Amen.
Welcome to Church Unplugged.
. My name is Marcel Hall and I want to, , express how grateful I am to
be part of our church family and be able to worship God together, whether
we have amplified sound or not.
And I do want to thank Brian Turner and the Ushers always doing their
job and Brian on his birthday.
Over here serving.
Amen.
And and Chris just mentioned, you know, it's also Corinna's
birthday today as well.
So she was hooking up some sandwiches afterwards.
So that's what, that was where she was right there.
But amen.
Alright, so we're gonna go ahead and we're starting up a new
sermon series for the summer.
And we're calling it Psalms of the Summer.
The soundtracks of life and so we actually have we can have the ushers go ahead
We have some handouts here for you that we want to I think we're gonna have it
on the app as well But I don't think it's on there right now But we're gonna
have some of these handouts and want to go over it real quickly because it's
a breakdown of the book of Psalms And so I want to go over this real quickly
here because we're going to be studying out now There are a hundred and fifty
songs And we are not going to go over 150 songs over the next few weeks.
If we were to do one song a week, that would be, what would that be?
About three years almost, right?
So we are not going to do that.
But we will have some songs over the next two months here that I believe will really
help us out in our relationship with God.
And so, I see that ushers are passing them out here.
So I'm gonna go ahead and go over.
The handout that we have here, and again, this will be a guide
and help you as well to go deeper in your own personal Bible study.
And so, it starts off here with the purpose.
The Psalms are a collection of poems used by the Jews as songs of worship.
A hymn book, if you will.
The Psalms express the full range of human emotion and display the
writer's relationships with God.
The thoughts and feelings they express help their readers
draw near to the Lord as well.
And so, one of the great things about the Book of Psalms is it's very real,
honest vulnerable, and authentic.
And and so as you read and study out the Psalms, it really reveals
how to have a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God.
And so you, because you know that these are psalms or poetry, it also helps us
to make sure we interpret it correctly.
Because as you read the psalms, if you are thinking that these are all commands
from the Lord, then you will be confused on some of the psalms that you read.
Because King David was, wrote several of the psalms and he gets
very real in his prayers to God.
Where he's like crush my enemies.
You know what I'm saying?
And so some of us would be fired up and like, yeah, God
You want me to crush my enemies?
Let's go, but that's not necessarily Correct theology.
Okay, you with me here?
So let's continue going over this the dates almost all of the Psalms written
between the time of David 1000 BC and the time of the return of Jews from exile
in Babylon about 500 BC this collection of Psalms was assembled gradually over
time and completed by at least 400 B.
C.
Some of the author David is attributed with writing 73 A.
Sasson, the Cora, Solomon, Moses and etcetera.
Not all the songs are credit to a specific author.
The titles were added later and should not be considered part
of the inspired text structured.
150 songs are arranged in five books.
You have book one Book 2, Book 3, Book 4, and Book 5.
Book 1 was probably the first organized collection of Psalms, and the other
books were added successfully over time.
Biblical scholars have attempted to classify the
Psalms that are similar types.
Lament Psalms expressing grief and appeal for help.
More than 60 of those, the largest group.
Royal Psalms concerning Israel's king.
Thanksgiving psalms, praise psalms, wisdom psalms, and trust psalms.
Other types of psalms that have been suggested, and some psalms seem to
be a combination of different types, and some psalms are individual while
others are meant for the Jewish nation.
Important considerations, poetry uses symbolism and vivid imagery
to communicate emotionally similes, comparisons, hyperbole, and parallelism.
The New Testament writers quote for themselves more than any other book in
the New, I mean in the Old Testament.
And then there's some several recommendations to help you again
go further in your Bible study in a couple chapters specifically.
And then here are some of the topics.
that we will hit on over the next several weeks there.
So again you want to keep this, use this, this is a helpful guide for you
to go deeper in your walk with God.
Today we're actually going to go and we're going to study out Psalm 1.
Since we're going to study out the Psalm, let's go ahead and start off with Psalm 1.
Actually, the song that we just sang...
It's based off of Psalm 1, and as we read it, you'll be able to go, Oh,
okay, this makes some more sense, and you'll be able to connect it.
And so the title for today is, A Tale of Two Paths.
A Tale of Two Paths.
Let's go ahead and let's pray before we get into the scriptures.
God, thank you so much for your Word.
God, I'm so inspired and excited about our Bible study in the book of Psalms.
I'm excited about the things I've been learning.
