Forward in Faith: Show up

So we are starting a new series, like I said, called Forward in Faith.

And it's going to be four weeks, so you can just start the clock.

This is week one. And what we're going to be doing over the next four weeks

is we're going to actually just be looking at a couple of little section of

Jesus' words in Luke chapter 14.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

If you actually want to get there, go ahead and find Luke chapter 14.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

And we're going to start talking about that in a second.

But I want to be in this section, this little progression of Luke's words,

which, I mean, is this parable that we're going to look at today,

and then we'll go on, and Jesus talks about, it's a famous passage about the

cost of discipleship, the cost of discipleship.

But I want to be in this section because, like, as we have already talked about,

like, we are, as a church, like, we're moving forward.

We're taking some steps, steps of faith, and they're not, let me just be very

clear, these are not little steps.

They're big steps. And I understand that. We are, as I'm sure you just,

I'm pretty sure everybody knows this, we're making a move.

We're selling this building in the process. And just an update on that,

like we are still waiting on our final approval from King County to do these septics.

So I would love these holes to be gone as much as everyone else.

But until we get the piece of paper, and like 12 days ago, they did a site visit apparently.

And like, I think that was the last step.

Except for the piece of paper. So we're just praying desperately for them to

just issue us this permit so that we can move forward.

So would you pray that even like by Tuesday, that we would have that piece of paper?

That's the very specific prayer I'm asking us to pray. Pray that by Tuesday,

we would have our permit enhanced so that we could move forward and make our,

you just kind of some deadlines that are coming up.

So all that is to say, we are continuing to move forward.

We've been in this kind of holding pattern of waiting because we have to install

these septics before we can sell the building and purchase the other one.

So there's a series of things that needs to happen.

So keep praying about that, but it's happening. I really still feel very confident

that this is where the Lord's leading us and that it's going to happen.

And it's a big step. It's a big step for the church.

Not simply because of all the logistics involved and this very long process

of selling and replacing things, and not even only even because of the financial

side of things, which we've been talking about a little bit,

and we'll talk about a little bit more going forward.

Like those are, I think, the smaller of the steps, the smaller aspects of the steps.

There's some other things going on because what we're doing,

like what we're stepping into, it's not just about logistics and finances and

just like a new location.

It's that we are taking steps to be a different church.

Like we have to be a different church on the other side of this move.

It's not about just locations.

But we have to change, I think, as a church collectively.

We have to get our eyes on the new mission field in which we're being put into

and the way that we need to approach this. So we have to change as a church.

And I think we have to change a little bit as individuals, right?

Because obviously, collective change involves personal individual change.

So we need to all step into that. Or else I think we're going to miss out on

the invitation that we have from the Lord to move into this new season as a

church. So it's a big step.

And because I know that, because I know like, like, man, I can kind of anticipate

the changes that we need to do.

I'm going to do something this morning, at least for these next few sermons throughout the series.

And I'm going to go entirely against my instincts.

Because I just woke it up in the middle of the night two days ago,

and I felt like very, very, very strongly that this is the way I had to do this.

And I'm going to be really direct and really specific, which is not my jam.

If you know me, like because I like to be kind of like a Bible nerd and I know

this thing like like I think one of the things that's my best skill and that

makes me a good Bible teacher is paying attention to the nuance and the context

of the given passage that we're studying. right?

Because I think modern people have a bad habit of thinking that every text is

about the issue that's on their mind, right?

And then they take like the lowest, the easiest interpretation when actually

it's not always what the Bible writers were talking about.

The biblical writers didn't see the world the way we do.

They didn't see everything through the same lens, through the same set of values

and through the same set of concerns that we do.

And so I can be as a Bible interpreter and as a teacher, like pretty cautious. I can be pretty nuanced.

And oftentimes I take the long way around the passage, right?

You probably noticed this. I think it yields most of the time good fruit.

It's very helpful approach most of the time, but there are times when nuance

and slowing down and being super contextual, I think actually ends up just like

pulling the punch of the passage that we're looking at,

sometimes a passage hits hard, and it's meant to hit hard. It's meant to land a little bit.

