May 24, 2025 • 48 mins
Welcome to Mesa Palms Seventh-day Adventist Church! We hope that you will find this sermon to be a blessing to you, as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
So wasn't she cute?
Abigail.
In fact, Abigail is my granddaughter.
And not this Abigail, but it's easy to remember her name.
And thank you, Abigail.
Thank you, Anna.
Dennis and Christy, that song means so much to me, and thank you so much.
And also, Joe, thank you for presenting the Memorial Day presentation.
(00:26):
So, let me turn my thing on.
I'm trying something different.
I've got a new iPad for my birthday.
So, thank you, Renee.
And the music, too, with everything.
So, let me turn this on.
And we'll go from there.
But before we start, I always like to begin with prayer.
(00:50):
And so, if you would join me as I offer up a prayer to our Lord and Savior.
Gracious Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for this opportunity to serve you.
And Lord, we've already been blessed today, but I ask that you touch our lips as we speak your words to your people.
(01:17):
Lord, thank you again for being our Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
So you've probably been seeing announcements on the trio of elders, and it wasn't my idea.
It was actually Sharon, and thank you, Sharon, for sharing that with us.
(01:37):
But we have three elders today that's going to preach not real long sermons, but we hope
that you are touched because the message is called Continued Heaven Bound.
So as members of Mesa Palms, we now venture on a transitional period of uncertainty for
(01:59):
the church and its members.
Concerns and questions arise.
What does the future hold?
What is God's plan?
Who is our next pastor?
This morning, I wanted to share with you our goals and some of the plans and future for
our church and its members.
(02:20):
But our eyes should always be focused on the good shepherd, Jesus.
Follow the shepherd.
God has promised to lead us to our home in heaven.
And I believe we have a strong core of elders and leaders here at Mesa Palms
that are united and willing to follow God's leading
(02:43):
as we journey together in the months ahead.
Every church member is important and vital
as we continue to show God's love to those inside and outside our church.
And I'm thankful that we have live streaming so those that didn't make it a church can see that you're important too.
(03:13):
We welcome visitors.
In fact, when Renee and I first came to this church, that was one of the things that drew us here,
is the friendliness and the warmth that we received as we came through the doors back there.
We welcome our visitors, and we also want to reach out to our neighbors, both local and further out.
(03:34):
You will see elders and leaders and different members involved in our church service on a regular basis,
leading in not only our church service,
but different ministries that are in our church.
The Arizona Conference, and you've already started seeing them,
are supportive and willing to guide in the search for a new pastor.
(03:55):
They have committed to be visible during this transition
by attending church meetings and preaching at our church.
And next week is Elder Ed Keys, our conference president.
today i've invited two elders with me sharon and charles and we are the trio of elders as we share
(04:20):
together the important message of continue heaven bound even though he was one of the
history's greatest artists 16th century painter raphael was overshadowed by his more famous rival
It is said that after seeing Michelangelo's artwork, Raphael was moved to refine his own.
(04:42):
And that should be our experience.
As you look to Jesus, you'll be inspired to change and become more like Jesus.
Hebrews 12, 1 and 2 says,
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every way.
and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
(05:05):
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Good morning, church family.
Family.
We are family.
Jesus, he is our God. And I'm so glad he brought us all together. And I'm so glad that the Father
(05:42):
is our God. Let's have just a brief word of prayer before I start. Lord, I just ask that you would
touch my lips, just like you did Isaiah, when the angel touched his lips with a hot coal,
that you would cleanse me and that the words that I speak, that your Holy Spirit would speak through
(06:04):
me. At this time we pray because I pray it in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Family. When we think of family, we really think of our own personal family. Our family can be
blended family where we have two family units that come together, but we also think of family.
(06:27):
We think of our mother and our father and our brothers and our sisters and our aunts and our uncles going over to grandma and grandpa's house on Sunday for dinner or Sabbath afternoon for dinner after church.
Some of us also have extended family in terms of those people that come into our life that touch us in a very, very special way.
(06:53):
And we may not be blood family, but we're family nevertheless.
some people come from very large families
I know of several people and have touched my life
that their families are huge
just huge number of family members
I happen to come from a very small family
(07:14):
there's not many of us left
most recently I lost a cousin to brain cancer
and so I just have a few cousins
that are actually left
And I was born as an only child. My father was an only child. So our family tended to be very strong, very small, but very, very strong.
(07:38):
And sadly, as time goes by, we lose our family members and it really makes us quite sad because we're losing those people that we hold very dear to us.
Well, you know, Jesus had an earthly family. He had a mother, we know, Mary. He had a father,
Joseph. And he also had brothers, and we believe to be sisters. We know for a fact that he had
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brothers. We are told that Jesus's childhood was actually a very happy childhood. He sat by his
mother, Mary, who taught him. And we're told in the Bible that she pondered these things in her
heart as she taught her son. We also are told that Joseph, his dad, as a carpenter, taught his son
(08:27):
many, many things. So he worked alongside his father in the carpentry shop. He also in the
community, we're told in the Desire of Ages, that he was actually a very handsome boy. He was clear
in his stature, he grew in wisdom, and that he was very, very eager to learn.
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Then we find as Jesus grew and he began his ministry, he was teaching and preaching. It
must have been in a building somewhere, because when we look in Matthew 12, it says that while
While he was still talking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside seeking to speak with him.
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Then one said to him, Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside.
They want to come out. You want you to come outside so that they could talk with him.
But he answered them and said, Who is my mother and who are my brothers?
Then he stretched out his hands and he reached towards his disciples and he said,
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Here is my mother.
Here are my brothers.
Now, I don't know about you, but if I would have been the mother of Jesus,
I think I'm brother and brothers.
I would have been a little put off by that.
You know, he doesn't want to come outside and talk to us.
He wants to, he's saying that his disciples are his brother and his mother.
(10:05):
But then he says something very important in verse 50.
He said, for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
So as we look towards the 12 disciples, let's take a look at them.
