James 3: It's easy to get discouraged and down. And I just hope that he knows that he is a church that is praying for him and caring for him. So, Lord, we just lift him up to you. It's true name we pray. Amen. And friends, if you have Joey's number, please feel free to always reach out. Just send him an encouraging message. I'm he's on his phone a lot right now. So if you want to just infiltrate with some good news and some love, he would really appreciate it. I'm at this time gonna invite you to stand as we read our scripture this morning. Alright, today's reading comes from James chapter 1, verses 19 through 27, I think. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they've heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. This is the word of God. Praise be to God. So we are in the book of James and we are wrapping up James, the first chapter today. James, for those of you who have been joining us in the fall, is like an MMA fighter. I use this in the first service, and people are like, I know exactly what you're talking about. Anyone ever watched MMA, UFC? Okay, you've probably seen clips of it. Someone gets a good right hook and it basically knocks them out cold, and then the other fighter jumps on them and keeps punching them in the throat until someone intervenes. Friends, that's what the book of James is like. He gives you this spiritual right hook, he knocks you out cold, and then he's like, here's some more for you. Like, he just keeps coming at you with all of this teaching, and you're like, my goodness, I thought I was a good person. Person and following Jesus, then I open this book up and I've got nothing good going on because he just keeps walloping me over and over and over again. So who James is, who this MMA fighter is, is Jesus' brother, which like that makes sense. Well, here's the thing: it's Jesus' half-brother. Okay, same mom, you know, but he wasn't the son of God. So half-brother. Then as Jesus begins his earthly ministry, James is like, hmm. You were a good older brother, but son of God, don't know about that. So he is not a believer in Jesus while Jesus is doing all of his earthly ministry. He's not a believer of Jesus as people want to crown him king and they are proclaiming he's the savior and the messiah. It's not until after Easter that James becomes a believer in his brother. Because here's the thing. You may have a good brother, a great brother, maybe even a perfect brother. But as soon as your brother starts saying, I'm God, and watch what I can do with this water and what I can turn it into wine, and give me some loaves of fish and bread, and I'm gonna feed 5,000 people, all very impressive. But if your brother gets crucified, placed in a cave, and then comes back alive again and says, See, you're gonna perk up. James saw something that changed the trajectory of his life. And he became one of the early church leaders, along with Peter and Paul, who we've heard of. But the third one they say on equal footing with them is James. And this book is a collection of his best wisdom, his best teaching. It's the Proverbs of the New Testament. What this means is these teachings are. Applicable to anyone anywhere at any time. If you take these teachings and apply them to your life, your life will get better. That's why we're going through this. Because we want our lives to be better. And we believe that the best life is found in following Jesus and obeying what He tells us to do. Now we're gonna unpack that. Because as soon as I say that word obey, our American sensibilities are like, mm-mm, 1776, we don't obey, like, you know, we're doing our thing here. Here is the difference. We're going to unpack it. When we obey King Jesus, your life is blessed. You experience the good life. The fruit of the life you've always wanted is found when you obey Jesus. That's where we're going this morning. So. We have entered into a new teaching. Last two weeks we were unpacking the beginning of James 1. And the beginning of James 1 has the wildest sentence of any letter that it starts with. Here's how it starts: He says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. If that letter was written to you and say, hey, the hardest thing you've ever been through, why don't you smile about it? Because it's supposed to be a joy, it's supposed to be like Christmas morning when you're going through suffering and you're like, no, it's not. You are delusional. And that's what we were talking about the last two weeks: how suffering, temptations, and trials are opportunities for us to see that in our weakness, our faith grows and goes deeper into the heart of God, and we find strength that we never knew was available before. And the example that we use for when we are tempted. Tempted is Bambi. Does anyone remember that example from last week? For those of you who weren't here, let me re-traumatize you again. Okay. Anyone seen Bambi? Did anyone cry at Bambi? Psychopaths, the rest of you. Bambi, if you're sho if you're going out into the woods and you're going to hunt for a deer, most likely you're gonna put out what's known as a feeder, right? And the feeder you're gonna fill with food that the deer wants. So that when Bambi's mom starts going through the woods, she's so excited when she comes across her favorite food in a buffet. And she's like, my goodness, the Lord has provided food for me. And as Bambi's mom is eating. From that feeder, little does she know that she has