It's meant to startle us a little bit. It's meant to bother us and stir us a little bit.

And we're here in Luke 14, and these are bothersome, stirring,

hard-hitting passages.

And so, I felt like this is what God had, and so I'm going to do something that

I'm not comfortable with, and I'm just going to unapologetically be really direct,

and let the passage land, okay?

Okay? All right.

So here's the thing. Sometimes, I think I have a slide for this.

Sometimes to move forward, we need to realize that we're in our own way.

And so startling passages and stirring passages and direct passages in scripture,

like Jesus uses these strategically to get people to wake up,

to realize, no, like the problem isn't out here. The problem is right here.

Like the problem isn't, you know, all the complexity of your life.

The problem is that we're oftentimes not willing to move forward.

So if we look at Luke 14, I'll just set the scene a little bit.

Like Jesus is hanging out with his disciples, right? He's been active in ministry

at this point. There's lots of healing, lots of amazing things going on.

He's taking a break from a long ministry day. He's at a table the way he always is.

He's got his disciples near him. He's probably got a bunch of kind of onlookers,

kind of people on the outside of the circle, probably some Pharisees,

probably some tax collectors and sinners.

They all come to the table and they sit with Jesus and Jesus just eats with

them like friends and he talks to them, he converses with them.

And that's right where we pick up.

So right here in Luke 14, I think it's 15, right? Yeah, 14, 15.

When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things,

all the things that Jesus was teaching, he said to him, blessed is the one who

will eat bread in the kingdom of heaven.

So Jesus's disciples, they're sitting around along with all these other people

and they're just enjoying their life and this moment.

And out of this sense of joy and excitement, I mean, it's really,

it's like a nerdy thing to say, Honestly, it's just, oh, how great is this, right?

Blessed is the one. He sits at the table of the kingdom of heaven.

He eats bread at the kingdom of heaven. Like there's this exclamation, excitement.

Because Jesus' disciples recognize, man, how blessed are we to be sitting around

here with the king of kings?

How blessed are we to be partaking and eating with the one who says the kingdom of heaven is here?

How great is this? We get to hang out with the king and we're going to see even

greater things as the kingdom comes in all of its fullness because they're anticipating

even more to come. And so they're just they're just pumped.

And Jesus hears all of that excitement. And he's like, oh, look at that zeal.

And look at that joy. And look at that anticipation. And here's what he tells them.

Told them this. A man was giving a large banquet and he invited many.

And at the time of the banquet, he sent his servants to tell those who were

invited, come, because everything is now ready.

But without exception, they all began to make excuses. The first one said to

him, I bought a field and I must go out and see it.

I asked you to excuse me. And another said, I bought five yoke of oxen and I'm

going to try them out. And I ask you to excuse me.

And another said, I just got married and therefore I'm unable to come.

And so the servant came back and reported these things to his master.

And then in anger, the master of the house told his servant,

go out quickly into the streets and the alleys of the city and bring in here

the poor, maimed, blind and lame.

Master, the servant said, what you have ordered has been done and there's still

room. And then the master told the servant, go out into the highways and the

hedges and make them come in.

So that my house will be filled. For I tell you, not one of those people who

were invited will enjoy my banquet.

So look, there's a lot that I could say here. There's a lot of nuance.

There's a lot of theology. There's a lot of things to talk about and think about.

And a lot of angles to think about it from. And who's Jesus addressing?

And what's the context? And what's the important things to keep in mind?

But if I were just asking you to go with your gut and answer the question, what's the takeaway?

What's like the immediate low-hanging fruit of what Jesus is saying here?

I think all of us would probably have to say it's this.

It's that you have to show up. You have to show up.

I mean, Jesus is saying, I've set the table. I've invited people in.

The kingdom is here. People don't show up. They've got excuses.

And as I think about where we're going as a church and who we need to be when

we get there, This is the thing that I think we need to take to heart I mean,

to move forward into this next season Into this next plan And it's,

you know, in the fall here,

To move forward in this And to enjoy what we're being invited into as a church

Like, I think we all have to understand that we have to show up And over the

next four weeks I'm going to go and very directly remind you of that, right?

