Grow Through Winter

Good morning. Good morning to those of you on

our online family. Paul, then that's you. Mike

and Sue, we love you a bunch. We're so thankful

for what God is doing there in your home with

a whole bunch of people around you. Hopefully

breakfast was included, but if not, just know

Mike and Sue, we love you a bunch. In Baghdad,

we're so grateful for Randy and all that you're

doing and how you continue to push things forward

there alongside with Andrew and Jennifer. We're

just grateful for our Baghdad family, grateful

for our online family. Wherever you happen to

be, somebody was driving back from California,

be safe. But wherever you are, whatever you're

doing, we're just thankful that we get to do

life together. Life's better when we get to do

it with somebody, right? Okay, a couple of you.

That's cool. That's cool. You know, I get it.

You don't like people. That's what we're going

to take away from that. But no, seriously, it's

good that we get to do stuff together. We get

to laugh together. Maybe we get to cry together.

We get to mourn together. Like our dear Bears

friend over here is, I mean, you come down yet?

You still floating? Packer fans. I noticed you

don't have your jersey on, though. You know what

I'm saying? I noticed. I noticed. It's a painful

one. I get it. I get it. Sunday night was something.

Yeah. For those of you that don't know, I think

I walked back and forth from my kitchen at least

three times with my hands raised. And then in

between that, sitting on my couch going, babe,

I just don't think we're going to do it. It's

not going to turn out. Right? And as the game

progressed and we missed the field goal, I'm

like, Lamar's got way too much time. Some of

you were like, who's Lamar? You'll figure it

out later. But Lamar's got way too much time.

He's going to drive the field. Like, we're going

to lose, babe. I just know it. And wouldn't you

know it, right? A little back story. Did you

see the priest going with the holy water in the

end zone before the game? True story on national

news. That happened to be the end zone where

the field goal was missed. That said, Dirty Bird's

lost because of, you know. So the Steelers live

for another day. The highs and lows, the emotions,

right? Like we ride the waves. We'll see if I'm

here next week. We'll see what happens. And those

of you that are like, why are we talking about

football? We're a family. If you came to my house,

guess what we talk about? Football, right? Like

if I come to your house, we talk about something

else. And so just. Family, we do life together.

We do normal life together. One of the beautiful

parts that, I don't know if you felt this, but

like during worship, that King of Kings song,

which is the last song we sang, it's like the

narrative of scripture, right? So it's the narrative

of scripture in song. And I don't know if like

when the church of Christ was born and the spirit

lit the flame, I don't know if inside of you,

it's like, oh, it just feels so good, right?

Like it feels like the Steelers winning. But

no, the idea of the spirit lighting the flame,

that what we're doing here when we call this

church, it's not the building, it's not the organization,

it's not any of that. It's human beings that

God has rescued and put his spirit inside of

and lit a flame. And so on a cold morning, you

should be alive because the spirit of God has

lit a flame in his church that will not be put

out. And that's you. That's me. That's this thing

we call the family of God. And it's beautiful.

And we get to do this together. And we get to

remind ourselves, right, like of the gifts we've

been given. Last week, if you were here, we started

a new collection called Do Something Different.

You're going to see me do this a lot, what this

represents. There was a planner's box here. And

inside of that planner's box is the things that

God has always wanted for humanity and in Jesus

has restored and redeemed. And what prayer does

is waters those so that those things can grow

and we become the people that God made us and

intended us to be. Right? It's this beautiful

gift of prayer. We talked about last week this

gift that we get to water. And I don't know about

how you feel, but for me, the idea of do something

different is because I don't need more information.

I hit this wall of I don't need more information

on prayer. I just need to do something different

because if I want a prayer life and I have all

this information, obviously information hasn't

equaled a healthy prayer life. And so I got to

do something different. I got to pray. If I want

a different outcome, I've got to change what

I'm doing. And so what we discovered is if that's

the case, then I got to change the way I think

about prayer. I got to change the way I view

prayer. I can't view prayer as this thing that

is this religious activity that I do. Prayer

has to be more than that. And that's when we

got to last week going, prayer is this gift that

God gives that we water. And this week. And to

get there, we're going to go to Canada. You ready?

So my wife and I and our family, our two oldest

daughters, we lived in Canada for about five

and a half years. Now, when you think of Canada,

you may go, oh, British Columbia. It's so pretty.

