If God...Why Suffering?! | Aaron J. Byers | 7.19.26

[00:00:39]Heat.

[00:01:03]Heat.

[00:01:18]Welcome everyone. Welcome friends to Calvary Christian Curt Church today. We are so glad you have joined us on this beautiful Sunday, July 19th. Thanks again. And if you'd like to comment below, we know we have some longtime watchers. So, welcome back. And for those of you, if this is your first time, we are so thrilled that you found us and that you've joined us today of all the places you could be, thank you for being with us today. That's awesome.

[00:01:46]And we have our worship time today and then a sermon is coming from Pastor Aaron entitled, If God, Why Suffering?

[00:01:56]And I am praying and believing that you're going to love this message, this devotional. I mean, I'm sorry, not devotional.

[00:02:04]This beautiful message just sharing why suffering when we have a loving God. I think you're going to love it. This week is our BBS coming up. If I'm a little tired, it might be because of this.

[00:02:17]We have been working for this and we are so thrilled to be presenting this.

[00:02:22]Tomorrow, the Mystery Island adventure begins tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. So, you still have time to sign up. You can even be a walk-on. We're accepting walk-ons.

[00:02:32]We'd love to have you join us tomorrow, 12:00 p.m. Something special coming every single day this week for your kiddos. So, we hope you can be there.

[00:02:41]Also, coming up August 2nd, there will be our family campus starting. Actually, August 1st, Saturday, family camp is starting. So, if you haven't registered for that, check out the details on our website. We'd love to have you join us there as well. So, if you're here for the first time or many times, we'd love to have you comment below. Uh, one of our missions here at Calvary Christian Church is to share Jesus. So, if you're able to share this message, just click share and pass on the gospel today. That would be awesome. Comment below. We'd love to hear from you and just be able to say hello to you as well. So, we pray that this service is a blessing and an encouragement to you. You know, we've just been praying all morning today that God would come and he'd move on our behalf and that we would be transformed in his presence. So, thank you for joining and we pray that you are encouraged and blessed today.

[00:03:52]drink at our gathering grounds in the lower level at our cafe. The adventure begins tomorrow at Mystery Island VBS.

[00:04:00]Register today by scanning the QR code in our church lobby or by visiting our website. Mystery Island VBS is packed with exciting games, music, crafts, and adventures. But most importantly, kids will spend time in God's word as they track down the one true God and discover his amazing love and truth. Invite your family and friends, and we can't wait to see you there. This Wednesday will be VBS Family Night, and fun starts at 600 p.m. with carnival games, crafts, bounce houses, prizes, and dinner. There will be a wrap assembly at 8:00 p.m. for our prize giveaway and games and our VBS lesson for the day. For our Rise College and career friends, please save the date for summer bash fun at Pastor Aaron's house coming up on Friday, July 24th at 700 p.m. Get ready for some great competition on the basketball and volleyball courts with cornhole and horseshoe tournaments, too. If you've never been to our family camp before, this is your year to join us. Bring your family to this unforgettable event from August 1st through 5th. Registration is now open on our church center app. Our men's ministry is inviting all men, young and old, to our first annual barbecue and bonfire on Friday, August 14th. There will be food, fellowship, games, and a devotion to inspire our men to rally around the theme, Godly Men Leave a Legacy. We pray men will be inspired to be fully captivated and engaged in Jesus's kingdom business.

[00:05:34]There is an urgency in our land now as never before as we see Isaiah's prophecy being fulfilled. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people. But the Lord shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. Activities will begin 6 pm at Bob Blackmir's home in Farmington Hills. The cost is $5, and you can sign up today on the church app. Be sure to check out our website, calvaryroyal oak.org for more upcoming events like our senior outreach on July 26th. New updates are added every week to keep you informed on all that's happening here at Calvary. You can worship through giving via our church center app, our website, or the offering boxes located in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you so much for your generosity. At this time, we would appreciate it if you could please double check your phones and be sure there's silence for our service. As we begin service together, the altars are always open if you'd like to kneel before the Lord as an act of worship.

[00:06:38]Thank you for joining us today.

[00:06:51]sent his son.

[00:06:56]They called him Jesus.

[00:07:00]He came to heal and forive.

[00:07:10]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:07:20]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:07:30]Heat.

[00:07:36]Heat.

[00:07:46]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:08:10]Heat.

[00:08:15]Heat.

[00:08:25]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:08:56]Heat. Heat.

[00:09:10]Heat.

[00:09:18]Heat.

[00:09:28]Yeah.

[00:09:30]Heat.

[00:09:40]Yeah. Heat.

[00:09:50]Heat.

[00:09:54]Heat.

[00:10:05]Because our call to worship this morning comes from Philippians 4 4-8. And as a backdrop to this word, Paul wrote Philippians from prison where he faced possible execution and there was a intense persecution going on, church conflicts and lots of things to be anxious about. So rather than an emotional bubbly rejoice in the Lord always, this call, Paul's call really came as a deliberate command to encourage the reader to anchor their focus on their unchanging God and not on their circumstances. So with that in mind, I'm going to share that word. Rejoice in the Lord always.

[00:11:03]And again I will say, rejoice.

[00:11:07]Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

[00:11:11]The Lord is near.

[00:11:14]Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

[00:11:27]And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute. If there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

[00:11:58]Hallelujah. So as we come before our unchanging God even now this morning let's lay all our anxieties, fears, concerns, everything at his feet. And these are attributes of who he is.

[00:12:14]Attributes of our loving God. And he desires not just to show up. He desires to come and touch and change and love on us. And saints remember this. This is such a precious thing to remember. He inhabits the praises of his people. So as we worship him, he is right here in our midst. So with that, let's open with that wonderful hymn. Joyful, joyful, we adore thee.

[00:12:49]Heat. Heat.

[00:13:00]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:13:10]Yeah. Heat.

[00:13:26]All your words rejoice around you.

[00:13:41]Yeah.

[00:13:43]Heat.

[00:13:53]Yeah. Heat.

[00:14:04]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:14:14]Yeah. Heat.

[00:14:26]Heat.

[00:14:32]Heat.

[00:14:43]Mortal Father God, we thank you, Lord. You are the fullness of everything we long to be. Fill us, oh Lord, we pray today, aresh with your spirit in a growing and living way. Oh God, draw us near to you, oh Lord. Open our eyes aresh Lord to what you have done oh Lord and who you are oh Lord that we may revel in our living God. Thank you father in heaven Lord that you truly are the exalted king of the universe and you have given all to save us and to make us your own.

