Kingdom Vision: Broken and Redeemed

Good morning. If you have been here with us the past few weeks, you know that we have been going through a series on Proverbs.

And in this series on Proverbs, we've been talking about what does the book of Proverbs tell us as we go through life living with a kingdom vision.

And we've had an analogy running throughout that series, if I can get the slide up.

We've talked about an oriental rug and how from the backside of the rug, you see lots of knots and loose strings hanging there.

And you see somewhat of a picture, but not a clear picture.

You see a partial picture, enough to tell you that there's something there, that there's a picture being formed, but not enough to show you exactly what that picture is.

And we've said that as we live in the world, our vision of God's kingdom is like this.

We can see parts, we can see glimpses, but it's incomplete.

It's stained by our sin and the brokenness of our world.

And we said that as God views history, he sees the completed picture.

He sees the other side of the rug, the front where the picture is completed.

And we've looked through the book of Proverbs from this perspective, saying what does it mean for us to go through life living with this perspective.

And this week, we wanted to sort of take what we've been talking about over the past few weeks and put it on the ground level.

So we're going to talk about what it means to live with a kingdom vision.

And to start us off, I'm going to ask Lincoln and Stephanie and Aldrin to come up.

And they're going to share testimony with us about the brokenness that they see in the world around them.

And later on, they're going to come up and share about the ways that they see God at work to restore and redeem that brokenness.

So if you guys can come up now, that would be great.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Aldrin Teresa.

I am from the Philippines.

And I am working with the Filipino community in Watermark.

And a couple of Sundays ago, we talked about the Proverbs of work.

And I'd like to share the brokenness that I found out from the perspective of the Filipino domestic helpers and related to the Proverbs of work.

And my observations is based on my conversations with Filipino pastors, Filipino domestic helpers, and some professionals.

And my question to them is simple.

What are the challenges of Filipinos in Hong Kong?

So that was my question.

And all of them told me the same things.

So I'd like to share it to you today.

And I'm going to use a story to summarize everything that I found out.

So I'm going to use a fictional character, if that's okay.

And I'm going to use Teresa.

That's actually my last name.

So Teresa went to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper.

And upon her arrival, she felt overwhelmed because of the busyness of the city and also because of the tall skyscrapers in Hong Kong.

And she thought to herself, if she's able to adjust well to her new home.

But this did not discourage her because she believes that her sacrifices and her hard work will eventually pay off.

So several years had passed, and Teresa experienced working with different kinds of employers.

She worked with good employers and even those who are not so kind.

And she's able to overcome the mistreatment of her employers.

But I think the worst of all is when she felt lonely and helpless.

She also felt guilt because she's able to take care of her employer's children.

But she can't take care of her own.

And sometimes she will just hear the employer's child say,

Mama or Mommy.

And she will just cry, remembering her child.

But again, she's helpless because she needs to work in Hong Kong to provide for her family,

to give them a better future.

And the time came when Teresa had an opportunity to go back to Philippines and visit her family.

But when she came back,

she found out that

her children had grown cold towards her.

Some of them became rebellious,

not even acknowledging her hard work and all her efforts.

And she also heard rumors

about her husband sleeping with another woman.

And this is because

probably she stayed in Hong Kong for too long.

Others would say it's because of insecurity.

Because you see,

in a developing country like Philippines,

we look at family,

the family structure as,

in a very traditional sense.

Mothers are the nurturers.

Husbands are the breadwinners.

And if the mother is producing more money,

more income than the husband,

there's a tendency for the husband to feel so insecure.

And he will look for another woman just to fulfill or satisfy his egos.

So those are possibilities.

But either ways,

Teresa felt very hurt and very betrayed.

And this is not just true to the lives of Filipino domestic helpers here in Hong Kong.

This could also be true to all of us.

And even true to myself.

There are times that I felt lonely.

I felt culture shock.

I just got here a month ago.

And at times,

I feel I forget that I'm a child of God.

And there are also times that

I feel empty.

And I think this is why it's very important for us to go back to God's word,

to be in a community like this,

because we all need each other and we all need Jesus to move forward.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you, everyone.

My name is Stephanie.

And I'm specifically talking about the brokenness in families in Hong Kong today,

that particularly in the Jordan area where I live and in a demographic of South Asians.

And so after you came to Hong Kong, just a bit about me,

a year and a half ago on a journey to just figure out who I am,

what's going on, and what's next after graduation.

And when I decided to come to Hong Kong,

I actually asked God to confirm with me for three different things.

