Mission Vineyard Sunday Service 12/21

[music]

Just going to put it in.

Now they take [music]

now they take us to just

take now they take [music]

>> [music]

>> Dr. [music]

How I

to the dramat.

Oh come glory faithful

joyful and triumpant

Come ye, oh come ye to

come and behold

him

born the king [singing]

of angels.

Oh come let us adore him. Oh come let us

adore

him. Oh come let us adore

him

the Lord

of God.

I [singing and music]

saw blood

though he

not the

god be

not cated.

Oh come let us adore [music]

him. Oh come let us adore

him. Christ

the Lord.

Sing

of angels.

Sing in exultation.

Sing all ye citizens

of heaven

above.

Glory

to God

in the highest.

Come let us adore

you. Oh come let us adore

him.

Come let us

standing on worship.

[music] Raise a voice to worship.

King of kings.

standing on worship.

Raise a voice [music] in worship.

King of kings and lord of lords.

It came [music]

upon the midnight,

the glorious son

>> [music]

>> I never

from angels bending near the earth to

touch the hearts of gold.

Peace on the earth of good will to men

from him graciously.

The world needs

still light to hear the angels sing.

With the world of sin and strife, the

world has suffered alone.

Beneath the angels straight.

[music]

So church,

you are going to be able to sing this

morning without lyrics. That's just what

we're going to do. At some point, there

may be a man that comes with a computer

and he connects things and he has the

things to connect [music] and you will

be able to see words on a screen that

will bless your heart. But until that

time, we're going to ask that you sing

by our yelling at you in leadership. And

so, uh, you may know the words to the

songs, you may not know. And so, I'm

going to ask you to stand with me. And

in the posture that we may not be common

to, which is to [music]

give everything that we have to God,

including the tension we have around

lyrics or whatever that is, God, we

surrender all to you. We surrender our

worship to you. We surrender our church

to you. We thank you, God, for our

church, for the ways you've just

continued [music] to generously pour out

on us the love of this community. And so

we say more, Lord, this morning, God, is

not about us. It's about you and giving

back to you [music] what you deserve,

which is everything.

And so, like the rest of the church

globally, we say these pray these three

words in prayer this morning. We say,

"Come, [music] Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit.

We hunger for you God.

Now, Jake's a pretty good drummer, but

you can help him by clapping if you

want.

The lyrics of this song go something

like this.

Let our praise

be your welcome and let our songs

[music]

be a sign because we are here for you.

We're here for you this morning, God.

Let our praise [singing]

be your welcome.

Let our songs [music]

be a sign we are here for you. [singing]

We are here for you. [music] Let your

breath come from heaven. Fill our hearts

with your life. Let our breath

come from [music] heaven. [singing]

Fill our hearts

with your life. We are here. We are here

for you.

>> We are here for you. [music]

>> Let's sing it again. Let our praise be

your welcome. Let our praise

be [singing and music] your welcome. Let

our songs be a sign.

>> Let our songs

>> be [music] a sign. [singing]

We are here for you.

>> We are here for [music] you.

>> Let your breath come from heaven. Fill

our hearts.

>> Let your breath [singing]

come from [music] heaven.

Fill our hearts

>> with your life.

>> with your [singing] life. We [music] are

here for you.

We are here [music and singing] for you.

>> To you. Our hearts are open. Nothing

here is hidden. To you our [music]

hearts are open. [singing]

You are our heart's desire.

>> You are one.

>> You alone are holy.

>> You alone are only you are worthy.

[singing]

Only [music] you are worthy. Lord, let

your fire fall down.

>> Let your firefold down.

>> To you. Our hearts are open. To you our

hearts are open. [singing]

[music] Nothing here is you are one

desire.

>> You are one desire.

>> You alone are holy.

>> You alone.

>> Only you are worthy. [singing and music]

Only you are worthy. God, let your fire

fall down. [singing]

>> Come Holy Spirit. Let our shout be your

anthem. Let our shout [music]

>> be your anthem.

>> You're renowned.

>> You're reowned.

>> Fill the sky. Fill the sky.

>> We are here [music] for you.

>> We are here for you.

>> Let your word move in power. Let what's

dead come to life.

>> Let your word

move [singing] in power.

Let what's dead

come to [singing] life. We [music] are

here for you.

>> We are here for you.

>> To you. Our hearts are open

>> to you. Our [singing] hearts are open.

Nothing [music] here is hidden. You are

our one [singing] desire.

>> You alone are holy. [music] Only you are

worthy. [singing]

God let your heart down.

>> To you our hearts are open.

[singing and music]

Nothing here is hidden. You are

[singing] our one [music] desire.

You alone [singing] are holy, holy, you

are worthy. God, [music] let your fire

fall down.

>> We welcome you with praise.

>> We welcome [singing] you with praise. We

welcome you with praise. [music]

Almighty God of love, be welcomed

[singing] in this place. We welcome you

with praise. We [music] welcome you with

praise. [singing] Almighty God of love,

[music] be welcomed in this. We welcome

you with praise. We welcome [singing]

you with praise. [music] Almighty God of

love, be welcomed [singing] in this

place. We welcome you with praise.

[music] We welcome you with praise.

Almighty God of love.

>> Let every heart adore. Be welcomed in

[music and singing] this place. Let

every heart adore. Let every soul awake.

Almighty God of love, be welcomed

[music] in [singing] this place. We

welcome you with praise. We welcome you

with praise. [music]

Almighty God of [singing] love, be

welcomed in this place.

[music]

>> Our mission as a church is to welcome

Jesus into all of life. And so just

begin in your mind's eye picturing those

things where Jesus needs [music] to be

welcomed. Come Holy Spirit.

And the song says, "We welcome you with

praise."

So there's a sense of expectation that

when we welcome Jesus into all of life

that the bigness of God, the amazingness

of God meets our need.

