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Hey friends, welcome to worship at First Presbyterian Church in Bend, Oregon. My name is Steven, the lead pastor here at First Presbyterian. And just know that whoever you are, wherever you happen to be this morning, and however you happen to be connecting with us, we couldn't be more delighted that you've joined us. I'm excited to announce that we will resume in person worship. Next Sunday, March 6, at 9am and 10:30am. We ask everyone who plans to attend to be vaccinated and boosted.
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And we do encourage all who are vulnerable or immunocompromised, to continue to connect with us online, or on TV, which we plan to continue. For those who who don't live in Bend, and who have connected to us online. We'll be continuing to offer an in person online and TV option every Sunday for worship.
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This Wednesday, is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent.
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The journey towards Easter. And I theme for Lent this year is good enough.
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Embracing the imperfections of life and faith know based on a book by Kate bowler. And we're going to encourage those who wish to read the book as we as we journey together.
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You know there is no perfect there is only life.
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And sometimes in the pursuit of something better, bigger best.
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We miss the sacredness of our ordinary good enough lives.
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And a life and a faith.
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That is good enough may be just what our soul needs.
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There'll be a site of self guided prayer opportunity at our labyrinth all day this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.
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And those who wish can drive through kind of a drive thru at our entrance under our portico, the entrance of our sanctuary, between five and 6pm, this Wednesday, to receive the imposition of ashes and a blessing.
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And today, today we conclude our worship series on the Lord's Prayer focusing on the line lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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You know, every single day we're tempted to be to be just overwhelmed by by the evil, ugliness and despair of this world.
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And we're encouraged as people of faith, to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with goodness.
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And what is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a goodness that could not be defeated a goodness stronger than evil.
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So is it possible that we deliver one another from evil with every act of goodness?
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Take a deep breath with me.
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May we breathe in the goodness of God in our worship today that we might breathe out.
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goodness in the world.
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Welcome.
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I'm Joe Murray. This is my wife, Blair O'Donnell. And we're lighting the Christ candle as a reminder of Christ's light in the world.
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The followers of Jesus in a time of uncertainty asked him teach us to pray.
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Jesus said, Pray this way.
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Our Father, not my father, your father, their father, but our Father.
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We are reminded as we worship that we belong to one another.
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And we're in this together Hallowed be thy name. Remind us as we worship that everything is holy and sacred. Help us see the sacred and unexpected ways and places today.
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Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Remind us as we worship that our goal isn't simply to get to heaven, but to bring a bit of heaven here on earth.
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Give us today our daily bread.
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Give us the gift today of enoughness may our response to perceived scarcity always be increased generosity, for we are your children and from you, we receive everything. Give us today a desire for our neighbors to be fed. Give us today a desire for a good that is held in common. And forgive us as we forgive one another. Open our hearts and our worship today to your mercy, that we might become peacemakers and agents of reconciliation in this divided world.
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And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Lead us from the temptation to be less than you have created us to be and deliver us from being bound in fear for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Remind us as we worship today that love wins.
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And if love isn't winning, it just means the story isn't over embolden us in our worship to be the storytellers of your love.
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[music] Have you ever looked around at the problems in the world and just felt like it was too much, too much pollution too much hate too much unkindness, just too much we hear about natural disasters and the way the earth is reacting to pollution, we see how some people are showing hate just because of the color of their skin. We see people who choose to act in a greedy way, taking more for themselves and hurting others along the way, then we can ask, but what can we even do? There's a verse in the Bible that says Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This really sums up a lot of what Jesus taught that instead of paying back the unloving or hurtful things that people can choose to do, the answer is to choose what is good instead. And sometimes that can feel like a really big task, we ask ourselves, but what good can I do? And will it really make a difference? Well, if everyone tried to do what was good, I have a feeling we would see a different world around us. And lots of people, kids and adults alike are doing really good things. It can just be harder to see sometimes I think of a boy named Dave, who's only six years old. He wanted to help others.
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So he took his gift of making artwork and decided to sell it, he raised $790, and he donated it to his local food bank to help those in need. His story might not be making the headlines. But can you imagine if every person chose to use their gifts to make a difference in the world for good. There's a writer named Glennon Doyle, who says when you don't know what to do, just do the next right thing. We might not always feel like we know what the next right thing to do is. But we can know that it's never hate. That's never greed. It's never making someone else feel like they're less valuable somehow. It might be hard at times, but this is what it means to be a part of bringing God's dream of peace and love to the world. It's bringing goodness and light and love to the earth in the unique ways we have each and gifted, even you please join me as we say our blessing this morning.
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You are loved by God no matter what may you know love, growing love, and show love to others.
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The practice of compassion isn't just about acknowledging the ways we inevitably come up short. As human beings were, where we live lives less than what God intends for us.