And I think there's a lot to showing up There's a lot to showing up.

The reality is that Jesus isn't talking merely about physical presence.

And I think he goes on in the rest of the passage, the rest of the chapter here

in Luke 14, and he kind of flushes out what he means by that,

what the people are missing out on.

He's not merely talking about physical presence. He's talking about the fact

that faith requires a whole person commitment to walking with Jesus.

And there's a lot of facets to that. But actually, over the next four weeks,

we're going to explore different facets. So I have a list of like,

this is my outline for this sermon series.

So what we're talking about today is that you have to show up personally.

You have to show up personally in order to be here.

I think I have a slide for that. You have to show up personally.

You have to show up missionally. We're going to talk about that next week.

I think that's in this section here. You have to show up financially.

You have to show up spiritually.

And we could say there's probably more to that, but it's only going to be four weeks.

We're going to do four things and you'll be fine, right? But the point is,

and I don't like the idea of even separating these things out,

because the thing about your spiritual life is you're just a big mess.

All these facets of your life don't fit neatly in boxes. You're just like a spaghetti.

You're all tied up. And so your personal life and your missional life and your

financial life and your spiritual life, you're just one person.

These are all parts of you.

But for the sake of just thinking about them, we're separating them out.

And today we're talking about showing up personally, by which I mean in the

most basic sense of being in a place where you are, occupying space,

showing up in a very physical sense.

I was talking to a guy who works at Union Gospel Mission.

He does church contacts for Union Gospel Mission, and I had coffee with him the other day.

And his job is great. He just hangs out with pastors all over Seattle,

and he shares UGM's mission and encourages them and figures out partnerships and stuff like that.

And, you know, he's everywhere, all over the whole greater Seattle metro area.

And we were talking about church, and he's just getting to know me,

and I'm getting to know him.

And we were talking about the challenges, you know, our church is facing and

talking about the building, you know.

And honestly, like, I don't have a lot to complain about. Like,

I really don't have anything to complain about. This church is great.

But I did say the one thing that's, like, the hardest thing right now,

that feels like the hardest thing right now, because it's showing up in different places.

The hardest thing right now is that we have a committed church

and good people who are like really financially show up that you guys financially

show up we're going to talk about finances but like honestly very low on my

list of concerns but we are a church of busy people who are not always here

and that's a that's a community challenge that's a challenge for this for the community.

And he was like, oh,

like that is, he says, that's not just a Seattle problem.

Like that's not just everywhere. That's an East side problem.

You think every pastor I talked to on the East side says that exact same thing,

literally in that same way.

He told me he was sitting with a pastor the other day, and I realized saying

what I'm about to say is maybe a little risky, but I'm going to say it anyway.

He was sitting in the past the other day, and the pastor said this.

I wish people would stop writing checks and just show up.

And I don't want you to stop writing checks.

Oh, we can do both. Yeah, no, because that's, but I mean, honestly,

like, like I know pastors in other parts of the country and being a small church

in other parts of the country is like, man, we're barely scraping by.

We can barely make payroll.

We can barely pay. That's not our problem. That's not our problem.

Problem is that people are super busy. Problem is that people have have busy lives.

And look, here's the reality. I see it. I 90. Most of you guys that you're financially

engaged, like like you show up financially.

But I think we are struggling to be personally engaged.

And I understand all the reasons why.

It's not like in the parable, though, that Jesus brings up that the people who

had these excuses and they didn't show up, it's not like they didn't have good reasons.

It's not like they didn't have

busy lives. It's not like they didn't have things that were important.

But Jesus makes it clear. I mean, he just says, you've got to show up to be

a part of the kingdom. You've got to show up to be a part of what's going on and what God is doing.

And I promised that I would be direct and clear. So I'm going to get even more

direct and even more clear in a way that I am so uncomfortable with,

but I'm going to say it anyway. And I'm going to say this.

If you are here only half the time, that's not enough.

