The Weightier Matters… | Sunday, October 23, 2022

Welcome to Cross Connection Church online. I'm Pastor Garrett, and we at Cross Connection Church are so grateful that you are joining us for our service today. If you'd like to know more about Cross Connection Church, please check us out on our website at lifeinconnection.com, where you'll find more about us, upcoming events, and ways to get plugged in.

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You're just not that hard to find. Oh, praise You on the mountain! I will praise You in the mountains, in the highlands, in the heart.

Rest on the sunrise. If just a shadow me through the night, chase. I'll praise You. I'm about to. I will praise You.

I've been praised; you in the valleys are the same. Nearly 2,800 years ago, the nation of Israel was in horrible shape. Israel had been divided by a civil war into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, called Israel, or sometimes referred to in the Scriptures as Ephraim, was filled with all manner of idolatry and immorality. The southern kingdom, called Judah, was maybe not quite as bad, but they were certainly well down the path toward decline, along with the northern kingdom.

It is under those conditions that we are introduced to the prophets. The prophets, who were formerly in the Old Testament historical books referred to as seers, had the foresight to see the future implications of the present conditions of the people and the nation. When we think of prophets, we oftentimes think of someone with a special ability to interpret dreams or to see visions. We think of them as revealers of secret things, and in some cases, that view might very well be true.

However, prophets were also those who were wise in the Scriptures and experts in the law, specifically the book of Deuteronomy. They were students of the law of Moses and understood the conditional nature of the Torah and what has sometimes been referred to as the Deuteronomic principle. They understood, as Moses lays out in the book of Deuteronomy, that obedience to God's commands brings about blessing, while disobedience results in curses or destruction, even exile of the people from the Promised Land. The clear conditional nature of the book of Deuteronomy, that Deuteronomic principle, is really an "if this, then."

That sort of nature is clear: if obedience, then blessing; if disobedience, then cursing. While it is true that some of the prophets, individuals like Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, saw visions and had dreams about far future events, more often the prophets observed the present actions and realities of their leaders and their countrymen. They then mapped out the obvious outcomes of that behavior in light of God's command. Again, if obedience, then blessing; if disobedience, then cursing. We will see this very clearly when we get to Deuteronomy chapter 28.

It was nearly 2,800 years ago, more than 600 years after Moses gave the commands in Deuteronomy, that a young man named Isaiah began to prophesy a powerful message in Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. There, in the city of Jerusalem, stood the great temple of God, which King Solomon had built and dedicated about 300 years before Isaiah. The people of Judah sacrificed and worshiped day after day, continually and with importunity.

Under the shadow of that great temple in the city of Jerusalem, the zealous young Isaiah proclaimed that the holy city had become like Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities of antiquity that were destroyed by God for their wickedness. Can you imagine how that message must have been received? In fact, it was completely rejected by the people of Isaiah's day. As he stood there in the holy city, in the shadow of the temple, he declared that this city had become just like Sodom and Gomorrah.

In his opening words in Isaiah chapter 1, he says to the people, "Judah, you are filled with sin and wickedness," so much so that God does not want your sacrifices. He no longer wants your offerings; He no longer wants your worship from the temple. We read this very specifically in the text.

Isaiah chapter 1, beginning at verse 11, reading from the New Living Translation, states: "What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?" says the Lord. "I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fatted cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts. The incense of your offerings disgusts me. As for your celebrations of the new moon, the Sabbath, and your special days of fasting, they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals; they are a burden to me. I cannot stand them. When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen."

In effect, Isaiah declared to the people of his time, this is God's word to you: God does not want your worship any longer. Your praises are nothing more than lip service. In fact, later in his book, God says, "You worship me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me." So God says, "I don't want your lip service any longer." Yes, I gave you the command to offer sacrifices and offerings back in Leviticus through Moses, but I am sick of all your offerings and sacrifices. Yes, I told you to observe the feasts and the Sabbaths, but it has become a meaningless ritual for you to the point that I hate seeing you come before me. As a result of all this, I no longer am going to listen to your prayers.

