Questions Jesus Asked: Do you still not understand?

Hello, and welcome to the Kalamazoo church of Christ podcast.

Thank you so much for listening.

We're startup church.

We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together.

And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more.

You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that.

We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today.

Very good.

So I have, I do have some more stuff for the moms that I wanted to share, but I'm going to hold off for a minute so they get back.

But I, this is actually, this is Jerry Hackworth's last Sunday in Kalamazoo.

Is that right?

So Jerry's going to be moving to Orlando coming up here this upcoming week, tomorrow.

Jerry's moving tomorrow.

You guys have seen him in the fellowship.

Jerry's just in the beginning of 2021 was baptized into Christ.

He had had an existing relationship with God, existing relationship even with the church.

And he just, at some point, he's been trying, honestly, since we really started planting the church, I think Jerry reached out to us early on.

And there's been struggles and there's been ups and there's been downs.

But Jerry has, you've continued to fight, you've continued to persevere, you know, being on the phone with you, getting some early, Jerry, we've probably gone to more, I've gone to more truck stop diners with you than anybody else in the church.

And so I, we pray that you just have an awesome, an awesome time, certainly that you can grow your career and get connected with people.

But more than anything, that you grow in your relationship with God, we're super grateful for your time in Kalamazoo.

And I know it's only this upward trajectory for you.

Amen.

Awesome.

Very good, Jerry.

Very good.

You guys can open up to Mark 8.

You guys know the series.

We've been looking at questions that Jesus asked.

Today we're actually covering a bunch of questions that Jesus asked.

And the first Happy Mother's Day, you guys got that.

So you guys, I think many of you know, if you don't, when I was seven years old, my mom died of cancer.

My sister was five and I was seven years old.

And I remember growing up being extremely, I just remember being extremely jealous of people who had mothers.

And I didn't know what this jealousy, I wasn't able to identify that I'm jealous of you.

But I remember looking down on my friends because they didn't pack their own lunch, you know, growing up.

And I remember looking down on my friends because they couldn't just bike wherever they wanted to in the summer.

Really what I was communicating is I just don't have that mother to kind of tell me what to do and organize things in a way that makes things much easier for me.

At some point, sometime along when I went from, kind of when I went to college and began to learn about some things, mature, I certainly grew in my faith, I moved to a different church.

It was one that my mom was converted in.

And it was one that a lot of the members just knew me from when I was young.

They knew, they kind of just, they knew me from when I was zero to five, and then we moved to Madison.

And so in Milwaukee, I really, I began to identify, wow, I feel a sense of, I just, I feel, this feeling was jealousy.

And when I would hear people talk about their moms, I would feel like, you don't know what you're saying about it.

You know, oh yeah, we have a tough relationship, I'm like, how could you have a tough relationship with your mom?

And I would get frustrated.

There's been discipling times, maybe more than any other thing.

When I hear somebody talk about it, sometimes I try to be patient and calm.

But especially with people who I know close, I have a relationship with, when they would mention that their relationship with their mom is tough, I'm like, you got to figure out a way to not make it tough.

I don't care what you got to do, but just figure out a way.

And especially if I knew a little bit of that relationship.

You know, I really got to experience though, none of these women were my mother on earth.

But I did get to experience a lot of the motherly love from so many of them.

And I feel like I'm eternally grateful for that.

Truly, they played a massive role in my spiritual growth in ways that I can't even really put a finger on.

I just know that it occurred.

And so for all of the women in the audience, you don't have to have children, you don't even have to have your children here or have children at all to play a massive role in the church.

Trust that.

You know, when the disciples, the Bible talks about the disciples deserting Jesus, so they deserted him and they fled.

But who didn't, were three women, two of them were mothers.

And when he raises from the dead, those three women are the ones that are the first to report that Jesus rose from the dead.

And so you play an important role and you are not expendable.

We, mothers, we just could not do this without you.

Thank you so very much.

We were looking in the Bible today and we're going to, I really want to question us and give us a chance to think about how we can get prepared and then stay prepared for God to work in your life.

You know, on one level, God is going to do whatever he wants to do.

And we realize that God's just, God's just going to move.

