Sermon - Freedom: Altar'd Series

Sermon Outline
Focus: God’s grace is greaterthan our past, and true freedom comes
when we surrender our past(including oursin and mistakes)toHim.

I. Being Altar’d
       Bravely approach the Altar
       Make room for God through surrender
       God’s grace transforms
II. Jacob: The “Deceiver”
       A life of deception, trickery, and thievery
       A haunting past
       Come to Jesus moment: wrestling with God
III. Grace 101
       GRACE > sin
       GRACE > past
       Grace is available ONLY because of the Cross
IV. Be Altar’d
       Surrender ALL of the past to God
       Allow God’s GRACE room
       God transforms the death of the past to a new eternal life through the cross

Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:40

Jesus in righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest pray, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. Sing out Christ alone and Christ alone corner stone weak made strong in the saviors love through the storm.

SPEAKER_07 1:54

Unchanging weight, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

SPEAKER_08 5:40

I dare not trust the sweetest brain, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. See how Christ alone and Christ alone cornerstoek in the saviors love through the storm He is done changing place every yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Would you stand and greet one another in Christian fellowship? There's still some uh items that that are needed for the Easter baskets for low-income students at Jackson School. Please use the QR code that's inside your bulletin to check that list and sign up to donate. So Easter money.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

The Lord does not abandon us in the night. He calls us to surrender so he can transform us. Come let us worship the God who gives us a new name. We worship him with open heart, ready to be changed. Please remain standing and join in singing How Great Thou Art, found on page 32 in the Pew Hypout.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Oh, we can do it again. Let's do it again. Yeah. Well, if you haven't already been blessed by our Wester choir, uh I'll only ruin it from here. So it's uh, yep, it'll be it'll be good. It'll be good. No, I hope you uh heard that they were singing Latin at the end in the translation that Dean so gracefully put in our Bolton, where charity and love is found, God is there. And isn't that a beautiful song for how we are to live out this Lenten season? And of course, if you're new here at Church Lakes, we hope that you find charity and love not only within these walls, but then also in living out our mission of connecting all to Christ to become healthy and God and courageous in love. It is our hope that we will bring charity and love to everyone that we touch in our lives, whether that's in our homes, our schools, and our workplaces. And certainly, you know, a part of that is regathering here on Sunday morning so that we can be empowered by God's Spirit, by God's holy word, so that we can go out and live as uh messy Christians in a messy world. But you know what? God does incredible things with messy people, and our kids just said a wonderful job. And great, thank you so much already for helping lead. And you guys are, I heard him at 8:30, he's gonna blow us away again here in just a few minutes. But uh, you know, if you're new to this congregation, I hope you take a chance just to grab a connection card, which can be found in front of you. This is a great way to find out how we're not just active on one hour on a Sunday morning. No, it's throughout the whole entire week, Monday through Saturday. We have small groups, we have ministries that are active in the community, especially since this year I'm so grateful to be part of a faith family that's actively engaging in Habitat. Um, Royal Family Kids Camp, once again, there's just so many ways to get involved. And I hope that you take a leap of faith. You take this out to our connection center or slip it in the offering plate. We love to tell you more about this amazing, amazing faith family. But it is the fourth Sunday of the month, which means that we're gonna be led by the wonderful Merton Harleigh-led prayer.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

It's really nice when somebody calls you wonderful. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you. And do we raise you and thank you for that. Yesterday you were in our live and the day before that and the day before that. And the day before that. And some of those days were really good. And some of those days were a little bit harder. You were there, father. You held us in your arms. That was what we needed. I've ever grief in my life. Thank you for that. I knew I was a congregation and your resident. You were there in each moment. We hope that you use that for your glory, Lord. You walked with us yesterday, and you are already waiting in our tomorrow. May we hate your calling. May we surrender our lives unto you. Father, that's what you asked God to surrender our lives. It seems like that would be an easy thing to do, but it isn't. Because we hold on to those things and relationships and pain and sorrow. And if we would just give those unto you, Father, you're there waiting to take them to bring us a comfort, to bring us a healing, to bring us a hope, to bring us a joy. Thank you for that. And as we walk towards the cross in this season of land, may we truly understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, that you send your only begotten Son, that we would be able to live with you forever in eternity. May we really hold close to that promise. And now, Father, let us go before the Lord with the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples as one voice. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