That's a heavy message that Isaiah was really called by God to give to the children of Israel. God says, "I'm not going to listen to your prayers any longer." Why would God say this? What on Earth could cause God to have this response towards His people? What exactly was the wicked thing that Judah had done to make God respond in this manner? Well, Isaiah gives us the answer in verse 15 of Isaiah chapter 1: "When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for because your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims."

Now, I know when you get right down to it, there really are no innocent victims.

We have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned, everyone, to our own way. Theologically, that is a reality that is true. But what was Judah's great sin? Isaiah goes on to say, speaking the word of the Lord in verses 16 and 17 of Isaiah chapter 1: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good."

Here’s the key: seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Who were the innocent victims that Isaiah says the people had been taken advantage of? The innocent of Judah who had been disadvantaged during that time were the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. Judah's primary wickedness was not idolatry or immorality. Those things were problems for them, but it was the evil of injustice— injustice for the poor, injustice for those who were overlooked, and those that had no one to advocate on their behalf.

This sentiment is not unique to Isaiah. The psalmist prays in Psalm 94, verse 1: "O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs, O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud." The psalmist continues, "Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? They utter speech; they speak insolent things. All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. They slay the widow, the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, 'The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand.'"

Again, there are those groups that are mentioned: the poor, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Isaiah will highlight this exact same thing later on in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 10, verses 1 and 2, it says: "Woe to those who declare unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune which they have prescribed to rob the needy, the poor of justice, and to take away what is right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless."

There we see these groups again. These are the innocent people that Isaiah is referring to, or God is referring to in Isaiah chapter 1: the poor, the fatherless, and the widow.

In Isaiah chapter 10, God says, "Woe to you," which can carry the meaning of destruction. Destruction is certain for those who rob the needy of justice, especially for those who are often oppressed because they have no one to advocate on their behalf.

Remember when I said that the prophets, more than being revealers of secret things, were experts in the law? They challenged the present status quo according to the ancient law of Moses. Isaiah looked at what was happening around him and saw that the people were taking advantage of or ill-treating those who were oppressed among them: the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger. He called the people to task in his day because he remembered God's word in Deuteronomy chapter 24.

In Deuteronomy 24, we read at verse 14, "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy." Then, down in verse 17, it says, "You shall not pervert justice due to the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow's garment as a pledge." In ancient Israel, these were the often underrepresented, overlooked, and mistreated groups of people. They were the disadvantaged minorities: the slave, the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger or foreigner in your midst. God says, "I am not going to hold you guiltless if you mistreat or disadvantage those who are among these minorities."

According to God, justice and mercy are the weightier matters of His law. Speaking to the religious leaders of His day, Jesus, in Matthew 23, uses the same word that Isaiah does back in Isaiah chapter 10. He says, "Woe to you," which can also mean destruction is certain. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you are hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone."

Notice what Jesus is not teaching in that passage. He does not say that tithes and the other issues of the law, including offerings and sacrifices, are not important. However, He does emphasize the need to ensure that we observe the weightier issues of justice, mercy, and faith within the law.

You can be very religious in your observance of some of the law, but you can be judged a hypocrite by missing the bigger issues of the law. This means you can go to church, you can tithe, you can serve, and you can observe prayers and fasts, as well as feast days. You can even memorize large sections of Scripture, like the scribes and the Pharisees did in Jesus' day, and yet still be a hypocrite in the eyes of God. This is because you are not merciful, you are not kind, and you are not faithful and just in the way that you treat people—not just the people of the upper strata of society, but those who are often overlooked and mistreated, those at the bottom end of society.

Moses gives commands in Deuteronomy chapter 24, the passage that we're looking at today. In verse 14, it states, "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens, a foreigner who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it, lest he cry out against you to the Lord and be sin for you."

Like it or not, every society stratifies. There are always going to be the haves at the top and the have-nots at the bottom, with all manner of people in between these two poles. Unfortunately, there are those who will always stack up at the bottom of the hierarchy, and they are often the ones who are overlooked and oppressed. They are frequently taken advantage of by those who are higher up in the distribution.