And there's, there's times in your life when God's moving, you're like, I have no idea why that happened.

And, and, but it just did.

However, it's, it's pretty powerful that in his humility, he's decided to, to partner with us though.

And he calls it a partnership.

And that's, that's something that we don't deserve.

We can never earn.

And yet he just says, you guys are my partners in, in the faith.

And so in order for us then to continue to be his partners or to be the best partners as possible, we have to, we have to ask ourselves some questions and then follow what Jesus says.

We're going to ask ourselves these questions this morning.

I think there's some great lessons for us.

I hope that we leave more aware and better prepared at where we need to grow in order to best be used by God.

There are three sections that we're going to look at.

And again, these are questions for, for us to, for you to assess.

We're in Mark 8.

The title of the lesson today is partner with God.

The first point is this initial question.

How many loaves do you have?

This is, this is a Jesus talking.

We're going to pick up in verse one of Mark 8 says, during those days, another large crowd gathered.

Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people.

They have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

If I send them home hungry, they'll collapse on the way because some of them have come a long distance.

His disciples answered, but where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?

How many loaves do you have?

Seven, they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.

When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.

And they did so.

They had a few, a few small fish as well.

He gave thanks for the four.

He gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.

The people ate and were satisfied afterward.

The disciples picked up seven baskets full of broken pieces that were left over.

About 4,000 were present.

After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of, good luck pronouncing that word.

Jesus, we get an example of Jesus feeding, right now we learned 4,000.

This is after he's already, he's already fed 5,000.

So he feeds 5,000 people and then he feeds 4,000.

And if you are astute at the Bible, you might be thinking, why would he do this?

Well, what's the, what's the point of feeding 5,000 and then feeding 4,000?

And he's, she already showed mastery over it.

And even the question you might ask is how come the disciples didn't realize that he showed, he already showed mastery over food.

He didn't have to, he didn't have to do that.

He just decided to feed them.

So when there's 4,000, it makes sense.

It's less, it makes sense.

He'd be able to feed them.

They didn't really understand it.

Question though is, is how many loaves do you have is what he asks them.

And I think it's a, it's, it's really powerful.

You realize Jesus didn't need something to create more of it, right?

He didn't say, uh, with, with the water into wine, he didn't say put a little bit of wine in there and I'm going to make it overflow.

What did he say?

He just said, just put water in it and I'm going to work out the rest.

Uh, it's an interesting, we're there, there's a lesson at some point we're going to go into, uh, his relationship with his mom.

And, and, uh, there's a question he asks his mom in that, in that as well.

Anyways, uh, he just, he just, there's some, he says, fill it with water and he makes it into the best wine, uh, that, that you could ever, that you could ever drink.

He doesn't need something to create more.

And yet he asks, how many loaves do you have?

And the response is, well, we've got seven.

Uh, and then there's some fish here too.

And, uh, and, and I think it's, it's pretty powerful.

It's a, it's a great, uh, it's a great connection to our lives and that he doesn't really need, he doesn't really need us.

And yet he chooses to partner with us, doesn't he?

Uh, because you, you, you see who distributes the food, the disciples and who picks up the food afterwards.

And so if I'm sitting in the crowd, I, I hear a little bit of Jesus and I'm just thinking, man, the disciples helped me out so much.

Same thing that you and I experienced when we share our faith with somebody or share something powerful with somebody.

And they say, I could have never been here without Frank.

And you're like, Frank's like, I'm just a guy, you know, Jesus is the one, but, but he's actually, he can glorify Jesus by, by lifting you up.

As long as you're, you're like, I, I'm not really anybody.

I, Jesus is the one that worked all of it out.

You know, it's, uh, well, that'll come up in a sec.

I think that's in the wrong spot actually, but it'll, it'll still come up.

Uh, we'll, we'll have to go back to it.

Uh, so it's a powerful, uh, it's a, it's a powerful illustration for our, our lives though, you know, that, that Jesus will ask for a little bit and then create something, something great with it.

Uh, this, this reminds me when I was, when I was younger, uh, my dad, uh, I don't, I don't know what he, I don't know where he got it in, but he decided there was this, there was this squirt gun.

Uh, well here, now we're, we're on it.