[00:15:59]Thank you father as we come boldly before your throne of grace. We lift our hands in thanksgiving and we honor you, oh Lord, and we enthrone you, oh king, for you alone deserve all glory and praise and honor and thanks. And we love you, Lord. And we pray these things in your precious name. Thank you, Lord.

[00:16:18]Thank you, Lord. Amen.

[00:16:22]Put on the garment of praise for the lift up your voice to God.

[00:16:31]Hey, heat.

[00:17:01]Yeah.

[00:17:06]Heat.

[00:17:24]to God.

[00:17:31]Why don't you lift up your hands and praise the Lord to be praised? Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:17:55]Heat. Heat.

[00:18:06]Why don't you Yeah. Heat.

[00:18:32]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:18:42]Heat. Heat.

[00:18:52]And praise the name of Jesus.

[00:18:57]Fire in the sky.

[00:19:00]We know all your heart.

[00:19:28]Heat.

[00:19:40]Heat.

[00:19:49]Yeah.

[00:19:52]Heat.

[00:20:07]Yeah. Heat.

[00:20:18]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:20:28]Heat. Heat.

[00:20:40]Oh, the Lord has taken away our judments.

[00:20:49]He has the king of Israel.

[00:21:10]I shall not anymore.

[00:21:18]Jesus, we enth from you and we proclaim that you are here.

[00:21:34]You ship him.

[00:21:59]your sh Jesus and take your way Jesus we and we When you stand here in the we as weship your as we worship You Jesus your way for you are great.

[00:23:23]You hear so great.

[00:23:27]There is no like you.

[00:23:33]There is no one else like you. For you are great.

[00:23:51]There is no you deserve glory.

[00:24:10]Heat. Heat.

[00:24:20]Glorious.

[00:24:45]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:24:55]You are great.

[00:25:11]There is nothing else like you.

[00:25:19]Yes, you are great.

[00:25:31]Yeah.

[00:25:34]Heat.

[00:25:44]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:25:54]There is no one else like you.

[00:26:03]Let us behold you as we let us be as your praise we as we worship.

[00:26:32]Heat.

[00:26:35]Heat.

[00:26:45]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:27:10]Yes, Lord.

[00:27:21]Heat.

[00:27:24]Heat.

[00:27:34]Yeah.

[00:27:36]Heat.

[00:27:46]Heat. Heat.

[00:27:59]Yeah. Heat.

[00:28:10]Yeah. Heat.

[00:28:35]Heat up here.

[00:28:50]Heat.

[00:29:05]Heat.

[00:29:12]Heat. Heat.

[00:29:23]All the great fresh our hands before you.

[00:29:39]Thank you.

[00:29:47]Heat. Heat.

[00:29:57]Jesus Christ.

[00:30:30]and drink not the Holy Spirit of God.

[00:30:33]Know ye not that ye are temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you and you are not your own reminded lives are with the sons of men.

[00:30:54]The Lord rejoices over you with singing.

[00:30:57]>> You are the apple of his eye. He loves you. Set your affections upon him. Let his love fill you that you may love him and love those around you. Amen.

[00:31:13]Thank you, Jesus.

[00:31:44]All the saints Yeah. Heat.

[00:31:59]Oh, heat, heat. Yeah.

[00:32:33]Heat.

[00:32:48]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:33:14]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:33:40]Oh, heat, heat.

[00:34:05]Heat.

[00:34:14]Heat.

[00:34:27]Oh, Father, as we begin this new week that you've given us to live and to enjoy, we quiet our hearts before you.

[00:35:19]We still our minds, our souls before you.

[00:35:24]What a great honor it is to be able to approach your throne of mercy.

[00:35:31]>> We're so thankful, Lord, that though you are holy and though you are altogether righteous and just in all of your ways that you sit upon a throne of mercy.

[00:35:44]You've extended your mercy to all of us.

[00:35:47]You extend your mercy to whosoever will come.

[00:35:51]And so Lord, this morning we come freely >> to your throne of mercy.

[00:35:57]>> We bow as we have sung to you this morning as a congregation. We bow in your presence.

[00:36:03]We confess our sins in your presence.

[00:36:07]We find reprieve from our burdens in your presence.

[00:36:11]And we thank you that we can come and call you our father.

[00:36:15]And we say today, our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

[00:36:19]your kingdom come today and your will be done on earth even as it is in heaven.

[00:36:24]Lord, we just ask that you would be in this service, that you'd speak to our hearts, that you would change us, and that you would draw us away. And that Lord, above all, that you would plant within us a love that loves you more than life itself. Lord, >> we ask all these things in the name of Jesus, our Lord, and all God's people said together, >> amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. May that be our prayer that we would love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. At this time, Hannah is going to share special music.

[00:37:14]What is our hope in life and death?

[00:37:20]Christ alone.

[00:37:23]Christ alone.

[00:37:26]God is our only confidence that our souls to him belong who holds our days within his hand. What comes apart from his command and what will keep us to the end. The love of Christ in which we stand.

[00:38:02]Oh, sing hallelu.

[00:38:08]Our hope springs eternal.

[00:38:12]Oh, sing hallelu now and ever. We confess Christ our hope in life and death.

[00:38:29]Why truth can calm the trbled soul?

[00:38:35]God is good. Yes, God is good. Where is his grace and goodness known?

[00:38:46]in our great redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fears arise?

[00:38:56]What stands above the stormy trial? Who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore, the rock of Christ.

[00:39:12]Oh sing hallelu our hope springs eternal.

[00:39:23]All sing hallelu now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death unto the grave what will we sing Christ he lives yes Christ he lives and what reward Will heaven bring everlasting life within?

[00:40:00]There we will rise to meet the Lord.

[00:40:06]Oh, sing hallelu.

[00:40:12]Our host rings eternal.

[00:40:17]Oh, sing hallelu now and ever we confess Christ our hope and life and death.

[00:40:31]Oh sing hallelu our hope springs eternal.

[00:40:41]Oh, sing hallelu now and ever. We confess Christ our hope in life and death.

[00:40:55]Now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death.

