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00:00:01 the scripture reading from The Book of Matthew 21 verse 33-46 listen to another Parable there was a land owner who planted a Vineyard he put a wall on it dug a wine press in it and build a watchtower then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place when the Harvest Time approached he he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruits the tenant sees his servants they beat one killed another and stoned a third then he see he sent other servants to them more than the first time when
00:00:47 the tenants treated them the same way last of all he sent his son they will respect my son he said when the tenant saw the son they they said to each other this is her come let's kill him and take his inheritance so they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him therefore when the owner of the vard comes what he will do to those tenants he will bring those riches and rich in they replied and he will rent The Vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop at Harvest
00:01:32 Time Jesus said to them have you never read in the scripture the stone Builders rejected has become the Cornerstone the Lord has done this and it's marvelous in our eyes therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit anyone who falls on this Stone will be broken to to Pieces anyone whom it falls will be crushed when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus Parables they knew he was talking about them they looked for a way to arrest him but they were
00:02:16 afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a Prophet this is the word of the Lord and as we listen to scripture study the scripture and meditate on it it's amazing how it seems to speak to us it's amazing how it searches our hearts and exposes our motives and it's remarkable how it seems to know us that's because the one who made us is the one who inspired the scriptures true every time we're exposed to God's message we're confronted with a choice will I trust what God is saying will I
00:03:03 be obedient or will I ignore what God is saying will I resist the truth and the impact it should make on my life that's the choice the religious leaders in the crowd had in this Parable that we just heard God's message was clearly proclaimed and it was also understood would the listeners repent and let God change their lives or would their hearts become even more hardened and today we too have that same choice to get the full impact of our Bible story today it's helpful to remember the setting just a day or two
00:03:44 prior to this Parable being told Jesus had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday being hailed by the crowds as king and just a couple of days after this Parable was told Jesus would be betrayed and arrested which then led to his crucifixion the previous couple of days had been a very intense time for Jesus and his followers emotions emotions of all kind were running high on the one hand the exuberant crowds had great joy as they praised Jesus as the long awaited Messiah and while Jesus welcomed their
00:04:26 praise he also felt a deep sorrow knowing that many of his own people had become hardened to God's truth Jesus wept over Jerusalem and he knew that many would choose to reject him and therefore judgment would come soon to Jerusalem and also upon the temple there was also the murderous Rage of the religious leaders their anger had been simmering for days and months even years but now especially after Jesus had cleansed the temple their anger was about to boil over into uncontrollable rage and on
00:05:09 that very day immediately before Jesus told the parable of the wicked tenants a tense exchange happened between the leaders and Jesus now as Jesus was teaching in the temple the chief priests and the elders had confronted him challenging his authority can you believe they had the G to do that after all that they had seen and all they had heard well Jesus handled that pretty cleverly and then he went on to tell the religious leaders three Parables and all of them had a similar message the first Parable was about a man who asked his
00:05:48 two sons to work in his Vineyard the first one said no but then he realized that he was wrong and he repented and he went to work the second son said sure Dad I'll be glad to go but then he never did he didn't do any work Jesus compared the religious leaders to that second son on the surface they appeared righteous and obedient they knew how to say all of the right things but they did not do the will of the heavenly father the work God had entrusted to them in his Vineyard was left undone well Jesus was not
00:06:30 through with the religious leaders yet he had another Parable to tell this Parable on the one hand would highlight God's great love but it would also show that judgment is coming to all who refuse to repent and this is how he began there was a man a master of a house who planted a Vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants and then he went to another country when the season for fruit Drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to get the
00:07:14 fruit Jesus is describing something that would have been totally normal totally totally familiar to people in an agrarian rural Society it would have been a common thing in Judea for a landowner to plant a vineyard with the expectation of a good heart Harvest and the opportunity to make a profit off his investment and the landowner spent even more money in order to protect the vineyard he wanted to ensure that there would be a good harvest and so he built a fence or a wall around it to protect it from animals and he built a
00:07:50 watchtower to help guard against thieves and against fire he also put in a wine press to squeeze the grapes right there sounds like a place that would be nice to visit yeah the owner took great care to make sure everything was done to ensure a good and profitable Harvest he had every reason to have confidence that the vineyard would produce fruit and he then leased The Vineyard to the tenants who of course would have paid rent uh not in cash but a portion of the Harvest so far in this story everything was normal it was a common
