Well, amen. Good morning. Welcome to Hope Community Church, North Lakes. My name is Paul Stiver. I have the joy of serving here as the pastor. It is, as according to the screen says, today is Church Planting Sunday. What does that mean? It means that all around, not only the United States, but around the world, people in our Acts 29 network that we're a part of are celebrating Church Planting Sunday. They are celebrating God raising up new leaders and starting new churches to reach more people with his gospel. So we are celebrating it today as well. We want to see more churches started so that more people can start and strengthen a relationship with Jesus. So more people can hear the gospel and find encouragement and hope for their lives. This is also fun to celebrate because we at Hope North Lakes are a church plant. As Allison mentioned, just now over one year old, this X29 is a network that Hope is a part of and has been a part of for many years. And I actually have had the joy of joining into a cohort of similarly planted pastors. So this is my group right here. This is Us Looking Cool, which is what we do a lot of. So that's Felipe, Michael, Neil, the short guy is Ryan, and he knows he's short, Rich, and then myself there. And we all were going to wear black and then Michael ruined it. So these guys are all, Rich leads us, and he's actually moving from Denver to New Jersey to plant a church. But then everyone else in the group is about to plant or has planted within about the last year, just like me. And I love Acts 29. This is a place where my heart and Hope's heart to raise up leaders and send them out to start new churches really has found a home. If you remember, Acts 29 actually came out and filmed us and kind of learned more, interviewed us to learn more about Hope North Lakes and how we got started and how hope has planted churches through the years. We're actually going to take a minute or actually seven to watch that video in the service now. So please watch and enjoy with us. I'm Steve Treichler. I'm the founding and still the senior pastor of Hope Community Church, which now has four locations. And the idea was to reach people like myself, because I knew there was a lot of us out there who really didn't engage with the culture of Christianity, but had kind of engaged with the culture of religion. My name is Paul Stiver. I have the joy of being the lead pastor of Hope Community Church, North Lakes. My story is kind of a wild one. I didn't expect to be here. I wasn't planning my life to turn out this way. I remember I was 17. I was sitting out in front of my dorm and I looked up to the sky and I said, God, if you exist, show me. And nothing happened. And so I became an atheist at that point. I was actually an atheist for about 10 years, just looking for life in the things of this world, whether it was career, profession, partying, you name it. All those things let me down. Paul came along here in 2014, and he came to us pretty rough around the edges. He was an atheist, but he had a lady in his life who thought otherwise of him, and so drug him to church by his teeth. I heard preaching from Pastor Steve, and he was walking through this list of religion versus the gospel, religion being I do things and then God has to accept me, whereas the gospel says God accepts you and then you actually respond to him, but you're accepted by Jesus because of his finished work. It blew my mind that the gospel would work that way. Right after that, God really started working on my life. The next year, I became an intern here, and I was just going to explore what ministry had. Paul then, he's one of those guys that when he came to faith, he just went all in. And I was like, I think I might want to pursue church planting. In 2000, we started an internship program that we call Leadership Development Institute. Many of our church planters have been raised right up from this church. We actually have people that come to this church with the expectation that they're going to go with our next church plant. So we've had the chance over the last 30 years now to start 12 different churches. We just want to see a difference. We want to see the Twin Cities changed for Christ. I really felt God using my story, my journey, and my gifts in ministry. So I did two more years of the internship and then waited until we were going to plant the church. For years we'd always known that we wanted to plant a church. We'd been in St. Paul for a number of years when we first got married and it just wasn't working, it wasn't working. In that waiting time we had our first son Chase and then we had our second son Brooks. When Brooks was two months old about nine weeks he was diagnosed with Down syndrome. We just started going through the grieving process of like our life just looks different than we thought it was and we knew we needed to move to a spot where we had a school district that would really serve him well. Where can we go to get him the best care? And we found the school district of Moundsview had really great care so we started looking for homes out Moundsview, Shoreview area and then God moved and got us into our house in Shoreview so he's totally rewriting our story. We didn't expect to be out in the suburbs, and all of a sudden now we're in the suburbs. He ended up moving to