the crosshairs of the hunter right there. And bang, you get a Disney movie. That is what half of you guys are, guys, lighten up. It's okay. It's okay. It's a movie. But it is how we typically eat. So whatever. This is what the enemy does to us with temptations. This is what we talked about last week. When we are tempted to do things our way or against the way that God tells us to do it, we are like that deer going to a feeder, but the one who puts us in their crosshairs is the enemy. He's got us right where he wants us, and he'll get us hooked to something that we shouldn't be hooked to. What we said last week is this that sin takes you further than you want to go and keeps you longer than you want to stay. You don't have to show of hands. But has anyone fallen into a habit? It started as a habit, then it became a secret, then it became something that you're like, I need to get control of this. You don't have to show of hands, but if you know what I'm talking about, you know the power. of sin. And then you begin to ask yourself this question, how did I get here? How did I get here? This is why we're going through the book of James, what second chances look like, putting your life back together again. So that was the last two weeks. No more trials and temptations. Whew, we got through the hard part. Now we're going to the easy part. You ready? Here's the easy part. This is the next teaching. This is what James says. Everyone, that means you and me, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. So easy. So easy, right? Guys, don't we live in a culture that is so quick to listen? So, so quick to listen. No one speaks up. Guys, I am the silence when I turn on the news and a debate, I'm like, is anyone gonna talk? It's crazy. Like they're never talking over each other. No one's ever angry. It's crazy. We have the most calm, in control political system that you could possibly imagine. No one's walking around screaming and angry, are they? This doesn't even apply to our lives today. I mean, come on, all of us, right? So quick to listen. I know I am. So, so slow to speak. So slow to grow angry. Not me, man. This is the teaching we're leaning into. I told you, James does not pull his punches. Why is it important to be quick to listen? Here's the thing. Here's what James is making the connection. The connection is listening is connected to holiness. Listening is connected to holiness. And for some of us who are new to church, didn't grow up in church, like, who cares about holiness? That's a word that we sing in old hymns. What does that mean? I grew up in Catholic Church. It was in like all of our hymns, and the priests used it, but I didn't care. What does it mean to be holy? Who cares about being holy? Here's what holiness means when your heart desires what God wants. When your heart is in line with God's. And God's heart only desires good. God's heart only desires mercy and grace and forgiveness and kindness and generosity. And holiness means your heart is like that. Like God doesn't have to twist your arm. You're like, no, no, no. I'm I'm there. I want what you want. Holiness is aligning your heart with what God desires, with what God wants. And it begins with listening. Listening, listening, listening. Let me give you an example. Two different kinds of people. I want you to tell me which one you think Jesus is more like. The first person. They're in a hot debate, like they're just like someone's just getting mad at them. But this person is calm, cool, collected, articulate. They're not throwing insults back. They're just like in control of their emotions. That's the first person. The second person, if you even look at the second person sideways, they're like, what are looking at? Well, I got something on my face, they're just ready to pop off, ready to fight. Friends, which of these two do you think Jesus was like? Am I the only one in here? Number one. All right, come on. I'm a talk back to me kind of preacher. Talk back to me. The first one, right? The first one, because Jesus was always in control. How do we know this? Because Jesus was always in control of his emotions. So even when he had to get angry, he wasn't just popping off because. He was in control of his emotions. He was in control of his words. He was in control of his heart. And how he was in control, and the example that we're given is because he says, I am always listening for what my heavenly father wants me to do. I'm always listening. This is our example. We try at all times to listen, God, how do you want me to respond? But sometimes we use that example of anger when Jesus flips the tables in the temple. Okay, that was like one time in his life. I have definitely had table flipping moments three times yesterday. So I'm over my quota for the day three separate times, okay? Slow to become angry. The person who is in control of their emotions in their heart is in control of their life, and it begins by listening to God. Listening, God, what do you want me to do? And in a world, in a culture where everyone is the opposite, I shouldn't say everyone, but a lot of people are the opposite. Quick to speak, slow to listen, and quick to become angry. Do you know anyone like that? Did you see anyone like that in the mirror today? I did. I definitely did. So quick to speak, so slow to listen, so quick to become angry. And here's the thing: right now in our culture, it is easy to do that and even encouraged. We are encouraged