Let Us Praise and Worship Him

Brother Jim: Bibles. Let us open to Matthew

Brother Jim: twenty six thirty six to thirty

Brother Jim: nine.

Brother Jim: Matthew twenty six thirty six to thirty nine Then Jesus came with

Brother Jim: them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the

Brother Jim: disciples, sit here while I go and pray over there.

Brother Jim: And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee.

Brother Jim: And he began to be.

Brother Jim: And he.

Brother Jim: He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Brother Jim: Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful,

Brother Jim: sorrowful, even to death.

Brother Jim: Stay here and watch with me.

Brother Jim: He went a little farther and fell on his face.

Brother Jim: And what did he do?

Brother Jim: And prayed, saying, O father, if it is possible, let this cup

Brother Jim: pass from me nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.

Brother Jim: This is an old one.

Brother Jim: You may remain seated.

Brother Jim: But in the garden.

Brother Jim: I come to the garden alone.

Brother Jim: While the dew is still on the road.

Brother Jim: And the voice I hear falling on my ear.

Brother Jim: The Son of God discloses.

Brother Jim: And he was with me and he talks

Brother Jim: with me and he tells me I am his

Brother Jim: own.

Brother Jim: And the joy we share as we tarry there.

Brother Jim: None other has ever known.

Brother Jim: He speaks and the sound of his voice.

Brother Jim: Is so sweet.

Brother Jim: The birds hush their singing.

Brother Jim: And the mercy.

Brother Jim: D that he gave to me.

Brother Jim: Within my heart is ringing.

Brother Jim: And he walks with me.

Brother Jim: And he talks with me.

Brother Jim: And he tells me I am his own.

Brother Jim: And the joy we share as we tarry there.

Brother Jim: None other has ever known.

Brother Jim: I stay in the All in with him,

Brother Jim: though the night of round me

Brother Jim: before.

Brother Jim: But he bids me go through the voice of woe.

Brother Jim: His voice to me is calling.

Brother Jim: And he walks with me.

Brother Jim: I need to talk with me.

Brother Jim: And he tells me I am his own.

Brother Jim: And the joy we share as we tarry there.

Brother Jim: None other has ever You know.

Brother Jim: You gotta love technology, my friends.

Brother Jim: We're told in Jeremiah twenty nine eleven to fourteen.

Brother Jim: For I know the thoughts that I

Brother Jim: think toward you, says the Lord,

Brother Jim: thoughts of peace and not of

Brother Jim: evil, to give you a future and a

Brother Jim: hope.

Brother Jim: Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will

Brother Jim: listen to you, and you will seek me and find me.

Brother Jim: When you search for me with all your heart.

Brother Jim: I will be found by you, says the Lord.

Brother Jim: And I will bring you back from your captivity.

Brother Jim: I will gather you from all the

Brother Jim: nations and from all the places

Brother Jim: where I have driven you, says

Brother Jim: the Lord.

Brother Jim: And I will bring you to the place from which I caused you to

Brother Jim: be carried away captive.

Brother Jim: Also in Romans fifteen thirteen

Brother Jim: now may the God of hope fill you

Brother Jim: with all joy and peace in

Brother Jim: believing, that you may abound

Brother Jim: in hope by the power of the Holy

Brother Jim: Spirit.

Brother Jim: Let me ask you, church.

Brother Jim: What do you really believe?

Brother Jim: What do you really believe?

Brother Jim: It's easy to believe when it's going good, is it not?

Brother Jim: But what happens when life gets tough?

Brother Jim: I'd be lying if I said that I'm okay.

Brother Jim: Cause right now I'm lost and lost.

Brother Jim: Count of the broken prayers I've prayed.

Brother Jim: And it's true that some days it'd be easier to doubt.

Brother Jim: But your word has never let me down.

Brother Jim: So I believe you.

Brother Jim: when you say you're fighting for me.

Brother Jim: I believe you when you tell me

Brother Jim: that my story isn't over just

Brother Jim: yet.

Brother Jim: I will rise up again.

Brother Jim: You promised me that I will make it through.

Brother Jim: And I believe you believe.