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Confession is also a reminder of who we are, and who we can be that we are God's masterpiece God's artwork, and that God is continuing to create mold shaped us into the best expressions of ourselves.
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What do we have to confess today?
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We confess that we are made of the same stuff as stars, and that we are interconnected with every single thing that exists.
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We confess that we are created by the God who is love and that our essence our truest self is love.
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And we confess we are called to be a living expression of God's love, forgiveness and compassion in the world.
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And we confess that we do I always do that very well.
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Sometimes we don't do it at all we can say or do things that hurt ourselves, other people or the Earth, we can fail to do what we know that we should do, that we can do to make the world a better place, a place where all God's children and God's holy earth might flourish.
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And we confess, a God never gives up on us that God, forgive, forgive and forgives.
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And that every moment of every day is a fresh start to be who we are created to be.
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And we confess that there are moments when we show up in beautiful and meaningful ways for one another.
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There are moments when we shine showing our capacity to be healers and peacemakers showing our capacity to forgive and be generous.
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In our best moments, in our best days we overcome the evil in this world with our unshakable goodness and we confess that it is only possible with God's amazing grace friends here believe and trust the good news that you are loved with a love from which you can never be separated.
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You are forgiven you are freed step into the gift of this new day this new moment and be the beautiful creation God has created you to be Amen[music] Our Father, who art in heaven, remind us this day that you are not only creations architect, but you are the babe who cried for food. The teenager who knew loneliness, the adult who felt the rejection of loved ones, hallowed be thy name. Yours is the names spun by the stars.
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Yours is the name whispered by the dying yours is the name written on our hearts.
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Thy kingdom come. May it be a kingdom of peace, not prejudice.
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May it be a kingdom of sharing, not grasping.
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May it be a kingdom of hope? Not hurt Be, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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May your word be more than print on a page, may your justice be more than a wish in our hearts, and may your will become our deepest desire.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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Let us taste it in the kisses of loved ones. Let it fill us in the empty moments of our lives.
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let it slip out of our hands to mend the brokenness of our world.
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And forgive us our debts as we forgive others.
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May those who have hurt us, find a welcome in our hearts, even as we have found our home in yours.
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And lead us not into temptation, but turn our hearts from the seductions of our world.
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And the simple pleasures that turn us from you.
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Keep us from thinking that we are so important that we ignore those around us, help us to always bring others to you in prayer, before we even bring ourselves as we do in these moments.
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And oh god, deliver us from evil.
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But not just great evils of war and hunger, but from ingratitude, from fear, from selfishness, all those little evils that do such a great harm for thine is the kingdom, our hearts true longing, and to the power, which you set aside to serve us in weakness, and the glory which we would mirror in our lives, our bodies, our minds, our souls this day and every day, forever and ever.
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Amen.
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I love this picture. Jennifer, a nurse in New York, learned that one of our patients John, who was homeless, was forced to give up his dog Boomer to the local shelter when he was hospitalized.
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Jennifer went to the animal shelter and adopted her patients dog so that she could bring him to visit while John completed his rehabilitation in the hospital.
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Jennifer said there are just so many worries in the world right now.
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If I can take one worry away from John, that's the least I can do. I can't cure diseases.
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I'm not a miracle worker.
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But I can care for John's dog.
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As long as he needs me to.
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The medicine this world needs is to believe in the power of goodness.
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The apostle Paul said Do not be did not be overcome by evil.
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but overcome evil with goodness.
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I mean, this is our marching orders as people of faith to be a force for good in the world.
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We conclude our worship series today. On the prayer Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer. And we've emphasized all along that this prayer is not not simply a prayer we recite on Sunday mornings.
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Jesus was teaching an orientation of the heart a way a way of being in the world.
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Jesus was was inviting this prayer to live in us that we might live this prayer and today's phrase lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
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Every day every day. We're tempted to give into cynicism we're tempted to give into despair.
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Every day we're tempted to believe that life can't be different. We can't be different. The world can't be different.
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Every day, every day we're attempted to allow To allow fear and the suffering and ugliness and evil in this world to overwhelm us.
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Jesus says, Pray this way.
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Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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One way, one way we are delivered from evil is remembering there is a goodness, stronger than evil.
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Three days after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, composer and conductor and actually one of his best friends, Leonard Cohen, spoke these words at his memorial service.
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We musicians like everyone else, are numb with sorrow and filled with rage.
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You know, that sums up how how a lot of us feel these days.
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Numb with sorrow filled with rage.
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Cohen continued, this sorrow and rage will not inflame us to seek retribution or, or retreat in fear.
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Rather, they will inflame our art, our music will never be quite the same.
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This This will be our reply to the evil of our times to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
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Imagine if we didn't understand this prayer deliver us from evil is asking to be to be rescued or, or to escape the pain and suffering in our world.