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for a little bit. They were quite a group of men, weren't they? When you think about them,
you think about James and John, you think about them as the sons of thunder. What does that bring
in mind to you? Very boisterous people, very quick-tempered, very fiery personalities.
(10:51):
Then we think of Matthew, the tax collector.
He couldn't be much lower than a tax collector, could you, in those days?
They were not very high on the list in the tribe of Israel.
And then you want to take a look at Judas Iscariot, greedy,
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wanted to control things, unrepentant,
and betrayed our Master and Savior Jesus.
We want to take a look at Peter, who was impulsive,
who also wanted to control things,
who doubted and was very passionate,
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and who denied our Savior three times.
And Jesus stood in front of his own mother and brothers and said,
These are my family because these do the will of my father.
You kind of want to scratch your head at that and say,
Well, I don't quite understand that, Jesus.
(12:00):
But yet Jesus still called them family.
And as Jesus hung on that cross,
All the disciples had abandoned him with the exception of his mother, Mary and John.
And he looked down from that cross and he said to John, here is your mother.
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Here is your son.
He still remembered his family.
Family is so important to Jesus.
It's important to us in our own personal lives as we look on our personal family,
just as important as it was to Jesus. And then as Jesus rose and ascended, you took a look
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at this group of men who had lost their shepherd. They lost him. He was gone. What were they to do?
They wandered around.
They did not know what they needed to do.
But Jesus, in his wisdom, said,
I want you to go to Jerusalem.
(13:14):
I want you to go to the upper room,
and I want you to assemble there.
And that's where I will send my Holy Spirit to you
to minister to you
and to tell you what you need to do.
Because he gave us the promise in John 14, verse 18.
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I will never leave you orphan.
I will come to you.
And he did just that in Acts chapter 1.
He came to them in the form of the Holy Spirit.
And as they left Jesus from his ascension and they went to the upper room,
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And there were the 11 disciples.
There was Mary, his mother, many women and other men.
They went into that room and they prayed together.
They ate together.
They were together as a family, a church family.
(14:22):
Oh, how wonderful our church family is to us.
Today, as we face a time when we are looking for a new pastor, yes, our earthly shepherd has left,
but we have a heavenly shepherd in Jesus that will always be there for us.
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He will never leave us orphaned. He will always come to us when we need him.
One of the things that Pastor Vince said last week that touched me was that he said,
Jesus was our firm foundation.
We have a song about our firm foundation,
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standing on the rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.
And we can hold fast to those promises because he will lead us.
We can go confidently and move and navigate through this time
where we are looking for a new pastor.
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and into the future. From God, we can experience the sense of belonging because he gives us
that sense of security through Jesus. Jesus, our elder brother, binds us together. We sang that
song, bind us together, bind us together with words that cannot be broken. And through his teachings,
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we can share our faith with each other and with those around us. We can take care of each other.
We can offer support. We can offer encouragement. And we need that today, don't we? There's so much
that is happening in our world, and we are seeing more and more sadness come into our life,
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more things that are happening in our world,
but it's pointing to a time where we need to stay together,
band together as a church family
and being mindful of all of the needs,
extending our grace and working together
because we are a church family.
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There was a song written in 1970 by Gloria and Bill Gaither
that we are going to be singing for our closing song.
And it says, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I'm a part of the family of God.
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You will notice that we say, brothers and sisters around here, it's because we're a family.
and these are so near. When one has a heartache, we all share the tears and rejoice in the victory
in this family so dear. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain,
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washed in his blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel the sod, for I'm a part, a part of the
family of God. So by being one big happy family in God, we are drawn together. We're drawn together
by the family through the Holy Spirit. And yes, no family is perfect, but our faith binds us
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together as we continue to do God's work. We have that spiritual bond that we share between believers
for our firm foundation is found in Jesus as we journey together heaven bound.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Thanks so much.
and in the family of God.
I know I'm thankful to the elders who invited me.
I'm not worthy to be here, but they also put me in
because it's multicultural, is it?
(19:13):
I once was a head elder,
and sometimes I invite people to speak when we had no pastor,
and on Friday evening the speaker calls me and says,
you know I can't make it.
You know how hard that gets when the bolt-ins are already printed
(19:34):
and everything is ready and the speaker is not there.
So that is a tough job.
Today, as Sharon has said, the church family, how bring it to the church family as the gospel goes to the whole world.
(19:58):
We'll read from Romans 15, verse 4.
I put about three translations, but I will.
because I know I have an accent and it's difficult for everybody to get,
so I put some slides.
So I guess you'll follow me quick,
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and sometimes I go with that joke which says,
what is the point of going so fast, so comfortable,
and when you don't know where you're going?
So, bad.
We'll learn because we'll follow the instructions.
In Romans 15, verses 4, let me read the King James Version, which is up there.
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For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.
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and I like the NIV down there
it says
for everything that was written
in the past
was written to teach us
so that through the endurance
and thought in the scriptures
and the encouragement
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they provide
we might have hope
the Phillips is a paraphrase
so it's good to read too
the church in
Rome was
started by the Jews
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and the Gentiles who attended
the Pentecost meeting
in Jerusalem
and at this time when they went
park to their capital city. They started a church. They started worshiping together.
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They started having communion, and they started baptizing others who were both Jews and Gentiles.
Because as Acts tells us, they were both the visitors from Rome who were both Jewish and proselytes.
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Proselytes are those people who have baptized to become the Jewish.
Now when they were in Jerusalem, in Rome, they started a church.
And when they started a church, they were always worshiping together.
And as I read in my notes, it says,
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This was done without the presence of any apostle and company of the apostles or any humankind.
The Holy Spirit was in charge of the church everywhere.
for the Holy Spirit is the true vicar of Christ.
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We know beyond any question or doubt
that soon believers such hard, deepened power
were gathered in Rome
and their faith was talked about
in the Christian church around the world.
When you read Romans 1, verses 8,
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It tells us that their faith was heard about them everywhere in the world.
