← Mariners Church Weekend Messages
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Welcome to Mariners Church Weekend Message Podcast. Inspiring people to follow Jesus and fearlessly change the world. Discover your purpose and get connected by visiting MarinersChurch.org or click the link in the show notes.
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Well, so good to see you. Welcome to Mariners Church. My name is Jared. I'm lead pastor of this congregation and I'm so excited to share God's word with you. But just before we jump into the message, this is a very important month at the church. If you've been coming around here for the last several weeks, you know that June is the end of our ministry year. We run a ministry year like a fiscal year that goes July through June. And so this month is super important cause not only does it close out the year, but it also sets the tone and the pace for what we're able to do in the next year. And I've been so grateful to to pastor at this church for many, many years. And each and every week I have this front row seat to getting to hear your stories. And every one of your stories gives God glory for what he is doing right here and right now. I just recently was able to talk to a couple that signed up for Rooted Together. Their marriage was going through a difficult season and yet throughout Rooted, God was able to restore their marriage that they moved into this life group. Just this beautiful picture of God's goodness and kindness to this couple. Also, another young couple was sharing their story with that they had been on an infertility journey for several years. They heard what we say every week that we make elder a prayer available every week. And they finally went back, they received prayer and within a short few weeks they found out that they were pregnant like in a miracle. Like just an amazing story of, of what God. Of what God is doing. I have so many of those stories and what I love most is that those stories never finish. And they go, jared, thank you for what you did. Never once do I get credit for what is happening around here. And that is exactly as it should be because we pause and we give God glory. Every single story that happens here, we know that it is because of God. He is the one doing all of those things. And I'm so proud of you church, because when you come here, many of you take advantage of all of our ministries, programs, events, groups, all of the things that we have available. We believe in every one of those things and in fact we do them because they are ways in which you can grow closer to God. In scripture we see though that God calls out one other area and it is our finances. Finances is oftentimes something that we try to compartmentalize or try to decouple from our own discipleship. And yet God says it's at the center of our heart. Jesus himself said that you cannot serve two masters. You have to choose between God or money. And so when you come here and want to grow in your faith and understanding of who God is, we cannot move beyond finances. We have to address that in our life as well. It's why we talk about recurring giving, because we want to be a part of the ongoing that God is doing. But we also want to pause and acknowledge that our entire life has been provided for us by God. He is generously giving, and so we get to give a portion back. And as we give, we are not just sacrificing, we are investing. We are a part of the great stories that God is writing all around us. And so here I am last weekend of June, just inviting you to be a part of your church and all of the great things that God is doing. So if this is your home church, if God is doing something good in your life, I'd love to invite you into recurring giving, be a part of the ongoing ministry that God's doing around here, so that as we continue to share these stories, you will know that God is the one who gets all the glory and he invites us to be a part of it as well. Allow me to pray and then we're going to jump into today's message. So, Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are. Thank you that you are on the move and we get to see your glory all the time around here. Lord, I pray that as we finish out this year, that God, you would bless the work of our hands as we move into the next. But also pray that today you would open up our hearts and our minds so that we may be able to learn and engage with you in a new and fresh way. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Okay, I just want to get a quick show of hands. How many people are road trip people like you enjoy a good road trip. Anyone just want to see who doesn't have children? Okay. A good amount of you. Actually, I love a good road trip. As my kids have gotten older, they have as well. It's all about good snacks and good music and nice views. Right? Like, a road trip is awesome. It's not something you dream about when you're nine years old. When I was a child, I was an only child. And so my parents and I, we went on a grand road trip Adventure. We loaded up a 1988 Suburban that had no air conditioning and we drove to Branson, Missouri. Yeah, Branson. Every nine year old's dream. It's a retirement Disneyland. It's kind of while it is, I mean, I don't know what else to say about Branson, Missouri. But while we were there we were like, hey, maybe we should head up to Michigan too, cause that's close. And so we drove from Branson to Michigan, which is not close. And as we finished up in Michigan on our way home, we stopped by Seattle. So that's not on the way either. We covered, I think in that one trip, it was like 20 states. We traveled 6,000 miles. IPads hadn't been invented yet and our grand like the great stops on the trip were antique shops. And so that's my childhood, my friends. I've been 80 my entire life. Apparently now as, as we are studying the Book of Numbers, the people of God led by Moses, they have been on a road trip of sorts as well. And in fact, as we now have arrived at chapter 20, they have been just in the Book of Numbers alone. They have been on a, on a nomadic journey throughout the wilderness with God for 38 years. 