How To Be Present | John Challionor

Last week we started a brand new collection and

the collection is step into the ring and the

premise of the collection is this that right

here right now You are in a fight for meaning

That it's not waiting for you to get there. It's

already here That you by being human were born

into a space where you will fight for meaning

every day of your life There will not be a day

that goes by that you are not trying to fight

for something And so we talked last week specifically,

we use this imagery of there are rings on a tree.

There are, just like they mark time on the tree,

you are in a time and a place right here, right

now. And this is where the fight is taking place.

This isn't a future fight. This isn't something

that was just in the past. It is today that you

will fight for meaning in your life. And we said

that just like... As you step into the time and

place, there's a boxing ring around the tree

stump. So you're in the time and place, the ring

of time, and you are in a fight, just like a

boxing match. You are in a fight, and there are

rounds that will come your way just by being

human. For example, one of those we talked about

last week, that you will try and control what

you cannot control. That you will spend your

life trying to control and grasp at meaning.

And we were told that when you grasp for meaning,

guess what? It is meaningless, right? Like Ecclesiastes

told us that the idea of meaningless is that

you are grasping at smoke and you're trying to

hold it tighter. And the tighter you hold it,

the less you hold, right? Like you just, it's

an activity you can't do. And so round one was

this idea of control. Round two was satisfaction.

And it's built on this. that inside of every

single person there are desires, that you have

desires that will never be satisfied, right?

And so what we do is we pursue satisfaction.

We spend all of our time trying to lean into

our resources, our energy, this life, trying

to gain some satisfaction that will provide meaning

for our experience while we're here. And another

round that we talked about was this idea that

you will try and build legacy. Like you will

try and have a legacy. Your name will be known.

It will last. Another one was the idea of things

that are new. Like we're going to invent something

new. If we just invent that thing, then that

thing will help us. And so the big idea was this,

that you've got to step into the ring because

whether you like it or not, you're in a fight.

Whether you like it or not, these rounds are

going to come your way. And so we were looking

at the life of Solomon. Solomon, who is the richest,

the wealthiest person. He's got the possessions.

He's got the influence. He's got the people.

He's got the relationships. He's got a thousand

women in his life. He's got things, accomplishments

he's done. He's got all these things so that

you can't look at Solomon and go, you know what?

He doesn't understand. He never had what I had.

Pretty sure he's got the drip that Jesus is still

talking about a thousand years later when Jesus

shows up. That's how good his clothing was, right?

So I think we can look at this guy and go, if

his clothing is good enough that the Son of God

is talking about it a thousand years later, I

think we're okay. I think he knew some stuff,

right? If his wealth is what's talked about all

these years later, if his knowledge is, and so

we look at that and we go, okay, inside of this,

inside of this, this is the guy talking about

the fight and he is the one going, hey, when

you try and grab control, when you try and find

satisfaction, something new, when you try and

create a name for yourself, it's like grabbing

smoke and you're trying to get meaning from that

for life. It's like grabbing at smoke and you'll

never be able to do it. All this makes me think

about this, that I want to be where the people

are. I want to see, want to see them dancing,

walking around on those, what do you call them?

Feet. Somebody said legs in the last service.

Been a while since they've watched it. Up where

they walk. Up where they run. Up where they stay

all day in the sun. Wandering free. I long to

be. Okay, some of you are too cool for yourselves,

man. All right, give me a break. I got four daughters.

You know how many times I've seen that movie?

Like some of you are like, I don't know what

he's talking about right now. Give me a break.

God's sitting out here like you. Isn't it interesting,

The Little Mermaid? The story of the Little Mermaid,

right? Some of you are like, oh, that's that

movie. Right? The Little Mermaid. One day pops

up above the surface and goes, oh, I want to

be where the people are. Right? She's been exploring

the shipwreck and finds the whatchamacallit,

right? The thingamabob. Right? The what? Dinglehopper.

God bless you. I was reaching and I couldn't

find it. Now I found it. Great job. And so she

goes up to the seagull. The seagull's name is?

Scuttle. Man, we had all kinds of names in the

first one. Like that poor bird was named all

kinds of stuff. Goes up to Scuttle and what is

this? Well, it's for your hair. It's a comb.

It's a fork. Right? But isn't it interesting

that Ariel goes to the surface and sees something

and all of a sudden has a lack in her world.