[00:41:17]Amen. Why don't we all stand? Isn't that beautiful? Thank you, Anna. Ministering to the Lord. Just join in. This time we would like to dismiss our children. Uh nursery through fifth grade. Um you can be dismissed to your respective programs and we would love to check you in. And while they're doing that, we would like to greet one another in the name of the Lord. If you could uh find a face that you haven't greet in a while and then we will reconvene for the preaching of God's word. God bless you.

[00:42:29]Heat.

[00:42:48]Heat.

[00:42:53]Heat.

[00:43:09]Heat.

[00:43:16]Heat.

[00:43:30]Heat.

[00:43:51]Heat. Heat.

[00:44:16]Heat up here.

[00:44:42]We will reconvene in a little while.

[00:44:49]The story is told about an aged man who was very ill and he was on his deathbed.

[00:44:56]He'd been in and out of a coma for several months. And through it all, his wife of many years had stayed faithfully by his side. Finally, uh, one day, knowing his death was approaching, he motioned for his wife to come over to his bedside. And as she leaned closer to hear him speak, with tears in his eyes, he whispered, "Helen, we've been through so much together," she nodded and he continued, "Helen, uh, through it all, you've been right here by my side." Once again, she nodded and and he said, "Helen, do you remember the time that the farm burned down and we lost everything in the entire world that we owned, but you were there right by my side?" She once again nodded. He said, "Do you remember the time that I got shot?" But once again, you were you were right there by my side. And she again nodded. He said, "Do you remember the time that we lost our our prized horse that died tragically, but once again, you were right there by my side." And by now, she began to softly cry. She said, "Yes, I know, dear." And the old man said, "And now I'm I'm in my final moments, and I'm about to leave this world, bid this world to do." And by now, his wife was sobbing. And she said to him, "Honey, I'm I'm once again right here by your side." The old man kind of paused for a moment and then he quietly whispered, "Helen, I'm beginning to wonder if you're bad luck.

[00:46:28]That old man fell into the trap that at one time or another we all fall into.

[00:46:32]Suffering." How is that even suffering?

[00:46:35]How is that even possible? That if God is a good God, how can we suffer? In other words, how can an all- knowing, all powerful God who's completely good and mindblowingly uh loving allow suffering to exist in this world that he has created? In fact, that question, if God is good and loving, why does he allow people to suffer? That question is quite possibly an atheists and and the unbeliever's favorite question. uh they always are asking if God is so good and so loving then how is their suffering uh in fact in a national survey 17% of respondents chose that question why is there pain and suffering in the world as their top question for God and so they are we're saying that if they saw God they would ask him why does he allow suffering that's because it's actually a reasonable and rational rational question and it's a a question that applies to all of our lives that timeless, endless, and I would say it's kind of a a maddening question of why, oh why does a good and loving and merciful God allow suffering? And when you think about it, that that root question, it kind of leads to a labyrinth of observations and questions.

[00:47:49]And so, let me just list three of the main ones. First, as Christians, we believe and promote that our God is all powerful. In other words, there's absolutely positively nothing that our God cannot do. Uh and so everything that happens, and this is so important for us to to latch on to, everything that happens in our lives is either caused or allowed by God. And that's a stark statement. It's a harsh statement in a lot of ways, but it's a true statement.

[00:48:18]It's every single thing that happens in the life of a believer is either caused directly or allowed by God. And and and so when we think of that, we also think that we've suffered. Everyone in this room has suffered and maybe some are suffering even now. Uh and so our all powerful God could stop the suffering and yet he doesn't. And so when you think about that, that's kind of bewildering. But then second, as Christians, we believe and promote that our God is all knowing. In other words, from sickness to genocide and infanticide and suicide, there's not a second of suffering that goes on in this world that God is not aware of. And so he he sees it. Think about that for a second. That a loving God sees every second of suffering that happens on this earth. He sees it and yet he still allows it. And I don't know about you, but that's kind of alarming.

[00:49:19]He's aware of it. He sees it and yet he allows it. But then finally, as Christians, we believe and promote that our God is loving. Aren't you thankful for that this morning? That God is loving. Uh and that as creator, he God cares about every single creature, every single thing that he's created, he cares about it. And yet there's still suffering. And so when you think about that, it feels kind of contradicting.

[00:49:46]And so faced with this kind of deity dilemma, many folks uh find the answer to these questions by by treating God like what I would call a game of Jesus Jenga. Who here has ever played that game of Jenga where you can kind of add and subtract and remove. And people do that with the attributes of God. They they remove things, they add things, they alter things until their question can be answered. But the problem with that is that you end up with a different God. Uh it's a different God than the the all- knowing, all powerful, everpresent, one true living God of the Bible. In fact, I would say that it's a false god and it's certainly not the one that is found in God's word. Uh be because that leads to conclusions like this. Well, maybe God is all knowing and loving, but he's not all powerful. Uh so he he knows and he cares, but he can't do anything about it. Now, that's kind of a scary place to be. Or maybe he's uh got limit limit limitless love and power but he has limited knowledge of the true extent of the the human suffering that we go through. Or maybe he's all knowing and all powerful but this is a scary one. But maybe he's not truly loving. Uh that sounds more like the false god Allah than Jehovah. And that's really the most horrifying conclusion of them all. That God is not loving. And and when we do this, God becomes this this cruel cosmic creator who's something more out of a Marvel film than the God of the Bible. It becomes a God who who almost takes pleasure in our pain and who delights in our distress. And so because of all of that, many folks, and we know this is true, they go down the road of just eliminating God. Let's just get rid of God. Let let's not retain God in our knowledge.

[00:51:36]In Romans chapter 1, Paul outlines for us uh how they do that because in verse 18, I' I'd invite you to to turn there.

[00:51:43]I'm not going to have a lot of scriptures on the screen today. Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, he wrote about people who suppress the truth in righte in in unrighteousness.

[00:51:56]In verse 22, he wrote, "Claiming to be wise where the enlightened generation, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." And then in verse 25, look at it. He wrote, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever." And we all say together, "Amen." I can see who turned there and who didn't because that's in there. U so here Paul outlines uh just how exactly many people choose to reconcile this deity dilemma which is this. They suppress the truth. They become a fool and they worship and serve the creation rather than the creator. Oh, and they promote what I would call a cosmic fairy tale for adults, which is that everything came from nothing from no one. It's a fairy tale for adults.