to share about our opinions on everything. Do you know anyone like that? They just pop off. They share their opinion, and it doesn't matter if it's informed. It doesn't matter if they actually researched it. It doesn't matter, but by hell or high water, they will defend that opinion to the end, even if it means burning down their relationship to defend their opinion. You ever met someone like that? You ever been on social media? You ever gone to the comment section of the news on social media? That's a that's the Wild West, friends. Here's here was one of my takeaways from this week when I was examining where in my life am I the opposite of this? I wrote this down on a post note and kept it somewhere safe. Okay, ready. My opinion is not that important. Can we put that one up? I think we had the next one. Yep. My opinion is not that important. I hate to break it to you. Your opinion is not that important. That's what James is saying. We are so quick to become angry to defend what we believe in that we'll cut people off in the process. And in our anger, we are not becoming more like Jesus. How do we know that? Verse 20 says that. It says, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. What James is saying is don't be surprised if all day, every day, you just find yourself getting so out of control, angry at every little situation. Don't be surprised if you're like, why am I not becoming more like Jesus? Doesn't work like that. It does not work like that. Here is the formula instead. Here's the formula that James is laying out. Begins with listen, listen, accept, and obey. Listen to God. Listen to the word of God. Read it, study it, examine it, go over what is it saying. What is it not saying? Listen it, read it for yourself, and accept it as truth. That this is from God and it has authority over your life. Accept it and then obey it. Go and do what it says. This is the formula for the good life. Which means, why did I say that part about opinions? Because if you can get to that point and say, my opinions are not that important. When you read this book, when it disagrees with you, you're more likely to be like, hmm, I might have gotten that wrong. Okay, I'm gonna pivot. But if we're so quick to always defend blindly our opinions, we're more likely to throw this book out. Who cares what it has to say? Don't challenge me. You can't tell me what to do. No. If you hold it loosely and say, I want truth. Okay, well, what is the truth then? Hmm. I guess I need to do what it says. It makes it a lot easier, my friends, to obey when you come to the Word of God and say, I might have gotten this wrong, and I'm ready to change because I want to obey. And when I obey, I get the good life. James makes a comparison. Pastor Chase was making fun of me for this because he's like, Is that your mirror for one? And I was like, No, it is not. It's Melissa's. But also, he's like, You're becoming a prop preacher. And I was like, I have used two props in three months, so that does not make me a prop preacher. But this one is in the Bible, so we are gonna use it. Okay. Now, men of the room, men in the room, raise your hand. This is called a mirror. You can buy this anywhere: Walmart, Target. your wife is more familiar with this than you are, but you you can use this. It's great. It's it's like a It reflects you. It's crazy. You can use this mirror, guys, to know what you look like. It's crazy. Here's what James is saying. If you were to look in the mirror and get your hair all right and be like, I kind of missed the spot shaving. I actually found a new zit in the first service doing this, so it's about right here. You can kinda lean in on it. You can I know it's disgusting, babe. So But the mirror shows you you. The mirror doesn't make anything up. It's just a reflection. It's whatever you put in front of it, is what the mirror shows. What James says, if you were to come to the Word of God and say, okay, God, I'm here to read this word and do what it says, he says, if you don't take what the Word of God says and put it into practice, you just are like, okay, if I do this, it'll destroy my life. I'm gonna keep doing it anyways. He said that's as useless as holding up a mirror and forgetting what you look like. That wouldn't make any sense. That'd be like me looking in the mirror, setting it down, going to my car to go to work and say, What do I look like? Am I tall? Am I short? Do I have hair? What color is it? What color are my eyes? What color is my skin? Am I old? Am I young? No idea who I am. That would be the equivalent of if you were again on social media and someone tagged you in your in a photo, they'd be like, that's you. And you're No, it's not. That's not what look like. Everyone knows what they look like because they've looked into this mirror. The Bible is saying, look into the mirror to know who you are. Friends, can I tell you when I have to use the mirror the most? When I eat everything bagels. Because those little seeds. The way that the good Lord made my teeth and the Orthodontists tried to straighten them out, they're still right there. They will get stuck, and it's always the black seeds, so that means I can't hardly get them out of that little divot, so I have to go to the mirror and do one of these. If I were to go to the mirror and I've got seeds all over my teeth, and I'm like, huh, there they are. Anyways, let's go about the day. You'd be like, well, why'd you even check? That