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What if we understood this prayer as asking for the strength to resist the temptation to be overcome by evil?
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To trust there's a goodness, stronger than evil.
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Imagine if we collectively said this will be our response, our reply to the evil of our times to be a force for good, more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
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I was at the stoplight on 27th.
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By the safe weights, it's actually a really dangerous intersection with lots and lots of traffic.
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An elderly gentleman just kind of hunched over like, like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
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Trying to get across the street.
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You know, you could barely barely slip a piece of paper under his shoe. As he was shuffling forward, inch by inch.
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He was only about halfway when the light turned green.
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I mean, I could hear a couple of horns behind me honking irritation and impatience.
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There is a teenager, young woman with with electric purple hair.
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somehow magically, he was standing on air and making her about a foot taller than she was.
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And she was skateboarding on the sidewalk.
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She left her skateboard behind.
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And she raised this elderly man offering to help him cross the street.
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No, it was beautiful. She She tenderly took his arm.
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And I watched as as she whispered something in his ear. And they both laughed.
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I couldn't help but think that's what the kingdom of God looks like.
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Mercy, tenderness, goodness.
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Could these be our true superpowers?
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In a world threatened every day by villains?
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You know at a time when there is there's so much cruelty so much in humanity and ugliness and an evil the gift we can offer For the world, is the very best of our humanity, that part of our humanity that bears the image of God's goodness.
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Do not be overcome by evil, overcome evil with goodness. In Galatians Galatians five, the apostle Paul also says the fruits of the Spirit are kindness, goodness, gentleness.
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In other words, there's something of God in every act of goodness in every act of goodness, we are delivered from evil.
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In every act of goodness, we are delivering one another, from evil.
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As a pastor, I've, I've had many, many conversations with people who just really aren't sure what they what they believe, and particularly struggling to believe in the resurrection.
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I mean, rather than trying to convince with, with scripture or a theological theological argument, I often tell a story.
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A story that took place, as South Africa struggled to heal from the pain and suffering that the evils of apartheid cost as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
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The perpetrators of evil, acknowledged there their crimes, and met face to face with their victims.
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One white police officer faced in the courtroom face the black woman whose husband, he and other white officers murdered by setting him on fire.
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In the face of that unspeakable evil, this woman requested three things.
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She said she wanted to be taken to where her husband was murdered. So she could, she could gather up the dirt and the ashes and give her husband a proper burial.
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She asked that the police officer, visitor once a week in the ghetto, because she still had a lot of love to give.
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And this officer needs someone who will love him.
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And the third thing she asked is for that police officer to be brought to her in the courtroom so that she could embrace Him.
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So that he would know her forgiveness and experience the same grace that God has given her.
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Wow.
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Why do I believe in the resurrection because that kind of goodness, that kind of goodness that is stronger than evil isn't humanly possible.
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But with God.
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All things are possible.
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At the very, very heart of our faith is this core belief that suffering evil, even death will never have the last word God does. And God's word revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a goodness, stronger than evil.
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The spirit of that goodness was a bodied in Jesus. And even though they tried to defeat it, they tried to seal it in a tomb.
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It could not be defeated.
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And that same spirit of goodness was present in that woman in South Africa and that same spirit of goodness is present in you and me.
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We are delivered from evil each time.
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Each and every time we bring Something of that goodness into the world.
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The Presbyterian colleague of mine described a time when he, when he was feeling hopeless about his work and hopeless about the world. hopeless about his own ability to affect change to, to make a difference.
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And I get that. It's so easy to feel that feel that sense of hopelessness.
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He was overcome by overcome by all that was wrong with the world tempted to get into despair.
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Here's how he tells the story.
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I was working with the senior high youth group in my church fixing up in inner city park that had fallen into disrepair.
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We spent the whole weekend the whole weekend picking up trash, weeding, hacking down bushes, pulling up dead trees.
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It was hard work.
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two weekends in a row.
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We left that park as clean as we could make it.
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And each time the following Monday, there was even more trash. And someone pulled down the damage fence that we spent hours repairing.
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The park looked awful. We felt hopeless, defeated, demoralized.
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We are tempted to just give up.
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What was I to do?
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I did the only thing I could think to do.
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I planted flowers.
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Now I don't know much about flowers. I didn't know if I was buying the right kind for our climate or if they need a lot of water or if they needed sunlight.
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I didn't even bother to find out what kind of flowers they were.
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They were pretty.
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And they looked hardy enough to stand up to the rowdy neighborhood kids. I didn't have time to research the perfect flowers for that region or that time of year.
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I just know that I needed to plant something.
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So I planted flowers.
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I wanted to be the kind of person who would rather try to make even even a small temporary gesture of goodness and beauty than someone who adds to the ugliness.
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Or someone who does nothing at all.
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The ugliness in that park.
