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Watch the video version of this show on YouTube »Shamanth Rao is the founder and CEO at Rocketship HQ. Shamanth also hosts the Mobile User Acquisition Show podcast, and is the lead instructor for the Mobile Growth Lab workshop series.RocketShip HQ is a boutique growth marketing firm with 8 figures in managed spend. Before founding RocketshipHQ, Shamanth led growth marketing resulting in 3 exits: Bash Gaming (sold for $170mm), Puzzle Social (acquired by Zynga), and FreshPlanet (acquired by Gameloft). Shamanth has also helped many other mobile apps grow and scale.Shamanth is passionate about teaching and sharing everything he's learned about mobile growth. Much of his time and energy goes into the Mobile User Acquisition Show. Shamanth strives to ensure that the wisdom he's gained reaches as many people as possible.In this episode, you'll learn: The history of user acquisition and algorithmic targeting How Apple's AppTrackingTransparency has shifted users to Android What Apple's new tracking policy means for developers Are subscription apps impacted more than other apps by Apple's tracking policy? Links & Resources A Brief History of App Store Monetization episode – with David Barnard A Brief History of Device Identification episode – with David Philippson iOS 14 & IDFA Deprecation How App Marketers Must Adapt - YouTube Shamanth Rao's Links RocketShip HQ's website The Mobile User Acquisition Show Mobile Growth Lab Follow Shamanth on Twitter Shamanth Rao's website Follow us on Twitter: David Barnard Jacob Eiting RevenueCat Sub Club Episode TranscriptShamanth: 00:00:00The more signal you give to the algorithm, the better the algorithm performs, right? You know, in the post AppTrackingTransparency world, if you gain more purchases, the better the algorithm performs, obviously that would take purchases from you and everybody in the world, and it would just do better. Now, obviously it's just taking your trial and doing much, much better.David: 00:00:38Welcome to the sub club podcast. I'm your host, David Bernard, and with me as always Jacob Eiting.Hello Jacob.Jacob: 00:00:45David, glad to be here with you, as always. David: 00:00:48Our guest today is Shamanth Rao, founder and CEO at RocketShip HQ, of the podcast Mobile User Acquisition Show, and lead instructor at the workshop series Mobile Growth. Shamanth's company, RocketShip HQ is a boutique growth marketing agency with eight figures in managed spend. Prior to founding RocketShip HQ Shamanth growth marketing, to three exits. Hey Shamanth.Welcome to the podcast. Shamanth: 00:01:16Honored to be here. Thank you for having me, David and Jacob.David: 00:01:19Yeah. So, I wanted to start with a little bit of a history lesson. You've been in mobile advertising and working on mobile apps for, since very early. So, could you take just a couple of minutes and step us through the history of kind of what led us to today with app tracking transparency, and all the different ups and downs and changes that have happened over the past?Shamanth: 00:01:48Yeah. There's been a lot of ups and downs, as you said. I see two overarching trends, but for folks who want to go into the weeds, I would actually recommend two podcast episodes. One was mine with you, David. A brief history of App Store monetization. You provide a very great perspective into how the App Store itself has changed over the years.The other one was an interview I did with David Phillips, A Brief History of Device Identification You know, we are all about brief histories, but, I think to what we talking about ATT and how essentially disrupted growth in today. There have been two forces that have led up to this point, the last decade or so I think it's important to know and understand both of these, just to know how we got here and why it's important, right.Because ATT just did not happen overnight. There were signs for a decade. And, you know, I think obviously a lot of this is evident in retrospect. but I think it's helpful to know and understand what those breadcrumbs were.Trend number one has been increasing accumulation of particular data platforms over the last decade.You know, I remember, you know, David, as you pointed out, I am a really old person who, which around then, but we don't advertise. It took off, with all this gray hair. But you know, when I started that we were doing CPC buys, CPM buys. I started doing mobile advertising before Facebook even had mobile ads, app ads.There is no conversion tracking. you know, I give it like no conversion tracking. If you, would buy installs, and you're like, oh, we bought 70 stops. We got so many touches that we are profitable and spent like millions on games the time. And suddenly the level of sophistication that emerged in mobile advertising. I don't think we could have posted in 12, 20 13, 20 14. But like I said, from the TPC buys gradually they have a CPI buys as ad networks that now are billion dollar companies. And so it's an app love and have a tiny ad networks at the time.A lot of others basically fell out of the side. know, they, they like, we have enough confidence to be able to build. Rather than just a or impression we have that kind of data, that kind of confidence the next time AEO or purchase optimization. This is 2016, right?It's just, it seems so recent. And it's staggering to think that they could not optimize like athletes if they six, years ago. And that was just the biggest game changer in it. I still remember having a lot of skepticism that this would even work and I'm like, how are they going to find out who's going to purchase?They've never done it, nobody's done it. But clearly, if somebody could do it as a Facebook, they had the budget for data. I can only to that point the time I think it became evident to me, myself, that as to why Facebook was so successful. basically have the IDFA that IDFA on Google ID.They had that idea, with print from on Facebook audience network. So for diva able to predict with ed accuracy, who the purchaser's book, obviously they took it a step further with relapse optimization, So obviously the more data Facebook's SDK gun. The better it got predicting who the purchaser as well.Obviously more data the pixels on the web got the better, the better the accuracy of the SDK became other way around that, because they had, you know, if you made a purchase on a beauty of that site, you would make a purchase on, an e-commerce app. So they put all of that data together.Right? So obviously Google had a very, very similar trajectory. I don't want to go too much into the weeds. Over the last decade, increasing amount of data accumulated by Facebook, by Google folks like apple. And then I am so all add Netflix, everybody got increasing amount of data about users, spectator. they just, weren't doing this in isolation, apple licensed up to this, you know, Google, Google had a bit of a conflict because they were also making money off of this.They are also making money off of this. these less active in pushing back, but you know, apple, the apple, again, not to go too much into the weeds that it's corporate strategy. Two, but for apple to say a hobby, a privacy minded, but it's also very, very much about profits for them. the opera motive.Oh, an ad network. No, I don't know. I don't have a lot of confidence to how they would do anything. Right. So apple said, know, look, we have this beauty ID, which is not great. Let's phase it out. Let's have an IDFA, which is reset the vote, which wasn't too much and improvement. they said, oh, let's make this, idea phase zero, but physio, which means how to use it goes on and off the lab.idea of it becomes and advertisers could not cannot target people. Shockingly enough, to idea, phase zero, which was, I think 2016. But if I use it on the flat adjustment advertises, please don't track the fuse. It's almost like a request. a non enforceable requests, basically needs to attract me, but nobody can, anyway, so even lab Vito was a very, very telltale sign that this is ATD is, where apple is headed.And if you have to look on the web, safari had intelligent tracking prevention. They have obviously. Much more active on the web terms of crackdowns, Mozilla had what what's called ETP. I think it's called it should tracking prevention. I forget what it's called, then Chrome of course said, Hey, we're going to deprecate They've accepted the deadline, but been a lot going on in the direction of privacy. Right. and that, has happened very, very much in parallel that increasing accumulation of data by. And to some extent, you know, it's having these surprises for anyone who's followed the breadcrumbs, not to gone to zero and 2018.Apple said kid stops will not allow tracking. That was almost like a trial balloon bar and of cost 2020. It was not unsurprising, I would say, right. That, it came to be just because of everything over the last decade that I just did.David: 00:09:21Yeah.That's a really great way to summarize it is those two parallel courses with it's like in the shadows, there was like more and more and more and more, more data accumulation feeding all of this, but simultaneously there was more and more and more awareness of privacy concerns.What that data was being used for, and that, you know, it does seem like the press a big influence in this. I mean, when was in New York times and wall street journal, both had big posts in like 2017, 2018, where they showed, you know, how you could track individual users when they're going to, you know, a certain medical clinic or, there was another set of stories around us service members who were being tracked by fitness apps. revealing, basic, we call unknown previously unknown, military installations and things like that. So it, it, yeah, there was a lot going on that has led us to this point. So. So now apple has, has dropped the ball after acting transparency. You know, you you're, you're, you're not allowed to track unless you first prompt.You know, we could, we could talk an hour on all the different motivations and the, and even the way they deliver it, you know, the, the way they. Request the prompt is, is, and the wording of the prompt it has, has even drawn controversy, but let's not get into that.Jacob: 00:10:52Time it comes up, I still don't know what to click, David: 00:10:57Let's talk about the real world impacts because I think there's been a lot of ink spilled in a lot of discussions around, those other things. But, but what I want to hear from you as someone who manages a ton of spandex and works in the industry and, and has to deal with this day in day out.Let's talk through the world impacts of, of, of how this is impacting the apps that you work with and what you've seen kind of in the broader industry. I thought it was interesting before we jumped on the, on the, and started recording, you actually said, you were expecting a crazier summer, so let's just start with that.So you're not quite seeing the disruption you initially expected. Is that, am I over reading that.Shamanth: 00:11:42I don't want to be grand standing here, but I certainly was for worse. and I don't want to jinx this, but suddenly that couple of advertisers really all right, that actually crying.But I talk about the mechanics that may have contributed to that further on, but, I certainly was prepared for far, far, far worse.I would say.David: 00:12:07Yeah. So, so what are you seeing? I mean,Shamanth: 00:12:10Yeah. David: 00:12:10And then one of the things you you've mentioned before is that you are seeing some shift to Android. Tell me about that, shift to Android spend. And is that in certain categories across the board? Shamanth: 00:12:21I think it's across the board. I think it's much more so in gaming. and if you look at a bunch of MMP boats or the estimates, the, shift to about iOS. Yeah, about 30 to 40%. I think that sounds like a realistic range. Obviously there's some verticals that are hit much, much harder, right. yeah.Definitely. I think there's a lot of sped shifting to ad drive. I would attribute some of that to the fact that. Tracking is broken, but you know, oh, I hate to see a, this, like a mother spoke to the work with, and the, also the advice and I've just stopped you. You're like, oh my God. My CPA is a boated by Facebook is terrible because Facebook's not tracking anything.And then when we look at the blended numbers, Basically the money they make and the trials to get and the subscriptions get, which is exactly what I mean by it. Not being as as I expected. You know, look at the iTunes dashboards,Just go crashing down, which is what I was afraid would happen. Right. and that, that has not happened. but what is real and true is like I said, tracking is broken, even if not right. I'm tracking to just grow congested because apple has a concept of privacy threshold. which basically means, if, campaign.Does not have minimum number of stops or purchases. Apple is going to show they report all installed. But, but the report very few purchases. What that means is you are a casual game, our social casino app that has Costco, set it up 150 to $200, is not uncommon for these. each campaign, if you're running $500 a day per campaign, you get two patches.So for people, campaign would just get obfuscated by the privacy threshold, which means if you're going to find a dollar at a campaign, you'll probably get it, but you're just not seeing them, which is better than a was that I'm not.David: 00:14:53Yeah, we We, are we back to the old days of, of half your advertising budget is working. You just don't know which half Shamanth: 00:15:01Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very much true.Jacob: 00:15:05I was going to ask, so the pull back on the spend, like, is that, do you know where that's coming from along the chain? Is that, is that companies not being sure anymore and pulling back? Is it, is it agencies? Is it all long? Because at some point somebody has to, because I, it makes sense that like, one, we don't know how effective all this stuff was to begin with.Right. And so just losing the tracking doesn't necessarily mean it's less effective. It just means we don't know. And so it seems a little foolhardy to just dial back. Right. you know, especially if your business relies on it, but it seems like that's what most, at least some percentage of companies have done.They've they've pulled back just because they're not sure.Shamanth: 00:15:44Yeah.I think I would also say a lot of companies that have pulled back have had strong drive products. the couple of companies that I know that are doing better now, actually don't have very strong, I drive products. We don't have a choice, right? We don't have a choice. I obviously I don't fly that strong guy, but having a fall back means be good to take a little bit easy most time to Android.We figured out what is going on you get to your question. I think a lot of that's coming from companies, especially larger established companies that have. BI teams and reporting systems and dashboards on the creative level alive. We just don't have that in our book anymore. Jacob: 00:16:38And they're spending too much to be confident in just YoloShamanth: 00:16:41Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, David: 00:16:44Any specific trends on, on CPMs and cross portrayal or anything like that? As far as with the drop-in. Spend on iOS and the increase on Android has some of the performance on Iowa's not degrading been more to do with market dynamics change versus it actually just working as efficient.Shamanth: 00:17:07Yeah. you know, I try not to look at CPMs just because CPMs are very contingent on the kind of optimization you have to like, you know, and may, if you had value optimization, you be paying QPM segment to their roof and your CPMs on audio sense. I couldn't be higher than Instagram and Facebook and the metric.What I like to look at is really the CPA, but there's a cost, but. also has the capacity because of the privacy, especially for nowDavid: 00:17:41Right. Shamanth: 00:17:41Cost per trial, which I see being steady. Now to your question to your underlying question about, do I attribute back to the underlying market dynamics?Definitely. I think that the fact that there's less of competition, I do think has contributed to, the TPA being steady folks that have continued to do iOS. Definitely. I do think that the lesser competition has pleaded. David: 00:18:06That makes sense. let's talk a little bit, cause this is kind of our wheelhouse at, remedy CA obviously, nice shirt by the way, Jacob. Jacob: 00:18:16Is the original first ever revenue cat t-shirtDavid: 00:18:19Nice. how, how are subscription apps being impacted in, in what you've seen and then how is that different from, you know, games and other categories that you're working. Shamanth: 00:18:31Yeah. I would say subscription apps are hit much, much less odd than. A lot of games, again, I'm qualify. I don't want to sound like I'm grand standing because this is not like a body of Fiesta yet, but I think they're it better than folks who are really clear that I don't want to say clueless, but folks who are just struggling, you know, I talked about, you know, let's just say a hypothetical casual game or a social casino app that has a cost, the big user 150, if you get killed by the privacy test, short subscription app less impacted by that. just because, you know, again, you're off book which is a primary metric, nearly every subscription app, a squat Cheverly under $50, which means for the same $500 budget you getting, you get, you're getting 10 purchases.So. Deceptive as are that privacy threshold. Right. and the other factor that makes the whole ATD tank a lot easier for subscription naps is that nearly every subscription app, I know have 90%, lots of trials happen within the first 24 hours of install. What that means that in the ATP paradigm is A lot, not nearly all of that signal gets captured by the ATT algorithm, by a scab because a scab network workshop with system of timers, right. immediately after install a timer starts and after 54 Davos the timer reset, if y'all, and then the reset of the starts and, if no event has happened in that second time, A lot of the events that have happened first, get sent back to the, get sent back to APO.Not that event gets sent by them. And I'm probably definitely grossly simplifying the, some of this. and, I have a YouTube video that goes into the distance with the V2. People can check that out, but my point being the fact that of the trucks nearly all the trials happened within the first 24 hours.Make it relatively easier for our subscription apps to have to be captured by ad network. that's one of the reasons, lack of trust snaps do quite and obviously, you know, the most signal you give to the aggregate them, the better the I that is in bombs, right. you know, in the P PhET was if you gave most budgets, The better that I go to them, but obviously the algorithm would take you and everybody else that it would just do better.Now, obviously it's just taking your trial and doing much, much better. add onto the trend we've seen is that VAT based flows work a lot better for subscription apps than for games. again, there are challenges in execution, certainly. One of the things that they've seen that allows them relatively most after doing doc, that based lotion.Right. yeah, so I, I would say those are some of the factors that think contribute to subscription apps being better off than games and the post ATT world. again, not to grandstand, not to the, victory yet, but I think that that much, much better.Jacob: 00:22:14Yeah. There's, there's still, also just the dynamic with consumable games. Like, I don't know what retention curves really look like and stuff like this, but with subscriptions, you know, your acquisitions you're making today only effect, you know, a chunk of your revenue in the very short term versus, and you have this like recurring user base consumables.If your new users dry out really fast, like suddenly, you suddenly lost a lot of. Yeah. A lot of them, your business model doesn't work as well. Right. So, but wow, that's incredible that the, so on the CPIs, for like social casinos or whatever, which I imagine is just thought a high spend category, highly competitive space.So if they don't have like value attribution, What sexually driving the CPI so high? Like how do they know like what users to spend that much money on? Is it just, is it just, I guess click-based like, it is still like they can, they can proxy and know like people that click on those are part of that high value group or, or what, what, what keeps the, keeps the targeting good enough so that, you know, cause you can imagine if everything was perfectly anonymous, all CPAs would clicks would be the same, right.Across all apps.Shamanth: 00:23:21Yeah, yeah, yeah, At this point, I don't, would not say if you have a perfect answer or apps with high CPA, I think the best we have right now is true. Facebook reports, metrics, health platform reported metrics that directional, which means your CPA today would not be comparable to your page 80 TCPA, but because it's going to be very, very high, just because of the privacy picture that I just described, if you are getting maybe $500 on this 700 on that, that you just input campaign is better than campaign.But you're not impairing that job. That is your actual cost acquisition. So you're taking the CPA as a relative measure. I think that's true for the game it is for subscription apps. You're treating the CPA as a relative measure cabinet and campaign B or not so much as an absolute measure of unit economic.David: 00:24:20I think that's a great to transition into what's actually working right now. So we're talking about some of the impacts, but, Hinting at it's something that you've mentioned before, is that the best source of truth now is not. These specific return on ad spend calculation, but actually using blended metrics.So tell me a little bit about how, how you approach thinking about metrics as a source of truth versus, you know, the past, you know, five or six years where it's way more focused on. very detailed return on ad spend. And again, to our earlier point, even if that return on ad spend calculation, wasn't actually as accurate as it seemed, Jacob: 00:25:07Okay David: 00:25:08You were at least able to calculate it more accurately.Now it's like kinda everything's out the window. how are you approaching blended spend or blended metrics, to measure these things?Shamanth: 00:25:20Yeah, I would add the caveat that the blended metrics isn't like modern on you. Right? What old school? Offline advertising work. They were like, oh, this is how much I spend. This is how much I made, how they measured everything before the internet. And even with the internet, like of companies, we work.Even three ATT works at blended metrics because we know that a portion of our paid installs drive organics, we have a very, very clear correlation between updated organic. So we would be money on the table if we took into a concept paid users and not organics. So, you know, people have definitely done that.And that companies that have done it just to pursue growth. they're like, look, we need to grow as aggressively as possible. And the way to do that is to take lead and metrics to justify the growth rather than to shackle us. Jeff Pedro lab, back to your question. How, how how do we sort of look at this names will say, this campaign gave us, return on ad spend 20% cost per trial of $30.You're basically saying your overall marketing spent, gave you a $20 cost per trial across paid and organic and social and that you're spending on. Obviously, a lot of people to be uncomfortable with that because they're like, oh no, if I hadn't spent on marketing, I would have still gotten trials a day.And I'm giving credit to marketing for that. And, you know, I, I don't have a direct answer to that, but I think the answer really is. Would you want to be, would you want that's helpful and has to get crew or would you. And model that's accurate, but isn't having you grow. not going to claim I have an answer to that one, but, yeah.So basically looking at your total number of trials and your total spend. obviously this calculation becomes scarier. you have multiple chats, Yeah. If you're running Google, Facebook snap, and multiple ad networks, then you're like, oh, you know, one of the ad networks probably performed badly, but my total blender not change all that much because my other channels, 10% of time stops, but there are challenges, especially at collage level spend, but is very solid source of truth, especially for smaller advertisers who may be on a handful of channels.Here, I guess it's what you see in the back. David: 00:28:19And, you also mentioned that, people, do you, you mentioned web flows are working really well. And I assume what you meant by that is sending people from an ad into, onto the web instead of onto the app store, which is, it's really fascinating to me on multiple levels because. You know, the app stores have always been this black box where you put a certain number of, of clicks into it.Then, you know, you see the end result, but you don't see any of the steps in between. I mean, you have some basic metrics with app store, analytics and stuff. but with the web, I would imagine that that gives you a more direct. Trackable, link from somebody who, sees an ad to then actually kind of what they're doing on your website.So, but then ultimately I've talked to a lot of developers who talk about how on the web, their conversions are actually quite a bit lower in the app because Apple's made it so easy to use an app purchase. So, but it seems like maybe there is somewhat of a balance. There is that maybe you lose fewer people.From having to jump through those hoops of the app before they even get to the onboarding before they can be shown, you know, the value proposition and then being, you know, shown a subscription, page or whatever it is. what have you seen working in regard to web flows and then, and specifically for subscription? Shamanth: 00:29:53Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, I've certainly seen a lot of success bar description apps that have adopted web most, a couple of apps have up 15 month on month group to ATT. not to have typical, revert, but it's that's happened. I think a couple of elements, you know, I think it's, what's most important is to make sure that it's right and there's a couple of possible lows.I think it's important to pick to which one is right. And really, and I think one flow could be showing that. A user goes to a landing page, which is basically like a B2B ought to be, to see that the page on the web and what you would get for a And you have a link that accept call to call to action on the landing pages, go to the app store.So a lot of that experience, but just, and try to explain it's happens on the app store, the web page. I actually does the job of telling the user on the product. And it's my hypothesis that this actually works well because Yvette page can do a much, much better job of selling than the app store can, while still making it clear that this is an app, and while actual conversion happens within the app itself, but, similar, a different flow that's very comparable would be take an ad, take a user from an ad to a landing page where users have to input that.Which again, get, use, it makes it makes it clear to the user that this is an app. is a mobile experience. User gets a text message and use assigned top work. and when they click on the text message, get to go to the app store and download the app. Right. Again, another model could be a user clicks on an ad, to an article or a content page, which is what you would see if you had a Double-A or a printed article or a content page to not store.And I can, the last one I can do, the more complex no is just to have onboard them on the web. basically take them to a webpage and they And, hopefully so I can make the purchase on the web. It mitigates your favorite petty, to be honest, the hottest and most strict food resource intensive.And really it's my recommendation that you put you that back after you put you in one of the best that I recommended, because you don't want to invest a kind of engineering and development time and bending, don't even know that the flow is going to work for you. so I would recommend just testing the web landing pages first then onboarding stuff.But, I think those are most important models that we see work. Somebody else. I think that's also very, very critical. think a lot of people, when they look at a lot of advertisers, I know that have started on the web for the first time. We're like, oh, Put together this nice landing page that looks like our homepage, on our website and just put it out there.Okay.Let's, you're being very intentional about what value propositions to touch on Actually out of your landing page. And we have a structure that we use now. most important, part and value proposition and that's social proof then your most important emotional benefits then. I think the most successful advertisers we work with are very, very intentional about what that, that page is looking like.And they also tested their athlete. I think it elements are very, very critical to making theDavid: 00:33:59Yeah.That's really smart. And I hadn't thought of it quite that way about how, yeah. And that was, I was talking with the apps are being the black box is you're just sending somebody, hoping they look at the screenshots, hoping the icon resonates with them, hoping the title and subtitle are meaningful, but when you send them to the web, it's not just about them right.To subscribe on the web, but it's actually just. Having a better opportunity to communicate the value prop so that by the time they get to the app store, they are, they have a much higher, They have a higher, they're just more likely to actually take action by the time they do get to the app store.Does that makes a lot of sense?Jacob: 00:34:39Tells you a lot about the quality of like the app store as a sales pitch. Right? I mean, but I guess when you're like looking at a, you know, you're trying to differentiate, right, and there's only so much, you can communicate in a block of text and then a bunch of screenshots. Right. And you've seen so much.Data shoved into the screenshots on asking LAMSTAR right. They're not screenshots. Right. They're like deck.David: 00:35:00Billboards Shamanth: 00:35:01Yeah.Yeah. I also think another reason why the app store works so well, pre with Facebook would just show ads to users to install other subscription apps. So if you send them directly to the after, they're almost pretty qualified. case anymore. So I think that absolutely level the field a lot.Jacob: 00:35:27Yeah.It's, it's, it's a tough, skill set though, for a lot of developers because they don't often have web experience internally. I think, I think I'm, I hear so much, like people get so obsessed about the 30%. and they want to jump straight to that last one. You mentioned about building a whole online purchasing thing, which like, you know, Stripe's pretty easy to use.Like it's, it's, you know, it's not that much more work than building a landing page, but you have to remember. okay. Management. So now you got to have a link for somebody who can go and cancel that thing. Now you also have to worry about taxes, Stripe. Doesn't like collect a tax information for you already.You have to, you know, then synchronize that with your backend. And, you know, if you're using revenue, casing grants with us or whatever, but you got to manage all that too. a lot of complexity, for 30%. Right. And when you're just trying to, you know, all of these things can find incremental. But like, as you're saying, it's important to put them in the right order or you can end up a lot of and money.Shamanth: 00:36:28Yeah, yeah. David: 00:36:30Well, I did want to, to move on to the, the, future. So we, we've kind of gotten through the first couple of months of these, this rough patch in or into this, era of, of mobile advertising. Are there any things that you're seeing that are especially promising. the future is the future.Everything we've been discussing so far of just of your advertising works and 50% doesn't mean you're never going to know which, do you, or are there some technologies coming online or some approaches that are just going to take time to of work out.Shamanth: 00:37:12Yeah, I think there's going to be some changes. I don't know. These are going to be shattering, in terms of changing. ATP. I think the most promising though, I would say, iOS 15 custom product pages, basically solve the problem of Jacob. didn't give it to you. How one tomorrow slide deck and everybody sees the same tag and Astro does a terrible job of sending a user on.What the product is basically, the custom product pages can have up to 25 washes off your app store. which means like if you're a, you know, wellness app, if let's just say you're a meditation app that has a meditation for sleep or anxiety and how to meditate. Separate landing page, so to speak on the app store, anxiety, meditation, right.And you can send, get a unique URL for each of these. you're going to have ad for sleep, going to an app store for each sleep for anxiety going to an app. So for anxiety I can, that can help. I just don't think it's going to have too much on the measurement front. obviously.Actual execution is still unclear. The announcements out. Definitely one of the big changes I would take that's coming with 15. The other one would just be that, advertisers are going to be receiving post-docs, which is huge, at least in ensuring of the advertising data so far, completely bonkers right now.Networks like Facebook snap, everybody get your post back from ASCAP network, but you have advertiser you as an advertiser. Which means you basically take the word for it. I do know for a fact that has actually changed values. I don't want to call it malicious because the conversion value was no.And to change it to zero, the problem is that knowledge will have very, very different meanings. You don't mean install. not mean to install happen, and there's no value. know that they did that change. I don't have that company to do it. but my point is, and Google, Google explicitly say we are going to use model conversion.So you basically take out what bird app Facebook face tapping data is accurate. Everything underneath it's modeled, means take out all of this is because the postdoc goes to the metroplex, but not the avatar. if the post that goes to the advertiser, you can add the very least verified that tell me the truth, which bonkers? I think David, you imagining, until all the time, you, you just have to think that, oh, back onto words for it even PhET right.I think That's going to be a big, big change, even though a lot of that will happen under the hood. And I say advertisers for the back majority of advertisers, going to do, they're receiving a Okta. Uh post-bacc but I think that's going to be a big deal, but, I think those are the big changes, the custom product pages and the post-bac to advertisers the tree and the intent of the future.In many ways, I do think it's going to be back to 2013 or 2014. I think I had talked about how. A number of installs and to be held that certain percentages, knew that each of them would convert to Jacob: 00:40:59Okay Shamanth: 00:41:00have a digital subscription. So they the cloud, but think it's going to be a very similar world. We are going to be, you're going to have to be more comfortable making decisions based off of incomplete data.But I do see that thing. David: 00:41:15One of the things I've been hearing a lot about since, since apple announced. The last year is incrementality testing. So systematically on and off, you know, so if you're advertising, I mean, obviously this would be a tool for, for larger apps, but if you're advertising across Facebook, Google snap, TOK, and you know, other mobile DSP.You know, systematically moving spend around and then measuring the difference or even turning spend off in certain channels and increasing spend in other channels. you seen that work? and are you, excited about the potential, of having tools in this space? do you think incrementality testing is a bit over-hyped.Shamanth: 00:42:02Any recommendation like incrementality? I think one caveat that a lot of people miss. That it's useful. What a very, very tiny fraction of advertisers, David, like you said, if. Like all the society building networks, multiple DSPs, ad networks, instrumentalists TV. Yes, absolutely. You know, you should use incrementality because there's just no way you're going to find out if this is going to work incrementality and, media mix modeling.You want to use both of them had an ad to make that work. But I would say the kinds of advertisers who need like this are a very tiny fraction. So the vast majority of advertisers, even the advertisers who are on four to five channels, even advertisers who spend those six tickets in a monthly spend, I don't think testing is going to be, Betty has just because Todd, you know, it's, it just becomes imprecise.Volumes of data. You need a critical mass of data for to be useful. right. I think it's a very similar thing that began X models, right? You need anomalous, anomalous budgets to dose to be useful and helpful. So I do take, these are great. I think the fact that they're not an antidote to all of the havoc that has, about the applicable to our tiny Sheila David: 00:43:39That makes sense. And then if, if you're only advertising on Google or only advertising and Facebook are only advertising on the two of them, they're, they're essentially doing some level of incrementality testing for you right there. Measuring the performance of this campaign against that campaign.And they're up depending on the results that they seem to be seeing. So there's some of that's kind of already covered if you're using those platforms, as your primary sources, Another thing I wanted to get your thoughts on was experimentation with other forms of advertising. I you're, you're very focused, currently on, on, you know, paid user acquisition and I don't think that's going away.And I think for, you know, for a lot of apps that is going to be the, the, the best, most reliable way to continue scaling even without accurate measurement. But have you seen any other. pushes with any of your customers, to work on, on, on different styles of advertising, different, approaches to marketing that are being successful.And do you see their kind of more incentive to try more things these days?Shamanth: 00:44:50No, I spoke about web, and I think there's definitely much, much stronger interest in that campaign than even six months ago. Larger budgets, definitely stronger interest. I would, again, like with the extra mentality, I would say shut on smaller budgets, I do not recommend experimenting.I do not recommend diversifying, but certainly have larger budgets. I would also say that are worth spending in the tens of millions, budgets like that have the, even like millions a month. Uh there's some, these other larger studios. They have already been on influencers that wasn't even advertised on TV, none of this would be new to them.Yeah, so I, I don't, I bet anything radically new that.David: 00:45:42Yeah. And then that kind of gets back to the old tried and true. You just got to build a good product and work on your monetization, and kind of get back to the basics of, of product as well. Jacob: 00:45:54I think sometimes these, these overly complex, overly targeted systems, especially for people who make software contend to be busy boxes, right. They can tend to be, can tend to be things that. Can attract our attention and, and ‘cause, they, they seem very like, you know, oh, we can get it right.And really make it scale. And then some people have right. It's possible. But 80/20, I think for a lot of people out there, like just, just, just focus on the fundamentals and you can go pretty far. And then as time comes, you can layer in the more, you know,Shamanth: 00:46:27Yeah.Yeah, yeah, yeah, and like I said, at a certain level of care, influencers, all of this becomes much, much more meaningful. and like I said, that's certainly more meaningful already. Yeah. You don't need too much. David: 00:46:42Well, I think that's a great place to wrap up. it was great chatting with you and yeah. lot of insight there on, on what's working and what, how to think about things in this, this new world of mobile marketing. you know, as we wrap up, is there any last thoughts to include links to, where people can find you on, on, on the web and to RocketShip HQ and whatnot.Anything else you want to add?Shamanth: 00:47:09No. Though, like I said, guess this not bad as it reported to be. They're raised to mitigate the worse-case scenarios, that helped me out, been able to share. so, hopefully they'll come out on the other side of all of this without too much craziness.Jacob: 00:47:35I think people are going to keep using apps. That's my, that's my prediction.David: 00:47:40And I think people are going to keep advertising apps. Shamanth: 00:47:43Yeah, yeah, It's the, how that's going to have to change and it has to change dramatically and there's no getting around that.David: 00:47:51Well, it was great chatting with you and, we'll talk again soon. Shamanth: 00:47:55Absolutely.Jacob: 00:47:57Thank you.David: 00:47:58Good bye.