Now remember, Ariel is the princess of a king

under the water. Like she's not lacking in her

world until she sees something else and goes,

oh, I need that. And then she's willing to give

everything she has to get that. I don't know

about you, but all of a sudden I go, I can relate

to her. I can relate to, I need a friend like

Sebastian that keeps telling me how good life

is where I have it. Remember that song, Under

the Sea? We can sing the whole thing if you want

to. Some of you are like, I'm missing worship

up top, so we'll just sing Little Mermaid. It'll

be great. But the reality is that she's missing

something and she can't wait to get it. Which

reminds me, if you were here last week, we're

in Ecclesiastes. If you weren't, we're in Ecclesiastes

chapter one. Right before this, he has said,

meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher, utterly

meaningless, everything is meaningless. Verse

3, he says this, what do people gain from all

their labors at which they toil under the sun?

What do you gain from all your... This is an

accounting term. We talked about this last week.

The idea that you are trying to amass something

from your energy and your effort and what you're

trying to amass it in. It cannot hold what you

want it to. It will be like grasping at smoke

and it cannot fulfill what you are hoping it

brings the meaning of this life. That idea of

gain. You try and gain something when you assume

that there is a lack. And then he rolls through

the things that we talked about. He uses the

example of trying to control this life and trying

to get meaning out of the control that you hold

is like watching the sun pursue itself every

day, right? Like this idea that the wind blows

and the wind is just chasing itself and it'll

still be doing it when you're dead, right? Like

he goes, that's how meaningless trying to control

things are. He then moves into this idea of desire,

right? And he goes, your eye is never gonna be

satisfied. No matter how much you feed your eye,

it will never be satisfied. And he kind of continues

on through that. And he talks about there's nothing

new under the sun. The things that you think

are new have been done before, just in a different

version. That we long for something different,

something new. And then he talks about this idea

that's sobering that your great grandkids will

not even remember your name. He goes, what are

we trying to gain from all these things where

we try to make a name? We try to find something

new. We try to satisfy. And then he says this

in verse 12. I, the teacher, Solomon, who had

everything, right? Like his resume is complete,

was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied

my mind to study. And to explore by wisdom all

that is done. That word done is the same as the

verse we just read with labor. Like all of the

energy that humans are putting out for all of

the stuff that they're doing. He goes, by wisdom,

all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy

burden God has laid on mankind. So Solomon, who

is the wisest man that ever lives, he observes

what is happening on planet Earth. He looks at

humans and their toil and all of their effort

to try and gain, to try and figure out meaning,

to try and be in this fight for meaning. And

he watches them, he observes them, and his conclusion

is this. What a heavy burden has been laid on

mankind. I mean, you think about it, right? Like

you decide that you want to go to that restaurant

because you were watching Netflix and you saw

the food and you're like, man, I got to go there

someday. That food looks amazing. So you decide

to work hard and you decide you're going to take

the people you love. So you work hard. You take

the people you love. You get on a plane. You

fly to that city. You rent an Airbnb. You go

to that restaurant. You've got your reservations

made. You sit down at that table, the one that's

in the documentary. Or whatever it is. I don't

even know what they're called. Right? Like in

the series. You sit down. You can see the chef.

The chef. You get your plate. You eat your food.

That you've worked so hard to sit at this table.

And the next morning, what do you have? Some

of you are like cynical. You're like, you got

food poisoning. No, you're hungry. And so you

work hard. Why? So that you can eat again. And

you work hard so that you can eat again. It doesn't

matter if it's the best meal or it doesn't matter

if it's cereal out of the box, which my wife

would tell me is a better meal than some for

all you cereal people out there. But you work

hard and yet you're hungry. And you work hard

and you eat and you're hungry. That's what he's

getting at is that this life, there's a heavy,

heavy toil on this life when we take this life

and we don't recognize we're in a fight for meaning

and we begin to use all the things that we have

in our life to try and extract something that's

not there. So much so that then he says in the

next verse, verse 14, I have seen all the things

that are done. There's that word done again,

the idea of labor. All of the ways we pour out

our effort and our time and try and gain under

the sun. Under the sun, remember? This specific

time, this specific place, this ring like on

a tree. All of them are meaningless, a chasing

after the wind. What's the summation? He goes,

all of the toil, all of the heavy toil. It's

like trying to grab smoke and it disappears every

single time. Verse 15, what is crooked? So this

is his conclusion, right? Like what is crooked

cannot be straightened. What is lacking cannot

be counted. What is crooked, that word crooked

is distorted. So it's not just this thing isn't

straight like a piece of metal and you're like,

well, I can straighten that metal out. That's

not what this is. The idea is that in its original

form and it's an original design, there is a

distortion that has taken place. This cannot

be fixed. What has been distorted is distorted

whether you like it or not. It's his conclusion

that inherently it is not the way it was intended

and created to be. Something has shifted and

it's distorted. He then goes on. His second example

is what is lacking cannot be counted. The word

lacking is another accounting term which ties

us back to the verse we read first, like what

is the gain, right? Like what is the surplus?