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Broken little bit broken liquor bottles, syringes, broken toys, bullet casings, drug deals in the alley, the white person driving by in their fancy car that quickly rose up their window and locks their door.
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All of that all of that ugliness in the park reflected the ugliness and pain in the world around us.
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I know that my spirit just needed a break from the ugly.
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I needed a break from the despair I was I was feeling inside.
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So I planted flowers.
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The youth in my youth group said you know people are gonna just trample on these flowers right and just pull them up.
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I said probably we'll see.
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The flowers have lasted a week.
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I'm hopeful.
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planting these flowers felt like a like an active insurgency, a form of resistance.
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planting flowers goes against the culture of death and violence.
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You know, it pushes back against the corrosive effects of much of everyday life.
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It reminds us that in spite of the ugliness there is beauty and we are part of that beauty.
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Do not be overcome by evil.
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overcome evil with goodness.
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We planted flowers.
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Despite their skepticism and and reluctance the students joined in. They felt they said they felt really good about having their hands in the dirt. They commented The Park looked look better, even if just a little bit.
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They said they felt hopeful.
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They're now eager. They're eager to plan more things.
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So I'm thinking maybe we'll do herbs, or a little garden.
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We become accidental co conspirators with God. In continuing acts of creation.
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We planted flowers, a conspiracy of goodness and beauty in the midst of a world that can be pretty ugly.
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Friends What if we trusted that with every act of goodness we bring something of God into the world and deliver one another from evil.
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You know, sometimes I think the faith the faith that goodness is stronger than evil is the foolish dream of poets and artists or delusional donkey God swinging at windmills.
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But that I asked myself what other faith will change the world heal the world?
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What is truly foolish is what we keep on doing instead.
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Thinking a little more hate can conquer hate.
00:41:53.969 --> 00:42:18.090
A little more war can cure war, a little more pride can overcome pride, a little more revenge can end revenge. Just a few more guns can make us feel more secure, a little more gold can cure our greed, or a little more division can create cohesion.
00:42:21.840 --> 00:42:33.420
Maybe what the world needs is the kind of foolishness that plants flowers in the midst of despair.
00:42:35.219 --> 00:43:25.380
And says, we will respond to the evil of our days by arming ourselves with mercy, and goodness, joining together in being a force for good, more intensely more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before May it be so John Wesley once said, do all the good you can by all the means you can and all the ways you can. And all the places you can add all the times you can to all the people you can as long as you can.
00:43:27.150 --> 00:43:32.010
In a world where there's so much suffering and and pain and need.
00:43:33.630 --> 00:43:36.030
We are called to be good news.
00:43:37.469 --> 00:43:47.610
You're generosity makes it possible for us to do all the good weekend in all the ways we can for all the people we can.
00:43:49.230 --> 00:43:57.539
Your financial gifts help us make the good news of Christ's love visible in people's lives.
00:43:52.860 --> 00:44:00.869
lives are changed people are given hope because of your generosity.
00:44:02.730 --> 00:44:04.440
So please help us if you can.
00:44:06.059 --> 00:44:07.139
To give generously.
00:44:08.489 --> 00:44:14.969
Help us help us do all the good weekend for all the people.
00:44:16.800 --> 00:44:17.250
Thank you.
00:44:18.570 --> 00:44:20.880
You are making a difference.
00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:27.420
See.
00:47:50.159 --> 00:47:56.849
Friends do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with goodness.
00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:03.690
In every act of goodness, we deliver one another from the grips of evil.
00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:25.170
May we respond to the evil of our days by arming ourselves with mercy, and goodness, joining together being a force for good, more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
00:48:27.239 --> 00:48:42.840
And I offer you this Franciscan benediction today may God bless you with a with a restless discomfort, about easy answers half truths, and superficial relationships.
00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:50.130
So that you may seek truth boldly, and love from a place deep within your heart.
00:48:51.420 --> 00:49:06.059
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom and peace among all people.
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But God bless you with the gift of tears, to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish.
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So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:51.449
Had May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world so that you are able with God's grace to do what others claim cannot be done.
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So that God's dream the dream of a world where all might flourish becomes a reality Peace be with you and may your love for one another bring peace to others may it be so[music]
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Hey friends, welcome to worship at First Presbyterian Church in Bend, Oregon. My name is Steven, the lead pastor here at First Presbyterian. And just know that whoever you are, wherever you happen to be this morning, and however you happen to be connecting with us, we couldn't be more delighted that you've joined us. I'm excited to announce that we will resume in person worship. Next Sunday, March 6, at 9am and 10:30am. We ask everyone who plans to attend to be vaccinated and boosted.
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And we do encourage all who are vulnerable or immunocompromised, to continue to connect with us online, or on TV, which we plan to continue. For those who who don't live in Bend, and who have connected to us online. We'll be continuing to offer an in person online and TV option every Sunday for worship.