And I mean about that, like, collectively, like, not just Sunday morning,

like, like, like for the community, for being involved, for being a part of

what God's doing in a church, like, it's just not enough.

And I understand, like, that feels more than how much is enough if it's not 50 percent.

Is it 60 percent? Is it 70%? I don't know.

I'm not aiming for 100%, but I know that 50 is not enough.

You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? I can't help you figure that out.

But there is a point in time where I think we dilute our commitment enough where

we actually don't get the benefit anymore, right?

We don't actually, you can't get the thing that you want by putting in 50%.

And so there's like, and that word enough is a little bit confusing to you because

enough for what? By what standard?

And according to what logic? I'm going to give you three reasons why it's not enough.

The first is that it's not enough for you. It's not enough for you.

I really don't think if you're showing up half the time, you're going to get much.

And there's some reasons for that. I don't know who coined this phrase,

but pastors have often said, and I've heard a lot of pastors say,

Jesus doesn't want something from you. He wants something for you.

And I think that's really an apt way of thinking about this issue of showing up.

It's not as if Jesus's feelings are gonna be heard if you don't come to his party, right?

And even in the parable, that's not the issue.

It's not about, oh, Jesus just wants people here. He wants to be controlling.

God wants to be controlling.

What's going on in the parable is that God gathers people and what's going on

in the churches is that God gathers the church for a purpose.

The church is not just a place where people show up on Sunday morning.

It's meant to be, according to the New Testament and according to what Jesus

has called it to be, it is a community of the Spirit where people are called

out and sealed by him and in whom, collectively,

God is working and shaping and forming Christ in each and every one of us.

Like what happens at church is not that we gather together and sing songs and

listen to a sermon and do stuff and we serve.

What is supposed to be happening and what God's intention for the church is

that maturity is being developed collectively in the believers and God is being

glorified in your lives all together as we move in and press in and worship

and find ourselves like our life hidden in him.

And we find ourselves growing in him.

We're called to do something other than just gather. Like you have to show up to be a part of that.

I had some friends, we had some friends unexpectedly in town last night.

They're running the tunnel marathon.

They're from Arizona and we knew them on the East Coast back when they lived

in Connecticut. And so they moved to Arizona not long after we moved out here.

And they were going to a church in Arizona with a well-known pastor. Not that one.

A well-known pastor down in Arizona, okay? And they told us one day they were

working the connections desk and they were talking to new visitors.

And one lady came up and she was very upset on her first Sunday there.

And they were like, hey, what's going on?

And she said, well, if I had known that this pastor was not giving the message

today, I wouldn't have wasted my time.

Yeah, yeah, that's how they felt. Okay, all right.

I wouldn't have been here. and look I mean I could forgive we could all say okay like put our,

try to think and understand what this person was wanted like she wanted to come

and she thought well this is this person's church and he's probably going to

be preaching and I want to hear him preach and I probably listen to him online

at home and so I'm familiar with this person,

I can totally understand why she would want to hear this person but I think

that this kind of mentality.

It's beyond like a celebrity thing I think it speaks to a bigger problem that

actually we all tend to have and we all tend to slip into.

And that's that we put so much stock in the sermon.

We think listening to the best sermon in the world is going to make all the

difference for our spiritual lives.

You know, and a lot of times, honestly, churches kind of feed into that.

And we've done that to you. I'm sorry.

Like, we should stop. But we have this paradigm of understanding spiritual development.

And I think preaching is important.

Teaching God's word is important. It's through the word that God convicts of

sin, righteousness, judgment.

Like he does all these things. The Holy Spirit works when the word is spoken

and people get transformed.

But that, if we think that only happens in the sermon, we're only understanding

like the tip of the iceberg of God's design for the church and for our maturity.

So this lady thought, well, if I didn't get to see this person,

then I'm missing out on something huge.

Because she has this impression that everything's about, well,

I'm just going to gather together and I'm going to be a part of the sermon.

I'm not asking you. I'm not saying you need to show up to hear me talk.