mirror is useless. What a waste of time. This is what happens if we read this book and we're like, I'm just gonna go about my life exactly as it was before. Because this mirror is good at showing you the outside. This is good for showing you the inside. Who you actually are as a person. Because all of us, all of us, New York, not me, yes, you, all of us are really. Good at deceiving ourselves. We're really good at it. No one honestly thinks they're that bad of a person. Everyone thinks they're kind. Everyone thinks they're generous. Probably more than we are. Or on the flip side, we're so busy tearing ourselves down that we make ourselves worse than we are. That's just the flip side of the same coin. Neither one is in touch with reality. James is saying this book gives you reality. You're probably not as good as you think you are, but you're also not as bad as you think you are. This gives you an opportunity to say, who am I in here and where am I growing? You can keep returning to this mirror and say, I I I have been working on this. This I have seen this in my life, and I'm actively working on it. That's what this is. This Bible is meant to act like a mirror for the inside to examine your heart. And what it's examining is the problem that every human being has. What's the problem? Our problem as human beings is we are not free. That's what the Bible says all the way back in Genesis 3 that when the serpent lied to Adam and Eve and said, You can take what you want. When you want, however you want. Sin came into our lives and enslaved us. Paul says we have become slaves to sin. And the Bible says, without God, your heart is not free. And we get that word a little twisted because we live in a great country where we are free externally to do a lot of things. In our country, we are free to worship our God of choice. In this country, we are free to buy just about anything we want. In this country, you are free to have just about any job that will have you. In our country, you are also free to marry anyone who will have you. You are free to do these things. That is a part of living in this country. But inherently living in this country does not free your heart. Those are external freedoms. The internal freedoms that the Bible is talking about. Is what ties all of humanity together. We have been enslaved to sin. And the great lie is you don't have to obey God to be free. James is pushing back on that. Says the only way to be free is to obey God. I know that some of us have been journeying with Jesus for a few years now. Have you found this to be true? That when you do life his way, life gets better. It gets better. Marriages get better. Raising children gets better. Relationships get stronger. Your conscience is clearer. You actually become the kind of person you've always wanted to be. You become more generous. You become kinder. You become the kind of person who is actually quick to forgive because you're doing it Jesus' way. But on the flip side, we also know what it's like to not do it Jesus' way, and it blows up in our face. H.H. Farmer once said, if you go against the grain of the universe, don't be surprised if you get splinters. Don't be surprised if we get splinters. God has designed the universe to work in a certain way and designed us to work in a certain way. And when we go the God way, it's like going against a smooth, Piece of wood, but even the smoothest two by four, if you go against the grain, you run the risk of getting something painful in your hand. This is how we should see the law of God, not as arbitrary made-up rules, but ways to live the good life. James says that you will be blessed when you listen and obey God. That's when you find freedom. That's when you find true inner freedom, is when you listen and obey God. Now, here's the way that we often define freedom. We often define freedom as being able to do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, with whoever we want. That's freedom in our world. But that's not the freedom the Bible describes. The freedom the Bible describes is freedom with the right restrictions. Saying no to what's harmful and yes to what's helpful. Here's an example. I have freedom to pick just about any restaurant in the city to eat at. I have the freedom to say, Mel, we're going to Jay Alexander's, and I have the freedom to order a filet mignon, right? And I have the freedom to experience that delicious choice and say, we had a great meal last night. At J Alexander's with a filet mignon. I have that freedom. The alternative of free and choo freely choosing anything I want without restrictions could look like this. I'm free to eat whatever I want. So instead of eating a steak, I'm gonna eat my lawnmower. It's not illegal, and it's not a sin. But it is stupid. But I have the freedom to do it. One will lead to us saying, what a great meal, what a fun night. The other will lead to me saying, I need to see a doctor now. Being able to do whatever you want does not offer the same results. The right restrictions, the right restraints. Understanding what will actually benefit you in life is what leads to the good life, is what leads to freedom. It's putting the right restraints on your choices. Are you with me? We cannot confuse freedom with the ability to do whatever we want, because not everything we want will one lead to freedom or the good life. It can lead to the opposite of enslavement and heartbreak. And honestly, it can describe it