We went up there in the summer. And it was so,

yeah, you went up in the summer, didn't you?

Right? But you may have British Columbia in mind,

or maybe you have the East Coast in mind. But

we were two and a half hours north of Toronto.

Okay? So we were. I'm kind of not straight north,

a little west -ish to it. And what you need to

know about it is this, that we lived in the snow

belt. Okay, a couple of you kind of giggled because

you've lived in a snow belt, right? Like by snow

belt, what that means is that the lake effect

brought massive amounts of snow to our house.

I don't know if it was anywhere else, but it

was our house. And I mean, we're talking so much

snow that like you, my kids' memories are that

we could create snow caves where they could actually

have like beds that you could put in there and

tables and they could go in and play whatever.

They were young at the time, right? Because we

were in the snow belt. Now, what happened is

about October. You would start to get news of

the weather changing, right? Like fall is here,

which winter was quickly behind it. And you would

normally in October get the first snow. And the

first snow is like, oh, it's so pretty. Let's

go for a walk, right? And you would go out in

the snow and enjoy it. Maybe go sledding. The

kids were excited to go sledding in October,

right? And then November hit and everybody's

thankful for November because of, you know, just

the time of the year it is. We give thanks and

we enjoy. and it's still, the snow is good. And

then you get to December and it's like, oh, we

just need a white Christmas, right? Like a white

Christmas just feels right. And then January

hits, it's like it's a new year, the snow should

be gone. The only problem is the snow was still

there sometimes until April. And what would happen

inevitably for my wife is right around February,

she would start to get. this seasonal depression.

Oh, it was bright out like it was white. Sometimes

it would snow in October and it would be white

on the ground until April. You talk about longing

for spring, right? But the clouds would be gloomy

and you wouldn't see the sun because of the cloud

cover. And this could last days and days. And

sometimes she would, in February, it was like,

oh, when is this season ever going to end? When

is winter going to be done? In fact, we have

friends that would jettison around this time.

They would book flights and they would end up

in places like Florida so they could experience

summer in the midst of winter. You ever notice

that we aren't very good with winter? You ever

notice that people are like, I just have to make

it through the winter, man. Pastor Todd, right?

Like this literally San Diego boy. He didn't

even know what winter is. But it's like, I just

gotta get through winter. It's so cold. But you

notice that nobody doesn't say that unless you

live in Phoenix in the summer. Like the spring,

nobody's like, I just gotta get through spring.

I just gotta endure. But what if, what if, what

if the circumstances and the seasons in your

life are really intentional? and integral to

your growth in your life? Like what if winter

spiritually, and by that I mean like things that

are painful, circumstances that I'm going through,

things that are difficult, things that cause

me stress and anxiety and grief and all the emotions

in between. What if those things are in your

life because God is taking you back and allowing

those moments to actually move you into experiencing

the gift of prayer that waters the things that

God actually wants to grow. And it's only through

winter that those things can grow. I think somewhere

along the way, we got confused that when you

meet Jesus and you walk with Jesus and you become

a follower of Jesus, that you don't have winter

no more. But that's just not simply the case.

And if you turn to Psalm chapter one and verse

one, it says this, blessed is the one who does

not walk in step with the wicked or stand in

the way of sinners or stand in the way that sinners

take, sorry, or sit in the company of mockers.

So blessed is the one, God is on the side of

the one who walks in step, doesn't walk in step

with those that are sinful, right? So it takes

a different path, the righteous path is what

it's talking about. Verse two, but those, but

whose delight, so those people whose delight

is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on

his law day and night. So it's talking about

somebody who has right actions. They meditate

on God's word. following after what God wants

us. They're upright within their actions. And

then listen to this, verse three. That person

is like a tree planted by streams of water, which

yields its fruit in what? Season. And whose leaf

does not wither, whatever they do, prospers.

So it talks about this person who is upright,

who is righteous, who is doing the right things,

pursuing God, meditating on his law. But then

it says what? That there will be seasons of production.

Seasons of bearing fruit. It doesn't say that

they bear fruit all the time. It doesn't say

that everything is good all the time. It says

that in season. And that idea of season. It's

something that I think when we slow down and

grasp it, and when we slow down and let it be

what God intends it to be, that what actually

happens is it takes us and it moves us into experiencing

the gift of prayer that God always intended for

it to be. That without that season, the growth

wouldn't occur. Here's what I mean. Like if I

had my way today, there would be a whole bunch,

a whole bunch of trees lining the stage today.

