Mark Nelson | Vision Sunday | 13th September

0:00 Speaker 1 Welcome to the Margate Church podcast. We're a church for the people of Thanet, making Jesus known as the way, truth, and the life. As you listen to this talk, I want to pray that the Holy Spirit will come and meet with you wherever it is you're listening from. 0:18 Speaker 2 Guys, good morning again and I hope you're doing really well. It is Vision Sunday and it's such an exciting day in the life of the church. And I'm really, if I'm honest, I come with so much gratitude towards today and towards all that it brings for us as a community. 0:36 And if I've not met you before, my name is Mark. I'm going to Jenna and we've got three kids together and we've been here now two years. We've been in this community and and we've loved what the Lord has done during the time that that we've been around in this new chapter of an amazing long story that's being told here in Thanet. 0:56 And then the purpose of today, if I could give it to you, is one of three things. It's so that we can kind of galvanise a bit of energy around our shared vision together that we might be united in voice around that. There's a shared vision verse that we have as a church from John 14, verse 6, where Jesus says I'm the way, the truth and the life. 1:17 And so out of that we've borne a bit of a mission statement for us. And so when we asked that question, like, what's the mission like? Where are we headed? We want to join Jesus in making him known as the way, the truth and life to everyone in our region. It is about 153,000 people across Thanet and we want every single one of those people to have a chance to hear the good news of who Jesus is in our day, in our time. 1:41 That's the first thing to gather around that shared vision. Secondly, we want to respond together to the needs of the church. And we have like lots of people resource need, lots of financial resource need. We want to bring that to you as a family. This is kind of what we are, one, doing this together. 1:59 And the third thing is we want to pray for provision because there was a great prophetic word as we were praying before the service for all of you. And Christa said, you know, unless the Lord builds the house, it's labourers will labour in vain. And so this needs to be a move of God, not not a move of human hand. 2:16 And so we want to gather around shared vision. We we want to present and respond to the needs of the church and we want to pray like crazy. So really, practically, it's always a fun one. Hopefully you've had a chance to kind of thumb your way through this and this is just a little snapshot of some of the things that have gone on over the last year in the life of the church. 2:37 Has anyone seen this yet? So it's under you if not, so you can take that home and hopefully that makes for kind of bedtime reading for you. But be encouraged, allow it to raise your faith and encourage you on in the story ahead. But what you'll see in the back of that is that practically as the team plan, budget, prepare, we have a Finance Committee that works on behalf of us as a church who are trying to help budget. 3:00 And you'll see in the back the practical needs of the church and between kind of all that we're doing and all the finances that we think we need to achieve all that we're doing, we have a gap of just over 70 thousand 70,792 lbs. 3:16 And and we are trusting that the Lord is going to provide for us richly in those ways. And I hope those stories encourage you because actually we're needing to resource around things that are continuing to grow. And we want to follow the Lord's leading. He's going to provide for what he has called. 3:32 And so we approach that with confidence and faith of that. We're now a community. We're sort of roughly over the last year we've got, you know, we're kind of about 300 on a Sunday. The church community we reckon is now around 400 or so. But not everyone can make it every Sunday. 3:47 And of those, there's 101 of us who give by stunning order on a monthly basis to sow in and support the vision of the church. And you can see a little breakdown of where some of every pound, where that split goes, where the breakdown of those costs go. 4:04 And I'd love to invite you if you're not yet joined in in that way, we'd love to invite you to play a part because the stories in there will tell you. We'll be baptised 7 youth in this last year. And that is a miracle. That is a story of God's provision. 4:19 We are seeing, we've seen 5000 / 5000 people be met with practical needs and resources to the Saint Paul's Community Centre. That doesn't just happen. All these things, every pastry that you eat, every cup of coffee that you drink, every kids session, every toddler and carer group, every dementia church service is all a response to your generosity. 4:41 And so I'm really, really glad and I'd love for you to consider these next two Sundays as a special offering moment. But if you're not yet joined in, would you join in? Might you consider a special offering in these coming Sundays as we go? So that's kind of a just a little headline of what's going on there, but by way of a little bit more of an update, I've got a little video just to show you. 5:01 So why don't you take a look at the screens and enjoy a little bit of a look back over the last few months? 5:08 Speaker 3 We are Margate Church, a church for the people of Planet One Church 2 locations, Hurley, Trinity, Margate and Saint Paul's Cliftonville. Our mission is to join Jesus in making him known as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This mission will take faith. 