So let's sing again. We welcome you with

praise in those things. We welcome you

with praise. We welcome you with praise.

Almighty God of love, be welcomed in

[singing and music] this place. We

welcome you with praise. We welcome

[singing]

you with praise. [music] Almighty God of

love, be welcomed [singing] in [music]

this place.

>> With praise, all praise to the King of

Kings. All glory, honor, power be to the

King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

You are worthy, God. Worthy, worthy,

worthy is the Lord God Almighty. The one

who is and is to come

and you are there, God, in our need. You

are here in our need. [music] You will

be there in our need.

All the kingdoms.

We started out this uh service singing

without lyrics. And so I'm going [music]

to ask you to sing again this one word.

Hallelujah.

Hallelu.

[singing]

Hallelu.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. [singing]

[music]

Feel

free to be still and then whenever

you're ready you can have a seat.

And we're going to welcome our sages.

That doesn't just mean old people.

We're going to welcome our sages. those

who in the church we lift up in honor.

They pray regularly for you

individually. [music]

They reach out to you all the time for

how they can pray for you. We asked a

couple to welcome us into this Advent

day of love.

Love came down at Christmas, not as a

feeling, nor as a sentiment on a

greeting card, but as a person. Jesus,

God in a helpless baby's body, was born

on the edges to an unwed teenage mother

in an occupied land, visited first by

shepherds, the overlooked night shift

workers of the day. Mhm.

>> This is how love entered the world.

Choosing the margins, stepping toward

the forgotten, making room where no one

else would. When we receive that kind of

love, undeserved, pursuing, relentless,

it changes us. It won't let us stay

comfortable. It compels us to love the

same way, boldly, sacrificially,

reaching out to the lonely, the hurting,

the left out.

>> First John 4:19,

1 John 4:19

we have, we love each other because he

loved us first.

>> [clears throat]

>> And in Matthew 25:35-4,

Jesus said, "For I was hungry and you

fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a

drink. I was a stranger and you invited

me into your home. I was naked and you

gave me clothing. I was sick and you

cared for me. I was in prison and you

visited me." Then these righteous ones

will reply, "Lord, when did we ever see

you hungry and feed you or thirsty and

give you something to drink? or a

stranger and show you hospitality or

naked and give you clothing. When did we

ever see you sick or in prison and visit

you? And the king will say, "I tell you

the truth. When you did it to one of the

least of these, my brothers and sisters,

you were doing it to me."

[clears throat]

This fourth candle is the candle of

love. It reminds us the God who crossed

the universe to find us now sends us to

cross the street, the room, the divide.

>> Jesus has come. Jesus is here. Jesus is

coming again. Come, Lord Jesus. Set our

hearts ablaze with your love today and

every day. We light the love candle.

Whether it's serving at Mission

Vineyard, helping a neighbor, or

partnering with One Hope for Kids, we

become the hands and feet of Jesus. We

join in your kingdom work, letting the

love of Christ shine through us. Amen.

[music]

You're welcome to stand with us again in

worship.

And you've come

to bring peace,

to be love,

to [singing] be nearer to us. [music]

You've come

to bring [singing] life,

to be life,

to shine brighter [singing]

in us. So we met you well,

God [singing]

[music] with us.

>> You've come.

You've come to bring [singing and music]

peace,

to be love,

to be nearer to us. You've come

[singing and music]

to bring light,

to be [singing] light, [music] to shine

brighter in us. So, we [music]

[singing]

are God with [singing]

us.

our [music] deliverer.

You [singing] are savior.

In your presence we find [music] our

strength [singing]

over everything. [music] Our redemption.

God with us. [singing]

You are God with us.

And you've [singing and music] come

to behold

to this world

for your honor [singing]

name. And you've come

to take sin, [music] to bear shame,

and to [singing] coner the grave. Oh, we

[music]

[singing]

are God with [singing]

love. [music]

Our

deliverer,

you [music] are savior.

In [singing] your presence we find our

strength [music] over everything.

Our redemption [singing]

God. With

>> our deliverer,

>> our deliverer, [singing]

you are savior. [music] In your presence

we find our strength [singing]

over everything. [music]

Our redemption. [singing]

God with us. [music]

You are [singing] God with us.

Come [singing and music] Holy Spirit.

>> You are here.

You are holy.

We are [singing] standing

in your glory.

You [music and singing] are here.

You are holy.

We are [singing and music] standing

in your glory.

You [singing] are here.

You [music] are holy.

We are standing

in [singing] your glory.

You [music] are here.

You [singing] are holy.

We are standing

in your glory. [singing]

You are here.

You are

[music]

>> You are here.

>> You are

my [music and singing] God.

>> You are here.

>> You [singing] are here.

You are holy. [music] We are standing

[singing] in your glory.

You are here. [music] You are holy.

[singing]

We are standing

in your glory. [music]

Lord,

>> our deliverer, [singing]

you are savior.

In your presence we find [music]

our strength [singing]

over everything. [music]

Our redemption. God with us. Our

deliverer,

>> you are our God. [singing]

>> Our deliverer,

you are [music] savior.

In your presence [singing] we find our

[music] strength. For everything

[singing]

our redemption God with us.

>> You are God. You are God.

>> With us.

>> You are God.

with [singing] us.

Be a God [music] with us.

>> Some of you have scriptures coming to

your mind. Just start yelling them out.

Just go ahead.

>> [music]

[music]

>> There's no

Thank you God for your word.

Before

I spoke a word, you were singing over

me.

You have been [singing] so so good to

me.

Before I took a breath, you breathe your

life in me.

>> You [music] have been [singing] so so

kind to me.

>> Oh, [singing] the overwhelming,

neverending, [singing]

[music] reckless love of God.

Oh, [singing] it chases [music] me down.