Like one is that my parents be supportive,

and I have a job and I find a place to live.

And hopefully all, you know, just for his kingdom.

And God provided.

And I got all three answers and my parents were supportive.

I started working at International Care Ministries.

And through a series of events,

my good friend actually invited me to live with her.

And it happens to be she was living across the street from my boyfriend.

And so it worked out really well.

And so it also happens to be that in our neighborhood,

there is a ministry called Inner City Ministries

that work with the South Asian population.

But there's not just South Asian population,

just all different ethnicities, but majority Nepali.

And Lincoln happens to be the board of,

I was sitting on the board of directors there.

So I was inevitably introduced to what they do,

the needs of the neighborhood,

and what is Inner City trying to do,

and how the gospel can impact this community.

And so by no means am I actively involved in the ministry.

I work full time at another ministry.

But I have, I think, I've made myself available in some sense.

I think my mentality going in, moving in this neighborhood was,

I hope that I can serve in some way or another.

But even before we get to thinking about serving,

God picked me up and was like,

you know what, I need to show you what my heart for this community is first.

And so in the past year and a bit, I've been really learning about that.

And so there was, at the same time, I was contending Watermark.

And there was one time that Tobin did a sermon,

and he brought out a stretcher with,

it's just basically a piece of cloth with two sticks on it,

and told us to write the names of people we want to pray for.

And that was one of the first services I attended at Watermark.

And so in that experience,

I remember Lincoln and I writing a couple of girls from the community

and their names on the stretcher.

And, you know, just a bit about the girls.

By then, I didn't really know too much about them,

but I did know that they're neglected.

They're extremely vulnerable to peer pressure.

Their parents and their fathers in particular

are not the most responsible, I would say.

And moms won't really trust their fathers for providing at all,

so they work long hours.

And they don't come home until maybe 12 or 1 in the morning,

and they could find their kids just hungry.

I remember a story of two brothers holding each other's arms

because they're so hungry waiting for their mom to come home,

but they fell asleep.

And, you know, and the father, of course,

are alcoholics or drunkards or addicts.

There are sex workers on the street,

and it's just an environment that's not safe to be in

for little children.

And so that's what I knew about them,

but I was still new to the city.

So I've decided, okay, I'm going to write their names,

and we're going to write their names,

and I'm going to commit to praying for these girls.

And in that, since then, God provided opportunities for me,

just blessings, really, for me to be a part of their lives.

And there's three girls in particular,

and one of them I actually had to go and be their guardian

for picking up their report cards

or representing them at parents' night for school.

And it was really weird to have a sticker on me,

on my, you know, saying parent.

And I'm 22 years old.

This is weird that I would be a parent of a 13 or 14-year-old.

And so I sat there, and it was really,

it was a third-band school.

If you know anything about Hong Kong school system,

there are three bands, and so they're the lowest band.

And I was there and just observing.

And, but while I was there, you know,

it wasn't supposed to be me.

I shouldn't be the one that's sitting there that day.

And that night, you know,

their parents should have been there.

And it just seems to me that actually a lot of these children

don't have parents to represent than my parents' night.

And so, when I saw the report card the other time,

I was even more shocked.

How can someone fail with such a low mark?

I was just completely shocked.

And I just didn't know what to do about this.

It really broke my heart that this girl was so smart,

but she couldn't express that in the school system.

And so then we started tutoring.

And for about a month's time, we started tutoring these girls.

And that, I mean, it helped a little bit, I hope.

But one time, tutoring ended late,

and I was walking the girls home.

And so, in this community of drug addicts,

I don't think it's safe for them to walk home alone.

And usually, we walk them home.

So, there's one time that the girls that we were tutoring,

they came up to me and they're like,

Auntie, we don't want you to walk us home.

And I said, why?

Right?

Like, what's going on?

And he's like, oh, I need to go get something.

And I was, you know, continuing festering them.

I'm like, why?

Why are you not letting me walk you home?

He's like, oh, I need to buy something for my father.

Just let me go home by myself.

And my girlfriend and I, who were both tutoring these girls,

were like, what do you have to buy for your father

that we can't just go with you?

And she said, you know, it was a silence for a while.

And then one of the girls, the girl's friend, there's two girls,

the girl pointed at her friend and said,

oh, she needs to buy alcohol for her father.

And these girls are 13 years old.

And I was wondering, first of all, who's going to sell you alcohol?

And what is going on here?

Why are you buying alcohol for your father?