Welcome to Hope City Church! NEW If you are new to Hope City text “Welcome” to 502-754-3212 SERMON GUIDE Order of Service Welcome - Pastor Jason & Andrea Worship - House of the Lord Scripture Reading - James 1:5-11 (please stand) Sermon - Pastor Jason Communion Worship - Worthy Worship - Gone Dismissal - Pastor Joe Passage for the day James 1:5-11 5If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. 9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. Congregational Prayer Oh Lord, there's so much I don't know, but you know it all. So I come to you now, and ask for wisdom from above. I bring to you the broken pieces of my expectations, my hopes and dreams worn thin, I'm at a loss, not knowing why or what good could possibly come from this trial. What I want so badly still has not come to pass. In my mind you are sovereign, but in my heart I often feel confused, abandoned, and alone, as if you do not care to let my hopes collapse. Still, I know my heart deceives me. You are sovereign even over my sorrow. You are always faithful, always working, even when, especially when, I can not see it at the time. So let this pain do its work. Let it tutor me. Use this trial to reveal the undetected wounds and emotions that control my life Give me the grace to trust, and the patience to endure As you are shaping my life and my circumstances to make me more like your son Jesus. Not my will, oh Lord, not my dreams, not my plans, but yours be done. Amen. CONNECT Connect with us! Visit the Hope City Church website at https://realhopenow.com/ , connect through the Hope City Church Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/realhopenow or download the Hope City Church Louisville app from the android or apple app store. CARE If you or a loved one is in need of prayer or care, we would love to help! Simply open the Hope City Church Louisville app, click on "Pastoral Care" or "Prayer Request" and fill out the form so that we can know how we can help. Or go to https://app.textinchurch.com/groups/webform/MjYxMDg4 and send us your prayer request. GIVE Our heart is to share as much hope with as many people as possible, and you make that happen because of your generosity. Click the link below to give. http://www.realhopenow.com/give/ Thank you for tuning in to today's service. We'll see you soon!