00:08:33 occurrence but then suddenly the story takes a drastic turn when the master servants went to collect the rent the tenants refused to pay not only that it was much worse Jesus said the tenants took his servants and beat them killed one stoned another that's terrible how could anybody do something like that now I realiz realiz there are people who sometimes don't pay their rent on time and some that might not even pay rent at all for a few months but to beat up someone that comes to collect the rent
00:09:12 and where she at to kill someone sent to collect rent money I'll wait till that can you imagine what would happened to us if we didn't pay our rent for a few months yeah we'd be homeless or maybe we'd have a new place to stay without having to pay rent prison but what if someone not only refused to pay but also violently beat someone and committed coldblooded murder they would be imprisoned for life or executed yeah the listeners were probably expecting Jesus to say so the land owner called the police he hired a
00:10:00 lawyer or possibly that he raised a small army to go and destroy those Wicked tenants yes but that's not the story that Jesus told instead there was another surprising twist Jesus said again the landowners sent servants more than the first unbelievable how could the landowner have been so patient every everybody else would have want Justice to be done and they would have wanted it done immediately there's no human being on this planet who would be so merciful and how could anybody be so cruel as these
00:10:44 tenants Jesus said they did the same thing to these servants as they had done to the first ones it's hard to comprehend how anybody could be so hard-hearted as to abuse and kill other human beings who are only doing their job collecting rent and to do it over and over again I guess after a while you just become so callous so unfeeling that you no longer have a conscience or you begin to think I got away with this before maybe I can get away with it again earlier there were no consequences so there probably won't be any bad
00:11:28 consequences this time time either well undoubtedly the listeners to the story were getting stirred up when they heard Jesus tell about these horrific events they said finally the landowner Jesus said finally the landowner is going to do something about it or at least that's what they thought he would say finally the landowner is going to put up not put up with this any longer it's time to take decisive action just will be Swift and harsh I imagine that's probably what the listeners were thinking Jesus was getting ready to say
00:12:07 but that's not how the story goes something totally beyond our comprehension takes place Jesus said finally the landowner sent his son to them he said they will respect my son totally Unthinkable that anyone would deal so gently so mercifully with people who deserve such condemnation but surely surely these depraved Godless tenants would treat the master's son better these evil men would surely give at least some respect to the master son but no the plot line gets even darker Jesus continued but when the
00:13:05 tenants saw the sun they said to themselves this is the heir come let's kill him and have his inheritance and they took him they threw him out of the vineyard and they killed him I don't know what to say how do you respond to such a thing what's to be done that's what Jesus asked the religious leaders he said when therefore the owner of the Vineyard comes what will he do to these tenants the priests and the Pharisees had been caught up very much into this story they had been moved by this horrible evil and Injustice and they
00:13:52 were so involved that they were furious at these cruel hard-hearted tenants so immediately they came up with an answer and it was a good one very appropriate they said he will put those wres to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their season excellent answer right on Target and within seconds the religious leaders realized that they had just pronounce judgment on themselves they recognized that they were the wicked tenants in the story in
00:14:33 verse 45 it says when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this Parable they perceived that Jesus was speaking about them it was if Jesus had held up a mirror in front of them so that they could see themselves clearly and they could see the error of their ways one would think that when the religious leaders saw so clearly who they really were that they would have responded in heartfelt felt sorrow and in Repentance but did they no the resolve became even stronger to arrest Jesus and do away with
00:15:12 him well before we continue with Jesus remarks at the end of the parable let's consider some of the symbolism in The Story So Far and then we'll look at what we can learn so far from the story first of all concerning the symbolism in the parable obviously the master represents God the vineyard depicts the people of God as we also see in some other biblical passages and undoubtedly the priests and the Pharisees would have thought about the famous song about God's Vineyard that we find in Isaiah chapter 5 definitely and let's remember
00:15:50 to talk about that in a moment but thirdly we also see that the wicked tenants represent the religious leaders and the numer a servant sent to collect the rent they were the succession of prophets that God had sent to his people over and over again with his message and then finally the Sun the air represents Jesus now like the prophets Jesus too was sent by God with message to the people but Jesus is distinct from the other prophets he's on a much different a much higher level like the difference
