The Cure for Circumstantial Amnesia | Psalm 136 | Pastor Wade Burgess

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God, how can we live a moment?

A millisecond under your watchful eye, not be moved by the fact that oh, we've witnessed it.

Each one of us that's in here today is by your design, the miracle of birth, the allowance of being here, the provision that you've given us.

None of us could argue that we've witnessed what you're up to.

And for God, what I pray for those that have closed off maybe their hearts and their eyes and ears to what they've witnessed, God, I pray that you would just open, open and reveal in such a way that it will not be denied.

And God, for all of us that say yes and amen to the promises that you've made, to the things that you've done, let us witness it.

Let us be a witness.

Let us remember, because that's what we're going to talk about today, who you are and what we do in light of it.

So, Holy Spirit, we invite you in.

We invite you to be active and moving in this place.

We thank you for this people, for our band, for the talents and gifts that are given to lead us into praise of the Almighty.

Because you are worthy, not because of what we've done, but because of what you've done.

So thank you, God.

Speak as your servants listen.

It's in your name, Jesus, that I pray all of this.

Amen.

Well, you can be seated.

Good morning, church.

My name is Wade Burgess.

I'm the executive pastor here.

And uh, if you've not been with us for the last few weeks, we have been preaching through a short book called Jonah.

It's only about four chapters, but we've been going through that.

This week we're taking a break because Neil is tired of getting all your questions through email.

And so, no, I'm I'm teasing Neil really does appreciate all of your questions.

And if you could inundate him with a few more, that would be less work for me and more for him.

But even though we're taking a very quick break from Jonah, Neil's gonna return next week and close out that book for us.

What we've been looking at in Jonah is this characteristics of God, these attributes that perhaps we have not fully considered.

Today, we're not gonna be in Jonah, but we're gonna continue to do that.

What are the attributes of God that maybe we haven't fully considered or that we've heard and are we fully embracing?

Now, I'll promise you this: none of this will be controversial today, okay?

You're gonna hear some things I'm saying and you're gonna be like, oh man, that's so good.

You didn't even say Jonah was dead in that whale.

Did you not see the graphics that we had?

Yeah, this is not controversial, but here's what you can expect.

You can expect us to read the Bible.

And the reason we do that, the reason we read and then unpack is for us to grow in our knowledge of God, which then produces an affection for Him, which then leads to obedience to Him.

And that is the life that God would have for us.

And so let me warn you just up front, two warnings.

Number one, I want to warn against apathy.

You're gonna hear some phrases repeated today, and I don't want you to roll your eyes and think, oh my gosh, are you kidding me?

Are you just killing time?

What are you doing?

You have a 15-minute sermon, you're trying to stretch into 30?

What is going on here?

I don't want you to get apathy because if you have experienced, and I promise you, every one of us has, if you've experienced this repeated phrase that you're going to hear, then we should be leaning more into it.

It should be louder, the amen that we give, versus us thinking, uh, I've heard it all before.

So guard against apathy.

And the second thing I'll warn you about is I have a long runway before we get to the actual unpacking of the text, okay?

So let me warn you about that or prepare you for that.

But I promise you I it'll be worth it, okay?

So let's take a look at this uh repeating phrase.

You know, if in our teaching and our preaching, we've often told you where the Bible repeats itself, we should pay attention.

We certainly should pay attention if it repeats itself 26 times in quick succession, okay?

So we're going to pay attention to this repeated phrase in Psalm 136.

What is David writing about?

What exactly is going on?

And the reason I want us to start here at this repeated phrase is I want to give us a baseline or a foundation for everything else we're going to talk about today.

Kind of this canopy over all that we're going to consider.

The repeated phrase is his steadfast love endures forever.

You've heard it before, you've read it, you're probably familiar with it.

Some of you would even say, yes, oh, that, oh, you're so good.

That's not controversial.

You're right.

I would agree with all of that.

Well, before we can allow this to be a canopy over whatever else we talk about today, let's break down each aspect of this.

And I want to do it with David as our tour guide.

David is writing this phrase, his steadfast love endures forever, based on David's experience of who God was, what David had understood God to be and what he was up to.