[00:53:00]Everything we see came from nothing from no one. Which is why in Psalm 14:1, King David wrote, "The fool says in his heart, there is no God." They are corrupt and they are vile and there is no one who who does good. That doesn't mean that atheists are dumb. Uh there's a lot of atheists who are incredibly intelligent. No, it just means that they're sinful and their actions are corrupt and they're they're vile and not good. And so when faced with questions regarding sin and suffering, many folks choose the option of altering or changing God or just totally removing God. Because a world with sin and suffering is much easier to reconcile, at least in our minds at least, without an all powerful, all- knowing, supposedly loving God who's in that picture. But here's the the the real dilemma, and this is very important. A fairy tale that removes and eliminates questions and accountability by removing God doesn't remove the problem.

[00:54:04]>> So when you're thinking about suffering and we we get rid of God, the problem remains. We still have the problem of suffering. In fact, I I propose to you that when you remove God, it actually makes the problem of suffering worse.

[00:54:20]And here's why I would say that it it actually eliminates any moral framework to even judge and assess our suffering.

[00:54:29]What what is even the meaning of the suffering that happens in this world around us? Because if we're just meaningless blobs living meaningless lives in a meaningless universe and and and when it's over it's over. Excuse me for saying but who even cares?

[00:54:47]Truly, who cares? Who cares about the suffering around us? Morality from the equation. Yeah.

[00:54:54]>> And with that, it removes the ability to even objectively assess suffering and particularly whether it's unjust or just uh when anyone suffers around us. Remove God and and we can't even interpret the suffering. In other words, if the entire universe is just a a cosmic accident, as Charles Darwin proposed, death and suffering are just the natural outcomes.

[00:55:20]That that's just how it works. um they're just the natural outcomes of the process of natural selection. And so uh when I I ask you when suffering shows up, if that's your worldview, if that's how you see the world, seriously, why the moral outrage?

[00:55:38]Why are you all outraged about uh suffering when it's just a process of natural selection? Why why the cries of injustice and the protests and the marches in the street over the atrocities and the suffering of others?

[00:55:52]Because if death and suffering is just the natural outcome of the process of natural selection, pardon me for being so blunt, but who even cares? See, because when God and his moral standard are removed, then any basis to judge whether suffering uh is even right or wrong or just or unjust. When you remove God, you likewise remove the ability to make a judgment. And so suffering goes from an issue of justice to just an issue of existence.

[00:56:22]That's just what happens to people who exist. Uh and so suffering becomes the survival of the fittest. Uh with only the strong surviving.

[00:56:32]That's just that's just how it is. Which according to atheists and evolutionists is a good thing that only the strong survive. But not according to the German philosopher Friedrich Nichi. You've probably heard his last name Nichi. He's the one who's famous for saying that God is dead. But he's also attributed as saying to live is to suffer. To to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. Uh maybe that's why Nichi actually went insane and was in an insane asylum for the last 11 years of his life. Because according to Nichi, God is dead but suffering remains.

[00:57:14]Even when you remove God, he had to acknowledge that there's still suffering in this world. And so by by removing God, Nichi got rid of his morality problem, but it didn't solve his suffering problem or quite frankly his death problem, which oddly enough creates yet another problem. Because if if suffering is synonymous with living, what does it all even mean?

[00:57:38]If if if to live is to suffer, what what does this even all mean? which is probably why the French philosopher Albert Camus said, "The world I live in is loathsome to me, but I feel one with the men who suffer in it." And so I say to you this morning, you can remove God from your mind, but the problem remains in your life. And specifically, the problem that binds all of humanity in bondage, namely suffering.

[00:58:08]Suffering. And so because of all of that, there's a branch of philosophy that seeks to reconcile God's supreme goodness with man's suffering. In 1710, there was a uh mathematician and philosopher who ca who who coined the term theodysy which means the vindication of God. And what he's trying to do is to make the existence of an all- knowing, all powerful and all good God consistent with the existence of evil and suffering in this world. Uh that that's what he was trying to accomplish. And so um I want to actually answer why we have evil and suffering in this world. That's a topic that you could spend months on, but I just want to briefly uh and partially point out two Fs of why we have suffering in this world. In school, if you get one F, that's really bad. But in creation, we got two Fs. Uh and we want to review those this morning. The first F, see if you can guess it, is free will.

[00:59:11]>> Will free will. Uh free choice. Because when we open up our Bibles, and I encourage you to do that, to Genesis chapter 2, go to Genesis chapter 2. What you will find is that in Genesis chapter 2, we do not open up our Bibles to a world full of suffering. In fact, much the opposite.

[00:59:32]We open up to a perfect man and a perfect garden surrounded by perfect food that was perfectly free and walking around at the perfect temperature of the perfect day. the end of Genesis chapter 2 and verse 25. Uh, look at it. It says, "And they both were naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." So, it was the perfect temperature of the perfect day. And as we open up our Bibles, we open up to an uninterrupted utopia of perfection. And it's called Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But then we get only eight verses into chapter 3. And I invite you to look at that at Genesis 3. And as we get to Genesis chapter 3, there's this seismic shift in the force as it says, "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden."

[01:00:36]And so as you read that, that's a seismic shift from how the story starts because we see them going from unashamed to naked and afraid. We see them from tending the trees in the garden to the Bible says now they're they're hiding among the trees that are in go God's good garden. We see this this seismic shift. And so the question is why? How do we go from perfection to a world that is now filled with corruption? Well, I propose to you that the answer is found in Genesis chapter 2 and verse1 15 as it says, "Then the Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord commanded the man saying,"I always love it when you read this uh is it says, "The Lord commanded the man," listen to this command that Adam had from the Lord. The Lord commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden, you may do what?

[01:01:31]>> Freely eat." And so I want you to underline in your Bibles if you do that.

[01:01:35]The word every and freely because God said that they could eat of every tree and they could freely eat it. The benevolence of God is on full display as you look at this passage. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal. That of every tree you may freely eat. God said they could shop till they drop till free. I have a daughter and it's like giving my daughter my debit card, which she would take it if I gave it, and telling her she'd go to to the mall and go to every single store and buy anything she wanted on my debit card for free because every piece of fruit on every tree in God's perfect garden was totally available and totally free. And so when you think about that, think about the abundance and the blessing and the benevolence of God. Uh watch what God does right out of the gate because he gives endless freedom. Endless freedom. But then he gives one little restriction because the next verse verse 17 says, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."