00:16:27 between a household slave and a son Jesus is the ultimate messenger sent by God because he himself is divine he is the Son of God now that we've identified the symbolism in The Passage what are some things that we can learn from the story what does it show us about God and His nature and what does it reveal to us about people well the first thing that strikes me is the loving kindness and the patience of God he is truly merciful and longsuffering and he repeatedly demonstrates his deep concern his love and his grace starting with the
00:17:14 way the master took great care in the development of his Vineyard we can also see that God takes great interest in his people he has done so much for them the landowner planted in a fertile field cleared it of stones built a fence a watchtower and a wine press he did everything possible and God has done the same just like in that passage from Isaiah that you mentioned a moment ago yes Isaiah 5 the song about God's Vineyard I will sing for the one I love a song about his Vineyard my loved one had a Vineyard on
00:17:56 a fertile Hillside he dug it up and cleared it with stones of stones and planted it with the choicest vines he built a watch toer in it and cut out a wine press as well and then he looked for a crop of good grapes but it yielded only bad fruit and then the owner of the vineyard asks what more could have been done for my Vineyard than I have done for it when I looked for good grapes why did it yield only bad think of that God is really saying what more could I have done for my people what more could I have done than
00:18:45 what I have already done God had chosen them he had freed them from slavery in Egypt he entered into a covenant with them his presence was with them in a special way through the Tabernacle and then later in the temple he gave them the law to help them live in a right relationship with him and with others he led them into a promise land and he was with them through good times and bad and over and over again God sent Messengers to his people prophets who would deliver his words to them what more could be
00:19:21 done the ultimate was that God sent his son his son Jesus to reconcile the the world to himself so that people could live in harmony with their creator Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can be forgiven and because of his resurrection we can experience Abundant Life now and we have the promise of eternal life with God so we have seen God's great love and how he cares for his people he has done so much for us and we also see God's incredible Grace in his tremendous patience and longsuffering yes and
00:20:07 unbelievably amazing aspect of this Parable is the patience of the master he sent servant after servant after servant to these tenants he continued to give them additional opportunities to do the right thing and even though the tenants treated this treated the servants terribly the master didn't give up he kept on sending more and more servants the illusion of course is to the Old Testament prophets that God sent and the way the Jewish leaders frequently treated them so badly for example King Saul had 85 of God's priests killed in
00:20:50 just one day the wicked Queen Jezebel killed many prophets and she threatened the life of Elijah King Jehovah commanded the pro commanded that the prophet Zechariah be stoned to death and that right in the temple Courtyard Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon which was just a slimy pit and in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 talks about great people of Faith being tortured flogged killed with the sword and s in to names are not given but there's some evidence that maybe the prophet Isaiah was the one who was saw in
00:21:32 too now how Isaiah died is not mentioned in the Bible Isaiah did not record his own death well that would be quite difficult to do good point but according to some Jewish rabinal literature the evil King manasse did have Isaiah son in half many of God's prophets were treated terribly and so what did God do did he send an army of angels to wipe everyone off the planet did he send a meteor to destroy the Earth no he sent his son God and his great Mercy continued to patiently reach out and he knew that
00:22:19 Jesus would be terribly mistreated but he also knew that Jesus's suffering would be bring Salvation to all people who repent and believe God is indeed a god of great love a god who's incredibly patient and longsuffering and we can experience that love of God today now let's pause for a moment and reflect on what God has done for us we have received even more from God than the people who were listening to this Parable we have the entire holy scripture both Old and New Testaments easily available to us today and we can
00:23:06 know and understand the entire gospel message that Jesus died for our sins that he was buried but that he was raised on the third day so that all who come to him in Repentance and faith can experience forgiveness and have eternal life also the holy spirit is alive and active in our world he convicts us of sin and he draws us to God and if you have trusted in Jesus as your savior and Lord that same holy spirit is living within you ready to give guidance comfort and strength we have the church with
00:23:48 numerous opportunities for worship for Bible study for Fellowship for counsel and we have 2,000 years of church history plus the experience of Christian today all over the world that we can learn from we can see wonderful examples of Believers that Inspire us and that encourage us to live lives of faithfulness and service and we can learn from the failures and the mistakes of others they serve as a warning to us many of us today could share testimonies of what God has done for us how he has worked in our lives how he