So let's break that down word for word for just a minute.

His, obviously, we're talking about God.

No doubt the references there that we could make are all throughout the Bible.

We could just, I mean, we could spend all afternoon talking about how we define God and his character and attributes and things like that.

But if we let David tell us, based on what David had experienced, remember this, Psalm 23, we opened the service this morning with this.

David knew God to be a shepherd, to give comfort, food, rest, protection.

Psalm 90, God is eternal.

Despite our temporary, God is permanent and his nature unchanging.

Psalm 103, David writes that God has compassion and grace, a forgiving nature.

He's healing power, the ability to redeem and renew.

All of that he's thinking about when he writes his.

I mean, David starts out with that.

There's a lot of weight there to just those three-lettered word.

The next word is his steadfast.

Now, this is just a a definition.

Uh, I use firm and unwavering commitment and determination.

All right, now think about it.

We're building on this.

His all of those attributes of God that David knew.

David had experienced firsthand.

And then he's saying, oh, and it's unwavering commitment.

And then love.

Now, God's love is the only one that we'll experience that comes from a perfect being with perfect intent.

Think about that.

Most of us love with, well, most of you love with a secondary uh maybe motive, right?

Kind of a quid pro quo.

I'll do this, you do that, I expect something back in return, etc.

But God is the only one who is giving love based on the fact that he is a perfect being and that he has perfect intent with it.

There is no ulterior motive.

There's no, I hope you give back.

Love was his idea in the first place.

See, without love, the Bible is, well, it's full of a lot of stories, but it doesn't have the power to fix what sin has broken.

And then God injects love into that and everything changes.

Now every story demonstrates who he is and the power that he has to overcome sin and the grave and give us eternal life and abundant life.

So if we're taking a look at this idea of love, most of us will define it by our experience.

Most of us have the idea of love based on what we've experienced it.

Bad parents, bad friends, bad kids, whatever it looks like.

We are thinking about, oh, love, I define it this way based on my experience.

Oh, love, I define.

No, see, this love that David has written about by the Almighty is love defined by the giver.

Oh, that takes on a whole deeper meaning, doesn't it?

Now, you might be thinking, well, wait, I've actually read the Bible, thank you.

And I've looked at a few stories about God's love, as you call it.

And uh, what about Pharaoh or Cain?

I mean, if you look at Exodus and you're reading about Pharaoh, it says God hardened his heart.

Now, what kind of loving God would harden someone's heart to keep them from knowing him and doing that?

Well, the first thing I would tell you, it's God's prerogative, okay?

We don't need to argue anymore about that.

But also what I would tell you is that, see, our response to his love is usually based on our definition, not his.

And so if you believe that love originating from a perfect being with perfect intent, then who are we to argue with what God does with whomever, however he wants to?

And then you might say, well, you know what?

I looked a little further back in the beginning of Genesis, Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, it says, God loved Abel but hated Cain.

What's that about?

I mean, I thought you said he's love, and what about this perfect thing?

But yet the Bible actually uses the word hate when it's applied to him.

Well, the reason that God hated Cain was he hated based on his heart.

See, we hear the word hate and think, oh, you hated, that's not good, but we don't look to see, well, why would he do that?

Because Cain was kind of like, eh, I'll give you the leftovers, both myself, my heart, my tithe, et cetera.

Eh, you're not really gonna get all of me.

And God says, Oh, no, no, I hate that.

Now, you know what's crazy about that little tidbit that we get is that it's ultimately for our good.

God is saying, you've got to understand the love that I have for you so much that I will hate evil, I will hate anything that's not holy.

Why?

Because it's for ultimately your good, and absolutely it's for his glory.

My point, God defines love, and because of who he is, his love is perfect.

So David is writing this with this understanding his steadfast, firm, unwavering, deep, perfect love endures.

Now, this is another definition to withstand hardship, persecution, or adversity with patience and perseverance.

Now, you might be thinking, well, wait a minute, God is God.

You just read all of this about him.

I mean, he spoke worlds into existence.

God never had a hardship.