I'm saying you need to show up for each other. I'm saying you need to show up

to be a part of the thing that you can't listen to later in a podcast or on YouTube.

Honestly, if you show up right after my message and you just fellowship and

you pray for each other, I don't care.

I mean it'll be a little lonely And I'll be like do you really hate me that

much But I'll get over my insecurity And you can tell me no no it's just you

smell Whatever I thought that was funny At least a chuckle Alright fine,

I'm being serious that's why I'm being serious Sorry.

Yes I thought I was thinking about this this morning,

I'm 40, and maybe some of the more mature saints can attest to this.

I think about this. I can think back on the last 20 years of my life and the

times when I've felt like I was growing the most.

And except for the sermon where I got saved, none of it really had to do with

something that happened during a Sunday service.

It was all relationships. relationships,

it was all people in my life who were willing to speak, to pray,

to be aggressive in their spirituality.

And I apologize for that word, but I think to be spirituality forward,

to be led by the Holy Spirit who intervened in my life or came alongside me

in a time when I felt alone and And it wasn't, the platform of those moments

wasn't here. It was there.

The Holy Spirit is at work, platformed, but it's there.

Sometimes here, okay. But I think far more often, the design of the church is

that the Holy Spirit is work out there as you guys are ministering one to another.

I'm getting onto my second point.

So I want to wrap up this first one. But look, if you're just showing up half

the time, you're just thinking about, oh, I'm just here to consume this message,

that's just not enough for you. Like it's actually not gonna lead to your growth.

It's not gonna give you what you think it will give you.

What you actually need is happening. Yes, it's happening on Sunday morning as

we gather, but it's also happening in small groups and Bible studies and it's

happening after church and before church as you're getting to know each other.

It's happening at the funches, the casual lunches.

It's happening when we get together and we care enough about each other to go deep.

James 5, 19 through 20 says this. It says,

My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth and someone

turns him back, let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error

of his ways will save his soul from death and cover a multitudes of sins.

Do you understand the context for James to even be able to say anything like that?

Is that there is a close, relational, well-knit, dynamic community where people

are talking about spiritual issues in serious ways to the point where confrontation is okay.

For him to even suggest that means that backing up against this verse,

there is a community that is invested and deep and that has been grown and cultivated intentionally.

Because if I don't know you and I come up and I'm like this,

you're going to be like, no, thank you very much, right?

And I think maybe some of us feel like, oh, I don't have the kind of credibility

with people to talk this way.

How do you get that? You invest in the community. And if you want to be turned

away from error when you fall into error and turned away from your bitterness

and your unforgiveness and all your stuff, like who is gonna do that?

Am I gonna do that? Probably not.

Probably it's gonna be somebody who knows you and sees you and who loves you enough to correct you.

And I need that and you need that. And we need that.

Like if we're gonna be the kind of community that God calls us to,

I think we need to show up and develop this kind of community.

Because if we don't show up, we will never have that kind of a community. That's all.

That's like illogical. I think everybody gets that. Everybody understands that

you can't have that kind of intimacy and connection without really leaning into

the community side of things.

Okay, second reason why being at church half the time is not enough.

It's because it's not enough for us. It's not enough for us collectively.

And I started to get onto this point a little bit, but look,

an analogy for the sports people. If you're on a sports team, I don't know.

I'm told. If you're on a sports team, you understand that you need to show up for the games.

For yourself, actually, to get some playtime. Sure, yeah, that's part of it.

But also because you're on a team and you have a role to play, a position on the team.

And if that team, if you're playing down a man on a team, that hurts the team.

And if your team's missing players, like the team can't succeed.

I think Paul totally understood this.

He kind of explains the nature of the church in 1 Corinthians 12, 6.

He says, there are different activities, but the same God as it work in all

of them, in each person, and a manifestation of the Spirit is given to each

person for the common good.

Paul has this vision of the church collective, where we're all doing one thing,

but we're all contributing.

And everyone is being gifted with spiritual gifts by the power of the Spirit

that they are to give, and their contribution is unique.

It's given to every person, not just one person with a microphone,

but given to every person, and it's for the common good.