When Paul is writing this epistro of the Romans, he's 30 years later.
And yet, nobody from the apostolic company has been to Rome.
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And here Paul was eager to go to Rome, to preach or to teach where no other foundation has been raised by any other teacher.
So the whole other part of the book of Romans, it teaches us of the groups of Christians, both Jews of the Jewish background and of the Gentile background.
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He was to teach them, and he's writing to them because there were issues going on.
And he was bringing them through the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that they can be mortuary one,
so that they can become one.
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I'm in slide about four.
So if somebody was putting my slides up, I'm in slide four.
so the Jews
because I wanted them to follow
those who don't get my accent
so the
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those of the Jewish background
and those of the Gentile background
were having some issues
which were making them
have tensions
there has never been a pastor there
There has never been somebody from the apostolic group.
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So the Jews, in a sense, had become weak because they were wandering,
because of the joining of the others, were they breaking the dietary roles
which are from the Old Testament.
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and the
the
the Gentiles
who
will look at these
considerate
scribbles as if
why are you wondering
we have been saved by
grace and all this
so this text
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which brings
the old
testament into the
new testament
in Romans
which says, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction
that the steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
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In a sense, Paul directed this message to the Christian of the Gentile background
so that they can understand that this which was written was written for them.
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Paul's purpose in this section of the epistle is to unite the two parties in mutual respect and love.
The Jews had become weak because of their fear of breaking the dietary laws.
So what is the principle here?
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When we read, we deduce that the Old Testament is not a combination of the best in human thought about God.
Neither is the Bible the record of man's groping after God, but God's revelation of himself to man.
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It is initiated by God for man's purposes and for which is revealed here.
God is the one who started, who wrote the scriptures,
and is the one who is teaching us on how to have relationships.
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So as we grow as the church family, as we work together, as we go through different haps and downs,
God wants us to understand that what was written in the Old Testament, those experiences are for us to learn.
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And what else should we learn from there?
He is to know that when Christ wished to warn the man of his time,
when there was luck in some things, he went to the Holy Testament.
He said, remember Rod's wife.
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And when they were making other things which were not working,
When the Lord was confronted by the wicked readers of his day
who came with oily hypocrisy asking for a sign,
he went back to the book of Jonah and repried an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.
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When you read Matthew 12, 39, it tells you exactly what the Savior told them.
So when his disciples also asked him for an answer concerning the time of his return,
he took one of the prophecies of Daniel and told them,
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It is written by the prophet Daniel.
So when you see the desolation,
scourge, the abomination of desolation,
spoken of the prophet Daniel,
standing in the holy place,
let the leader understand.
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Then let those who are in Judea free.
Still, Christ went after he was crucified.
You see, in his way to Emmaus, he meets these young people talking, being afraid, frustrated.
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He tells them from the scriptures, from the Old Testament, from Moses through the prophets.
And he instructed them.
of the scriptures. What am I saying today? I could have talked a lot and I had written a whole
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dissertation of this. The Bible, as we have seen, this text is one of the great series that teaches
us the absolute trustworthiness of the Scripture. We can trust the man who died for us, and we can
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trust the book which he held so dear, and in much he put his trust in. The book, Heron White in one
One of the calm meetings, he said, I give you the book, the Bible.
Read it, study it.
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In Steps to Christ, page 78, and I think it was in our lesson today,
it says, when you test this word, you will know, you will be ready,
attend time to go out and preach the gospel.
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The text here leads us away from despair
and past doubt into learning, patiency, comfort,
and on to our goal, hope.
It must be understood that hope in the Bible's sense
is not the same as hope in our modern civilization,
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as one says, I hope, I hope, I hope.
There is no thought of such uncertainty in the Bible word translation hope.
For in the Christian hope, there is all the strength and certainty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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It is ultimate, final, and absolute.
The road by which we reach our hope may be short or wrong,
but we will follow the landmarks laid down in our text.
May we read the text.
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May the Bible become our book, our guide, our instruction.
And as we go through this experience of looking for a new pastor,
may we go through the instructions, the Bible.
God bless.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
so we'll put my slides up
And I said this is new with me using this iPad instead of my paper notes,
but I have those right back there in case something fouls up.
But anyway, and something new, I'm running the slides,
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so hopefully I'll remember to push buttons.
Normally my wife does it.
So we open with the text in Revelation from God,
the Holy Spirit to come.
And all who hear those words are to invite, invite others to come.
The bride is responsible.
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Responsibility is to share God's love and to give an invitation of salvation to the world.
The bride is a church.
It's believers.
It's members.
It is you and me.
I'm going to read the text again.
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Abigail did such a beautiful job.
But I'm going to read it in the Amplified Bible.
And it says,
The Holy Spirit and the Bride, church, believers, say,
Come, and let the one who hears say,
Come, and let the one who is thirsty come.
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Let the one who wishes to take and drink the water of life without cost.
So what is this water of life?
What is this living water that Jesus referred to in the Bible?
And how do we obtain this living water?
Is it important for us in our lives today?
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This might have been some of the questions that the Samaritan woman,
that the Samaritan woman had as she encountered Jesus at the well.
Jesus, a Jew, was speaking to a woman from Samaria about living water.
He was offering eternal life that can only come through him.
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And we read that text in John 4.10.
It says, Jesus answered, if you knew the gift of God,
and who is saying to you, give me a drink,
you would ask, and he would give you living water. Now we find Jesus in the Jerusalem courts
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during the Feast of Tabernacles, and he's actually come to Jerusalem midweek, and it's a week-long
celebration. The Jewish leaders are seeking to kill him, but Jesus cries out with this message.
And on the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and he didn't speak softly.
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He cried out, if anyone is thirsty, he shall come to me and drink.
And the one who believes in me as the scripture has said,
we'll have streams of living water that flow from deep within.
Ellen White says about this cry,
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The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard it in the temple on the last day of the feast.
The fountain is open for all, and the weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life.
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Jesus is still crying.