Here's what I would ask parents in the room have you ever experienced a hardship based on what your kids did?

Okay, me and two others.

All right, that's fine.

I've met some of your kids.

Let me tell you, you're going to experience more hardships, all right?

How do you think God feels?

The thing that he brought into existence, the one thing that he made just a little bit less than angels, the Bible says, and he did it for his glory to have intimacy and for someone to say, ooh, let me point to how good God is.

You don't think God had some hardships, has some hardships based on what his kids are up to?

And then you might say, well, now look, this definition also includes uh persecution and some other things.

I mean, come on, did God really go through persecution?

And I would just say, have you heard of Jesus?

He lived, bled, and died.

The very definition of persecution, and he did it all knowing exactly what he was going through for us.

So God's love endures, it withstands.

But don't miss the last words in that definition.

The last three words, patience and perseverance.

Endurance is about patience and perseverance.

I think that's good news for those that are far from God.

God is patient and he's persevering and he's still pursuing.

Oh man, that's good news.

That's good news for those that are far off, for those that have not yet come to faith because of God not revealing himself, those that maybe have given lip service but don't show fruit.

God is patient and persevering.

He will continue to pursue, he will continue to do that enduring love.

All right.

Thanks for the long runway.

The big plane has finally gotten off the ground here.

Let's read together Psalm 136.

Let's go through this, okay?

Not only with all of that in mind, but let's also start putting ourselves in here as we'll understand better what David is writing.

Psalm 136.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who alone does great wonders for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who by understanding made the heavens for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who spread out the earth above the waters for his steadfast love endures forever.

Maybe you don't hear me, so we'll keep repeating.

To him who made the great lights for his steadfast love endures forever.

The sun to rule over the day for his steadfast love endures forever.

The moon and stars to rule over the night.

Why?

Because his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt for his steadfast love endures forever, and brought Israel out from among them for his steadfast love endures forever.

With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever, and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever.

But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who struck down great kings for his steadfast love endures forever.

And he killed mighty kings because his steadfast love endures forever.

Sheon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever.

And Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever, and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever.

A heritage to Israel, his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever.

And now this might start getting down to where we live.

It is he who remembered us and our low estate, and he still does, by the way, because his steadfast love endures forever.

And rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever.

He who gives food to all flesh for his steadfast love endures forever.

We give thanks to the God of heaven.

Why?

His steadfast love endures forever.

I titled this The Cure for Circumstantial Amnesia.

I think at times we all get into circumstances and we think, man, I don't know what's going to happen.

What in the world is going on?

God, what are you up to?

Why do I have to work with such knuckleheads?

Whatever it is that you're circumstantial.

I'm just throwing some out.

I'm not saying they're mine.

But these circumstances that we're in, we'll sometimes get amnesia.

I think David was writing this to maybe help himself.

And now God gives us the privilege of reading that in such a way that we understand better.

How do we cure circumstantial amnesia?

Well, first it's to give thanks.

Look back, and I know I may have lost some of you with the repetitiveness of it, but let's look back through verses one through four.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, to him who alone does great wonders.

David is simply telling us, hey, just give thanks.

It's so simple, right?

It's so simple and easy, and it just makes so much sense when you're doing it here, and it makes so much, it doesn't make any sense when we get out there.

Oftentimes we dismiss the simple.

See, I find that the Bible doesn't necessarily give complex commands.

It's very simple.

Love your neighbor as yourself, put yourself second, all these things.

Don't murder, don't steal, don't lie.

They're very straightforward, simple commands.

The problem is that sin nature in us makes them very complex, doesn't it?

They're hard to follow.

And let me tell you, they're impossible if you don't have the Spirit living inside of you.

God has given us these simple commands, but difficult to follow.

But David is just telling us, hey, just give thanks.

One of the ways to cure your circumstantial amnesia, the fact that you have forgotten who God is and what he's done, and have not anticipated what he's going to do, give thanks.

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Hey, they even wrote a song about it.

The second thing we see is that nature, we should see nature.

Look at verses five through nine.