You wouldn't even be able to see the band. They'd

be gone. Just a bunch of trees. but we're in

winter, so those trees would look what? Bare,

they'd look dead. They'd look just like sticks

in a bucket. And then I realized that's really

expensive to do the whole stage. So what then

I thought was I'll just get one from home. And

I'm like, that's not a good idea. It's not gonna

be good for the tree, right? Why? Because what's

interesting with a tree when it comes to winter

is the tree begins to, acts intentionally because

of the circumstances that it's in. Oh, what do

I mean by that? Well, you see those things, those

leaves that are beautiful, those leaves that

are the new growth of the last year? When winter

starts to come, the tree blocks off the energy

supply, the food supply to the leaves. It begins

to cut off. The output of energy. Why? Because

it knows in winter, I have to do something different.

I have to store the energy different. And so

then what you notice, like, I don't know where

you live, but where I live, I got a neighbor's

tree, and they got a big tree in their yard,

and that tree turns red when the leaves start

to get cut off. And then after red, it turns

darker, and they're dead, and they fall to the

ground, and then they blow into my yard. And

then I just let them blow into the next person's

yard. It's great. We just share. All fall on.

But the tree is doing something different because

it knows what? It's in a different season. And

so as this is taking place, what's happening

is scarcity. So scarcity of sun, scarcity of

water. scarcity of temperature is telling the

tree that it needs to do something different.

So internally, what the tree begins to do is

it takes its starches, changes it to sugar, and

then what that allows it to be, it becomes like

an antifreeze inside of the tree. Why? Because

when freezing temperatures come, if there was

water inside, it would explode, essentially,

the cells inside the tree, and the tree would

be damaged. So what is it doing? It knows that

it needs to change. Why? Because of the season

that it is in. The gift of the tree. And here's

my favorite part. That although the stage would

look dead, although the trees look dead, what's

happening inside is the buds are growing inside

of the branches and they stay inside of the branches

and they develop inside of the branches until

it's time for that new growth that you can't

see right now, that winter produces. Winter produces

this new growth that's inside that then grows

outward. And what your season of winter is doing

in your life is it's a gift that you would do

something different, that you would pray intentionally

and begin to water. Why? Because here's what

we discover in winter. Prayer is less about the

outcome and is more and is more about the character

being formed in you. Prayer is less about the

outcome. This is what winter teaches us, right?

Because winter pushes us to take this gift and

use it. And what we discover is the outcome isn't

what's actually in focus. What's happening is

the circumstances and the desire for an outcome

is pushing me forward into prayer. And as I get

into prayer, what happens is God is forming my

character. He is growing the things that he always

wanted to grow inside of me. And winter is the

catalyst to get me. Think about examples from

the Bible. You got Jesus in the garden, right?

Jesus is perplexed. He's in the garden. He's

overwhelmed. And he wants a specific outcome.

Take this away. Is there any other way? And what

happens is the outcome is denied. He still goes

to the cross and he dies. The difference is the

character being formed in him, he is now what?

He is connected, aligned with the will of God.

And because he's aligned with the will of God,

therefore he goes to the cross. You think about

Paul for a second, right? Paul had a thorn, we're

told. The thorn, we don't know what it was. It

was an ailment of some sort. It was extremely

painful, uncomfortable. He wanted it to go away.

He didn't like it. And so he prayed that it would

be removed. He steps in in a winter season. He

asked God, and what happens is it's not removed.

The outcome doesn't change. But what has changed

is Paul discovers that your grace is sufficient,

that God, your grace is sufficient even in my

weakness. Right? This song we just sang, even

in my weakness, you are still these things. That's

what Paul discovered because of the ailment in

his life, the winter season of the thorn. And

what's discovered is that you are actually strong

when I am weak. Your grace is sufficient even

in this. Anybody thankful for a lesson that Paul

learns that we don't have to learn, right? Like

we get to stand on the ground that he had. That

we get to sit here going, God's grace is going

to be sufficient. How do I know? Let me tell

you about this. Zechariah and Elizabeth, we talked

about them at Christmas. In a season of barren,

the outcome was we want a kid now. And God goes,

no, it's going to be much longer. And what's

grown in them is a faithfulness to the journey,

even beyond the hope that they had. That they

still were grown to a point that they go, we'll

still serve you. We'll still follow you, even

though, even though. The outcome's not what we

wanted. Prayer is less about outcome, and it's

more about the character that God's forming in

you. It's interesting, Jesus, when he talks about

prayer, in Matthew chapter seven, in verse seven,

it says this. So Jesus is teaching, it's the

Sermon on the Mount. One of the first recorded

messages we have from him, verse seven, ask and

it will be given to you. Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone

who asks receives, he who seeks finds. And to

the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

And so what we get from Jesus is very clear.

