ho will take e e e good morning everybody it's great to be worship with worshiping with you this morning hope you all are enjoying the beautiful weather and I hope you University folk are surviving the end of school I survived and I'm praising God for that one of the other things that I I want to celebrate this morning is Christ's Resurrection because it is still the season of Easter and this is still a season where we can commemorate that Christ had died and also was resurrected one of the things that um I I've been reflecting on over the last little while is how Jesus made it possible for us to to overcome death to overcome this life that um that beats us down and by being baptized into his death and his resurrection we're able to join with Christ where he is now so as as we as we sing about Christ's Resurrection would we would we acknowledge that we can claim that victory for ourselves as well let's stand as we sing Christ the Lord is risen [Music] today Christ the Lord is risen today Hallelujah sons of men and angels say [Music] hallelujah raise your voice and trium high Hallelujah sing ye hands and Earth reply Hallelujah lives again our glorious King Hallelujah where death is now thy s hallelu once he died our souls to [Music] save Hallelujah where I Victory boasting Brave [Music] Hallelujah Love's redeeming work is done hallelujah F the fight the battle one Hallelujah death in vain for is him rise hallelu Christ open Paradise [Music] Hallelujah so we now where Christ has [Music] llelujah following our exal [Music] hallelu like him like him we rise hallelujahs the cross the great the skies Hallelujah [Music] what gift of Grace is Jesus My Redeemer there is no for heaven [Music] now he is my joy my righteousness and freedom my steast my deep boundless peace to this I hold my hope is only Jesus for my life is Holy bound to oh how strange and divine I can sing all is mine yet not I but through Christ [Music] the night is dark but I am not foren for by my the savior he will stay I labor on in weakness and re for in my his power is display to this I hold she will defend me through the deepest valley he will oh the light has been one and I shall overcome yet not but through Christ [Music] me no fade I dread I know I am forgiv the future sure the price it has been paid for Jesus bless and suffer for my and he raised to overthrow the grave to this I hold my defeated Jesus now endeav is my for the chains are released I can sing I am free yet not I but through Christ [Music] in with every breath I to follow Jesus for he has said that he will bring me home and day by day I know he will r until I stand with joy Before the Throne to this I hold my hope is only Jesus all the glory ever to him when the race is come F still my lips shall repeat yet not I but through Christ in with every My Hope Is Only Jesus all the glory ever to him when the ISE Li not but through Christ you may be [Music] seated try that again hey morning so smooth let's pray father God we we thank you Jesus that being the space before you we acknowledge that you have always been in this space um father we just thank you that right now we can just set our hearts and Minds Onto You Lord God we thank you for the the life we have in you the victory we have in you that your love and your grace is far greater than our mess our sin our worries our stress that your grace and your love and your peace is far greater and we thank you for that and we just ask father God that you just pour that upon us this morning help us remind ourselves that we have the victory in Jesus that we have a hope because of you all because of the death and Resurrection all because your love came down and is with us still today Father God we lift up all those things in our hearts and our minds that causes worry and burden and the hurt Lord Jesus you know the road we've been traveling and thank you Father you have been with us we lift up our families our friends father God we lift up there so much Brokenness in this world and hurt Lord God so Jesus we just turn to you for clarity for knowledge for wisdom gain for Hope praying over our brothers and sisters around the world who are also living for you in so difficult conditions father we just pray your peace your mercy over them Lord Jesus we just come before you now as we just sing songs and sit before you and pray and read the word and and listen to sermons and stuff like this father and kids go to Sunday school I pray holy God just be at the center of all of that help us just to grow in our faith in you grow in our knowledge of you holy God we just need you to do that growing and we surrender to you Jesus we thank you for this day in your name Amen in Acts chapter 6 verse3 um you have a picture of the early church growing um many numbers were joining the church and so much so they were having some logistical issues and they were like hey we've got a bunch of bread to give out and we don't have enough people to hand out the bread and so we got to do something about it um FYI for those who don't know we also give a lot of bread out on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a game we had over over 40 people come to receive bread but and here um you know the disciples were like we got to do something about this and so what they did in Acts chapter 6:3 it says this Brothers choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom and we'll turn this responsibility over to them and I think the key part part of that passage is people who are known to you these people who are among you that are known to be full of wisdom and knowledge these