00:24:27 has spoken to us how he has guided us and protected us and provided for us God has really done so much for us and just think of God's Great patience with us have you always done and said what God wanted you're getting pretty personal but no I have not have you ever failed God yes I have but God didn't zap you he was patient with you and for that I am very grateful and if we're honest all of us myself all of us will admit there there are times that we have failed God and times we didn't listen to his voice or
00:25:20 follow his Direction yet God continues to deal with us he speaks to us through his word and sometimes through fellow Believers God's holy spirit continues to draw us back to himself and right now this morning in this very service God is speaking to us first John 1:9 says if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from All unrighteousness God's mercy and patience are indeed incredible well in our Parable today we learn not only about God's loving kindness but we also see some
00:26:09 characteristics of the human heart yes people can be extremely hard-hearted rebellious full of Pride we often stubbornly refuse to listen to God and to obey him we not only reject the message or the messenger we're really rejecting God think back to the tenants in the story they were so greedy they had been given so much and yet they were determined to get more no matter who they hurt they were blinded by their own ambition and by their selfish desires and think of how warped their plot was just beat up the rent
00:26:54 collectors and you won't have to pay the rent that kind of reminds me of a story one time when we were traveling in South Asia at breakfast I was reading a news report saying that milk sellers were taking a white chemical fertilizer mixing this with water to create a white milky like fluid and then they would pour this into the milk before the milk was packaged in order that they would have a greater quantity they could sell that's awful yeah I had poured milk in my coffee that morning well the government sent milk inspectors
00:27:33 to this site where this was going on and you'll never guess what happened the milk handlers just beat up the inspectors and sent them on their way unbelievable well maybe they were able to get away with that in that particular country at least for a period of time but it's beyond foolish to think we can treat God like that and in our story the tenants not only beat up the servants they kill some of them and then they killed the son what a perverted mindset if you don't like the message just kill the messenger and you think
00:28:16 everything's going to be okay how evil how wrong to think all we need to do is kill the air and then we can inherit the property yeah the tenant did not own the land they had not planted the vineyard they had not cleared the stones built the fence the Watchtower nor the wine press yet without paying for it they wanted it for themselves they wanted to be the master they wanted to possess it all and do with it as they pleased they thought they could totally reject the one who owned it all reject the one who
00:28:53 had developed it with such care how ridiculous but people today do the same thing God created us he gave us life he shown us how to live and yet we think that we can totally ignore the one who made us we want to be the master of our own lives rather than letting Jesus be our Lord we want to determine our own destiny instead of seeking God's Will and Direction without consulting God we want to make our own decisions but then we want God to bless those decisions you know we sometimes live as if God doesn't
00:29:36 exist and then we expect him to bail us out when we get ourselves into trouble to think that we can turn our back on the one who created us the one who gives us life and breath who has given us the talents and abilities that we might have and then to think that everything's going to turn out great when we have rejected The Giver of Life when we think about people who live as if God doesn't exist we can surely think of those who live like that and when we hear the parable about people refusing to listen to God the names and
00:30:17 faces of non-christians we know might come to mind people who have heard the gospel maybe many many times but who have resisted it over and over again it's so heartbreaking to see that happen well I think this Parable can definitely apply to non-believers who continually reject Jesus but we need to remember Jesus told this Parable to religious people he told it people he told it to people who professed to be following God and it's applicable not only back then it speaks to each one of us today you see there's the danger that some of
00:31:01 us might appear to have it every everything together spiritually but in our hearts we know that as we go through our daily life there are times when we just refuse to listen to God and refuse to do what he is telling us or we might hear clearly and even understand but then we refuse to put into practice what God is showing us for example we know that we should support the work of the Lord with our time with our energy with our finances we know that we should love honor and respect our spouse we know that we should help the
00:31:42 needy and the marginalized in this city we know that we should actively share our faith with other people but are we doing that some of us might be like the Pharisees these in that we think we're right with God based on our religious Heritage or maybe our connection with other Christian people or because we observe certain religious rituals but yet we have not allowed God to change our heart change our thinking change the way we live God Pricks our conscience he speaks to us but we try to shut out the message or we distract
00:32:27 ourselves with things that help to drown out his voice and when we Harden our hearts and do not listen to God judgment follows that's the third thing we can learn from this Parable God is loving merciful and very patient people even religious people can have hardened Hearts but when we reject God's message there is judgment but now let's look first at the remaining part of the story and there we not only find more about judgment but we'll also see how we can be spared judgment where we left off