5:24 We're believing for widespread awakening across our region in the southeast of England, partnering with God to see the renewal of every place we call home. It will take a church filled with the presence of God when many can come to know and experience the person of Jesus. 5:40 We want to be a people whose identities and lives are rooted in Christ, awakened to the truth of God, and walking in His way. Our hope is to see our town transformed by God's, one individual at a time. 5:54 Speaker 4 So I used to come to church when I was younger with my grandma. So during COVID, when I stopped going, I went through a lot of like mental health stuff. And I felt like January, December time, I felt like I should start coming back. I felt like I had God speaking to me and was like, you're OK. 6:14 And it kind of just pushed me to come back to church. I started coming back to church in January and I felt like since then I found God and it's helped my mental health get better. And just during the week, I'm just like, I just can't wait for Sunday to come. 6:32 Speaker 2 So having been a Christian, nearly. 6:35 Speaker 5 50 years, certainly. 6:36 Speaker 2 Over the only the last. 6:37 Speaker 5 Ten years or or so, I really started to understand the Father's love for me and the Father's love for. 6:45 Speaker 2 Everybody and. 6:46 Speaker 5 I think, I think presence has been a a blessing to me. I mean supporting in it, but also just seeing in the in the stillness, in quietness, just seeing God really minister to people. 7:02 Speaker 6 I was always seeking like God's presence and Jesus presence. And then it's when my mental health went down that for do you know, I'm near a church. My parents brought me here and I spoke to the caretaker and he said you can come whenever you want. 7:18 I've been here ever since and I've loved it. I got baptized a year ago and ever since I felt so peaceful knowing that God has forgiven everything in my past and that He's always going to love me. 7:33 Speaker 7 It's been really good to see, like more people come in, especially because when I first joined here, it was me and one other person under 18. Yeah. It's just really good to see a bigger influx of younger people trying to learn youth at my churches. 7:52 It's it's a different environment to what kids are usually used to with like football clubs maybe, or just school in general. See God moving in a way that. 8:01 Speaker 2 The room is just full of. 8:03 Speaker 7 Joy. 8:06 Speaker 8 Considered slightly unusual in that I love the exuberant worship in the family service at 10:30, but I also really, really value the 8:30 Holy Communion service. And for me personally, about five years ago round COVID, I had quite a difficult time. 8:23 It was a very sad time and I wanted to go back to basics. And I came to Holy Trinity for Holy Communion and found it really restorative, really healing, and really helpful. 8:37 Speaker 4 They were like, since coming back to church and finding God in that relationship again, I feel like I've been so much more happier and just found a joy in life again. 8:48 Speaker 6 It's just Jesus and God have made everything so much better. Like I couldn't live without them. 8:58 Speaker 3 Over the last 12 months, we've seen God do some remarkable things. We've given away 115 Bibles and counting. We've seen 17 people baptized, seven of those being young people. Our Alpha courses have given 90 individuals the opportunity to come and explore faith. 9:14 We've released 2 worship songs written and recorded by our worship team. 40 people have found community through our Friendship group. We have 120 young people come through the doors of church each week. 5000 individuals have received support and essential services from the team at Saint Paul's Community Centre. 9:31 We are so grateful for all that God is doing and continues to do, and this is just the beginning. We'd love to invite you to pray and partner with us as we make Jesus known as the Way, the Truth, and the Lies. 9:44 Speaker 2 Isn't that encouraging? And I'm just so moved if I'm always so touched by the stories of what God's doing and we just give thanks. So hey, today we're going to look at a story together from a word that I received just for the summer around this being a year where prodigals might come home. 10:08 And we're going to look again at the story in Luke chapter 15. I've asked if Crystal would come and read it to us now. But just to set the scene, if you don't know the story of the, the lost son or the prodigal son, it, it actually is about two lost children who find themselves out outside their father's house for two very different reasons. 10:27 One has been kind of a mishandling of pleasure and they've chased many things in the world. The other has been a mishandling of pain and it's caused him to stay outside the house. One has been rebellion, the other's been resentment. And and I think it's a beautiful story for us to respond to as a whole community and think about where the Lord's calling out. 10:49 So Krista, why don't you come and read that with us? If you turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 15 and we'll take it from there. 11:01 Speaker 9 Jesus continued. There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, Father, give me my share of the estate. So we divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all He had set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 11:23 After he'd spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 11:44 When he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's hired men have food to spare? And here I am starving to death. I'll set out and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. 