Not that I've already obtained this or have already reached a goal, but I press on to lay hold of that over which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of, forgetting what lies behind and straying forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, this too, God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast unto what we have attained. May God add his blessing to this reading and your hearing of his holy word. Now please join me in the prayer confession that's printed in the bulletin. Gracious God, we confess that we cling to the past and trust in our own strength instead of surrendering to you. Forgive us or is this in your work releasing what holds us back and renew our hearts in your praise? Now we're the elders, please come forward to collect this morning's ties off. The following prayer during their offertory, which I enjoyed so much, I'm going to read it to you. Please bow your heads and join me in prayer. Lord, I bring to you an offering from what you've given me. And thanks for grace and mercy. We give it cheerfully. Please use it for your service, Lord, and show us what to do. We bring our gifts and offerings as worship, Lord, to you. Amen. Now please remain standing and sing the hymn, My Faith Has Found a Resting Place, verses 1 and 2 from P found on page 135 in the hymn book.

SPEAKER_04 46:14

Bill, you would have really impressed me if you sang it there for a second. I thought you were winding us up. That's good. I like that. I like that. You know, core the choral call right after that. I love it. I love that idea. Well, good morning, everybody. I hope you're doing well. Uh, if you look closely enough while I'm giving my sermon this morning, you can see that I got somber yesterday on my forehead. So it must be spring officially if we're getting outside. And it's good, it's good that we take some time out of the beautiful weather, even from today, just to stop, to lift praise. And oh boy, did we lift praise this morning in song. Man, I was I was looking over Dean's shoulder at even just the prelude. And, you know, as an engineer, at least for another nine months, uh, I'm looking at the mechanical of playing the notes, but there's just something different when you listen and you let it affect and bleed into your soul. Wasn't it just beautiful this morning? So thank you, thank you all for helping me make that possible. Uh, and of course, you know, uh, Mert, thank you for your beautiful prayer. Um, and as we head off, I hope I don't ruin it as we go into the Word of God together. But uh, if you think you're blessed this week, wait till next week. Wait till next week. Believe it or not, we're knocking on the door of Holy Week. We are a week away from Palm Sunday, and we are preparing to celebrate Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But Palm Sunday only kicks off the fun activities, okay? I want you to take a hard look at your bulletin over the next 14 days. We are gonna spend a concerted amount of time in worship together, uh, whether that's on Monday, Thursday, whether that's Good Friday through the stations of cross in here, or of course the culmination as we head towards Easter Sunday and the joy of resurrection. Friends, lots of ways to get involved and really connect. And remember this you cannot celebrate the joy of Easter Sunday and the resurrection without first going to the cross on Thursday and Friday, okay? So please check out our Monday Thursday service in this space. It'll be the Thursday before Easter. I believe that's the second at 7.30. So, anyways, that means, as we are knocking on the door of Palm Sunday next week, that we're also officially nearing the end of Lent, which is the season of preparation, a season of self-reflection, a season in which we're called to return back to God and to prepare for, of course, Easter Sunday and this Lenten season. You know, we've been really studying intently, not just on Sunday mornings, but in our small groups also, these altars of the Old Testament. Why have we been doing that? Because I think the altar is so much more than just a piece of worship furniture when we look deeper at it in the scriptures. The altar is this unique place where we reflect, we repent, and we turn back to God. That should ring a bell from what Lent is supposed to be about. We see it in our scriptures over and over again, how the people of God meet Him at the altar and then are transformed, never to be the same ever again. Why? It's because our God, in the right frame of mind, when we approach this altar, we can be uniquely transformed, just like our scriptures tell us. But it only happens, catch this. Number one, when we make room for God by surrendering, yes. And two, give God's grace plenty of room to work. And so far, what you've seen as we've gone through these stories of the altars, we've seen what can happen when you make space for God, right? We did that with the altar of Noah. Or how about what happens if you surrender control to God? That's the Abraham story. Surrendering worry, we talked about Elijah and his altar. Or how about last week as Jared walked through with us surrendering thanksgiving and praise through the Israelites in the story of Joshua? And today we're