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Thanks for listening.
Hey, good morning.
Thank you, Mike.
Next week, you're doing the greeting.
That's what we're doing, right?
Come on, Polly.
Please let him.
There you go.
Here's the good news, Mike.
Everybody at home that's live streaming heard you, and our microphones aren't working,
but they got it, right?
I got you.
Thank you, bud.
Hey, if you got your Bibles, open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 5.
That's where we're going to be this morning.
As you turn there, I want to kind of fill you guys in or remind you of some things going on.
Now, I know tonight is the Super Bowl.
Just quick show of hands.
Is there anyone who is like, I'm a passionate Los Angeles Rams fan?
Anybody?
Anybody who's like, man, the Cincinnati Bengals, that's my team.
Fantastic.
We got church tonight from 4 to 6, all right?
All right.
There we go.
But also, and this is something new for you guys to hear, something we've got planned and going on.
I'm really excited about this.
Over the last several months ago, God just began to lay on my heart something that Aaron and I have had the opportunity to be a part of in our marriage.
And these weekends have been really monumental in us strengthening our marriage, working through some times and working through some difficulties together when God has given us the opportunity to participate in marriage conferences or marriage retreats.
And so I wanted to inform you guys that we feel like God is leading us and was able to meet with our staff and work through this.
And anyways, we're going to be doing a marriage conference here at Willow Church, Friday, March 25th, and Saturday, March 26th.
And so we're going to host it here on our campus.
We're going to use some of the resources that we have with Right Now Media.
And we want to let you know this ahead of time so that you can begin to prepare to make plans to be here with us that evening and then that morning.
The cost will be $20 per person.
And here's why I say $20 per person.
It's a marriage conference.
And so couples, to be able to be there.
But I know that some of you in the context of your marriage, of where you're at right now, maybe your spouse is like, no, I'm not coming.
But you know the desperation that you need to have to fight for your marriage.
I want to encourage you to be there.
If you're a couple who's dating, who's thinking, who's talking about marriage, if you're engaged, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to come and be a part of this weekend with us.
Friday night, we're going to have a catered dinner that's going to be brought in that we can have that.
And then Saturday morning, we'll have breakfast with some challenges for our couples to go out and to do that day.
And I'm really excited just to see what the Lord is going to do.
And so we're going to be selling tickets to that this morning.
Pastor Dave will be selling those.
We'll be in the back.
From where I am, the back left-hand corner of the auditorium, that he will be there.
And so please make plans.
If you've got kids, this gives you plenty of time to get your sitters lined up, to make grandparents aware,
so that maybe they could take them off your hands for Friday night and Saturday morning,
and just looking forward to this wonderful opportunity.
So if you feel like your marriage is healthy and good, so you don't need this, you're wrong, you do.
And if you feel like your marriage is desperate and at a point, then you need this.
I was talking to a couple, and I've used this illustration so many times in my own life, in my own marriage,
but also as I sit and work through some things with married couples.
If you think of your marriage like a home, and every marriage has complications,
every marriage has problems, every marriage has disagreements.
If you say you don't have those, then I would argue that you don't have a marriage.
Because that's what it's like when two people come together, even when they seek to glorify God in all that they do.
And I heard this illustration used, and I love it.
And the pastor that was using it, he said,
and what we do to maintain healthy marriages in the midst of the chaos is we treat problems like candles.
A candle gets lit, a problem that's there.
And we can make one of two choices.
We can either address the problem and snuff it out, or we can ignore it and walk away.
And he said, most couples don't address the problem, they ignore it.
And then the next day another candle's lit, the next day another candle's lit,
and then another candle, and another candle, and another candle.
And then eventually so many candles are lit that the house catches on fire.
And in that moment is when men and women say, now we need help for our marriage.
And just to be honest with you, when you get to that point, oftentimes it's too late.
And so maybe you're there, and you're like, well, there's no big deals that are going on.
Like, we're good.
We got some stuff, yeah, that we need to work through, but we're treading on.
Then come here during this weekend and join us as we identify some candles and try to knock some of these candles out.
Or maybe you're there, and you're like, man, the house is on fire.