people that travel with you and this this idea of being known is really key to us and key I think all the way through scripture of being known by God and I think even with Jesus we've talked about this a few times about Jesus invited the disciples to Journey life with him to be known but also for him to know them that's something we see throughout his ministry and something that we should celebrate you know you think about in in the end of John um The Gospel of John um he writes you know so much more happened than what I have written down here and you can imagine the campfires the the road to wherever they'll go in the conversations Jesus would have that just the fellowship the being known life happened and so you know we are too to have life together and fellowship and so and I encourage you again to find a place to belong again we talk about it with the atrium through the week um the fairies Fellowship opportunities now I'll be honest with you actually yesterday morning um I kind of woke up feeling a bit stressed bit of anxiety stuff going on um in life and and I'm like man this kind of is not cool um even when my football team soccer team won it didn't really take away all my stress Believe It or Not Sports can do a little bit but not everything um but you know what helped me yesterday is a couple of things yesterday zeep and I went for a bike ride that helps exercise does help um but Zep and I we popped by the church um as a baby shower was taking place for little Emma Herbert uh John and Jen's baby and um we got to hang out for a few minutes with people that was great and then afterwards we went back to our home and we hosted near 40 people in our house um for the not so young young adults um and um that really really helped um you know just being together having fun having good uh and food Fellowship is a good thing for us and so I went to bed going man I feel so much better and so Fellowship is a really good thing and this week again there's plenty of things to get stuck into and be part of um whether it be connect groups whether it be Atrium on Friday is Joy um that just for older youth they don't have an age limit I think it's roughly 55 and older but you know if you're 54 I don't think they're going to be checking your ID you're going to be welcomed in so you know an opportunity again to belong to be to to um to join in with others uh that's Friday around 11:00 11:30 come and and belong a part of the joy group um so keep in the in your mind what I just shared there about being known because being known has a great place of Fellowship but it also In this passage of Acts also had a place to play in electing people into various roles it wasn't just random it was choosing people that they knew and so that jumps me to my next announcement here of in two weeks time is our annual general meeting our AGM as a charity we have them we're got to have them and rather than plot through them like oh got to do an AGM we try and turn it into a positive hey let's celebrate what God has been doing over this last year and so it will be six o'clock on the 5th of May um FYI that's the day before Jen and I start our 3mon sabatical uh so an opportunity to make sure we do leave um and you know get rid of it um and so but an opportunity as well to you know we pray through this but also we elect board members people to sit on a board to talk about and with us as pastors the holistic aspect of the church stewardship the buildings um vision mission like all these huge important parts of the church life the board play a part in and you get to vote on that um and so that is really important again choosing people that are known known to to you as people to be in that position they have to be a member um you can ask them if they're willing to stand to be on a board um in the past people say well how do I know if someone's a member or not well let me give you a a scenario if I was to walk up to someone say hey I really feel that you would be a a good person to sit on a church board you got you your key part of the church you got some good attributes they may sit you I'm not a member that's how you find out if they're a member or not just that's as easy as it is they'll take the compliment and go wow you saw that in me that is so nice of you but then they'll say sorry I'm not a member um or they'll say I'm a member and yes please I've always wanted to be on the church board is I hope is also the response to that conversation that you may have with them um and so that is happening so that's in two weeks so feel free as members if you're a member of this church um to um come forward yourself if you'd like to be on the board but also to ask one another every year as well we do nominate people to be in an ex official role meaning that they can by choice sit on the board and have a vote um that is someone who is overseeing the Nazarene missions of the church um the Sunday School discipleship and the Nazarene youth that's kind of how the denomination kind of works um every year those positions are up for nomination um so Brandon mcdal is our missions Glenn mcdal is our Sunday school discipleship and Kate peas is our Nazarene youth they've all said that they would allow their name to stand again however if you're someone goes man I would love to know more of what that role would look like speak to either one of those or myself um I'd like to talk to you about that um so anyway all in all to say that as well is um to be on the board you have to be a member and and so today we are celebrating that nine people are choosing to become church members now again if