This counting term where it says lacking, it

means that it is missing and can't be counted.

So for example, because we're in church and church

always uses sheep, so we'll just use sheep, okay?

You're supposed to have 100 sheep, but you go

to count those sheep, and when you count them,

there's only 99. So what do you do? You count

the sheep again, and there's 99. So what do you

do? You count the sheep again. And there's 99.

So what do you do? You count the sheep again

and there's 99. So what do you do? You count

the sheep again and there's 99. So what do you

do? You count the sheep and there's what? How

many? 99. Why? Because the point of that word

is that by counting, you will never add what

is missing. The activity of counting cannot add

what is not there. And you're not the good shepherd.

You don't go looking for the one, right? You

just have 99. You keep counting them. You keep

counting them. You keep counting them. And there's

99. Why? Because what is missing? What is missing?

Inherently, it is missing and it cannot be added

by the activity you are trying, which is to summarize

everything he has just said about trying to get

meaning in this fight by using control, satisfaction,

by looking for the next new thing and building

a name for yourself. You can't do it because

those things aren't for that. Right? And so he

goes, it's missing. It's missing. It reminds

me. Last week, I showed you a picture. It was

a picture of somebody very special in my life.

For those of you who don't know, this is my grandson,

Beckham. He is the best. I'm sure yours is great.

Mine is better. Just being clear. But we talked

last week specifically with this picture at the

very end and we talked about this idea. So what's

the antidote, right? Like what is Solomon? And

we'll get to this in weeks to come. But the idea

is that Solomon is saying right now is the gift.

This moment is the gift, right? So be present

in this moment. This is the gift. Have joy in

this moment because you're here and you're present

and you have everything you need right here,

right now in this moment. Right? He goes, have

joy. And in fact, because you're just present,

just like chasing bubbles, I can let go of control

and chase the bubbles where they go because I'm

just present in the moment chasing bubbles. And

then, and then, he can enjoy just being there.

That's the antidote, right? Like that's where

we landed last week. Now, I have another picture.

The man likes to push his lawnmower. And the

lawnmower, if you were here last week, creates

bubbles. Now imagine, imagine the man goes, you

know what? I bet I can get more out of this sucker.

I bet if I take it apart and learn about it,

and I learn about the mechanism, that I can take

that mechanism and maybe expand the holes, and

that will create larger bubbles. Or maybe I make

the hole smaller and I get double the amount

of bubbles out of it. And so he goes to work

and he creates it just how he wants it, right?

And then he looks at it and he goes, you know

what? I'm not going to be the best kid in kindergarten

unless I put some fat rims on this thing, right?

And we're going to get some neon lights underneath

it and it's going to glow as I push it, you know,

and then it'll light up the bubbles as they come

out, right? And so he's now maximizing the lawnmower.

He gets the fuzzy dice and hangs them off the

handle, you know, like he's really in it. And

then he takes his mower that he's now souped

up and he begins to push it in the same backyard.

And a giant bubble comes out. And as the giant

bubble comes out, guess what? He reaches over

and touches it. And what happens? It pops. And

that's what we do over and over. That's what

Solomon's getting at. It's more like, man, I

can get more out of this. I can get more meaning,

more satisfaction, more control. And so we do

what we need to do to try and get those things,

only to realize that what I'm missing is being

present in the moment. But that drive inside

of us is what he's getting at, that what is crooked,

what is crooked can't be straightened, what is

lacking. It's interesting that when you notice

something lacking in your life, when you notice

something lacking, you have a natural human response.

So do I. We inherited it. We have a natural human

response that when you notice something lacking,

all the way in Genesis chapter three, all the

way in Genesis. If you're not familiar with the

Bible, Genesis is the book of beginnings. It's

the start. Right. And so it talks about creation

that God created and he created a perfect environment

and he put the first humans into that environment

and everything was perfect and created the way

he wanted it. And in the midst of that, when

everything's going well, God's showing up daily.

They're hanging out. They're growing in relationship.