Then what I would say to you is don't wait until March 25th, right?
Get with us and help us see what we can do to get some things under control
and watch how God's going to bless your marriage through it.
But I would just like to encourage you to be a part of this wonderful, wonderful weekend experience with us here at our church.
All right, so as we're getting into 1 Corinthians chapter 5 this morning,
I want to kind of draw some illustrations for us.
Now, we know and we've used this that a church is a family.
You and I, we are family.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are a unique family.
And just as we are a family, we use the illustration that a church is a unique family.
So like my family and your family, we have a dad, we have a mom, we have kids,
and we have those similarities that are there.
But then amongst my family and your family, we find that there's some individual unique characteristics
that may ring true in my family, but that doesn't ring true in your family.
And the body of God, the church, is just like that, right?
Like if we were to leave here, we have unique both strengths and weaknesses at Willow Ridge Church.
And if we were to journey down the road to Red Bank Baptist,
we would find that they have their own unique set of circumstances there as well.
They have their own strengths and their own weaknesses.
And if we were to pack up and head down to Lexington Baptist in downtown,
we would find out that that rings true for them as well.
We are all family.
We are all body of Christ.
But that within there, we find our unique set of characteristics,
sometimes strengths, and sometimes weaknesses.
And as we go through and as we're journeying through this letter of 1 Corinthians,
it's so important for us to remember that this letter is written to a very unique family of Christ,
the church at Corinth.
And so as we go through this,
we're going to see some of their unique problems that they're facing
and that Paul's walking through with them
so that they can be the body that God's called them.
And what we saw, I think, week number two,
that God is equipping them to be.
This is Paul's longing.
This is Paul's desire for them.
This is God's desire for them.
And this is God's desire for us,
that we be the church, we be the family that God has called us to be.
Now, one problem that we've seen that's kind of woven through everything that we've looked at
is there's this problem that's happened within where there's been divisions in the church at Corinth
as they're arguing over who they follow.
Remember, some are like, well, I follow Paul.
Some are like, I follow Cephas.
Some, I follow Apollos.
And there's others that say, I follow Christ,
meaning like a higher sense of spirituality than others.
So that's what we've been looking at largely over the last four weeks.
Now, where we're going at over the next several weeks
is more of the can of worms is going to be opened.
And we're going to see that there's even more struggles
that are unique to the Corinthian church.
And the reason why it's so important that we keep drawing the line that says
these are unique to the Corinthian church
is Paul's not addressing society as a whole.
It's not what's wrong with Corinthian society.
It's what's broken in the lives of men and women
who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
And so for us, if we're not careful,
we can read week in and week out,
but we don't have that struggle.
I don't have that struggle.
Check the box and move on.
And so what we want to do is we want to draw from their struggles that they have.
What are the battles?
What are the issues that they're facing?
And while we may not face that particular issue as well,
what are the truths that we can draw from this
as we seek to be the family of God that God has called us to be, all right?
And so that's kind of the background of what we're going to see
over the next several weeks as we work through 1 Corinthians.
So let's look at this problem in 1 Corinthians 5, starting in verse 1.
Paul writes and says,
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you
And a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans
For a man has his father's wife
And you are arrogant
Ought you not rather to mourn?
Let him who has done this be removed from among you
For though absent in body, I am present in spirit
And as if present, I have already pronounced judgment
On the one who did such a thing, all right?
So here in verse 1, we are hit with one of these unique problems
Of what is happening and what is taking place in the church of Corinth
Now, I've tried to fully wrap my brain around and understand this
And what I've come to understand in my study this week
Is there's lots of thoughts, there's lots of ideas
But there's very little consensus on what exactly the specific problem is
Now, Paul begins, we know that this is dealing with sexual immorality
And we could spend the next 10 weeks talking about sexual immorality
But then he goes in to describe this a little bit more
And what we see, basically what we can draw
What I believe is happening
Is that there is a son
Who is having a sexually immoral relationship
With his stepmom
Now, that's a problem, all right?
It's an uncomfortable moment in here for this, right?
And I'll be honest with you
It's a pretty difficult problem
For you and I to immediately draw and relate to
I'm just guessing that when you showed up this morning
With a list of struggles that you and I are facing
Like this isn't cracking the top five, you know?