a different location, and it's kind of amazing that that happened because that's our first church plant that's more in a suburb area. I think it's really easy to assume in the suburbs that people have life all figured out and things are going really well. I'm a fan of my new water bottle. You're a fan of your new water bottle? That's awesome, too. Like seeing that there's a hunger and a need for gospel-centered churches, even in the suburbs. And God starts bringing people from all around the suburbs that say, we want to be a part of something. We haven't found a church like Hope out here. We want to be a part of building something. From that, God made a core team that really got us going. And Allison loves to talk about that we're going to reach people with the gospel. And a big reason why we're there is because of Brooks. We meet in Chippewa Middle School every Sunday, we pull our trailer up. We get to the building at 8 o'clock, we unload it in about 10 minutes with just an incredible team. And then we set up and worship God. We're coming up on one year. It's been so cool to watch God bring that first wave of people that started to launch this thing. And now he's added a second and a third wave of people who are bought in on our vision to help more people in the north suburbs start and strengthen a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's been so awesome to be a part of a network that is invested in planting churches. We joined Acts 29 in 2007, primarily because we wanted to see an organization that was high on theology, but also really high on mission and church planting. That was big. It's hard to find that, actually. So when my wife and I felt ready to plant a church, one of the things we got to do was go out and be assessed by Acts 29. And this was a great experience because you get to be around seasoned leaders, people that have planted churches that know ministry, that understand how the church works and how the gospel moves forward in the world. And then they get to give us feedback, support us, encourage us, give us growth areas. Assessment was such a great process for us to go through and continue to learn and develop as leaders. Being a part of a network like Acts 29 that is raising up leaders, that is sending out those leaders to start new churches, that's really what is the blueprint for us at Hope North Lakes. How can we continue that church planting culture? How can we find new leaders to raise up and send out and start new churches. And just every Sunday watching kids just run around has been really cool. And just thinking about like, what does that next generation of people that grew up in the church and no one loved Jesus, what that impact will be? There are more people like me out there than we realize. And so we keep that gospel going forward. We find those people and God uses them to transform. Cry for about the next five minutes, and then we'll continue on with the service. Really thankful for how they captured what God has done here at Hope North Lakes. I'm just thankful to be a part of it. Don't do something like this or celebrate church planting Sunday to pat ourselves on the back, but just to say thank you to God for what he's doing and continuing to carry his gospel forward. And on those lines, I put up this image here, as Allison hit on, I get emotional at the end of that video watching the kids serve in the church. It really matters to me that we would create a healthy church where they can fall in love with Jesus and see the beauty of belonging to a church because as she said and brought up, like what can come, what can happen if we steward our moment well? You know, if you think about this as a race, God has handed us the baton, and we're passing it now to the next generation. And if we can steward that well, raise up leaders, send them out. Who knows what God might do among that next generation. So we're going to celebrate today. Out in the lobby, there are some more resources about Acts 29. I want to be at the table there. If you haven't gotten your disappointingly normal shirt or your kids haven't gotten one, those are out there too. And then I brought a little bit of candy, just a little bit. It's a ton. So feel free to come get some candy, learn more about Acts 29, celebrate church planting and all that God is doing and has done. We are now going to continue in the Gospel of Mark. We are, if you're just joining us this Sunday, we've been going through the Gospel of Mark, one of the four Gospels. We are now deeper into Mark here where we are nearing the end of Jesus' life. It's starting to get heavy. But before we get into that, I wonder if you have ever seen this quote. Is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Do you agree with this? Is this something you say like, yeah, I would rather have gone all in and have my heart broken than never have loved it all. I was thinking about this because I was going through some old stuff at our house, some different memorabilia from when I was a kid, and I found a letter for some reason that I had typed out on our old word processor describing my relationship with my fifth grade girlfriend and then our subsequent breakup. And I was thinking, was it? So some of the stuff in the letter, at some point I'll share the whole thing, but I find this letter. We were