But still I'm leaves the 99. [music]

I [singing] couldn't earn it. I don't

deserve it. Still [singing] you give

yourself [music] away.

>> All the [singing] overwhelming

neverending

[music] love of God.

When I was your foe, still your love

fought for me.

You have been so so [singing] good to

me.

>> When I felt no [singing] word, you paid

it all for me.

>> You have been so so kind to me. [music]

[singing]

Oh, the overwhelming

[music and singing] neverending

reckless love of God. Oh, [singing] it

chases me down. [music]

Fight till I'm found. Leaves the 99.

[music]

I [singing] couldn't earn it. I don't

deserve it. Still you [singing] give

yourself [music]

away.

Oh, the overwhelming,

neverending,

reckless [singing] love of God.

>> There's no shadow you won't light up,

mountain you won't climb up, coming

after me.

There's no wall you won't kick down, lie

you won't tear down, coming after me.

There's no shadow you won't light up.

Mountain you [singing and music] won't

climb up. Coming after me.

>> No lie [singing] you won't tear [music]

down. Lie you won't tear down. Coming

after me.

[music]

>> No shadow you [singing] won't light up.

Mountain you won't climb up. Coming

[music] after me. [singing]

Snow wall you won't [singing] kick down.

Lie you won't tear [music] down. Coming

after me.

Oh the [singing and music] overwhelming,

neverending,

reckless love [singing] of God. Oh it

chases me [music] down, fights till I'm

found. [singing]

Leaves the 99. [music]

I couldn't earn it. [singing]

>> I don't deserve it. [music] Still you

give [singing] yourself away.

>> Oh, the overwhelming [singing and music]

neverending

reckless love.

You can be seated for a moment if you'd

like.

What a great day to invite each of you

and all of us to this table.

It's not ours, but the Lord's. Thank

you. Thank you, Lord. Jesus [music]

invites everyone who follows him to come

with open hearts.

If you happen to be one [music] that is

not following him today, he still

invites you to come today. This is a

table of grace not based on our

worthiness but on his love.

If you want to [music] receive this

love, you are welcome to come today

especially.

This is a moment of remembrance [music]

and a time to meet Jesus who is present

with us always, but especially today in

a very special way. As we've heard, this

fourth day of [music] Advent is all

about Jesus's love. And certainly this

table and what is offered to us at this

table is one of the greatest expressions

of his love to each one of us. The

Apostle Paul

in uh Apostle John, excuse me, in

Revelation 19:7-9 [music]

Revelation 19:7–9

says, "Let us celebrate. Let us rejoice.

Let us give him the glory. The marriage

of the lamb has [music] come. his bride

is made ready, which is all of us. She

has been given a bridal gown of bright

and shining linen. The linen is the

righteousness of the saints. Then the

angel said to me, "Write this. Blessed

are those invited to the wedding supper

of the Lamb."

This is an invitation to all of you

today.

"These are the true words of God," said

the lamb. As we approach Jesus's table

today, this

fourth Sunday in Advent, let us rejoice

in [music] his presence.

know today that each one of us here is

[music] on his mind and in his heart.

Every single one of you, me.

May we call to mind the greatness of God

the Father and his great love through

the gift of his son for us. He has

demonstrated

this love by Jesus's advent and his

sacrifice.

So as we approach the table today, let

us pray for a reawakened wonder

this Advent season [music] at the way

the God of glory has loved us by the

birth of his son and continues to love

each and every one of us, no matter how

we feel about that.

So I extend an invitation to every one

of you, those that you know him [music]

certainly you'll come. But this may be

the day that you need to surrender to

him, meet him again, or just come before

him with your heart in your arms wide

open.

So, as as our

custom, we'll [music] ask you to come

down these inside aisles to the tables

and then go back the outside. Let me

pray before you come and we'll invite

those who are serving to come while I

pray. Lord, thank you especially today.

Thank you for your love. Uh it is almost

unknown to us the kind of love that you

have. But you over and over and over

again give us a picture of your love,

give us your presence of love, to give

us your Holy Spirit, to give us your

word, all because you love us. So as we

come today, Lord, we just thank you that

we know you. Thank you for your love for

us and that you express it to us each

and every day, but especially today. So

we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Please

come.

There's no shadow you [singing] won't

light up. Mountain you won't climb up.

coming after me.

There's no wall you won't kick down, lie

you won't tear down. Coming after

[music and singing] me. Come, Holy

Spirit. There's no shadow you won't

light up, mountain you won't climb up.

Coming after me.

There's no [singing] wall you won't kick

[music] down. Lie you won't tear down.

coming after me. [singing]

>> There's no shadow you won't light up.

[singing] You won't climb up. Coming

after me.

There's no wall you [singing] won't kick

down. Light you won't tear down. Coming

after me.

>> There's no shadow [music and singing]

you won't light up. Mountain you won't

climb up. coming after

[music and singing] me.

>> There's no shadow you won't kick down.

[music]

Lie you won't tear down. Coming after

me.

>> There's no shadow you won't [singing]

light up. Mountain you won't climb up.

Coming after [music] me.

>> No wall [singing] you won't kick [music]

down. Lie you won't tear down. coming

after me. [music]

>> Oh, the [singing]

overwhelming

neverending

[singing] reckless [music] love of God.

Oh, it chases [singing] me down. Fights

till I'm found. Leaves the 99. [music]

I couldn't hurt it. I don't [singing]

deserve [music] it. till you give

yourself away.

[singing] Oh, the overwhelming,

[music] neverending,

[singing]

reckless love of God.

Going to ask you to [music] stand and we

will say the Lord's Prayer together. As

you know, uh, we have it in English and

in Spanish here, but we'd like for you

to say it in the language with which you

are most comfortable and the language

that you connect to the Lord with. So,

let's pray together. Our Father, who art

in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy

kingdom come, thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven. Give us this day our

daily bread. And forgive us our

trespasses [music]

as we forgive those who trespass against

us. And lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from evil. For thine is the

kingdom and the power and the glory

forever and ever. Amen.