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This Wednesday, is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent.
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The journey towards Easter. And I theme for Lent this year is good enough.
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Embracing the imperfections of life and faith know based on a book by Kate bowler. And we're going to encourage those who wish to read the book as we as we journey together.
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You know there is no perfect there is only life.
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And sometimes in the pursuit of something better, bigger best.
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We miss the sacredness of our ordinary good enough lives.
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And a life and a faith.
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That is good enough may be just what our soul needs.
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There'll be a site of self guided prayer opportunity at our labyrinth all day this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.
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And those who wish can drive through kind of a drive thru at our entrance under our portico, the entrance of our sanctuary, between five and 6pm, this Wednesday, to receive the imposition of ashes and a blessing.
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And today, today we conclude our worship series on the Lord's Prayer focusing on the line lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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You know, every single day we're tempted to be to be just overwhelmed by by the evil, ugliness and despair of this world.
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And we're encouraged as people of faith, to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with goodness.
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And what is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a goodness that could not be defeated a goodness stronger than evil.
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So is it possible that we deliver one another from evil with every act of goodness?
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Take a deep breath with me.
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May we breathe in the goodness of God in our worship today that we might breathe out.
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goodness in the world.
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Welcome.
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I'm Joe Murray. This is my wife, Blair O'Donnell. And we're lighting the Christ candle as a reminder of Christ's light in the world.
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The followers of Jesus in a time of uncertainty asked him teach us to pray.
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Jesus said, Pray this way.
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Our Father, not my father, your father, their father, but our Father.
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We are reminded as we worship that we belong to one another.
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And we're in this together Hallowed be thy name. Remind us as we worship that everything is holy and sacred. Help us see the sacred and unexpected ways and places today.
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Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Remind us as we worship that our goal isn't simply to get to heaven, but to bring a bit of heaven here on earth.
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Give us today our daily bread.
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Give us the gift today of enoughness may our response to perceived scarcity always be increased generosity, for we are your children and from you, we receive everything. Give us today a desire for our neighbors to be fed. Give us today a desire for a good that is held in common. And forgive us as we forgive one another. Open our hearts and our worship today to your mercy, that we might become peacemakers and agents of reconciliation in this divided world.
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And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Lead us from the temptation to be less than you have created us to be and deliver us from being bound in fear for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Remind us as we worship today that love wins.
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And if love isn't winning, it just means the story isn't over embolden us in our worship to be the storytellers of your love.
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[music] Have you ever looked around at the problems in the world and just felt like it was too much, too much pollution too much hate too much unkindness, just too much we hear about natural disasters and the way the earth is reacting to pollution, we see how some people are showing hate just because of the color of their skin. We see people who choose to act in a greedy way, taking more for themselves and hurting others along the way, then we can ask, but what can we even do? There's a verse in the Bible that says Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This really sums up a lot of what Jesus taught that instead of paying back the unloving or hurtful things that people can choose to do, the answer is to choose what is good instead. And sometimes that can feel like a really big task, we ask ourselves, but what good can I do? And will it really make a difference? Well, if everyone tried to do what was good, I have a feeling we would see a different world around us. And lots of people, kids and adults alike are doing really good things. It can just be harder to see sometimes I think of a boy named Dave, who's only six years old. He wanted to help others.
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So he took his gift of making artwork and decided to sell it, he raised $790, and he donated it to his local food bank to help those in need. His story might not be making the headlines. But can you imagine if every person chose to use their gifts to make a difference in the world for good. There's a writer named Glennon Doyle, who says when you don't know what to do, just do the next right thing. We might not always feel like we know what the next right thing to do is. But we can know that it's never hate. That's never greed. It's never making someone else feel like they're less valuable somehow. It might be hard at times, but this is what it means to be a part of bringing God's dream of peace and love to the world. It's bringing goodness and light and love to the earth in the unique ways we have each and gifted, even you please join me as we say our blessing this morning.
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You are loved by God no matter what may you know love, growing love, and show love to others.
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The practice of compassion isn't just about acknowledging the ways we inevitably come up short. As human beings were, where we live lives less than what God intends for us.
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Confession is also a reminder of who we are, and who we can be that we are God's masterpiece God's artwork, and that God is continuing to create mold shaped us into the best expressions of ourselves.
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What do we have to confess today?
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We confess that we are made of the same stuff as stars, and that we are interconnected with every single thing that exists.
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We confess that we are created by the God who is love and that our essence our truest self is love.
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And we confess we are called to be a living expression of God's love, forgiveness and compassion in the world.
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And we confess that we do I always do that very well.
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Sometimes we don't do it at all we can say or do things that hurt ourselves, other people or the Earth, we can fail to do what we know that we should do, that we can do to make the world a better place, a place where all God's children and God's holy earth might flourish.