at like a roller skating thing at the end of the school year, and it was like, am I going to skate with her or not? And then I did skate with her. That was a big deal, guys. That was fourth going into fifth, I believe. And then, so Allison knows about this, by the way. This isn't a surprise anyway. But so then I'm like, okay, we skated together. We're together now. And like in this, we talk on the phone and different things. I remember, though, the letter reminded me I would ride my bike really fast in front of her house, just hoping she was like looking out the window like, whoa, that guy can ride his bike pretty fast. But then things changed. Sadly. No, not sadly. I prefer this. But all I had in the letter was like all of a sudden now she's sticking her tongue out at me a lot. And so we don't talk. I think we're broken up now. Now, what if I, though, I was thinking about that with this quote, though. What if that hurt in fifth grade? However much it hurt, I don't recall. What if that hurt? What if I actually shut my heart off after that? What if I never opened myself up to love again after that? Would I regret it? Today in the passage, we're going to see a lot, and it's a heavy passage, but one of the things we need to see is the heart of Jesus and how he loves, opens up his heart, no matter the hurt, to love without regret. So let's look at that. We're going to read it. It's a long passage. We're going to read it and unpack it now. So again, they're on the Mount of Olives, and it says this, And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him, and lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, Rabbi, and he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled. And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and they seized him. But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. And they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards and warming himself by the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another not made with hands. Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But he remained silent and made no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest tore his garments and said, What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death and some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him saying to him prophesy and the guards received him with blows. So we'll jump right back into it again, verse 43. And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, Rabbi, and he kissed him. So this is now the night after the Passover. they've gone out to the Mount of Olives. Judas had gone away to find the chief priest, the scribes, the elders, these religious leaders who, if you're with us for the first time all throughout Mark, we've seen them wanting to target Jesus and take him out. One of the passages says they want to destroy him, and now that plan is taking place. And here it says, Judas betrays him with a kiss. I was thinking about that this week and found a quote that I think best articulates what's happening here. David Garland says, the sign of the kiss reflects the normal greeting one gave a respected teacher. One kissed the hand out of deference or the cheek if one considered oneself an equal. If you look at Luke 7.45, you did not give me a kiss. Judas addresses Jesus with the honorific title rabbi and kisses him. The word Mark uses, kataphileo, can picture Judas kissing him affectionately. See Luke 15, where the father kisses his returning prodigal son as a sign of reconciliation. So he calls him rabbi, shows affection. David Garland continues, he says, or it can indicate that he kisses him deferentially on the hand or even the foot, whichever it is. Judas gives no sign that their fellowship has been broken. He wants everything to appear normal up to the last second when the guards rush to capture him. Listen to this part. It says, He turns him over to a certain death with a warm gesture of love or the customary greeting of respect, turning a sign of intimacy and goodwill into a sign of infamy and death. He turns him over to a certain death with a warm gesture of love or the customary greeting of respect, turning a sign of intimacy and goodwill into a sign of infamy and death. This is how he shows out of the group this is how he shows the guards who jesus is he kisses him he betrays him with a kiss so they know who to seize now i've got to confess something about this passage in particular, it has been really hard in studying this week not to just point the finger at judas, i believe in grace if you're new to the bible new to the gospel grace is a concept that says what I deserve from God is punishment for my sin. I deserve his wrath. I deserve to pay for my sin. What grace is, though, is that God actually uses Jesus, that Jesus comes forward, pays the penalty for our sin, absorbs the wrath of God, and actually turns God's anger to us and hatred of our sin toward favor toward us, toward blessing. And all of this happens not because of anything that we've done, simply because God chose to do it. All we do is receive it as a gift. So that means anybody can be saved. That means no matter what wrongs people have done, we don't point our fingers at them because we know they could come to know God at any moment and have their sins forgiven just like ours. But it's been