If you have a need, which what winter season

does in our life is it creates, And out of that

need, it says with that need, what you're to

do is to ask, right? So you are to go in prayer

and you are to ask, you are to water. Tyler Stanton

wrote a book on prayer, and inside of that, he

did a phenomenal job at unpacking kind of this

idea of what's being built within this framework

that Jesus is giving when it comes to prayer.

And what he said is the idea of the ask leads

you to the seeking. Because when you ask, you're

going to God himself, right? And so in going

to God himself, you seek. So ask out of need,

which leads you to... seeking and what you discover

is a person who is with you in the mess. But

then culturally, he says, there's this knock

and it says that the door will be opened. And

culturally, what this means visually of this

is that when you go to God and you ask out of

need and you seek and you discover that there's

a person in the mess with you. then what the

knock actually becomes is the door is opened,

and it's not just, hey, come inside. It's, hey,

come inside and take a seat at the table. And

you may go, okay, so what? When you go to God,

you didn't start at the table. You were given

the gift of prayer. You begin to water. You're

asking because of the circumstances, because

of the season that you're in. And what happens

is you discover that there's a person in the

mess with you. You seek him. And what happens

is that person, that God goes, hey, come sit

at the table. You see, you would only sit at

the table with people. That you go, I'm on your

side. It's an invitation by God, even in the

winter, for you to know God is what? On my side.

He hasn't abandoned me. It's an invitation to

the table where you sit face to face with almighty

God. And being face to face, he's expressing

to you, I am happy to be here with you, even

in the midst of your mess of winter. In fact,

he's inviting your winter to the table. The God

of the universe, the creator of you, the one

that knows, by the way, you ever notice that

when people smile, they smile full of teeth?

You notice that? Like they're like, hi. You know

that God knows what's going on behind your teeth,

right? We smile and it's like fake, right? Like

we get to fool people. We're in a winter season.

It's not fun. It's hard, but I can smile and

you think it's good. And God goes, I know what's

happening behind it. And so what happens is you're

invited to the table. You're invited to the table

where you sit face to face. I'd love to share

with you. What a conversation at the table sounds

like in a winter season. In Psalm 143, the context

here is that David, we don't know from the life

of David if this was written when he was being

pursued by his enemies, right? Like, so he's

living in caves. He doesn't know if he's going

to live till tomorrow. He knows he's been anointed

king, but he doesn't see any outcome of that.

And so he's like been. On the run, so to speak,

he's exhausted, and he doesn't know how it's

going to turn out. There's so many unknowns,

and it's just a long. And so we don't know if

it was written out of that. We don't know if

it was written when his son was in rebellion,

and again, his life was on the line. We don't

know. But what we know is this is an honest conversation.

And the invitation, don't miss how you got here.

You got here because in your life, something

isn't as you want it to be. And so out of that,

what comes is you request, you ask, you through

the gift of prayer, water. And what God begins

to grow is he grows that, hey, I'm in it with

you. You begin to see him in the midst of it

with you. He's still working, but he goes, hey,

come sit down at the table with me. And what

it's an invitation to in the winter season is

to be honest. And David starts like this in verse

one. He says, Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to

my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness.

Come to my relief. I mean, right out of the gate,

he comes with his ask, right? Like, Lord, you

got to hear this. And if you get into the emotions

of what he's feeling, he feels unheard by God.

He feels unseen by God. He feels like there's

silence with him and God. And so he approaches

the table. He approaches this intimate moment

of relational context. And what does he say?

Hey, I feel like you don't hear me. Yet, in your

faithfulness, because I see who you are. I see

that you're God. I see that you've been faithful.