gonna look at another altar in the Old Testament, especially when we talk about how we should be brave enough to leave our past and surrender it at the altar. Today we're gonna be looking at an altar in Genesis 33, but we're gonna back up a little bit and start in Genesis 32. You can follow along in your pew, Bob. I'm gonna be on page 26 to start with, verse 22. Pull up your Bible app, whatever's easiest for you. And here we're gonna pick up the story of the ornery, and that's being polite, uh, Jacob, who is the son of Isaac, the grandson of Abraham, as he prepares to head back to meet his twin brother, who has issued a death threat against him. Perhaps you know the story of Jacob. This is a story of Jacob wrestling with God. You follow along. Genesis 32, 22. The same night he, that is Jacob, got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabak. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he, the messenger, said, Let me go, for the day is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. So he said to him, What's your name? And he said, Jacob. Then the man said, You shall now no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name, but he said, Why is it that you ask me my name? And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved. The sun rose upon him as he passed Penwell, limping because of his hip. Therefore, to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle. I'm going to jump ahead a little bit in chapter 33 to the altar. Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and on his way from the Pateram, he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's fathers, he brought for 100 pieces of money the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent and wrestled with God. There he erected an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. Friends, this is the word of God for the people of God. Praise be to God. Will you join me in prayer this morning? Oh Heavenly Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts together in this worship space, may they be found holy and acceptable in your sight. For Lord, you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Alright, I need you to use your imagination a little bit this morning. I want you to picture someone in your life who is out of control. Maybe someone from the present, maybe someone from the past. I want you to imagine in your mind's eye, someone who was or is out of control. Now, I want you to think of that person because often when we're out of control, we are losing our way, or someone keeps denying the wisdoms that have been laying before them. They're pushing the limits. You know, it's the eagle song, take it to the limit, right? And just refuses to listen to wisdom. That's a person who my Baptist friends say needs a come to Jesus moment. Have you heard that phrase before? A come to Jesus moment? By definition, it's a moment of honest confrontation that forces someone to recognize the truth that's right there in front of them, right? And hopefully in that moment they'll surrender and be transformed from it. You know, as I was reading Genesis 32 this week, I couldn't help but think of this wrestling match between Jacob and this messenger as Jacob's Come to Jesus moment. If you're unfamiliar with Jacob's story, let's hit the rewind button just a little bit and do a quick overlook of how crazy his story is. All right, Jacob is one of the patriarchal fathers of Genesis due to his lineage, right? Jacob was the son of Isaac, who we talked about just a few weeks ago. Remember, Abraham laid him on the altar ready to sacrifice him in Genesis 22. Fast forward a little bit to Genesis 25, we see that Isaac has grown up and he's married this woman, her name is Rebecca, who would give birth to twins. The oldest twin, and of course, in that time and era, the person who had the most uh uh prestigious position in birthright was Esau. Jacob was the second. He was the younger of the two twins, which in birthright order meant that he was just kind of an afterthought, really. But even more than that, Esau was a blessed man with all these qualities that women swoon over, all right? He had red hair as thick as fur. He was a skillful outdoorsman, a hunter, a man of the field, the scriptures say. I want to think in your mind's eye again a Marlon Brando, a Sean Connery, or rest in peace, a Chuck Norris, right? That's what I want you to think of. Jacob, on the other hand, not so much. He was constantly nipping at Esau's heels, just trying to keep up. In fact, in the birth narrative of Esau and Jacob, we see that Jacob is literally clinging to Esau's heels as he enters the world. So, so just a quick overview. All right, just a quick overview. It's Esau who has the birthright. It's Esau who has the blessing. It's Esau who is at the forefront of his family. Jacob, he was just a crafty younger sibling. He was wise into the ways of the world by his mother, making him, as his namesake is translated, a deceiver. A cunning one at that too. The name Jacob, it can be literally translated as heel grabber or deceiver. And Jacob would live that out, not only with his words, but friends also with his actions. Remember some of the hiccups from Jacob's past. Jacob