you've been here the last few weeks church membership isn't oh my word this is the be KN this is the angels in heaven are having a huge party over you becoming a nazarine church member no that is when you become a Christian and when you become a um when you be baptized in in the faith of Jesus yes church membership is really cool though but I just want to say it's not there but we do value the people that say this is our local church and we want to Journey with you you know warts and all um we understand that all denominations are not perfect um the church manual that we look at in the nazarine manual is not the Bible the Bible is perfect the nazarine manual is not perfect okay we have to look at it that way um and but the heartbeat of the Church of the Nazarene got me excited about 15 years or so ago about being missional loving your neighbors loving your community making Christlike disciples in the nation that in the Nations that was is the heartbeat of the church that's what got me excited and hopefully that's what gets you excited about being part of this nomination too so for those people I'm going to share their names who're going to come forward and we're going to just have them just briefly come up and we just kind of pray over them but they also kind of share a statement of faith uh to say that yes we believe in the same thing which is important um to be a member of the church so um Chris and Scott so Scott you can come and um stand by Carissa come on forward Derek and dbor can come on up uh Christian and Karen uh Jacob Jean and Maddie there she is um now teenagers has teenag can become church members I think from like 12 or 13 or something like that but they can't vote until they're 15 um but they can stand and be elected onto youth councils on the district and someone here is a Keener um kind of like their mother and which is awesome um and would like to be on that kind of stuff so that's why it's come in at member um where do want us there perfect um you can stand next to Jacob there hband yeah some by a husband there you go you guys can you're good there um and it has been personally speaking as well all you guys are on a you know Journey it's been wonderful journeying with you guys um some of you have been part of the church for many years some less so but it's wonderful that you've came to a place going yeah this is my church that's who I on a journey with and be part of be willing to you know be on Church boards be willing to be um you know voting on stuff you know members are the ones who end up voting in and out of pastors so you know we need to be nice to these guys you know um you know it's an important role H and so um thank you guys for being willing to learn more about the nazarine church um they said hey I want to learn about the church they came to a couple of things and they still said even after that they would like to be members that's pretty cool um if you sat here going I would like to be a member of the church um speak to Jen and I uh would love to talk to you about that as well um but just briefly guys um I'm just going to quick um read a couple of statements of Faith uh of the church in the nazarine and if you agree please say yes um or if you don't kind of just stay quiet I guess um but I've already shared with you guys um uh the statement of faith so it's not it won't be a surprise to you um but today we affirm again the doctrines and practices of the church so uh we believe in one God Father Son and Holy Spirit we believe that human beings are born in sin that they need the work of forgiveness foress through Christ and the New Birth by the holy spirit that subsequent to this there is the deeper work of heart cleansing through the infilling of the Holy Spirit and that to each of these works of Grace the holy spirit gives witness we believe that our Lord will return the dead shall be raised and that all shall come to final judgment with its rewards and punishments do you heartedly believe these truths if so answer I do you hear that good um do you acknowledge that Jesus Christ sorry do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your lord and savior and do you believe that he saves you now if so Say I Do by faith faith you were listening that's good Desiring to unite with the Church of the Nazarene do you commit to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself as expressed by the covenants of the Christian character and conduct do you commit to the mission of God as expressed in the doctrine fellowship and work of the church in the Nazarene will you support the teachings of the Church of the nazarin and strive with God's help to grow in your understanding and practice of the same in a way that enhances the witness of the church WIll you Endeavor in every way to glorify God by a humble walk Godly conversation and holy service if so please say I will so I therefore I welcome you into the Church of the Nazarene and the fellowship of this local congregation with its benefits and responsibilities may the great head of the church bless you and keep you and enable you to be faithful in all good works that your life and witness may be effective in care for the poor and oppressed and in leading others to Jesus Christ and me just pray with you guys father God I thank you for each person here on the stage I thank you that they first and foremost um have put their heart and faith into you Jesus um even before that father I thank you for your love and your Delight in each one of them Holy Spirit as they just continue to grow in their faith and maturity in you uh I pray that you just work