In your faithfulness, And your righteousness,

would you come to my relief? I need you to hear

me ask this, God. Verse two, do not bring your

servant into judgment for no one living is righteous

before you. I love that he's asking for mercy,

right? Like he's recognizing, he's recognizing

in the honesty, he's going, I'm not everything

I should be. I understand I don't deserve this.

I understand that I need your mercy in this moment.

He's being honest with God. I understand that

there's sin in my life. There's confession that's

happening. He's going, I deserve judgment, but

don't give me judgment. Give me mercy. The enemy

pursues me. He crushes me to the ground. He makes

me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.

That is what winter feels like. You ever been

in a season of winter and you're just like, man,

I am crushed. He's pursuing me. He's relentless.

It feels dark. It feels dead like those trees.

Verse four. So my spirit grows faint within me.

My heart within me is dismayed. You talk about

honesty before God. He goes, I don't know if

I'm going to make it. I don't know. I feel like

I'm fading. I feel like I'm going to fall. I

feel like I can't. And he's sitting at the table

with God and he's telling God, I don't know if

I can make it. You want to talk about being honest

with God? We need to stop smiling with God and

start being honest with God. God, I don't know

if I'm going to make it through today. God, I

feel crushed by what's happened. God, I'm frustrated.

And notice verse five. I remember the days of

long ago. I meditate on all your works and consider

what your hands have done. You know what winter

does? Winter gives you time. You ever notice

that in winter things slow down? And in the midst

of moving slower, what it gives you time to discover

is your memory. You begin to reflect. You begin

to see the handwork, the handiwork of God. In

this context, you're sitting at the table. Why?

Because I had an ask and I went and I prayed.

And out of that, I realized there's a relationship.

I knocked and God goes, come on in, sit at the

table. It's an invitation. Winter is an invitation

to the table. You get to the table and as you're

going all the ways, I don't know if I'm gonna

make it, Jesus just slides a handout onto the

table. And you look down and you go, there's

a hole in it. And your mind goes to a cross where

on the cross, God, provided everything you will

ever need for this life and the one to come.

In this moment, it's really hard. It's really

hard face to face with God who wants to be here

with you and to see what he has done. All of

a sudden, your mind starts firing. You start

to see all the ways that he's been faithful to

you over your life. You start to see all the

works as the psalmist says here. You go, man,

there's so much at this table. And what you discover

at the table is you discover that the table's

not empty. You discover that all of the nourishment

you needed has been provided. You discover and

you're reminded. Things like, he's my daily bread.

He's all I need today. All of a sudden at the

table, you realize it's not just the person,

but it's everything he has given you to make

it through today. It's everything that he has

given you to make it through whatever it is you're

facing, whatever it is you're struggling with.

And it started in honesty. And what happens is,

is in the midst of the honesty, in the midst

of the, I need you to hear me. I am dying down

here. I'm not gonna make it. In the midst of

that, he goes, and then I caught a glimpse of

who you are. And I caught a glimpse of what you've

done. And I'm reminded because winter allows

me to remember. And all of a sudden what's on

the table is this nourishment that is all I will

ever need. The psalmist continues, I spread out

my hands to you. I thirst for you like a parched

land. All of a sudden, the psalmist realizes

I need you. You're the answer to this. Answer

me quickly, Lord. My spirit fails. Do not hide

your face from me, or I will be like those who

go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me

word of your unfailing love. What has he done

in this moment, sitting at the table with God

himself? He realizes, wait, your love has never

failed. And so he goes, in the morning, Bring

me word of your unfailing love, for I have put

my trust. Remember, what did we say prayer was?

Prayer is growing the things inside of you like

trust and dependency, that you would see him

as your provider. Those things are being built

through prayer, but where? At the invitation

to the table. Where I went from, I'm not going

to make it to, I trust you. You have given me

everything I need. Show me the way I should go,

for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from

my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach

me to do your will, for you are, you are. What

does the table do? It reminds me that you are

my God. And what's crazy, you guys, he's happy

to be at the table with you. The God of the universe.

You're not even, some of you aren't even happy

to be at the table with yourself because all

you see is your failures and all you see is your

guilt and your shame and all you see is your

shortcomings. All you see is the ways that you

don't measure up. That's the point is when I

get to the table, I realize that I'm not enough,

but he is enough and it allows me to go. So I'm

going to trust you. You're my God. So in a winter

month, When you don't think you're going to make

it in a winter month where you're seeking an

outcome, what you get is you get transformation.