RUTH 1:1-221 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.Naomi and Ruth Return19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost The Collect: Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18(He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said: 19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!    How the mighty have fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath,    proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,    the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 You mountains of Gilboa,    let there be no dew or rain upon you,    nor bounteous fields!* For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,    the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more. 22 From the blood of the slain,    from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,    nor the sword of Saul return empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!    In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles,    they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,    who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,    who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 How the mighty have fallen    in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 26   I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me;    your love to me was wonderful,    passing the love of women. 27 How the mighty have fallen,    and the weapons of war perished! Psalm: Psalm 130 1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;    Lord, hear my voice; *        let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. 2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *        O Lord, who could stand? 3 For there is forgiveness with you; *        therefore you shall be feared. 4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; *        in his word is my hope. 5 My soul waits for the Lord,    more than watchmen for the morning, *        more than watchmen for the morning. 6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, *        for with the Lord there is mercy; 7 With him there is plenteous redemption, *        and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 7Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. 13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much,    and the one who had little did not have too little.' Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.' 24So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.' 29Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?' 31And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ' 32He looked all round to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.' 35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?' 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.' 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.' 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum', which means, ‘Little girl, get up!' 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost The Collect: O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament: 1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5,10-16 [1Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.' 10And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.' 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20David rose early in the morning, left someone in charge of the sheep, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.] 32David said to Saul, ‘Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.' 33Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.' 34But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.' 37David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.' So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!' 38 Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39David strapped Saul's sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.' So David removed them. 40Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.' 45But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand.' 48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. or 57On David's return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?' And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.' 18When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved. 10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 11and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.' But David eluded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 13So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. 14David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him. 15When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them. Psalm: Psalm 9:9-20 or Psalm 133 9 The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, *        a refuge in time of trouble. 10 Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, *        for you never forsake those who seek you, O Lord. 11 Sing praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion; *        proclaim to the peoples the things he has done. 12 The Avenger of blood will remember them; *        he will not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Have pity on me, O Lord; *        see the misery I suffer from those who hate me,        O you who lift me up from the gate of death; 14 So that I may tell of all your praises    and rejoice in your salvation *        in the gates of the city of Zion. 15 The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, *        and in the snare they set is their own foot caught. 16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice; *        the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands. 17 The wicked shall be given over to the grave, *        and also all the peoples that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, *        and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19 Rise up, O Lord, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; *        let them be judged before you. 20 Put fear upon them, O Lord; *        let the ungodly know they are but mortal. or 1 Oh, how good and pleasant it is, *        when brethren live together in unity! 2 It is like fine oil upon the head *        that runs down upon the beard, 3 Upon the beard of Aaron, *        and runs down upon the collar of his robe. 4 It is like the dew of Hermon *        that falls upon the hills of Zion. 5 For there the Lord has ordained the blessing: *        life for evermore. Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 6As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2For he says, ‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you,    and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger; 6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 11 We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. 12There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. 13In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also. Gospel: Mark 4:35-41 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.' 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!' Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?' 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'

View the Bulletin for Sunday March 14, 2021Service Times: 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.In-person Bible Study: 9:15 a.m.In-person Sunday School: 9:20 a.m.All are welcome.Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.SPECIAL WORSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Saturday morning service (10:00 a.m.) Participant number will be limited to a total of TWENTY FIVE (23 worshippers, 1 elder, pastor). Saturday’s readings and the sermon will be the same as the following Sunday’s (these services are currently different from one another). REGISTER FOR SATURDAY.Old Testament Reading – Numbers 21:4–9From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.Epistle Reading -- Ephesians 2:1–10And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the third chapter.[Jesus said:] “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.”Grace Bell Choir – O Sacred Head Now Wounded (8 am)

49 In this episode, I continue to teach out of Joshua and pick up the lesson inGet access to the entire 12-part Christian Podcast Bible Study Lesson Joshua 6 :7-10And he said to the people, "Proceed and march around the city, and let him who is armed advanced before the ark of the Lord." So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua has commanded the people saying, "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout."If you remember from the previous episode, Jesus came and gave Joshua his "marching orders" and He didn't say anything about the people having to be quiet.I believe Joshua knew his people and as their leader, he knew it would be best if they didn't open their mouths.He was using his experience from when 40 years earlier he was one of the 12 who was sent to spy out the lane.Numbers 13:1,2And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them."13:17-20And a return from spying out the land after 40 days. Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds;whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.13:25 And they return from spying out the land after 40 days.13:27-33Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan."Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants) and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we were in their sight."

Each weekday we will meditate on a prayer or a reading for the upcoming Sunday as assigned in the ELCA's hymnal.Ephesians 2:1-10And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Episode 95 – The Lord of Logic – Part 7 – Evil's Existence Means God Doesn't Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92, verses 11 through 13, New International Version They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation, Chapter 20, verses 9 and 10, New International Version ******** VK: Hello! I'm Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. If you've been with us on our last several episodes of Anchored by Truth you'll know that we're in the midst of a series about objections that are raised against the existence of God. Our specific aim is to see whether those objections are reasonable when you subject them to a logical analysis. Again with us today is Doug Apple who is the manager of the WAVE-94 radio station in Tallahassee, Florida. Doug has been active in Christian broadcasting for more than 25 years and is a faithful and knowledgeable student of the Bible. He has a passion to help Christians mature in their faith just as Paul commends believers to do in many of his epistles. Before we get into the discussion, Doug would you like to take a couple of minutes and tell us a little about why you wanted to help Anchored by Truth pursue this series? Doug: - Opening Comments VK: Thank you, Doug. And, just for the listeners' benefit, Doug has been with us for the past few episode and we expect him to be with us on the next one as well. So far in this series, which we are entitling “The Lord of Logic,” we have addressed a number of important topics. We started off “thinking about thinking.” In our first couple of episodes we pointed out that a lot of statements that sound very profound are actually self-defeating. For instance, the statement “the only things we can know to be true scientifically” can't be proven scientifically. So it fails the test it sets up. There are a great many statements that are thrown around that are like that. So, our first few shows in this series were all about helping listeners be more discerning when they come across criticisms that are often hurled at the Christian faith. After we did some thinking about thinking we then moved on addressing specific objections that are offered about God's existence. In our last episode we looked at the objection that there are so many different ideas or versions of God that exist around the world that it is impossible for us to know which, if any of them, is true. Before that we examined the objection that because we can't perceive God with any of our physical senses we have no evidence for God's existence. And we also examined the objection that even if God existed we cannot know anything meaningful about Him because God is too different from mankind to be known. In other words, even if God existed He would be unknowable. Doug: And what we have seen in all cases is that these objections are not reasonable in a formal sense. They do not pass muster when they are subjected to a logical evaluation. For instance, the idea that we can't know God exists because He can't be perceived by our five senses is built on the premise that we can derive meaningful information about the world around us through our senses and that we can apply logic and reason to that information and arrive at sound conclusions. But, if God didn't exist we would have no rational basis for believing we possess intelligence in the first place. The evolutionary hypothesis is a very poor explanation for the existence of intelligence because the General Theory of Evolution speculates that all life arose from the random collision of inanimate particles. This would mean that evolution sees the collision of unintelligent, lifeless molecules as the source for intelligence and reason. It makes philosophy the product of particles, ethics the product of electrons, and science the product of slime. That kind of a transformation would be no less miraculous than God's creative activity is. VK: Right. Furthermore, all causes are known by their effects. Just about every concept of God that has ever circulated – even many of the pagan concepts – acknowledges that God is a primary or ultimate cause of everything. Even Aristotle reasoned his way to the need for an Unmoved Mover. We can't see the wind but we can see the trees move. We can't see whether someone loves us or hates us but we can know what they feel by how they treat us. So, we can know that God, as the ultimate Cause exists, because we can perceive His effect, the visible, tangible universe around us. Doug: Yes. And just as an additional note on this objection, critics who object to pointing to the universe, the effect, as evidence of God, the Cause, often will say something like, “Well, if everything that exists needs a cause, what is God's cause?” When they make this criticism they are confusing the cause-effect nature of the universe's existence with God's self-existence. God is the only entity that is completely independent, non-contingent, and non-derived. God depends on no one and nothing else for His existence. God is not self-caused. He is self-existent. For a being to be self-caused is a logical impossibility. To be self-caused would require a being to do something, create, before it was anything. Logic tells us that something must first exist before it can do anything. So, the idea of self-causation contains an inescapable logical contradiction. But the concept of self-existence does not involve any logical difficulty. There is no logical contradiction in saying that there is a being that exists entirely by and of itself. But it is important to note that there is, and always will be, only one such Being. As you said, even Aristotle and other pagan philosophers have recognized the need for an Unmoved or Prime Mover. VK: So, anyone who would like to hear the detailed discussions of the first three objections to God's existence that we've discussed can go their favorite podcasting app and listen to those episodes whenever they want. Now to move on, today we want to look at a fourth objection that is often offered for why the God of the Bible cannot exist – and that is that the existence of evil demonstrates that God, even if He does exist, cannot be all powerful. Or, if He is all powerful, He cannot be all good. This criticism is built around the idea that an all good, all powerful God would never permit evil to exist within His creation. So, if evil does exist – and we all know that it does – then God either can't prevent it, won't prevent it, or isn't there in the first place to prevent it. Doug: Yes. So, this objection is similar to the first three in that it makes many of the same assumptions about the nature of reality that would make no sense if God didn't exist. But, unlike the first three objections, this objection adds an additional dimension. It doesn't just challenge God's existence but also God's character. In saying that because we can't perceive God with our five senses we're basically just debating God's existence but not any of His attributes. The objection that evil's existence means that God can't exist, or be all powerful and all good, makes a statement about God's character and attributes even if His existence were somehow demonstrated. Said differently, this objection presumes to pronounce judgment on God. VK: Yikes. That's always a dangerous place to be. It's one thing for a human being to have doubts about God's existence. But it's something entirely different when human beings decide that they possess the ability to pronounce judgment about a Being that is incomparably superior to them. Doug: I agree, but let's not start there. Let's return to the analytical process that we've used in studying the first three objections to God by studying the assumptions that are inescapably tied to the objection itself. So, the first assumption being made is that there is a real difference between good and evil, that it is possible to make a distinction. After all, if say, the pantheistic view of creation was true – that god is all and all is god – then there would be no difference between good and evil. VK: Right. Consistent pantheists acknowledge that any perceived differences between good and evil, kindness and cruelty, or right and wrong are just illusions. If god is everything, then everything that happens within the universe is just another manifestation of an all pervading unity. So, an action that occurs in one part of the universe cannot possess a different character than any other action. All parts of the whole are just one more expression of the whole. The unavoidable conclusion from everything being part of a sort of one unified giant consciousness is that no meaningful distinctions can be made between actions, events, or consequences. This obliterates the possibility of labeling some events as being genuinely good while others are genuinely evil. Doug: Exactly. But the Christian view that the universe is a creation of an almighty, all-good God immediately establishes an entirely different foundation for the relationship between God and His creation and between the relationships of the beings within that creation. An all-good Creator God possesses the right of sovereignty over that which He created. He made everything including both the inanimate and animate parts of the universe including human beings. So, God can establish the standards by which He wants His creation to operate including the permissible actions of human beings. He made us so He can tell us what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do. VK: Right. The Bible uses the analogy that the potter has the right to shape the clay into whatever vessel the potter chooses. The potter has power over the clay. The potter can designate that one lump of clay be used for one purpose and a different lump for a different purpose. But especially in western cultures we don't care very much for that analogy. We like thinking of ourselves as being “completely free” and therefore allowed to choose what we want to do and what we don't want to do. Doug: And God did give human beings freedom of choice. The Bible is clear about that. God gave us freedom of choice, but the Bible is also clear that our choices have consequences. Our choices, though freely made, are not free of consequences. Some of our choices will produce beneficial outcomes for ourselves and others. But the opposite choices will yield the opposite consequences. God built freedom of choice into human beings. But He also built the law of sowing and reaping into the economy of creation. We reap what we sow. It's just that we reap later than we sow, more than we sow, and often in completely unexpected ways. But the basic point is that the God who created the universe and people has the power to prescribe what those human beings are allowed to do within His creation. The standard-setting, law-giving God establishes the difference between right and wrong and good and evil. And it is only because there is such a God that there to be a real, perceivable difference between good and evil. VK: And this is a really key point. If God didn't exist there would be no objective basis by which good and evil could be distinguished. And it's important to note that when we speak about good and evil or right and wrong we're not just talking about mere preference or inconvenience. Many things may be inconvenient for me or someone else but that does mean they are wrong or evil. My neighbor may paint his house a color I don't like. I may find their color choice unpleasant or even inconvenient. But absent some deed restriction my neighbor choosing that color is not evil. But if my neighbor steals my lawn mower, the theft isn't just inconvenient. It's wrong. And even small children know that. From very early ages all people know that there is a real difference between right and wrong. But there can only be that difference because God created the universe and established laws by which His creatures are to function. God not only created moral and ethical laws that govern people but also He built human beings so that we can perceive those laws. Doug: Yes. That is a first, very important point. If God didn't exist there is no valid basis for saying that there is a real distinction between good and evil. And the second point is that anyone who proclaims that God shouldn't permit evil to exist has to not only recognize that there is a difference between good and evil - they must also believe they are capable of making the distinction. How could they say that it is unfair for God to permit evil to exist if they don't have the ability to personally distinguish between fairness and unfairness? It's one thing for a standard to exist. It's another thing to know the standard is there. You can treat a pet badly – you certainly shouldn't, but you could – and the pet may show you that it is miserable or sad. But the pet is not going to take you to court. It would take another human being to do that because the other human being can recognize that you are violating an established standard. Lower animals can react to good or evil behavior but they cannot label those behaviors as being good or evil. Well, the objector who says that a good God would not permit evil to exist must affirm they believe they possess the ability to distinguish evil from good. Otherwise, they could not frame the objection in the first place. So, the objector is inadvertently admitting that there is a God who cannot only establish the standard, but also create beings who can recognize the standards. The only alternative to a Creator God is for life to have arisen from the collision of inanimate particles. Chaotic collisions do not create ethical or moral standards. Nor could random interactions of atoms and molecules build a being with the cognizant ability to comprehend ethics and morality. How can the undirected interaction of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen make it wrong to steal from your neighbor or mistreat your pet? VK: It can't. So, this reinforces the fact that the objection that the existence of evil disproves the existence of a good God is actually self-defeating. The objector is appealing to a standard that would only be present, or possible, if God exists. God must have ordered His creation in such a way that there is a real difference between good and evil or the distinction between the two would be meaningless. Furthermore, there is a third observation we can make about this objection. Without a good God who establishes laws that permit the separation of good and evil there is no reason to complain that evil exists. Without the ability to perceive the distinction the objector would have never be able to raise the objection. But, in addition to these points, the fact that the objector is judging God tells us that the objector is fine with making judgments about others. The objector clearly understands that God is a being separate and distinct from them. The objector believes they possess the capacity for evaluating the relative merits of arguments or situations. And the objector feels sufficiently qualified to announce the results of their evaluations to others. So, a third important point is if the objector is willing to subject another being – in this case God – to their judgment, then the objector would have to agree that it is ok for God to judge them. Doug: Bingo. So, in pronouncing judgment on God the objector has agreed that it would be fair for God to pronounce judgment on them. As the old timers used to say, “Turnabout is fair play.” But this leads the objector into even deeper waters. Judgment implies not only the comparison of one action or circumstance to a standard, but also the existence of obligations. We alluded to this in our last episode. The concept of an obligation goes even beyond the existence of a standard or an awareness of the standard. The concept of an obligation is that we must not only acknowledge the standard but also comply with it. And obligation, as it turns out, is a very tricky business. There are some obligations that apply to some people but not to others. But there are some obligations that apply to everyone. VK: For instance, there are obligations that exist within families. And while every family has some obligations they may vary considerably from family to family. One family may expect everyone to come to dinner in the evening. In other families that may not be a point of emphasis. But in every family kids are expected to be obedient to their parents and parents have an obligation to provide for the health, safety, and well-being of their kids. There are some obligations that apply to people in one community but not in others. These obligations might apply to use of property or the size of signs or how traffic is allowed to flow. But in a different town or community an entirely different set of obligations might apply. Or there may be no obligations at all for some purposes like whether commercial businesses can locate in certain places. But there are some kinds of obligations that are universal – things like prohibitions on murder, theft, or lying. The point is that while the concept of obligations applies to all people everywhere, the specifics of obligations can vary considerably. And there is no way to explain these kinds of nuances if human beings were just the product of a long series of random mutations in so-called macromolecules. Doug: Right. And the nuances in obligations are just limited to varying applicability. There are other nuances that defy the notion that obligations somehow have a biological origin not a theological one. One of things you noted is that obligations most often include the concept of reciprocity. In other words, there are mutual obligations. Citizens pay their taxes but the government is supposed to provide police and fire protection and maintain public structures like roads. Kids should obey their parents but the parents provide for their kids. In other words, obligations usually go both ways. Another thing you pointed out is that obligations may have a common origin or purpose but the specifics vary considerably. Taxes are high in some places and low in others. Some schools require students to wear uniforms to class and others don't. But what is always present is the idea that not only are there standards and the people have the capability to know those standards – but also that that judgments will be made about compliance and that there will be consequences for non-compliance. It's easy to see how an omnipotent and righteous Creator God could design this interconnected system of obligation and judgment. But, if God didn't exist and create everything – including human beings – it's very, very hard to see how the idea of obligation, judgment, and consequence could have arisen. VK: And that's a really important point. It's important to note that when we are talking about obligations and judgment we are again often talking about moral or ethical standards – not simply physical consequences. If you jump off a tall building and violate the law of gravity there will certainly be consequences but that's not necessarily true if you steal your neighbor's property. It's entirely possible that you might not get caught, but that will never make the theft acceptable. Stealing is wrong regardless of whether there are immediate physical consequences in a person's life. And as you say in a universe where all life came from the random collision of inanimate particles it's hard to see how all these intertwined concepts would have been generated by just variations in the collisions. Doug: Right. Advocates of evolution sometimes point to a sort of shared “herd instinct” as the reason human beings have rules that govern their relationships. In essence the thought is that the behaviors we label “judgement” and “obligation” are really just biological reflections of the fact that cooperation among humans made them more formidable in the quest for survival. In other words, the fact that human beings cooperate really is just a way we adapted to be more fit for survival. VK: But of course there are lots of animals besides human beings that cooperate to survive physically. Fish swarm. Birds flock together. Ants build elaborate tunnel systems that would be impossible for a single ant. Buffalos will form a defense circle against attacks by predators. There are lots of other creatures in nature that cooperate to survive. But those behaviors are not what is meant when human beings acknowledge that obligations exist and that a violation of those obligations has moral and ethical consequences. Human beings everywhere are well aware that violating certain standards will result in judgment and that that judgment is over and above any specific physical consequences. Doug: Exactly. This awareness of what might be called “ethical imperatives” is unique to humans. Now, for Christians this awareness is easy to explain. God created us in His image. Part of us possessing that image, marred though it was by the fall, is an awareness of God's righteous standards and our obligation to be obedient to the One who created us. But if you toss God aside, the ability to explain an awareness of moral imperatives is much harder to come up with. This is particularly true when you consider that the normal evolutionary hypothesis only has the random and chaotic action of inanimate particles to explain for the behavior of every living creature everywhere. Evolution does not permit any goal directed behavior at all. So, it is nearly impossible to see how a random mutation billions of years ago down some evolutionary trail produced a genetic trait that would be passed through insects, fish, birds, mammals, and ultimately to humans that would manifest itself as the notion that stealing property would result in eternal condemnation. VK: So, the notion that the existence of evil disproves the existence of God – or at least the existence of an all-good, all-powerful God winds up hitting a great many impassable roadblocks. First, if God didn't exist there would be no meaningful distinction between good and evil. An undirected, chaotic universe can't make some random events truly good or evil. But a universe established by a righteous Being most certainly can. Second, if God had not implanted a moral and ethical consciousness within man – as a part of making man in His image – men and women would have no ability to distinguish between good and evil. The ability to distinguish between good and evil isn't just tied to a biological necessity. In fact, sometimes doing the right thing means we ignore our own safety like when a firefighter runs into a burning building to save an elderly person. The firefighter is ignoring their safety to do something we consider a greater good. Doug: Exactly. And when the objector makes the objection that an all-good, all-powerful God wouldn't permit evil to exist the objector has made a moral judgment. They have implied that God had an obligation to not permit evil to exist, even if that evil is limited in time and scope. So, the objector has acknowledged not just the reality of judgment but also that judgment is appropriate when evil is present. This is a particularly startling idea. The objector starts by saying that the existence of evil disproves the existence of a God who can judge men all the while pronouncing their own judgment on that God. What the objector is really saying is that they believe God should have designed creation to operate differently. So, as we started out saying the objector is elevating their opinion of things should work over that of God's. VK: And that harkens back to the garden of Eden when Satan tempted Eve by telling her that if she ate the forbidden fruit she would become like God. Satan tempted Eve to replace her judgment for God's. God had told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate the fruit. But Satan lied and said they wouldn't. Adam and Eve substituted their judgment for God's and our creation has experienced the consequences of that act ever since. Doug: Yes. So, as with the first three objections we find that this objection doesn't withstand rigorous, logical scrutiny. The basis for the objection wouldn't even exist if God didn't exist, but the objection is directed toward the existence of God. The objection is self-defeating. Furthermore, the objection again points to the exquisite distinctions between man and all other forms of God's creatures. Man possesses attributes that could only be present if man was created in the image of God and had been communicated those attributes by God. VK: So, let's finish by pointing out that human beings everywhere have a built in consciousness of God. We're told that in Romans, chapter 1, verses 18 thru 22. But not everyone is willing to admit this awareness exists and they consciously attempt to suppress this knowledge – which they are permitted to do but they are not permitted to reject it without consequences. The decisions we make about God have eternal consequences. The consequences to accept or reject Jesus as your savior go on for eternity. And it is so important for people to understand that we only have the opportunity to make those decisions as we go through this life. Doug: That is what makes this series on the Lord of Logic so important. Some surveys indicate that even if a child is raised in a Christian home, as many as 75% of those kids will abandon their faith after they leave home. This is a tragedy. But it is an avoidable tragedy. We need to prepare our kids with the evidence and the reasoning capacity to be able to deal with the opposition they're going to get to their faith once they are out on their own. And that brings us to the question of how we can successfully sort among the many competing truth claims that exist about the nature and attributes of God. To do that successfully is a two pronged effort. There is both an internal and an external component to knowing that the Christian faith is true about what it claims and teaches. Naturally, the external component begins with the Bible. VK: And that, of course, is the central focus of Anchored by Truth. Our whole goal is to demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. The Bible is more than just a book or even a collection of books. The Bible is God's special revelation to mankind to enable people to discern the truth about God. God knew we would confront many counterfeit versions of the true God as we go through life but He didn't leave us helpless. He gave us the Bible so we would be able to know the truth and, by knowing the truth, defeat the falsehoods. Doug: Yes. Reading the Bible, getting to know the Bible, and meditating on the Bible helps us build that external component that tells us the Christian faith is true. But the external component doesn't end there. The external component also includes spending time with other believers in corporate worship and group prayer. It includes listening to testimonies and teaching, including teaching on Christian radio like we're doing today. It includes consulting with believers who have been on the road longer than we have to get the benefits of their insight and knowledge. So, the external component to knowing that Christianity is true itself has a lot of different facets. But, there is also an internal component to knowing that the Christian faith is true. And that comes from the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:13 Jesus said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” VK: Well, all this sounds like a great time to go to the Lord in prayer. Since this series has required no small amount of thinking perhaps it will help us sympathize with our kids who are still in school or college. Today let's listen to a prayer for our friends who are so dear to us. And let's remember always to pray regularly for our friends and family because the Bible assures that God hears and responds to the sincere prayers of His faithful children. ---- PRAYER FOR FRIENDS (JUNE) VK: We'd like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you'd like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We're not famous but our Boss is!” (Bible Quotes from the New International Version) Psalm 92, verses 11 through 13, New International Version Revelation, Chapter 20, verses 9 and 10, New International Version