Okay.

There was this squirt gun.

It was a super soaker 2000.

Um, I, you know, it's an impressive squirt gun when I still remember the name of it.

I, I promised you guys, I didn't look up.

What are the pools?

What are cool squirt guns?

I knew it was a super soaker 2000 and I'm like, I don't know how I, in, in, you know, back in the Rolodex in my mind, how I knew that, but I just knew it.

Uh, it, it's right now, if you look up, um, you can read, there's like, there's like Reddit, uh, you know, Reddit forums that talk about how this was the best, uh, this was the best squirt gun of all time.

Like there's no, and so did you have one Spencer or not?

Yes, you did.

Really?

Yeah.

Right.

It's pretty well known.

I bet you in this, in that household there, there was more than a few of those at some point.

Um, but, but I, I'm like, man, I want to raise some money for a squirt gun.

I don't even know how much it costs, probably about $50 give or take at the time.

Uh, and my dad said, if you raise half the money, I will, I'll get you the other, I'll figure out the other half.

Well, I'll, I'll match you basically.

Um, could I have bought the squirt gun myself?

Maybe, like maybe I had to save up double the amount of time.

One, it's interesting.

I don't know how I got money outside of allowance or, you know, he's, he's giving me money anyways at any, but you know, I was seven or eight years old and I just, I, so I saved up the money and I, I, I got to $25 and he matched the other 25.

And, uh, and what, what does my dad asked me in that moment?

He just says, Hey, you gotta have a little bit of skin in the game.

Uh, there, there has to be a little bit.

Uh, certainly he could have just bought the squirt gun for me.

I just love him.

I'm just going to buy it for him.

He didn't love me less because he bought it.

He actually, in some ways, love me more.

It was teaching me more of a lesson that I'm, I'm going to take care of this a little bit more.

You know, if God were to just, just keep upon blessing after blessing, after blessing and say, just go, go for it, go for it.

You know what we do?

We probably take him for granted.

If my dad only bought me a squirt gun, I could break this one and ask for another one.

He just give it to me.

But no, God chooses to partner with us.

What an amazing father that we serve.

Jesus partnered with his disciples to meet the needs of the people.

But then today though, Jesus partners with his disciples to meet the needs of the people.

Doesn't he?

And so what does that mean?

Or what does that look like?

Jesus wants to partner with you in the way that you spend your time.

And you can, you can go down to this.

There's another point that we're going to, we're going to be able to look at, but you can, you can go down and consider with your time, what are ways that you can partner with Jesus in order to spread his message, in order to grow closer to him?

You know, with your words, you're able to partner with Jesus and you can say things that impact people for, for eternity.

Not because there is an amazing speech that you say, but because it's, it's Jesus's words.

With your money, you have the ability to, to partner with Jesus.

And then with your heart energy, what is heart energy?

What does it, what does it mean?

I think it's just this, this emotional gunk that you can get into as you're giving to people and loving people and serving people.

They don't give it back with your heart energy.

You're able to partner with Jesus.

What a, what a humble, what a humble God that we serve again, that, that he decides I'm going to partner with these people who don't deserve it.

This real, real quick.

So this was, this is where we're back at the same map.

I was like, man, I know, I know.

Anyways, anyways, one of the reasons why from 5,000 that will, it'll be in the next point a little bit.

So this is in the black.

If you see it, that's where Jesus fed 5,000.

That's a region that's mostly Jewish.

This right around, this is the sea of Galilee right around there on the other side would have been a like a, a Gentile group of people who don't, didn't grow up in the Jewish faith.

And that's where he fed 4,000.

And so you're like, man, Jesus is opening up people's eyes wherever he goes.

Let's keep, let's keep going.

Let's go to, uh, we are still in reverse in verse 11.

Now, here we are.

So the Pharisees came and began to question Jesus to test him.

They asked him for a sign from heaven.

He sighed deeply and said, why does this generation ask for a sign?

Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.

Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

You know, the Pharisees had heard of Jesus doing miracles.

And so it begs the question, why would they ask for a sign?

If their, their eyes are open, they should be able to, to see a sign.