This situation arises because we are, by nature, sinful. We live in a broken world, and far too often, there are far too few people higher up in the hierarchy advocating for those who are disadvantaged and below them in the culture. Again, this is because we are by nature sinful and sinfully selfish. I believe that this stratification of society is impossible to avoid. There is no way to get around this; every single culture you find, every single people group that you will observe now and throughout history, will stratify in some way. Those who are the haves will be at the top.

Those who are the haves, not the have-nots, will be at the bottom. Oftentimes, those who are the have-nots at the bottom are the ones who are going to be disadvantaged and ill-treated. Moses is addressing that here in this passage. These are the innocent victims that ultimately God would judge Israel for during the time of Isaiah.

Now, we might like the utopian idea of a completely leveled playing field with equal distribution for all people of all things, but that is not the world that we live in. Like it or not, that does not appear to be how things will be in the world to come. The Bible reveals that in the world that is to come, in the Kingdom of God, there will be varying distributions of reward and responsibility in the future, just as there is today.

Even if there are varying distributions of reward and responsibility now and in the age to come, biblically speaking, we are all created with equal dignity, value, and intrinsic worth. Every single human being is born with equal value and dignity, but we are not all born with equal gifts, abilities, talents, and opportunities. We do not come into this world equally endowed with these gifts, abilities, talents, and opportunities. As a result, society will always stratify, with some people at the top and many people at the bottom.

Knowing this is true, we can choose to either mitigate or exaggerate the potential bad outcomes of unequal or unjust distributions. The problem with me even saying this at this moment here in the United States in 2022 is that as soon as I, as a Christian pastor, begin to talk like this, there is something of an aversion to what I am saying by the primary demographic to whom I am speaking. Primarily because I am a Christian pastor, I am going to be speaking to people who are Christians.

Because I am an American Protestant Christian pastor, I am probably going to be speaking to a lot of American Protestant Christians. Among American Protestant Christians, when they hear the things that I am talking about here, they start to think within their minds, "Well, Pastor, you sure sound like you are talking about equity, and this sounds like Marxism." If that thought crosses your mind, I want to say first to you that Moses predated Marx by 3,200 years.

If we are going to be true followers of Christ, then we must consistently and persistently evaluate and re-evaluate our worldview by the plumb line of Scripture. I have talked about this so many times here at this church before. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is useful, as Paul says in Second Timothy, chapter 3, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. The Word of God is like a plumb line that shows us what is right and true, what is righteous and good before God. As it does, it exposes the areas of our lives, our philosophies, our worldviews, and our ideas that are out of alignment. It rebukes and reproves our lives so that God can bring us back into right alignment with what is right and true.

With that in mind, Moses presents an important truth here in this passage for our consideration. How you deal with those you employ or manage is important to God. How you handle those who are under you in the distribution of the hierarchy is important to God. He takes careful note of how we deal with other people, especially those who are below us. Whether those you employ or manage are countrymen of yours or foreigners, it doesn't matter to God. It is unrighteous and punishment-worthy to abuse, oppress, or disadvantage those below you in society.

Remember, even if you are higher up the ladder, so to speak, you do and always will have a master who is above you, to whom you will give an account. You may not have any earthly manager, overseer, or master; you may be at the very top of the pie, but you will always have a master in heaven. Therefore, make sure you deal justly with those under you, lest the person under you, as Moses says here in this passage, cries out against you to the Lord, and it becomes sin for you.

Note that this is not an Old Testament principle only; it is also found in the New Testament. In the New Testament book of Colossians, chapter 4, we read, "Masters, you who are at the very top of the pie, give your bondservants, those who are below you, what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven." Following this same general theme, Moses continues in Deuteronomy.