REFRESHMENT Genesis 2 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. Numbers 20 2And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died PSALM 84 5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. JOHN 4 13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. ACTS 3 19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may PHILEMON 1 7For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. 20Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 2 TIMOTHY 1 16The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains;

New Habits For Old Fruitcakes.Luke 2:1-8Hope Delivered Directly From God. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10“Hope is believing that the future will be better than the past” | “Your hopelessness about the problem is a bigger problem than the problem”Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans15:13Believing is a Door that leads to hope.Answers Today For My Real Needs.11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11Jesus + Nothing = Everything | Jesus + Anything = NothingBreakthrough Birth From An Unknown, Unexpected, And Unrecognized Source.12And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.FOUR KINDS OF PLACES THAT RESTORE SPIRITUAL PASSION:1. The Sanctuary: Psalm 73:16, 17 “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” 2. The Night Room: Psalm 63:6 - 7 “On my bed I remember You: I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.” 3. The Protective Wings: Psalm 57:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” 4. The Strong Hands: Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:15,16“The opportunity of a lifetime needs to be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.”― Leonard Ravenhill Transformation Takes Time And Takes Off.17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:17, 20Making Known Makes Glory. | , Be a Linus - https://youtu.be/OJ8qjdxxzzE Peanuts Christmas. -DROP YOUR BLANKET!

Luke 11Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.23When his time of service was completed, he returned home.24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/reformedeve/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedeve/support

BUY THE GO CREATOR GO BOOK & JOURNAL:www.antoinebeane.comhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GV2DK1Vhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GVJ6MP5FOLLOW GO CREATOR GO & TRIUMPH MEDIAWORKS:Facebook & IG: @gogreatorgo & @triumphmediaworksTwitter: @gcreatorgwww.triumphmediaworks.com___________________________________SCRIPTURES CONCERNING IDENTIGenesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.Jeremiah 1:5Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.1 Corinthians 1:30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.1 Corinthians 12:27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.1 Corinthians 6:17But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.1 John 3:1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.1 Samuel 12:22For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.Colossians 2:10And you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.Colossians 3:12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.Ephesians 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.Ephesians 1:11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.Ephesians 1:13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.Ephesians 1:4Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.Ephesians 1:5He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.Ephesians 1:7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.Ephesians 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.Ephesians 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.Ephesians 2:19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.Ephesians 2:6And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.Ephesians 2:8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.Ephesians 4:24And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.Ephesians 5:8For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.Galatians 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.Isaiah 43:1But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”Isaiah 49:16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.Isaiah 64:8But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.John 1:12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.John 15:16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.John 15:5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.Matthew 5:48You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.Matthew 6:26Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?Philippians 3:20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,Philippians 4:19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.Psalm 100:3Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.Psalm 139:14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.Romans 6:6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.Romans 8:15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”Romans 8:17And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

James 1:1-12 (NLT)This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! 2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 5If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. 9Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. 12God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/yourdailybible)

Discipleship Series #13 A Disciples Heart Was Made For INTIMACY WITH GOD By Pastor George Lehman (Our heart was made to be God’s home.) The word Intimacy means: - * closely acquainted (to know a person / up close and personal) * Intimate friend – Someone you can trust and confide in * Relationship between – It’s a strong bond, it’s always two sided Paul’s greatest desire was for intimacy with God Philippians 3:8 and 10 (Amp) – 8But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him-a joy unequalled]. For His sake I have lost everything and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ. 10And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]. How intimately do you want to know God? It is possible to go through the motions of obeying God and His commands. All this and yet: - not have an intimate relationship with God.                           So busy with the things of God and miss the God of the things. Isaiah 45:5 (Msg) – “I AM GOD, the only God there is. Besides Me there are no real gods. I’m the One who armed you for this work, though you don’t even know Me.” Did you know that Moses had this type of relationship in the beginning of his ministry with God? Exodus 33:12-13 (Amp) – 12Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have also found favour in My sight.’ 13Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favour in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You[becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favour in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.” At this point in Moses’ life he had been obedient to God’s instructions For example: - He led Israel out of Egyptian bondage. 1A     This is a type of us coming out of bondage to a new life in Christ. He helped Israel pass through the Red Sea. 2A     It’s a type of crossing over from death to life – through the obedience of baptism. I Corinthians 10:1-2 (NIV) – For I do not want you to be ignorant of that fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea Acts 2:38 (NIV) – Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He led Israel to Mount Sinai where God gave him the 10 Commandments. 3A     This is a type of the clear instructions of how we should live as God’s children – as per His word. The amazing thing is Moses obeyed Gods instructions. But yet he never knew God in an intimate way. Note Exodus 33:13(NIV) – “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.” The sad similarity to this story is: Some Christians today are following God’s commandments and instructions. But do not “know Him” in an up close personal intimate way. How I remember serving God in my own life, out of fear, legalistic, keeping rules, trying to be obedient. In case God zapped me. When I see this scripture, I realise God is not only a God of wrath, fury, anger, just and Righteous. But a God of love who longs for His children to have an intimate relationship with Him. Exodus 34:5-7(NIV) – 5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” This passage, God reveals Himself in a personal way.  Then Moses said, “Now show me your Glory” Exodus 33:18 Moses asks to see God’s glory and God shows him His character. Gods glory is: - * Gods character * God’s Nature The way He relates to the prince of his creation “mankind”. God never gave Moses some vision of His great majesty, a tour of the universe, or showed Him all his wealth.  No!!! Here are 3 wonderful characteristics of God that I trust will help us understand something about our awesome God. So we can develop a more intimate relationship with God. (Note Moses’ reaction) Exodus 34:8 “Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.” (Draws into an intimacy with God) Romans 2:4 (NIV) – “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Firstly 1. First to know God in an intimate way. We must understand that God is a compassionate and gracious God. David sums it up: Psalm 145:7-9 (NIV) – 7They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. 9The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. God is so compassionate that when we sin, He graciously and mercifully forgives us. God is so compassionate that He blesses us with food, a roof over our heads, jobs, provision and protection Words cannot express how great our God is. James 5:11b – The Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy. You can this week go to God and thank Him for being so wonderful to you. Secondly 2 To know God in an intimate way – we must understand that God is slow to anger. Some people think God is like our earthly father. They think God is quick to become angry with us when we make a mistake. However, the truth is that when we make a mistake, God is patient with us and slow to anger. Psalm 103:8-11 (NIV) – 8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; 10he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth. So great is his love for those who fear him. God is not like us. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) – 8”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9”As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” When we get angry, we want to get even – we hold grudges, we become bitter, we live with Unforgiveness, we act Love-less Thank God He does not treat us as our sins deserve. He is slow to anger. Thirdly 3 To know God in an intimate way we must understand that God is abounding in LOVE. John 3:16-17(NIV) – 16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. No greater act of love has ever been demonstrated than when Jesus gave His life to save ours. To reconnect us to have an intimate relationship with Him. Romans 5:8 NIV “That God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. I John 4:8 – God is LOVE. Aren’t you glad you can have an intimate relationship with this kind of God? Who is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Conclusion If you do not have an intimate relationship with God – it’s probably because you don’t know Him very well or maybe you’ve never met Him in a personal way.

PROPHECY HOUR: IT’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT WE NEED TO FAST AND PRAY! Stan Johnson Web site http://www.prophecyclub.com/ email Stan askstan@prophecyclub.com www.Watchmanstrumpet.com The election is coming, it is to late to pray it out of here? Shouydl we be weeping and crying for what is to come? Ezekiel Chapter 9 1He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. 3And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 4And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. 10And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. Another do not Miss End-Time Radio program as “We are Warning the World as it HAPPENS!” Please visit www.prophecyhour.com Also http://wichitahomeless.com/ Also https://www.facebook.com/WichitaMissionChurch/ “Remember we do not 100% agree with everything our guests, say, do, or believe. It’s up to you to pray and sort it out!”