12:01 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired men. So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 12:21 The son said to his father, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 12:36 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile the older son was in the field. 12:55 When he came near the house, he heard the music and the dancing, and he called to one of the servants and asked him what was going on. Your brother has come, he replied, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound. 13:12 The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him, but he answered his father. Look, all these years I've been slaving for you and you never and never disobeyed your orders, yet you never. 13:29 It gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him. My son, the father said, you're always with me and everything I have is yours. 13:49 But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks. 14:02 Speaker 2 Be to God. Amen. Thanks so much, Kristen. So amazing story, right? This story begins particularly with the first son. And I think we can describe this first child as being slightly lost through their pursuit of the world. 14:19 And it's really, I think, sent him out a thrill seeking, longing to find fulfilment in all that the world has to offer. And he, in essence, gets to a point where he's been so seduced by it, he thinks it's going to be a greater alternative than being in his father's house. 14:36 He does the unthinkable, which is to ask his dad for his inheritance in this day. In reality, this would have broken his father. And the expectation would have been rather than accepting that, he would have just driven him out from home and said, you're dead to me, Go and leave. But instead of that, he takes on the shame of his son, and he grants him his request. 14:55 And he probably sells off lots of land, lots of things, and he gathers his finances together to bless his son. And off he goes. And the story will depict really that this son has chased those pleasures to their end and found it hasn't fulfilled him. 15:12 And it gets to a point in verse 16, it's kind of a, it's a bit of a physical story that has such a spiritual element to it. This parable, it says that he finds himself like hungry, longing to be filled. He's sort of talking about his stomach and his hunger. But it's also a sense that we can lay on that as Jesus is speaking a spiritual longing that he has. 15:31 And so he says that he's longing to be filled. And then by verse 17, it describes him as coming to his senses in the Greek word in the Greek, it's this word metanoia. This coming to his senses is translated out of metanoia, which means to have a sudden transformative change of heart. 15:52 It's almost like he's gone as far as he can and there's there's a radical change in his heart that sort of wakes him up to the reality of his situation. He's chased and he's chased and he's chased and he's come up empty. 16:08 So at this moment, you've got the reality of what sin can do to us as we chase the things that the world might offer. But then in the story, it shifts really to the actions of the father. And it describes really the heart of the father in this moment. 16:24 And it says this while he was still, while he was still a long way off. These are 8 words in the gospel that we can all cling to. 8 words we can all cling to while you and I, we're still a long way off. 16:40 The Father came running and it starts to communicate the heart of the Father. If you can relate to this child at all, if you feel like you've been drawn away from God's love for you, then know this. The Father is pursuing you today. His love is chasing after you. 16:58 It doesn't matter how far gone you feel you are. The Father's love is fool you. That's the good news of the gospel. While you are still a long way off, the Father came running after you. And you know, these are sort of examples of all of us, but over this last year, we've seen stories of people's lives waking up. 17:17 I mean, not too embarrassing, but in in here, JJ just wrote down his a bit of his testimony in the like read these testimonies, Maddie's testimony, JJ's testimony, Beck's testimony, Connor's testimony, you know, I could go on and on and on about the stories have changed lives. Alex's story. 17:32 It's amazing what God is doing when when he's waking up our hearts and drawing us home. This is what God is doing even in our midst. And we want to be a community that is really postured towards the prodigal, those that aren't yet home. 17:51 You know, over 99% of people that live in Thanet don't yet attend an Anglican church. I'm not concerned about the Anglican bit, but I'd love people to know about the church, about the bride of Christ and experience home because we live in a a slightly strange era. 18:06 You know, even this week our culture needs to know what kind of father the Father in heaven is. You may be seen in the media this week. Saint Paul's Cathedral have traded in some worship services for a partnership with a nightclub in the same week. Katie Taylor, the Irish boxer, she went out for a last ever professional fight. 18:25 Undisputed legend of boxing and her walk out song in front of 83,000 people in an arena filled with people and fireworks going off. She had the song All Hail King Jesus played and she turned that stadium into a worship service. 