If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
in the gospel of john jesus refers to himself as i am i am the good shepherd is the fourth
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of seven i am declaration of jesus recorded only in the gospel of john these i am proclamations
point to his unique divine identity and purpose.
You know, members look to a pastor as a shepherd of their church,
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and that is so very true.
And so when we lose a pastor, there's a void.
But you know what?
It is the pastor's calling and responsibility to shepherd,
to minister, and lead his church to the divine shepherd, Jesus.
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One of the most famous passages we find is in Psalms 23,
and it begins with,
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The chapter continues to show how Jesus will shepherd his people, his sheep,
leading them to our eternal home with him.
It ends with,
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I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Follow Jesus, the good shepherd, as he guides you heaven bound.
Hear the shepherd's voice, his calling, and then invite others to follow.
He loves each of us as his very own sheep, always protecting and leading.
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He was willing to die for you and me, even if we chose not to follow him, even if we rejected him.
Let's read John chapter 10, and it's about the good shepherd.
And as you read it, note that it's personal.
It's for you and me.
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It's intimate, and it is love.
So let's pick it up in John 10, 4 and 5.
I am the good shepherd, and I know my own sheep, and they know me as the Father knows me.
and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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Pick it up in verse 27 and 28.
And you'll notice that I've got a different translation than you may be looking at.
It's the HCSV, the Holman translation.
It says, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me,
and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever.
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no one will snatch them out of my hands and i love that passage
so jesus is a good shepherd throughout this passage of john 10 jesus the good shepherd is
trying to make a certain point to the pharisees while jesus does attempt to explain they meet him
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with doubt so much that they want to stone him and they figure he was disrespecting god
as opposing to being God himself made flesh.
The concept Jesus was trying to illustrate through his metaphor was salvation.
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And throughout this passage, he contrasts a good shepherd with that of a hired hand.
The hired hand runs when the flock is in trouble because they do not love the flock
as Jesus, the good shepherd, does.
And in effect, Jesus is saying literally and metaphorically
that he is present to save humanity.
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In his teachings, he refers to the flock being attacked by wolves,
by a wolf, which could symbolize the devil
or any natural adversary that people face.
Much as the shepherd looks after the flock,
so does God look after us.
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his children. As shepherds protect his flock, but he cares for his herd and his belonging.
We belong to God, and therefore we have value in his eyes. It is written in John 10, 11,
a shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep. That's exactly what Jesus did when he died on the
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cross. Ellen White says this, as an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine
shepherd know his flock. Jesus knows us individually, and he is touched with the feelings of our
infirmities. He knows us all by name. And I love this passage. He knows the very house in which you
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live. I live in 4260. I can't remember my address. But anyway, I live in Mesa. But he knows where I
live, even though I may have forgot it. Every soul is fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one
for whom the Savior died. He came to draw all men unto himself. He bids them follow me. And his
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spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to him. He says, my sheep hear my voice and I know
them and they will follow me. He cares for each one as if there was not another on the face of the
earth. You know, we've heard this famous passage. This world is not my home. I'm just a traveler
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passing through. We've actually have songs with that too. But
Jesus in the next scene is about to go to the cross and he's sharing with his disciples how
much he loves them as part of his family. We find Jesus talking and sharing a beautiful promise,
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and it's one of my favorite, and it is in John 14. He longs to be with us for all eternity,
and he wants to be our God and we, his redeemed people. He's planning a great gathering for all
his children, a spectacular grand reunion. I want to be there. How about you? He is preparing not
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just any home, but your home, my home. And I know in the Bible it says mansion, which means many
rooms, but I'm thinking he's going to build a mansion because I can't afford it here. I'm waiting
to have something of an upgrade up there. Jesus is coming back to take us home. So here's that
(45:09):
passage. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself,
(45:31):
that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus wants us to be with him.
A beautiful, beautiful promise, and I just love that promise.
An American tourist visited the 19th century Polish rabbi,
Hafez Haim, astonished to see the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books,
(46:00):
plus a table and a bench.
The tourist said, Rabbi, where is your furniture?
Where's yours? replied the rabbi.
Mine, asked the puzzled American, but I'm a visitor.
I'm only passing through.
So am I, Hafez said, Hafez Haim.
(46:27):
As we journey on our quest to find a new pastor,
let us never forget that Jesus is our good shepherd.
We may walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
but have no fear.
Jesus is the one who will shepherd and guide you through it.
(46:47):
He will guide our church,
But we need to shine Jesus' light to the darkened world,
sharing his love and his soon return to all that we meet.
Continue to lead others to him.
Our goal should be to prepare our hearts and minds to God's calling.
(47:11):
Hear his call.
Come, follow, drink of the living water that is offered to us today.
Continue heaven bound.
As Raphael refined and transformed his artwork by seeing his rival Michelangelo's masterpieces,
(47:34):
may we look to Jesus and be changed and refined, be transformed into his image,
Be like Jesus.
Here in Mesa Palms, we are a family, as you just heard from Sharon.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Ephesians 2.19 says,
(47:56):
You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the members of the household of God.
We are part of a worldwide church and a worldwide family as shared by Charles.
The family of God, follow the shepherd.
(48:19):
And as I close, we're going to close with that song.
And I invite you to stand if that is your desire and prayer today.
But by standing, you are saying, I want to follow the good shepherd Jesus.
I want to continue heaven bound.
(48:41):
I want to be a part of God's family forever and go to my home in heaven.
Please join me by standing, if that is your prayer today, as we sing the family of God.
So wasn't she cute?
Abigail.
In fact, Abigail is my granddaughter.
And not this Abigail, but it's easy to remember her name.
And thank you, Abigail.
Thank you, Anna.
Dennis and Christy, that song means so much to me, and thank you so much.
And also, Joe, thank you for presenting the Memorial Day presentation.
(00:26):
So, let me turn my thing on.
I'm trying something different.
I've got a new iPad for my birthday.
So, thank you, Renee.