Brother Jim: I trust your work.

Brother Jim: And even when my eyes can't see.

Brother Jim: I won't fear the future.

Brother Jim: Cause I know your plans are good for me.

Brother Jim: And it's true that some days it'd be easier to doubt.

Brother Jim: But your word has never let me down.

Brother Jim: So I'll believe you when you say you're fighting for me.

Brother Jim: I believe you when you tell me

Brother Jim: that my story isn't over just

Brother Jim: yet.

Brother Jim: I will rise up again.

Brother Jim: You promise me that I will make it through.

Brother Jim: And I believe you.

Brother Jim: Oh. And I believe you.

Brother Jim: Oh. Your love is the reason.

Brother Jim: I hope you're all.

Brother Jim: I'll never let me go.

Brother Jim: No fear when you know what I know.

Brother Jim: Oh, Jesus.

Brother Jim: That's why your love is the reason I hold your arms.

Brother Jim: I'll never let me go.

Brother Jim: No fear when you know what I know.

Brother Jim: Oh, Jesus.

Brother Jim: That's why I believe you when you say you're fighting for me.

Brother Jim: I believe you when you tell me that my story isn't over just

Brother Jim: yet, I will rise up again.

Brother Jim: You promise me that I will make it through.

Brother Jim: And I believe you.

Brother Jim: And I believe you.

Brother Jim: I believe you.

Brother Jim: Some of the testimonies we've heard today goes right along

Brother Jim: with that, does it not?

Brother Jim: I can't help but think of Miss Kayla back there in the back.

Brother Jim: She said.

Brother Jim: There stumbles things that will slow us down.

Brother Jim: But where do you turn your faith?

Brother Jim: Who do you believe in?

Brother Jim: In a small village surrounded by rolling hills, there lived a

Brother Jim: young woman named Eliana.

Brother Jim: Every morning before the sun

Brother Jim: rose, she would light a small

Brother Jim: lantern and place it by her

Brother Jim: window.

Brother Jim: The villagers often wondered why

Brother Jim: there's no one out there at this

Brother Jim: hour.

Brother Jim: They would say no travelers, no neighbors.

Brother Jim: Why waste the oil?

Brother Jim: But Eliana would simply smile.

Brother Jim: It's not a waste, she would reply.

Brother Jim: It's an act of faith.

Brother Jim: Years passed and life in the village grew harder.

Brother Jim: Crops failed, storms came often and many people.

Brother Jim: Many people lost hope.

Brother Jim: Some stopped praying.

Brother Jim: Others said God had forgotten them.

Brother Jim: But not Eliana.

Brother Jim: Each morning, even when food was

Brother Jim: scarce and her hands trembled

Brother Jim: with hunger, she lit her

Brother Jim: lantern.

Brother Jim: Then one night, a violent storm struck harder than any other.

Brother Jim: The winds howled and the rain

Brother Jim: flooded the roads and the

Brother Jim: darkness.

Brother Jim: A weary traveler struggled to find shelter.

Brother Jim: He had been lost for hours, certain he wouldn't.

Brother Jim: He would not survive the night.

Brother Jim: Then through the rain he saw a faint light.

Brother Jim: It was Eliana's lantern.

Brother Jim: He followed it and reached her home, where she welcomed him,

Brother Jim: dried his clothes, and shared what little food she had.

Brother Jim: When the storm passed, the

Brother Jim: traveler revealed he was a

Brother Jim: messenger sent to to check out

Brother Jim: which villages still held hope

Brother Jim: and kindness.

Brother Jim: Resources would be given only to

Brother Jim: those who had not lost their

Brother Jim: faith.

Brother Jim: He told her, your light guided me not just to your home, but to

Brother Jim: a village that still believes.

Brother Jim: Soon after help arrived, crops

Brother Jim: were restored, homes rebuilt and

Brother Jim: Hope returned to this small

Brother Jim: village.

Brother Jim: The villagers asked Eliana, how did you keep going when

Brother Jim: everything felt hopeless?

Brother Jim: She looked at the lantern and said, faithfulness is not about

Brother Jim: seeing the outcome.