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And we confess, a God never gives up on us that God, forgive, forgive and forgives.
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And that every moment of every day is a fresh start to be who we are created to be.
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And we confess that there are moments when we show up in beautiful and meaningful ways for one another.
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There are moments when we shine showing our capacity to be healers and peacemakers showing our capacity to forgive and be generous.
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In our best moments, in our best days we overcome the evil in this world with our unshakable goodness and we confess that it is only possible with God's amazing grace friends here believe and trust the good news that you are loved with a love from which you can never be separated.
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You are forgiven you are freed step into the gift of this new day this new moment and be the beautiful creation God has created you to be Amen[music] Our Father, who art in heaven, remind us this day that you are not only creations architect, but you are the babe who cried for food. The teenager who knew loneliness, the adult who felt the rejection of loved ones, hallowed be thy name. Yours is the names spun by the stars.
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Yours is the name whispered by the dying yours is the name written on our hearts.
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Thy kingdom come. May it be a kingdom of peace, not prejudice.
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May it be a kingdom of sharing, not grasping.
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May it be a kingdom of hope? Not hurt Be, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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May your word be more than print on a page, may your justice be more than a wish in our hearts, and may your will become our deepest desire.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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Let us taste it in the kisses of loved ones. Let it fill us in the empty moments of our lives.
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let it slip out of our hands to mend the brokenness of our world.
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And forgive us our debts as we forgive others.
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May those who have hurt us, find a welcome in our hearts, even as we have found our home in yours.
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And lead us not into temptation, but turn our hearts from the seductions of our world.
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And the simple pleasures that turn us from you.
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Keep us from thinking that we are so important that we ignore those around us, help us to always bring others to you in prayer, before we even bring ourselves as we do in these moments.
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And oh god, deliver us from evil.
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But not just great evils of war and hunger, but from ingratitude, from fear, from selfishness, all those little evils that do such a great harm for thine is the kingdom, our hearts true longing, and to the power, which you set aside to serve us in weakness, and the glory which we would mirror in our lives, our bodies, our minds, our souls this day and every day, forever and ever.
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Amen.
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I love this picture. Jennifer, a nurse in New York, learned that one of our patients John, who was homeless, was forced to give up his dog Boomer to the local shelter when he was hospitalized.
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Jennifer went to the animal shelter and adopted her patients dog so that she could bring him to visit while John completed his rehabilitation in the hospital.
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Jennifer said there are just so many worries in the world right now.
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If I can take one worry away from John, that's the least I can do. I can't cure diseases.
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I'm not a miracle worker.
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But I can care for John's dog.
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As long as he needs me to.
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The medicine this world needs is to believe in the power of goodness.
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The apostle Paul said Do not be did not be overcome by evil.
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but overcome evil with goodness.
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I mean, this is our marching orders as people of faith to be a force for good in the world.
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We conclude our worship series today. On the prayer Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer. And we've emphasized all along that this prayer is not not simply a prayer we recite on Sunday mornings.
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Jesus was teaching an orientation of the heart a way a way of being in the world.
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Jesus was was inviting this prayer to live in us that we might live this prayer and today's phrase lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:46.349
Every day every day. We're tempted to give into cynicism we're tempted to give into despair.
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Every day we're tempted to believe that life can't be different. We can't be different. The world can't be different.
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Every day, every day we're attempted to allow To allow fear and the suffering and ugliness and evil in this world to overwhelm us.
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Jesus says, Pray this way.
00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:20.789
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:36.660
One way, one way we are delivered from evil is remembering there is a goodness, stronger than evil.
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Three days after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, composer and conductor and actually one of his best friends, Leonard Cohen, spoke these words at his memorial service.
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We musicians like everyone else, are numb with sorrow and filled with rage.
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You know, that sums up how how a lot of us feel these days.
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Numb with sorrow filled with rage.
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Cohen continued, this sorrow and rage will not inflame us to seek retribution or, or retreat in fear.
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Rather, they will inflame our art, our music will never be quite the same.
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This This will be our reply to the evil of our times to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
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Imagine if we didn't understand this prayer deliver us from evil is asking to be to be rescued or, or to escape the pain and suffering in our world.
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What if we understood this prayer as asking for the strength to resist the temptation to be overcome by evil?
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To trust there's a goodness, stronger than evil.
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Imagine if we collectively said this will be our response, our reply to the evil of our times to be a force for good, more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
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I was at the stoplight on 27th.
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By the safe weights, it's actually a really dangerous intersection with lots and lots of traffic.
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An elderly gentleman just kind of hunched over like, like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
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Trying to get across the street.
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You know, you could barely barely slip a piece of paper under his shoe. As he was shuffling forward, inch by inch.
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He was only about halfway when the light turned green.
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I mean, I could hear a couple of horns behind me honking irritation and impatience.