In Deuteronomy 24:17, it is stated, "You shall not pervert justice, do the stranger or the fatherless, nor take the widow's garment as a pledge." Moses gives four basic classifications in the culture that we need to ensure we are defending and advocating on their behalf to offer them justice and to make sure that we are defending their cause. He emphasizes the need to defend the poor in verse 14, as well as the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. In this passage, these groups represent the most disadvantaged individuals in ancient Israel.

One pastor and author writing on these four groups notes that in pre-modern agrarian societies, these individuals had no social power. They lived at a subsistence level and were only days away from starvation if there was any famine, invasion, or even minor social unrest. These individuals were the vulnerable outcasts in society, and we have vulnerable outcasts in our society today. While they may not be the same groups of people, every culture has its vulnerable outcasts at the very bottom of the distribution.

These individuals often have no one to intercede or advocate on their behalf or to stand in the gap for them. They frequently lack legal protections or rights, and at that time, they did not have the financial power to uphold their cause if something were to close in upon them and crush them. Much of the world, 300 to 400 years ago and even today, consists of social outcasts, the overlooked, the disadvantaged, and the ill-treated. Yet, God desires that it be different among His people.

He commands His people, "You shall not pervert justice for the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow." Going back to the Psalms, the psalmist states, "Who executes justice for the oppressed? Who gives food to the hungry? The Lord gives freedom to the prisoner. The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and the widow." If that is what God does and what God is like, then it follows that God expects His people to defend the cause of and deal justly with the poor, the overlooked, and the oppressed.

Earlier in Deuteronomy, we saw this when we were back in chapter 10: "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and...".

God shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and He loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore, love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. With the same mindset, Moses reaffirms this very same point once again here in Deuteronomy chapter 24, verse 18: "But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. Therefore, I command you to do this thing."

God says, "Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget that you were the lowest of the low in Egypt. You were the disadvantaged, the overlooked, and the oppressed. I alone, God says, was your advocate. I was the one who redeemed you, and I expect that you be to others as I was to you."

Fast-forwarding to the prophets, I have said this a number of times as we've been going through the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy is the lens through which the Old Testament prophets would look at their society. They would observe how their people were acting and taking care of others, and they would say, "Listen, if you are doing this, then this is going to be the result."

The prophet Zechariah, in Zechariah chapter 7, says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Execute true justice; show mercy and compassion, everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the alien, the foreigner, or the poor." Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.

As I said previously, the underprivileged, the overlooked, the ill-treated, and the oppressed may not be the same exact four groups in our day in America in 2022 as they were in Israel 3,400 years ago. However, we still have people who are at the bottom of the stack, and those are the individuals who are often disadvantaged or ill-treated. If we do not observe the general principles of justice, mercy, and compassion for those groups, then we will most certainly reap the consequences of our sinful actions or inactions.

Rest assured, the deuteronomic principle still applies. A culture or society that does not execute justice and show mercy, and that lacks compassion for those at the bottom of the pile, will destabilize and ultimately fall apart.

Unfortunately, we are watching some of that happen in our day. If obedience leads to blessing, then disobedience leads to destabilization and cursing. Moses continues in Deuteronomy chapter 24, verse 19: "When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back and get it. It shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all your work and in all the work of your hands."

When you beat your olive trees to get all the olives off your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs of the trees again a second time. It shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean afterwards a second time; those shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

Just as I read from the Psalms a little while ago in Psalm 146, verse 7, it says that God gives food to the hungry. Here is one of the ways that God commanded His people to provide for the general welfare of the poor—not just the poor, but the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. These four groups within the culture are the focus of God's great giving to those in need, and He commands that His people be as He is in their giving.

We read on in verse 22: "And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore, I command you to do this thing." God keeps saying, "Remember, remember that you were a slave in Egypt. Remember where you came from. You were without hope; you were without an advocate. There was no one to come and stand in the gap as your mediator."

More than 600 years after Moses, when Israel was blessed and secure in the promised land, they became forgetful, which is often what happens to us. It is when we are in dire straits that we take care of other people, but when we become kind of fat, happy, comfortable, and secure, we can become pretty forgetful.