FAITH WORDS The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. John 6:63 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17Luke 1:5-20 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. All Say… Identity = Believe about SelfFaith Words or Fear Words. Victim Words or Victory Words. | “Fear Is Present Where Faith Is Absent.” | “Fear Vocalized Has The Power To Immobilize.” | For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Romans 14:23 ESV8Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”“My Description Is Not My Destiny” Thoughts create Words, But words also create thoughts. You live in a house of thoughts.“If you want to change your life, you have to change your confession.”Faith words are like a verbal crowbar used to generate faith leverage. Logos: General Biblical Word Of God Rhema: The word the Holy Spirit quickens to a specific person for a specific situation.Not Afraid, Prayer Heard, Call Him, Joy & Delight, Rejoice, Great, Filled, Bring Back, Go On, Spirit & Power, Turn Hearts, Make Ready, Prepared For The Lord.I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13When You Say What God Says About You, You Activate What He Put On The Inside. Faith Gives You The Ability To Do What God Has Called You To Do. Faith Words Agree With Your Identity.19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak

I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve my life, LORD, according to your word.Psalms 119:104-107The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalms 111:10And because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. Psalms 119:128The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalms 119:130

Disciple Up # 179 Greater Than, Pt. 2, Greater Than the Angels; Hebrews 1: 5-14 By Louie Marsh, 9-30-2020   Intro:   Last week add on -  Nostalgia VS relevance   New Bible Study Software – Its not the same! No, push on, learn, grow, and discover new things.   GREATER THAN – HEBREWS Part Two: Greater Than the Angels Hebrews 1:5-14   Why the whole Angels Thing?    Angels are worshipped and misunderstood today: https://www.powerofpositivity.com/5-ways-to-connect-with-angels/   “5For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?   “I myself have begotten thee” is figurative for God's placing David's Son, the heir of all things (v. 2), on his everlasting throne in the eternal kingdom. The inauguration of such a King is for Yahweh the begetting of a Son who rules like Yahweh himself. This inauguration is attested throughout the Old Testament and culminates, as Paul says in Acts 13:33, in the resurrection of Jesus. - Lenski, R. C. H. (1938). The interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (p. 46). Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern.    6And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”   7Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”    8But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.    9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”   10And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”   13And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?   14Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:5–14, ESV)  