But the main issue
Let's look at what Paul is talking about
Look back at verse 1
It is actually reported
That there is sexual immorality
Among you
Body of believers
And a kind that is not tolerated
Even among pagans
Now, something to understand about the culture of Corinth
The culture of Corinth
Was completely
More times than not
Tolerant
Of the sexual immoral behaviors
That the church
And that God's word
Would have been against
But even within this
He's like, it's a kind of behavior
That's not even tolerated
Amongst the pagans
So is the issue
That is at hand
That a man in the church
Is having a relationship like this
With his stepmom
Is this an issue?
Yes, absolutely
I put in my notes
With an exclamation point
This is wrong
This is sin
But what I would argue
For us here
In the context of where we are
The bigger issue
Is that the church
Is tolerating it
That the church
Is okay with it
That the church
Is the body
That's supposed to represent
The truth
Of Jesus Christ
Is like
No, no, no, no
We're just going to ignore this
For a second
And we're going to tolerate it
That the issue
Is that there's a man
Who is in blatant
Unrepented
Continual sin
And he sees nothing wrong
With it
And whether they're whispering
About him
Behind his back
There's not the biblical
Confrontation
That is happening
So that he can have
The opportunity
To be addressed
With his sin
And the church
In Paul's words
They tolerated
Look back at verse 2
Why would the church
Tolerate this?
We know it's wrong
We know it's ungodly
We know it's not
What God longs for
And desires
Why would we tolerate it?
Paul says
And you are arrogant
Ought you not
Rather to mourn?
Let him
Who has done this
Be removed
From among you
Paul says
Are you arrogant?
Your pride
Is preventing
You
From doing
What needs to be done
And which is
Mourning the sin
That is rampant
In the life
Of this man
Within your congregation
And what you need to do
Is remove him
Now that's really
Uncomfortable
In our culture
But it's biblical
And Paul says
When there's a man
Like this
Who claims
To be a believer
And is blatantly living
In this sinful
Sexual
Immorality
Lifestyle
That he has
You need to mourn over it
And you need to remove him
And we're going to talk about that
In just a minute
Of what this means
And why Paul
Would call for his
Removal from the church
But here's what I want
To understand
First
They're not even
Addressing it
And so why not?
Paul tells us right here
Pride
Prevents
Biblical
Confrontation
He says
And you
Are arrogant
It's all
What comes back
To their
Their lack of unity
Within the congregation
Of their church
And so
Here's something
That I've been wrestling
With this week
And just pouring over
Is how does pride
Prevent me
From addressing sin
In the life
Of a believer?
How does that prevent it?
Now
Now because sometimes
When we see
A lack
Of confrontation
Now
There are people
In this world
That are good
At confrontation
And there are people
In this world
Who are bad
At confrontation
Right?
I would classify
Myself
An area that God
Has growing me
And desperately needs
To continue
To grow me
Is I'm not great
At confrontation
Right?
I will not sleep
For weeks
When I know
That I've got to deal
With something like that
But God don't set me
Free from it
And so
It's been
An interesting journey
This week
To walk through this
And to ask the question
Right?
How does pride
Prevent me
How is pride
Preventing the church
At Corinth
From addressing sin
In the life
Of a believer?
And here's what
I want us to understand
About pride
Pride creates
Insecurity
Pride creates insecurity
I want you to think
About this
If you're a person
Who struggles with pride
What do you
Continually have to do?
You have to portray
A false narrative
Of who you are
So that others
Think you're better
Than you really are
Right?
That's what pride does
Well let me tell you
What I've done
Let me tell you
What I've accomplished
Let me tell you
Who that I am
And deep down
Within that person
That does that
There's this deep rooted
Insecurities
That are there
To try to make us
Feel like we've got to
Prove that we are
Something beyond this
And when we understand
That
We begin to see
The specific behaviors
In the life of people
That prevent them
From addressing sin
Because of pride
Here's four things
That I see
In my life
And in the lives
Of others
That when pride
Prevents us
From addressing sin
In the life of a believer
Number one
What prevents us
Is this
The question that comes
To us
Well what if they
Address my sin
Right?