Won't you take a little break, visit

with each other, and we'll come back

with [music] announcements in a moment.

Nice. Nice work. Yeah. Nice.

[music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> Thank you so much.

You get

Good morning, Mission Vineyard.

If you'll find your way to your seats,

we'll get started with some

announcements.

My name is Kate, and it's a joy to

welcome you to church this morning. So,

welcome. Welcome to Mission Vineyard.

Thanks, Ken. Whether you're worshiping

with us online or you're here with us in

person, we are so grateful and we hope

that you feel welcome to our church

family this morning. If you are new to

Mission Vineyard, please be sure that

you take one of these um great welcome

bags on your way out if you haven't

grabbed one already. Um there are some

on the back table, the welcome table.

And in that bag um are several things

for you. One is information about our

church, information about the vineyard

movement that we're part of, and then uh

there's a connect card. So, we just ask

that you would fill this out and drop it

in the offering basket as we pass those

or there's also um a place that you can

fill it out online at

connect.missionard.org.

We would love to add you to our weekly

church newsletter that goes out um by

email just so you are informed of

everything that's happening throughout

the week. And so that's um how you can

do that is put your email address here,

your phone number if you're comfortable

adding your ma physical mailing address.

Our pastor John will send you just a

note of gratitude for um joining us

today. So if you'll fill that out, we

would greatly appreciate it. Also in

that bag is something we call a mana

bag. And this is something for you to

give away to those you may encounter

throughout the week that might be in

need of a blessing from God. And so

there's just some practical supplies for

you to give away. So, we encourage you

um whether you're new or a regular

partner with us, grab one of those mana

bags also on the back table. And then

our announcement for the week is

Christmas Eve is coming up. And so,

Christmas Eve service, yay, um is always

a lovely candlelight, beautiful service

on Christmas Eve. So, you're invited at

5:00 here at the Duzium. Um we have a

tradition of bringing cookies and baked

goods to church on Christmas Eve. Um but

not so that we can eat more sugar, but

so that we can go bless um those

[laughter]

Ken goes home and eats it. So that's so

that we can bless those who are working

on Christmas Eve. And so um if you're

able, please bring a plate or several of

cookies, brownies, baked goods, and then

we will leave church um on Christmas Eve

and go deliver um those cookies and

treats to any open business um that you

see where people might be working on

Christmas Eve. And so we invite you to

join us in that. but they're also on the

back table. I'm holding this is because

these are invitations um to give to

someone that you might want to attend um

our [clears throat] Christmas Eve

service. So, those are also on the

welcome table. Take some invitations as

you go. And then I am going to pray for

our tithes and our offerings. So, I'm

going to ask those who are passing the

baskets if you'll come forward and I'll

just pray over those as well. And we

believe that giving is a form of

worship. And so we pause right now, Lord

Jesus, and we give it all to you. And we

give thanks for every good and perfect

blessing that you have provided unto us,

Lord. And would you magnify and multiply

our resources in miraculous ways, Lord,

so that we can give it away,

[clears throat] that we can go and be

the hands and feet of Jesus in this

world? And so I pray a blessing over our

church, over our church resources, over

your resources and your finances. Lord

Jesus, come. We invite you into this

space of giving.

Thank you. And I bless John as he brings

us message.

>> Thank you, Kate. And I will take that

mic if you don't mind.

Good morning, friends. It's almost

Christmas. Can you believe it?

The other day, I woke up and I saw my

phone and it said a date that was closer

to Christmas and I went, "Christ is

coming."

And uh with that comes a lot of

celebration, but I think with with all

of us, it also comes with a lot of it's

not done yet.

Well, uh I have to tell you, I I've been

really really blessed by the foster and

adopted parents in our church community

that in the midst of their normal daily

lives, whether it be Christmas or

otherwise, they've decided to extend

their lives to foster and adopt

children. And uh all over the city,

there's an organization that we've been

working with since 2014. I have a

picture of my children. I didn't put it

in the slide deck this morning, but I

have a picture of my children uh at with

a hot cocoa stand

from 2014

raising money for one hope for kids as

it was just starting out. Now, one hope

for kids has placed over I think it's

placed over a thousand children in homes

over the last 10 years. And uh there are

still I think 400 active homes uh that

are welcoming the 3,000 orphans in our

community into loving homes. And not

just loving homes, but loving homes that

are supported by the local church. And

that's the real blessing that a whole

church community comes around those that

are fostering and adopting children. I

wanted to invite Ken and Arlene this

morning if you guys would come up. Uh,

Ken and Arlene are not currently

fostering, but you did and you adopted

and you have two adopted daughters and

one birth child and what an adventure it

has been. But can you just tell us a

little bit about how God put that on

your heart at the beginning?

I didn't turn it on for you. I'm sorry.

Uh well, first of all, my parents

adopted me. Um I was an infant when I

was adopted, but before that u they had

been foster parents and um there was a

gentleman that used to come around my

house when I was a kid. Uh we had a

really big family, so I didn't really

question it. But one day, I I think I

was maybe 10 or 12, I said, "Mom, who is

Mr. Bill in our family?" And she goes,

"He was our foster son and he had only

lived with my parents for two years when

he was in high school, but in his 50s he

was still coming around

and uh because he loved my parents." So

that planted a seed.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah.

>> And and then continued until when?

>> Well, we had our daughter Alish and um

let me just say it this way. God can use

a broken road

to bring something really amazing into

our lives. And uh we had gotten our home

certified for one child uh that we were

going to foster to adopt. And then we

waited like nine months.