as a way of blowing up your life without even meaning to. Here's the amazing thing about God. Here's what blows my mind about God. When He tells us to obey, when He tells us to listen, He's God. Have you ever thought about that? He's God. Like G-O-D God. Like no one made him. He made everything. He's not just the God of like a country or a planet. They say he is the God of the Milky Way and all the galaxies and everything that's ever been created. Our God gave life to every human being who's ever been alive for all of time. No person was ever able to choose their physical characteristics, where they would be born, when they would be born, and who they would be born to. All of this was given to us by God. Like that's how high and lifted up he is. And he is the king of kings. There is no king like him. And our God, the king, says, I need you to do this for me. And he gives us a choice. Have you ever thought about that? He gives you the choice to say yes or no. If you say yes, he's like, great, you made the right choice. This is awesome. And if you say no, he's like, okay. Okay. How many kings Would let you say no as a servant and live. None. None. Read your history. We'll find a new servant who wants to live in this palace. Off with your head, and we'll show you what's what. Our God is the only king who allows servants to say yes or no without being obliterated and say, not only I let you choose, but I'll go with you with whatever you choose. That's wild. That's wild. You can make a decision that will end you up in prison for the rest of your life, and God will not abandon you there. You can make a decision that will destroy your life, destroy your family, destroy your business, and even then God will not leave you. What king is like that? What king is like that? I've never read about a king who's like that. So here's our choice if we really consider it, if we really think about it, we can either say, when given the option to listen, to say, okay, I might not want to, but if you tell me that you're the king, and if I do what you tell me to, not only I will be in obeying you, but I will find freedom and more life, more joy, more fruit of what I've been looking for in life, more happiness when I obey you, or I could say no, disobey you, and you'll still go with me, but I'm choosing the painful route to eventually come back to this spot, but I've got more bruises and cuts and scars in the process. Kind of makes it a lot easier to say, I think I won't walk through broken glass to get right back here. I'm just gonna do what you tell me to. And trust you more than what I think is right. This is the benefit of knowing what is true. Have you noticed, friends, that the most happy, most free, most alive people, the most joyful people you've ever met are the most obedient ones to Jesus? Have you seen that to be true? They're so full of life. They're so hard to offend. They're so quick to forgive. And they've been walking with Jesus for years. It just radiates off them. Everyone likes that person because they're just free. They're alive, they're joyful. Have you noticed the opposite is true as well? Some of the worst people you'll ever have to encounter are like maybe Christians. They say they go to church, but they certainly don't live it. It's about obeying, doing what he tells you to do. Do you want to be happy and joyful and have a fulfilled life? Do you want to have a free heart? The only way is to obey your king. Do what it says. That's what James is telling us. So, what do we do with our freedom? James says this in verses 26 through 27. Those who consider themselves religious, that's you. You're at church. You're religious. You're like, no, I'm not. Well, you're at church. So you have to drive off this parking lot. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues, we're gonna skip this part. Just kidding. All of us, me included, we're gonna have a little gathering in the lobby where we're gonna say, Hey, anyone else need to get control of their words? Here's how we're gonna do it. We're just all gonna get in a circle and no one's gonna talk. We're gonna be quick to listen. Anyone who considers themselves religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceives themselves, not anyone else. You deceive yourself. And their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts, as in how do we repay God for everything He's given us, for the new life He's given us, for the love He's given us, for the fresh start He's given us, for everything good in our life? How do we repay Him? What will He find acceptable? He finds and accepts, as pure and faultless as this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Stay free, that's what that means. Don't go back to slavery and help those who cannot help themselves, just as God helped you when you couldn't help yourself. That's what God finds: acceptable worship. This is what we are meant to do. Here is how I think we have the passage here. This is how the Apostle Paul writes it in Galatians 5, verses 13 through 14. He describes this as what we should do with our freedom. I think it's on the screen. Yep. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command love your neighbor as yourself. It's not enough to come to church and do nothing with it. That's that's this. Every nine and 10 30 on Sunday. You have to do something with it. The proof that God is moving in your life is to keep yourself free, keep your heart free, don't run back to the idols, don't run back to sin, but then go and say, I'm here to care for those who can't care for themselves. You actually have to do something. It's not enough to say, man, it's terrible that they're in that condition. Anyways, I'm gonna go about my life. We have to do something. We have to help those who cannot help themselves. This is why we have placed such an emphasis at our church on this new ministry called 2540. Because we are taking seriously as a church that Jesus wants to know: is there fruit in our lives? In the American culture, we tend to think God's at work in a church when it's big. When it's crowded, when there's a big speaker, that's when God's at work. And I'm not saying he's not, but that's not what it says. The proof that God is moving in your life is when you serve those who will never repay you. When you give to those who can offer you nothing back. And that's not determined by church size of big or small. That's for every Christian, no matter where we go. We need to be more consumed with God. Where can I lay my life down to serve others? The way you laid your life down to serve me. That, my friends, is the proof that God is at work in your life, which is why we have launched this 2540 campaign and will be continuing for years and years and years to come. Because this is a wonderful start to the week. But we have to go and feed hungry people. We have to go and give them clean water. We have to go and give them the clothing they need. We have to go and make sure that they have shelter. We have to go to those who think their life is over. Drugs, alcohol, divorce, I don't care. All of us are broken. None of us are perfect. We need to be the kind of church that doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, you come in here and experience love and grace and forgiveness. That is the Proof that God is at work among us when we do these things. This shows us, God, I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful for what you've done in my life, and I'm just trying to help other people out. The people of South Dayton need to know that there's a church right here on Main Street that sees what God has done for us, and we're pouring out our lives that others may know his love as well. Friends, this is why. We are pairing 2540 with our small group ministry called Circles. It's it's amaz I love small groups. I love them because it's some of the best time of the week where I can gather up with friends and talk about Jesus and talk about our lives. But here's the thing: the small group is often like this. It's a mirror that you can kind of check yourself. If someone in your circle is like, you know, I'm working through some pride right now. I'm really Wrestling through some unforgiveness. You can kind of do one of these and say, I probably have some of that too. I'll work on that with you. I I need to rid my heart of some of this, to get clean, to be unpolluted, to be free. How helpful is it when we're not deceiving ourselves, but we're doing what the word says, and then we're pouring out our lives and making a difference. That's why James put these together. This is all about obeying our King. Let me end with this. Let me end with C.S. Lewis because it's been too many weeks and we need a C.S. Lewis quote. Obedience, word we don't like very much. But here's what it means: Obedience is not legalism, it's a symptom of salvation. It's simply saying, God, thank you. Thank you for freeing me. And I want to follow you now. I'll follow you wherever you send me. I'll follow you wherever you go. I want to be there. Because you gave me a gift I can never repay. No one's forcing me to follow you. I want to follow you. In you is life and life to the full. That's how we find freedom when we give him our lives. So we wanna end with this. As the band is gonna play in just a moment, we have a prayer prompt that we want people to just kind of wrestle through for a few moments. Because this is a lot to unpack and process. If obedience is connected to freedom, when we disobey, we limit our freedom. So let's go to God and simply ask the question, not for condemnation, but for clarity in desiring the good life. Show me where my disobedience is keeping me from the freedom that you have for me. Is it in a relationship? Is it with forgiving someone? Is it letting go of a past grudge? Is it loving someone who's difficult to love? You know God knows. Process it with Him and find freedom. And doing it his way. Let us pray. The band will play, and then we'll stand in a few minutes and sing. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your word says in John 1 that in him was life, life to the full. And we want the good life that you have on offer, Jesus. We want joy. We want peace. We need forgiveness. We need grace. And we want to be able to give it to others, but it's found in you and you alone. And you are a God who gives perfect and good gifts. And whether we are going through a temptation, we're going through a trial, or it's just so hard to listen right now, we know that life is found in you. This be a church that yearns for life. Life the Jesus one. We offer our hearts to you and just ask, hold up a mirror. Hold up a mirror. It's your name we pray. And all God's people said. Amen. Take some time, process. Open up a note on your phone or the paper in front of you and just process that question. Can we keep it on the screen for a few more minutes before we sing?