38 years. We are now at decades of time that they have been traversing through this wilderness led by God. So today I want to take you into a pretty pivotal story in the life of Moses. And it's in chapter 20, starting in verse one, the entire Israelite community entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month and they settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried in. Now, as you know from the Exodus story, the people of God led by Moses were taken out of Egypt and they traveled north and they went 200 miles north and they arrived at a place called Kadesh. As they were in this place, it was that first story in Numbers, chapter 13, in which Scouts were sent into the promised land. God said, take the land. The scouts came back and they said, it is terrifying. There are giants. We should not go into the land. And so the people of God did not do what God said, which is a giant rebellion against God. And their consequence was handed down to them that they were now going to be prevented. That entire generation was going to have to die prior to the people of God getting to go into the promised land. So for the last 38 years, that generation has been turning over and a new generation has come. What's fascinating about our story today is they've arrived in the same location. They are back where they started and they are a new generation. Now it says in there that Miriam had died. This is Moses's sister, which gives us a bit of a forecast now that even Moses own family was not going to be immune to the consequence that was handed down in Numbers chapter 13. Miriam has died at the beginning of this chapter. And while we're not going to get there in today's teaching, if you read the rest of numbers chapter 20, you know that Aaron dies as well, Moses's brother. So there are two pivotal figures that pass away in this single chapter. Now Kadesh is a very interesting location. And we're about to see this, this, this story that is about to happen in, in. In this location, verse 2. There was no water for the community. So they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses and said, if only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. For why have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us up to this evil place? And then they talk about this place as one that does not have grain or figs or vines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink as pretty fascinating. The grains and figs and wines is like a good charcuterie board is kind of what they're looking for, right? Had all the good fixings there. Now what's amazing is this generation is not the original generation that was given the consequence. That was their parents. But their complaints are the same. Why have you brought us here to die? We would rather be in Egypt. We would rather be in slavery. Now Moses is the same leader. He's standing in the same location and he's looking at the children of the previous generation and they are saying the exact same thing. It is like a deja vu moment for Moses. And he's left with their complaints, he's left with their frustrations. And they're looking at him. Remember it says they complained against Moses. They went to him. Now Moses is a very important figure in the Old Testament and all throughout scripture, particularly in the Old Testament, God would find a human to partner with in order to accomplish God's desires in the world. God created the world. Adam and Eve. He had found his partner. That right there though, was broken very quickly. Genesis. Genesis, chapter three. Because of our sin, the decision that humans made, our relationship with God was severed. It was broken. And so throughout the Old Testament, God had been finding humans to partner with in an attempt to bridge the gap between God and us again. So it starts with Adam. Then we have Abraham. Now we have Moses. Moses will not be the last. There will be others as well. But all along the way, God tries to partner with a human in order to repair what we had. Now, Moses was the man, all right. Moses is the guy that came out of Pharaoh's home. He then led the people through all of the plagues like remember those amazing plagues that take place as they get out of Egyptian slavery. He's the one who parted the red seas. He's the one that went up to the mountain, received the ten commandments, brought them back down to the people of God. This is Moses, like the man in the Old Testament. So Moses hears these complaints. It sounds eerily similar to some previous complaints he had heard. So Moses takes those complaints to the very place that plaints should go, which is before God, the one who is going to provide and is going to deliver. So verse six carries on. Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell face down, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses, take the staff, the shepherd staff that he had and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock. So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence just as he had commanded. So they did exactly the right thing. They heard complaints and they go to God. God was going to be the one who would have to deliver for them. So Moses and Aaron, they fall down before God. They submit, they surrender. The glory of the Lord shone. And God gave them some instructions. He said, I want you to take your staff, I want you to head, gather all the people together, and I want you to speak to that rock. And then water is going to flow. This is how God is going to provide. He's going to sustain. He's going to ensure that this generation is going to be able to make it into the promised land for them. This is the entire point of the entire Old Testament. Get to the place in which God has set aside for them. So, clear instructions from God. What happens with Moses and Aaron? Verse 10. Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And Moses said to them, to the people, listen, you rebels. Must we bring water out of this rock for you? Then Moses raised his hand and he struck the rock twice with his staff so that the abundant water gushed out and the community and Their livestock drank. I mean, this is an absolute miracle that has taken place. The people needed water. And so Moses, having given. Been given instructions from God, he comes out, but he engages the people. You can see his frustration and his anger has taken over him. After decades of leading these people, it finally got to him. And so he stands in front of all of them and says, listen, you rebels. Like, he puts himself in a really interesting seat by declaring judgment over them. And then he takes that staff, the shepherd staff, this thing that has been a resource and a tool for him since the very beginning. He raises it above his head and he strikes that rock a couple of times. And I don't think this was like a rafiki hitting Simba on the head, kind of a. Like a. Like a strike. I think he took like a Thor's hammer, swung it at this rock, and a river flowed, an abundant river. At this time, the people of God would have been over about 2 million people. This is not a small little camping trip. This is a nation that is being formed. And so 2 million people are able to receive life that comes out of this river. God provided a way. Now, you hear that story and you think, that's a really nice ending. That's an amazing thing. Except the text goes on. Here's verse 12. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them. These are the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and he demonstrated his holiness to them. You're thinking, wait, I've heard this story before. That's not the ending that I recall. I don't recall there being a severe consequence for Moses and Aaron. Do you see what happened right there? Moses and Aaron were then told, after decades of leading the people of God through the wilderness, following after God, that they would not be allowed to enter into the promised land. The consequence that was first given to the people of God. Now, Moses and Aaron received the same consequence. 38 years. They are told. They're not. And you're going, what happened? I don't understand. I've heard this story. Well, you've heard a different version of the same story. In fact, this occasion happened twice. Exodus chapter 17 and numbers 20 are eerily similar. In fact, they follow a very similar format. Let me show you. God gives instructions, Moses acts, and then God responds. Here's Exodus 17. God says, Strike the rock. Then Moses strikes the rock. And God responds by Water flowing. But numbers 20 was very different. God said, speak to the rock, and Moses strikes the rock. And therefore, God's response is that Moses and Aaron are prohibited from entering the promised land. And yet there is one other thing as well. Water still flows. Two different stories. You see, you got to feel for Moses a little bit in this story, because it's the same guy leading these people that he has known for decades. At this time, he's following after the same God. He is leading in the best way that he knows how. He goes to God just like he always had before. He takes his staff, and God tells him, take that staff with you. But as he emerges out of the tent of meeting and he is before the entire nation, it's in that place where he fell into his old habits. He got confused as to where the power actually resides. You see, God said, take your staff and speak to the rock. He did not say to strike it. It feels like a small detail, and yet it's really important to God in this moment. Now, I think you and I have probably all felt this before, where we have fallen into maybe habits or patterns in our life. And you find yourself in that place where whatever got you here is not going to be able to get you there. Like, the things that got you to where you are today may not be the very same things that can get you to where you want to go next. You may have, if you've raised kids, you may have experienced this before, where you can't raise a child as an infant, a toddler, or a teenager the exact same way, except for the truths that if you can feed them and get them a nap, they're going to be better off in life. But everything else, you have to adjust as a parent. Now, the total plot twist is that if you raise more than one kid because those kids are different, you have to adjust your parenting even within those phases as well. When my son was young and would get in trouble and we would tell him to go to his room, he would kind of huff his puff, puff and puff down the hallway, get into his room, and he'd politely close the door. And then he'd sit on his bed, and then he'd yell out, can I? Can I come out now? And that'd be it, the lesson learned. He'd come out and everything would be fine. And then my daughter came along