00:33:13 in the story Jesus had asked when therefore the owner of the Vineyard comes what will he do to the tenants the religious leaders answered he will put those wretched wretched people to a miserable death and he will let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give them the fruits in their Seasons talking about judgment that is quite harsh but fair totally just and definitely deserved Jesus then said have you never read in the scriptures the stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone this was the Lord's doing
00:33:56 and it's marvelous in our eyes of course they'd read it that's a quote from Psalm 118 they were religious leaders they were well versed in the scriptures and even many of the common people would have known this familiar Psalm because it was sung at great religious festivals many of the priests the elders the Pharisees probably knew this psalm for memory and that might be one reason they were so angry with what Jesus said because Jesus had been the living enactment of Psalm 118 these last couple of days and what do you mean by
00:34:35 that well Psalm 118 was a Messianic Psalm pointing to the coming Messiah right well just a day or two earlier the jubilant cow crowd had cried out Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord hosana came from a Hebrew expression found in psalm 18 save us oh Lord we pray blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord is also a direct quote from that same Psalm the very next verse and now Jesus is quoting again from Psalm 118 I'll read verses 21- 23 I thank you that you have answered me
00:35:19 and have become my salvation the stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone this is the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes so the religious leaders recognized that Jesus was applying these verses to himself and earlier they had heard the crowds and the children apply this Psalm to Jesus when they were singing his praise and so it should have been very clear to them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah that they had long awaited it should have been clear and it would have been if
00:35:57 they had been willing to listen and hear what God was saying and possibly it was clear after all they recognized themselves in that Parable but they didn't want to let the Messiah to interfere with their lives they were happy with the way things were and they didn't want any changes even if those changes were coming from God Jesus is the one who would bring Salvation as the psalm says This truly is the Lord's doing just think we have all sinned we have done said and thought things that are not pleasing to
00:36:42 God we've often ignored God and lived as if we he did not exist and many are the times we have gone Our Own Way rather than listening to his voice and obeying him we all deserve Divine Wrath we deserve Eternal punishment but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us Jesus willingly took upon himself the Judgment that we deserve death so when we respond to him in Repentance and faith and allow him to be the master of Our Lives we will be reconciled to God and we won't
00:37:25 experience the terrible judgment result reserved for those who reject God's salvation as the scripture says this is indeed marvelous in our eyes Jesus is the Cornerstone the rock of our Salvation our Salvation rests upon him and him alone he is also the Cornerstone upon which the people of God are built while Jesus is the stone that the so-called Builders had rejected God had all along been building his people with Jesus in mind and he continues doing the same thing today Jesus is the Firm Foundation upon which everything rests
00:38:12 and without him the building will not stand the religious leaders thought that they could build God's people and at the same time reject the most important building block in God's design but if the Key Stone is removed the building will collapse and so Jesus informed them that their privileged position was being taken away from them they couldn't be in God's kingdom if they rejected Jesus as king they couldn't lead and build God's people if they tried to build without the Cornerstone Jesus said therefore I tell
00:38:53 you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and Not only was it taken away from them but it's taken away from all who reject Jesus and that's true today you cannot be a part of the people of God or the building the Temple of God if you refuse to be connected to the Cornerstone but the building of God's kingdom was not thwarted rather it was enhanced it became even bigger Jesus went on to say the kingdom of God will be given to people who produce fruit so we see that all people whether they're Jew whether they're Gentile can
00:39:33 enter into God's kingdom and be part of his building his Temple the requirement is that one has faith and that one's life is grounded on Jesus as the Cornerstone so that's encouraging Jesus is giving the kingdom to all who are open all who are willing to receive the Cornerstone imagery shows that Jesus is the rock of our salvation and it shows that he is the solid rock upon which the people of God are built but there's also one more aspect about the Cornerstone mentioned in our text something that's not pleasant to
00:40:16 talk about something we'd rather ignore yes judgment look back at our text the one who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces and when it falls on anyone it will crush him broken to Pieces crushed that's extremely strong language yes it is but that is the solemn reality this harsh language comes from the Old Testament scriptures in the Book of Daniel King Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream of a huge statue which represented four kingdoms but then a massive Stone was cut but it wasn't cut by human hands