Been studying out specifically someone and God, I pray right now father, we will
walk away with decisions about our life, decisions about our faith and decisions
about what path we want to be on.
We pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Alright, let's go ahead, let's go on over to Psalm chapter 1.
And so we have this, in order for us to again understand this as poetry, even
on the screen, or if you're looking on the screen on your phone it's, the way
it is, it's in stanzas, if you will, to help you again understand the type of
literature that you and I are reading.
So let's go ahead, and you know, here's another little cool thing, is that
the word the first word in Psalm 1, again, the original language is Hebrew.
And so the first letter of the first word in Psalm 1 starts with the
first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
And the last word begins with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
You guys hear what I'm saying?
So like A to Z.
So if it started with an A and then the last word started with a Z there, right?
And I believe that's intentional.
We might make a reference to that later.
But let's go ahead and let's get into it.
It says, Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked.
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but
whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day
and night, that a purse that person is like a tree planted by streams
of water, which yields its fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked.
They are like chaff, the wicked, okay, I'm sorry.
All right, there you go.
They're like chaff, that the wind blows away.
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners
in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of
the wicked leads to destruction.
A tale of two paths.
There's this idea, there's this imagery, there's this conjuring up
this idea of one way and another way.
Did you see that?
And you see here, there's two paths, a path of blessing and a path,
really, of eternal condemnation.
And we all know that God wants His children, His creation,
to be on the right path.
And so, therefore, He encourages and He also calls and warns
us to stay on the right path.
And if we want the blessings of God, if we want God's favor, if we want to
be aligned with our Heavenly Father, then we should heed the wisdom and
the direction that is in this psalm.
So let's go ahead and let's break down this psalm here.
And so I believe that this is definitely by divine order, that this psalm is
placed first of all the 150 psalms.
Because it really is a great preface.
It's a great introductory to all of the teachings and the wisdom that
you will find in the book of Psalms.
And it really serves as a summary, if you will, of all of
the Psalms and their teachings.
So let's go ahead and let's get into it here.
First off, it says blessed.
Now this word blessed in Hebrew means, it means blessed, but you can also
translate it like, oh how happy!
So even in some translations of this, it says, Oh, how happy is the one.
Now think about that for a second.
When you're feeling blessed, how are you feeling?
Happy.
You're like, man, I'm fired up.
I'm blessed.
You know, just the fact that we were able to have service today.
I'm blessed.
I'm happy to be here in the worship.
My wife is happy that today is her birthday.
You guys get what I'm saying.
And so it says blessed is the one that would get remember that.
Because that sets up the whole song.
Blessed.
Happy.
Is the one.
Now, there's something interesting here.
It had this idea of walking, standing, and sitting.
I don't know if you caught that.
But there is really a progression, or you can argue, in this
case maybe a regression, here, of someone in their faith.
And you see this progression there of being loosely associated with.
to being completely identified with the wicked.
And so let's break this down.
Church, are you still with me here?
You better take some notes here.
I'm going to drop a little Hebrew on you today.
Okay, alright?
I've been working on my Hebrew.
Just like I work on my Greek.
So that's very little.
Alright, here we go.
Alright, so here we go again.
Let's look at this here.
It says, Walk in step of the wicked.
Now this idea, usually, especially the way NIV does it, walking
step means the way you live.
But really the way this should be translated, or literally translated,
is really this idea of walking in the advice or the counsel.
So blessed is the one who does not walk in the advice or the counsel of the wicked.
And this word wicked wicked is Rasha.
Can you say Rasha?
Rasha.
There you go.
That's one of your Hebrew words for the day.
Rasha.
Now this word wicked here, it means wicked, but it means to have been
judged or will be judged guilty.
But in this regard, we know guilty as far as sinning and
in defiance of God Almighty.
So it says, Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel,
in the advice, of the wicked.
Now that seems to be smart.
Doesn't it?
Because the advice or the input that you receive has a huge influence
on your thinking and your behavior.
Doesn't it?
And so, how blessed, it makes sense.
How much wise it would be to go ahead and make sure that you avoid evil influences
because they will influence your world view and then what your behavior.
I remember, we were actually having this conversation yesterday, and I remembered
yesterday how I used to listen to all types of rap music, and and when I became
a Christian, and through the years, I started to realize that some of the rap
music that I was listening to wasn't really healthy for me spiritually.
You know what I'm saying?
I don't want to mention any of the songs, cause y'all might start relapsing,
and you know what I'm saying, you might get to tripping up in here.
But some of the songs I realized that as I would listen to it, it would influence me.