would use his cunning nature when Esau would come back in and couldn't find wild game and was famished on the verge of death. It was Jacob that sold him a stew for his birthright, right? And to make matters worse, just a few chapters later, we see that it's Jacob who's also stealing Esau's blessing. Remember the blessing that we read about from Abraham from God? He tricked Isaac, his father, into giving him that blessing. Colluded with his mother Rebekah. Remember this putting on animal fur on his hands and on his forearms? So when Isaac would feel him in his old age, unable to see, he would be tricked into thinking it was Esau. And then his mother Rebekah would take it even a step further. They would create this stew of wild game to complete the hoax. Man, Jacob the deceiver, he would steal not just the birthright, but also the blessing from God away from Esau. Do you begin to see why I say Jacob needed a come to Jesus moment? And oh boy, if you read the scriptures, Esau was the one who wanted to give it to him. We read in the scriptures how Esau, the older twin, wanted to kill his brother Jacob. What did Jacob do? He fled. He got out of Dodge, right? And please note, please note that this is just the start of the downward spiral of Jacob. All these mistakes, all these sins of the deceiver, they would begin to pile up. They would begin to push Jacob to his limits. He was out of control. He would have to go on to live in a foreign land in Haram because he had to get away from Esau. He would have to work in a field he did not understand or know for his uncle Laban. He would even get deceived in his marriages by first Leah and Rachel. And it all tragically was decided not by a careful cunning calculation or divine intervention. No. Instead, Jacob's mistakes had pushed him to the brink of one bad decision to another. Jacob's past failures, ironically, were forever clinging to his heels and they were pulling him down. It was like dead weight. It was like this extra baggage that he just couldn't let go of. And I bet if you take a look at that this morning in your own life, I bet you know how carrying some extra baggage feels, don't you? Because I know I sure do. I bet we could sit here just for a mere one second, and we can all come up with a past mistake that we've made, a past errand judgment, that has followed us, and we can't ever seem to shake it. Friends, you know what it feels like to make a mistake so tragic that no matter how hard you try, you just can't shake it. I want to add some levity to this this morning. You know, when I was 12, I had an instance of this, okay? I had to give an oral report for my English class, and we were allowed to pick any animal we wanted and give a presentation for about 10 minutes. Now, the animal that I chose was the humpback whale. All right. Why the humpback whale? Great question. You see, I chose it because one of the previous summers, my family made a trip up to New England, and we went whale watching off of Cape Cod, and we had the most unique experience mesmerizing. It was something I'll never ever forget. Because as we go out in this way too small boat into the ocean, we approached whales who were breaching up out of the water, including a baby one. And as they jumped up out of the water next to our boat, I tell you what, it was the most incredible mesmerizing experience I've ever witnessed in nature. Albeit it was a bit seasick inducing too, just ask my sisters. But in my report, as I look forward to sharing this uh experience with my peers in class, you know, I got a little nervous as I am right now in front of all of you talking. And as I got nervous, I had a slip of the tongue that would follow me absolutely forever. Okay, I would proceed to call this beautiful, majestic animal the hump whack bale, for the next 10 minutes of my report, not just once, but over and over and over. Use your imagination. 12-year-old boy saying hump and whack in the same sentence. The jokes write themselves, don't they? Kids can be cruel. Look, it's a silly example, it certainly is, right? Uh but that mistake would follow me throughout middle school, throughout high school. And you know what? I'm celebrating my 20th reunion this year, and I bet that joke gets told, right? Let me ask. Have you been there? Have you messed up in maybe a more life-altering way? Do you, as we approach Easter, have a family member that you're gonna see here in a couple weeks that you have a broken relationship with? And that brokenness haunts you as you sit here this morning. Have you made an immoral compromise that haunts you? Something you cannot undo no matter how hard you try. Do you know what it feels like to have the weight of that, not just spiritually, but mentally and physically, like a noose around your neck in this baggage that you just cannot seem to let go of? Look, I think we all get it. And that's why, if we're honest, we understand the story of Jacob more than we realize. He could not let go of his past. And it changed his life forever. It haunted him because he could never surrender and let go to God what had so been broken inside of him. He continually allowed it to define who he is and who he will be. Why does he do that? Why? Friends, that's