Lineage Week 2

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0:00 This morning we're talking about lineage, which is week two of lineage. And so we've been going through the core values of the church. And so this is the second of the two weeks that we're talking about lineage. Ben talked about it last week. And so this week when I think about lineage, and I had kind of had an idea that I was gonna be speaking, I think back in August. And so I've been kind of like, what's the story here, God? Where are we gonna go with this? And I don't know about Aaron and Demetrius.

0:31 I know they also help sub, sometimes when Ben's out. But whenever I have to sub, it's like, there's never a time where like the last hour before you get here that everything is like perfectly crystal clear. And you're like, I know exactly where we're going today. It's like, I have ideas. No matter how many hours of study I've put in, I have ideas. And same is true this morning. And so when I think about lineage, I'll start with this story. Back in December of 2023, I had that opportunity. I traveled out to LA for work for the week. It was an exhausting week,

1:01 as it always is whenever I travel. You don't sleep right and whatever. But at the end of the week, we didn't have the kids that weekend. So I rented a Jeep and I went up to my favorite place in the world, which is Yosemite. Six hours drive from LA, it is a long drive. And I got in at midnight, and every time I go into the park, it's my favorite place. It's a different experience. And this time, because it was December, a lot of places, a lot of the cool attractions are closed because snow and it's just unsafe.

1:32 And so I was in the valley, I stayed in the valley, and it was so cold. And so I remember I spent some time in the valley in the morning just kind of like walking around. Just, it's insane if you've never been to Yosemite. I hope you can get there. It is just insane. So after I was in the valley for a while, I was like, I know what I've never been to Twalome Grove. Which Twalome Grove is one of three places in the park where they have the giant sequoias. And so I was like, oh, let me just look it up real quick.

2:03 How long is the hike there? Let me just go for a quick hike. Drive up, it's only a mile into the Grove where the actual sequoias are. And I walked into the Grove and I just remember, like this is my second time seeing giant sequoias in Yosemite. Mel and I went, the first time we went to a different Grove and we saw them. This was the most concentration that I had seen to this point. And you just are walking, walking, walking down this big path. Like it's such a steep descent that like your knees hurt. You guys ever been on those trails

2:35 like where your descending and your knees are hurting because you're trying to like lean back and anyway. So you get down into the valley or to this Grove and there's just these giants everywhere. And it is such a humbling thing to be in the presence of these giant trees. I know a lot of facts about Yosemite and sequoias now because it's just my thing, but they're not the tallest trees in the world. And they're not even the widest trees.

3:06 But these things are insane. And so I'm six one, not short by any means. And when I stand up next to one, you're like a tiny little speck in comparison. And I wish we had like a projector because I would show you guys photos this morning to kind of paint the picture of this. They're just amazing, they're huge. And when you look at the age of these trees, these things have been around for thousands of years.

3:37 I'm gonna show you guys, and you guys can come see this afterwards, I promise. And you don't have to get close, I promise. There's when you walk out of that grove, they have like a sample of the width of one of the sequoia trees kind of cut open. And so it's like a big circle here, right? So I'm standing on this thing, and I'm taking a picture like this, and my feet are in it. And it's like this huge circle, and it has these rings that kind of like show the age of the tree.

4:08 And like what are some events that happen when the tree was this width versus this width, and so it's such a humbling thing to see because at the dead center of the tree itself, the very first marker is 70 AD, and the tree is probably no wider than this in circle, right? And at 70 AD, that was when the Roman Colosseum was built.

4:39 So that tree was standing, like there's trees were standing when the Roman Colosseum was built, which means those trees were probably a little sapling when Jesus walked the earth. And so you're walking amongst something in nature, multiple dozens of these things that have been around for thousands of years, and you just kind of see how these things have just stayed across time. Fun fact about sequoias, sequoias actually need fire to survive. Believe it or not, they need to be burned.

5:11 It's really important that they actually allow wildfires to burn in Yosemite, because it actually clears out the valley floor, it clears out the floor where the trees are trying to grow, and without that fire, it actually would start having all this overgrowth of things that would start choking off the trees. And we know this is true because therefore about 100 years, the United States Forestry Department actually hadn't, and made it their mission to put out every single wildfire as soon as it came up.

5:41 And they found that it actually started to starve the trees of nutrients that they needed. So sequoias need the fire in that regard, but the sequoias also need fire because the fire actually hardens the trees and it makes them grow stronger. It kind of has this purifying aspect to the trees that it helps get rid of disease. It's really, they're fascinating trees, right? And y'all, there's so many sermons in what I just said about sequoias and like lineage and fire

6:15 and all that stuff, you need that to survive, and reality is we don't think we need fire sometimes, we don't need the trials, but you actually do. So much in that, but that's not even where we're going today. It's just, it's such a fascinating thing when I think of, I'm a part of a very, very small time period that these trees have been around. They haven't seen much, right? Because they're trees, they don't move. But what they've been present during some major events, like this picture we go out from a Roman Colosseum is built.

6:49 One of the next things is the Hagia Sophia is built. Then you got the Mayan temples down in Guatemala. Then you go all the way out to like the Great Wall of China in the 1800s and then the Taj Mahal. And this guys, this is still, the Taj Mahal being built is probably still a good four feet in diameter away from the edge of the tree. Just these things are massive. And when I think about nature, and I think about the Sequoias, and I think about the idea of lineage,

7:24 these trees are part of a huge story that's been unfolding in the earth. And because we're all alive today, we also have an option to be a part of this bigger story that's going on. When I go get lost in Yosemite, it's really hard to come out the same way. Like I usually wind up in the park, like it's been a hard season or it's been a really hard week at work.