Because those words would come to mind later on.
And so as situations would happen, I would battle, What, wait, wait, am
I thinking like a man of God or am I thinking like a man of the world?
And so I started to realize, well this is having a huge influence on me.
And I realized for many years, That yes, I would probably have been as
sinful as Worley without rap music, but it definitely enhanced my sinfulness.
You guys get what I'm saying?
And it affected the way I viewed, especially the way I viewed women.
They were objectified.
The way I viewed people was us against them.
And so it had a huge, so I was walking in the council of wickedness.
You guys get what I'm saying?
And so, I have to mention this though, church.
Can I just be honest for a quick second?
Well, hopefully I'm honest the whole time.
But you get what I'm saying.
I hate when I have to say, Can I be honest?
Well, what you been doing before?
Okay.
We have to be honest.
There is a concern for our congregation.
And it's who are we listening to?
Who are we listening to?
TV personalities, the four letter networks, podcasters, radio personalities,
social media, TikTok and Instagram.
Are these the ones who are having the most influence in our lives?
I especially have to mention the parenting.
You know, it's really concerning.
When it comes to our parenting, how many of us are going to websites and books
more than we're going to the biblical principles laid out in God's Word?
We're going to books or we're just winging it and we're not going to people who can
give us godly input or godly application of the godly principles in God's Word.
And then we're wondering what's happening in our homes.
Who are we listening to?
But it says blessed is the one who doesn't walk in the advice of the world.
Let's continue going forward here.
Church, are you still with me?
Stand in the way, or stand in the way that sinners take.
Now this means to closely associate with them in their sinful behavior.
If I'm standing in the way that the sinners take, that means I'm
associating with their type of behavior.
And so let's break down another Hebrew word.
This word is a little harder than it sounds.
It's haqta.
There's a haq.
Haqta, can you say that?
Haqta, there you go.
Hopefully that was right.
If it was wrong, then go ahead and blame me.
Okay, alright, there you go.
But what this word means, it can be used as an adjective, but basically what it
means as a noun, it's just sinful person.
It's a sinner.
But more in this context of one who's live.
Is dominated and shaped by the inclination to sin.
So I'm just inclined that we're all, to a certain extent, inclined to sin.
But that's not really what we're talking about.
This is a lifestyle which I'm inclined, so my life is dominated and shaped by sin.
You guys get what I'm saying here.
And so how can we see this in our lifestyle in, in our day?
Well, when we have lifestyles or we have choices that are eerily similar
to the sinful world that we live.
Yeah.
When our lifestyles, when our choices look mirror, if you will, the world that we
live in, that's how you and I can stand in this in, in the path that sins take.
But again, blessed or those who don't closely associate you with sinful
behavior, we keep moving forward or sit in a company of mockers.
And this word mockers is, uh, it's loots, it's go ahead and
say loots Luke's then, right?
And so this is probably the worst and the furthest from God
when it comes to being a sinner.
So even what was mentioned before, this is the absolute worst because
this type of sinner is one who's arrogantly defiant and mocking God
and those who want to be righteous.
So there's an arrogance.
There's a mocking.
Oh, you want to be like that?
You want to be righteous and you mock it.
That's why the word mocker is there.
It's mocking God, but with an arrogant defiance.
And so again, you see what you see this progression.
Or maybe you could call it a regression in the faith.
And so to sit in the company of mockers means that people
are now completely identifying.
With them in their proud, sinful plans and behavior.
So all of you right now, you're sitting in the assembly of the church.
So right now, you are associating, identifying yourself, in some form or
fashion, with the church, with God's people, as you're listening to God's word.
But now, if we were all a bunch of mockers, you would be sitting
in the company of mockers.
Therefore, clearly identifying yourself as one of them.
He says, blessed is the one who doesn't sit in the company of mockers.
And again, we see, if you will, three degrees of departure from
God by conforming to the world at three different levels.
First of all, accepting its advice, second, participating in its ways, and
third, completely identifying with it.
But again, blessed is the one who doesn't go down that path.
Let's continue.
It says, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord.
Delight to enjoy, to value, to follow God's teachings and directions.
This is what the blessed are like, the path of God.
They delight in God's word.
And if you think about this, whatever we enjoy, we tend to what?
Think about and pursue.
If you enjoy something, you tend to think about it and pursue it.
So if we enjoy God's Word, we'll tend to what?
Think about it and pursue it.
And this is what the righteous are like.
Meditate on God's Word.
It says meditate on His law day and night.