When the people became forgetful during the time of Isaiah, they did not defend the cause of the fatherless or plead on behalf of the widow. They did not rebuke the oppressor; they did not seek justice or extend mercy and compassion. So God, as He often does, raised up a zealous prophet named Isaiah to call them back to righteousness under the law of Moses. He called them back to do what was right before God.

They were still going to the temple. They were still offering up sacrifices and offerings. They were still observing the fasts, the feast days, and the Sabbaths. They were still offering their prayers. Yet, God says, "Stop! Away with all of it! I don't want any of these offerings. I don't want you to observe all these things if you're not going to reform your ways. If you don't, then I'm going to remove you from the land."

In Isaiah's opening proclamation in Isaiah chapter 1, the Lord makes it clear: "You guys are in the wrong." This is what God says to the people. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 18 states, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it."

I am sure that those words from Isaiah, this zealous young prophet in Jerusalem under the shadow of the temple, were hard for the people of Judah and Jerusalem to hear. I am sure that there were plenty of people who turned a deaf ear to Isaiah as they made their way up to the temple to offer a sacrifice. Some probably even mocked him; maybe even some spat upon him. It isn't easy for us to receive correction, but as I said previously, it is important that we, from time to time, evaluate and reevaluate our worldview, our philosophy, and our culture.

We have to take the Scriptures, the book of Deuteronomy, and the deuteronomic principles of the law that we read here in this passage, and look at our own culture through the lens of the Word of God. Do we defend the cause of these oppressed groups, maybe the refugee and the foreigner, the alien in our midst? Do we plead on behalf of the poor and challenge the thinking that gives more power and wealth to those who have the most? Or do we say, "That sounds like Marxism"? It's not Marxism; it's Deuteronomy. It's God's law. God would say, "Come now, let us reason together." Remember that you were dead in your trespasses and sins. You walked according to the course of this world. You conducted yourself according to the lusts of your flesh. You were without hope in this world. But God...

Who is rich in mercy because of His great love? He redeemed you and rescued me so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God rescued and redeemed you from that place of being dead in trespasses and sins, without hope in this world, walking after the lusts of your flesh. Remember, you were a slave to sin in your old life, in the proverbial Egypt. God rescued you and brought you into a new and great Promised Land. But there, in that place, remember where you came from and have mercy, grace, and compassion—the same kind of mercy, grace, and compassion that God had for you when you were in that pitiful state. Have mercy, grace, and compassion for those who find themselves in that place today.

That's exactly what we're going to do here today. We're going to remember by partaking of communion. I hope that maybe you have some bread and some juice to partake of communion at home. If you don't right now, you can do this another time throughout this week. Remember Jesus on the night that He would be betrayed, the night before He would be crucified. He took the bread and the cup and told His disciples to do this often in remembrance of Him, to remember how they were lost and dead in sin, but Jesus came to redeem them because of His mercy, grace, and compassion.

On that night, when He would be betrayed by one of His own, the night before He would be crucified by His own people, He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples. He said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." So if you have some bread, you can partake of it with us as we remember what Jesus did for us, showing His mercy, grace, and compassion when we were without a mediator. He was our mediator, standing in the gap.

Broken for us, so we partake together to remember His body broken for us. In the same manner, the Scriptures say He took the cup and said, "This is the blood of the New Covenant, My blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins." He came to die for us; He who was rich became poor for our sakes, that we might, through His poverty, become rich. He did this all because of His grace, because of His mercy, and because of His love.

We remember that we were dead in trespasses and sins, and His blood was shed to rescue and save us. What a wonderful thing! Father God, we thank You so much for Your grace and Your mercy. We thank You for this way that You have given us something tangible to remember what You've done for us. I pray that in remembering Your grace, mercy, and compassion for us on the cross, we would be stirred to have the same kind of mercy, grace, and compassion for others.

Sometimes it's easy for us to overlook those people who are below us, yet You want us to have mercy, grace, and compassion to extend Your love to them. This may be in a very tangible way, such as taking care of their needs, but it's also in the spiritual way of bringing them the Gospel. So God, I pray that You would stir our hearts as we remember what You have done for us, that You would inspire us to compassion, grace, and mercy for those who are below us.