18:42 What strange days were our cathedrals and nightclubs and our stadiums and worship services, right? The world is hungry to know what kind of father the church calls father. And I'd long for us to be a place where many can come. 18:58 And what I find amazing about this passage is by the time we get to verse 21, if you've still got the passage open, it says that the son basically starts to communicate to his dad. Here's what I'm going to say, right? He's not allowed to call me son or daughter or child anymore. I don't deserve that. 19:15 So he can call me servant and then what I'm going to do is I'm going to work my way back into favour throughout my life. This kind of narrative of what we actually in reality, that's what we deserve. The New Testament says that the wages of sin is death. The reality of some of the implications of our mistakes means that that probably is what we deserve. 19:35 But there is a speech that's so transformed by the love of a running father that what we deserve we don't get and what we don't deserve we do get. Because the father runs to his son clothed in grace and he runs to him. 19:50 And do you know what he brings him? He brings him some amazing gifts. But the significant thing of of the father getting ahead of the son shame is as follows. Because they lived in a honour shame culture. So in the day, if you dishonoured your family, that was it. 20:06 You were out this son. To have done this, to have disowned his dad in the way that he did and then try and return that is like a slap in the face. And So what the community would have done is that they'd have gathered on the edge of this rural community seeing him come, and they'd approach him en masse with a clay pot. 20:24 And they'd walk up to him, and they'd perform what's called the Kazarzar ceremony. And the Kazarzar ceremony literally means to be cut off. And they'd walk up to him and they'd say, this pot represents your life. And because you left us and you thought that life would be better elsewhere, we want to say to you, you have no place here. 20:42 And they throw the pot on the floor. And it would be to excommunicate them for life from that community. So you are cut off. You do not belong. You are not at home here. We do not know. You leave. And so when the father runs ahead of that shame once again, he describes what kind of heart he has. 21:02 But what does he bring? So the father not only arrives to embrace his son, but he brings sandals for his feet to remind him that he's not a slave. He brings robes and he places them round him to remind him that he once again has an opportunity to tap into the family's wealth. 21:19 He brings a ring, a signet ring, which in those days they would have transacted business through wax and the family seal to place a ring back on his son's finger as to say all that we have. You can trade in my name again. You can walk with the authority that I have. And then he brings a feast, A fattened calf as a sign that this son is loved. 21:39 If you've ever been wondering and wondering what kind of Father you have in heaven, no, it's 1 like this one that says He'll give you what you don't deserve, will call you a beloved child, not a slave. He'll wrap you in the authority of the house, the house, the identity of the house, and he'll pour lavishly his love upon you. 21:56 Doesn't that sound good? This is the kind of Father that we have, and this is the kind of church that we want to be. If you resonate today with the story of that first son in any way, He know how deeply loved you are. The Father in heaven will always do what is right by his beloved child and he runs to you. 22:18 And that is really why we offer Alpha. And you've heard us talking lots about this, but in a few weeks time, it's a chance to explore faith, ask questions. It's why we run midweek youth on a Thursday night to give our youth a chance to invite their friends to come and hear about the Father's heart for them. 22:33 It's why we run parent and toddler Hangouts called Margate Minis. You know, it's why we run dementia services and it's why we have dementia church. We had dementia church just this week on a Wednesday and here on a Wednesday afternoon for families that couldn't sit through something like this by the nature of the vulnerable time they're going through. 22:50 There's an amazing testimony that came out of that on Wednesday that he was telling me this morning, lives are being changed by what is put on and what it's all a sign of the Father's heart. And so that's why today as well. 23:05 I, I just want to say all these things we put on or engage with are to communicate something about God's heart to the people of this region and to us. And so today also want to reintroduce to some of you, but introduce to some of you the fact that we are actually one church that will soon be meeting on two locations, not one. 23:23 St. Paul's Cliftonville. And if you're brand new to this, this is Saint Paul's Cliftonville. It sits on North Down Rd. just down the road from here mile or so away. It was an originally a church plant from Holy Trinity in 1872. 23:38 The original Holy Trinity Church was down in Trinity Square in the middle of town and it was sadly bond in the war and rebuilt here. But as Cliftonville was exploding with life, the church got together and said, you know, we need to resource life and service to that community. 23:54 Let's plant a church to meet the needs of that place. And so for the last couple of 100 years, that's been what's happened. But the nature, if we go to the next slide, the nature of what's happened is that the buildings fall into the coral of disrepair. There was no heating when it rained outside. It rained inside. 24:09 It's quirky. You can see some of the puddles on the floor from there. A lot of the walls had really kind of were cracking, mortar was falling away and it was getting to a point where it really wasn't safe. Part of our hope is to set this place back up for a service to that community again for the next 100 years. 