The phone rang and they said, "We know

you only were certified for one, but

would you consider two?" And I just

started shaking. [laughter]

They told me their names. They're like

they're they're sisters, blood sisters,

and we won't separate them. And so we

kind of met them on a Monday and they

moved in on a Wednesday and it was

crazy. [clears throat]

>> And that was how many years ago?

>> Well, see, Jesse wasn't quite three.

Yeah, 22 years ago. And I would just say

that they were the product of drugs and

alcohol in womb.

um mental illness, a pretty bleak uh you

know genetic disposition as far as their

parents. Um and they've had a lot of

struggles that we've dealt with over the

years,

but our youngest daughter is getting

married to a really beautiful man and

they're like miracles.

>> Our middle daughter has given us two

grandchildren that are

>> Yes.

So 22 years, I mean, thankfully they've

not lived with you for 22 years. Now

they have their own homes, right? But

for many years they did live with you

and and you're their parents and now

you're grandparents and this is your

life and it's a beautiful, beautiful

life. And it sounds like that which God

gave to you in grace, you then you took

the grace of God and gave it away to

your children, which is amazing. I now

God's grace is wonderful and there's

been difficulty over the years and I'm

curious if you could name one thing for

our congregation if we were going to

come alongside somebody who is fostering

who is thinking about adoption what

would be some of the greatest things you

could say to a church that could really

help us love those who are fostering and

adopting and maybe even for yourself

today because you it's still an impact

in your lives. Well, one of the things

that definitely is a help is getting

yourselves certified to be able to

provide respit for the families who are

actually doing the long-term work

because it is a neverending 247 by 365.

And a lot of people just sort of say,

"Oh, that's great. You've got your kids.

Go on." And then they don't see the

struggles and the hardship. And so just

getting yourself certified to be able to

take the kids out for a couple of hours

on a Saturday so that we could have a

date would have been, you know, really

tremendous uh helpful

>> because that's what people don't

understand. You can't just get any

babysitter when you're fostering. You

have to get somebody who's licensed to

babysit for those who are foster

children.

>> Yeah. I mean, the the protocol is pretty

intense. Um they're warrants of the

state. So, uh, you have to be TB tested,

CPR certified, fingerprinted, background

check, all of that. So, yeah, it was a

we in California had an amazing church

community that really rallied around us.

And I mean, I would say for sure prayer

warriors and those that just loved us

and came around us was the biggest

blessing that we could have ever asked

for in our community because it happened

so quickly. you know, came around, gave

us things we didn't have like a crib and

just it was amazing the way people

rallied around us.

>> And so, Church, uh, Lucas, can we do

websites? Is are you able? No, can't do

it. Okay. Well, if you would, if you

you're curious about being a respit

babysitter, even for a couple hours, but

man, overnight would be cool, too,

right? Um, you don't need that anymore,

but uh uh you can go to one hope for

kids and it's number one. Arita, help

me.

One the word hope and then four with

letters

>> fo r kids.org oneh hopeforkids.org and

there's all kinds of instructions so you

can go there to sign up to be respit

care and some of you already have which

is amazing. You heard Ashley and Chris's

testimony. they're fostering right now

and you all have rallied which is

fantastic. Um but I want to do exactly

in fact would you uh pray for our church

to be amazing prayer support and respit

support for those who want to foster and

adopt. Would you guys do that for us?

>> I just wanted to add one more thing. I

wanted to speak to the reality that

there is a orphan spirit. Okay. There's

a cloak

>> Yeah. over the orphan spirit and God

wants to remove that cloak. It's very

powerful, but the child has to choose to

do that. Um anyways, and why don't you

>> Father God, we just come before you

today and ask you to surround our church

with your angels, Lord, to give us the

spirit of giving, the spirit of

sacrifice, Lord, and the willingness to

take on the least of these, Lord, which

are precious children who've been

through no fault of their own, Lord,

either neglected or abandoned, Lord. And

we just ask you to raise up this church

body to come around those who step out

in faith, Lord, in a mighty way. Raise

up workers, Lord. The harvest is is

ready, but the workers are few, Lord.

And we just ask you to do a mighty work

in this body. In Jesus name we ask. And

Lord, I thank you for Ken and Arlene and

how they've given their lives to you

over the years in so many different

ways. God, would you bless their family?

Bless their daughters. Bless what it

means to be parents with their daughters

and grandparents. Come, Holy Spirit.

Shower them with your blessing.

Show them your love, especially around

this Christmas season in the name of

Jesus. Amen.

Thank you guys so much. [applause]

So, you can go to oneh hopeforkids.org

And we're asking if you would take the

price of a Christmas gift that you would

usually spend and invest extra time and

energy in that friend or family member.

Instead, take that money and give it to

One Hope for Kids this season. You can

do that either on our website and our

website is brand new. So, you can go to

missionvener.org. After 14 years, we've

finally hired a web developer. It's only

taken 14 years of senior pastor doing it

and now it broke too bad for me to fix

it. So missionvineyard.org has a great

place for you to uh give financial gifts

to one hope forkids and uh you can go to

oneh hopeforkids.org to sign up to be a

volunteer with them.

So uh before we go for today I have uh

just some words from the scriptures I

want to dive into John chapter 3. Thank

John 3 · chapter mention

you Chris for this. I'm going to give

your phone back because you're a busy

man and you're going to get texted

during church. I'm sure.

Church, if you don't remember anything

else from today, I want you to remember

one thing. God loves the world

and he loves you, too. God loves the

world and he loves you too.

>> How many times I have gone up to

somebody and said, "Hey, how can I pray

for you?" and they say, "Oh, pray for

the world."

Well, that's harder

than just praying for you. If you would

just tell me how to pray for you. Oh,

the world has more burdens than I do.

And what's actually being said there?

There's some part of disbelief that we

carry in us that says God doesn't really

care about me or my needs aren't really

that big. But the truth of the gospel,

the truth of Christmas is that Jesus

came to love us.