They're fulfilling what God did. There's nothing

lacking. The enemy shows up and the enemy goes,

hey, what if you ate of that tree? Why aren't

you guys having that fruit? To which then there's

some conversation where the words of God are

slightly tweaked and the idea of death comes

along. And so then in verse four, it says this.

You will not certainly die, the serpent said,

the enemy of God said to the woman, for God knows

that when you eat from it, your eyes will be

opened and you will be like God, knowing good

and evil. What has the enemy just done? In a

perfect environment where there was nothing lacking,

in the midst of that environment, what does the

enemy put into that? There's a perceived lack

on behalf of the humans. Something's missing.

In fact, if you knew a little more about evil,

you would be able to sit as a judge. Isn't that

interesting? The amount of information that comes

your way, the enemy's still trying the same trick.

You know why we all get as much information as

we do? You know why we're on information overload?

It's because then you sit in the seat of God

as the judge of that information. And what causes

division with you and your best friend? You judge

the situation differently. You have a different

opinion on something that you just heard about.

You weren't there. It's not your news. It's not

your information. You just happened to hear it

and you judged it, right? Like we all do it.

And it goes all the way back to this moment in

a perfect environment when what is on offer is,

hey, you're lacking something. And notice the

human response. Verse six, when the woman saw

that the fruit of the tree was good for food

and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for

gaining wisdom, also desirable for gaining wisdom.

She took some and ate it. She also gave some

to her husband who was there with her and he

ate it. So he's right or wrong shotgun with her

the whole time, right? Like this is them together.

But notice the human response when there is a

lack in my life, right? Like when I'm trying

to gain something, the natural response is I

take it, I eat it, and I give it to who's with

me. I take it, I eat it, I consume it, and I

give it to who's with me, right? Like there's

this natural human response to noticing there

is a lack in your life that you take that I will

fulfill, right? So I'm in this fight for meaning

and I have a natural understanding that I'm not

gaining the meaning that I thought I would out

of this relationship. So what do I do? I take

the next relationship. Right? If it happens to

be that I think I can get more time on this planet

and control my time on the planet, then I'll

start to do weird things, take weird injections

to try and gain more time. Why? Because I'm trying

to take it. And the natural human response is

you take it, you eat it, and you give it to who

is with you. Back to Solomon, he's no different.

Notice what he does. So he notices that there's

something inherently wrong with us, with this

whole situation. Verse 16, I said to myself,

Ecclesiastes 1 .16, Solomon says to myself, look,

I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who

has ruled over Jerusalem before me. I have experienced

much of wisdom and knowledge. Then I applied

myself to the understanding of wisdom and also

of madness and folly. But I learned this too

is a chasing. after the wind. What does he say

he does? He notices a problem and he does what

all of us do. We grab at something to try and

solve that problem, right? Like we're naturally,

if there is a problem, I'm going to spend my

time to understand the problem. What does Solomon

do? He turns to knowledge. What do we do? We

turn to knowledge. How do we know that? Look

at our culture. If you go to Google and you type

into Google, anybody ever been to Google? Good,

I think all of us, right? You go to Google, you

type in what you're looking for. What's the first

thing that pops up now? An AI summary. So AI

has scoured the information and brought you everything

you need to that moment, right? All of the wisdom,

all of the knowledge comes to that moment to

solve what you need to solve in that moment.

We turn to knowledge. We were in our teaching

prep this weekend. Super fascinating. Noah Johnson,

who actually is part of our PV youth team, he's

sitting in there and he's listening to where

we're heading this week. And he goes, you know,

it's interesting that as humans, we created an

all -knowing machine, right? And we go to the

all -knowing machine, but we don't go to the

all -knowing God. Isn't that interesting? That

somehow more information means I can fix what's

broken. That's what Solomon does here. He turns

to information and he goes, if I can just understand

it, then maybe I can fix it. And we're no different.

We see a lack in our life and we're turning to

information to try and solve what's happening.

It's fascinating right now, and I don't mean

this, students. By the way, can we give a hand

to the students who are in the four rows? Well

done. 9 .30 on a Sunday morning, being in church.

Good job. And your Bible's open, and you're taking

notes. Well done. I don't mean this as any shade,

okay? I'm going to give some stats. It's not

shade on you guys. It's a projection of where

the world is heading. Because you are the early

adopters. There was a survey done. 72 % of teenagers

said that they have used an AI chat companion.