This in order to be, to be well prepared or in order to get prepared for, uh, for what we have going on or for it to be able to be used by God in the best possible way.

You just, what this is saying is you just can't be super consumed with religion.

Um, and what do I mean when I say that these Pharisees, they're asking for a sign.

This isn't the first time they asked at least three times and probably, probably much more than that, but we have recorded about three interactions that, that he has and they ask for a sign.

Um, there's another one and it's in Matthew 12.

You can turn to it if you want.

Uh, but we'll, we'll look at it up here because the question is, well, what do you mean?

What are they asking for specifically?

He fed 5,000 and he fed 4,000.

He healed a bunch of people.

What sign are they asking?

And they're really, they're, they're pointing to, I want to see a very specific sign from heaven and a proof that you are who you say you are.

And, uh, and, and what he's saying is it's going to come in a different fashion than you're expecting it.

Uh, this is in Matthew 12, uh, in verse 38, uh, then some Pharisees and teachers said to him, teacher, we want to see a sign from you.

Okay.

So this is thematic here.

He answered a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish.

So the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at judgment, stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it where they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

And now something greater than Jonah is here.

The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.

For she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom.

And now something greater than Solomon is here.

So this, if you'll recall, we just looked at an example of a group of people who didn't grow up in the Jewish faith, deciding to, to hear Jesus' teaching as he's feeding them.

And they decided to follow him.

It, Jesus is pointing to this, this happened, uh, in Matthew 12, it happened before this, but he's, he's pointing to hate Jonah.

When, when Jonah preached to people who didn't grow up in the faith and they repented, that's a sign in and of itself that God is powerful and God is working.

God is for us.

So Jesus says, Hey, if you want to see a sign, then look at, look at your life.

Look at the lives of the people.

This is impacting.

That's your sign enough.

This is, it's the proof is in the pudding.

If you will.

Jesus saying, don't be so consumed with your religion and the way that you think he's going to work that you, that you miss all of the greatness that he's doing in the lives of the people around you.

You know, as you think about the, in these Pharisees, they have, they had every opportunity and they just, they just missed it time and time again.

We don't want to be like those guys.

You know, I was, I was thinking that, you know, religion or maybe some of even what the Pharisees were doing, it might be, it might be similar to mandating a family dinner.

Every, every evening at let's say 6 PM.

I don't know.

Maybe you eat a little bit later than that.

Maybe a little bit earlier, but saying every day, six days of the week, whatever you figure, we're having a family dinner guys.

You gotta be, you gotta be there.

You gotta be ready.

I know some people that I grew up with who, who just, it was, it was mandatory.

I gotta, I gotta be a family dinner.

I gotta just go there.

Everybody knows it's built into the culture that you've got your family.

They have to be there on time.

6 PM, we're going to eat food together.

And, and you know, the expectation, we're going to talk about our days.

We are going to create connections.

This is, this is a great idea, but you can mandate a family dinner and still not be close to one another.

Right?

Because you see Johnny's on his phone and he's not paying much attention.

Cindy doesn't want to be there at all.

No one's really eating their food.

They've already eaten beforehand.

Nothing consequential is, nothing consequential is ever communicated.

And so, although you're, you're, you're in this practice of sitting together, although you can actually point to that, I'm, I'm sitting, I'm sitting here.

I'm, we're, we're together.

We're doing it.

We're, we're doing it the right way.

This is, this is going to help build a culture.

It's, it's fake.

It doesn't have the result that you want it to have because, because the hearts are not in it.

This is, as I was thinking about, this is one of the things that moms are actually really good at.

They're, they're really good at identifying that it's not just the action.

It's the, it's the heart behind it.

Maybe I'm sure it's women in general, but I know I can speak specifically to moms.

You can do a lot of, you can do a lot of things for your mom, but if your heart's not in it, it's like, yeah, thanks son.

You know, but if you, you give to your mom in a, in a special way, even if it's just nonchalance, I guess you're the most amazing in the world.

Moms also know that it's not about routine.

It's about the connection.

Same thing is true in, in religion.

I'm not condemning going to church.

Don't hear me say that.

I'm not condemning, uh, reading the Bible.

Don't hear me say that.

I know you guys, you guys know that I'm not saying that, but, but it's about more than that though.