not the way of our God. Amen. Let me ask you a simple question. Do you believe the grace of our God is more powerful than the sins of our past mistakes? Everyone's gonna nod along and say, yes, Robbie, God's grace is greater than my mistakes. I understand that, I know that. But why don't we actually live it out? Well, why do we carry baggage like it's a badge of honor? Like something that the brokenness inside of us is who we really are? Do we actually, actually, friends, want to surrender the heaviness that we find in our lives? It's so funny. When God comes knocking and offers his grace, oftentimes you can't do it with closed fists. You gotta let go and allow God to come towards you so that you can receive it and then you grip him closely. Friends, I want you to pay attention. Because of the cross, we have something unique that's offered to us each and every day. Okay? Because our sins have caused this brokenness in relationship, but God's grace is extended each and every day so that these sins don't have to define us. It's through the cross that our past mistakes can be blotted out, we can be washed white as snow, we can be made clean, and there's nothing left for sin to claim. Not a body, not a mind, not a soul. But guess what? If you do it with closed fists because you're holding on to your sin and baggage because you think it's a badge of honor, guess what? You're never gonna receive the grace that ultimately sets you free. It's gonna haunt you. It's gonna haunt you. Just like it haunted Jacob. But you know what, friends, we meet here this morning to give praise to a God who offers grace over and over again with ever-flowing streams. Our God, friends, is the only one that offers us the opportunity to leave our past in the past, your past mistakes. And you know, time after time in the scriptures, we see how God sees us. He puts on his goggles and he sees us in a totally different light than the rest of the world sees you. You know that, right? God sees you and me differently because of the cross. Everything is changed, everything is new. That's why Bill read out of Philippians 3, through the cross, it's not that we are called to live in the past with these mistakes holding us and pulling us back down, clinging to our heels. No, instead, we get to move on from that, onward. We have the assured hope in Philippians 3 that God offers in the writing of Paul. And even more so, Paul writes about it again in 2 Corinthians 5. He tells us that if anyone is in Christ, which means they know the cross and the power of the cross and is able to get to the cross by God's grace, then guess what? Everything that is old passes away. Everything. That means the past mistakes, the past sins, the past errors, all of that is dead. And instead something new is created in Christ. Let me push it home one last time. If you think you've done something so bad that God's grace cannot save you, friends, I'm here to tell you we must be reading a different Bible. Look, Moses was a murderer. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Samson was a self-absorbed absorbed narcissist, which I think our world is full of plenty of those people, aren't they? Solomon the wise, he was an idolater. How about Noah? He was a drunk. All of these heroes of our faith, they could have let that past mistake define them, but guess what? They reflected on the power of God and saw that God saw them differently. God's love, his mercy, his grace gives us a second life, gives us a second birth. And that's why when we read these stories of brokenness and sin in our scriptures, we need to reflect on how these heroes were able to move past. And that's what I see in Genesis 32. This is this is a huge moment in the biblical narrative. Don't think this is just Jacob's story. It's a huge story of the Israelite history. No, this is showing us how our God works. Do you see that? God, in the midst of the brokenness of Jacob, confronts him. Confronts him, doesn't he? At the side of the Jabbok River. And he begins to wrestle with him. And friends, how many times have we tried to wrestle with God? Has God confronted you? Have you wrestled with God is telling you what to do? But hear me. See what Jacob does next. Jacob, for maybe the first time in his life, finally decides that he's gonna cling on persistently. He's gonna do the hard work. He's not gonna use deception and shortcuts. No, he's gonna hold on tight to this messenger so much so that this messenger has to bless him before he leaves. Man, ain't that the story of the gospel message all wrapped up in a bow? Friends, we have been brought down because of the sin in our past. But guess what? You are set free. If you let go of it to God and surrender it to him, you can be transformed just like Jacob was. Jacob was transformed into Israel. His name literally means one who struggles with God. Friends, that's our call. It's not to be perfect in every moment or instance. It's to know that when we mess up, we release it and we make room for God so that he can set us free once again. It's a daily act, friends. I don't know about you, but I make mistakes every day. And I need God's grace every day. And Jacob's response, friends, is to let go and to cling to God.