through them and in them um in and through the church as we journey together again just to love others to point others to you um to be a witness to you I pray you give strength to each and every one of them fill them with your peace fill them with your comfort fill them with your purpose father God and drive again just to love on others so Holy Spirit I just pray your blessing on each and every single one of them in Jesus name amen there we go well let's give him a round of applause for being up here that's good thank you guys um it is great to celebrate with you guys you can head on down and um looking all smart here um surely was extra extra happy for Jacob to be member they're having a celebration meal afterwards I think that everyone's invited no I'm Jo I'm Jo they having a celebration meal so it's just wonderful uh to uh to have this time just to celebrate but kids are going to head out to Sunday school in just a few moments um oh my final thing actually of my notices I I do have it here is next Saturday this coming Saturday um talking about serving with a holy heart or whatever is great opportunity to serve with um dirty hands I guess um is we're going to do a cleanup day um so not a cleanup day like mopping the floors we have a great janitor team that does that but a cleanup in terms of getting rid of items that I've been here for many many years um parking lot needs a bit of a clean as well so bring brushes and stuff but be willing to haul stuff we going to either throw stuff in the in the bin large bin and also maybe donate some stuff so 9 till well hopeing just the morning like 9 till 12 um for people willing to come and just move things out um if you thinking if you qualify for this here's the thing if you have things in your house that you've not used for like 10 years and you go one day I'm going to use it one day I'm going to keep it have the morning off we're looking for people who look at stuff after 5 to 10 years and go I've not used it someone else might want to use this you're the kind of person we need there that's the kind of people we're looking for okay so seriously um because it's good to you know it's always good to celebrate what we use but also good to maybe give stuff away um there you go good I'm going to pray I'm going to continue worshiping kids are going to head out um during this time I will say um one person recently said to us one thing they really enjoy about our services is we don't have the baskets that go before people they feel that they can just be and belong without having the pressure of a plate coming before them for offering um that is true how however we do believe in giving um in all ways in our time and also in our resources and so so as we do Faithfully give um I thank you for that uh but there are many ways that you can do that um through online through the checks in the back uh box as well and so we encourage each other to just we give ourselves as much as we can and that includes with our resources so I thank you for being faithful in in all the ways of giving father God we thank you again this opportunity just to be before you and as we continue to worship your name Holy Spirit continue to lead us and guide us each word we sing in these next couple of songs I pray just our just reflect in our love for you help us to grow in your ways and follow you all of our days father God I pray for blessings upon the children help them to grow to know you in a powerful way Jesus thank you for the teachers thank you for that their love for you father they just want to help these kids grow to know you in a powerful way so Jesus we just give you this time we praise you in your name amen amen let's stand together and sing some more [Music] [Music] songs here at your feet show me how much you love [Music] you oh spir be the star that leads me Heart of Love I [Music] see you are the god of the broken the of the we you wash the feet of the we embrace the in I want to be like you [Music] Jesus to have this heart you are the god of [Music] the you are [Music] KN me down again you your feet show me how much you love you will [Music] oh Spirit be the that leads me to [Music] cuz you are the god of the [Music] broken the friend of the you was the feet of the we embrace the on in I want to be like you Jesus to have this heart in me you are the god of the you are the king you are the god of the the the you wash the feet of the we embrace the I want to be like you [Music] Jesus to [Music] heart you are the god the you are the [Music] [Music] I dream come true [Music] all you are is [Music] the I'll [Music] [Music] found Give Me Jesus you can all this world you can this [Music] world silver more than gold you are the the treasure that I now that I've [Music] tasted nothing will is Give Me Jesus give me Jes [Music] you can have all this [Music] world me Jesus Give Me [Music] Jesus you can all this world you can have [Music] [Music] all El [Music] are else I don't else you you are I don't else I don't need anything else you are my one you [Music] are you are my you are you are Give Me Jesus Give Me Jesus you can this you can have all this world give me Jesus Give Me Jesus you can't have this world you [Music] canus give me Jesus you can [Music] Good morning Joe I've just realized I've not giving you my scripture passage so we're Matthew 7 vers 7 to4 but we're going to kind of skip in chunks I'm not very good at reminding or reminding myself to remind Joe or to let Joe know what we're doing sorry about that um this morning we find ourselves in a passage that's probably going to be very familiar to you um