He loves each one of us individually. He

loves you. He loves you deeper than

you've ever realized.

He knows you more than you know

yourself. He knows your every weakness.

Like Santa Claus in Christmas, he knows

when you're sleeping. He knows when

you're awake. But better than Santa

Claus,

he loves you unconditionally.

Unconditionally.

There uh if you're familiar with this

church more and more you'll find out

that we're being continually influenced

and actually we're becoming a culture

church of the emotionally healthy

disciplehip movement out of New York.

And I'm really really excited to be

connected with them and to become a more

emotionally healthy church. Uh the

founder of that organization is named a

guy named Pete Scatsero. He reads he

writes all kinds of books and I would

suggest all of them to you. The

emotionally healthy church and mostly

healthy spirituality. But in one of the

books he writes, the good news of the

gospel is not that God loves people or

the world in some abstract in some

abstract sense, but that God loves you

and me personally

and specifically

personally and specifically.

And so for those who I do go and I ask

and there's strangers that I ask, how

can I pray for you? And I get that they

don't want to get personal. That's I

mean, how can I pray for you? And then

they tell me their deepest, darkest

secrets. That would be weirder probably.

But how can I pray for you? God actually

wants to attend to very specific things

in our lives. And often times we don't

walk in a relationship with God enough

to get specific with him. I know if

you're like me, I go through my prayer

list or I go through the scriptures and

it's I gotta go. Jesus, let's go. Let's

go here. Come on. BOXES ON THE SHELVES.

JESUS, let's go. I don't know if you

knew that's how I talk with God.

But it's often not enough time to dial

down and get silent enough

where our mind starts wandering. And

that's when you know we're getting to

specifics.

It's all the things in the background

noise of our hearts and minds that we

keep at bay while we're doing the daily

tasks that God wants to love

specifically.

And so as we quiet down and I try more

and more these days just to give the

Lord one minute or five minutes or on a

beautiful day 20 minutes of silence and

things start coming to mind. Everybody,

anybody ever try to get silent and

things come to mind and you feel guilty

that things are coming to mind while

you're trying to get silent with God?

No, it's for that purpose. The Lord

wants these things to come up so that he

can attend to them specifically. And

unless you gave him that silent time,

they might not get the place of

relationship between you and God. You

might just deal with them yourselves.

He wants to love you and me personally

and specifically.

And one of the greatest places of

scripture that we know of that speaks to

this is John Football 3:16.

I to say John football 3:16 because who

knows why in the stands people hold up

signs of John 3:16. Maybe they just want

John 3:16

to share this gospel because this is

really good news.

It's really, really good news that Jesus

wants to love us specifically.

In fact, he rigged the game

to love us specifically.

He rigged it from the beginning of time

to know us and then to die for every

single one of our sins. He died for you

and for me every specific hunger we

have. He loves us that much. So watch

this. He's in this discussion with this

high priest of the time, one of the most

religious people of the time. Get this.

Watch. Watch. He says, "For this is how

God loved the world. He gave his one and

only son." And when you see this

scripture, look at like the manner, the

way, the the abundance, the the kind of

dance that God does to love us. He gave

his one and only son like an undercover

operation

so that everyone who believes in him

will not perish but have eternal life.

And what are we saying? believe in him

that you must follow

everything that I say as a pastor to the

point and I'll check on you every week

that you do everything that I do as a

pastor.

No, that you believe that Jesus is

enough for you. That when the things

come up in your mind and heart, you go,

"God, you're big enough to handle this.

In fact, you're big enough for all of

it. and I trust you. I trust you.

And so when we have that faith, when we

when we believe in him, we stop

perishing.

I want to stop perishing.

Sometimes I feel like I perish at the

end of a workout or when I don't get

enough sleep.

But the perishing that Jesus is talking

about is more like all the hidden stuff

that we forget to attend to actually

comes to mind so that Jesus can take

care of it. In fact, one of the biggest

sins Jesus says you could ever commit is

dismissing the Holy Spirit's work to

deal with our secret stuff.

That's blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. to

believe

that all that stuff that's buried the

inside of the cup, Jesus would say,

doesn't need dealing with as long as the

outside of the cup is pretty. Jesus says

that's blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Meaning that is a sin that nobody can

get away with. Why? Because when our

insides aren't dealt with, we're not

really experiencing love, are we? Real

love gets to be experienced when our

real life gets loved.

And we often don't feel comfortable or

believe that God is big enough to handle

our real inside stuff.

But this is why you should believe.

Watch this in verse 17. God sent his son

into the world not to judge the world.

He wasn't going to take the inside of

the cup stuff of your life, the stuff

you're afraid to mention, the stuff that

you don't even want to think about. It

doesn't come up. He doesn't want to

nitpick it and say, "Oh, you forgot.

you didn't call that person or oh that

sin that was five years ago. Oh, I still

remember you and you get coal in your

spiritual stocking this year.

No, God didn't send his world, his son

into the world to judge the world, but

to save the world through him. There is

no judgment against anyone who believes

in Jesus. Say amen. There is no judgment

against anyone who believes in him. I

can't wait for the day when I get to be

in front of Jesus and all of my

imaginary conversations of judgment that

I have without all of my life.

And I get face to face with Jesus.

And I am so confident that there's no

more judgment.

I want that relief of the kingdom right

now. And it's available to us. There is

no judgment against anyone who believes

in Jesus. But anybody who doesn't

believe in him, you've already been

judged, haven't you?

The guilt and the shame that pile on,

the stuff that we have a hard time even

processing,

the accusations of the enemy that say

you're not enough

and you've never been enough.

That's the judgment of those that don't

believe in God's one and only son. And

the judgment is based on this that God's

light came into the world like the sun

is for the earth.