Who's a drunkard?

How come he can't just go and do it himself?

And there's a lot of questions going through my head.

And there's something really wrong with the picture.

And I insisted that I go with them.

So two minutes later, I found myself outside of this shop.

And of course, down the street from where I lived,

there would be somebody that would sell them alcohol, right, to 13-year-olds.

And so I was just completely shocked.

My girlfriend and I were just really shocked.

We walked her home.

And you know what?

We ended up really well.

And we had a really good time.

She invited me into her home, into her room, into her personal space.

Her parents, of course, at 11 o'clock weren't home.

But it was a really good time of bonding.

But walking back and looking back, I was shocked.

And I was partly angry that this is happening in our city.

It is illegal.

It is wrong.

It made me angry.

And so I think that night, God really opened my eyes to a bit of the brokenness in families in Hong Kong,

especially in this area.

And so I always knew I didn't have to look far for brokenness.

But I mean, I can just look into my own home, and I can see that it is imperfect.

But at one point, where does it cross the line to say this is wrong completely?

This is injustice.

This is not just imperfect.

This is wrong.

And we need to do something about it.

And so I think this year, God has been showing me just glimpses of his heart and how sad it is for the city of Hong Kong

and in parts and pockets like the inner city of Jordan.

So this week, I was talking with a friend on Tuesday.

And my friend mentioned to me that her sister has diabetes.

And she said it really bothered me for a long, long time.

My sister has to wear an insulin patch, and it really bothered me that she couldn't live life to the fullest.

And that phrase of living life to the fullest really got me thinking about the fact that the world we live in really is a broken place,

that really none of us are living life to the fullest as it was meant to be.

And about how, if we look at the Bible, that's not the way that God designed it to be.

And if we look at the Bible, we see in the beginning is God.

Perfect and complete in himself.

Not needing anything, not lacking everything, but out of an abundance he creates.

God says, this joy and love that I have in a perfect relationship with myself is so amazing, so wonderful.

I want to share this with others.

So he creates the universe.

He creates the world.

He prepares it and gets it ready for habitation by man.

And then he creates a man and a woman, and he puts them in this garden on the earth that he has created,

so that they can know this joy and love of knowing God.

And when he puts them there, the Bible says that they are naked and they are not ashamed.

And yes, that's talking about physically, but also emotionally, spiritually.

They had nothing to hide.

No shame, no fear, no guilt.

It was them with each other and God and the rest of creation in perfect harmony, perfect relationship.

And they lived in this garden, and the Bible says that God would come and walk with them.

And he gave them one rule, not to eat a fruit from one tree in the middle of the garden.

And things were going really well.

They were living this good life.

They were working with God in his work, and they were helping to name the animals and being part of that process.

Until one day, they decided that things as they were were not good enough.

They decided that being made in the image of God, that having this relationship with God, was not enough.

That instead, they wanted to be God.

And they rebelled.

Now, the exact action that they did doesn't seem like a big deal when you just sort of look at the story.

They ate a fruit.

But the thing about it is that it's not about the action itself.

It's about a heart attitude behind the action.

A heart attitude that says, God, I don't want you.

God, I know you're the one that made this place.

That made me.

That has the right to rule.

But I don't want that.

I want your place.

I think that you're holding out on me.

That there's something better out there for me.

That you're not giving to me.

And so I'm going to stand up and take it for myself.

And they rebelled.

They disobeyed God.

And into the world came brokenness.

Shame.

Guilt.

Fear.

Sin.

Death.

And this good world still had this goodness in it

because of the fact that it had been made good by God.

But there was a brokenness introduced.

A brokenness that is carried down throughout the ages.

The good news about the Bible is that when this brokenness came into the world,

God didn't just sit back content to let us suffer what we rightfully deserved in our brokenness.

But from day one, when man sinned, God stepped in.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, God came to them.

And he made a promise.

He said,

The snake, the one that lied to you, the one that told you that there was something better that I was holding out on you.

Its descendants and your descendants will be enemies.

And there will be a cosmic battle between the two of them.

And the snake will injure your descendant.

It will bite him in the heel.

But your descendant will crush the snake in the head.

And throughout the Old Testament, God continually enters into human history

and gives us glimpses of this great salvation that he has coming.

In the book of Exodus, he gives the Israelites, his people, the law.

And tells them,

Here are the keys to living the good life.

Here is the way that I intended for the world to operate.

Now you know.

Now you can live in this freedom.

Later on, he sends prophets.