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There is a teenager, young woman with with electric purple hair.
00:28:47.490 --> 00:28:52.319
somehow magically, he was standing on air and making her about a foot taller than she was.
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And she was skateboarding on the sidewalk.
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She left her skateboard behind.
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And she raised this elderly man offering to help him cross the street.
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No, it was beautiful. She She tenderly took his arm.
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And I watched as as she whispered something in his ear. And they both laughed.
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I couldn't help but think that's what the kingdom of God looks like.
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Mercy, tenderness, goodness.
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Could these be our true superpowers?
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In a world threatened every day by villains?
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You know at a time when there is there's so much cruelty so much in humanity and ugliness and an evil the gift we can offer For the world, is the very best of our humanity, that part of our humanity that bears the image of God's goodness.
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Do not be overcome by evil, overcome evil with goodness. In Galatians Galatians five, the apostle Paul also says the fruits of the Spirit are kindness, goodness, gentleness.
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In other words, there's something of God in every act of goodness in every act of goodness, we are delivered from evil.
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In every act of goodness, we are delivering one another, from evil.
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As a pastor, I've, I've had many, many conversations with people who just really aren't sure what they what they believe, and particularly struggling to believe in the resurrection.
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I mean, rather than trying to convince with, with scripture or a theological theological argument, I often tell a story.
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A story that took place, as South Africa struggled to heal from the pain and suffering that the evils of apartheid cost as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
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The perpetrators of evil, acknowledged there their crimes, and met face to face with their victims.
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One white police officer faced in the courtroom face the black woman whose husband, he and other white officers murdered by setting him on fire.
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In the face of that unspeakable evil, this woman requested three things.
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She said she wanted to be taken to where her husband was murdered. So she could, she could gather up the dirt and the ashes and give her husband a proper burial.
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She asked that the police officer, visitor once a week in the ghetto, because she still had a lot of love to give.
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And this officer needs someone who will love him.
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And the third thing she asked is for that police officer to be brought to her in the courtroom so that she could embrace Him.
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So that he would know her forgiveness and experience the same grace that God has given her.
00:33:22.769 --> 00:33:23.309
Wow.
00:33:26.069 --> 00:33:41.400
Why do I believe in the resurrection because that kind of goodness, that kind of goodness that is stronger than evil isn't humanly possible.
00:33:43.529 --> 00:33:44.519
But with God.
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All things are possible.
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At the very, very heart of our faith is this core belief that suffering evil, even death will never have the last word God does. And God's word revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a goodness, stronger than evil.
00:34:18.030 --> 00:34:27.300
The spirit of that goodness was a bodied in Jesus. And even though they tried to defeat it, they tried to seal it in a tomb.
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It could not be defeated.
00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:50.190
And that same spirit of goodness was present in that woman in South Africa and that same spirit of goodness is present in you and me.
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We are delivered from evil each time.
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Each and every time we bring Something of that goodness into the world.
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The Presbyterian colleague of mine described a time when he, when he was feeling hopeless about his work and hopeless about the world. hopeless about his own ability to affect change to, to make a difference.
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And I get that. It's so easy to feel that feel that sense of hopelessness.
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He was overcome by overcome by all that was wrong with the world tempted to get into despair.
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Here's how he tells the story.
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I was working with the senior high youth group in my church fixing up in inner city park that had fallen into disrepair.
00:35:53.760 --> 00:36:01.199
We spent the whole weekend the whole weekend picking up trash, weeding, hacking down bushes, pulling up dead trees.
00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.329
It was hard work.
00:36:04.710 --> 00:36:06.300
two weekends in a row.
00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:10.679
We left that park as clean as we could make it.
00:36:12.510 --> 00:36:22.739
And each time the following Monday, there was even more trash. And someone pulled down the damage fence that we spent hours repairing.
00:36:24.150 --> 00:36:29.340
The park looked awful. We felt hopeless, defeated, demoralized.
00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:34.139
We are tempted to just give up.
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What was I to do?
00:36:40.409 --> 00:36:42.329
I did the only thing I could think to do.
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I planted flowers.
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Now I don't know much about flowers. I didn't know if I was buying the right kind for our climate or if they need a lot of water or if they needed sunlight.
00:36:56.639 --> 00:37:00.000
I didn't even bother to find out what kind of flowers they were.
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They were pretty.
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And they looked hardy enough to stand up to the rowdy neighborhood kids. I didn't have time to research the perfect flowers for that region or that time of year.
00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:19.230
I just know that I needed to plant something.
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So I planted flowers.
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I wanted to be the kind of person who would rather try to make even even a small temporary gesture of goodness and beauty than someone who adds to the ugliness.
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Or someone who does nothing at all.
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The ugliness in that park.