It says, To him who by understanding, meaning God and God's understanding, made the heavens, to him who spread out the earth above the waters, to him who made the great lights, the sun to rule over the day, the moon and stars to rule over the night.

Nature.

Now look, in the city, I get it.

We tend to miss nature, all right?

I mean, think about a sunrise.

For some of us, if we see a sunrise, it was a rough night or somebody's having surgery, right?

That's the only time we get up early in the mornings.

For some of you, seeing the sunrise means you're late to work already.

We we miss it completely at times.

And forget about stars.

I mean, you go outside at night and look up, you see maybe a few, and you're like, oh, hey, there are a few stars.

Well, why are several of them moving?

There's a lot of air traffic in Sugarland, by the way, at night.

Have you noticed?

I don't know about y'all, but I think somebody's watching my house with moving satellites or something.

But now look, I could have brought, you know, some pictures of starry nights and all the things that are there and tell you, ooh, this is what it should look like.

I could explain to you why the eagle's saying about sleeping in a desert at night with the stars all around.

Instead, I just want to simply do this.

I want to simply encourage you.

As you leave this campus today, I want you just to look at the flowers, some of them wilted, at the trees, at grass.

And when you look at those trees, you start realizing, oh, that's foliage.

All the leaves kind of make that up.

And then you start looking at them individually and realize, oh, I'm not sure any two are alike.

And then you realize, wait a minute, the God that made that made me, and nature points to God because of his detail.

He doesn't miss a trick, even though we'll miss it all the time.

And so David is telling us, I believe in those verses, he's saying, see God in nature because he's everywhere.

Everywhere you see should be reminded of God.

And that is one of the ways that you cure that circumstantial amnesia.

Man, I don't know if God's gonna come through.

What in the world's gonna happen?

Oh, oh, that that tree is there because uh, yeah, God.

The third way to cure that circumstantial amnesia is to tell the stories.

Now, this is a little bit long, but it's 10 through 22, and David is reminding his readers what all's happening.

He's given us a quick history of the Israelites uh to some extent, and he says, To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt and brought Israel out from among them with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, to him who divided the Red Sea in two, and made Israel pass through the midst of it, but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, to him who led his people through the wilderness, to him who struck down great kings and killed mighty kings, Shion, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel, his servant.

Now, if you were to kind of take a drone view of the Bible, you would see certain times that this idea of people coming out of Egypt is there.

And let me confess to you, when I read the Bible sometimes, you know what I think?

Turn the page.

I get it.

You got out of Egypt.

Come on.

How many times do you have to be reminded?

And then I think this you know, these Israelites, they uh they kind of had a bit of a habit of repeating certain things, right?

They were really good with God.

God, we love you, but we also like some other things.

And God would say, I'm gonna disagree.

And then they're in Egypt and they're like, Oh, God, can you get us out of here?

I mean, this is horrible.

My feet hurt.

We've been making bricks for a while now.

He's like, You know what?

I've heard your cry.

The discipline is over.

I'm taking you out of that and I'm bringing you to a land, the promised land that I'm going to give you.

And then they get out there, and what happens?

Oh, God, here comes Pharaoh.

I mean, you just got us out of there to kill us.

What are we doing here?

And then he saves them.

He parts the Red Sea.

They go through it on dry land, drowns Pharaoh, and they're like, Yay, God.

Hey, hey, God, we're really hungry.

And he says, Okay, I'm going to give you something to eat.

And they're like, hey, you got anything besides bread?

I'm kind of on a no-carb diet.

If I could go to the carnivore diet, that'd be great.

And he's like, sure.

I've given you quail now.

You can pick all of that up.

And they're like, but we're thirsty.

And then what happens?

You know, our leader's been gone for a little bit.

Matter of fact, we're not even sure he knows where he's going.

We've been wandering around in this desert for a while.

Oh, let's make a golden calf.

That'll work.

Are you kidding me?

Talk about circumstantial amnesia.

Obviously, David knew that and he's writing about that.

And what's my point about this remembering things?

I think when you've been given new life, you should remember that often.

And so David is reminding us.

We should be telling the stories.

And I wonder what old stories might your family legacy have that you should keep telling and reminding you and those coming after you of God's goodness.