And these prophets tell about one who will come one day,

who will set everything that is wrong with the world right.

Who will take all of the injustice

and crush those who are responsible for it.

And as the years go by,

the picture of what this coming Messiah will look like,

what this coming great Savior King will be,

get clearer and clearer and clearer

until one day a baby is born.

And in this baby, God himself steps into human history as a man,

the man Jesus.

He enters into all of the brokenness of this world

and lives for about 33 years surrounded

by sin,

by hurt,

by pain,

by death.

But again,

he's not content to just watch from a distance.

He enters in

and he starts to make an impact.

He starts to make a difference.

He starts healing people.

The lame can walk.

The blind can see.

The deaf can hear.

The dead are being raised to life.

He brings the message of a kingdom,

the kingdom of God

that is coming.

And then,

in the lowest point of human brokenness,

they take this God-man Jesus

and the sinful broken humanity

nails him to a cross,

murdering the creator,

murdering the one who loved us,

who stepped in to heal our brokenness,

hanging him on a tree

till his lungs filled with blood

and he suffocated and died.

The lowest point

of the brokenness of humanity.

The good news of the Bible is

that the story doesn't end in brokenness.

That three days later,

Jesus,

after being nailed to this cross

and crucified,

came back to life.

And that in this resurrection,

he inaugurates the kingdom of God

and he brings this hope,

this greater hope

than just a temporary physical healing,

but a hope

that the sin

that is at the root

of all of our problems

can be forgiven.

He gives a hope

that one day

he will return

and he will

right all of the wrongs

that are in the world.

And he commissions a group

of his followers

to go out

and be his lights

within the world

to share his message

and bring this hope

and this good news

to all around them.

And that's where we find ourselves today.

We find ourselves

in this place

that the theologians

call the already

and the not yet.

There's an already.

There's this amazing thing

that has happened.

Christ has raised from the dead

and because of that,

we have hope.

We have forgiveness.

We have joy.

And God is working

in our world today

and he heals people

and he changes

and transforms lives.

But there's also

this not yet.

The fact that

people still need to be healed

because people still get sick.

The fact that

there is still

great, great

injustice in the world.

And part of living

in this kingdom vision

is learning what it means

to embrace

the already of the kingdom

and live in this hope

and this joy

that has been brought,

has been inaugurated

by Christ's resurrection

and yet recognizing

the fact that

we're not there yet,

that we still have to wait

for this day

when Christ returns,

when he finishes

what he has started,

when he makes

all things new.

And until then,

we live in a world

where people

get sick and die.

We live in a world

where just this week

one of my friends

that I grew up with

had her father die suddenly,

leaving a mother

a widow

and four daughters

who no longer

have a father

to walk them down

the aisle

when they get married.

But we can see

glimpses of God's kingdom

breaking through.

And so,

I want to now

invite Aldrin

and Lincoln

back on stage

to share

the second part

of their stories,

the ways that they've seen

God's kingdom

breaking through

in the broken situations

that they're involved in

in the world.

The story that I told

earlier about Teresa

is actually,

you know,

it could be true

to any Filipinos

here in Hong Kong.

And as a Filipino,

I can't really relate

to,

relate well

to other Filipino helpers.

But,

I actually came

from a broken family

as well.

So,

I really know

how hard it is

to grow up

in a broken family.

But,

when someone

shared to me

the gospel

and I

became part

of a community,

that's when

I became stronger.

And,

my problems

didn't,

went away,

but

I have more

strength

to face it

because

of the people

around me

and because

of Jesus.

And so,

I really believe

in the gospel

and I really believe

that as a community,

as a church,

we can

make a difference.

And,

what I'd like

to share

to you

is

a continuation

of the story.

But,

this is how

I would envision

all of us

in this community

opportunity to,

you know,

to,

to be part

of God's

redemptive work,

especially to

people like

Teresa.

So,

every Sunday,

Teresa would

go to Central.

I'm sure many of you

have seen

Filipinos

hanging out

in Central.

so,

she went to Central

and,

you know,

she played,

she played cards,

she,

she drank,

and she made

friends with

other Filipinos

who also go there

every Sunday.

And,

on one occasion,

there's this

person from

Watermark

who came to her

and invited her

to join

the community

group.

And so,

she,

she was quite

hesitant

because she

doesn't know

what to expect,

but still,

she gave it a try.

So,

she came with

the person,

joined the

community group.