And the music, too, with everything.
So, let me turn this on.
And we'll go from there.
But before we start, I always like to begin with prayer.
(00:50):
And so, if you would join me as I offer up a prayer to our Lord and Savior.
Gracious Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for this opportunity to serve you.
And Lord, we've already been blessed today, but I ask that you touch our lips as we speak your words to your people.
(01:17):
Lord, thank you again for being our Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
So you've probably been seeing announcements on the trio of elders, and it wasn't my idea.
It was actually Sharon, and thank you, Sharon, for sharing that with us.
(01:37):
But we have three elders today that's going to preach not real long sermons, but we hope
that you are touched because the message is called Continued Heaven Bound.
So as members of Mesa Palms, we now venture on a transitional period of uncertainty for
(01:59):
the church and its members.
Concerns and questions arise.
What does the future hold?
What is God's plan?
Who is our next pastor?
This morning, I wanted to share with you our goals and some of the plans and future for
our church and its members.
(02:20):
But our eyes should always be focused on the good shepherd, Jesus.
Follow the shepherd.
God has promised to lead us to our home in heaven.
And I believe we have a strong core of elders and leaders here at Mesa Palms
that are united and willing to follow God's leading
(02:43):
as we journey together in the months ahead.
Every church member is important and vital
as we continue to show God's love to those inside and outside our church.
And I'm thankful that we have live streaming so those that didn't make it a church can see that you're important too.
(03:13):
We welcome visitors.
In fact, when Renee and I first came to this church, that was one of the things that drew us here,
is the friendliness and the warmth that we received as we came through the doors back there.
We welcome our visitors, and we also want to reach out to our neighbors, both local and further out.
(03:34):
You will see elders and leaders and different members involved in our church service on a regular basis,
leading in not only our church service,
but different ministries that are in our church.
The Arizona Conference, and you've already started seeing them,
are supportive and willing to guide in the search for a new pastor.
(03:55):
They have committed to be visible during this transition
by attending church meetings and preaching at our church.
And next week is Elder Ed Keys, our conference president.
today i've invited two elders with me sharon and charles and we are the trio of elders as we share
(04:20):
together the important message of continue heaven bound even though he was one of the
history's greatest artists 16th century painter raphael was overshadowed by his more famous rival
It is said that after seeing Michelangelo's artwork, Raphael was moved to refine his own.
(04:42):
And that should be our experience.
As you look to Jesus, you'll be inspired to change and become more like Jesus.
Hebrews 12, 1 and 2 says,
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every way.
and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
(05:05):
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Good morning, church family.
Family.
We are family.
Jesus, he is our God. And I'm so glad he brought us all together. And I'm so glad that the Father
(05:42):
is our God. Let's have just a brief word of prayer before I start. Lord, I just ask that you would
touch my lips, just like you did Isaiah, when the angel touched his lips with a hot coal,
that you would cleanse me and that the words that I speak, that your Holy Spirit would speak through
(06:04):
me. At this time we pray because I pray it in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Family. When we think of family, we really think of our own personal family. Our family can be
blended family where we have two family units that come together, but we also think of family.
(06:27):
We think of our mother and our father and our brothers and our sisters and our aunts and our uncles going over to grandma and grandpa's house on Sunday for dinner or Sabbath afternoon for dinner after church.
Some of us also have extended family in terms of those people that come into our life that touch us in a very, very special way.
(06:53):
And we may not be blood family, but we're family nevertheless.
some people come from very large families
I know of several people and have touched my life
that their families are huge
just huge number of family members
I happen to come from a very small family
(07:14):
there's not many of us left
most recently I lost a cousin to brain cancer
and so I just have a few cousins
that are actually left
And I was born as an only child. My father was an only child. So our family tended to be very strong, very small, but very, very strong.
(07:38):
And sadly, as time goes by, we lose our family members and it really makes us quite sad because we're losing those people that we hold very dear to us.
Well, you know, Jesus had an earthly family. He had a mother, we know, Mary. He had a father,
Joseph. And he also had brothers, and we believe to be sisters. We know for a fact that he had
(08:04):
brothers. We are told that Jesus's childhood was actually a very happy childhood. He sat by his
mother, Mary, who taught him. And we're told in the Bible that she pondered these things in her
heart as she taught her son. We also are told that Joseph, his dad, as a carpenter, taught his son
(08:27):
many, many things. So he worked alongside his father in the carpentry shop. He also in the
community, we're told in the Desire of Ages, that he was actually a very handsome boy. He was clear
in his stature, he grew in wisdom, and that he was very, very eager to learn.
(08:52):
Then we find as Jesus grew and he began his ministry, he was teaching and preaching. It
must have been in a building somewhere, because when we look in Matthew 12, it says that while
While he was still talking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside seeking to speak with him.
(09:18):
Then one said to him, Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside.
They want to come out. You want you to come outside so that they could talk with him.
But he answered them and said, Who is my mother and who are my brothers?
Then he stretched out his hands and he reached towards his disciples and he said,
(09:44):
Here is my mother.
Here are my brothers.
Now, I don't know about you, but if I would have been the mother of Jesus,
I think I'm brother and brothers.
I would have been a little put off by that.
You know, he doesn't want to come outside and talk to us.
He wants to, he's saying that his disciples are his brother and his mother.
(10:05):
But then he says something very important in verse 50.
He said, for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
So as we look towards the 12 disciples, let's take a look at them.
(10:28):
for a little bit. They were quite a group of men, weren't they? When you think about them,
you think about James and John, you think about them as the sons of thunder. What does that bring
in mind to you? Very boisterous people, very quick-tempered, very fiery personalities.
(10:51):
Then we think of Matthew, the tax collector.
He couldn't be much lower than a tax collector, could you, in those days?
They were not very high on the list in the tribe of Israel.
And then you want to take a look at Judas Iscariot, greedy,
(11:15):
wanted to control things, unrepentant,
and betrayed our Master and Savior Jesus.