Even though we think about this for a second, right?
If I'm delighting in the law of the Lord and I'm meditating day and night, that's
going to influence the way I think.
It will transform and shape my worldview and directly influence
and determine the path, the steps, or the lifestyle that I live.
And if I'm consumed, With God in some form or fashion, whether it's
study, diligently studying the word, meditating on it, trying to talk
about it, trying to live it out.
Guess what's going to happen?
I'm going to have behavior that follows that, but I'm not even
going to have enough time to get involved with a whole bunch of sin.
You get what I'm saying?
Because if I'm delighting in God's word, if I'm going ahead and I'm
meditating on it, then again, I don't even have enough capacity.
To go ahead and indulge in sinful behavior.
And it says meditate on it day and night.
I don't think it means, hey, I thought about God's word in
the morning and in the evening.
Kind of like prayers before you eat.
You know what I mean?
Like, okay, I prayed, yeah, before I ate and then, you know, it's
morning or lunch again or whatever.
No, it's talking about this idea of the Lord's instruction governing
and guiding the whole of our lives.
God's word should govern and guide the whole of our lives.
Now here, this hit me the other day.
You know, the initial audience who read this, who stood up in the
congregation as they read these things, who might have sang these.
The initial audience, most of them were illiterate.
Think about that for a second.
Most of them were illiterate.
And so how can they meditate on the law day and night if they couldn't read it?
Well that meant that when they came together and they heard the word,
that meant they valued the word of God so much that, Hey, I'm going to come
together and hear the word of God.
So they made it to their church service.
But then they took it and they thought about it.
And the Deuteronomy says you are called to talk about it and
instill it as you walked, as you worked, as you did your day.
And so I don't need to be able to read all of it if it's on my mind
and I'm talking and I'm engaging it and I'm trying to understand what
does God want me to do with this?
And life was more simple back then.
They didn't have as many things pulling at their attention so you
can think more about God's work.
But it made me think, wow, there is no excuse for us today when
it comes to consuming God's Word.
It's readily available.
I think every one of us, except for maybe a couple of the kids don't have phones.
And so every single one of us can get on an app and read God's Word,
and allow it to minister to us at any point of the day that we want.
And everyone here, I believe, is literate, so you can read God's Word.
And you can consume it in a fashion that they couldn't even enjoy.
Again, blessed is the one who delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on it day and night.
It says that person is like a tree planted by streams of water.
And the way to translate this, streams of water, is accurate.
But literally it means channels or irrigation channels.
And so you have this channel of water.
So back in the ancient Palestine, the streams of Palestine regularly dried up.
But the irrigation channels that came off the great rivers never did.
And so they would see that the imagery is in their head.
Hey, we know about these streams that dry up, but we know about those that never do.
And so he gives this imagery for you and me, saying that the godly
individual is like a tree that has a rich water supply, a strong root system.
So then it's filled with leaves and fruits.
Suggesting to us.
That the godly will have a continual source of life, which produces
stability and uninterrupted prosperity.
But then it says it doesn't wither.
And so this is helpful for us as well.
Leap doesn't weather because there is a time when our seasons
or natural seasons are dry.
But it means we won't crumble.
We won't fail or we won't fall.
But that our faith...
We'll be strong even during those times,
and I love this.
How it says yielded fruit in season or streams of water
and whatever they do prospers.
And it reminds me of what Jesus said in John 7 38.
Look what he says here.
He says, whoever believes in me as scripture has said, rivers of
living water will flow from within.
Wow, how incredible is that?
We see this connection from the Old Testament to what Jesus is saying.
And we know that in between, Jesus provides the Holy Spirit for those
who would repent and get baptized.
And so now we have the Holy Spirit who is readily available to provide
living water that flows from within us.
Calling us to be in step with the Holy Spirit, be close to God.
Hence, why we should read our Bibles, why we should pray, why we should
connect with each other in relationship, and build each other up, so that the
living waters may flow through us.
So no matter what the season may be, we will never wither, fail, fall, or crumble.
I don't know about you, but that's some good news.
I say hallelujah for the Lord Jesus.
You know, I do want to mention this, though.
This does not promote health and wealth teaching.
Some can use this passage out of context and say, Well,
this is a prosperity gospel.
See, God provides all these material blessings.
One thing, again, we have to remember, that as we're reading this as poetry, this
is a general truth, not an absolute truth.
So that's helpful to remember in the context.
But also that the blessings that God refers to throughout the
Psalms, and as we see in Christ, are more spiritual blessings
than they are material blessings.