You ever gone to
Call somebody out
On something
And then what do they do?
They turn it back on you
And what's our reaction?
No, no, no
This isn't about me
But no, no, no
But it is
Right?
That's not a good feeling
That's
If you're a person
Who struggles with pride
What do you not want?
You don't want
To be called out yourself
But if you go
And you know how
Confrontation plays out
So many times
What happens over
The course of this
Well I'm going to
Address this with you
Then you're going to
Address this with me
And pride prevents that
Number two
How does pride prevent
Addressing sin
In the life of a believer?
Number two
What if the relationship
Is broken?
Right?
What if the relationship
Is broken?
And I get that's hard
That's hard
I've got a friend
I've got a loved one
I've got someone
That I care about
But I see this
And if I sit down
And address this
If I draw the line
Of God's standard
To what's right
And what's wrong
If I call them out
On the behavior
If I point them
Toward the consequences
That will exist
What if the relationship
Is broken?
And that's pride
That's pride
And here's why
That's pride
It seems like humility
And it's not
Here's why it's pride
Alright?
And this is something
That's been big for me
This week
Here's why it's pride
Because I'm determining
That my relationship
With them
Is more valuable
Than their relationship
With the Lord
But what if they repent
What if they're broken
What if we see
As we're gonna see
Kind of sneaking
Into the next couple points
What if they see
As the result
Of your confrontation
With them
That the relationship
Is broken
And they're left
To wander
In the wilderness
Of their sin
And what happens
Is their salvation
Right?
Are we willing?
What if the relationship
Is broken?
Number three
How pride prevents us
What will others say?
Alright?
We can see how this
Narrative plays out
Can you believe
What so and so
Put their nose in
That's none of their business?
I don't want that person
In my life
Who are they
To think
That they
Can go to?
Right?
What will others say?
Again, pride
What will others
Think about me?
How will it affect
Others'
Expectations of me?
And then number four
And I think this is
Where it hit the hardest
How it affects pride
Is this
When we're unwilling
To address people
Because of their sin
We become the person
Who determines
Which sins do matter
And which sins
Don't matter
And let's just be honest
You and I
Were never given
The job description
By God to define sin
He says I got it covered
Right?
He says I got it covered
And he's going to
Give us some examples
Of some things
Later on in this passage
Where it's like
It's not just
The sexually immoral
That we need to address
But here's my standard
And if we decide
As the ones
That are supposed
To be submitted to him
Who are we
To be that person
And this is where
Paul finds
That the church
Is broken
Right?
Not only divided
In who they will follow
But unified
In the acceptance
Of sin
Right?
Here's the division
That we accept
And here's the unity
That we accept
And the unity
That we accept
Is not centered
Around Christ
But it's centered
Around the acceptance
Of sin
Let's keep reading
Verse 4
Paul says this
He says
When you are assembled
In the name
Of the Lord Jesus
And my spirit
Is present
With the power
Of our Lord Jesus
You are to deliver
This man
To Satan
For the destruction
Of the flesh
So that his spirit
May be saved
In the day
Of the Lord
That's complicated
A couple verses
Right there
And so to kind of
Spill over
From 3 to 4
Paul says
Look I'm going to come
I'm going to be here
And when I
When I get there
If you guys
Haven't dealt
With the issue
I'm going to deal
With it
And here's how
I'm going to deal
With it
Let's look back
At verse 5
Because we're
Going to focus
In on
You're delivered
This man
To Satan
For the destruction
Of the flesh
So that his spirit
May be saved
In the day
Of the Lord
So he says
To the church
He says
He's a believer
He says
He's a follower
Of Christ
But yet
In his life
Is not only
Blatant sin
But it's
Unrepented sin
It's important
Raise your hand
If you're perfect
Good right
All our hands
Are down
But the issue
Is not
Is there sin
The issue
Is is there
Blatant
Is there
Unrepented