And when she's

in the community

group,

she just,

she's just

quiet,

you know,

observing the

people around

her.

she saw

them

praying

for each

other,

eating

together,

sharing the

gospel to

each other.

And she

thought to

herself,

this is like

a family.

They're like

brothers and

sisters to

each other.

And eventually,

she learned

that the

reason why

the people

are that

way is

because of

Jesus Christ.

And that in

Jesus Christ,

no one is

alone because

they are part

of God's

family.

community.

And so

eventually,

Teresa was

invited to

attend the

Watermark

Worship

Service.

And she

felt love

from the

people,

from the

community.

It transformed

her.

This made

her experience

Christ in a

fresh,

new way.

personality.

And there

are changes

in her

personality,

in her

character.

She began

to have a

healthy sense

of identity,

knowing that

her worth

is not

based on

her job

or even

her socioeconomic

status,

but it's

because she's

a princess,

because she's

a child of

God.

And so

she also

felt

encouraged

to talk

to other

people,

even to

other

nationalities.

And she

also got

involved in

the life

of the

church.

She

offered her

talents,

which the

Lord gave

to her

to make

the

church

stronger.

And

Teresa's

problem,

her problems

didn't go

away when

she became

part of

the church.

They didn't

go away when

she followed

Jesus Christ.

But she

now has

a stronger

motivation,

a stronger

resource to

face all

those problems.

And it's all

because of

Jesus and

the life

lived out

by people

from Watermark.

And that's

how she

became stronger

in facing

her challenges.

And she

is very

hopeful for

her future,

not because

of her job

in Hong Kong,

but because

she knows

that Jesus

has secured

her future

and that

one day

Jesus will

come back

and be

with her

eternally.

And you

and I

can be

part of

God's

mission.

God's

mission of

redeeming

Hong Kong,

specifically

people like

Teresa,

by being

a family,

a brother,

a loving

neighbor to

people like

her.

So my

prayer is

for all

of us

to really

extend

an arm

to those

who are

being looked

down at

and

just to

love and

be a

neighbor

to one

another

through

Jesus

Christ.

And we

look forward

to the

day that

Christ will

come back

and make

everything new

again.

all right.

Hi,

everyone.

It's a bit

different being

here without

a guitar.

It really

is.

It's a great

privilege for

me to have

an opportunity

to share

with you

all a

story, I

guess, of

how we

see light

shining in

the darkness

that we live.

And I'm

sure there's

tons of

examples within

this congregation

of how the

kingdom is

coming forward.

But there's

one particular

story that

came to my

mind when

I thought

about sharing

with everyone

this morning.

And so like

Steph shared

earlier, we

are in a

community that

is very

disadvantaged.

We have a

lot of

families that

are very,

very broken.

And we

have a lot

of children

that kind

of run

around all

night with

parents that

neglect them,

parents that

don't love

them.

And we

firmly believe

that God's

heart really

breaks for

these kids.

kids.

And so there

was that one

service where

Tobin brought

up the

stretcher and

he talked

about how

it's an

analogy of

us bringing

people that

we love,

people that

we know are

broken in

front of

Jesus and

laying them

before him in

hopes that he

would save

them.

And I

remember writing

down these

names and so

I'll continue

on a story of

actually one of

the girls that

we wrote

down.

the story

actually is

really crazy

and some

of it happened

on the

rooftops in

Jordan and I

can tell you the

whole story later.

We don't really

have time this

morning but

basically what

happens, we

lost two of

our girls.

Two girls that

are about 14

years old

disappeared for

about two

weeks and the

parents called

our family

minister and

so she called

us and it

was basically

me and a

friend, two

guys about

20-something and

we were running

around Jordan

area searching

the roofs for

these girls that

we couldn't

find.

We finally did

find them and

what we realized

at the same time

was that there's

actually a lot of

different gangs

that hang out on

the rooftops.