When enemies were defeated or huge obstacles were overcome, we should repeat those stories.

And look, here's a little Bible trivia footnote, okay?

Uh we've got this uh Sion, this king, and then we got Og, the king of Bashan.

What are they doing?

What's up with them?

Why did David throw them in there?

Well, there was land between Egypt and the promised land, okay?

And they had to get through that.

Well, these two kings had the land, they controlled the land that the Israelites were gonna pass through.

So Moses goes to them and says, uh uh, hey King, would it be all right if I move my million people through your land real quick?

Just I mean it'll take us, I don't know, about a month.

But we're gonna go through here and just if you could let us go.

And the king said, No, I don't think we're gonna do that.

So God said, All right, Moses, grab the fellas, and they annihilated them.

And then they get to Og and they said, Hey King, uh, we just took over that land back there.

But uh, if you'd let us pass, that would be awesome.

And he's like, No, don't think so.

And so what did he do?

Moses kind of be in the original ice cube, pulls out a shotgun, pulls a trigger, and bodies get hauled off because he's got a sawd off.

No, okay, all right.

It's pre-NWA, all right.

But Moses still, you get the point, okay?

And if God says, Oh, we're gonna destroy them, you got my way?

There's no way that that's going to happen.

And so David is reminding the people, hey, let's tell those stories when God brought us through these difficult obstacles, when he was continuing to provide a way for us.

Obviously, we would do well to do the same, but it's not just the battles and the victories that have overcome, it's not just those stories, but also we should include the resulting blessing.

Now, where do I get that?

Well, right there at the end of 21 and 22, he says heritage.

He gave this land as a heritage.

Now there's another word for heritage and it's heirloom.

How many of you, by show of hands, remember your grandmother or great-grandmother having, maybe your mom, having a cedar chest?

Anybody?

Yeah.

And in that cedar chest usually was blankets and it's kind of some keepsakes and things that as a kid you didn't really care about, but then later you appreciated.

Now, the cedar chest gave way to scrapbooking, I guess was the next one, photo albums.

And then later our phones do it for us.

Sometimes my wife will come up to me and she's like, Hey, look what we were doing three years ago.

I'm like, Yeah, that looks like a good time.

But the reason we have that is it reminds us, oh, yeah.

Oh, I do remember.

Yes, I remember that.

Oh, I remember that too.

That's what David is telling his people here as he's reading this.

He's saying, Hey, God gave us this land and did these things as heirlooms to us, as this big cedar chest, if you will, of memories and things that we should be going back to saying, Oh, hey, you remember this when you were, you you remember when, and it's good times, bad times that God got us through, we would do well to remember those.

Like, you know, maybe you go way back to great granddad and you say, Man, great granddad, he was in the war and he sacrificed.

And then, you know what, granddad, he moved from rural Arkansas to the oil fields of Louisiana to make sure that we had a better life.

You should be telling those stories.

Because, one, we'll miss them if we don't, right?

They'll die with us.

And two, they are a great way for us to cure that circumstantial amnesia.

Why should we tell stories of rescue?

Why do you think they continue to remind the Israelites of he took us out of Egypt, he saved us from that?

You know why?

Because we'll normalize bondage.

We will normalize bondage.

We will be, and then this isn't necessarily a Helsinki syndrome, I don't mean that, but this is something where we will get into a situation and we'll not even realize we're enslaved by it.

Whether that's addiction or depression or sadness or a relationship, well, I mean, I can't kill her, so I guess this is about the best as it's gonna be.

And or are she saying, you know, it's cheaper to keep him, I don't know what and then we look around and go, Are you are you kidding me?

This is as good as it is really what what about and so when we think about this idea of we need to be reminded of a freedom from bondage, you know why?

Because we will normalize it.

We will think it just is what it is.

This is just lie.

I mean, it's just the way it goes.

I'm captured by it.

Here we are.

C.S.

Lewis said the problem is you're making mud pies in the slum while turning down an invitation to the beach to make sand castles, and you don't even know it.

That's why David says, Hey, you want to cure some of this circumstantial amnesia?