three years later, and we'd say, go to your room. And she'd go, no. What do you mean, no? We've never experienced this before, right? We say, no, seriously, go to your room. And she'd go, no, Then you'd have to help her find her way to her room. Two different kids, even if they were in the same age, age range, you felt this in your life before and you can almost feel for Moses. Moses had this staff. That staff is the one that, as he placed into the Nile river and one of those plagues was, it turned into blood at the end of his staff. When he got to the Red Sea, he struck the staff into the ground and the sea split so the people of God could walk on dry land. This staff has been a very important tool in the ministry of Moses. But Moses got confused because the power was never in the staff. The power was the God who enabled the staff to do the work. God was always the one. And so when God said, take your staff and speak to the people. What is amazing about this story is that Moses, in his own humanness, he strikes the rock and water flows. Was it because Moses struck the rock? It was because God was always committed to providing for his people. God was committed to sustaining these people, to getting them into the promised land. But Moses got confused in the process and was therefore disqualified. He got disqualified because he did not listen to God. God wanted to have a relationship with Moses in which every time he gave instructions, Moses would listen and would obey. But in Moses frustration, he takes it out on the people. He strikes the rock even though God said not to, and he gets disqualified. This is a really big turning point in the story. It's a big turning point for the person of Moses as well. In fact, I shared with you Exodus chapter 17. That place was named the waters of Meribah. He actually named it Marabah because Marabah translates quarreling or fighting or complaining, like that's the name Marabah. But did you catch that little narrator's note? This is a different location. Numbers 20 is taking place in Kadesh, which means holy or sacred. They are in a place named Holy. And yet the waters of Meribah are present. The waters of complaining and grumbling are present in a holy place. Not because the people complained, but because Moses actions made the place bitter. This is a big deal to God because it's all about God's holiness. Holiness is simply defined. God is God and we are not. And God takes that very seriously. God wants there to be a separation between him and us. That's how he designed it. He is the creator, he the provider, the sustainer. He is all things. And we are his creation who have been given away to have a relationship with Him. But we are never to confuse our roles. We are never to put ourselves in his place. Holiness is not a casual thing for God. This isn't him being sensitive. It is a critical thing, because holiness is God being God. That is really the flaw that Moses messed up in this story. He placed himself in God's place. This is the third rebellion that takes place in the Book of Numbers. If you recall, if you were here from week one, Eric taught us how the people of God were supposed to be encamped. Anytime they arrived at a location, they would set up camp in a very important fashion. Maybe you saw this graphic. If you came our first week, you can see that the tabernacle, which is the dwelling place of God, was intended to be in the center of the camp. Then surrounding the tabernacle was the Levitical tribe. These were the priests. They built a buffer around the tabernacle from the people of God. So then the 12 tribes surrounded the Levites. Okay, so you have the 12 tribes, the Levites, and then you have the tabernacle. The three rebellions that have taken place in this passage or in the Book of Numbers follow the exact same pattern. Let me show you numbers, chapter 13. The 12 tribes sent out scouts. They came back. Fear, lack of trust. They did not go into the promised land. Major consequence. That entire generation had to die. Second rebellion happened in the middle circle with the Levites. If you recall last week, Korah and his tribe rises up against Moses and Aaron in their own pride and jealousy. They want the seat of power and authority. They want to be able to go into God's presence, and God did not instruct them to do so. There's a lot of fire. The earth swallows them up. A major consequence for them. And now we are in the middle circle. Moses and Aaron, the ones permitted to enter into God's presence. It is them who has the third rebellion. They place themselves in the place of God. They put themselves in God's seat. They allowed themselves to believe that they were the providers and the deliverers. So when you first read the story, you're kind of like, is this God, like, being too harsh? Like, he. He has leveraged and used Moses and these others for so many years. And yet this is the moment that pulls them from getting to experience the promised land. Isn't God being too harsh? And even as I studied and prepared for this passage, God kind of subtly reminded me how harsh I can be at times as well. I recently got the worst haircut of my life. So bad. All right. And I can feel you. And it hurts my feelings right now because this isn't the haircut, okay? I've had another one since. All right? But it was the one before this one. I was desperate. I needed a haircut really badly. So I just walked into a place and was given the available person, which you never want the person who's available, all right? And I sat down, and this guy said, okay, what are we doing here today? And I was like, I don't know. It's just shortening the