Are you understanding what I'm saying?
And even if we read the Psalms, even as your sheet shows, the most Psalms
can be categorized as lament Psalms.
Times of struggle, of hardness, of God, where are you?
Why is this happening to me?
But yet God pulling them through.
And so again, this is not health and wealth gospel.
This is a general truth that God provides, and we see what it's like for
us on this side of the new covenant.
Church, are you still with me here?
Let's go to verse 4 here.
It says, But not so the wicked.
Interesting.
We know what it's like for the blessed.
It would be like rivers, streams, and water.
He says, But not so with the wicked.
He says, They're like chaff.
The wind blows away.
And so we see this contrast from the well rooted, productive tree to the
now, the dry plant that has no root system and is blown away by the wind.
And chap is basically the husk on corn or seed.
And so what they would do when you winnow that or whatever, is you
get that off and it just blows.
And especially during the wind in the Palestine area, you would just
go ahead and you're winnowing your whatever it is, your seed or your coin.
They just go like this and the wind will blow it away.
He says, that's what it's like for the wicked.
They're just going to be blown away at the eternal judgment.
And this is the image of the destiny.
For that path of the wicked.
And he goes on and he says, Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment.
Basically, the wicked won't have a leg to stand on.
When it's time for God to judge, they won't have a leg to stand on.
And he says, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Did you catch a little bit of word similarities from verse 1 in this one?
This idea again of rising up within this one and sitting in
the assembly of the righteous.
And so those who sit in the company of mockers will not sit
in the assembly of the righteous.
Those who identify with the mockers will not sit with those
who identify with God Almighty.
And so we can see the path of God and blessing.
And the path of destruction.
And this serves to be really two things, at least for me.
It's encouraging and it's sobering.
It's encouraging because I feel like, Hallelujah!
To be, in Christ, to be clear and confident that I sit amongst
those who God considers righteous.
Not because of what we've done, but because of what Christ's
done and Him covering over us.
And so we can rejoice and we can say that we can do that.
Come on, man.
I'm auditioning.
I keep auditioning.
They keep telling me, wait, keep working on it.
That's what I hear.
But we can be encouraged that by God's grace, where we sit amongst
all those who are righteous from beginning of time until now.
But yet it's sobering at the same time.
It's sobering because it's God's warning and God's calling to get right.
And so if you're here today, God is calling you and He's warning you.
Come to me and get right with me now.
I want you to get off of that path and I want you to get on to the right
path which leads to eternal life.
But it's also sobering for us who sit in the assembly of the righteous.
Because know what that means?
is that we have many family, friends, neighbors, co workers and classmates who
are not right with God, who are right now currently don't sit in the assembly
of the righteous and that's sober.
And so I rejoice, but yet I'm sober and feeling a call in a pool.
To do something about that, because somebody did that for me.
They reached out and they helped me to cross over from that path to the other.
Let's continue in verse 6.
Church, are you still with me here?
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of
the wicked leads to destruction.
The Lord watches over, literally means He knows.
And so what this implies, what this communicates to us is that our Heavenly
Father has an intimate knowledge of us and intimate care for each single, every
single one of us that he watches over.
He knows he's there and he's trying to care, provide, protect and guidance.
Again, we are God's chosen people by grace and mercy, and we can rejoice
and celebrate, but may that lead us to great humility and gratitude.
But we see here two paths that lead to two different lives or
two different lifestyles that lead to two different judgments.
God blesses and shows favor to one while the other stands condemned.
One leads to joyful prosperity while the other to destruction.
And this is true in part in our lifetime, but in fullness in the life to come.
And so now we have to ask, well, what does that mean for you and me today?
How should we apply God's word and direction to our lives today?
Here's what I believe.
I believe we need to go ahead and we need to go and choose our path.
We need to decide today to choose your path.
We must respond by choosing a path that we will take for our lives.
Because we're on either one path or the other.
We're not in both at the same time.
You can't have one foot in one and one foot in the other.
You guys get what I'm saying?
They go in two different directions.
It's like I always tell people, you can't be half pregnant, okay?
You're either pregnant or you're not pregnant.
You get what I'm saying?
So I'm either on the path of God or I'm on the path of not.
Right with God.
And so we have to ask ourselves and especially those of us who might have
grown up in a church, just because you grew up in a church, you know the path,
you've been close to the path, but it doesn't mean you're on that path.
And again, that's a sobering truth.
And so we have to make a choice which path we will choose.