You ought to be reminded I was once enslaved to my sin, bondage to this thing that held me, and now I've been freed from that.

Thank God that I have.

Finally, we should recognize the proper order.

Verses 23 through 26, David writes, It is he, God, who remembered us in our lowest state and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever.

See, you got to recognize the proper order.

We should recognize it was God that pursued us.

It wasn't our idea, it was him first, and he first remembered us, he rescued us and fed us.

He didn't forget the minute details of our needs.

When it says he fled fed all flesh, what he's talking about is he's saying the birds of the air, he's saying the flowers, he's saying all living creatures, including us, got fed.

That should remind you if you've read in the New Testament where Jesus says, look at these birds and they're eating.

You don't think my father cares more about you than he does them?

Jesus is saying, I'm living proof he cares more.

And in a minute I'm gonna be dead and then I'm gonna rise again.

Why?

Because my father loves you so much.

He's created a way for you to have a right relationship with him.

God addressed the spiritual, rescuing us with a once and for all savior so that we could be in that right relationship and remembering and celebrating what God has done should also keep us anticipating what he will do.

See, what happened to the Israelites was throughout their history, they remembered somewhat of what God was doing, but you know what they didn't do?

They didn't apply it to their future anticipation.

They're like, Well, God got us out of Egypt.

I guess we're stuck now.

Well, God, you brought us out of, I guess this is we'll do the same thing, won't we?

We'll thank God for the past and the way he's come through for us, and then we think the future is left up to us.

We got to be real careful about that.

I think not only does circumstantial amnesia come into play when we forget what God has done, it also will affect us when we don't think he's gonna come through for us and we don't anticipate him doing the same thing.

See, God's power is limitless, and it doesn't diminish the more he uses it.

Man, that's good news.

Psalm 136 is a summation history of what God has done, and it's a great reminder of his track record.

But we would do well to stay under the future anticipation of that.

And look, we should probably practice writing our own psalm.

I mean, apparently it's pretty easy, right?

You write down a few things God did, and then you just put in a repeating phrase.

It's almost like writing today's songs, all right?

And so if you wanted to practice, I would challenge you.

I would go home today or sometime this week and just say, what is the history that I've experienced personally of God that I would want to put in a psalm?

And then right after that, say, his steadfast love endures forever.

So if it were me, I would be writing things like my parents tried 18 years to have me.

God, your timing is perfect.

Your steadfast love endures forever.

Or when I got uh struck by lightning at age 12, God, you rescued me from that, you protected me, and then you gave me an avenue for me to tell my testimony because your steadfast love endures forever.

Or I get to college and I don't have a clue what I'm gonna do.

Okay.

Literally, I'm in my senior year and I'm like, I don't know.

And God, clear as a bell, gave me a sign literally in a hallway, and I said, Oh, that's what it's gonna be, and turned into a 20-year career.

And then I wondered, hey God, do you have the right mate for me?

Are you are you sure?

I mean, she's good looking.

You saw my list of things I want, right?

I mean, do I need to remind you, here's what I'm looking for?

And God gives me someone that I've been with for 31 years and I haven't changed my mind yet.

Why?

Because his steadfast love endures forever.

See, I believe that that I and each one of you are a product of prayers that were prayed for us well before we were born.

And we're getting the benefits of prayers that were given to us well before we came along and understood exactly who God was and what he's done and what he's going to do.

When we're reminded who God is, oh man, we're bolstered for what he still has yet planned for us, and it should that amnesia of us.

Let us pray.

God, it's a humbling thing to be prayed for, and I recognize that, oh man, so much of what I have is from way back where granddad was praying, and mom and dad were praying, and friends were praying, and I get to be the recipient of that.

But God, what I don't want us to do is stand there in it and go, yeah, you were good then.

What about now?

And you're like, hey, I got this all the way to the end.

In fact, I told you that if you believed in me, I'd create a place for you in heaven.

You don't think I've got you between now and then?

God, let us fully believe that your steadfast love endures forever.

Let us fully comprehend that and live like it.

We pray this in your name, Jesus.

Amen.