Hong Kong is such

a strange place

where we don't

really have space

to spread out

all of this

stuff and so

it just kind of

gets condensed

and so the

rooftops were

where all these

guys hang out

and it's quite

dangerous, there's

a lot of people

with knives and

things like that

and we finally

brought down

these kids and

one of the girls

after a lot of

convincing we

brought her back

home and they

don't want to go

home because

they're scared

of their parents

and then there's

this one girl

while we were

talking with her

and trying to get

her to go back

home we realized

there's no way

we can let her

go back home

and it was the

first time that

she told us her

whole story but

we realized at

that point that

she had all these

welts under

her hair and

her father would

would hit her

with this metal

pipe when she

doesn't come home

on time and so

we had in front

of us this girl

that had just

open wounds under

her hair and at

the same time we

just figured out

we found out the

whole story of

what was happening

in her home and

in what was an

absolutely incredible

72 hours I think

we found that we

took this girl that

was registered in a

school in Hong Kong

she hadn't been to

classes for about

two weeks she was

running away from

home she was hiding

from her parents and

within three days she

was registered in a

school in India and

she was living with a

very godly and loving

family and we had

taken her out of

Hong Kong and moved

her over there and

it's an amazing story

every single step of

the way God was

working the mother was

really on board with

us and she really

cried out for help

legally everything

seemed to be covered

within hours and

people came through

from left and right

and so we had this

girl that was in such

a dark situation and

somehow through the

body of Christ we had

taken her out of

out of the darkness

out of the danger

and into somewhere

that was what she

wanted and I mean the

miracles I can't even

count about how

amazing everything was

set up but the

coolest thing was that

our minister who works

for us full time was

on vacation at that

point in India waiting

for her and so

everything worked out

very very smoothly

and it was quite

amazing but I think

in that craziness as

we were taking her

out my impression of

her was that she knew

the gospel she had

heard about Jesus and

she knew about the

fact that the Lord

died for her and

loves her and laid

his life up for her

sin but it felt like

it was like a head

knowledge thing it

felt like she had

heard the stories and

it didn't really sink

in yet she's from a

non-believing family as

well but during the

whole time I think it

impressed upon her

heart of how real

God's love can be how

practical it can be to

help her and what we

all prayed for her and

we sent her out and so

eight months later after

one full school year in

India she came back to

Hong Kong and well we

brought her back to

Hong Kong for a quick

break and she came to

Watermark for one

Sunday she was only we

brought her here and we

were just sitting

actually in those seats

and it was me the girl

and Steph and for some

reason that was the one

Sunday that Tobin decides

to bring the stretcher

back up and I still

remember the stretcher

coming out and my eyes

lock on because I knew I

wrote her name down and

I'm feeling kind of like

oh no like what's gonna

like is she is this gonna

be really awkward because

I wrote her name down

and what does she think

and but my eyes locked

onto her name and I

think I started to feel

a little bit overwhelmed

because it was amazing

how we brought this girl

in front of the Lord and

he really did save her you

know he really did take

her out from the

difficulty she was facing

to somewhere that was

safe for her and when I

saw her name on that

stretcher she nudged me

and they call us uncle

and auntie because that's

just what they call us

but she nudged me and

she said she's like uncle

is that my name up there

and of course I'm like

yeah that's that's your

name and I'm trying to

like wipe away tears

and it's the yeah that's

your name we we wrote

your name there because

we love you and we've

been praying for you

and she she asked me

she's like so do we we

write down the names of

people that we want to

bring to God and we

want Jesus to love and

yeah that's what that's

what we did and she

leans over and she

whispers to me and she's

like uncle I want to go

and write my father's

name and I think that's

when we lost it so I

don't know if any of you

guys remember but there

was Steph and I sitting

there and we were just

bawling and watching this

girl that that

understood Christ that

understands Christ's

forgiveness and that

has forgiven her father

for for the fear that

she lived under for the

abuse that she faced and

we watched her as she

walked up and wrote her

name father's name on

this treasure and I

think for me it was

such a beautiful picture

of the redemption that

we see when Christ really

touches someone's heart

just how it was beyond

our expectation that she

would forgive him and

then plead for his

salvation and over the

week that she was here we

were praying with her

constantly for her parents

that they would come to

Christ that our goal isn't

that we'll just save

people and protect them

but our goal is to bring

the gospel to every single

person and so I hope

that's just a reminder for

for us as a watermark

family that you know

within our church journey

we've seen something so

amazing happen and that

redemption is something

that is really real and the

love of God is something

that is so beautiful so

thank you

so father we thank you for

the fact that the

brokenness is not the end

of the story and that you

are working in the world

that you have not abandoned

us to what we deserve in our

brokenness but that you have

entered into our story that

you have come down that you

have spoken that you have

lived in our world and that

you have brought hope to our

world through your life we

thank you for the promise that

one day you will return and

the work that you have

started you will bring to an

ultimate completion and that

we will be able to be free

from all of this brokenness

from all of the injustice and

the pain and the sickness and

the death and so we pray that

we will be faithful in living

right now as we ought to in

light of this truth and that

your name would be glorified

through all that we do and in

Jesus name amen