Sin
In a life
Of a person
Who claims
To be a follower
Of Christ
Who understands
God's standard
For his life
If so
Break fellowship
With him
Paul says
Break it
Send him out
Now when he says
Deliver him
This man to Satan
Like this isn't
Like a fine Satan
Knock on the door
Like here he is
Do what you want to
With him
What he's talking
About right here
Is a break
In the fellowship
Of the body
He's saying
Those of you
Who are the church
And this man
Claims that he is
Then break that
Because here's
What he is going
To have to face
He's going to
Have to face
The consequences
Of his sin
And specifically
He's going to
Have to face
The consequences
Of sin
In the spiritual realm
Right
There is
A connection
In our walk
With the Lord
In our connection
In biblical community
Amongst
One another
There is
There's a closeness
That we can have
And the deeper
This is for a whole
Another message
At a whole
Another different time
But the deeper
We dive
Into community
Together
And seeking
To glorify the Lord
The closer
We are drawn
To him
It's a beauty
It's why God
Gave us
One another
And Paul says
Stop
Protecting him
You've got to
Break this
Because a break
From the body
Means he'll face
This world
Alone
Without the love
Without the support
Without the encouragement
From his church
It's time to break it
Because look where
He says he's going
He's going out
Into the world
That he doesn't
Even tolerate
What he does
Right
So he's got a group
That tolerates it
He's got a group
That accepts it
He's got a group
That just maybe
Probably whispers
Behind his back
Not addresses it
But even those
On the outside
Are like
Nah bro
That's your stepmom
Right
Releasing to it
And watch
What's going
To happen
Paul says
Discipline
And remove him
So
But here's the reason
Why
We talked about this
I think last week
Right
The potential result
Of discipline
Right
If you weren't here
Last week
We talked a little bit
About this
That the goal
Of biblical discipline
Is not to punish
That's not the goal
It's not you did this
So here's what
We get to do to you
Right
The goal
Of church
Discipline
That the goal
Of biblical
Confrontation
Is not for
Punishment
But it's for
Correction
To bring back
To have them
In right standing
Before the Lord
And so what we
What Paul lays out
Are some potential
Results of this
Discipline
If you stop
Protecting him
If you'll stop
Being the parents
Who are ignoring
The destructive
Behaviors
Of their child
That's destroying
All of this around
Then here's
What God could do
Here's what
Would take place
If you stop
Protecting him
That yes
He will live
In the consequences
Of his sin
Full blown
The consequences
He faces
The choices
Of this life
Without having
The enabling
Behaviors
Of those who
Are close to him
When we protect
People from discipline
That's what we do
We enable
Their poor
Decisions
And then Paul
Says this
And when he's
Left of that
When he's left
For Satan
No longer
In protection
Of the body
But he could
Become broken
For his sin
Repent of his sin
And cry out
To Jesus
Paul says
When we release him
That this is what
Could take place
And the result
Of this church
Discipline
Could be
His salvation
Paul says
This is what
We're holding him
Back from this
Opportunity
Stop trying
To save him
From the consequences
Of his sinful
Actions
That he chooses
And that God
May use those
Consequences
To bring him
Back
To brokenness
The day that I got saved
My mother looked at me
And released me
Go
Go do what you're
Going to do
Go be who
You're going to be
It's not godly
It's not God's
Desire for you
But if that's
What you want to do
Go chase it
And find the consequences
That this world
Has for you
And I praise the Lord
That before the sun
Went down
Jesus brought me
To my knees
Right
Stop trying
Let the consequence
Be there
Let the brokenness
Be there
So that the hope
Might be
That God
Uses
All things
And so not
Disciplining him
Is hurting him
But it's also
Hurting the church
Look at verse 6
Your boasting
Is not good
Do you not know
That a little
Leaven
Leavens the whole
Lump
Cleanse out the
Old leaven
That you may be
A new lump
As you really
Are unleavened
For Christ
Our Passover lamb
Has been sacrificed
Let us therefore
Celebrate the festival