And of course, implied in all of that is that if we aren't contributing,

if we aren't playing our part, if we aren't showing up, and if we aren't using

our spiritual gifts, the whole is being diminished.

The common good isn't happening. It's not developing.

The Holy Spirit is not moving in a church, in any given church,

on the basis of the gifts of one pastor.

The Holy Spirit is moving in a church in a decentralized kind of way,

out here in the pews. That's the beauty of the church.

His platform is not up here. It's out there, like I said. It's out in the lobby.

It's out in the kids' ministry. It's out on the patio after church.

It's out when you're having lunch. It's out when you're in your small group.

It's out when you're checking in on somebody who you haven't seen in a little bit.

It's out when you are knocking on somebody's door and just seeing how they're doing.

These things are happening. Like when the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something,

he's leading you into this kind of a contribution that is to the edification of the body.

And if we're not doing these things, if we're not leaning in,

if we're not showing up and being willing to step into this kind of contribution,

then the whole body suffers.

The whole body suffers as a result.

And the final reason why being at the church half the time is not enough is

because it's not enough for them. It's not enough for them.

Worship team is going to come up here right now, but I'm starting to wrap up here.

It's not enough for them. Look, next week we're going to talk about showing

up missionally. So this is just kind of like a little teaser.

There's going to be more to say about this. But the reality is that we're making this move.

We're leaving this building and we're going to embed in

a community for the sake of that community we

want to be a present in that community we

want to be people who are proclaiming the gospel in that community we want to

be people who are just just doing all these things that we're locating centrally

and we're just saying okay we're going to like own this and then like these

like downtown area we are just going to be all over we are going to be here

for those people um and and beyond that Yeah,

we can be beyond that, but by being in a central place,

we're able to focus. We're focusing our attention.

And in order to give attention, you have to give attention, right?

In order to give something, you have to have brought it first.

You have to have made it available first. And so if we're going to serve people,

we're going to be on mission.

We can't do that unless everybody shows up.

We're going to Snoqualmie. And you know what? Snoqualmie doesn't need to hear

from me. That's not the strategy.

It's not, oh, I'm just going to be a more dynamic preacher.

God can do whatever he wants with the words that I speak. And I pray that he does.

And I hope that as we teach the word, people will be convicted.

But I really feel that actually God is going to do something way better despite

the feature is going to be in the community.

Snoqualmie needs to meet God through the messages communicated via the community

via each and every one of us who's out there meeting people who's praying for

people who's caring for people who's inviting people in,

and in the interest of being very direct in

the interest of being very direct I think as a church right now

and I will say this is probably because of the

anxiety that this move has created okay because

i think it's been since we started talking about it as a

church right now we have a problem that when we

get to where we're going has to be dealt

with just a little while but like i'm putting this

out here right now something that i noticed i had

a conversation with someone recently they pointed out something about this church and

it's like hey we're really good at welcoming people on day one like we're friendly

like you guys go up and you introduce yourself to people And like I don't think

a lot of people just like slip in here and then disappear like like somebody

comes up and says hi most of the time and I'm not saying 100% but I'm like generally

like it's hard to be anonymous here.

So we don't have a problem on day one, but we have a problem on week four and on week five.

We have a problem once people are saying, okay, I'm here, but I want to go further.

I want to connect deeper.

I want to be a part of like the spiritual and relational community.

And I think a lot of us are just too busy to incorporate new people into our lives.

And so then like the question is asking, so we're going to go move to a place

and we're going to want to be like inviting new people in.

Are we going to be ready for that? And if we don't address this, we aren't.

We're just going to churn. We're going to churn and we're not going to be missionally effective.

We're going to talk more about that next week.

Don't sit there and feel bad.

Honestly, I think the solutions are easier than we might think.

I think the solutions, like there's going to be some programmatic things that we can do.

Funches, for example. A good way to connect with people, to just have relational

stuff. We're going to try to platform more of some of that stuff.

But ultimately, programs can't do all the work. You know?

Like the Holy Spirit working in us. Us getting to know each other.