It's about more than just showing up.

It's about more than just getting in your word a little bit.

It's, it's about this, this connection to God.

Are you still trying?

Are you still looking for God to work in your life?

If you're so concerned with, with the old, you know, there's a, the idea of the old way, there's back then, or we did this back then.

Or if you're so concerned, uh, with that, then you're just going to miss how Jesus is working in your life right now and how he wants to work in your life in the future.

So then we, we get to this series of questions that I think are, are, are very challenging.

Um, we're going to pick up now we're back in, in Mark eight and we're going to be in verse 14, man.

I'm sorry about that guy.

It's going to be tough for you guys to see.

Yeah.

Just focus on that stuff.

It says the disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.

Jesus just feeds 4,000 people.

They already saw him feed 5,000.

They literally picked up more food than he already, than, than he, than they had at the beginning.

They know he's, he's king.

Okay.

But they just, they forget to bring a bread.

Jesus says, be careful.

Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.

They discussed this with one another and said, it's because we have no bread.

You love the disciples, don't you?

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them, why are you talking about having no bread?

Do you still not see or understand?

Are your hearts hearted?

Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear?

And don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?

12, they replied.

And when I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many basketfuls, how many basketfuls of pieces?

That's right.

Wow.

Did you pick up?

They answered seven.

He said to them, do you still not understand?

You can feel the frustrations, the, the wrong word, but it must've been a long day for Jesus.

Right before that, or a little bit before that, you see that he sighs deeply is what, is what, is what Matthew records.

And you, you know, you don't, you can sigh, but sighing deeply, like it means something, right?

And then he's asking them, don't, don't you understand what's happening right now?

Don't you, don't you get it?

On the topic of partnering with Jesus, isn't that actually incredible that he still decides to partner at any point?

He's like, Hey, I'm done with this.

And these people, they're not going to get it.

And I'm, and I'm gone.

He could have done that.

And actually he would have been justified in doing so, but he kept bearing with them.

And, and later on here in just, just a little bit, he, Peter declares, you're the Messiah.

You are that guy.

Jesus asks them, uh, some, some questions.

Do you still not see or understand?

And then he says, are your hearts hardened?

Do you have eyes that fail to see?

Do you have ears that fail to hear?

And don't you remember these are, these are all great questions.

For you to ask yourself and your, in your day-to-day, uh, times with God, um, you, you, you see that he's asking, are your hearts hardened?

You know what, what he's saying is, you know, what's happened in the past.

And you know, what happens when people follow what I say?

Why are you wondering if you should follow what I say?

Why are you worried at all?

You, you've seen what happens.

I take care of my people.

So why are you worried?

And he, and he's drawing them back.

This question.

Don't you remember?

I, I want to, I want to take a moment because the devil is going to do everything he can, uh, to convince you that, that, that your, uh, your ability to be used by God is, is, is gone.

If the devil can do anything and he, if he just convinces you that you're, you're not able to be a partner with God anymore, then he's going to win.

You can show up to church.

And if he convinces you, you can't really be a partner with God.

It's just, you're, you're going to keep trying to impress him.

And he's, he's not going to be impressed by you.

Then he's actually the devil's one.

Uh, so, so let's, let's, let's go ahead and stop him out right now.

So think about right now, just consider, uh, just trust what I'm saying.

And then I'm going to prove to you that it's true, but I'm going to, I'm telling you that God has used you in some powerful ways in the course of your life.

Okay.

So think about a conversation you had that positively impacted someone's life.

Just think about it.

One conversation that doesn't have to be five.

There's probably about five or there's probably 10, or there's probably more than that.

If you take some time, just think about a conversation with your words, how you impacted somebody's life positively.

Think about a time when you shared out of your, out of your wealth, it could have been, it could be money.

It could have been a sandwich, it fill in the blank, but you shared something that, that costs you financially.

Think about a time that you shared that helped someone.

And I'm not talking about giving contribution.

I'm talking about when you physically handed it to somebody or did it behind the scenes that nobody saw, but, but you knew that it cost you something to give to that person specifically.

Think about that.

Then think about a time that you did something without anybody asking you to do it.