Just as You did during the time of Isaiah, You will judge those who do not defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow, the foreigner, and the poor. Lord, help us to be those who are willing and ready to give even just a cup of cold water to the one who is thirsty. As You said in Matthew 25, insofar as we have done this for the least of these, we have done so for You.

God, help us to be those who are committed to mercy, grace, compassion, love, justice, and mercy, because You have shown us, God, what is good and what You require of us: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before You. God, help us to do that.

Pray we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

I will praise you on the mountains. I will praise you when mountains are in my way. You're the summit where my feet are. I will praise you in the valleys; you are the same God within the shadow, no less.

Thanks for joining us for our broadcast today. I pray that you were greatly encouraged by it. We here at Cross Connection Church would love to invite you to join us in person next week on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 services. If you can make it, again, 8:30 and 10:30 services here at Cross Connection Church in Escondido, California. We'd love to see you there.

Of course, if you want any more information about Cross Connection Church, check us out on our website, lifeinconnection.com. God bless you guys.

And have a wonderful week! When those lids come off those boxes, you've never seen such pure joy. This is amazing! As you can see the children's faces, they're excited as they open up the gifts for the first time. What makes the gifts more than just gifts is the message that comes with the gift. This is the opportunity for a child to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The mission of Operation Christmas Child never changes: children are coming to Jesus, and children are taking the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Millions of children around the world are being impacted by these simple shoebox gifts. One box can touch not just a child but the whole family. So we need to keep packing those boxes and pray for the children that God will use this in a very special way. Thank you for being a part of it. God bless you!

Good morning, Cross Connection! It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and with Christmas right around the corner, we are excited as Cross Connection Church to be partnering with Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child. This year, we're going to be sending boxes around the world to bless these kids with the Gospel message and probably the only present that they're going to get this Christmas season.

There are a couple of ways that you can be involved. This is a great opportunity for you and your family to grab a box after the service with Pastor Nick in the back. As you're exiting the sanctuary, you'll see the boxes back there. You can take these boxes and pack them with your family and your kids. Let them be involved! It's just such a great opportunity to be a blessing to kids around the world, and it's a whole activity that you can do together as a family.

We encourage you to do that as you're leaving the sanctuary. Make sure to grab one of these boxes. However, if you are going to grab one, they need to be back by November 6th—no later than November 6th—because we don't want to ruin Christmas for those kids around the world. Don't be a Grinch! So, bring out your boxes on time, preferably before November, but Sunday, November 6th, is when they are due.

You'll also get one of these packets with your box. This packet basically explains how you are to pack your box. Follow the instructions carefully; it's pretty simple what you should pack in it and what you can't pack in it, and you'll be fine there. If you'd like to do this, that would be great! If you're wanting to just be involved with Operation Christmas Child and see how...

You can participate in this awesome outreach, but if you don't want to pack up a box, that's okay. Talk to Pastor Nick as you're leaving the sanctuary; he'll give you some ways that you can be involved and plugged into supporting Operation Christmas Child.

The other thing is that these boxes do cost some money to ship. They cost ten dollars to ship each box around the world. Believe me, that's actually a pretty good deal—ten dollars per box. So, no matter how many boxes you take today, each box is going to cost ten dollars. You can bring a check back with your box made out to Samaritan's Purse, or you can also pay that money online on their website. There are lots of ways to do that. If you have any questions, please see us in the back; we would love to help you out. Again, we are so blessed to be partnering with Operation Christmas Child this year.

If you are new or visiting here at Cross Connection Church, I want to encourage you to check out our Connect Five. It will be right there by the Christmas boxes in the back. Pastor Nick and some of our other pastors will be there to welcome you to Cross Connection Church and answer any of your questions in five minutes. They will also let you know how you can be plugged in to live life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ.

I hope to see you there! With that, we're going to jump back to our worship team and worship our amazing God. We'll see you after the service.