Us being spirit forward on our relationships.

Us being willing to go deep with people and to find out where they're really at.

And to do the emotional, spiritual work of getting to know someone. That's the way forward.

And so I want to call you guys to that. To show up in that way.

And I know like you know I think it's funny

like this is the most exhausting time of year especially if you have children

you're just like oh I can't do anything else and I'm not talking about today

or tomorrow don't don't solve this problem uh in in a week or a day I'm just

saying like would you just go before the Lord and let's actually kind of do

this now like let's let's just settle our hearts for a moment.

And let's go, like, be aware that we serve a God who's given us a great invitation and who loves us.

And he doesn't do the whole guilt and shame thing. And he doesn't put an impossible burden on us.

He actually, he knows how to take our calling and integrate it with our life

in a way that we don't know how those two things connect, but he does.

And so what we need, honestly, is we need Him spiritually to give us an awareness,

okay, well, how do I take mission? How do I show up for other people?

And then how do I integrate this with my busy life?

So what I'm saying is that I want us to start praying right here for a moment

and just ask God to figure out how do we do this?

Not to you to force it, because that's not going to work. You'll just get exhausted.

But say, okay, God, like what are the ways this week that you can lay on my

heart that I can be more present to you and to your mission and to other people?

What are the ways that I can show up and be present to your Holy Spirit and

let you lead me and let you show me what it means to be used by you and to be

spiritually gifted and to show up in that way.

So let's pray for that right now.

Lord, I just thank you for everyone here. Lord, I think I'm oftentimes not direct

because I just understand.

I'm just one of you all. I'm one of these people, Lord. I have a busy life,

too. I've got young kids, too.

I'm just trying to make it in a place and in a world that's very demanding.

So, Lord, I don't come with any resentment or bitterness. Lord,

we just don't come that way.

But, Lord, we understand that sometimes we have burdens that it feels like we

don't know how to carry, Lord.

And we want to feel, I'm reminded of the Puritan poem, Lord,

the prayer that you would render our duty our delight. Render my duty my delight.

I pray that for us this morning. We realize we have a duty and a calling and

just like a way of coming up and showing up for you and being used by you.

But Lord, we don't want to bear that burden heavily, Lord. We want to see you.

Stir us and move us. We want to see you, Lord, show up to the point where we

just get our eyes fixed on you and we're chasing after you and your kingdom

and your ways and your work, Lord.

Lord, would you give us, Lord, not a conflicting idea of your mission in our

life, but would you show us how those things fold together, Lord,

Lord, that you've created good works for us to walk in.

Lord, we understand that, Lord, and we know that you created us as we are.

And so as the people we are and as the life that we have, Lord,

we ask you, would you show us how to walk in your ways?

Would you show us how to follow after you?

Lord, would you calm and quiet the guilt and the shame that we feel about all

the ways that we don't measure up?

We understand that none of that really matters, Lord, because of what you've

done, Jesus, you've invited us in and you've washed us clean and forever and

ever eternally your gospel is the good news that we have entrance into the holiest

of holies by the blood of Jesus Christ.

And so, Lord, we have no shame about what we've done and we have no shame about

the things that we haven't been or what we've done.

Lord, we just see all the invitation and all the joy of being a part of what

you're calling us into, Lord.

So Give us the joy of obedience, Lord.

Give us the joy of showing up and meeting you, Lord. Give us the joy of being

a part of what you have, God.

Whatever is in the way, whatever bitterness, unforgiveness, whatever despair,

whatever discouragement, whatever sense of like harriedness or that it's just

too much or exhaustion, Lord, just clear those things away, Lord.

Lord, blow upon us by your Spirit.

Encourage us by your Spirit, Lord. Lord, hold us up. We need you so desperately, Lord.

So we want to show up and we ask you, Holy Spirit, would you show up?

Would you come, even as we worship right now?

Come, Holy Spirit. Lord, would you encourage us? Would you raise us up on wings like eagles?

Lord, would you give us the hope we need, the energy we need,

the calling In Jesus' name.

All right. Let's worship the Lord together.