Not with the old
Leaven
The leaven
Of malice
And evil
But with the
Unleavened bread
Of sincerity
And truth
Not only in the life
Of the person
Does this need
To take place
But it needs
To happen
In the church
And here's
Why sin
Must be removed
Paul uses
An illustration
Here of
Leaven
Or yeast
In the bread
And this can go
All the way back
To the Passover
And the Passover meal
We don't have the time
To go into all that
Today
But the idea
Of leaven
Was used
To signify
Sin
Right
And Paul says
To them
But you are now
In Christ
You're unleavened
Meaning this
That when Christ
Saved you
He removed
Spiritually speaking
The leaven
From you
He removed
The sin
From you
He paid the price
For that
But if you
Allow
The leaven
To exist
In you
And amongst you
What happens
With yeast
It spreads
It grows
It infiltrates
And will infect
The entire
Batch
The entire
Church
And so when
This is allowed
What we think
What we can do
Is isolate it
And think to
Ourselves
Well this is
Such a rare
Case
This is only
Them
We're just here
To love them
Through this
But what happens
Is it begins
To spread
Maybe not
Through action
But through
Acceptance
Well if this
Form
Of sexual
Immorality
Is allowed
And accepted
And okay
Then my sexual
Immorality
May look
Different
Act different
Manifest itself
Differently
But if that's
Accepted
Then this
Is too
And if this
Has been accepted
Beyond god's
Standard
Then what about
This and what
About this
And what
About this
And what
About this
And what
About this
And eventually
What appeared
To be
A little
What appeared
To be
Manageable
Begins to
Grow
And grow
To allow
Unrepentant
Sin
To remain
Church
Is a gross
Misunderstanding
Of grace
Grace does not
Tolerate sin
Grace and truth
Are connected
In one
And it does not
Tolerate sin
But instead
Grace offers
Love and forgiveness
For the person
Who is repentant
Of their sin
Right
We're not looking
For perfection
But what we're
Looking for
Is the perfected
Savior in the
Life of the believer
Right
And Paul says
When we
Accept this
It begins to
Spread
And spread
And this goes out
With these last
Several verses
And it says
I wrote to you
In my letter
Now this was that
If you go all back
Remember week one
This is the first letter
That we don't have access to
That Paul had written
To them already
Not to associate
With sexually immoral people
So Paul's been
Dealing with this
Right
Look at verse 10
Now
Not at all meaning
The sexually immoral
Of this world
Or the greedy
And swindlers
And idolaters
Since then
You would need
To go out
Of the world
But now
I am writing you
Not to associate
With anyone
Who bears the name
Of brother
If he is guilty
Of sexual morality
Or greed
Or is an idolater
A reviler
A drunkard
Or swindler
Not even to eat
With such a one
For what have I
To do
With judging
Outsiders
It is not those
Inside the church
Whom you are
To judge
God judges
Those outside
Purge
The evil
Person
From among you
What I want us
To close in
Is in the context
Of this
Of what it means
To be living
In the world
What it means
To be living
In the world
The standard
That we hold
Ourselves to
Cannot be the standard
We hold the world to
In a sad
Narrative
Of the church
From Corinth
To today
Is let's be quick
To point the finger
Of judgment
Of those outside
While we ignore
The sinful behaviors
Of those inside
It's so much easier
To say
How they're wrong
How they're ungodly
But yet we won't deal
With what's happening
Amongst the body
And what we've seen
We know the narrative
Is that all too often
Unfortunately
Is the church
Is the reflection
Of the world
It finds itself in
Instead of being broken
Before the Lord
In the church
Paul says
The sexually immoral
The greedy
The idolater
The reviler
The drunkard
The swindler
Those who claim
Faith in Christ
But this is who they are
They're unrepentant
They don't care
They're living in anarchy
Before the Lord
And who are you
To bring them
We break from them
But those who are
In the world
Who are like this
You know
The groups of people
Jesus hung out with
We share
We proclaim
We befriend
In hopes
That we
Can share
The gospel
Of Jesus Christ
With them
So that they can have
The moment
That we had
To be broken
For who we are
In the desperate