We want to take a look at Peter, who was impulsive,
who also wanted to control things,
who doubted and was very passionate,
(11:39):
and who denied our Savior three times.
And Jesus stood in front of his own mother and brothers and said,
These are my family because these do the will of my father.
You kind of want to scratch your head at that and say,
Well, I don't quite understand that, Jesus.
(12:00):
But yet Jesus still called them family.
And as Jesus hung on that cross,
All the disciples had abandoned him with the exception of his mother, Mary and John.
And he looked down from that cross and he said to John, here is your mother.
(12:25):
Here is your son.
He still remembered his family.
Family is so important to Jesus.
It's important to us in our own personal lives as we look on our personal family,
just as important as it was to Jesus. And then as Jesus rose and ascended, you took a look
(12:54):
at this group of men who had lost their shepherd. They lost him. He was gone. What were they to do?
They wandered around.
They did not know what they needed to do.
But Jesus, in his wisdom, said,
I want you to go to Jerusalem.
(13:14):
I want you to go to the upper room,
and I want you to assemble there.
And that's where I will send my Holy Spirit to you
to minister to you
and to tell you what you need to do.
Because he gave us the promise in John 14, verse 18.
(13:37):
I will never leave you orphan.
I will come to you.
And he did just that in Acts chapter 1.
He came to them in the form of the Holy Spirit.
And as they left Jesus from his ascension and they went to the upper room,
(13:58):
And there were the 11 disciples.
There was Mary, his mother, many women and other men.
They went into that room and they prayed together.
They ate together.
They were together as a family, a church family.
(14:22):
Oh, how wonderful our church family is to us.
Today, as we face a time when we are looking for a new pastor, yes, our earthly shepherd has left,
but we have a heavenly shepherd in Jesus that will always be there for us.
(14:43):
He will never leave us orphaned. He will always come to us when we need him.
One of the things that Pastor Vince said last week that touched me was that he said,
Jesus was our firm foundation.
We have a song about our firm foundation,
(15:04):
standing on the rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.
And we can hold fast to those promises because he will lead us.
We can go confidently and move and navigate through this time
where we are looking for a new pastor.
(15:26):
and into the future. From God, we can experience the sense of belonging because he gives us
that sense of security through Jesus. Jesus, our elder brother, binds us together. We sang that
song, bind us together, bind us together with words that cannot be broken. And through his teachings,
(15:54):
we can share our faith with each other and with those around us. We can take care of each other.
We can offer support. We can offer encouragement. And we need that today, don't we? There's so much
that is happening in our world, and we are seeing more and more sadness come into our life,
(16:18):
more things that are happening in our world,
but it's pointing to a time where we need to stay together,
band together as a church family
and being mindful of all of the needs,
extending our grace and working together
because we are a church family.
(16:41):
There was a song written in 1970 by Gloria and Bill Gaither
that we are going to be singing for our closing song.
And it says, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I'm a part of the family of God.
(17:10):
You will notice that we say, brothers and sisters around here, it's because we're a family.
and these are so near. When one has a heartache, we all share the tears and rejoice in the victory
in this family so dear. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain,
(17:39):
washed in his blood, joint heirs with Jesus as we travel the sod, for I'm a part, a part of the
family of God. So by being one big happy family in God, we are drawn together. We're drawn together
by the family through the Holy Spirit. And yes, no family is perfect, but our faith binds us
(18:06):
together as we continue to do God's work. We have that spiritual bond that we share between believers
for our firm foundation is found in Jesus as we journey together heaven bound.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Thanks so much.
and in the family of God.
I know I'm thankful to the elders who invited me.
I'm not worthy to be here, but they also put me in
because it's multicultural, is it?
(19:13):
I once was a head elder,
and sometimes I invite people to speak when we had no pastor,
and on Friday evening the speaker calls me and says,
you know I can't make it.
You know how hard that gets when the bolt-ins are already printed
(19:34):
and everything is ready and the speaker is not there.
So that is a tough job.
Today, as Sharon has said, the church family, how bring it to the church family as the gospel goes to the whole world.
(19:58):
We'll read from Romans 15, verse 4.
I put about three translations, but I will.
because I know I have an accent and it's difficult for everybody to get,
so I put some slides.
So I guess you'll follow me quick,
(20:18):
and sometimes I go with that joke which says,
what is the point of going so fast, so comfortable,
and when you don't know where you're going?
So, bad.
We'll learn because we'll follow the instructions.
In Romans 15, verses 4, let me read the King James Version, which is up there.
(20:46):
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.
(21:07):
and I like the NIV down there
it says
for everything that was written
in the past
was written to teach us
so that through the endurance
and thought in the scriptures
and the encouragement
(21:28):
they provide
we might have hope
the Phillips is a paraphrase
so it's good to read too
the church in
Rome was
started by the Jews
(21:49):
and the Gentiles who attended
the Pentecost meeting
in Jerusalem
and at this time when they went
park to their capital city. They started a church. They started worshiping together.
(22:12):
They started having communion, and they started baptizing others who were both Jews and Gentiles.
Because as Acts tells us, they were both the visitors from Rome who were both Jewish and proselytes.
(22:36):
Proselytes are those people who have baptized to become the Jewish.
Now when they were in Jerusalem, in Rome, they started a church.
And when they started a church, they were always worshiping together.
And as I read in my notes, it says,
(22:59):
This was done without the presence of any apostle and company of the apostles or any humankind.
The Holy Spirit was in charge of the church everywhere.
for the Holy Spirit is the true vicar of Christ.
(23:20):
We know beyond any question or doubt
that soon believers such hard, deepened power
were gathered in Rome
and their faith was talked about
in the Christian church around the world.
When you read Romans 1, verses 8,
(23:44):
It tells us that their faith was heard about them everywhere in the world.
When Paul is writing this epistro of the Romans, he's 30 years later.
And yet, nobody from the apostolic company has been to Rome.
(24:08):
And here Paul was eager to go to Rome, to preach or to teach where no other foundation has been raised by any other teacher.