killing me this week to see Judas betray Jesus like this. I know I'm a sinner. I know I'm no better than anyone else. But when I look at Jesus here, betraying him with a kiss, or Judas, I'm like, how could you? How could you? Let's continue. It says, And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. That's Peter, presumably. The other Gospels make that clear. We're not going to spend a lot of time on that this week. And Jesus said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day, I was with you in the temple teaching and you did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled. And then all of his disciples left him and fled. That word there for robber, when they come out to seize him, that word for robber, another word for it could be revolutionary. They look at what Jesus is doing and they say, you must be stopped. Jesus doesn't just let them arrest him, seize him, whatever. He holds up the truth to them. He holds up the truth to them so that they see what they did. He's like a mirror in the sense. He says, I was with you the whole time and you never sees me. But now look what you're doing. Look what you're doing. The thing about the gospel, to actually embrace the gospel, to come to faith in Jesus Christ, it involves sitting with, facing the hard news, the bad news, that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. He's trying to hold the truth up to them so they can see that bad news of their sin. We see the bad news of our sin that leads us to turn and repent, to trust in Jesus. Here they don't. They continue with their plan. Later, some will. When Peter does the same thing as Jesus, Peter in Acts 2 is going to hold the truth up very plainly to them like a mirror and call them out for what they've done. So in Acts 2, verse 36, it says this. When Peter's preaching, he says, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified. What does he say to them? Jesus is Lord. He's the Messiah. He's God's king. You crucified him. You can't hold up a mirror of truth any more than that to them. He says, whom you crucified. You didn't receive him when he was here. You rejected him. You killed him. You crucified him. Peter tells it plainly to them. He holds the truth up to them like a mirror. What happens next? Do they repent? They do. Verse 37. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They repent. What does it require? It requires embracing the hard news about their sin. They were guilty of sin. It required turning to Jesus Christ from their sin and asking for his forgiveness. Repentious means turn away from one thing to another thing. Peter goes on to say in the next verse, anyone who does this, anyone who does this, Anyone who turns from their sin and calls upon the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness can be saved. All right, let's continue on. Verse 51, 52. And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and they seized him. But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. This is an odd detail here. Mark is very notorious for not putting in a lot of detail, so why is this in here? A lot of the scholars seem to think he's actually writing about himself, that actually the Lord's Supper would have been at his house. He goes out with just a linen cloth to try to keep up in haste with the people as they go to the Mount of Olives. So listen to this from Kent Hughes. He says, When Jesus and the eleven went out to the Mount of Olives, Mark hastily dressed in only a linen garment. Mark undoubtedly had been an eyewitness to Gethsemane, hence the intimate details. Now poor Mark was almost grabbed by the mob, escaping au naturel in the night. But while there is much that can be said about John Mark, another name for him his point is simply this why does Mark put this in there? why this detail? Jesus was absolutely alone while he submitted himself to the cross. We can't miss that why include this detail to show Jesus was absolutely alone, rejected, abandoned, deserted not a single friend was left. Continuing on, verse 53, And they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. They're putting Jesus on their own trial. In this culture, the Jews are living under Roman rule. They can't put Jesus to death on their own. They can't kill him, but they can bring charges against him, testimony against him, so that they can hand him over to the Romans to be crucified. That's what they're trying to do right now. But it's not working. They're not finding testimony. So they lie. For many, verse 56, bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands. And in three days I will build another not made with hands. Yet even about this, their testimony did not agree. Why? Because that's not what he said. They're lying. John 2 captures what he said. He doesn't say, well, look at this. It says, Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple. And in three days I will raise it up. He's talking about the Jewish temple there in Jerusalem. He says, then the Jews said, it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days. And John clarifies, he's speaking about the temple of his body, that he's going to be raised from the dead, that something spiritual is going to happen in place of the physical. But now going back, what was their testimony? He said, I will destroy this temple. He doesn't say I will. They're lying. They lie so that their plan to kill him will work. Do you understand this? Do we see the depth of sin here? They want to kill him, which is a sin, so they lie, which is a sin. Their heart's so given over to killing Jesus, they're breaking commandments at will to kill God, the Son of God. That's the depth of sin. That's what Judas does. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But he remained silent and made no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Now take note of what Jesus does here. About the false accusations, have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? He remains silent. But when it comes to the truth, he speaks. Here in verse 52, or sorry, 62. Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? What does he say? I am. And you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and come in with the clouds of heaven. He speaks when truth is involved. And what does he say? I am. I am God's king. And though you will not accept it now, though you reject it now, one day you will see my glory. And the high priest, considering this blasphemy, tore his garments and said, What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and strike him, saying to him, Prophesy. And the guards received him with blows. Jesus here in this short passage is betrayed Rejected, lied about, spit on, and struck, And yet we have a picture of Jesus Who despite all of this Loved people to the end Listen to what it says We need to see the open heart of Jesus. Listen to what it says here in this commentary about Judas. Kent Hughes here. It says, Judas' infamous kiss showed how low a human heart can go. Jesus' response was just the opposite, for it showed how high a heart can soar. Betrayal is always terrible, but when it comes from a kiss, from a supposed friend, it is especially horrible. Yet there was no rejection from Jesus, No, you follow me, Judas, get away Rather, Matthew tells us, he said, friend, do what you came to do Jesus did not just say, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you He lived it, A double click on that line right there Yet there was no rejection from Jesus, We never see Jesus condemn Judas. Judas condemns himself by rejecting the love of Jesus. In this passage, Jesus is open-hearted toward Judas, no matter what hurt comes his way. Judas is close to the love of Jesus. He's closed his heart off. He's protecting it. We see Jesus show a real sign of intimacy. Matthew's account, he calls him friend. We see Judas show a false sign of intimacy, a kiss intended to betray. We see Jesus pursue Judas to the end, open-hearted, appealing to him, no matter what happens to him. We've got to see the depths of his love. Thank you. And for a contrast, the depths of my heart. That looks a lot more like Judas. Or maybe like Shrek. I was thinking about how easy it is to put up walls to keep your heart safe. And how often I'm tempted to do it. To not live with an open heart toward others, wanting to love them and share my life with them, but rather to protect myself. And I felt a lot like Shrek this week. Stay out. Beware of ogre. You're supposed to say, no, no, no, you don't look like an ogre. But if I'm honest, my heart looks a lot like Shrek's, where I want to keep people out. I want to keep them away. Instead of opening my heart like Jesus, I protect it from getting hurt. I was thinking of some ways that might look, depending on the week. One way I want to protect my heart is by not committing to good things, but rather sitting on the sidelines as a cynic or a critic. Because if I commit to a good thing, now my heart's exposed, I could get hurt. But if I sit on the sideline, that's protected. I'm not that involved. I can walk away easily. Another way, probably similar That I protect my heart is by putting on a brave face Instead of opening up How you doing? Good, good, I'm doing good. Instead of being real about what I'm going through. Another way yet still is to try to impress, to try to make myself bigger, more impressive instead of letting people see the real me because if they saw the real me, surely they would run. When we live to keep our hearts safe, we miss out on the love that we really want. I think, why do I do that? Because I start to believe that love is earned, not given. Start to believe that love is earned, not given Listen to this, this is on this idea Tim Keller says this, To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial To be known and not loved is our greatest fear But to be fully known, And truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God It is what we need more than anything It liberates us from pretense humbles us out of our self-righteousness and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. To be loved but not known, comforting but superficial. It's like the rock star who says, I know my fans will only love me if I put out another album and if it's good. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. We all know that fear of being rejected. In fact, maybe for some of us in the room, being rejected one time is what caused us to put the walls up that keep our heart closed off right now. So we don't want to feel that pain again. But what we really want, what we really want is to be fully known and truly loved. And that's how God loves. But only do we see in the gospel that it is with a love that is not earned, but given. Amen. We might self-protect, never open our hearts to Jesus out of fear that he would see the real us and run. But that's not how he loves. That's why he came to this earth. He sees the real us and he runs to us. And he also runs to the cross for us. He goes to the cross so that the real us can be brought near to him, in contrast to a fifth grade girlfriend who broke up with me for who knows what reason i remember when we were first married and you have these moments when you're first married where you're like, an idiot and then you have those moments when you're later married where you're an idiot but early in the marriage when i was an idiot i remember, standing before allison having and made some mistake, and just feeling ashamed and essentially saying to her, this is what you got. This is what you married. Expecting her to run away. And instead she moved toward. When we look at the heart of Jesus, he fully knows us, mess and all, and he fully loves us. How can we be sure of that? Look at 1 John here. 1 John 4, 8-11. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only son in the world so that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Now, here's where I'm challenged. I can't, at the end of the day, point the finger at Judas. Because when it says that Jesus was a propitiation, the atoning sacrifice for our sins, that includes my sins. I needed him to pay for my sins, my rejection of him. But let us learn that real love, God's love is not earned, it's given. Look at verse 9 and verse 10. What happens? What do we get? We get him sending his son as a gift to us. Not earned, certainly not deserved, but given. Real love is not earned, it is given. If you were to ask Jesus if he regrets loving Judas all the way to the end with his full heart open to him, if you were to ask Jesus, and maybe you feel this sometimes, do you regret loving me? He would say, absolutely not. Because he's the one who stuck around. He's the only one who stuck around. And he loves us to the end. He loves without regret. And only when we see that will we ever love others like that. Will we ever open up our hearts to others like that? You know, there's this old show, Friday Night Lights, a football show. And they had this motivational sign they would tap or whatever. The coach would use this quote a lot. Clear eyes, full hearts can't lose. Clear eyes, full hearts can't lose. I'm not quite sure what it means, but it sounds cool. And when you're playing football in high school, you're like, that means a lot to me for some reason. But no, clear eyes, full hearts can't lose. What does it mean in our context? We've got to remember this. Jesus Christ, the ultimate friend, went to the cross with clear eyes about who you are and who I am and a full heart eager to save us. And he didn't lose. If you remember, he walks out of the grave. He wins. Can't lose. You know, Mark fled from him naked. Jesus will not flee. He's the one who sticks and goes naked to the cross. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. He turns a kiss, a sign of goodwill and intimacy, into a sign of infamy and death. But the story doesn't end there. Because Jesus takes a Roman cross, a sign that lives in infamy as a sign of death, and he turns it into a sign of intimacy. That you can have with God. The sign of a relationship we can have with God where we are fully known and fully loved, where we can love and be loved without regret. As we close here in gospel response, we always are hoping that there are people in this room that have yet to trust in Jesus Christ that are checking out Christianity. We intend for our church to be a place where you can engage your faith and take a next step in your spiritual journey or come to faith in Christ. If this describes you today. Jesus will love you to the end. He will. But you've got to open your heart to him before that end comes. Open your heart to Jesus, the one who fully knows you, fully loves you, and is opening his arms to you. That can happen right now in this room. For those of us who have trusted him, he saw us with clear eyes and a full heart. He saved us. He has no regrets about loving you and saving you. When we love like him then when we love without regret like him we can't lose, I'm going to pray and the worship team is going to come up we'll move to a time of communion. Heavenly Father we just thank you for your heart to send your son as a gift to us, that we did not deserve your rescue we did not deserve your salvation and yet you freely have given it, but it comes at a cost. That the open heart of Jesus poured out in love to all of us had to stop beating on that cross so that he could fully pay for and cover our sin, so that now in your mercy we can come back to you through him. Thank you for turning the sign of the cross into a sign of the intimacy we can have being fully known and fully loved by you. God, all I pray for. For this week, would you just show us the love of Jesus for us? Would you break our hearts in the best way that every person in this room would walk out and have a moment this week where they're blown away by how much you love them? And God, would that transform us to love others like you? We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.