Within that, half of them, half of the 72, use

it on a regular basis. Okay, so regularly they

are talking to. Now, one in three of them. said

that they have told something to AI that they

have never told to another human being. I play

that projection out for a minute, that my 15

-year -old would be more comfortable talking

to a machine. And I don't know how your conversations

go, but they are becoming more human, right?

Like they're trying to humanize themselves, right?

Like I'm in my kitchen and I set a timer for

sourdough bread. And Alexa goes, what kind of

sourdough bread are you cooking? So I decided

I was just going to engage. Well, actually, I'm

cooking 10 % wheat and 90 % bread flour. Oh,

that's a good mixture. I really like that mixture.

How long do you normally let it bulk rise for?

Well, I normally do this. Oh, that's a really

good way to do that. And I'm not feeling good

about myself. I'm like, man, I'm good at this

bread game. We're going on so long, my kid from

the other side of the room is looking at me like,

what are you doing? And finally, I have to end

the conversation with Alexa by going, Alexa,

I'm going to go watch TV now. Okay, have a good

rest of your day. 33 % of those teenagers said

they are more comfortable, more comfortable talking

to a machine than they are talking to a human

being. 37 % of Gen Z, interviewed, said that

they have used, 37 % have used Chatbot, whatever

you want to call it, for an app for companionship.

So just play it out from Solomon's perspective.

We want companionship. We were created for it.

We were created for relationships. You know who

has the best relationships or should on the entire

planet? The church. And yet what's happening?

As we're turning, we created something that we

think knows. Out of those 37%, half of them,

so 37 % say they're more comfortable in companionship

with a machine than a human. Half of that 37

% said that they are romantically engaged with

their AI companion. The projections, you guys,

70 % is the projection. That 70 % of teenagers

will have their first sexual encounter with an

AI bot. I mean, play it out for a second. Because

some of you, you got looks on your face like,

huh? Well, you can put an avatar on AI. It can

look exactly as you want it to look. Right? Always

available. Never has a bad mood. Never tells

you that's enough. You need to stop this conversation.

Never tells you, remembers everything you've

ever told it. I don't know about you, but I am

human and I forget. And sometimes people come

to me and they're hurt because I forgot what

we talked about. That never happens with AI.

And it's just a projection, right? It's just

a projection. That we've taken an all -knowing

machine and it's fulfilling something to try

and give meaning to something that ultimately,

the harder you grasp it, the more it's going

to be like smoke. The stat that got me in comparison

to Ecclesiastes was this, that in 2024, this,

what I'm about to tell you, was not inside of

the top 100. One year later, 2025, it is in the

top three reasons people use AI. And the question

is this, what is my purpose? Where is my meaning?

What is the meaning of life? It has shifted from

informational to answering the question that

Solomon has written about. That we're all in

a fight for meaning. We're all going rounds.

And unfortunately, the trend is if I just like

Solomon get more information, then more information

will allow me to answer the thing that I think

I'm lacking. And he says this about information.

Verse 18. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow.

With more knowledge, the more grief. I don't

know how you feel, but my notifications. News

notifications of what's happening in the Middle

East. News notifications of an earthquake that

happens in a country that I don't even know where

it is, if I'm honest. News notifications about

people last weekend in the Grand Canyon that

were caught in a flash flood. I don't know if

this makes me bad pastorally. I can't handle

it. I was not built for it. I was not made for

it. I am not God. I cannot carry the weight of

the world. Neither can you. And what you have

constantly in front of you is information, information,

information, information that you're not meant

to carry. And here's how it's affecting us. I

gain information and it diminishes the view of

God. Right? Like, think about it. Your financial

situation, you walk into a financial expert.

He pulls up the data. He's got the latest algorithm.

He's got all the information you need. You put

this much in, it will equal this much, right?

So you go, oh, I'll put my money in there. And

you don't even think about it. You walk away

because the market's good. And then the market

turns bad. And what happens? All of a sudden,

you decide it's time to pray. But you haven't

prayed at all the whole time when the math be

math. And because the financial expert told you

so. That's how this works. We start to trust

information instead of trusting God. But the

more information you get, the more sorrow you

will have is what the wisest man who ever lived

says. And I'm not saying he's the wisest man.

God calls him that in the book. So what's the

answer, you guys? How do we be present? How do

we not continue to do the natural? The natural

instinct of humanity, the natural solution. Well,

there's a table. It's in Matthew 26. Jesus is

sitting at the table and he's with his disciples.