Brother Jim: It is about trusting God enough to keep the light on even when

Brother Jim: no one else can see it.

Brother Jim: If you would please grab your

Brother Jim: hymnals, turn to page five one

Brother Jim: nine and let us stand for this

Brother Jim: one.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Page five one nine.

Brother Jim: Jesus.

Brother Jim: Praise.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: All.

Brother Jim: I see, all I am.

Brother Jim: Be. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Brother Jim: Some.

Brother Jim: Spring time and.

Brother Jim: Sun, moon and stars in their courses.

Brother Jim: On my lawn.

Brother Jim: Without me.

Brother Jim: And for this too I pray for your mercy, Lord.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Morning by morning I see.

Brother Jim: I see all I need and.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto.

Brother Jim: Are.

Brother Jim: Is your sense of peace that.

Brother Jim: Line on dear presence.

Brother Jim: To cheer and to guide Strength for today and bright hope for my

Brother Jim: blessings on my.

Brother Jim: Side.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Great is thy faithfulness.

Brother Jim: Morning by morning.

Brother Jim: I see.

Brother Jim: It is thy faith for.

Brother Jim: You may be seated.

Brother Jim: In James five sixteen confess

Brother Jim: therefore your sins one to

Brother Jim: another, and pray, pray, pray

Brother Jim: for one another, that ye may be

Brother Jim: healed.

Brother Jim: The supplication of a righteous

Brother Jim: man availeth much in its

Brother Jim: working.

Brother Jim: Amen.

Brother Jim: A little bit of an upbeat one for you here.

Brother Jim: Somebody prayed.

Brother Jim: Somebody prayed for you.

Brother Jim: Somebody prayed for me.

Brother Jim: Every night there by your bed.

Brother Jim: You fold your hands and bow your head.

Brother Jim: Throwing out another prayer in faith.

Brother Jim: When you're wondering if he's hearing you.

Brother Jim: Look at me.

Brother Jim: I'm living proof.

Brother Jim: I'm only right where I am today because somebody prayed.

Brother Jim: So I hit my knees cause I seen all hell move.

Brother Jim: My God.

Brother Jim: Pick you up when you pray.

Brother Jim: Father, please.

Brother Jim: Cause I seen what he can do.

Brother Jim: Oh. My God, come through.

Brother Jim: These hands have no power.

Brother Jim: But there ain't nothing out here.

Brother Jim: Don't come through.

Brother Jim: That's why when mountains move, I say.

Brother Jim: Looks like somebody prayed.

Brother Jim: For the tired of God is far from home.

Brother Jim: The one who thinks they're too far gone.

Brother Jim: I'm throwing out another prayer

Brother Jim: in a. Worn out, altar disdained

Brother Jim: pews.

Brother Jim: Still, I won't give up on you.

Brother Jim: I believe that anything can change.

Brother Jim: When somebody prays.

Brother Jim: So I hit my knees.

Brother Jim: Cause I've seen all heaven move.

Brother Jim: My God I pray father please.

Brother Jim: Cause I've seen what he can do.

Brother Jim: Oh my God, come through.

Brother Jim: These hands have no power.

Brother Jim: But there ain't nothing out here.

Brother Jim: Don't come through.

Brother Jim: That's why when mountains move, I say.

Brother Jim: Looks like somebody praised.

Brother Jim: I've seen miracles come from feeble words.

Brother Jim: I've seen hospital rooms turned into cathedrals.

Brother Jim: I've seen freedom come to the prisoner.

Brother Jim: You can't tell me that prayer don't work.

Brother Jim: So every night there by your bed.

Brother Jim: And you fold your hands and bow your hips.

Brother Jim: Not a single word you've ever said in vain.

Brother Jim: Cause he hears everything.

Brother Jim: So I hit my knees.

Brother Jim: Cause I've seen all heaven move.

Brother Jim: My God.

Brother Jim: Pick you up when you pray.

Brother Jim: Father, please.

Brother Jim: Cause I've seen what he can do.

Brother Jim: My God, come through.

Brother Jim: These hands have no power.

Brother Jim: But there ain't an out.

Brother Jim: He don't come through.