whether you've been in the church your whole life or maybe this is your first time in church it's something that you have probably heard at some point in your life because it's just really good moral teaching um and uh and so that's what we'll see here and and today is my last sermon Johnny's going to be preaching the next two weeks um before a until August and so I kind of found it quite fitting because I feel like Jesus is beginning to sum up The Sermon on the Mount so it's kind of like he's starting to start his C conclusion so I get to have a conclusion sermon even though we still have two more weeks after this and so I thought that was kind of cool as well but Jesus is beginning to wrap up what for us has taken us since January 2024 can you believe that in four months we've only hit two chapters of scripture and we have skipped over some parts of those two chapters of scripture we haven't even focused on every single thing and to this morning I actually have three different sections that are within this beginning conclusion that Jesus is going to start with and we're actually going to go middle end start just because we can and that's kind of how it flowed for me because we've titled this one the Golden Rule and so Matthew 7:12 says this Jesus says this do to others whatever you would like them to do to you this is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets do to others as others have had them do to you now has everybody heard that somewhere maybe not even from scripture right it's just good moral teaching right treat others as you want to be treated it's great now Jesus's Sermon on the Mount covers so many topics over these last four months we have looked at stuff like being salt in light about anger about adultery about divorce about taking Oaths about having Revenge about loving our enemies about giving and prayer and fasting money and possessions worry judging ultimately Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount is showing us what living in the kingdom of God is like and how it differs from what the world is because remember when Jesus ushers in his kingdom the kingdom of the world is ultimately flipped upside down because what the world says is right and and fair is not what Jesus says where the first shall be last and the last shall be first where we're to Humble ourselves we've just sung about wanting to be like the humble King who came and gave of himself he didn't take he gave he was here he ate with Sinners he he did things that the world deemed unclean and unfit and unfair because Jesus loves people and this Core teaching do to others of what you would have them do to you I don't know about you but I can see it throughout his entire sermon everything that he's been talking about this is summed up in this one sentence and not only that it's not just Jesus's Sermon on the Mount it is everything here summed up in one sentence the golden rule this week I've been thinking about how incredible this world would be if everyone lived by the Golden Rule if everyone everywhere treated everyone else as they wanted to be treated there'd be no quarreling there would be no jealousy there'd be no war now I don't know about you but I have never met a person who honestly with everything in them wants other people to treat them badly have you met somebody who wants to be treated badly no I have never met somebody who wakes up in the morning goes man today I just wish everybody would ignore me or you know I hope today somebody yells at me I really really hope today wouldn't it just be great if somebody threw something at me no nobody wants to be treated badly we want to be feel valued and loved we want to feel human so imagine imine the world where everyone treated everyone else the same way they wanted to be treated with respect and honor value and kindness where we aren't judged where love abounds and there's no room for hate anger or Injustice I don't know about you but that kind of seems like paradise to me you know this the unity that would take place amongst Humanity I knew I forgot something I found a really cool video and I downloaded it and it's on my computer because I forgot to put it on the drive it's been one of those weeks in this video I will describe it to you it is not faith-based and this is why I loved it it's about a Muslim and a dieh hard Trump fan in Texas and there's a protest taking place at the University of Texas and this Muslim girl is there to protest against Trump and there's a guy there wearing a make America great hat again to protest against the protesters who are protesting against Trump right trying to bring Unity it's it's it's a messy situation right we can just all agree that that is a place that is going to be volatile it's going to be hostile there's not going to be good that comes from this and so this Muslim girl these two people are telling their story and this Muslim girl um says you know I was there to protest and I saw you over there and I saw you with your hat and then I saw that some of the other protesters went around you and surrounded you and they started calling you names and they hit the hat off your head and they took it from you and they pulled it away from you and you were fighting to get it back but they wouldn't give it back to you and something in me snapped because I know what it was like to have people try to throw my like pull my hijab off and to call me names because of what I was wearing on my head and to try to rip it from my head and to take it away from me and when that snapped within me because I understood what you were going through