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Broken little bit broken liquor bottles, syringes, broken toys, bullet casings, drug deals in the alley, the white person driving by in their fancy car that quickly rose up their window and locks their door.
00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:17.039
All of that all of that ugliness in the park reflected the ugliness and pain in the world around us.
00:38:19.980 --> 00:38:22.980
I know that my spirit just needed a break from the ugly.
00:38:24.059 --> 00:38:28.980
I needed a break from the despair I was I was feeling inside.
00:38:31.949 --> 00:38:33.570
So I planted flowers.
00:38:35.730 --> 00:38:42.900
The youth in my youth group said you know people are gonna just trample on these flowers right and just pull them up.
00:38:45.059 --> 00:38:47.429
I said probably we'll see.
00:38:49.769 --> 00:38:53.099
The flowers have lasted a week.
00:38:55.349 --> 00:38:56.159
I'm hopeful.
00:38:58.110 --> 00:39:05.519
planting these flowers felt like a like an active insurgency, a form of resistance.
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planting flowers goes against the culture of death and violence.
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You know, it pushes back against the corrosive effects of much of everyday life.
00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:32.969
It reminds us that in spite of the ugliness there is beauty and we are part of that beauty.
00:39:36.210 --> 00:39:38.250
Do not be overcome by evil.
00:39:40.769 --> 00:39:44.280
overcome evil with goodness.
00:39:46.050 --> 00:39:47.429
We planted flowers.
00:39:49.440 --> 00:40:05.070
Despite their skepticism and and reluctance the students joined in. They felt they said they felt really good about having their hands in the dirt. They commented The Park looked look better, even if just a little bit.
00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:09.329
They said they felt hopeful.
00:40:10.889 --> 00:40:14.759
They're now eager. They're eager to plan more things.
00:40:16.559 --> 00:40:20.940
So I'm thinking maybe we'll do herbs, or a little garden.
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We become accidental co conspirators with God. In continuing acts of creation.
00:40:31.530 --> 00:40:41.670
We planted flowers, a conspiracy of goodness and beauty in the midst of a world that can be pretty ugly.
00:40:47.699 --> 00:41:07.079
Friends What if we trusted that with every act of goodness we bring something of God into the world and deliver one another from evil.
00:41:09.690 --> 00:41:27.059
You know, sometimes I think the faith the faith that goodness is stronger than evil is the foolish dream of poets and artists or delusional donkey God swinging at windmills.
00:41:29.789 --> 00:41:39.239
But that I asked myself what other faith will change the world heal the world?
00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:48.210
What is truly foolish is what we keep on doing instead.
00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:52.710
Thinking a little more hate can conquer hate.
00:41:53.969 --> 00:42:18.090
A little more war can cure war, a little more pride can overcome pride, a little more revenge can end revenge. Just a few more guns can make us feel more secure, a little more gold can cure our greed, or a little more division can create cohesion.
00:42:21.840 --> 00:42:33.420
Maybe what the world needs is the kind of foolishness that plants flowers in the midst of despair.
00:42:35.219 --> 00:43:25.380
And says, we will respond to the evil of our days by arming ourselves with mercy, and goodness, joining together in being a force for good, more intensely more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before May it be so John Wesley once said, do all the good you can by all the means you can and all the ways you can. And all the places you can add all the times you can to all the people you can as long as you can.
00:43:27.150 --> 00:43:32.010
In a world where there's so much suffering and and pain and need.
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We are called to be good news.
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You're generosity makes it possible for us to do all the good weekend in all the ways we can for all the people we can.
00:43:49.230 --> 00:43:57.539
Your financial gifts help us make the good news of Christ's love visible in people's lives.
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lives are changed people are given hope because of your generosity.
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So please help us if you can.
00:44:06.059 --> 00:44:07.139
To give generously.
00:44:08.489 --> 00:44:14.969
Help us help us do all the good weekend for all the people.
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Thank you.
00:44:18.570 --> 00:44:20.880
You are making a difference.
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See.
00:47:50.159 --> 00:47:56.849
Friends do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with goodness.
00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:03.690
In every act of goodness, we deliver one another from the grips of evil.
00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:25.170
May we respond to the evil of our days by arming ourselves with mercy, and goodness, joining together being a force for good, more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
00:48:27.239 --> 00:48:42.840
And I offer you this Franciscan benediction today may God bless you with a with a restless discomfort, about easy answers half truths, and superficial relationships.
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So that you may seek truth boldly, and love from a place deep within your heart.
00:48:51.420 --> 00:49:06.059
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom and peace among all people.
00:49:08.159 --> 00:49:20.610
But God bless you with the gift of tears, to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish.
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So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
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Had May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world so that you are able with God's grace to do what others claim cannot be done.
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So that God's dream the dream of a world where all might flourish becomes a reality Peace be with you and may your love for one another bring peace to others may it be so[music]