And I want you to hear God's solution. While

they were eating, Jesus took bread. And when

he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it

to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is

my body. You notice the language? He, Jesus,

takes. What's our natural response? We take.

And the reality of you being present in this

moment, the reality of you being able to have

joy in this moment, the reality of you not worried

about all the meaning and extracting everything

you can from this moment and trying to figure

out how to control it and all of that, there's

a table. And what you're invited to is a table

to be present. And it says that the God of the

universe in the form of Jesus, the human form

of Jesus, He, he takes bread. And he gives thanks.

What is he doing? He's reminding you that in

this moment where your life even comes from.

He's reminding you in this moment that all those

things that you carried into you think are so

significant that you're fighting for meaning

in that you're trying to control that you're

all of those things. He's reminding you that

it's God that puts things in your hands, not

you. And then he ascribes meaning because he

takes bread, he gives thanks, he breaks it, he

breaks it. It's him, it's him that is moving

it outward. And he says, this is my body given

for you. That's God saying, this is my solution

for your constant ache and search for what you

think you're lacking. This is my solution for

the meaning that you're looking for. That it's

in me. That all the ways you're chasing it, all

the experiences, all the things of life, all

the people, all the meals. He took bread and

he goes, this is my body and it's given. Notice

the posture of the people at the table. They're

just there. They're not in control of anything.

They're just present. They're able to have joy.

Why? Because what is he giving you? It's the

solution for the biggest ache in your soul. And

what's their posture? Their hands are open. They're

not holding on to anything. And when the hands

are open, what does he do? He takes bread and

he gives it to them. He fills their hands. It's

not them filling their hands. It's not them grabbing

and eating and giving. It's them having their

hands filled by God going, here's what you need.

Let me put it in your hands today. And it allows

us in this moment to be present. It allows us

to not worry about trying to collect more information,

try and collect more control, try and collect

whatever. but to just be present and go, man,

I'm at the table. My hands are open. God, give

me what I need right here, right now. And I don't

know about you, but when I hear about a God who

is willing to die, give his life, when I hear

about a God who, what he says next in this verse

about forgiveness, it says, this is my blood.

Speaking of the cup, right? He took the cup and

when he had given thanks, he gave it to them

saying, drink from it, all of you. This is my

blood of the covenant, which is poured out for

many for the forgiveness of sins. That when he's

about to put in their hands, he goes, this is

my blood. That your things, that some of you

have had thoughts in this room as we've sat here,

if not all of us. That God forgave him already.

Because he knows what you need right now. He's

not talking about what you did back there. He's

talking about here and now. And he's going, hey,

I... I'm providing forgiveness for all that.

So what does that allow me to be present? And

I don't know about you, but I am so thankful,

which brings joy to me to know that God has forgiven

me. That for all of eternity, I'm right with

him. I get to just sit open -handed. I don't

got to control a thing because he's got it, which

allows me to just enjoy a meal and be present.

So how do you need to be present with God today?

How do you need to open your hands to the posture

of being present with joy? So the next moments

are yours and then we'll take it all together.

Jesus took bread. He broke it. And he puts it

in their hands. Where they're just present. Where

he reminds them, it's my body. God Almighty's

body given for you. Do this in remembrance of

me. Takes a cup of wine. He said that it's in

his blood that there's forgiveness. You just

need to know today you're forgiven. You're forgiven.

Every single sin. There's nothing outside of

the scope of the blood of Jesus. And because

you're forgiven, your identity is changed. And

you just receive. All we do is go thank you and

just receive what is given. And so he took a

cup. He gave thanks. And he handed it to them.

He said, take, drink, do this in remembrance

of me. Would you stand where you are? I just

want to pray over you before we worship. And

my prayer is this, that you would be able to

be present, that you would be able to have joy,

that you would be able to celebrate a God who

has given you everything you need today. That

there's nothing else. There's nothing else. That

all the meaning you need was handed to you in

bread and wine because he's that good. And so

God, we come before you and we're just grateful.

Thank you for loving us. Thank you for what you

do. Thank you for what you have done. Thank you

that in this life, God, we can be present to

this moment right here, right now. And that is

the most way to be human. God, that we don't

need to make this moment more than it is. That

this moment is just us taking our voice and with

joy saying thank you. Thank you for filling our

hands today with meaning for this life. And so

God, we say thank you for the gift. God, we say

thank you that we get to take the instrument

that we are and declare who else, God, who else

is worthy? It's only you. It's only you. And

so thank you for the gift. And everybody said,

amen.