So the whole other part of the book of Romans, it teaches us of the groups of Christians, both Jews of the Jewish background and of the Gentile background.
(24:37):
He was to teach them, and he's writing to them because there were issues going on.
And he was bringing them through the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that they can be mortuary one,
so that they can become one.
(24:58):
I'm in slide about four.
So if somebody was putting my slides up, I'm in slide four.
so the Jews
because I wanted them to follow
those who don't get my accent
so the
(25:18):
those of the Jewish background
and those of the Gentile background
were having some issues
which were making them
have tensions
there has never been a pastor there
There has never been somebody from the apostolic group.
(25:42):
So the Jews, in a sense, had become weak because they were wandering,
because of the joining of the others, were they breaking the dietary roles
which are from the Old Testament.
(26:03):
and the
the
the Gentiles
who
will look at these
considerate
scribbles as if
why are you wondering
we have been saved by
grace and all this
so this text
(26:24):
which brings
the old
testament into the
new testament
in Romans
which says, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction
that the steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
(26:49):
In a sense, Paul directed this message to the Christian of the Gentile background
so that they can understand that this which was written was written for them.
(27:10):
Paul's purpose in this section of the epistle is to unite the two parties in mutual respect and love.
The Jews had become weak because of their fear of breaking the dietary laws.
So what is the principle here?
(27:32):
When we read, we deduce that the Old Testament is not a combination of the best in human thought about God.
Neither is the Bible the record of man's groping after God, but God's revelation of himself to man.
(27:55):
It is initiated by God for man's purposes and for which is revealed here.
God is the one who started, who wrote the scriptures,
and is the one who is teaching us on how to have relationships.
(28:20):
So as we grow as the church family, as we work together, as we go through different haps and downs,
God wants us to understand that what was written in the Old Testament, those experiences are for us to learn.
(28:44):
And what else should we learn from there?
He is to know that when Christ wished to warn the man of his time,
when there was luck in some things, he went to the Holy Testament.
He said, remember Rod's wife.
(29:08):
And when they were making other things which were not working,
When the Lord was confronted by the wicked readers of his day
who came with oily hypocrisy asking for a sign,
he went back to the book of Jonah and repried an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.
(29:40):
When you read Matthew 12, 39, it tells you exactly what the Savior told them.
So when his disciples also asked him for an answer concerning the time of his return,
he took one of the prophecies of Daniel and told them,
(30:05):
It is written by the prophet Daniel.
So when you see the desolation,
scourge, the abomination of desolation,
spoken of the prophet Daniel,
standing in the holy place,
let the leader understand.
(30:27):
Then let those who are in Judea free.
Still, Christ went after he was crucified.
You see, in his way to Emmaus, he meets these young people talking, being afraid, frustrated.
(30:50):
He tells them from the scriptures, from the Old Testament, from Moses through the prophets.
And he instructed them.
of the scriptures. What am I saying today? I could have talked a lot and I had written a whole
(31:11):
dissertation of this. The Bible, as we have seen, this text is one of the great series that teaches
us the absolute trustworthiness of the Scripture. We can trust the man who died for us, and we can
(31:34):
trust the book which he held so dear, and in much he put his trust in. The book, Heron White in one
One of the calm meetings, he said, I give you the book, the Bible.
Read it, study it.
(31:56):
In Steps to Christ, page 78, and I think it was in our lesson today,
it says, when you test this word, you will know, you will be ready,
attend time to go out and preach the gospel.
(32:18):
The text here leads us away from despair
and past doubt into learning, patiency, comfort,
and on to our goal, hope.
It must be understood that hope in the Bible's sense
is not the same as hope in our modern civilization,
(32:44):
as one says, I hope, I hope, I hope.
There is no thought of such uncertainty in the Bible word translation hope.
For in the Christian hope, there is all the strength and certainty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(33:05):
It is ultimate, final, and absolute.
The road by which we reach our hope may be short or wrong,
but we will follow the landmarks laid down in our text.
May we read the text.
(33:25):
May the Bible become our book, our guide, our instruction.
And as we go through this experience of looking for a new pastor,
may we go through the instructions, the Bible.
God bless.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
so we'll put my slides up
And I said this is new with me using this iPad instead of my paper notes,
but I have those right back there in case something fouls up.
But anyway, and something new, I'm running the slides,
(34:27):
so hopefully I'll remember to push buttons.
Normally my wife does it.
So we open with the text in Revelation from God,
the Holy Spirit to come.
And all who hear those words are to invite, invite others to come.
The bride is responsible.
(34:49):
Responsibility is to share God's love and to give an invitation of salvation to the world.
The bride is a church.
It's believers.
It's members.
It is you and me.
I'm going to read the text again.
(35:09):
Abigail did such a beautiful job.
But I'm going to read it in the Amplified Bible.
And it says,
The Holy Spirit and the Bride, church, believers, say,
Come, and let the one who hears say,
Come, and let the one who is thirsty come.
(35:31):
Let the one who wishes to take and drink the water of life without cost.
So what is this water of life?
What is this living water that Jesus referred to in the Bible?
And how do we obtain this living water?
Is it important for us in our lives today?
(35:53):
This might have been some of the questions that the Samaritan woman,
that the Samaritan woman had as she encountered Jesus at the well.
Jesus, a Jew, was speaking to a woman from Samaria about living water.
He was offering eternal life that can only come through him.
(36:17):
And we read that text in John 4.10.
It says, Jesus answered, if you knew the gift of God,
and who is saying to you, give me a drink,
you would ask, and he would give you living water. Now we find Jesus in the Jerusalem courts
(36:38):
during the Feast of Tabernacles, and he's actually come to Jerusalem midweek, and it's a week-long
celebration. The Jewish leaders are seeking to kill him, but Jesus cries out with this message.
And on the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and he didn't speak softly.
(37:02):
He cried out, if anyone is thirsty, he shall come to me and drink.