But out of the goodness of your heart and God working in your life, you decided I'm going to serve this person.

I'm going to meet any, just consider one time that you did that.

You're not able to convince me that God is not using you even right now.

God is, God is using you and all of those instances.

And if you would take a moment to consider it, the list goes on and on and on.

The devil wins if he convinces you that you can't, that you can't partner with God.

But if you decide, no, I can.

And I remember the times that I did, then God's going to be able to use you for the future.

Amen.

God is, God has given so much to us and a lot and given us so many blessings and he still decides to use us though.

There's a, there's this, uh, this quote.

I don't even know.

I, I'm not even sure where it came from and I didn't look it up.

It's be ready.

So you don't have to get ready.

Okay.

Uh, and I think I, I've heard it in basketball a lot of times.

I think it probably fits with parenting as I'm thinking about it.

Uh, but it's the idea that if you, if you're, if you're just ready, then you don't have to worry about getting ready.

If you got to worry about getting ready, then you're going to be in trouble.

You, you moms, you understand this dad, you understand this too.

Uh, do you want to go with me to the store to run an errand?

Yes, I do.

Okay.

Be ready next time.

So you don't have to get ready, but the getting ready part takes, you know, getting shoes on, putting a jacket on, you know, drinking some water, using the bathroom.

If you're all ready for that stuff, when I say let's go, you just run and go.

Uh, husbands maybe know that with their wives too.

Um, I, I'm not saying more than that.

Yeah.

How are you going to be a great partner with God?

How is, how is, how is somebody's life going to be changed by, by just us?

Wow.

It's, it's a, not just us, rather by, by us acting on God's behalf, it's a difficult process, but what I would say is we can follow this.

You got to give God something to bless.

There has to be some skin in the game.

Uh, how many loaves do you have?

Jesus could have said, everyone's full, snapped his fingers.

Everyone would have been full.

He didn't even have to physically consume food.

And yet he said, how many loaves pick it up, hand it out.

And then he's drawing them back.

Think about how, how the hell it worked.

Don't consume.

Don't consume yourself with empty religion.

Don't just show up to church.

Don't just read your Bible.

Don't just talk to people.

Don't just get open about your sin.

Don't just do those things.

Decide to connect with Jesus.

Then you have to look through the eyes of spirituality.

And Jesus is saying, Hey, if I took care of those people in that moment, then I'm definitely going to take care of you.

And you can look back at all the times in which he did it and understand he's going to do it again.

Amen.

You know, as we, uh, as, as we transition and, and take communion, uh, just consider, consider these questions, make a decision, uh, whatever you've got to do to get, to be ready.

So you don't have to get ready when the opportunity presents itself.

Um, let's, uh, let's, let's pray right now.

Dear God, Lord, um, Jesus, we come before you.

I I'm just struck by your patience, Lord, in just this, this, this text, uh, you, you sigh deeply and you continue to give, and you are so patient.

You ask questions, uh, you, you just, it seems like you just walk people through that, that you've seen amazing things happen.

You've heard amazing things, amazing things said, uh, how do you still, you know, do you, don't you understand?

Don't you understand Jesus?

I realized that, that for, for us, that was, that was our lives, Lord, we'd heard about you.

We had seen you even work in our lives and, and, uh, all of us at one point or another, maybe we're, we're in that spot right now, have not fully bought in or sold out that we are, we are going to embrace, uh, your death and your resurrection as being that all the evidence we need to then live a new life and then to turn away from, from our sin.

Uh, we, we realize there's no, there's no hope outside of the cross.

There's no, there's no great things we can do.

All of this stuff is so futile.

If not for you dying on the cross, we can talk about all this, that we can do good things and we can say good things and God, you great.

But if you didn't die for our sins, then this is pointless, Lord.

And so we are just so grateful that you went on the cross, that you decided that we were worth it and that you did it for the joy set before you.

Lord, we love you.

This is in Jesus's name that we pray.

Thank you so much for listening to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast.

If you're in the Kalamazoo area, we'd love to get connected.

Please go to kalamazoo.church and fill in your information to come to a Sunday service or any other event that we have going on.

In any case, you'll be hearing from us next week.