[01:02:40]Not you might die. You shall surely do that. Why did God erect a boundary around this one tree in the garden? It's because he's a good dad. He's a good father. And any good father will have boundaries because listen, in every relationship, healthy boundaries equal healthy relationships.

[01:03:01]And God immediately put a line of demarcation between creature and creator. That's what that boundary was.

[01:03:08]This was answering the question, the ultimate question of the universe of of who's the boss?

[01:03:14]Who's in charge? I ask you, who's your boss? That that's what this boundary did. I think it's safe to say that God's pro-choice.

[01:03:24]Probably shocks you. God's pro-choice.

[01:03:27]I'm obviously not talking about abortion. Abortion is wicked and evil on every level. But what I mean by that is that God went, listen, he went to great lengths to give us the ability to choose.

[01:03:40]God went to extreme lengths to give us the ability to choose. And as you go through scripture, you can see it everywhere. Look at Joshua chapter 24:15. I encourage you to turn there.

[01:03:51]Joshua 24:15.

[01:03:53]It's where Joshua said, "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, listen, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve." What a great I love that sentence. Whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, one of the great great uh verses in scripture, we will serve the Lord. Joshua chose the Lord. Uh Joshua said that in serving the Lord involves choosing. They had the ability to choose. He laid that before them. Look at Deuteronomy 30:1 19. As God's man Moses said to God's people, Israel, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.

[01:04:43]Therefore, choose what?

[01:04:46]>> Choose life. Are you choosing life this morning? Uh again, right out of the gate, from day one, God went to to great lengths to make us free moral agents with the ability to choose. In Genesis 3:6, we're told just what exactly Adam and Eve chose is it says, "So when the woman, look at it, when uh Genesis 3:6, so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that's the lust of the flesh that 1 John 2:16 talks about. That it was pleasant to the eyes." That that's obviously the lust of the eyes. And a tree desirable to make one wise. That was the the the pride of life. She took of its fruit and she ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. This was a three-fold temptation for Eve as 1 John 2:16 lays out for us. But but now we see the source of the seismic shift because Adam and Eve chose defiance.

[01:05:51]They chose rebellion. They chose sin.

[01:05:54]And let us be clear, when Adam and Eve ate of that fruit, and we don't know whether it was an apple or not. It probably wasn't an apple. When they ate of that fruit, it was an act of cosmic treason.

[01:06:08]This was not a small thing. This was a a total act of defiance against God. And it's no surprise then that in Genesis 3 and:e 16, look at it.

[01:06:18]God said to Eve, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe." Uh there's those who have had babies recently here.

[01:06:27]They can tell you it's not fun. Uh and and with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband. In other words, you want to you want to be in charge? This is the fight that everyone has. Now, who's in charge? Your desire will be for your husband, but he will pain instead of perfection.

[01:06:46]And we have marital strife instead of harmony and unity. But then look at verse 17 because it didn't stop there.

[01:06:54]God said to Adam, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, you must not eat from it.

[01:07:03]Cursed is the ground because of you, because of your choice.

[01:07:08]Cursed is the ground because of what you chose. Through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat of the plants of the field by the sweat of your brow. I was out working in my my yard this week, and I often will think of that. I was just sweating and my arms were sweaty. That's because of the choice of sin. That's a product of sin.

[01:07:34]It's no longer the perfect temperature of the perfect day. He says, "By the sweat of your brow, you eat your food until you return to the ground. Since you were t from it, you were taken." And here's the death part. For dust you are and to dust you will return.

[01:07:49]We weren't created to die. We were created to live forever. But we chose sin. And Adam's choice brought a curse on the ground. Anyone here with a garden knows how difficult it is to keep that garden weed it intended. That's because of Adam's choice. Because his work became a pain instead of a pleasure. And there were now thorns and there were thistles and there was sweat and it replaced the free trees in the cool of the day. And I want to say to this this more this to us this morning, this is so important. Listen, we can choose our sin, but we can't choose the consequences for our sin.

[01:08:29]We we want to as as human beings, we want to choose our sin, but we also want to control the consequences. That's not how it works. You choose your sin, but we don't choose the consequences for our sin. Whether it's in a home, uh in a life, in a society, uh there's what's called the law of the farm. The law of the farm is seowing and reaping. And it's it's a sure law. And so in society, we can we can seek to explain it away.

[01:08:54]We can seek to remove God, but his laws remain. And so things like immorality get an STD. But when you're immoral, STDs show up because it's the law of the farm. With homosexuality, what showed up in the 80s? AIDS just showed up. Why does that happen? Because it's the law of the farm. When when we have substance abuse, what does it do?

[01:09:18]It destroys our organs.

[01:09:21]When we overeat and don't have a a self-control, it it uh causes us to have disease and diabetes.

[01:09:29]Right? from the little to the big. When we ignore the law of God's of God's law and the law of the farm, uh things just show up. Consequences show up. They're builtin consequences and they are absolute. When you destroy the nuclear family, cultural chaos shows up.

[01:09:48]When my father, who's 76 years old, was a young man in Detroit, he could leave his bike out at night, not have to worry about anyone stealing it. If you go to the spot where he was today, you at night, you probably would end up dead. Is that true?

[01:10:08]Why is that? I asked someone his age years ago, what happened between 1967-68 and 1983 when we moved back? And you know what he said to me? The fathers were removed.

[01:10:22]80% of the kids are born without a dad.

[01:10:25]The law of the farm.

[01:10:28]We can ignore God's laws, but the consequences are absolute as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. And so culture is trying to explain away God's uh existence, but his laws remain and they're they're unalterable and they're absolute. And they actually are something that confirms the existence of God. Go to his laws and you'll see that when they're ignored, consequences automatically and consistently show up.

[01:10:56]Galatians 6 and verse 7 warns us and I I read it to us this morning soberly. Do not be deceived.

[01:11:06]God is not mocked.

[01:11:09]For whatever a man or a woman sws this he will also reap. And so from the moment that Adam ate and got up from his plate, like a dandelion in spring, you know, you see the dandelions and the wind blows it and all the the seeds go, the seeds of sin were sewn and pain and conflict and thorns and thistles and sweat and death and and suffering were now introduced into God's good creation.

[01:11:41]When you see someone dying and being ravaged by cancer, it's because of this act of cosmic treason.