24:29 The church sits itself at the top of a sloping Rd. called Wilderness Hill. So we've called the project Hope on Wilderness Hill. Isn't that a great picture of what the prodigal father is like, running after his kids? We want Saint Paul's like this church to be a place where the prodigals could run home, where those who are living in the land of wilderness might find their true and real home. 24:50 And. And so for the first time in over 8 years, do you know the clock works? It's more significant than you know the the clockwork. This is going to the next slide. These are just some update photos from the last week or so. This is what it looks like inside right now. But interior rooms are being built, stuff's being plastered, toilets are going in, heating's gone in the roof's been insulated and relayed. 25:10 Solar panels have gone in. The font's been moved and set up for service. It is looking amazing. And we want to be reopened for Christmas. Amen. Like all that, that might be just another mission post for the Kingdom of God here in Thanet. 25:29 In terms of deprivation scales, the the country of England's broken up into wards. And do you know that the Church of Saint Paul's sits in the ward that is the 83rd poorest in the whole of the country. There's about 33 1/2 thousand wards. 25:44 So it puts into perspective some of the need that is there. We want to be a community that fights for charity and justice, that actually undoes some of the unjust structures in our day, that attends to the poorest and most vulnerable in our time. And I just want to ask you, I just want to would you pray and start to consider, because over this term, we want to begin to, we gather some who've who've come from Saint Paul's, but also some that feel called to go to join a core team around Gav and Hannah. 26:11 And I just want to encourage you. It's sight pastor down there. They are amazing people with such a heart. Might God be stirring in you if you drive past that church lots, maybe think, do you know that we're one church that meets across 2 sites? My hope is that there's a shared vision. But as you walk in there, you say, do you know, this is where I want to, I'm sewing. 26:28 This is where I want my story to tell itself out. So let's take the Father's house to many, many people in many, many places. This is something you feel cool to. We're excited about it and it's happening right now and I am so looking forward to sharing more. We're going to get everyone down there to cheer all on as it gets going. 26:47 So that's the story of the first son. But actually the story of the second son is much less told, but just as relevant within the parable and to us as a church, I believe, because it, it speaks about the child who's maybe been in the house for many, many years. Can anyone relate to that child slightly? 27:03 You know, like if anyone's walked with the Lord for a while, you'd be like, you know, And he gets to this point where he's now heard the news that his brother has returned. And it sets something off in his spirit and in his heart that he then offers to his to his dad in a moment. 27:21 But he says in verse 28, he became angry and he refused to go in. Resentment left him outside his father's house, just in the same way that misspent pleasure pursuits to leave you outside the father's house too. Resentment left him outside. 27:37 Out of this child's heart comes a totally different kind of struggle. But it's just as important to the father. And here's what he says to his dad. Look at all these years of slaving. If you're a parent right now, just wanting to imagine your kid walking up to you and going, look at all these years of slaving that I've it's a such a weird foreign thought, isn't it? 28:02 But I think it articulates such an, an inaccurate view of, of what it's like to be in relationship with God. Sometimes we can trip ourselves up and get into that thing where it's like, look at all I've done for you. 28:18 This son, therefore has missed all that the father has for him. He's missing it all. One of my favourite films is Hook going back a little bit, but it's, it's almost seen Hook. Here's a little photo just to remind you. And there's a little moment where Peter Pan returns to Neverland, and they lay out a big feast for him. 28:35 And they all feast together in celebration. But he can't see the food. He can't see the feast before him. And his boys are all gathered around going, Peter, can you see? Can you see? Can you see? Can you see? 28:51 I think probably the father's heart for this son would be a similar image. If he's looking at his son, saying, how can you not see all that this house has for you, this moment, your brother, that's not for you. I want you to know how loved you are. All that I have is yours. 29:09 All that I've ever had is yours. I want you to know how celebrated and loved you really are. I want you to have security and identity with God. The Father's response to the Son is these two powerful words. My son or my daughter or my child. 29:26 As if to say you're not a problem to be fixed. You're not a slave. You're a beloved, beloved child. And I think for some of us, as we walk into this next season, we're going to also need to allow God to do a bit of a transplanting work of our spirit. 29:45 To almost transplant us from feeling like we're a slave, to knowing that we're a child, to feeling like we're rejected, to knowing that we're chosen. From feeling like we're unseen to knowing that we're known. Because that's how the Father sees this child. That's how the Father sees you. 30:02 All that the house has to offer is yours. Can you not see it? If you've ever sat round a table with an insecure family that want to belittle one another, you might get a picture of what it's like. But when you sit with a a secure family who can make you feel at home at the table, you get a little bit of a picture of what it's like to be in a healthy church. 