God's light has come into the world like

the sun to the earth. God's light came

into the earth into the world but people

loved the darkness more than the light

for their actions were evil. Why on

earth have you ever known the the relief

of forgiveness?

I had this moment with a pastor in

Argentina and I was talking about how uh

some of the practices that we have with

our technology in our house so that we

don't get as addicted as I already am.

And I said something like, "Oh, you

know, here's a book, you know, for your

that you can read at night before you go

to bed so you don't have to keep your

phone in your bedroom." And they went,

"SEE KIDS, NO PHONES IN YOUR BEDROOM."

Like all OF A SUDDEN MY ONE suggestion

of a book in the bedroom turned into

judgment on the whole family.

And I I let it go for a moment and the

Lord caused me said, "Don't let that

become a lie in your conversation that

you you don't keep a phone in your

bedroom."

>> So the next day I said, "Okay, I just I

want to let you know

I I keep my phone in my bedroom."

and he got it. I said, 'But please I

want you forgive me. I I don't want that

to become a lie between us. He said,

'Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I I forgive you. I

forgive you. And uh it became nothing,

but can I tell you the relief?

It was just a small I mean, I don't

know, a lie is a lie, but to me, it was

a small lie that that took its own

place, but the relief I had when I

disclosed it to Jorge and it was

forgiven.

Why on earth wouldn't want people want

to live in the light?

And I think sometimes it's the wounding

from our sins, either the sins against

us, from others, or the woundings of our

own sin, of whatever we've done. We

don't know how to deal with them. And

so, we don't believe that God could ever

deal with them. And so, bringing them up

is too hard to bear.

People love the darkness more than the

light because the light is too

overwhelming. and their actions were

rightfully evil. And we can't deal with

evil ourselves. Only Jesus's love can.

We don't have the love in ourselves to

actually forgive the debts that we cause

with our sin. Only Jesus can do that.

All who do evil hate the light. They

refuse to go near it for their sins.

What will be exposed? All of the sudden,

people won't be known just for the

outside of the cup anymore. They're

known for the inside, too. And they're

afraid they haven't done their dishes in

a while.

But the inside of our hearts need to be

cleaned. And the only one that can do

it, the only one who's worthy, the only

love that really matters is Jesus.

Those who do what's right come to the

light. They let Jesus wash the inside

so that others can see what the real

love of God is. Christmas, you know, you

you and I both know it's gotten out of

control in the wrong direction, far away

from Jesus.

We bring it back on these Sundays the

best that we can. We go out caroling and

mission. We give away our money instead

of spending it on ourselves. We do

things intentionally to remember Jesus

in the season is the focus. But how

difficult it is in this world. It is for

me that the outside of the cup would

look really good. And so most of our

work looks like work for the outside. I

really want to be impressive in front of

others. I really want to look like I

don't need anything from anybody else.

If our gospel good news is based on

looking good, then Christmas love is

lost.

The love of Christmas is a love that we

welcome to the inside

and we're cleaned on the inside.

And then

what shines is the real love of God. If

we expect for the love of God to only be

reflected in an Instagram Christian

reality,

a tick- tock Christian reality of just

an outside looking good, then we have

missed out on the depth of why Jesus has

come as a baby.

Jesus has come to clean the inside. and

those who do what is right come to the

light so that

the world can actually see what this

real love is.

We don't project love into the world as

the world needs it. We reflect what the

authentic love of God has done inside of

us because that's what the world is

actually hungering for. The world

doesn't need another shiny person

winning. They need another clean person

restored and transformed by a love

that's gotten to the deepest darkest

hunger and burden of their lives.

And if you're willing to receive Jesus

that way, then you are the light of the

world.

You are the light of the world.

Jesus's love is meant to live in us and

it's meant to shine through us. His last

prayer was this in John 17. I am in them

and you are in me. May they experience

such perfect unity that the world will

know that you sent me and that you love

them as much as you love me. I have

revealed you to them and I'll continue

to do so. Then your love for me will be

in them and I will be in them. I've got

so much more to preach and no more time.

There are scriptures and steps and love

God's love on your sheets. But what is

not on your sheets? These wonderful,

wonderful photos. I want to as we go

into ministry time because I believe

that God wants to touch some of you with

his love. Charlie Mackey. If can we put

up the paintings of Charlie Mackey?

Lucas are up there.

Charlie came to Alpha in London. He's a

beautiful, beautiful artist. And if you

know anything about Alpha, there's a

Holy Spirit weekend. And you get prayer

that Holy Spirit weekend just like we

have prayer every Sunday during ministry

time. There's prophetic words and and

people say how they need prayer. And

Charlie went for prayer. He wasn't a

follower of Jesus at all. And the guy

that started praying for him smelled

like he had just ate sardines. And it

was just the worst thing in the world.

And let me tell you, God's power is so

big. It broke through the bad breath of

that man. And Charlie, who had been

smoking nervous all day

about that alpha weekend, his life, his

inside life, was so burdened.

He finally went to receive prayer. And

through receiving prayer, he allowed for

the power of God not just to touch the

outside of his life, but to touch the

inside of his life.

And the inside of his life has been

completely transformed.

And in reflection, Charlie began to do

art. And if you look him up, he's now

won an Oscar for uh uh

a cartoon film about a horse and a mole

and a boy. and it's beautiful. But my

favorite work by Charlie are these

moments of the father bringing his

children home.

This is not an Instagram moment. This is

an intimate moment between father God

who desperately wants us to just believe

in Jesus so that we would receive the

loving embrace of the father and let all

the insides be cleansed so that the

outside can reflect the full glory of

God that we were always meant for. Do

you hear me? He loves you so much. He

loves the world. Oh, but he loves you so

much. So with that, I'm going to welcome

Steve. I don't know if he's got his

Santa hat on today. Oh, he does.