[01:11:48]When they ignored God's boundary and God's law and rebelled against their creator and I want to say that that it was a choice because sin, listen, is always a choice. We choose to sin. We choose to cross the boundaries that God has put in place. And I I think it's important to note too that God didn't put the consequences for breaking his boundary in the fine print. It wasn't like they they didn't know. No, God said if you do it, you're going to die in the day that you do it, you shall surely die. But culture hates it. Culture hates authority and and culture wants to rebel against God. And so they're trying to explain away the suffering which is a consequence for our sin. But then in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 22, Paul breaks some bad news to all of us because he says that in the day that Adam ate and died, he says in Adam, say the word all.

[01:12:48]>> All died.

[01:12:50]We were there in Adam in his loins. The Bible makes that clear. We were there.

[01:12:56]And when Adam died in his sin, we died with him. Another translation says, "Everyone dies because we all belong to Adam." And they've proven now that's true. We've all come from one man and one woman.

[01:13:09]And in Adam, we all died.

[01:13:11]>> Death came to all people because all have sinned. And we know that's all true.

[01:13:18]>> We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's why David wrote in Psalm 5:15, "For I was born a sinner."

[01:13:28]We were born sinners. He says, "Yes, from the very moment that my mother conceived me." And then Romans 6:23, we all know the the wages for our sin, the wages for your sin, for my sin, for Adam's sin, for Eve's sin is death. It's destruction, and it's suffering. God is loving, but he's also just, and there are consequences for our sins. Which brings us to the second F, which is now we're living in a fallen world. Who here can raise your hand and say, "I I attest to that. Something is wrong with this world. I have a friend who's not real religious and he constantly is saying to me, "Something's wrong.

[01:14:05]Something's wrong. Something's wrong with this world. What What is going on with this world?" Because the very moment that Adam sinned, the seeds of suffering were sown and God's perfect creation became a perverse and perverted creation. And all you got to do is look at at the news to see it. Because from addiction to Alzheimer's, from cancer to killing, from disease to disasters, from serious illness to incest, which is incredibly evil. God's perfect world be became a fallen world. And Paul sums this up in Romans 8:22 as he says, "For we know that the whole creation is groaning."

[01:14:50]I love to watch the the uh nature documentaries and I watched one recently where a gazelle was running and its insides were hanging out and a a hyena began to gnaw on the hind end.

[01:15:04]And I'm a hunter. I don't have a problem killing an animal. But looking at that, I I just couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the fact that that's not the way it's supposed to be.

[01:15:14]We're looking forward to the time when the lion will lay down with the lamb >> and the the child can play next to the the viper's den. That that's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way God intended it to be, not for animals to be gnawed on by other animals. This world is broken. This this this world is fallen and it's because of our sin. And it should really give us a sense of the seriousness of sin.

[01:15:36]People say, "Why did God kind of overreact?" He didn't overreact. It shows how holy God is. that that one violation and defiance of God catapulted the entire creation into sin and death and destruction and suffering. God's creation has been contaminated by our choice. And we need to acknowledge this morning that it was a choice. It was a choice that Adam chose and it's a choice that you and I choose. We choose our sin. And so why did God I want to ask this. This is I want to end here today.

[01:16:10]I'm going to pick this up next week.

[01:16:13]Why did God go, knowing all of this, go to such great lengths to let us choose?

[01:16:24]If God knew that that's what was going to happen and where we end up, why did he even do it in the first place?

[01:16:31]Why do he let us choose? He He didn't have to. He could have made it so we didn't have the ability to choose. Why did God allow you and I to have a choice? Pastor Tim Keller said, "Just because you can't see or imagine a good reason why God would allow something bad to happen doesn't mean there isn't one."

[01:16:53]And I want to say that the Bible gives us one big reason why God gave us a choice. One big reason why God gave us the ability to choose and a choice that would include blessing or suffering. And here it is.

[01:17:09]Think of this. The creator of the universe, the creator of you who formed and fashioned you in your mother's womb, wanted relationships, not robots. That's right.

[01:17:25]>> All of the stuff that you see around you that has come as a result of the choice is because the creator of the universe want a relationship with you and with me, not a robot.

[01:17:40]He wanted us to serve him from a heart of love, not not forced obedience from circuit boards. We're in a world world of AI now where they're pre-programming every That's not what God wanted. It's interesting. And that's what we want, the perfect spouse that you can program it how you want it to be. No, God wanted a relationship with human beings, not circuit boards with robots. And and I think it's really important to know that love is based on freedom.

[01:18:08]>> You can't truly love if you're not truly free to to make the choice. You can't force love. And because sin is a choice, so is love.

[01:18:18]Love is a choice. People say, "Well, I I've fallen out of love." will choose to to start loving him again.

[01:18:24]Love is a choice.

[01:18:27]You have to have the the ability to choose in order to have love. And the the whole of scripture and the the the whole of human history, listen, it's all leading up everything and we're getting really close to it. It's all leading up to one main event.

[01:18:44]A wedding.

[01:18:46]>> A wedding. that that's where we're heading because every wedding that we attend, I was at at several weddings recently, all of those are just a foreshadow. They're not nearly as good as the wedding that is coming at the end of the age between Jesus Christ and his church. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul said, "I I promised you to one husband to Christ that I may present you to to him as a pure virgin." In fact, as we think about the culmination of human history that's just around the corner, it once again ends with this. Uh the apostle John said in Revelation 19:6, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude is the sound of many waters. It is the sound of mighty thundering saying, allelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready. Who can say amen this morning? Aren't you thankful that that's coming? That's why God has given us a choice.

[01:19:54]The canon the canon of scripture ends in Revelation 22:17 with with the this phrase and the spirit and the bride say come.

[01:20:07]Is that in your heart this morning?

[01:20:10]>> I want to say to you this morning that if you're living in this fallen world in its current condition with the sin and the suffering and the death and the disease and all the things that we go through and there's not something in you that's saying this is not how it's supposed to be and even so Lord Jesus come. I would encourage you to make sure that you are in the faith.

[01:20:32]In order to have love, you have to have choice.

[01:20:37]When you have choice, there's the potential for sinners. And when you have sinners, know this.

[01:20:44]Anytime that we choose to sin, suffering is automatic.

[01:20:50]It's automatic. God will not be mocked.

[01:20:52]And that all leads us to today's final point, which is the solution for our suffering.

[01:21:00]I look at you this morning and it's amazing what you can see.

[01:21:05]I look at a bunch of fellow sufferers.