Come on in and check out this interview with the Clicks and Mortar Queen Donnalynn Riley. Donna tells an amazing story of how she went from being the CEO of a retail chain to becoming a Spiritual Coach who is helping entrepreneurs bring ALL of who they are to their businesses. Connect with Donnalynn here at her site: https://www.donnalynnriley.com/ Also, Donnalynn has a 5 Day Masterclass you can sign up for in order: Get Out Of Your Head, Embrace Your Imperfections & Get On Track With Your Business! https://www.donnalynnriley.com/5dc-reg brandon handley00:02All right, 54321 Hey there, spiritual dope. I'm on today with Donna Lynn Riley, who is a licensed spiritual health coach who helps people develop evolve and grow. 00:17The answers they find that their journey, bring them to a new level clarity and emotional adjustment to help them develop their expertise in business systems management and marketing. 00:25And addition to her 12 years as a licensed coach her background is the CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation. 00:31informs her ability to help her clients navigate the inner workings of business systems Operations Management and Marketing so they can successfully put it all together themselves. 00:42I'm going to cut it down because that, that's great. And I'm so excited because, as we're going back and forth a little bit here earlier. This is exactly what this podcast is about. So thank you for joining me today. Donnalynn Riley00:53Oh, it's my pleasure. It's great what you're doing. It's great that you're talking about this. It's really good. brandon handley00:58Thank you. Thank you. So you mentioned that you'd call it a couple of podcasts. So what I always like to say is you know you're here today. We're using this podcast as a vehicle to send somebody out there a message, what is it that they need to hear this coming through you today. Donnalynn Riley01:17Well, I always think people need to know that life can be a lot easier than we're making it. I think that that's a place where 01:29Almost invariably people don't believe that. Right. They just go like, nah, couldn't be that I got to work harder. I gotta do more. I gotta you know think more 01:43I have to put out more effort. It's got a cost more. There's got to be a big, you know, emotional or financial cost to the things that I want in life and really 01:54Life can be so much easier than we make it. And I think that that's the benefit of of this approach of a spiritual practice that supports. 02:06Business life and certainly family life, when I know lots of coaches who do that as well. And, you know, really kind of make it better, just make your life better. brandon handley02:16Yeah, no, absolutely. So the idea is that life doesn't have to be so hard. Donnalynn Riley02:21Really doesn't brandon handley02:23And and also throw out there. I think in the first person that I know that's worked on Broadway. Right. And this is this is a story that you tell 02:30In one of your one of your videos right and helping once you tell people use that story real quick here right now. I love that story about just what you said there. 02:41Do you remember so so I'll take it away. So you were around 19 your brothers like 10 years old or new 02:47Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah 02:50Yeah yeah Donnalynn Riley02:50Okay, okay. I gotcha. Sorry about that. 02:54I was like I was there a long time. I don't know. brandon handley02:58Just getting into it right and 02:59How easy how easy sometimes 03:01For you. Donnalynn Riley03:01Yeah. So what I love about that is that, um, so. Okay, so let me let me kind of lay it out here so I'm like 19 years old I 03:11You know, I'm just out the gate. Right. But I'm 10 foot tall and bulletproof because so was everybody when you're 19 brandon handley03:18Right. Yeah, absolutely. Donnalynn Riley03:19And so when you're not very dinged up 03:22You know, you just think like everything's okay and it's going to work out for me and I kind of lived my life like that really clearly I wanted, and I got things I wanted them and they lined up. 03:35So, um, I found myself on on Broadway, which I totally expected right because I wanted it. So, and I didn't know any better, and 03:46And my brother who's 10 years older than I am. He, he knew better. And he is a he is still actually a scenic artist. And so I was a sound designer. He was a scenic artist and 04:01He was working down the block. So I was working on Angels in America, and he was working on City of Angels, which I love that. But there were all these angel references. That's kind of brandon handley04:14Sure, yeah. Donnalynn Riley04:15And. And he said, Oh, let's, um, he was like down the block. And I hadn't seen him in months. It wasn't like, you know, we were spending Sunday night dinners together or something. 04:24And he said, Let's go for lunch. And I was like, yeah, this is great. Yeah, owning the town, you know, in my, in my own head, right. 04:32Sure. And he said, you, you. He's walking me to the to the place to get something to eat and 04:40He said, You just don't have any idea what it costs to get here. You don't have any idea what these people around you have had to do to get where they want to go and in typical sort of 19 year old fashion. I thought, nope. brandon handley04:59Right. Donnalynn Riley04:59I don't care. 05:00Sure, you know, really, for me, I realized that it is a story that's centered around entitlement. Right, so it's not very popular this moment, but 05:10Being able to see yourself. 05:13In the position that you want to be to be able to know that these are things that can happen for you as well as somebody else because 05:24You put the work in and you are talented and you did you know you met the right people and you were in the right place and you took the all the steps to get there. brandon handley05:32Right. Donnalynn Riley05:33There by choice. You don't get to be on Broadway. If you suck. 05:37You do not need. All right. 05:39All right, but they send you home. brandon handley05:42Well, you know, I think. 05:43I think that um I love how you're hitting on entitlement in this insane and in this way because why should it not 05:53Backup people like people bash millennials for kind of having like that kind of entitlement thing. Right. Well, what I admire about that, you know, I think that they would say you got Moxie kid right like kinda back in, but 06:07You know what you want and you're not settling for something that you don't. So is that entitlement, or is that knowing your worth. Donnalynn Riley06:17Right. It's really tricky. It's really tricky and it is a lot about alignment and I've been fortunate to hear you talk about alignment on the podcast previously and 06:28It's a really crucial step in that process. So, 06:34Of course, if we want to get kind of 06:37Cultural about it, then we can we can sort of back it up a little and say, Well, some people have a lot of things that support the belief already in their lives when they're born, and when they're, you know, one and two and three and so it, it becomes 06:55There becomes a divide, but it's a divide in belief. brandon handley07:00100% Donnalynn Riley07:00You know, so it's a it is a really tricky thing. And the important thing for me in the work that I do with people. 07:09Is to whether you've ever experienced that belief or not before is to help you to find that belief because without it is very, very, very difficult to get where you want to go. I, I know people who have done it. It's like they kind of stumbled into their success and that's okay. brandon handley07:25That's true, but it's not very reliable. Donnalynn Riley07:29And so, you know, doing the inner work to create a system of belief for yourself so that 07:36It doesn't sound crazy that you're going to have a successful business or that you're going to get a client that you want to or that you're going to get employees that work out well for you and things like that. I'm doing that inner work makes 07:51All the outer stuff kind of 07:52Line up real quick, like the story I just told where I went from two years or three years I spent in sound design, we're learning from the best in the business. I was already learning from the people who were there, right. 08:06And and and and so I was able to do that very quickly, where a lot of my classmates in college got there 1015 years later, and they worked a lot harder for something because they didn't believe 08:23They didn't know 08:23They thought, oh, I have to go out and do something else first brandon handley08:27Right. We listen, even me today, right now with this podcast. I love it so much. I want to put this, I want to put this 08:36Nice polish on, I want to make it feel so good. I want it to be inviting you know 08:40That, you know, and this isn't wrong to hire somebody in marketing, but I like I really want these pieces I wanted to look so I want it to be so accepted because it's so 08:48meaningful to me right so I'm putting these blocks in 08:53For myself, right. I'm just putting these. Oh, I gotta do this like nothing can happen until this happens and all these other things and and literally that is in my own mind, nobody else's. I mean, nobody nobody else cares. That's just me. Right. 09:07Right. So when you're out there. 09:11And your clientele and and you're working I do they seek you out for one or the other, do you introduce like you know 09:20To the business pressure, like, well, if you just loop in some spirituality, then this might be better for you, like, tell me a little bit how this process of working with you, looks Donnalynn Riley09:30Yeah, so I kind of stand between that space right I stand between entrepreneurs and small business people who are 09:40That's what they do. That's what they've learned. They have a strong background or they have a strong desire but they don't necessarily have any spiritual practice at all. 09:49And I sort of stand between that and the people who are very spiritually open but can't figure out how to turn the computer on right 09:59And rent like can't figure out the details of, like, how do I charge people. And why would they pay me and 10:06These kinds of like nuanced things that, of course, they have a lot of talent and they have a lot of 10:13Value in the world, but so I do kind of stand in between those two spaces, I would say that for the most part, most of the people that I work with are 10:26Are on the business side but are open. brandon handley10:30Okay. 10:31Because okay you can Donnalynn Riley10:32Sort of insert and this is not you know there are a lot of really involved spiritual practices. 10:39And they have value that is beyond what I'm about to express right so this is not to disparage any spiritual practices. I think they all have a lot of value and 10:51But you can in a very short period of time with with not a ton of work right. You don't have to go and study with the monks for 18 years right with with putting a practice into your life. You can attain a lot of result and a lot of ease in your life. 11:12A lot less frustration, a lot of movement forward right so you can start to assess your situation better and access yourself in moments that are stressful better and all of these things lead to better businesses. 11:30But aren't always they're not really taught too often. brandon handley11:35I mean, if you have the capability to kind of calm yourself down in the moment, or just realize what you're about to say or 11:43If you're feeling tense right so what I'm hearing you say is like you're giving them some of these tools to to really kind of ease into themselves and what they're about. Donnalynn Riley11:51Yeah, there's bigger work that we do in order to make lasting change. And that really happens inside one on one trainings that I do or or inside group work that I do with people, but 12:08There are so many little what we would call hacks right there, little, like, oh, if I do this, I feel a little better. 12:16Right. And those are emergency hacks, you know, and they're really useful. They're a great way to get started. I think because 12:26Getting a little relief reminds you that you're probably going to get more relief. If you keep going in that direction. And I think that's a great place to start, particularly for people who are 12:41Who don't have a strong spiritual background but know that like there's something going on in my mind set or those kinds of words are being used a lot recently. Right. brandon handley12:51Right I yeah for sure. For sure. Right. Well, I mean, it's funny because, you know, I think I started off in the mindset space right but now in this 13:01Next level space right where you do this practice, like you said, For doesn't have to be 18 years but you do it repeatedly and you start with like the mindset. You start with the small pieces and 13:13You keep just kind of growing into these other spaces and these other practices that are available to and sooner or later you like I guess they were all right. Donnalynn Riley13:26I love that. Right. brandon handley13:30Right. 13:31Right. So, I mean, I guess you know there's something in those things and what they're saying and what they're doing. 13:37But, you know, so what what led you into this pace yourself. Donnalynn Riley13:43Well, 13:45You know, that's a good question. I, when I look back at my life. I see all these moments like the one that I just described when I'm like very young. 13:54That fit into this kind of way of thinking and this way of being. But I was really pretty unaware of myself and my spirituality until actually my husband got a life threatening disease. 14:15And or problem he got a tumor in his brain cavity. 14:20And he when he was very young. He spent a lot of time in hospitals. And so we went to the first doctor and it was a big emergency and he said, I'm getting a second opinion. And then we went to the next doctor who you know we we finagle their way into the good doctors and all of that and 14:43We went and he described it. And he said, Oh yeah, you have a little time because I'm very good at this. But, you know, you got to get in here in the next month or something. So it was no longer like a huge emergency we have little time. 14:56Sure, and 14:59We were driving home. It was in New York City. We live in Massachusetts. It was a long drive home. We were driving home and my husband said to me. 15:06Yeah, no, I'm not. I'm not doing that I'm not doing that. I don't know what we're going to do, but I think you should find me another solution because I don't, I'm not going to do that. 15:17And that being that you just that just have him for you have been for me. I was like, oh, 15:23Wow, okay. That should be my job. 15:25Okay. Donnalynn Riley15:29No question. 15:31In fairness, I'm sure he was very overwhelmed in that moment. brandon handley15:35Right out Donnalynn Riley15:36Here and and so that was the beginning. That was the kickoff for me to really 15:45Take a look at what is possible. So, and be completely outside the box. Yeah. So once I sort of had to be completely outside the box. Then the possibilities became very, very different. 16:00So it kicked off a series of involvements with people who could help his health and who could do it in very untraditional ways 16:11And also, who required of both of us that we change drastically that we, the concept that we had gotten ourselves into this mess, and that we were going to get ourselves out of this mess was not one that I heard in the doctor's office. 16:31Was and it was really clear and so 16:34And within 16:37A few months, we were both licensed spiritual health coaches, we probably took, I don't know, six months, nine months, something like that for that process and we said, Okay, this is this, we're leaning in because we are not going where that other train was going 16:59Okay, so. So that's really the beginning of when I became a much, much more aware of myself of my thoughts of my 17:09Relationship to the world of my discomfort that I had become just completely accepting of right I had just said, Oh, well that's the way life is, you know and and really be in that awareness, I found new answers. brandon handley17:28So, um, you know what, I guess the one thing is right when you're we're 19 and your earlier years before you 17:37had developed an awareness, you would be, what would we call you know 17:43Was it 17:45Unconscious competence, right, like you and I were you, you were already aligning yourself and you weren't aware that you were doing it. And then once you kind of develop this newfound awareness. 17:56You were able to do this with intention and purpose. Donnalynn Riley18:00That's exactly right. brandon handley18:02Now, so, and also throw out like when you know so I was raised by a hippie mom grew up you know out San Francisco and she was always kicking the word awareness around right when I was growing up, I was like, I'm aware. You see me run into 18:15I've ever run into a thing. 18:18Right, I use it everything outside of me right everything outside of me. I was I was completely aware of. I didn't miss a beat. Yeah didn't miss a beat. But the awareness that I think that you're talking about today is the awareness inside. Is that fair Donnalynn Riley18:32That's exactly right. 18:33That is exactly right and very hard to articulate. You did that quite well that 18:39People, most of the time, feel like they are aware when they start working with me, they're like, Yeah, yeah, I got that part, I need the accurate assessment. Come on, let's get to the good stuff here. 18:49And and that awareness that inner awareness and that ability to kind of be with yourself for periods of time in order to deepen that awareness is very important to the next steps. And so you're absolutely right that people are like, I'm aware. Let's fix my landing page. brandon handley19:16It's all 19:17It's all marketing has nothing to do with what's happening. 19:19Right, right. 19:21Nothing internal happening fixed that. Donnalynn Riley19:23I just had that targeting right we would 19:25All set. So, what what is what is like when when somebody first brandon handley19:29Starts off what's uh what's like one tool that you like to start them off with to 19:35Begin to develop that inner awareness. Donnalynn Riley19:39One of my favorite 19:42Sort of 19:47Let me go back a second here in my thinking. One of my tools that is the easiest for me to sort of give in this kind of a space. 19:59Is actually 20:00A little bit of mirror work. Now some people will know mirror work from different varieties of, you know, mindset work and spiritual work. 20:10The mirror work that that I find is the fastest path to to becoming present 20:22Which is really that first goal is just start being in your body. 20:29Is a piece where you literally just sit with the mirror and look in the mirror in your eyes and say I am here. 20:42Over and over and over. You're sort of calling to yourself. Right. So there's a lot of work that we do after that that involves breath and 20:53Other types of awareness that we can 20:55We can bring in 20:57But 20:59But that's really the the space that I find people kind of are able to bring themselves into the room a little bit and say, oh, OK. I am actually here. Let me give this a shot. I'll be president now. brandon handley21:12Well, I mean, cuz it's, there's still the physical aspect of it right, they're still doing a physical activity, but then they're also acknowledging that it's them right right there in front of them and pulling themselves kind of gather right there. 21:27Right, so I love that. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley21:29And it's deliberate. It's deliberate. So even though a lot of times when people start that process, they don't know. It's deliberate 21:37They, they go like, well, I said the words and then I felt different. I don't know what happened. Right. But in fact it there. There is a deliberateness to it. That is really important that you are impacting you 21:53In that moment. brandon handley21:57Well, that, you know, being deliberate again, you know, intentional, knowing that you're making this choice. I know that I kind of 22:04laughed a little bit about it earlier, but you know, you get to wherever you are today. And I think this is what the spiritual coaches were probably telling you before you guys set the course that 22:13You guys made the decisions to be in that situation right as as a collective even and you you guys when you first heard that you were just like what that's done, nobody's ever said that, you know, kind of that way right to us before 22:29So, I mean, I'm assuming your husband still alive. Donnalynn Riley22:32Oh, yeah. brandon handley22:35Like I hope the story has a good idea. 22:37Because, you know, so 22:39What happens right i mean you go in and he jumped into all this stuff, how, you know, how does it clear up on it never gets checked out again and somehow he still is what happened. Donnalynn Riley22:48No, no. So what happens on that story is that we do the work we do the inner work and we do the emergency inner work and it is kind of emergency at that 23:02Maybe for a year or so as you still feel like what's happening. 23:07And we he gets checked out again. And it's shrinking. 23:12Okay, and we have do have, I will say a spectacular doctor who's actually a doctor. brandon handley23:20Sure, sure. And 23:22It's always handy to have one on standby. Donnalynn Riley23:25WELL KNOW WHO DOES THIS WORK. Oh. brandon handley23:27Okay, that sounds even better yet, Donnalynn Riley23:29He's a trained Western doctor but functions in an Eastern paradigm brandon handley23:35Love it. Donnalynn Riley23:36And so he his toolkit is very, very large. And he honestly I've seen. I've never seen a problem he hasn't been able to impact positively and I have seen him deal with a lot of stuff now. 23:53So, so we had the guidance we had long distance guidance, because he's not right here in our backyard and 24:01We had long distance guidance and we did the work. And that I think is the, the key to that is to sort of have somebody who's ahead of you who can say, yeah, no, no, no. You're going in a direction. You'll be all right. 24:14Sure, sure. And so eventually that tumor went away. brandon handley24:17That's amazing. I love it. And so 24:20You would attribute that almost all to the air work was there like a dietary change. Donnalynn Riley24:26There were other changes. Yeah, absolutely. There were dietary changes, and we think there was 24:35Well, in his particular case, it had a great deal to do with a inability to deal properly with pesticides and with wheat. brandon handley24:46In the Donnalynn Riley24:46On the dietary front. So there was that and 24:54I think there was juicing and there was a lot of things. brandon handley24:57Which are look at 24:59Things. Right. 25:00Body. Sure, absolutely. Absolutely. So, and I think that's, that's interesting. The two right you know so change a die with this practice. I'm the things that are inside of you are the things that are outside of you know that this 25:15Miracle doesn't kind of happen on its own. You gotta, you gotta put it together and you got to maintain it and you know the things that do happen to it. Your body's a miracle. Right. It's amazing. 25:28And it's something like that's happening in this story right you have the ability to change that without getting i don't know i'm guessing he was getting a laser to the back of the head or something right was Donnalynn Riley25:39Wasn't. No, no, they wanted to do full 25:41On surgery. 25:43can address and take goop out 25:47And put goop in from other part. brandon handley25:52Was Donnalynn Riley25:53Unbelievably scary. brandon handley25:55Sure, sure. So, but, I mean, the what's amazing too and your story is that a lot of people would have just gone ahead and gone that route. Right. Donnalynn Riley26:03And they would have tried to talk to your spouse into it. It's their spouse said no. And that I think is something that is I, I have been very fortunate to be able to have that reciprocal relationship with my husband, where if one of us says, No, no, this is how I really feel about the thing 26:20Yeah, even if the other one thinks like, ah, you're just scarred, we should get you over that. 26:26But there is enough space. And this is an important concept in in business in the way we live our lives in general. Right. 26:35Is that there is enough space for us to be scarred and still have full and wonderful lives. It's kind of I think of it a lot about 26:45How you know how certain trees grow and they get these scars in them. And then we cut them up and we make them into coffee tables and we call them beautiful world would 26:54Say. Isn't that spectacular right 26:57Well, that's what we're making yeah in ourselves, we have experienced life and things haven't gone right and we have changed the way that we deal with things F, day after day after day and tried new approaches and had new experiences. 27:14And all of those things are brought into this present moment. And if you allow them then finding a new answer that. That doesn't mean you have to like check out your whole personality becomes somebody else right brandon handley27:32Right, right. Donnalynn Riley27:32No, no, it's okay. You can go spend time in the hospital. 27:36Right show. You don't have to be someone else. You can be you and you can be successful. brandon handley27:41Right. Well, yeah. And in regards to write the 27:46Merging all this together. Right. 27:48But I'll say it. I love Maplewood like the birds. I'm April, right, that's kind of one of the one of the times, you're talking about right and it does become so beautiful. Right. I'm like, I'm over you're sitting right now we're turning ourselves into beautiful maple tables but 28:02I love, I love the story that you're telling about that. I think that that's great. 28:09So let's just I want is, what if some of that wasn't working at any point would didn't feel like, you know, because I don't want to get the impression that 28:19You shouldn't keep a doctor nearby. Right. I mean, because you guys kept the doctor nearby that right live as he was a Western medicine doctor that yes also specialize in this space. Donnalynn Riley28:29I think that the the message that should not be taken from my experience is, go do something extreme like I did right and that the message that should be taken, I hope people take from my experience is be true to yourself and find your own answers. 28:54Because they are there, but they're only there if you calm down long enough to allow them to sort of become revealed. They weren't there in the doctor's office right only the first step, which was no I know what I don't want brandon handley29:10To Donnalynn Riley29:11But there wasn't the step of, like, I know what I do want. Right. Yeah. 29:16Yeah. And in fact, I think that something very important happened there because it was life threatening. Right, it's not 29:23It's not the same as in business where things can go right or wrong and we can find our own alignment. Right. But in this scenario. I think one of the most 29:35impactful things that happened was that my husband had someone to turn to and say, You figure it out because he then could go about the business of lining up with becoming well 29:51He didn't know how, but he had faith. 29:53Yeah, leaf. He said, This person loves me and they're relatively smart. They'll figure it out. brandon handley30:02Well, I think you bring the other one up to which I always love you don't have to know how you don't have to know how you just have to know that that's what you want. That's right. Right. And us where they can just 30:16Move forward in that direction. You know, as if it's not Nestle like I i get i get a little caught up in between, like Law of Attraction with like, you know, 30:28Spirituality space, right. I don't think that they're one the same. I think they're very close, but I don't I don't I don't like to make a sandwich out of, I guess. 30:37Um, Donnalynn Riley30:38But so many ways to look at life you know 30:41It would be a shame to sort of collapse it into only one way 30:46Hundred percent I think that's one of the reasons that the concept of spirituality so appealing to me is that it's big. brandon handley30:53Right, it's yours. Donnalynn Riley30:54I can be a part of this energy and I can be a part of that energy and I don't have to really understand it intellectually. I just have to decide that I'm willing to be a part of that. brandon handley31:05Right. No, I see ideas. Do you even know how you're here. Right. I mean, we don't even understand how we're here to begin with, I mean. So where does that leave us so 31:19Let's talk a little bit more about the outside of the story. Thanks for sharing that. That was Donnalynn Riley31:22My pleasure. Thanks for bringing it up. I, I had 31:26Was I was gonna tell it. brandon handley31:27Yes. I mean you know that, but that's that's kind of how you got into this space. And then, you know, I'm guessing that you kind of incorporated. Now some of this spiritual practice modality. And you were seeing the benefits that it was having in the business space. 31:41So at Donnalynn Riley31:42That time 31:43I was actually the CEO of a corporation. 31:46Okay, so 31:49This was what my life was like, like my every day was going to work as the CEO of a corporation. 31:56Right, so, you know, to, to become to to shift perspective in this massive way and then go back to work the next day and be like, 32:08Oh yeah, I'm gonna do it, just the way I used to do it. 32:11Let them work out. 32:13Right, so there had to be for me a re assessing a real understanding of the business world so that and the end the specifics of my business involvement with people so that I could find peace with the 32:36The 32:38Pathway that we were on brandon handley32:40Okay. Donnalynn Riley32:40So I had many years to do that. I didn't leave that world until 32:452014 and I that the story I told. And when I got my licensure was well 32:55The story I told started in 2007 32:58Okay, so it was putting a time in their 33:02Right to Try concepts out to go to work and to feel differently about things and then see what happens. And now have to take action right away. 33:12To decide that your solution to this relationship problem with an employee with the board of directors with it. Whoever whoever you're dealing with with with the clients themselves. 33:27That you are going to shift that but not by going in and saying something different or doing something different and being like, I am different. Now, now you behave differently, right, which is how people love to approach it. 33:38Sure does not work doesn't work, just 33:42But to really be able to take the time to say okay I am willing to to try everything that I have learned out on myself and to teach it to my staff and to pass it along to people who come and ask for it. 34:02There was a lot of opportunity right now. I'm seeing a lot of people in a day. And there's a lot of opportunity and people will ask you the wildest things 34:10Sure. And so 34:14Yeah, so I had that I had that. And so that was a way for me to really shift the way that I saw business. And what I knew for a fact would work in business. 34:27I had a lot of knowing what didn't work. And some of what did work. I had attained a position and, you know, was filling that position. Well, and all of that. But I really was able to sort of AMP that all up by 34:40By being able to try these things and not know 34:45If they were going to work. 34:47And do them anyway. brandon handley34:49What would be an example of that. Donnalynn Riley34:55Well, there was at one point there was a time when the board of directors was not happy with me. 35:04Man I know, it doesn't mean it doesn't even make sense. 35:06No, it doesn't. It kind of in this world. 35:09And and was not happy with anyone in my 35:15In my purview at all like not like there was no one. And so there was one particular board member who would come in and 35:24Kind of create difficulty. Right. It was a time of change. And I was directing the, the company in a direction that was scary and different and new 35:36And that was not really okay for that board and so that member would come in and and sort of undermine what was happening or stand in the way of what was happening. 35:49And I don't think that was the intention, but I think that it was really to look out for the company and to like really well founded. But really bad idea. And so this went on for 36:05Several weeks several weeks and different members of my staff kept coming to me and saying, what are we going to do this can't go on and I would have a chat and, you know, it still went on and that was the way it was. And I had tried a lot of business solutions for this. 36:23But one day I decided that I was going to just focus on the inner work and I spent all of my off time 36:34Doing that inner work and it was a process it. A lot of times people like me to sort of distill it down into one thing that I did. And certainly, I could name some things that you can do in that scenario but 36:48Really, the important thing was that I was no longer tied to the outcome based on yesterday. 36:56So that we had been through it right. This has been going on for weeks, we had tried everything we know what didn't work. We know. No, no. Right. But we didn't really we didn't because today is a new day. 37:09And this is a new moment. 37:11Right. And so once that happened once there was a disassociation with the past, then 37:19The process of becoming holy present and allowing the other people to become wholly present other this person in particular. 37:29Then the, the issues that are around, it can be dealt with and the attitude can shift. And there can no longer be. It doesn't have to be an aggressive situation, which is what had developed 37:41Right. But once that all dissipates. Then you can have the real conversations about the work that really should be being done in those in that scenario. 37:52Right, I should be held accountable for that in my position and that person should be able to say what they have to say. But there was no space for 38:00Any of that. 38:02And to east and east and east and about two weeks later, one of the gentlemen that work for me came to me and said, What did you do 38:13What did you do 38:14Well you fixed it for you, but you didn't fix it for me. 38:19And I said, Well, I could teach you what it was like, why can't you just fix it. brandon handley38:26That's funny. That's funny. So one of the things that you kind of, you start out there to with the is not having to take action right away, right, because we feel that 38:36We need to take this action immediately to for some type of corrective measure like 38:42Where the like where the savior of whatever is happening, they're like, well, there's no we got to fix this. Right. But you're saying though, you just kind of step back. Yeah. But some of the things just play out on their own and right Donnalynn Riley38:55Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. There's actually a three step process that I teach that 39:02Is a called the triple a method of transformation and that three step process is really important. Some people get one step. 39:12Some people get two steps, but rarely do we hear people talk about the third, the middle step right 39:18Right. So the first step in that is awareness and we've talked a lot about that today, which is 39:23Wonderful. And the third step in that is the action stage right the adaptation. What are you going to do, usually people kind of jump from one to the other and they go, they go like, yes, I'm aware there's a problem. Now I have a solution. 39:38And it's the middle step that is the most important and that really isn't an accurate assessment, you can't make an accurate assessment, unless you're in a receiving mode you're in a 39:58Listening period. A watching period a learning period right it's you can't assess something. If you think you know everything about it already. 40:09So you have to do the exploration that is that middle stage that's between Awareness. Awareness of yourself awareness of your situation and then 40:21Learning so that you can be accurate in your assessment. And that's, I think, really where most of the time it all falls apart is that the assessment is not accurate. 40:33Hmm. And so that's how you jump from the one step to the other step is that you go like now I got this move on. 40:43But you don't know yet. But there's like a guy behind the curtain run and my thing. You know what I mean. 40:48Sure. 40:49So that's brandon handley40:51That's more than you know awareness of your thought process awareness of the, you know, conscious choices awareness of doing these things. 41:00With purpose and intention, but also, you know, I like how you bring up this you know accurate assessment piece because it was just yesterday as matter of fact I sat down with a transformational coach and 41:14It was what you're saying here is you can assess, but kind of like a and I feel like this is what I had done right I assess the situation quickly. 41:24And felt that was good enough. Right. And then he goes, Well, I think, actually, you need to go one more layer deeper. Yeah. And he took me one more layer deeper. And I was like, Oh my gosh, you know, Donnalynn Riley41:35Totally different answer to. Right. brandon handley41:37Well, totally different answer. Totally different feeling totally different space in place and you know 41:44Therefore, ergo my assessment initially was not accurate. Yeah, that's right. Right. 41:53And you know we're here. We keep learning and this, this is even has to do with just, you know, if you're working with a client, they feel like they know who they are. All right. And you've got it you what you're doing is you're helping them to slow down and 42:07Truly learn who they really are. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley42:09That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And I think that was true for me. So I think that one of the things that makes it easier for me to 42:18To talk to people is that I've stood someplace. Very, very similar to where they're standing and so that feeling like I know especially having some early success. 42:30Right, sure. No, I do. No. 42:33No, I did it. I know how to do it. No, no, actually you don't 42:39Because you did it, but you didn't know how you did it. 42:41Yeah, you did it, but you can't repeat it, and 42:46Source, all of that. brandon handley42:48Sure, yeah. 42:50But it's looking those steps and and and i think that we've been fortunate, right, like a laughed at the beginning how there's, you know, 43:00There's pathways for us to take you know that the plenty of people have done this before us. We're not the first people to show up like I got this. 43:08Follow me like there's no whole whole society is built on this and 43:13We're lucky that we've got that available to us right that framework, the possibility to kind of 43:18Go to even you right or you know your spiritual coaches to run them in the first time, like there's a whole nother way. 43:25And it fits into this and, oh, I can get the same results by but but by doing it this way instead of this other brash like I'm going to take the bull by the horns and crush everybody mentality. Right. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley43:40Yeah, I, I, actually, when I first kind of got that there was another way and that it was actually more effective I so I had been into herbs, my whole life where I felt like I i liked spices in my food, and I 43:54I knew some of the properties of things. And I would you know give myself cold medicine by eating the garlic or whatever it was. Right, sure, and and 44:03I got that there was, I knew about herbs and spices that there were in different parts of the world, they would do the same things, but be totally different plans. 44:13And I was like, 44:14Oh, I don't really get why that's true, that you can take turmeric from India and you can take, you know, yarrow from North America and you're going to get a similar thing and happening for you. 44:29And I, I knew that it was possible, but I couldn't make any sense of it until we got to this concept, this concept of being present and being aware 44:44And showing up in a new way and then taking action. Then I got, oh, there are just so many ways, right. I could have said 10 different things in that moment. 44:57And gotten a really similar response to that, or maybe my relationship problem, like I've, I've worked with people a lot with 45:07business relationships where they're particularly with employees, where they're not getting the results they want with the employees and they feel like it's the employees problem. 45:18And that works. The first or second or third employee, but it does not work after that. 45:23To face a few things. 45:26And you can try all the techniques you want, right, there's a lot of management techniques and those i'm sure can be effective in under certain circumstances. 45:37But really when you're willing to do that work inside you and the technique, doesn't matter anymore because 45:45The result can happen regardless of the technique that you're using, sort of like that plant it's planted in a, you know, different sides of the earth, but it's helping your body because the world is meant to support us for sure that's what that's what is here for brandon handley46:01At least from our perspective. Hundred percent hundred percent Donnalynn Riley46:05Plant feels like it's there for them. brandon handley46:08But what I just I just saw like you know I think somebody talk. I think I was listening to Wayne Dyer right and he's talking about like if you lift the seeds or whatever and you plant them that they take in that your DNA, and they grow to to you. 46:21Yeah, so 46:22So I'll always always something interesting. 46:26Always something interesting. Geez, you said something there that I wanted to hit on but uh what you know. 46:34So what are some. What are some that's what's gonna say, so you're, you know, the techniques become 46:42More like a again a vehicle for what's inside of you, right, and that's your focal point, you're like, All right, you know, 46:49It's the techniques, not working. It's because I look I take to jujitsu right and oftentimes the, the deal is, I'm using a technique, but I'm also trying to put all this force power behind like 47:04Running grown in 47:06But it's when I relax and just simply apply the technique. 47:11That it works. I'm like, why, what this doesn't make any sense. Right. So again, it sounds like you know if you do the inner work and you figure out kind of what's in you just you just kind of let that out, Masha, but you focus it gently on the technique, it works. Donnalynn Riley47:23Yeah, we're back where we were when we started right life can be a lot easier than we make it brandon handley47:30And and so you know what what are 47:34What are some of the other things that you're finding with your clients right. How are they, what's their reception been to their new selves. Donnalynn Riley47:44Reception to their new cells. Fantastic question. 47:48Wow. I like I'm pretty good. brandon handley47:54Sure. Donnalynn Riley47:55You know, it feels a lot better to be not frustrated and not irritated and have a new way to accept your imperfections and to say I can be whole and I can show up and I can shift my life in these ways where I get the result that I want and still be may brandon handley48:18Not have to Donnalynn Riley48:19Turn into somebody else. I mean, I think these are the kinds of things that a lot of times people really feel like, all right, I want to go there. So I'll just be someone else for a while. 48:33They 48:34Got themselves off from themselves, right. brandon handley48:36So, Donnalynn Riley48:37And this is how people end up to be older and more bitter. 48:43And then eventually at some point they say I'm not doing that anymore. And sometimes that's at retirement age sometimes that's a lot earlier. 48:52You're really lucky if you don't have a lot of patience for that kind of thing in your life. brandon handley48:57Well, you know, you know, recently, my wife, she she hit that point right she just said this is enough. This is too much and and she's now you know we come from two different types of backgrounds. Right. 49:08Where she came from, you know, the you work hard, you get a job you keep that job for as long as you can, it's safe. It's good. They watch out for you. 49:16But at what cost, right, I think you'd mentioned that to like what costs like you're the costs. 49:22Is you your life, your, your whole, you know, they call it grind it out for a reason. You're losing each day to the grind. So I don't want to keep you too long, but this has been, I've had a lot of fun with this conversation. 49:35A lot of fun with this conversation. 49:37Where, where should and we did talk about you do have something coming up. I want to make sure people know that you've got this, you've got this challenge come out to us talk on that. Donnalynn Riley49:45You. I do. I have a five day 49:49Workshop, or I'm 49:53Just loving the words just scramble away from you. brandon handley49:56Absolutely, it says all day every day. 49:59To Donnalynn Riley49:59Day challenge coming up and it, it is called get out of your head. Embrace your imperfections and get on track with your business. 50:10And so that's what we're going to do for five days, we're going to go through the process and we're going to really delve into that process. We talked a little bit more 50:19Earlier about the AAA method of transformation and get to apply some of that and really see what kind of 50:29changes we can make in such a short period of time for lots and lots of people to to quiet the noise to to find that space that we've been talking about and to still be wholly yourself to really embrace that you're okay, as Your imperfections and then apply that process. 50:51It's a very interesting process, I think. 50:53It will be really great to see how everybody does. brandon handley50:56That's awesome. So what type of people should be attending this event. Donnalynn Riley51:00Anyone who's interested in business. 51:05Who is open. Yeah. 51:07Yeah, so this is this work is not easy. It's not like, you know, kind of, you were talking about this with talking about your wife's background and a lot of people come from a background where it's kind of supposed to be hard. And when life is not fun. They say, what is it they say they say brandon handley51:27Oh my lemonade. 51:31Life's not supposed to be fair, I don't know. Donnalynn Riley51:33Yeah, all that brandon handley51:34All that stuff. Donnalynn Riley51:35So what, like, I get that. And there are people who need that kind of structure in their life, and they're not ready to let go of that that's okay with me. brandon handley51:43Yeah. Donnalynn Riley51:43Don't come to mind. 51:47But anyone everyone. I hope Pro has a business involvement writing particularly I work for the most part with entrepreneurs. 51:57So you're the driver of your business boat, it makes it much easier. And who wants to work on something and knows that the answer is somewhere in them might they're willing to do some work for it. That is personal. That is development personal development work. 52:20And and really you show up with willingness and I'd be happy to guide you all the way through the process that would be great. brandon handley52:30Awesome and listen. 52:32You know, you've had you been a successful CEO, you started off successful businesses you sold businesses. 52:41And, you know, for anybody, which website. Again, Donald in Donnalynn Riley52:46Donnellan Riley calm. brandon handley52:48Down. So head over to the site shine house or for videos yourself, you will be able to see 52:53That she knows what she's talking about. So I think that that's really exciting. And, you know, we didn't dig too deep into the business aspects of today. We just had a really great. I felt like conversation. 53:03But you clearly know you know what it is that you're doing. You've done the work you contains to do the work. And you know what you're putting out. I think there's no top notch really really quality stuff. Donnalynn Riley53:13Thank you so much. It was really a pleasure to be here and to get to talk about this topic in such depth. So that's really nice. It's great that you're talking about this in a in a really deep way this sort of spirituality and business and in that space. brandon handley53:28You know what, you got to be able to like you keep saying, and that's what it means to bring all of who you are right, they're not two separate things. If you keep your spiritual self over here and your material or reality over here, you're missing out on the one, two punch you know 53:44You really you've really got the opportunity to kind of blend you're you're working at 50% of capacity. Yeah, right. So he can 53:51You know blend those two which which I know you can teach how to do what you get to bring to your workplace or wherever you decide to show up after you learn about who you are. It's just, it's that much more powerful. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley54:04It really is. brandon handley54:05Yeah. Hundred percent. Thanks again. Donnalynn Riley00:59:18Thank you.