I went over to you and I said hey you have got to stop this give him his hat back and the guy says you know what I've never actually spoken to a Muslim until you walked into my life that day I didn't know anybody from that faith I didn't know any anybody and I never spent time with anybody like that I grew up in a home school and for me I didn't have a whole lot of friends and for somebody to stand up for me who was so different from me Worlds Apart changed something in me that day and this Muslim girl and this Trump supporting Texan are friends and when I watched that video because I just typed into you can you can Google it on YouTube just type in the Golden Rule and and it comes up about five or six down and I got goosebumps because what is Jesus saying to us here treat others as you want to be treated and here are two people of no faith who are on Polar Opposites they should be enemies who go we have something in common so imagine a world where everyone treated everyone else as they wanted to be treated imagine the peace and the Friendship imagine that that it just it just blew my mind to think that's an little tiny image from a non-faith people non-Christian Faith people that illustrate to us what Jesus is saying imagine if Christians those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ treated our fellow humans whether they agreed with us or not in the same way we wanted to be treated with respect respect and with dignity where we stood up for others instead of tearing each other down imagine if the church treated people who weren't like us as individuals made in the image of God imagine what a better world this would be imagine that the kingdom of God that Pro that Jesus proclaims throughout the Sermon on the Mount were to come true here because he has ushered his kingdom in and we get to be the Agents of that Kingdom so do unto others as you would have them do unto you there you go there's my King James version Jesus is just going this is what I'm calling you to this is why you shouldn't judge this is why you shouldn't worry this is why we should be fasting in prayer this is why we should be doing all of these things because you are the salt and the light you are my hands and feet You Are My Chosen People you are the ones that I have called to set an example for the world around you so that they may know know how much they are loved and valued but if the church is against people how are they going to know that they have a god that is for them and who loves them unconditionally imagine a world where we listened where we cared where we supported where we embraced not physically don't get worried we're not going to all have to be touchy feely but figur embrace raced people where we loved and where we Let Jesus speak everything that Jesus says everything that he shows us in his life death and Resurrection points us to a life where we consider others first the well-being of humanity Jesus lived the Golden Rule he's not just some mizing this sermon with some lofty idea because again Jesus doesn't just give us lofty ideas he gives us concrete reality that he shows us by an example how does he show us this Golden Rule you just have to read the gospels he eats with Sinners he heals the unclean and the sick he makes space for the marginalized and the lonely he does not fight back and he goes on to say this in Matthew 7: 13 and 14 you can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate the highway to hell is Broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way but the gate to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only few ever find it in other words as Jesus is modeling this golden R rule to us as he's summing up this entire sermon that he's been sharing with the people on the hillside he isn't asking us to choose an easy way he knows the way is is hard he knows the way is narrow and he knows that people are going to be enticed to just live as the world tells us to live because it's easy thinking about yourself is easy because you don't have to worry about other people you only have to care what you think you only have to care about what you feel when you put others first it becomes hard to live life because suddenly you're wondering what they're thinking and how your actions are affecting other people and it's hard to to live life where you're just so concerned about what other people not what they think about you but how they're feeling and how your actions are actually affecting others living as a follower of jesus takes practice to set our minds on things above and not on Earthly things takes training prayer and generosity loving enemies not worrying it all makes conscious choices of TR trusting in Jesus trusting that his words are truth and life trusting that he will provide for our needs when we live a generous lifestyle that he will help us to not worry when we trust that he's got this but in order to do any of that you have to know Jesus and that's the hard narrow gate to spend time with him to invest in that relationship with him to truly live is salt and light in this world you will stand out and there will be trials and you may even face Temptation we are blessed to live in the west where we don't we don't understand temptation but there are brothers and sisters of ours who live around the world who when they stand up for Jesus it could cost them their life it's not easy to follow Jesus but the rewards are far greater than the wide path that leads to destruction Jesus is calling us to a better way where love abounds jumping back to the first part of this passage starting in verse seven keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for keep on seeking and you will find keep on knocking in the door will be open to you for everyone who asks receive everyone who seeks find and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened you parents if you children ask for a loaf of bread do you give them a stone instead or if they ask for a fish do you give them a snake of course not so if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him Jesus isn't saying that God is a god a genie and a lamp where you rub the side and out pop Robin Williams in blue form ready to Grant your wishes that's not what Jesus is saying he's also not saying that God's going to give you everything for a prosperous life where money and wealth are no issue you never have any health problems and you know Prosperity Gospel Jesus isn't saying Prosperity Gospel here either but what Jesus is saying is that if you ask for what you need in my name that the father's going to give it to you and do you know what we need in Jesus's name love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control those fruit of the spirit you know those things that bring Unity those things that help us treat other people as we would like to be treated Jesus says if you ask God's going to give it to you because guess what in order to live as a disciple of Christ we have to be filled with these things we have to have these Godly gifts so Jesus again is not saying here do this but guess what we're not even going to help you out he's saying ask the father and he will give you these things because in order to live like this you've got to have this you've got to have Jesus because treating others is the way that we want to be treating loving others who are difficult to love isn't easy but God gives us what we need to do the job that he's asked us to do but be prepared because if you pray for more patience you're going to find yourself in a situation where you need more patience because God's going to train it in you he's going to give you the patience you need if you ask for patience and you never experience anything that needs patience well how do you know you have patience be prepared because if you pray for more love guess what somebody's going to come into your life is really not easy to love but you ask God to fill you with his love so that you can love others and so that person needs to be love and God's going love this person because I love this person we have everything that we need to be a follower of Christ when we know him and we begin to see him at work in our lives when we treat others as we want to be treated when we see others as valuable children of God Made In His Image because this story of love and Grace isn't just for me it's for you and it's for your neighbor and it's for your coworker and it's for the annoying little kid down the street it's for everybody because Jesus loves us all the Bible tells us this and Jesus's beginning summary of His sermon is to just ultimately love people as I have loved people and his love is so great that he sacrificed himself made himself nothing took our sin and our shame on the cross so that we in turn could find life in him but not just life so that we have life but so that others have life because that good news is the good news that we get to share because we've experienced his love but it isn't easy but with Christ it's possible because in him all things are possible father God we just thank you for who you are we thank you for your love for us even when when we are unworthy God you still love us and God as we look to Jesus's words this morning God we do ask we ask for those things that we need in our lives to help us focus on you those things that we need in our lives in order to be disciples followers practicers of the way of Jesus God help us to choose the Jesus way help us to choose to not live for ourselves but for you to see that living a life of love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control of of surrender to you is so much better than what the world has to offer God there may be some here this morning who just want to surrender themselves to you and the altars are always open sometimes that act of coming for forward and kneeling just helps us solidify in our mind what's going on in our hearts that God we just want to surrender to you help us to live this Golden Rule help us to be a church that loves people regardless of who they are where they're from what they stand for but just to love people because you love people help us to see others as created in your image we all have warts and flaws amongst us help us to see past those in other people and just be able to love because God your love transforms lives not what we say or do but but your love so God I just pray that your love just flows through us in our community in our neighborhoods in our workplaces in our schools but we acknowledge it comes from surrendering to you God I thank you guide us and teach us in your name amen let's stand and sing [Music] [Music] first the kingom of God and his [Music] rightous all these be add [Music] hallelu shall [Music] alone but [Music] by proceeds [Music] the hallelu hallelu [Music] huu be [Music] you hallelu [Music] hallelu halelujah [Music] hu hu [Music] Hal Hal [Music] hu seek he [Music] first seek first the K God and His [Music] [Music] all benediction for this morning comes from Jesus's words just a few verses before today's passage seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything that you need seek his kingdom this week and be light in the dark world around us sh