[01:21:11]There's people in this room that I can see it even as I was talking.

[01:21:16]We've suffered.

[01:21:18]We've suffered in in our lives as we look back over our lives. We've suffered. There's a reason why for the younger folks, they wonder. I used to wonder. I don't anymore. As you get older, you see the old folks and they're looking for Bula land.

[01:21:33]You know, it's okay if I go. My mom turned 60. It was I'm looking forward to heaven.

[01:21:39]I'm I'm now 10 years behind that. And there's a part of me where I'm I'm starting to starting to look look toward heaven. Look toward heaven because we go through stuff. This world is broken.

[01:21:55]Our bodies are breaking down. As I've said, I don't think you should have full- length mirrors after 40.

[01:22:02]Our bodies are breaking down.

[01:22:05]We get disease. We've had people in our congregation who've died of cancer recently.

[01:22:12]Relationships that we go through. I think for me that that's the one that just relationships. Why is there so much dysfunction in relationships?

[01:22:24]That's the one that haunts me.

[01:22:27]Why is there so much suffering just in relationships? Why can't we get along?

[01:22:32]Because we're living in a broken world.

[01:22:34]And so to all of my fellow sufferers, the solution for our suffering, I tell you, this morning, is found in a savior.

[01:22:43]This will come to an end.

[01:22:45]It will come to an end. And I want to say to everyone, if you're suffering this morning, and I know and even in a group this size, there's going to be some people who are suffering.

[01:22:55]Psalm 56:8 says this of the Lord, you keep track of all my sorrows.

[01:23:03]That one of the translations says, "All my tossings." When you're in bed and you're tossing and you're you're you're thinking about this stuff, David says that God tracks those sorrows. He says, "You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. And I want to say to you this morning that if you're suffering and if you have suffered, God sees it. He sees your suffering. He notices it. He's he's tracking it. He's he's aware of it.

[01:23:31]Whatever suffering that you have gone through, God has not it has not gone by without God noticing it.

[01:23:38]In fact, in the shortest verse in the Bible, we see Jesus weeping over it as he's at the the funeral of his friend Lazarus, and he knows he's going to raise him from the dead, but he knows something else. Laz death.

[01:23:51]Jesus came down to do something about our sin because you and I both know instinctively that suffering sinners us Jesus answering to our suffering wasn't an explanation.

[01:24:04]It was an act.

[01:24:06]He a cross and Jesus Christ the God man suffered in our place for surely he was bruised for your iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And here it is.

[01:24:20]And by his stripes by the stripes on the and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word. And here it is that he might present her to himself. This is the culmination of human history. This is why we have suffering is so that he could present to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing and that she should be holy and without blemish. And so I ask you again, why would God create a world knowing that we would sin?

[01:25:03]Why would God create a world knowing that sin would cause the incredible suffering?

[01:25:10]Why would he create a world knowing that that would cause him to come down and to die?

[01:25:16]I would say to you, the reason is because he wanted a bride, you and me.

[01:25:22]The next time you're faced with a choice this this week to sin, don't be critical of Adam and Eve. When you're faced with that choice, know that Jesus Christ is watching not only our sorrows, but also our sin. And and he's watching to see what we'll do.

[01:25:38]And he's looking for a bride that's without spot or blemish or any such thing. That's what he's coming back for.

[01:25:46]The reason why there's sin and the reason why there's suffering is because love is a choice and it's not forced on law or coercion. And so I want to ask you this morning, are you serving Jesus because you love him?

[01:26:05]Seriously, are you here this morning because you love him or because you're afraid of them?

[01:26:12]Recently, we had a wedding. Hannah Thompson, who grew up here, remember she was born.

[01:26:20]And I'll never forget, Hannah, it was the most beautiful thing. I I I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen at a wedding.

[01:26:26]As they announced them at the end, I was sitting close to the front and she began to weep and laugh all at the same time.

[01:26:38]Just I mean just tears and just and then laughing. It was like and it was beautiful.

[01:26:52]a bride who made herself ready. Hannah's been a godly girl her whole life. And when she saw her bridegroom, she just began to weep and to laugh that it was worth it.

[01:27:04]It was worth it. And I ask you this morning, is that you? Is that me?

[01:27:10]in the suffering in the in the the the consequences of sin that are all around us that we're living in.

[01:27:17]Are you preparing yourself as a bride for the bridegroom?

[01:27:23]Because it will be worth it all.

[01:27:26]It will be worth it all.

[01:27:30]I think of the suffering in my own life.

[01:27:31]It will be worth it. It will be worth it. And and that's how you get through the suffering is that you say, I keep my eyes on eternity. I keep my eyes on on the prize, Jesus himself. For the joy that was set before him, he endured at the cross, despising the shame.

[01:27:47]And I say to you, it will be worth it all. And so, where is Jesus in the suffering? Where is God in the suffering? He's the God in eternity past and eternity present and eternity future. He's already there. He's already there. And this little parenthesis of time that we call history will soon be over.

[01:28:07]And he's already there. An eternity future where time will be no more and there will never again be a second and a moment of suffering because he will make all things new. Who can say amen to that this morning? That God is going to make all things new. Thank you, Lord. Why don't we stand?

[01:28:28]Let's sing that song even so. And as we do, let's just spend a few moments kneeling before the Lord. Let's recalibrate our minds, our hearts.

[01:28:40]Let's lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus. If you're suffering this morning, just kneel in your pew, come forward to the altar.

[01:28:50]If there's something that's been causing you to toss and turn, something that's been hurting or you're suffering the effects of sin, just kneel today.

[01:29:00]Lay it at the feet of Jesus. Know that he's aware of it. and that he wants to take your burden. Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.

[01:29:15]Even so, take your right away.

[01:29:25]Oh my go Jesus.

[01:29:56]Heat. Heat.

[01:30:06]Heat.

[01:30:14]Heat.

[01:30:24]Heat.

[01:30:26]Heat.

[01:30:36]Oh, heat, heat.

[01:31:01]Heat.

[01:31:12]Heat.

[01:31:23]Heat up here.

[01:31:50]Yeah.

[01:31:56]Heat.

[01:32:06]Oh, heat, heat.

[01:32:32]I see a friend.

[01:33:05]Lord, it's so hard for us to believe that as fallen sinners, knowing our sin, knowing our failures, knowing our frailties, knowing our faults, that what we just sang to you is true.