Remember I told you earlier that the first word, that word blessed, that
started with the first Hebrew letter.
You guys remember that?
And that word destruction, that actually is the...
Last, it starts with the last letter of the Hebrew word.
You guys get that, right?
And I think God is really cool in this.
Because you think about it, it's basically saying from A to Z.
We pretty much have a poem that goes, It starts off with A and ends with Z.
You guys with me here?
And when we say from A to Z, we mean A from beginning to end.
Right?
And so at the beginning is blessing, and at the end is destruction.
But in between, there's direction.
On which path you can take and you say, wow, you're telling me you want me to
learn something from beginning to the end and you want me to choose this path
of blessing and of righteousness and a life with you and so we could choose to
be faithful in our relationship to God or we could choose to be unfaithful.
Now, the blessings that come along God's path for the here and now and for the
life to come are awesome and incredible.
But it's clear that there's a call to be righteous in the way we live.
If we're going to remain on that path, there's clearly a call to live
holy, meaning separate sacred of God.
Then to live like those who are in the path of sin.
Did you guys catch all of that?
Yes, of course you did.
And so we see here that we should have an unshakable, unmovable conviction that
is those who are considered righteous.
We will never flirt with the idea of
We're not going to partake.
We're not going to get a little bit.
Just give me a little something, something of the evil.
We're not even going to flirt with the idea.
I'm not going to walk and step.
I'm not going to stand in the path.
And I'm for sure not going to sit down in the company of the mockers.
And so again, which path are you truly on?
Because if we're on the path of God, then our lifestyle and our
choices should reflect that.
So yes, that applies to the music that we listen to.
Yes, that applies to the media that we consume.
But it applies to how I interact in my relationships with the opposite sex.
It applies to how I relate to the relationships in
my home and in the church.
Church, are you with me here?
And so man, there's so many blessings that we all want that and hallelujah,
but those are reserved for those Who walk in step with the Lord and God is
gracious and merciful and he lavishes upon his people But if we want to
stay in tune with him, we got to be in tune with the Holy Spirit church.
Are you with me?
And so the righteous love God's instruction.
They love God's teaching and therefore live by his word Which
makes us wise and live holy lives.
And so, we are called to choose our path today.
I want to get very practical here and give some action steps here real quickly.
And go ahead and take a picture and write these down here.
And I'm asking you here to do this.
Either today, tomorrow, or Tuesday here.
Do it sooner than later.
Is answer these questions.
Just go ahead and write them down as you answer them for yourselves here.
But go ahead.
First off, what path are you on?
And let's be honest, honestly.
Yeah, maybe I was on that path, but man, the way I've been living, it sure does
reflect and look like the other path.
Or maybe you know, Hey, you know what?
I'm not on the path of God.
I'd encourage you even as Chris welcomed us.
Go ahead and seek some help today.
Every single one of us who is a member of this congregation.
We had somebody help us to cross from this path to that path
and we are forever grateful.
And so I encourage you to go ahead and seek that help out.
But again, we can ask this question, how you respond to God's grace.
Or God's calling and warning as you realize the path you are on.
And in the second section here, answer this question.
What path are your family, friends, and neighbors on?
And what will you do this week to help those who are on the wrong path?
Right now we're going to take communion.
This is the time where we remember Jesus death upon the cross, the
sacrifice that allows us to have an opportunity of eternal life.
And we take the emblem representing his body and his blood that was
sacrificed and spilled for us.
And I want to close out right here with the passage that we read earlier.
Because Jesus is the only way that we can even have a chance to be on the path of
the righteous and the holy and of God.
And he says, whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living
water will flow from within them.
Let's pray.
God, thank you so much for Jesus.
Thank you so much that he provides a path that he is, as we learned
last week, or we're reminded of.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
And God, we're so thankful that all of us who are in Christ, that
we can celebrate our salvation.
That we can celebrate and rejoice of the grace and mercy
that has been extended to us.
But God, we pray that we can soberly assess where we are before you.
And God, that we can make choices in response to the resurrection.
In response to the cross.
To live righteous lives.
God, to live in honor of what you have bestowed upon us.
God, I pray for all those, maybe those online or those here in the room.
God, I pray that they will see that this opportunity is there for them.
And it came at a cost.
It came at the cost of your son, Jesus died.
And if that would move, that would stir and that will compel them to
turn and to look toward you and to move from one path to the other.
God, you are good and we are thankful that we had this
opportunity to worship you today.
It's in the name of Jesus.
Amen.