Brother Jim: That's why when mountains move, I say.

Brother Jim: Looks like somebody praised.

Brother Jim: Is it not a grand feeling when

Brother Jim: you know somebody's been praying

Brother Jim: for you?

Brother Jim: The power of prayer, my friends.

Brother Jim: As I said, we will now begin to celebrate.

Brother Jim: Commence with communion Sunday.

Brother Jim: And it is so much more than coming up here and saying a

Brother Jim: prayer and taking the elements.

Brother Jim: It starts right here.

Brother Jim: Right here.

Brother Jim: So if you will.

Brother Jim: Please join me in just a moment.

Brother Jim: Communion began on the annual

Brother Jim: celebration of the Passover,

Brother Jim: when Jesus told his disciples to

Brother Jim: remember Him and His sacrifice

Brother Jim: as they ate the bread and drank

Brother Jim: the wine.

Brother Jim: Just as Israel celebrated a sacrifice, the Passover lamb.

Brother Jim: When the angel of death passed over their homes, believers in

Brother Jim: Jesus Christ celebrate and remember his sacrifice for our

Brother Jim: sins, for our sins when he gave his life on the cross.

Brother Jim: Holy communion uses bread as a symbol of the body of Jesus and

Brother Jim: wine as a symbol of his blood.

Brother Jim: Let you and I now as one, as a family in Christ.

Brother Jim: Let us pray A. Our prayer of confession.

Brother Jim: O God, whom Jesus called father, we admit that we have done wrong

Brother Jim: and wicked things.

Brother Jim: We admit that we have ignored

Brother Jim: many opportunities to do the

Brother Jim: loving thing.

Brother Jim: We are sorry that we have

Brother Jim: thought, said, and done such

Brother Jim: foolishness.

Brother Jim: Now we turn away from our mistakes.

Brother Jim: We are sick at heart, father, when we think of them.

Brother Jim: Forgive us for not knowing what we do.

Brother Jim: Please forgive us in the name of Jesus.

Brother Jim: Forgive us.

Brother Jim: Grant that we may sow love and serve you all our days.

Brother Jim: That others may know and praise you.

Brother Jim: Amen.

Brother Jim: And now for our communion prayer again.

Brother Jim: Let you and I, one as one, go to the father.

Brother Jim: We do not come to this table, O Lord, counting our own goodness.

Brother Jim: For we know we have missed the mark of our high calling.

Brother Jim: We trust only in your love.

Brother Jim: We would gladly eat the leftovers from your table.

Brother Jim: But we rejoice that your love is so great that you invite us to

Brother Jim: come as a guest.

Brother Jim: Grant that we may receive the

Brother Jim: sacrament as a turning point in

Brother Jim: our lives.

Brother Jim: May we grow to be like you as

Brother Jim: you become the center of our

Brother Jim: living.

Brother Jim: Amen.

Brother Jim: And now, if the ushers.

Brother Jim: If I could have Carrie and

Brother Jim: Marilyn come up to prepare the

Brother Jim: elements.

Brother Jim: If you cannot kneel, the front pew is open for you.

Brother Jim: First Peter five, eight, and nine.

Brother Jim: Be sober minded, be watchful.

Brother Jim: Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,

Brother Jim: seeking someone to devour.

Brother Jim: Resist him, firm in your faith,

Brother Jim: knowing that the same kinds of

Brother Jim: suffering are being experienced

Brother Jim: by your brotherhood throughout

Brother Jim: the world.

Brother Jim: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to

Brother Jim: you that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was

Brother Jim: betrayed, took the bread.

Brother Jim: And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat.

Brother Jim: This is my body which is broken for you.

Brother Jim: Do this in remembrance of me.

Brother Jim: In the same way, he also took

Brother Jim: the cup after supper, saying,

Brother Jim: this cup is the new covenant in

Brother Jim: my blood.

Brother Jim: Do this as often as you drink in remembrance of me.

Brother Jim: For as often as you eat this

Brother Jim: bread and drink this cup, you

Brother Jim: proclaim the Lord's death till

Brother Jim: he comes.

Brother Jim: Arise and go in peace.