[01:33:20]That you are the lover of our souls.

[01:33:25]That is a great mystery.

[01:33:30]that you are holy father who inhabit the heavens and who you are surrounded by the angelic hosts who are crying holy, holy, holy, that you love us.

[01:33:47]You care about us.

[01:33:50]It's hard for us to comprehend that this morning when we looked out the window and the birds were hopping on the ground, you knew every single hop of those birds.

[01:34:04]That every single thought from the the time we woke up till this very second, every thought that has gone through our minds, even the ones we're barely even aware of, you are aware of them.

[01:34:18]And as we contemplate those true realities, Father, we tr we say that we trust you that everything that comes into our lives is either caused or allowed by your fatherly hands, those loving hands that you allow things to come into our lives. as a result where your word says you'll wipe away every single tear that every tear we've we've wept over the things in our lives be it death or be it divorce or be it relationships or sickness or maybe the death of a child that Lord every single tear on the authority of your word we we trust you that you will one day we will stand before you and you will wipe away every single tear and in that day we will never cry again we will never mourn again, we will have joy unspeakable and full of glory for all of eternity.

[01:35:18]And so, Holy Father, we just ask that your precious spirit would pour out grace upon each heart.

[01:35:25]Help us to even this week throughout the week to remember the words that were spoken from your word and to unbburden our hearts and to lay our suffering at your feet. For those that are suffering, I ask for a divine impartation of grace right now. There are people in this room and you you know it better than we know it that are suffering and we just ask that you would comfort them.

[01:35:44]Cause your precious Holy Spirit to be very near to them that they will feel that comfort. We ask these things in the name of Jesus our Lord and all God's people said. Amen.

[01:35:54]>> Amen and amen. You may be seated.

[01:36:02]At this time, uh Mary's going to come and actually she's going to do the announcements because two of the big ones she's um in charge of. God bless you.

[01:36:16]>> All right. So, we have been anticipating for months and months. We have boys and girls in this congregation that have been counting down the days. And guess what? Tomorrow it's here. VBS Mystery Island. Can we get a round of applause?

[01:36:36]a lot of if you know a kid, if you are a kid, this is the place to be tomorrow.

[01:36:42]And you know, our goal get older and they'll need a sermon like today.

[01:36:49]Amen. So, we want them we want them to be drawn to the excitement of serving Jesus and loving Jesus. So, we're just so excited. I heard yesterday a child lives three hours away and he's not going to be able to be here and he said if I could I'd walk there three hours away cuz he wants to be here so bad. So another exciting very amazing thing is that the majority of Christians are saved between the ages of four and 14. And so again, if you know kids, if you have neighbors, it can't hurt to ask, right? Just ask. Let them let God do the work, but ask and get the word out there. So, it's starting tomorrow.

[01:37:34]Um something fun's going on every day.

[01:37:36]Monday, Tuesdays, wear your team color.

[01:37:39]Wednesday will be f um the family night starts at 6:00 p.m. So, that'll be for kids. Thursday is our fun water day.

[01:37:48]Bring a towel and change of clothes. And Friday we have a bug lady coming. So there's just something fun every day.

[01:37:56]Kids can come one day or all five days.

[01:37:58]So please, please, please get the word out. And we're so excited for our team.

[01:38:03]Um we're going to be meeting here in the sanctuary right after service. We're going to set up the stage and the platform first and then we're going to serve you lunch at 1:30. Okay? So we'll get we'll get the platform ready and then we'll serve you lunch. Family camp is coming up in just two weeks. Can you believe that? Crazy. So, two weeks away and we really would love if you could get signed up or let me know because the camp is asking for a estimated attendance tomorrow because they start planning all the food and everything.

[01:38:36]So, if you're coming or you even think you might be able to come, please let me know. So, our our church camp for Camp Kobak is kind of a unique week. We actually are only we fill their camp only to 50% of their capacity. So it's it's a blessing that they let us come.

[01:38:57]Um but this year they've asked if we could just do half stays or full stays.

[01:39:01]So if you can come, you know, one to two days, you're a half stayer. And then if you come three or four, you're a full stayer. So if you can sign up that way, that's how it is on the registration.

[01:39:13]Um, next uh for August 2nd, Sunday, August 2nd, there will be no on-site service here because of family camp. And so that's something a little bit new, but we also are offering you can come for just that day. Just come stay for the day and and join us for the service.

[01:39:31]So if you have any questions, I'm going to be over here. I can help you get signed up. We're so excited about that.

[01:39:36]For our first time guests, thank you for being with us today. We're so excited to have you. We do have a free coupon for a gathering grounds cafe drink and we'd love to offer that to you. And our gathering grounds will be open for everyone today after service. So, please take advantage of that. Our track challenge, one of our goals here is to share Jesus. So, grab your three tracks and put a $5 bill in there and share it with someone and pray for that person.

[01:40:04]We'd like to have the prayer team come on up now if they'd be willing to.

[01:40:08]Bernie and Debbie and Jason and Christie and an amazing quote by Martin Luther to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible to be alive than to be alive without breathing. Prayer needs to be an so big a part of our lives. So thank you for that. And I will have um brother Dave come.

[01:40:32]Yes. One more round of applause. BBS bring your friends.

[01:40:44]Thank you, Mary. Thank you, Pastor Herod, for that great message. The culmination, Jesus is coming back for the church, his body, his bride. And I always uh wondered about that passage that Paul wrote in Ephesians. He's coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So, how can that happen?

[01:41:11]It's because the efficacious blood of Jesus Christ is so powerful.

[01:41:18]And like Pastor Mark always says about God calling things that are not as though they were.

[01:41:29]And Jude writes a short letter of his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To the only God our savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[01:41:48]Before all ages now and forever more.

[01:41:53]Amen.

[01:41:54]God bless you today. Go in peace.

[01:41:59]Good afternoon. We're absolutely thrilled that you joined us on the live stream today. My name is Daniel. This is my wife, Kayla. What a powerful and encouraging message we heard today. We sincerely hope you enjoyed it.

[01:42:11]>> If you have any specific prayer requests weighing on your heart, please feel free to add a prayer request in the section below and our prayer team would be honored to lift your request up to the Lord. And we hope you have a blessed week. Thank you again for joining us.

[01:42:25]Heat. Heat.

[01:42:53]Heat up here.

[01:43:34]Heat. Heat.

[01:43:59]Heat. Heat.