Steve started growing this white beard

and I called him Santa one day and he

has lived into the character. I'm so

glad.

Steve meets with a team before church

and they pray and they say, "God, who do

you want to love today? And in what way

do you want to love them?" And so they

take risks with prophetic words or words

of knowledge, hoping that some of you

might receive that small word of God and

come for prayer. And so Steve's going to

lead us into ministry time. I'm going to

invite the worship team to come back up.

We're going to lead you in a new song.

And during that song, would you come and

receive ministry today? Especially to

receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

>> And John, you're on the right list.

>> I can't I can't say I try. [laughter]

>> God is good. God is good. As we were

praying uh today, we didn't have a long

list, but the first was a sense of a

sharp pain in the leg that uh that God

wants to heal.

The second one is uh that a mass has

been discovered and is being diagnosed

for you or a loved one.

God wants to pray uh wants us to pray

for you about that.

And the last one is

it's just a reminder that this is the

[music] season of new beginnings.

That was fantastic when God chose

[music] to come to us among us as a

baby.

A new beginning. Nothing like that had

ever happened again. God wants to do

[music] transformation in your life.

This is a season of new beginnings. Grab

hold of it.

So, if one of these items

has

>> [music]

>> uh spoken to you, we'd love to pray with

you over here in the corner. And uh if

you have some other need that wasn't

wasn't on specifically on this list, we

would love to pray with you. [music]

Thank you.

You can stand with me in worship if you

have the capacity.

There's a scripture that [music] says,

"Today is the day of salvation." And it

just means that today and every day,

Jesus wants to receive [music]

all of us inside and out. And so, if

you've never welcomed Jesus into all of

life, if you've never given full rule

and reign,

come for prayer this morning and let

somebody pray with you. This is a new

song for everyone.

waking up to mana

coming to my senses. [singing and music]

You meet me in my grumbling.

You give me my portion.

Though flesh and heart may fail me, your

strength is there to hold me,

keeping my heart steady.

You are my portion. [singing]

You are my portion.

>> You are my [singing] daily bread. You

are [music] my daily bread.

And we [singing] will seek your face

before we seek your hand.

>> You are our daily [singing and music]

bread. You are our daily bread.

and [music] we desire you before the

promised [singing] land. Sing it again.

>> You are our daily bread. You are our

daily bread.

[music] And we [singing] will seek your

face before we seek your hand.

>> You are our daily [singing] bread. You

are our daily bread.

And we [music and singing] desire you

before the promised land.

[music]

Whom have I in heaven?

There is none [singing and music] upon

earth.

There is none beside you.

You give me my portion,

>> my enemy [singing] of the boastful.

Lead me to confusion

until I realize Jesus

that you are my portion.

>> You are my daily bread. You are my daily

bread. [singing]

>> And I will seek your [music] face before

I seek your hand.

You are our daily bread. You are our

daily bread.

And we [singing and music] desire you

before the promised land.

>> Sing it again.

>> You [singing] are our daily [music]

bread. You are our daily bread.

And [singing] we will seek your face

before we seek your [music] hands.

>> You are [singing] our daily bread. You

are our daily bread

and [music] we desire [singing] you

before the promised land.

[music]

>> In these times and songs, it's kind of

odd because we're not singing directly

to Jesus. It's kind of like singing over

our own souls. And so it can seem odd,

but I encourage you to sing this as an

encouragement, not just to yourself, but

to the whole body. It's what the

Israelites [music] did. And so, let's

try. It is good. It is good for me to

draw near my God. It is good for me to

trust in my God. It is good for me to

declare all his work. It is good for me.

It is good for me. It is good for me to

draw near [singing and music] my God. It

is good for me to trust in my God. It is

good for me to declare all his words. It

is good for [music] me. It is good for

me. It is good for me to draw near my

God.

>> It is good for me to trust in my God. It

is good for [music] me to declare all

his work. It is good for me. It

[singing] is good for me. It is good for

me to draw near my God. It is good for

me to trust in my God. It is good for

[music and singing] me to declare all

his work. It is good for me. One more

time. It is good. It is good for me to

[music] draw near my God. It is good for

me to trust in my God. It is good for me

to declare all his [singing] work. It is

good for [music] me. It is good for

>> It is good. It is good for me to draw

near my God. It is good for me to trust

in my God. It is good for [music] me to

declare all. It is good [singing] for

me. It is good for me.

>> Good for me.

>> [music]

>> You [singing] are my daily bread. You

are our daily [music] bread.

And [singing] I will seek your face

before we [music] seek your hands.

>> You are our daily [singing] bread. You

are our daily bread.

and we [singing] desire you before the

promised land. [music]

>> You are our daily [singing] bread. You

are our daily bread.

[music]

>> And we will seek your [singing] face

before we seek your hands.

>> You are our daily bread. You are our

[singing] daily bread.

And [music] we desire you before the

[singing] promised land.

Can we read our declaration together as

we go out?

Filled with the Holy Spirit and grounded

in God's love, were sent out to join in

God's kingdom [music] with impact

through his word and his works. Deeply

rooted in the Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit, we help others follow Jesus,

bringing good news to the poor, sight to

the blind, freedom for captives, and

blessing to our family, friends, and

neighbors in Jesus' name. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> And so, would you go out in the name of

the Father and the Son and the Holy

Spirit?

Would you be filled with the Holy Spirit

to be cleansed from the inside [music]

so you can be the glory of God on the

outside? I bless you in Jesus name. Go

in peace.

For those of you who want to worship

more, come towards the front. We'll be

worshiping a little bit more. For those

of you who want to gather in community,

you can go towards the door.

If anybody wants to help decorate this

[music] room for Christmas Eve, you can

come a few hours early for Christmas Eve

and help us decorate. We'll see you

Christmas [music] Eve here at 5:00 for