Where? Just like the tree. You go to my yard

right now, they look dead. But inside of them,

what's happening? The new growth is coming. And

in winter, maybe, just maybe. We need to do something

different and take a seat at the table. How?

Through the gift of prayer. Prayer is a gift.

Because when I pray, what I end up with is an

invitation. And I end up with an invitation to

sit. And like the psalmist, teach me your will

for you are my God. May your good spirit lead

me on level ground for your namesake, for your

glory, not mine. It's not about me anymore. It's

about you because I see who you are. Preserve

my life and your righteousness. Bring me out

of trouble. You're in your unfailing love. Silence

my enemies. Destroy all my foes for I am your

servant. Wow. What a difference from how we started

it. Where he goes, do you even hear me? It's

in the end. He's like, I'm your servant. What

do you need? Let's build your kingdom. He got

here by winter. He got here by taking. circumstances

that he didn't like by taking pain and suffering.

And what happens is, is in that he ends up at

a table with God himself, where God nourishes

him and transforms him and grows what needs to

grow in the next season of David's life. What

is God growing in this season in your life through

winter? Maybe it's stuff that you don't like

about yourself. Maybe it's stuff that you don't

like that's coming across your path. But what

I do know is this. You are invited to a table.

You're invited to sit. Can we just level the

playing field? None of us deserve to sit at the

table, okay? So if you're sitting here going,

I don't know if I should be at the table with

God, it might set on fire. Not only is there

a table and a seat for you, but he is happy to

be with you. He is the God through invitation

of winter declares, I am on your side in this.

That struggle that you have, that thing that

feels like it just keeps jabbing you like a thorn

is designed to take you to the table. The unknowns,

the uncertainties, the I don't know how this

works out, it's designed to take you to a table.

How? Because I go in prayer and I ask. the God

who can do anything. And what I'm reminded is

that there is more than enough nourishment for

everything I'll need. What you hold in your hand

is a reminder that through the body and blood

of Jesus, he provided everything you will ever

need in this life. That he's restoring all things

back to how he intended them to be. That wholeness,

that healing. That eternity is secure. And it

came through a table where he sat and he said,

this is the representation of me that you are

to carry forward as my people. So I'm curious.

We heard the psalmist. We heard his conversation.

What is the honest conversation you need to have

with God at the table today? What do you need

to tell him? What does he need to hear? Where

do you need to be vulnerable? Where do you need

to be honest? And where do you need to invite,

answer the invitation to sit? And so as you sit

at the table in these next moments, God is across

the table and he's happy to be. There. He is

happy to sit with you. So what do you got to

say to him? The next moments are yours and then

we'll take it all together. Jesus sat at the

table with his closest friends, also known as

the disciples. And he took bread and he goes,

this is my body. God in human form. This is my

body. And it is given for you. He knew. He knew

that at that table, one of those people would

betray him. He knew you would sit at the table

today with everything you carried to the table,

with all of your best moments and all of your

mistakes. And yet he's still happy to give his

body. Knowing you are at the table today. He's

happy to be at the table. Even, you guys, I'll

go first. Even knowing the fight with my wife

this week. True story. He's happy to sit at the

table in my failures. In my struggles. In my

not so great moments. And he's still happy to

go, this is my body given for you. Don't forget,

do this in remembrance of me. He took a cup of

wine and he talked about how everything was going

to be different. New covenant. And what makes

this table so special is when we are nourished

by it, what we understand is that because of

the blood of Jesus, in Christ alone, you are

free. In Christ alone, you are accepted. In the

blood of Jesus, you are forgiven. Right? That's

what we're given. And we come to this table and

we're reminded of all those things. We're reminded

that our future is secure. Why? Because it was

purchased through the blood of Jesus, not by

me. And so he took a cup of wine and he gave

it to them. And he said, take, drink, do this

in remembrance of me. God, we're just grateful

people. We just say thank you this morning. Thank

you for the gift of prayer. Thank you that in

prayer, it's an invitation in the hardest seasons.

That what the hardest seasons do, God, you use

them to lead us to a table where you are sitting.

And you are present. And you nourish us and remind

us that in Christ alone, we have been given everything.

And so we just say thank you. Thank you for grace

and thank you for mercy. And everybody said,

amen. Church, would you stand as we respond in

song?