30:24 A church that celebrates those that are working out and asking their questions and trying to figure out how can I get involved and are asking the question that they think stupid. And you said that's a brilliant question, you know, that's what it looks like to be in the house with the tools of the house at your disposal. 30:39 God is always yours. And I say that because if you don't attend, and if we don't attend to some of the resentment and pain that life offers us with God, then the spirit of that second son can remain in the house for generations. 30:54 And, and if God is going to utilise and use his people, God's people in this time and in this place, we're going to need to get healed. We're going to need to process our pain with the Lord and with one another. And so I just want to encourage you, if you're navigating like hardship and pain, it's not to diminish it, but just to say the Father sees it. 31:14 It moves the Father's heart to help him leave the house and say, I want to attend to you. I want to plead with you, come back in. Don't allow it to drive you far from him. Claw on close because I think as we build our identity in God, it's going to be such an attractive thing for many to see. 31:32 So over the next year, what we're going to do is intentionally, we're going to shape something we're going to call the rule of life for us. Which is to say, if you want to grow as a follower of Jesus, whether you've been walking with him for 50 years or or 5 minutes, I want you to feel like you have practical steps to be able to grow in your faith into confidence and identity with God. 31:51 The rule of life should help us learn how to read the scriptures everyday and have devotionals that can support that, as Mika brilliantly preached last week around a war room of prayer. Like that we would grow into being a praying, prayerful church. We'd grow into the gifts of the Spirit that we'd learn the spiritual disciplines, that we'd learn how to rest well and walk well in our faith. 32:13 We want to do that as a church. That's why I want to encourage you join a life group if you're not yet in one. We say Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There are ways that we'll do things. Our cultures, there are truths that we believe about him, and there's a life to be enjoyed. Life groups are to be enjoyed and to help you grow and follow Him as we go. 32:30 And so that's why on your seat as well, you'll see today the main response from today is you've got a connect card on your seat. Please fill that in. If you want to get involved, come and speak to Gav Leandro team at that connect desk on your way out. Do not leave without saying I want to get plugged in. I want to I want to try out if I want to get baptized, I want to. 32:46 I want to walk this walk. I want to grow into the life that God has for me. That is for you. The Catholic theologian Ronald Rolheiser, in his book, speaks about the danger for the second son. As this as we age, we begin to trim down our spiritual vocabulary and eventually we get it down to just three words. 33:07 Forgive, forgive, forgive. For to die with a forgiving heart is the ultimate moral and religious imperative. We see this in the Gospels, in the sad figure of the older brother of the prodigal son. He stands before his father, protesting that he's never wondered, he's never been unfaithful, that he's stayed home and done the family's work. 33:28 But, and this is the issue, he stands outside his father's house, unable to enter into joy, into celebration, the banquet, the dance. He has done everything right, but a bitter heart prevents him from entering the father's house just as much as the lustful wanderings of his younger brother took him out of that same house. 33:48 You know, Jesus has a vision for our pain. And on the cross, at the very point of his greatest pain, he made it possible for all things to be redeemed and attended to by the Holy Spirit. There's this eternal light that bursts forth as we come to Him. 34:04 And victory can come from defeat. And so if that's the place where you resonate most, I'd, I'd love for you to receive prayer that this would be a place not only where people can come home, but where the home can feel well and alive and enjoying all that the Father has to offer. 34:21 And so I'm really praying, I've been praying all week that the Lord would bring about a softening of heart for us as a people. But then lastly, I, I think if I was to offer us a visionary picture, if I could just take us one step further, I would love over time for more and more of us and as a community as a whole, to become a people where we actually begin to inhabit the heart of the father or the OR the mother or the parent in this story. 34:45 That actually, you know, we can have said we've come home, we can say we are walking in maturity of faith, But now our hearts are so moved, we want to leave the house and pursue the region for the sake of the wandering child. 35:01 And I think if we can position ourselves to do that, amazing things will continue to happen. And, and so I think there's three groups like perhaps your struggle has been around following him. Pleasure, pursue the temptations of the world. I get it. We we're all in this world. Perhaps for some of us it's been a hard journey following Him, maybe over decades for some, but perhaps for others, there's a growing heart of the Father that He wants to express healthily in you for the season ahead.