—Sermon text:Luke 23:39–43 Download the discussion guide for this sermon here.—Additional Resources—Worship PlaylistBelow, we are including a playlist of songs specifically selected by our worship leaders for this week’s sermon topic:—Supplemental Scripture Readings—Revelation / Call to WorshipIsaiah 53:6–11All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.—AdorationEphesians 2:1-10And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.—ExpiationGalatians 3:13-14Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.—DedicationRomans 5:6–11For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

—Sermon text:Luke 23:39–43 Download the discussion guide for this sermon here.—Additional Resources—Worship PlaylistBelow, we are including a playlist of songs specifically selected by our worship leaders for this week’s sermon topic:—Supplemental Scripture Readings—Revelation / Call to WorshipIsaiah 53:6–11All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.—AdorationEphesians 2:1-10And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.—ExpiationGalatians 3:13-14Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.—DedicationRomans 5:6–11For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

A Plot to Kill Paul 12When it was day,the Jews made a plot andbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.13There were more than forty who made this conspiracy.14They went to the chief priests and elders and said, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul.15Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near. 16Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and enteredthe barracks and told Paul.17Paul called one of the centurions and said, Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.18So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, Paulthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.19The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that you have to tell me?20And he said,The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him.21But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, whohave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.22So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, Tell no one that you have informed me of these things. Paul Sent to Felix the Governor 23Then he called two of the centurions and said, Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.[a]24Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely toFelixthe governor.25And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26Claudius Lysias, tohis Excellency the governor Felix,greetings.27This man was seized by the Jews andwas about to be killed by themwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him,having learned that he was a Roman citizen.28Anddesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council.29I found that he was being accusedabout questions of their law, butcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment.30And when it was disclosed to methat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once,ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him. 31So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.32And on the next day they returned tothe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him.33When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him.34On reading the letter, he asked whatprovince he was from. And when he learnedthat he was from Cilicia,35he said, I will give you a hearingwhen your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod'spraetorium. Paul Before Felix at Caesarea 24Andafter five days the high priestAnanias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid beforethe governor their case against Paul.2And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight,most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation,3in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.4But, to detain[b]you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly.5For we have found this man a plague,one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader ofthe sect of the Nazarenes.6He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.[c]8By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him. 9The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so. 10And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense.11You can verify thatit is not more than twelve days since Iwent upto worship in Jerusalem,12andthey did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city.13Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me.14But this I confess to you, that according tothe Way, which they calla sect,I worshipthe God of our fathers, believing everythinglaid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,15havinga hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will bea resurrectionof both the just and the unjust.16So I alwaystake pains to have aclear conscience toward both God and man.17Nowafter several yearsI came to bring alms tomy nation and to presentofferings.18While I was doing this, they found mepurified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. Butsome Jews from Asia19they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me.20Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council,21other than this one thingthat I cried out while standing among them: It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day. Paul Kept in Custody 22But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge ofthe Way, put them off, saying, When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.23Then he gave orders to the centurion that heshould be kept in custody but have some liberty, and thatnone of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. 24After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak aboutfaithin Christ Jesus.25And as he reasonedabout righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, Go away for the present.When I get an opportunity I will summon you.26At the same time he hopedthat money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him.27When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by PorciusFestus. Anddesiring to do the Jews a favor,Felix left Paul in prison.

We focus on the tower in this passage. The tower was not evil. It was not the tower but the hearts of the people were determined to make themselves god over their own lives. Nimrod a descendant of Ham was an empire builder. Many believe that Nimrod was the leader of this effort to build this city. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. Babylon was the nation that captured Israel in 597 BC and held them captive for 70 years. Today mankind is seeking to build Babel again. And they will as Babylon comes back in the book of Revelation. There is a spiritual Babylon and a Physical Babylon coming and may already be here. Babylon represents Man always wanting to create His own utopia. Man wants to unify under their own name and their own purposes and leave God completely out.

Living worthy of our calling Revelation 19:17(NIV) – “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”  Living worthy is not an optional extra to Christianity. We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.  By: Pastor George Lehman  Your legacy is how you ran your race not how you started it. Acts 26:19-20 (Amp) - Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, But made known openly first of all to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy* of their repentance. *Qualities that are required Matthew 3:8 (Amp) - Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance (let your lives prove your change of heart). The church today is full of “Defeated, lukewarm Christians”. A “worthy living life” is a difference-making life. Dr. Bob Moyer’s train ride: I will never forget Dr. Bob Moyer’s story of how, one day, as he was riding on a train between speaking engagements, he noticed a young man acting strangely.  He would run his hand over the plush-lined seats and as he did, he kept saying, “Wonderful. Wonderful.”  Then he would stare out of the window at the passing countryside and, as he did so he kept saying, “Wonderful. Wonderful.”  He picked up a newspaper, fingered it gingerly and said, “Wonderful.  Wonderful.”  He walked up and down the train coach examining every detail, all the time repeating one word, Wonderful.  Wonderful.” Finally, Dr. Moyer, overcome with interest left his seat and sat down beside the young man.  “I hope you’re not offended,” he said, “but tell me, why do you keep repeating the word ‘Wonderful’?  Do you feel well? Are you all right?”  The young man smiled broadly and said, “I guess I do appear to be acting strangely, but up until today I was blind.  Several months ago, they began a series of operations on my eyes.  Today they removed the last bandage and for the first time in my life, I can see.  Look there!  See that little stream and old rail fence?  Isn’t it wonderful?  And look! There’s a farmer with a team of horses.  Isn’t it wonderful?” Dr. Moyer describes how, as the train slowed for the next station he went back to his seat.  The young man gathered up his baggage and, as the train came to a stop, took one last look around and said, “Wonderful.  Wonderful.” “I watched him as he jumped from the train.  I saw a lovely young lady wave at him, and then, when he waved back, run into his arms.  I watched them embrace for one long moment, and then I saw him push her out to arms length; hold her there as he looked at her for the first time.  Then I saw his lips move, and they whispered, ‘Wonderful.  Wonderful’. Truly, this is a wonderful salvation.  It surpassed our finite understanding.    Blinded eyes are open.  Sin-stained hearts are cleansed.  Broken lives are healed.  There is new peace.  A new power for today.  A new promise of eternal life tomorrow.  Thanks be to God for such a precious gospel, such a glorious hope, such an awesome Savior.  Saved by the blood of the Lamb. How I wish men and women would not only receive this New Birth, but also glory in it, glow in it and grow in it. The saddest, most unhappy person in the world is a Christian living outside the will of God. Those who once tasted the Lord is good. WHY? Because they know what they missing. They know the peace and indescribable joy of walking close to God. They know the thrill of having prayers answered and seeing souls saved. They know the comfort and protection when all seems lost. They also know their present state and knowing what they could have or should have been. NB!! I believe that there are three steps in this falling away from our Christ calling. #1 Preoccupation (Beheptheid) When a persons life is occupied with the things of the world. (Sower / Seed) Story of the hunter who purchased a new hunting dog: On the hunting trip the dog picked up the trail of a buck.  A fox crossed that trail so he followed the fox’s trail.  A rabbit crossed that trail and off the dog went after the rabbit.  A squirrel crossed the trail and the dog went after the squirrel.  When the hunter caught up with the dog, he found him barking triumphantly at the hole of a field mouse. Like so many Christians:  Such a fine beginning, but such a tragic end. They end up busy with things that have no real eternal significance. End up going through life with no zeal, no passion and no enthusiasm. #2 Indifference (Onverskilligheid) Lack of interest, poor quality, unimportance. The truth is there are those who have grown cold and indifferent to the love of God. Revelation 2:4-5 (Amp) - But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].  Remember then from what heights you have fallen.  Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent. It’s understandable for an unsaved person to feel that way, but for a Christian it seems impossible, but the church is full of them. Christians who loved God, prayed and read the Bible regularly, never missed a gathering, a prayer meeting or cell or a church service. But because of preoccupation of the world, they become indifferent to God’s things. Out of indifference grows the 3rd step. #3 Wilful rejection of God’s will for your life. Becoming a Christian is only the start of the race.  It really does matter how you live. Acts 26:20 (Amp) - … and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance We cannot just have exterior appearances of a Christian. Our lives must be a reflection of… Acts 24:16 - (Amp) - Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring* in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men. *endeavouring = to earnestly do things 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (Amp) - It is God’s will that you should be sanctified* … *Sanctified:  Set apart; separated for pure and holy living. (Devoted) Ephesians 5:17 (Amp) - Therefore don’t be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is. It’s not good enough to watch church on Facebook or Youtube once a week.  That’s not good enough.  God has called us to a life fully surrendered to Him. The good news is: It’s never too late to change. His awesome grace is sufficient for you. Make a quality choice! To surrender. Your want, to God’s will. Colossians 1:9-10(NIV) – 9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Develop a positive growth plan. It’s not as important as to how many times you’ve been through the Bible.  It’s how many times has the bible been through you? Are you reading the word this July? (Challenge) Develop faithful habits of… Bible study and prayer; sharing your faith. Titus 3:8 (NIV) - This is a trustworthy saying.  And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote* themselves to doing what is good. *Devote: Give up (oneself) one’s efforts and possessions exclusively to a person. May it be said of you: That you lived a life worthy of your calling like a bride making herself ready.