Well, as is our tradition, we have some questions for your mental worship.

This is just a time for you to consider some things.

Take a picture, you can write one or two down.

Consider these this week.

Take just a few minutes, I'll come back and close us.

Amen.

God, thank you for your faithfulness.

Great it is.

And Lord, thank you that we could count our blessings and name them one by one, and we would miss so many because you are so good, so generous.

Thank you, God, that you're so faithful, merciful.

Thank you that you are so mighty, and thank you that you do not compromise your character nor your holiness.

Thank you for your perfect love.

We pray this in your name, Jesus.

Amen.

Well, thank you for your attendance and attention this morning.

If you are new to Grand Parkway, I want you to text Welcome to This Number.

This is a chance for us to get to know who you are, how we might be a church home for you, and any needs that you may have.

If you're a longtime member or a tender, thank you very much for your support of us.

And if today is the day that you worship through giving, you know that you can do that through any of those wooden boxes at our exits.

We like to keep you informed of what's going on in the life of our church.

We had a busy week last week, as you saw in the recap videos.

Uh, we still have some things going on.

We don't just stop after one big thing.

So take, give your attention to this.

But also at the end of this, you're going to hear just a snippet of how you all, so good and generous, got to participate in blessing others that were in need.

So give your attention to the screens.

Here's what's happening at Graham Park Way Baptist Church.

Our next men's night out will be this Wednesday, June 25th at Rudy's Barbecue.

Plan to join us for a relaxed evening.

Come enjoy Great Barbecue, meet new people, and connect with other men from the church through meaningful conversations and fellowship.

This event is from 6 to 8 p.m.

and the cost is$10 per person.

To get this special meal price, you must register online by the end of the day today.

We are hosting a blood drive on Sunday, June 29th from 12.30 to 3.30 in the student building.

As the temperatures rise and the travel season gets into full swing, blood donations tend to slow down.

But patients at local hospitals are still in need during these summer months.

Please register online today and set up your appointment time.

We believe the Bible loves to see us proclaim God's goodness from one generation to the next.

Join us for the first ever convergence of women and students at Graham Parkway on Sunday, July 20th at 6 p.m.

in the gathering room.

We'll eat, laugh, and talk about what matters.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at GrahamProKway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors or elders at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

It caused private funders to retract after that government announcement was made.

So because of that, we hadn't really received any funding this year, and our shelves literally are empty.

We do have something in there, um, but nothing like what is made for.

While the food is like the clientele is almost double what we were serving this time of year.

So I have been praying and just walking around asking the Lord what we do.

And the very next day, I was meeting with great friend Williams, and they shared with me that Grandpa had done a soup drive for us.

It was still going on and they wanted me to come pick it up on Father's Day.

I had no idea.

It was, I don't know.

There's probably ten pallets of soup here.

Probably ten pallets of soup in it.

Oh, we're sleeping.

We don't know what's going on.

God's got the full picture.

He's got the full picture.

He told me Grants and Foundations didn't open the doors to my brother's keeper and Grants and Foundations can't close it.

In other words, we don't have to depend on that.

That's the bonus that God sent.

He touches the heart of his servants, like Grant Parkway, to come and meet the need.

So we're so grateful.

We're humbled and we thank you so much for meeting the need of the community, partnering with us to show them love beyond anything they can imagine, and being the hands and feet of Jesus even in this moment.

Thank you all.

Yeah.

You're a generous church, and I appreciate that.

Thank you for letting us be a part of that and blessing those people.

You heard about the Romania trip that's coming up.

They leave uh this Saturday, uh or yes, I think Saturday.

Anyway, it's on the prayer card.

Get some of these.

They're down front before you leave.

Take one, put it where you'll remember it, like on your dash, and uh pray for the trip.

Pray for the gardening that God will be doing there for their safety and for their return, okay?

Let's stand to our feet and be dismissed with a spoken blessing.

With fake news and AI and CGI and all that stuff that's out there, it's kind of hard to know what's real.

God is real and his steadfast love endures forever.

So let's go out and live like it, remembering it and anticipating it.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

You're dismissed.