sides and a little bit off the top. And he was standing behind me, and he was like, your hair's really interesting. It kind of like swoops forward and over. He did this motion, like, four or five times, like he was putting spin on a bowling ball. He's like, forward and over, forward and over. He's like, is that. Is that what you want your hair to do? And I'm, like, felt judged, like, immediately. I'm. I never thought about my hair more in my life. And I was like, I don't know. I guess do whatever you think's best, which you'd never say in that chair. And he pulled out those clippers and just. And I went, oh, no. This is the worst. The worst moment, maybe of my whole life. And. Just kidding. That'd be a really, really good life, actually. But I sat there, and for the next. The haircut took a whole eight minutes. That's how bad it was. Eight minutes. And I thought, I'm never coming back here again. I hope to never see this person again in my life. No offense to him, but the haircut was so bad, that's how fast I went to just cutting him out. So is that what God is doing to Moses? Is Moses cut out because of just a simple, small thing, this little oversight or mistake? No. You have to understand the greater narrative of what Moses has done in this moment. When he came out of that tent of meeting, gathered the people together, and said, you rebels. He put himself in the judge seat. He judged them for who they were, how they were acting. And then when he said, must we make water come out of this rock for you? He put himself in the place of deliverer. You see, the people would come to Moses asking him. But Moses always went to God to provide. He went to God. God gave instructions. And Moses emerged out of that tent and said, I'll handle this one. One he judged, and then he delivers. And yet it wasn't him all along. God is the one who provided. But Moses, big foul in this moment is that he placed himself in God's seat. He took away God's glory. Everything he did took away from God and pointed to himself. And God was not going to let that pass by. The holiness of God is far too important to God. Moses didn't catch it fast enough. And the truth is, is that every partner that God found in the Old Testament, they never fully made it. Every one of them failed or would fall in some kind of way. God ultimately needed to find something beyond just a human in order to repair what we had broken. So God, in His infinite love and his grace for us, he stopped looking for a human on this earth and instead he sent his own son from his right seat down to earth to be born of a human. So that Jesus, fully God and fully man, could be the partner that God needed from the very beginning. So that Jesus could be the one who could live a perfect life and inevitably end up on the cross to die a death that he did not deserve. So that you and I could live a life free of the punishment that we deserve. God's wrath is poured out on Jesus. The punishment has been taken for us so that we might be able to be repaired and restored in our relationship with God. Jesus did what we could never do for ourselves. So that when we believe in him, while we may face consequences in this life, we will not face eternal punishment on our death. We get to live with eternal security knowing that Jesus did what no one else could ever do. Jesus was the establishment of the church. The church comes to life because Jesus is the one who establishes the church and gives us his own spirit. So that 2,000 years later, you and I could sit here today, knowing that God has found his way to repair a relationship with his creation. And the Church is the one who is here, living in the land in between, the wilderness, trying to bring everyone into a relationship with God. That's what the Church is all about. Now that story begins with Jesus in Matthew chapter 16. You see, Jesus was on this earth. He had 12 disciples that he was was building his church from. And he would teach and instruct and go on these long walks with these amazing disciples. And occasionally he would take them on these field trips to try to show them something. And there was one place in which most, or really no young Jewish man was ever allowed to go on. The north end of Israel is a place called Caesarea Philippi. This place is known and by reputation for pagan worship. Imagine a big cliffside and there being a cave carved into the bottom portion of this cliff. And at the base of that cave, right inside this is where some of the worst pagan worship you could ever imagine was taking place in this region. It was known as the gates of Hades, translated the gates of Hell. Because that's the darkness that was happening in this place. And Jesus says, I'm going to take my disciples there. This is Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of man is? And they replied, some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But you, he asked him, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. And Jesus responded, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter. And on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Do you see the contrasts of these two stories? You have Moses standing in Kadesh, a place called holy, that he had turned bitter because of his actions. And it's in that place that Moses emerges to the people. He says, listen, you rebels, must we bring out this water for you? He takes all the credit. He does all of this moment on his own. And God says, because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land. It is a sad end to one of the most important leaders of the Old Testament. The good news is, in fact, I want it. You should