Need of the Savior
Right
We got discipline
That we gotta do in here
Within our family
Within our individual families
And within ourselves
We need men
And women
Of bold faith
To be able
To look at one another
And say
It's not out of pride
That I think
That I've got this right
But it's in humility
That I come before you
And whether you call me out
Whether you walk away
From me
And no matter what
The consequences
That I might face
I'm desperately concerned
With who you are
And who you claim
To be in Christ
And then maybe
We need to set down
Our attitudes
Of judgment
To those
Who would identify
Themselves
As lost
And say
We bring you
Into
So that you can
Hear
So that you can
Respond
To the gospel
When we see
Brokenness
In the lives
Of the people
In the world
May we understand
That they are
The mission
Not the enemy
To go
And make disciples
To go
Into lostness
But through here
It says
Iron
Sharpens iron
Addressing
Calling out
Loving
For the hope
Of correction
Of repentance
And of unity
With God
It's been a tough
Week
It's been a tough
Journey
As we
Go through this
It's easy
To read
Verse 1
And say
Look at how
Terrible they are
It's a little
Bit harder
To read
2 through 13
And find out
How all the rest
Of those
Fingers
Point back
At me
Would you pray
With me
Lord I thank you
For the tough
Truth of your
Word
I thank you
For the conviction
That it brings
Lord I thank you
For the work
That it's done
In my life
And hopefully
In the lives
Of so many
More
Not because
Of my words
Not because
Of a small
Group conversation
Because that
Which we teach
That which we
Proclaim
Is your word
And the very
Word of God
Lord may
May all
That we do
May all
That we
Cling to
Be based in
And rooted
In love
May we
Understand
The connection
Of grace
And discipline
Lord may we
Die to our
Sin
May we die
To our
Pride
And to be
Willing
Not to
Simply call
Out to
Humiliate
To embarrass
Or to
Punish
Someone
Who claims
To be a
Brother and
Sister in
Christ
But Lord
In hopes
Of correction
In hopes
Of repentance
In hopes
Of seeing
Them long
To be
Broken
Before you
So that you
Would be
Glorified
In their
Life
Lord may we
Be the
Messengers
Of hope
Into this
World
Would we
Carry the
Gospel
To the
Least
Of these
To the
Outcast
To the
Ones
Living in
A behavior
That even
Our culture
Would say
That we
Don't even
Tolerate
This
But would
We carry
It
Not out
Of the
Hope
That they
Would see
That their
Behavior
Is wrong
And simply
Make a
Moral
And ethical
Decision
In
Themselves
But that
They would
Understand
That their
Sinner
And that
The penalty
Of sin
Is death
And judgment
Before you
And you
Alone
And that
Jesus
Is the
Only one
Lord
That Jesus
Is the
Only one
Who saves
Lord
I thank you
That this
Week
Was not
Easy
I thank you
That this
Week
Was complicated
Lord
I thank you
That this
Week was
Messy
All for the
Sake
Of growing
More
In your
Likeness
Of who
You've
Called
Us
To
Be
And it's
In Jesus
Name
We pray
Amen
We got
Prayer
Encouragers
On either
Side
Of this
Auditorium
And here's
What I think
A lot
Of us
Do
We try
To play
Hide
And seek
We try
To play
Hide
And seek
We'll
Take our
Sin
That we
Know is
Wrong
That we
Know is
Not what
The Lord
Desires
For us
And we
Justify it
To ourselves
And then
Try to
Follow it
Away
And try
To hide
The things
In darkness
That they
May not
Be drawn
Out the
Light
As we
Go into
Our time
Of response
This morning
Maybe you
Need to
Bring some
Things
Into the
Light
Whether
That's
Before you
And the
Lord
Or do you
Need someone
To pray
For you
With the
Struggles
That you're
Going through
And the
Battles
That you
Face
Or maybe
You're the
Person this
Morning
And you
Recognize
That this
Journey of
Life
That you've
Been on
Has been
A fraud
I was a
Fraud for
22 years
And the
Sweet goodness
Of the
Brokenness
Where you
Decide you're
Not going to
Be a fraud
Anymore
But you
Just want to
Be repentant
And broken
Before the
Lord
And the
Beauty
The beauty
Of his
Salvation
Just respond
To God
This morning
Thanks again
For listening
To the
Willow Ridge
Church
Weekly
Podcast
We hope
That you
Enjoyed
Listening to
This week's
Message
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Like to
Learn more
About who
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