unknown 1:09:26

Amen.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:27

And so much is transformed in his life. It's not just a new name, it's also what would happen in his life next. If you continue on in Genesis 33, you see something miraculous happen. You see Jacob finally be able to go back home where he had to flee. We see reconciliation between Esau and Jacob. The death threat is pulled and they cling to each other and cry together. And then we see Jacob even get to meet his father again, Isaac, before he passes. So we understand that Jacob's sacrifice at this altar that he erects in chapter 33 is an altar that is worth dwelling upon this season. It was at this altar that Jacob said no more to the old self. I am new in God. And guess what? Jacob had to do that over and over, probably again, because guess what? Jacob was a cunning deceiver and probably fell back into those habits. And that that's our call, friends, is to follow in the footsteps of Jacob. It's in here, in this moment, and this time that we're called to release and to cling desperately to God. Because God's grace is greater than our past. God's grace is greater than our mistakes. Follow Jacob's lead this morning. Leave your baggage behind you and press on to the assured hope and future of salvation that is only found in the final altar at the cross. And that's really what we've been trying to make room for in this Lenten season. Each Sunday throughout Lenten, we've opened up these rails down here and the rails over in the Activity Center as an opportunity to surrender, to release the past and say, God, I don't want to be the old way anymore. I want to be made in your way. I want to cling desperately to you, God, forever and ever. Amen. So this morning, you know, thanks to the amazing dean up here who makes me look better than I should have been, he's gonna offer us the opportunity to come forward to the altar rail through Come Thou Found. I asked him to play this song because unlike what you may suspect from the Charles Dickens story, Ebenezer isn't some old curmudgeon in England, okay? And Come Thou Found, the second verse starts out with, Here I raise my Ebenezer, which is translated as a stone of help. It comes from the story of Samuel, okay? But when I look back at Jacob this week in my prayer, I saw Jacob erect a stone of help in which he would leave transformed. And friends, that's our call this morning. If you've been holding on to baggage for far too long, friends, I implore you during our final song to come forward to kneel at the rail and pray to God and surrender it over to him so that you may have the freedom that is only found in God's grace. This morning, friends, let's stand, let's sing. Come thou found, come forward as you feel called. I promise you, it's gonna be a triumphant entry next week. It'll be great to celebrate Jesus' journey into Jerusalem peacefully, albeit. Uh friends, if something's going on in your life, I'd love to have a word of prayer with you down here at the rail, or better yet, Nancy's back there in our prayer champel. She'd love to interpose because we are a congregation, congregation that believes in the power of prayer. Um, if you're new to our congregation, thanks for checking us out. Uh, we'd love to talk to you more after worship. Whether that's me up front or Trisha out at our welcome center. We'd love to tell you more about this faith family. Friends, let's end worship the right way. Let's end in an attitude of prayer. Will you join me? Well, Heavenly Father, as we go out these doors and into our world, help us to know that we are richly blessed by this gospel good news message, that we are to take it into our homes, our schools, and our communities. That, Lord, your grace sets us free and it makes us so that we no longer have to carry around the heavy baggage and burdens of our past. Lord, we love you and we thank you for the gift of the cross so that we can still have hope in this life yet. Lord, we love you. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Friends, go in peace.