listen to the podcast for this week, because it doesn't all end all bad for Moses, he's still good. While consequences on this earth, eternal glory is for him as well. But look at the contrast of how Peter responds. When Jesus says, who do you say I am? Peter rightly places Jesus and says, you are the Messiah. You are the son of the living God. He puts Jesus in the right seat. And look at Jesus response on this rock. Based off of the profession of faith, I will build my church and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Holiness is God is God and we are not. When you and I have the right understanding of who God is, you don't take his place, but instead you submit yourself and you remind your heart as often as necessary to that God is God. And that is a really good thing. Because God sees every single one of us. He knows us. He knows you. And the reminder is that if Moses can fail, so can we. And we live similar to the Old Testament story, similar to Moses in the. In the Book of Numbers. We live in the wilderness right now. The Book of Numbers is translated in the wilderness because they had been delivered from slavery, but they are not yet in the promised land. If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you have been saved by Him. But we are not yet in eternal glory with Him. We live in the in between. We are in the wilderness right now. And what I know from the Book of Numbers is that rebellions happen in the wilderness. And so when you are living your life and you find yourself in that place where you are facing a challenge that feels insurmountable, or you have these needs that are going on in your life and they continue to be unmet. Or maybe you have these dreams for what you want your life to be and they're going unfulfilled. What happens inside of you? What does your prayer life look like? What does your journaling look like? What do your thoughts start to become? Because for many of us, it goes from desperation to frustration to isolation, to inevitably indicting God. That's an internal rebellion within us. We find ourselves in these places where all of a sudden we aren't just frustrated or concerned. We start to wonder, am I not good enough? Am I not loved enough? Why isn't God caring for me? But if that goes unchecked for too long, it's God, you must not be good. God, you must not love me. God, you must not be able. And we start to make these indictments against God as if that's the only thing we can experience in life. Life, that's not the full story. God is God and we are not. What rebellion are you most susceptible to? It's a very important act of self awareness to know where you are most easily persuade. When life gets difficult or challenging, where are you most susceptible? Maybe like the scouts in numbers 13, maybe when facing something really difficult, your rebellion is your lack of trust or your fear. Or perhaps like Korah and that part of the Levitical tribe, maybe your rebellion is your own pride or your jealousy that when somebody gets something that you think you deserve and your frustration picks up. Or maybe when you find yourself looking and not even being able to be happy for somebody when something good happens for them, because all it does is make you wonder what's going on in your own life, maybe that's your own little rebellion. Or perhaps like Moses and Aaron, your rebellion is that you are taking credit for God's activity in your life. You look at all the things that you have the connections, relationships, your portfolio, your career. You look at all the things you have and you feel like you have earned it, you deserve it, and you are entitled to it. Disregarding that God is the One who has provided all those things for you. Let us not put ourselves in God's seat. Let's remind our own hearts that God is God and we are not. And that is the best news ever. We're gonna yes, When we are aware of our own brokenness and where we are susceptible to rebellion, when we are aware of those things, we can at any time we can go to God's presence. We can. Just like Moses and Aaron, we can submit, we can surrender, we can bow before him and we can ask God to help us in those places that God might be able to receive us, to welcome us, to wrap his arms around us, to remind us that because of our relationship with Jesus, we are renewed, we are redeemed, we are restored. He sees us and he loves us. And so that's exactly what we're going to do right now. We are going to sing to that God. Bring whatever has come up to the surface of your mind in this message. Let's stand and let's sing to him now.
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All right, extend your hands, please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week, that you would remind them that you were gentle and approachable and that you love them, cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week.
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Thanks for tuning in to the Mariners Weekend Message Podcast to support the ministry of Mariners Church. You can click the link in the show notes or download the Mariners app at your favorite app store. If you've been navigating God's wisdom with us through this year's annual reading and would like to hear personal reflections from pastors in your community, check out the Gospel Every Day podcast. Imagine feeding your heart, mind and soul with the kind of practical wisdom that will change your life. If you haven't picked up the annual read yet, visit MarinersChurch.org or download the Mariners app for more information on where to find it.
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Sam.