And the one who believes in me as the scripture has said,
we'll have streams of living water that flow from deep within.
Ellen White says about this cry,
(37:24):
The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard it in the temple on the last day of the feast.
The fountain is open for all, and the weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life.
(37:45):
Jesus is still crying.
If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
in the gospel of john jesus refers to himself as i am i am the good shepherd is the fourth
(38:06):
of seven i am declaration of jesus recorded only in the gospel of john these i am proclamations
point to his unique divine identity and purpose.
You know, members look to a pastor as a shepherd of their church,
(38:26):
and that is so very true.
And so when we lose a pastor, there's a void.
But you know what?
It is the pastor's calling and responsibility to shepherd,
to minister, and lead his church to the divine shepherd, Jesus.
(38:47):
One of the most famous passages we find is in Psalms 23,
and it begins with,
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The chapter continues to show how Jesus will shepherd his people, his sheep,
leading them to our eternal home with him.
It ends with,
(39:08):
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Follow Jesus, the good shepherd, as he guides you heaven bound.
Hear the shepherd's voice, his calling, and then invite others to follow.
He loves each of us as his very own sheep, always protecting and leading.
(39:34):
He was willing to die for you and me, even if we chose not to follow him, even if we rejected him.
Let's read John chapter 10, and it's about the good shepherd.
And as you read it, note that it's personal.
It's for you and me.
(39:54):
It's intimate, and it is love.
So let's pick it up in John 10, 4 and 5.
I am the good shepherd, and I know my own sheep, and they know me as the Father knows me.
and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
(40:18):
Pick it up in verse 27 and 28.
And you'll notice that I've got a different translation than you may be looking at.
It's the HCSV, the Holman translation.
It says, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me,
and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever.
(40:40):
no one will snatch them out of my hands and i love that passage
so jesus is a good shepherd throughout this passage of john 10 jesus the good shepherd is
trying to make a certain point to the pharisees while jesus does attempt to explain they meet him
(41:01):
with doubt so much that they want to stone him and they figure he was disrespecting god
as opposing to being God himself made flesh.
The concept Jesus was trying to illustrate through his metaphor was salvation.
(41:23):
And throughout this passage, he contrasts a good shepherd with that of a hired hand.
The hired hand runs when the flock is in trouble because they do not love the flock
as Jesus, the good shepherd, does.
And in effect, Jesus is saying literally and metaphorically
that he is present to save humanity.
(41:46):
In his teachings, he refers to the flock being attacked by wolves,
by a wolf, which could symbolize the devil
or any natural adversary that people face.
Much as the shepherd looks after the flock,
so does God look after us.
(42:07):
his children. As shepherds protect his flock, but he cares for his herd and his belonging.
We belong to God, and therefore we have value in his eyes. It is written in John 10, 11,
a shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep. That's exactly what Jesus did when he died on the
(42:43):
cross. Ellen White says this, as an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine
shepherd know his flock. Jesus knows us individually, and he is touched with the feelings of our
infirmities. He knows us all by name. And I love this passage. He knows the very house in which you
(43:05):
live. I live in 4260. I can't remember my address. But anyway, I live in Mesa. But he knows where I
live, even though I may have forgot it. Every soul is fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one
for whom the Savior died. He came to draw all men unto himself. He bids them follow me. And his
(43:29):
spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to him. He says, my sheep hear my voice and I know
them and they will follow me. He cares for each one as if there was not another on the face of the
earth. You know, we've heard this famous passage. This world is not my home. I'm just a traveler
(43:56):
passing through. We've actually have songs with that too. But
Jesus in the next scene is about to go to the cross and he's sharing with his disciples how
much he loves them as part of his family. We find Jesus talking and sharing a beautiful promise,
(44:18):
and it's one of my favorite, and it is in John 14. He longs to be with us for all eternity,
and he wants to be our God and we, his redeemed people. He's planning a great gathering for all
his children, a spectacular grand reunion. I want to be there. How about you? He is preparing not
(44:46):
just any home, but your home, my home. And I know in the Bible it says mansion, which means many
rooms, but I'm thinking he's going to build a mansion because I can't afford it here. I'm waiting
to have something of an upgrade up there. Jesus is coming back to take us home. So here's that
(45:09):
passage. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself,
(45:31):
that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus wants us to be with him.
A beautiful, beautiful promise, and I just love that promise.
An American tourist visited the 19th century Polish rabbi,
Hafez Haim, astonished to see the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books,
(46:00):
plus a table and a bench.
The tourist said, Rabbi, where is your furniture?
Where's yours? replied the rabbi.
Mine, asked the puzzled American, but I'm a visitor.
I'm only passing through.
So am I, Hafez said, Hafez Haim.
(46:27):
As we journey on our quest to find a new pastor,
let us never forget that Jesus is our good shepherd.
We may walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
but have no fear.
Jesus is the one who will shepherd and guide you through it.
(46:47):
He will guide our church,
But we need to shine Jesus' light to the darkened world,
sharing his love and his soon return to all that we meet.
Continue to lead others to him.
Our goal should be to prepare our hearts and minds to God's calling.
(47:11):
Hear his call.
Come, follow, drink of the living water that is offered to us today.
Continue heaven bound.
As Raphael refined and transformed his artwork by seeing his rival Michelangelo's masterpieces,
(47:34):
may we look to Jesus and be changed and refined, be transformed into his image,
Be like Jesus.
Here in Mesa Palms, we are a family, as you just heard from Sharon.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Ephesians 2.19 says,
(47:56):
You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the members of the household of God.
We are part of a worldwide church and a worldwide family as shared by Charles.
The family of God, follow the shepherd.
(48:19):
And as I close, we're going to close with that song.
And I invite you to stand if that is your desire and prayer today.
But by standing, you are saying, I want to follow the good shepherd Jesus.
I want to continue heaven bound.
(48:41):
I want to be a part of God's family forever and go to my home in heaven.
Please join me by standing, if that is your prayer today, as we sing the family of God.
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