00:41:02 and this massive Stone fell on the Statue and broke it to pieces and after crushing this image and crushing these kingdoms this Stone then grew into be a great Mountain which filled the Earth the religious leaders would have been very familiar with this passage from Daniel chapter 2 it spoke of harsh judgment but was also the promise of a great Kingdom judgment is the main thrust of our Parable today although we've not talked about it much yet that's the main thrust of our Parable a time will come when we must
00:41:42 face the consequences of our decisions and if a person refuses to listen to God and continues ignoring God's messages over and over and over and over again the time will come when he or she will no longer longer be able to respond to hear and then do what God says therefore the scripture tells us in four places today if you hear God's voice do not Harden your heart if a person rejects Jesus and refuses to receive him as Savior and Lord that person will get what he has chosen a life without Jesus a life
00:42:26 without God both now and through eternity the book of Hebrews begins this way in the past God spoke to our fathers through the prophets at many times in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son that's similar to language to what we heard in the parable the master sent servant after servant after servant but then he sent the heir his son the writer of Hebrews continues therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it and the writer then
00:43:11 asks a very pointed question how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation the answer is we won't our scripture text today ends on a sad note when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this Parable they knew that Jesus was speaking about them and I'm sure others in the crowd also knew this some might have thought whoa Jesus really got them he sure told them possibly they were thinking that but I don't think that was Jesus intention I don't think he was wanting to try to mock them or put them down in front of a
00:43:56 crowd rather I think he wanted them to recognize their sin and repent but sadly they did not they heard God speaking but they hardened their hearts they were even more determined to try to shut out his voice today we have another opportunity to hear God speak to us as the song says that we sang earlier God's goodness leads us to repentance we have a chance to respond so as we go from here today we're facing the same Choice the religious leaders had will I ignore will I reject will I build up even greater immunity to the
00:44:43 voice of God and his warnings or will I open my heart open my mind to God's message will I listen will I understand will I trust will I I obey some of us may have not yet given our lives to Christ in faith if that's you I would encourage you to respond in faith to Christ today some of us might think that we are on God's side like the religious leaders did but if we find ourselves completely cold to God in his word and if there is never any fruit that's evident in our lives we might ask ourselves and ask God
00:45:30 if we have truly received God Jesus as Lord and Savior and many of us have been followers of Jesus for many years and we have seen how God has done wonderful things in our lives but even so there's always the danger that we can drift away that our love for Jesus can begin to grow cold there are times when we purposely ignore what he is telling us because we're afraid he might change something that we don't want to be changed if you recognize a callousness toward God in your life stop repent and allow God to bring you back
00:46:15 to him our need of repentance is a continuing day by day by day experience and let's remember this Parable was not told to uh unrel religious people it was told to religious people so let's receive the messages and let's receive the messengers that God sends our way I'm very grateful that God is patient with us but let's not mistake his patience and Grace for indifference on his part much less mistake it for his approval let's remember all God has done for us in his great Mercy in his longsuffering and let's build our lives
00:47:01 on the cornerstone on Jesus Our Hope can be built on nothing less than Jesus blood and on his righteousness let's pray together father God we do give you thanks for your love and your grace we thank you that your mercy your goodness does call us to repentance forgive our stubbornness I pray that as we sang earlier that you would open our hearts open our ears reveal yourself to us we know that you are here so please make our hearts softer so that we not only hear but that we receive your word that we respond to your voice that
00:47:52 were sensitive to your leading day by day pray that we would follow your voice not only here right now at this moment but as we go from here to our homes our workplace and into the world where you sent us to Bear your witness we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ the Cornerstone of Our Lives amen CH Church us rise sing [Music] Cornerstone Sing My Hope my hope is buil nothing less than Jesus BL and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but holy trust in Jesus name let's sing My Hope
00:49:18 again my hope is buil on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest PR but holy trust in Jesus name Christ Alone Corner Stone weak made strong his save his love through the storm he is Lord Lord of Darkness seems to hide his face I rest on his unchanging Gra [Music] in every high and stormy Gale my anchor holds within the ve my aner holds within the veil chist alone on the stone we been strong in the saor love true the St he is God lord [Music] of he is Lord of
00:51:31 Christ [Music] the strong we strong sa [Applause] love us he is [Music] what let's say prist the Lord Christ the Lord on a stone we strong in the sa love you strong he is God all of [Music] [Music] when he shall come with trumpet sound oh may I then in him we found dressed in his right rightous alone fall the stand before theone fall the stand before the
