:16:45] I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms.
[01:16:49] I gave you the house of Israel and Judah.
[01:16:51] And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
[01:16:55] Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?
[01:16:59] You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.
[01:17:06] You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
[01:17:08] Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house because you despise me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.
[01:17:16] This is what, let me skip down to verse 13.
[01:17:19] Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
[01:17:25] Nathan replied, the Lord has taken away your sin.
[01:17:29] So David was confronted by a good friend, Nathan.
[01:17:34] Nathan comes to him, God worked through Nathan and came to him and said, David, you have sinned.
[01:17:40] What do we not read in David's response where he says,
[01:17:48] David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
[01:17:52] He doesn't make up an excuse.
[01:17:55] He doesn't say and try to hide and cover up, but immediately David realizes the depth of his sin.
[01:18:03] We read this too, even as you go over, and I didn't give John a slide for this, but as you go over to Psalm 51, where we learn about, if you ever wonder about what true repentance looks like,
[01:18:15] It's one thing to confess sin, to feel sorry for sin.
[01:18:18] It's another thing to kind of want to avoid the consequences of our bad actions.
[01:18:23] This is repentance.
[01:18:24] David says, and this is in response about nine months later, but in response to his sin with Bathsheba and Nathan having come to him, he says, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
[01:18:41] Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
[01:18:45] For I know my transgression, and my sin is always before me.
[01:18:50] Against you, God, and you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
[01:19:01] And you can go on and you can read the rest of Psalm 51.
[01:19:05] But David, how can David be a man after God's own heart when he's committed such acts of murder and adultery, covering sin?
[01:19:16] Because David was right with God.
[01:19:18] David was a God after man's own heart because David was
[01:19:23] He loved God's word.
[01:19:25] You read throughout the Psalms, he loved God's word more than anything.
[01:19:30] He wanted to be obedient to God.
[01:19:32] He wanted to do what God would have him to do.
[01:19:36] He was obedient to his word.
[01:19:38] When confronted with sin, he immediately said, I've sinned, not just against the person, but he realized, God, I've sinned against you.
[01:19:47] It's against you, God, that I've sinned.
[01:19:50] And as you read through the Psalms, we see David on his knees.
[01:19:54] We see David being real with God.
[01:19:56] In Psalm 13, David says, Where are you, God?
[01:19:59] Have you forgotten me?
[01:20:01] He's able to be real, but he always comes back, and he always, at the end, he keeps his eyes focused on God, and he says, I know you're with me, God.
[01:20:08] I know you haven't left me.
[01:20:09] I know you haven't forsaken me.
[01:20:12] David is an example of repentance.
[01:20:16] This morning, as I was folding those clothes, I got angry.
[01:20:19] I know we laugh at that, but I got angry.
[01:20:22] This isn't the only time that I get these ways.
[01:20:26] Time that you get these ways, but repentance is the way that we're called to live.
[01:20:31] We will sin.
[01:20:32] You will sin.
[01:20:33] I will sin.
[01:20:34] We are to practice confession of our sin.
[01:20:36] That's what Logan has us do when we come in this morning.
[01:20:39] We take that time of silence where we confess our sin before God.
[01:20:43] But it's also going to that level of repentance and saying, God, against you I have sinned.
[01:20:50] Repentance is a saving grace and a fundamental change of mind where we have a deep sorrow for sin, a hatred that is displeasing to God, and a decisive turning from sin to God.
[01:21:03] So it's knowing what we've done, but it's seeking to turn away from and to live to please God instead of ourselves.
[01:21:12] Recalled to live a lifestyle of repentance.
[01:21:16] So I will close today with my magic trick.
[01:21:22] There was a catch, right?
[01:21:24] But with God's grace, there is no catch.
[01:21:27] Where in your life, what is that sin that God is calling you to receive his forgiveness?
[01:21:35] to say to be free.
[01:21:36] God doesn't want you to be held to that sin of your past or something that you're going through now.
[01:21:42] God wouldn't want you to be held to that or the pain that you felt in your life from tragedy.
[01:21:47] God will redeem these things in our lives because God's love for you is scandalous.
[01:21:55] Let us pray.
[01:21:55] Father God, we thank you that you love us in spite of our sin.
[01:22:01] Lord, we thank you that
[01:22:05] Would I invite my own self to a party in the essence of, Lord, I have not lived based upon my merits, Lord.
[01:22:14] I don't deserve the sin and grace you give me.
[01:22:17] I don't deserve heaven.
[01:22:19] But Lord, because Jesus came at Christmas and he gave his life and lived the life we couldn't live, Lord, I pray right now that you would free us to feel and know your forgiveness.
[01:22:31] For it's scandalous.
[01:22:32] Like Brendan Manning says, Lord, help us, Lord, this church, help us be a hospital of sinners.
[01:22:40] Help us confess our sins.
[01:22:41] Help us live lives of repentance, Lord.
[01:22:44] Help us extend grace to people around us that need it.
[01:22:47] Lord, help us be light.
[01:22:49] For Lord, we don't deserve your sin, grace, and mercy.
[01:22:53] It's only by the grace of Jesus.
[01:22:55] Help us live in that this day.
[01:22:56] In Jesus' name we pray.

[01:22:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Amen.

[01:23:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
All the saints and angels bow before your throne.
[01:23:49] Holy elements cast their crowns before the Lord.
[01:23:59] You are worthy of them all.
[01:24:16] You are worthy of them all.
[01:24:16] For from you are all things, and to you
[01:25:07] From you are all things and to you are all things You deserve glory You're worthy of You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all
[01:25:34] From you are all things, and to you are all things.
[01:25:58] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise
[01:26:20] Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise
[01:27:32] And to you are all things, kings of glory Day and night, night and day, let us arise Day and night, night and day, let us arise
[01:27:55] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[01:28:14] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[01:28:15] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[01:28:45] You're worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve glory You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all
[01:29:19] For from you are all things, and to you are all things.

[01:29:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Two things before we head out.
[01:29:52] There is coffee in the back.
[01:29:54] Thank you, Dan.
[01:29:55] Thank you, Tom.
[01:29:56] Thank you, Chad.
[01:29:56] Everyone who participates in that, please take a cup with you.
[01:29:59] It's really good.
[01:30:00] Take it with you.
[01:30:02] Tonight, come tonight with our lessons and carols, 5 p.m.
[01:30:06] It'll be in the fellowship hall.
[01:30:08] It'll be here.
[01:30:09] Bring friends.
[01:30:10] Come.
[01:30:10] Enjoy time together with the church body.
[01:30:14] But as this serve, you are worthy of it all.
[01:30:17] Jesus is worthy of it all.
[01:30:20] It's interesting.
[01:30:22] May grace never become normal.
[01:30:25] May it always be amazing.
[01:30:27] May it always be scandalous.
[01:30:31] Romans 5, 6.
[01:30:33] You see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
[01:30:38] That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[01:30:44] We are sinners, but our sin is covered by God's grace.
[01:30:47] Receive this benediction from John.
[01:30:50] It's from John 3, 16.
[01:30:51] For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
[01:31:02] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save the world through Him.
[01:31:07] Take that message to the world.
[01:31:10] We ask this in Jesus' name and go in peace.

[01:31:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.