From the 1/29/2017 Worship Service. Full text of Acts 16 is here: https://biblehub.com/esv/acts/16.htm Partial text: Timothy Joins Paul and Silas 1Paula came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2He was well spoken of by the brothersb at Lystra and Iconium. 3Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. The Macedonian Call 6And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10And when Paulc had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. The Conversion of Lydia 11So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of thed district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Ephesians 2:1-10And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.New American Standard Bible (NASB)Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman FoundationPermalink

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xoxothepoet/Shirley Temple – 8/24/18A is for animal crackers in my Alphabet Soup.It also stands for:All the letters cannot be used.B is for...Okay look...B is for bad planningBecause there are 26 letters in the alphabetAnd right now I’m only 25.C is for countingBecause what happens when 27 creeps up on my shoulders?It’s not 30, I can’t be 29 forever.C is also for sheep.The ones I never countedWhen I walked back from one thousand to get to sleep.D is for daddio.Papa doe.Daring. Dashing. And Dapper.Wearing suits straight out of magazinesMaking every other kid jealous that their dad wasn’t that cool...Or annoying.D is also for dynasty.Or rather legacy.Or more like ancestry.And may I never forget where I came from.E is for exhausted.I’m five letters inAnd if you’d like to see the exitFollow the emergency lights at your feet.F is for Finn.Like a dolphin.Shark’s fin.Aodfin.For being mine twiceAnd for so long afterI am always hereSending you stuffiesDon’t forget to writeOr callPut me on your speed dialG is for GraceAmazing GraceViola GraceGrace with a CMy Gracie Lew WhoMy gloriously gorgeous girlfriendsWho have shaped me more than they knewH is for...HannahAnd hell in a hand basketFor he who will never be mentionedAnd Harry PotterFor my lack of fists fightsMy plethora of harsh wordsBut my comfortable hugs afterI is for IFor meFor hello I’m queer and I’m hereAnd you’re not stopping me todayOh noNot todayI’m on my wayI’m Dr. Seuss at this rateGive me a book deal I’m rollingJ is for JadeLike the gemstoneMy middle nameMy bisyllabic middle beginningThe only thing ET could pronounce right at Disney WorldMy sparkling shining JWith its loops and curves and...K is for Kimberly and KentMy parentsMy...Tough loveWork hardGet your shit done parentsWho split at age 10And finalized it after 11More yearsThey did what they planned reallyAnd I don’t blame themL is for love.An unconditional lather of lavender soap bubbles from laughterFor Brooke with an E from SeattleBlowing bubbles wands in traffic jamsAnd men picking fightsWith a woman they wouldn’t have a chance with...I mean against.M is for...Did you know in 2015 they said I could marry?The queers cried happy tears that day.N is for the n wordThe negroThe night skyCarrying us homeFollow the drinking gourd they sayFollow the drinking gourd.O is for optimismMy forever the extroverted optimist outlookSomehow hiding around the corners of my mindOstracizing itself from my overall outrageous outgoing state of beP is forPersonally I will not get offended if you walk out those doorsBut you’ve made it this farI promise there’s only a little moreQ is for quiltsThe ones etched in my memoriesThe ones I clutched so dearlyCrafted by my great grandmothers fingersHer love sewn into each and every stitchR is for rainbowBy Jessie JFor RadioactiveRelient KOneRepublicLana del RayS is for Sister10 years10 months1 day14 hoursAnd 14 minutesMy sisterOlderWiserBut I’m funnierS is for the brother I gainedAnd the children I will always adoreS is also for my SDGThe one my heart first yearned forLate night talksAnd agreeing to disagree90 percent of the timeT is for tyrannyFor big headsAnd little armsAm I talking about people?Or dinosaurs?That’s up to UFor U.For remember when chat speak was popularAnd we didn’t use our ultimately untimely interruptions ofYou’re and your.Their there they’re, my friends.It was once characteristicWut up?U there?I’ll brb my posJk I’ll ttylThere’s the dial toneRing ring ringGuess who’s on the phone?I hope y’all are old enough to rememberEuphorically engaging in chat logs with friendsBack when Dial Up was the only thing in your @ mentionsV.Like violetsGeraniumsAnd the chrysanthemum I had tattooed on my back.For vivacious and vividFor verily merely dancing down sidewalks and side streetsW.11:11For when I whimsically wish for my wicked wretched weakness in my limbs to go away.For everything to be okay.But before you begin whining while your eyes are wiltingX.Marks the spot.Goonies never say die.Treasure PlanetAnd Atlantis.Y.As in, I’ve lied. 25 is too damn close to 26 and I enjoy yearning for the end.Z is for thank you.For the zany adventure.The black and white zebras.The white and black zebras.And everything read all over.Now you know my ABCs. The ones that make up me. Let’s go again, shall we?Geronimo and Allons-y.

No matter where we are at the moment, we enjoy the prophetic and historical event of the arrival of King Jesus in Jerusalem. I mean prophetically, because 500 years before, the prophet Zechariah announced it: Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” I say historically because 20 centuries ago it happened: Matthew 21:6-11 “ 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” I hope that as we share this topic: • your faith is further edified • you learn a little or a lot. • there’s a confrontation to the soul • above all you have a reflection of life. 2 Example • The Donkey and the colt A tale says of a colt who, coming home in the afternoon, wagging his tail in sync with his ears, jumped with joy His mother asked him why so much energy To which he replied: “Didn’t you see how people applauded me? And how their cloaks and branches were spread at my feet Their shouts of joy was tender to my ears How then would I not jump for joy because of so much hubbub? His mother the Donkey replied Are you sure son they meant you? “Go one more time to the city,” he said, “and then they would talk With great sadness, his tail between his legs and drooping ears He came home sad because nobody in the city recognized him. CARRIERS OF GLORY Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=TU4ST3G79LFDE&source=url)

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Ephesians 2:1-10And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.Permalink

WHEN GOD BRINGS YOU INActs 121Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them. 2And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. 3And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.5So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.6And on the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and roused him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. 8And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10And when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street; and immediately the angel departed from him.11And when Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.13And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14And when she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, “It is his angel.” 16But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Sixth Sunday of Easter Sunday, May 26, 2019   Year (cycle): C   The Collect:  O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. First Lesson:  Acts 16:9-15 9During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.' 10When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. 11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district* of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.' And she prevailed upon us. Psalm:  Psalm 67 1 May God be merciful to us and bless us, *        show us the light of his countenance and come to us. 2 Let your ways be known upon earth, *        your saving health among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *        let all the peoples praise you. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *        for you judge the peoples with equity        and guide all the nations upon earth. 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *        let all the peoples praise you. 6 The earth has brought forth her increase; *        may God, our own God, give us his blessing. 7 May God give us his blessing, *        and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him. Epistle:  Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 10And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. 27But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practises abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever. Gospel:  John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 23Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25 ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. or 1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. 5One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?' 7The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.' 8Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.' 9At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.

Acts 16:9–15     9A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.     11So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Acts 1:9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. In order for Jesus to be resurrected He had to die. In order to die He had to become a man and in order to become a man He had to be born, a miraculous birth or a supernatural birth as all babies are miracles actually. The resurrection has three parts to it. I bet you didn’t know that did you…. well let’s look at it.

I have the answer to every question. All of them. Your personal agonizing questions about life and health and anxiety and depression and fear and pain and faith. Our national freak out questions over politics and tribalism. Our universal troubling questions about injustice, isolation, poverty, care of creation, and racism. The answer is Jesus. 1Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. 4Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. 5But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David's throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals." 6Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. 7He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people. 9And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth." 11Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12And they sang in a mighty chorus: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered mdash; to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing." 3And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: "Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever."14And the four living beings said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. -Revelation 5 And with that, Jesus, the resurrected one, the lion of Judah, the heir of King David, the Messiah, and the lamb of God, let loose the full wonder of the Kingdom of God and the judgment of God. And every answer to every question was made available to every human being. And so it is today. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is everything, but is he everything to you?

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:5-15: 5A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

The Authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth How best to reveal and apply authority? Authority + Revelation = Confrontation Intimations/harbingers of what is to come: Luke 2 40And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2 46And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Luke 2 52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. More than an office: Luke 4 20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? …. 24And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. …and there went out a fame of Him … Luke 4:14 …and the fame of Him went out…Luke 4:36 …went there a fame abroad of Him…Luke 5:15 Luke 4 28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 31And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. 32And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. Luke 5 9For he (Simon Peter) was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. Luke 5 20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins (he said unto the sick of the palsy) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. Luke 5 31And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. More than a matter of Ability:John 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. More than a matter of Endorsement: John 14:24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 3:1–14     1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,    make his paths straight. 5Every valley shall be filled,    and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight,    and the rough places shall become level ways, 6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”    7He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”    10And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

The Names and Titles of Jesus –  The Messiah Episode 102 This series of the names and titles of Jesus will give us a more in-depth understanding of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is tenth in the series. This class helps us to understand so many of the WHYS of Jesus' preaching and ministry and the response of the Jews. Matthew 1 New International Version (NIV) 1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Jesus Christ Christos A verb that means “to anoint.” Christos Latin term, Caesar. Christos The German word, “Kaiser” The Russian word, “Czar.” They have to do with an appointed or anointed leader. Or King Old Testament Hebrew it’s the word Mashiach, anointed or anointed one. “Jesus Christ,” Christ is not His last name. This is part of a title. It’s “Jesus the Messiah; Jesus the Anointed One.” שטן nun – tet – shin Satan. The consuming destroying snake that surrounds life. Mashiach or Messiah = “anointed or anointed one.” Mashiach, expresses a central core concept in Jewish theology The anointing word symbolizes that they had been chosen and commissioned by God for a specific office or a specific task, and then they were anointed with oil symbolizing they were filled with God’s Holy Spirit to equip them to carry out that task. There were priests it the Old Testament, kings, and occasionally prophets who were set apart for God's service by being anointed with oil. They were called “anointed ones” “I will not touch God’s anointed one—God’s Mashiach The future anointed / leader THE Mashiach or Messiah This anointed one will be preceded by a messenger who will prepare people for His coming ( Mal. 3:1–2; 4:3–6). Descendant of King David Micah 5 Born supernaturally of a virgin lsa7 Perform miracles v.14 Isa. 35:5–6 Bring good news to the poor heal the brokenhearted, and he would set the captives free” (Isa. 61:1) Anointed with the Spirit The ultimate prophet, priest, and king. This King will deliver God’s people; He will establish God’s kingdom; and He will rule the world His kingdom will be indestructible Daniel 9:25 Put an end to sin--. He will atone for iniquity -will bring in everlasting He will come in power on the clouds. That’s found in Daniel 7:13 He will come in humility on a donkey He will rule the nations Daniel 7:13 He will be a suffering servant. In fact, he’s going to be despised and rejected by men (Isa. 53:3) Messiah he will be “cut off” He will be rejected He will be killed before the destruction of Jerusalem Will be beaten. He will be spit upon (Isa. 50:6) They pierced my hands and feet”—that He would be crucified before people even knew what crucifixion was He would die with criminals Paradoxical Prophecies Occupy a glorious throne, higher than the kings of the earth, yet to be despised and rejected of men. Rich but poor A Priest but a Sacrifice A King and a Servant The Lord of Life and yet subject to death David’s Lord and David’s Son The Mighty God and the Child Born The Great I AM and at the same time a "Man." 1 Peter 1 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things The future anointed / leader God’s anointed  Messiah Anointed with the Spirit The ultimate prophet, priest, and king. This King will deliver God’s people; He will establish God’s kingdom; and He will rule the world His kingdom will be indestructible book of Daniel 9:25 Put an end to sin--. He will atone for iniquity -will bring in everlasting righteousness 1 Peter 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things John 1, verse 41: that Andrew “found his . . . brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ).” Messiah. Christ. This is what the Jews were expecting. the Samaritan woman at the well John 4 25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Jesus to his disciples Matthew 16 15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven To the high priest Mark 14 61…Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64“You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” Feeding the Five Thousand John 6 14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. parables Matt 13:3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, … 10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.” 1 Peter 1 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things New Testament Preaching “Saul . . . confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 9:22) Acts 18 (28) you read about Apollos who “powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures [And what Scriptures would those have been? The Old Testament] that the Christ was Jesus” (v. 28). The Ethiopian Eunuch God’s anointed one—is a core tenet of our Christian faith. Our faith is based on fact not fiction Court of law—the evidence is overwhelming Professor Peter Stoner used the mathematical principle called the Law of Compound Probability , to assess some of the prophecies relating to Christ. He used it to calculate the odds against a chance; fulfillment of such predictions when compounded by a specific set of conditions, requirements, or qualifications. His findings were carefully evaluated by the American Scientific Affiliation, and were found to be sound and convincing . By this method, he was able to show evidence that would rule out coincidence, chance or human manipulation in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Chance fulfillment of biblical prophecy Stoner started by calculating the probability of 1 individual who could precisely fulfill only 8 prophecies relating to Christ. He computed the odds at 1 in 10 17 . That’s 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000 opportunities. This is like covering the entire state of Texas 2 feet deep in silver dollars, marking 1 of them, and telling a blind man to pick the marked silver dollar on the 1st try. That’s 8 prophecies fact not fiction Stoner then computed the odds of 1 individual that could fulfill just 48 prophecies relating to Christ. He calculated the odds at 1 X 10 157 . Those odds are beyond human comprehension. But we know Jesus Christ fulfilled 332 distinct prophecies! God’s Word is true. God has gone great lengths to give us "many convincing truths”  Court of law—the evidence is overwhelming WHY IS JESUS REJECTED TODAY?? Jesus does not fit in there box.---Puppet Messiah –genie Threat to their power Many prefer a lie to the truth For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear 2 Tim 4:3 (NIV) God keeps His promises! Now He doesn’t always do it in the way or the time that we would expect. John 20 30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Philippians 2:10-11 (NASB) 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ ( The Messiah ) is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Subscribe to the podcast: {Apple Podcasts}{Stitcher}{Google Play}{IHeartRadio}{YouTube}{Spotify}{CastBox}

Find us online at: AdventNYC.orgEmail us at: Podcast@AdventNYC.orgTalk with us at: Advent Sermons & Conversations on FacebookCome to a service and hear the sermons live and in person Sunday morning 9am and 11am in English and 12:30pm in Spanish at 93rd and Broadway.Readings for this Week:Exodus 16:2-4, 9-152The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.”  9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ” 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lordappeared in the cloud. 11The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12“I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”  13In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”Psalm 78:23-2923So God commanded the | clouds above  and opened the | doors of heaven, 24raining down manna upon | them to eat  and giving them | grain from heaven. R 25So mortals ate the | bread of angels;  God provided for them | food enough. 26The Lord caused the east wind to blow | in the heavens  and powerfully led out | the south wind, 27raining down flesh upon | them like dust  and flying birds like the sand | of the seas, 28letting them fall in the midst | of the camp  and round a- | bout the dwellings. 29So the people ate and | were well filled,  for God gave them | what they craved. REphesians 4:1-161I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.  7But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said,  “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;  he gave gifts to his people.”9(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.John 6:24-3524When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were [beside the sea,] they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”  35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Does a dollar bill loose its value if its dirty, worn and has ripped edges? Yes! And so do people! Your value in God's eyes always remains the same. But often we fall into valuing others less. God places us in community to be set apart and live a certain way. In this sermon we unpack that a bit. The passage is Luke 17:1-10And a solid supporting passage is this... Romans 14:13-23 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

GENESIS - Exclusively God’s. 05.23.17, The Good Book Series TEMPTED AWAY… TESTED TO STAY. Genesis 3:2-5, 8-13. 2And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’” 4And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 8And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Temptation Is Satan’s Way Of Reducing Us To Our Worst. Pedal To The Metal…Or Pull The Emergency Brake Testing Is God’s Way Of Bringing Out Our Best. Why? Christlikeness Has No Cruise Control. RISKING FOR RELATIONSHIP Genesis 12:1-9. 1Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. 8Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9And Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Genesis 13:14-18. 14And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16“And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17“Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” 18Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD. The Only Way To Discover The End Of The Story Is To Take The First Step.

Luke 12:1-12 - Hypocrisy: "1Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4"I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 8"And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; 9but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.""

New Hope For Old Habits At Christmas 12.11.16. “Not This Year!” Series Luke 2:1-8 1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2(And this taxing was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were much afraid. Hope Delivered Directly From God. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10 Answers Today For My Real Needs. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Breakthrough Birth From An Unknown, Unexpected, And Unrecognized Source. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:12-14 Initiate Action Now. 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:15,16 Transformation Takes Off And Takes Time. 17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:17, 20

Matthew 21:1-7Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” Nearly everyone in Jerusalem that day had an idea of what the Messiah, when he came, would do for them. We are not much different. We peddle our merchandise in the temple, even if that is the temple of our own bodies. We treat the sacred as it is the common. Ye through this beautiful, heart-wrenching narrative we see that Christ wants to inhabit every temple and will flip over every table until his is given the the honor due his glory. Palm Sunday is one of the most celebratory Sunday's in the Christian calendar but that is only for those with eyes and ears to see that Christ has come to throw out any and everyone who is hindering the poor to get back to God. Join us and come poor in spirit if you have to, but come. You are welcome at the table Christ has prepared for you! 

Matthew 21:1-7Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” Nearly everyone in Jerusalem that day had an idea of what the Messiah, when he came, would do for them. We are not much different. We peddle our merchandise in the temple, even if that is the temple of our own bodies. We treat the sacred as it is the common. Ye through this beautiful, heart-wrenching narrative we see that Christ wants to inhabit every temple and will flip over every table until his is given the the honor due his glory. Palm Sunday is one of the most celebratory Sunday's in the Christian calendar but that is only for those with eyes and ears to see that Christ has come to throw out any and everyone who is hindering the poor to get back to God. Join us and come poor in spirit if you have to, but come. You are welcome at the table Christ has prepared for you! 

Co-pastor Tim Kim on why new years resolutions are GOOD and why each year is an opportunity for us to start over again.Reading:Mark 1:4-114John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

 Matthew 21:1-11 (English Standard Version)  1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once." 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 "Say to the daughter of Zion,'Behold, your king is coming to you,    humble, and mounted on a donkey,   and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"  6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" 11And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."

1 Peter 5:8-14 (English Standard Version) 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Final Greetings 12By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.        Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

click here Visit the Recover In Christ web site. click here to visit michael shull web site. In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 300 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States. Genesis 9 1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. .

click hereVisit the Recover In Christ web site. Genesis 3 1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

click hereVisit the Recover In Christ web site. Romans 15 1We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 4For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 8Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. 13Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 14And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 17I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: 21But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. 22For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 23But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 30Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.