7:56 And I usually go into the park, exhaust it. I usually am questioning why am I doing this? It's a six hour drive in, it is not an easy drive. And I always come out with more energy because it kind of puts things in perspective. And when you see these giant trees, you kind of like, wait a minute, I'm only here for a split second. Our first trip into Yosemite was April of 2021. And I remember there was, we were like three or four days in,

8:27 and Melanie and I had, we had this Jeep, and it was cold. And we just pulled off to the side of the road. Do you remember this? We pulled off to the side of the road and we just proceed back and fell asleep with the top open and everything. And we just, we were exhausted, we fell asleep. And like, I remember that moment because it was like this calling and this awakening that I was hearing, it's like all of these giant things have been here for thousands of years long before I was here.

8:58 And I'm here for just a short amount of time. And I really, really, really want my life to count. And so when I was preparing for this week and I was preparing for this message, I was thinking through like, you know, what does the Bible have to say directly about lineage and usually you get right into genealogy of the different people. But I centered kind of around this idea and this thought of James chapter four, James four 13 through 14. If you guys have your Bible or you wanna turn it on,

9:30 we're gonna jump in a couple of different places today. But James chapter four is where we'll start and it's all just read that it says, come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a miss that appears for a little time and then vanishes. And so if that's true, which firmly believe it is, right?

10:03 We're here for a very, very short amount of time in the grand scheme of things. And I want my life to count and I would argue that most people have that same idea and that same thought. You don't want your life to mean something. Some of us get tied up in the idea of like, I need to be known long after I'm gone. I don't, I'm not there. I'm not that guy. But there's stories throughout human history of people trying to really, really leave a mark

10:36 on the timeline of history, right? They wanna be known and sometimes it leads to terrible, terrible things that have happened. I'm not there, but I do want my life to count. And I know I've got a very, very brief window to actually be here on earth. And I remember like a year ago, a year ago we were facing that direction, which I love how our church constantly is changing the direction you're facing. We were facing that direction and there was a book that had just come out and been started talking about it. And it was called like 4,000 Weeks, right?

11:08 And the average human life is about 4,500 weeks that you actually are alive. And I was like, oh, that's a, that's kind of a sobering thought. Like you, you have 4,000 weeks to be alive. And I looked this morning and there's a little website you can plug in your date of birth and then it tells you how many weeks you've lived. And it's crazy, because I'm halfway according to this website. So it's like 2,000 and some change of weeks

11:43 that I've already lived in this life. And when I think back in my life, I would love to say every single week mattered and it counted. And I can easily stay there and I can actually, what I'll usually do is I'll go into a like a darker place and be like, what was wrong with me? Why didn't I get things right back then? Like, man, week number, Brian, you wasted week number 70. Like, how old were you when you were 70 weeks old? Like, come on, like a little over a year is crazy. But when you think about it, like, I can stay camped there

12:14 and I'm like, I'll go to the past and I'll think, oh my gosh, all these things I didn't do. All these things that I've messed up. And the reality is is that the invitation that God gives us to be a part of something bigger is every day that you wake up, you have that invitation. It doesn't matter what happened yesterday or it doesn't matter what you did at week 70. Like, invitation to be a part of like this story

12:47 that God is rolling out, this lineage that God has is out there every single day that you're awake. I love coming in sometimes and come, like, I remember there was one time where we were coming from that corner facing this way. And it was like a last minute, Ben, like, I came in and I don't know how he selects people sometimes, but he's like, hey, call to worship, you got it? And I'm like, I'm sure, fine. And quickly do a quick read of the call to worship

13:18 because it usually has some names or places that I can't pronounce. And so I wanna at least read it once in my head so that way I don't sound completely. Like I have no idea what I'm talking about. And so when I read through it really quickly, I got up to do the call to worship and I opened up my phone and opened the app. And it was like this, there was like this moment to where I felt this strange, odd connection that like right now in this moment, I am reading text that has been read

13:52 for thousands of years in situations like this. And I am now part of this moment where there people have read these sacred texts for years and it's like this moment of like, that's so amazing. Like you get to be a part of this small little moment at a service where you're reading a call to worship and it's like those small moments can be part of like this bigger story that God's doing. Like that's amazing. And you don't have to read the call to worship.

14:22 You definitely can. We definitely need people to read it. You don't have to read it to be connected to be a part of this story. Because again, every single day that we wake up, there's this invitation to be a part of this story that God is doing that part of this lineage of things that are happening. And so when I think about invitations and I think about this invitation, I was thinking, I was praying about it and kind of reflecting on things the other day. And there's generally three responses that we have towards this invitation.

14:54 And so you guys remember, you guys ever had like those moments like where you wrote a letter to a girl and you're like, hey, we'll be my girlfriend, yes, no, or maybe. You guys ever do that? All right. I can remember when I was a kid, I was grounded. Most of my life, I feel like I was grounded as a kid. But, um, I, somebody dumb things I did. But anyway, and I can remember I did something and I wrote a letter to my mom. It just expressed how sorry I was.

15:25 And I said, well, you forgive me. Yes, no, or maybe. Good news, she said yes, but I was still grounded. So, no, but those are like the three, like there's three responses to the invitation of, you can be a part of this bigger story in this lineage that God has. And so like the first response, I think of the woman at the well, right? We talked about that a few weeks ago where this woman came into this moment where she interacted with Jesus

15:55 and she immediately said yes. And like that was it. She was off to the races, she was running. Yes, I'm gonna accept this invitation, right? And then I think about like, I remember a while ago, while we were facing this way, I don't know why I remember which direction the church is facing, Demetrius walked us through the story of Jonah. And Jonah was invited to be a part of what God was trying to do and Jonah's response was essentially no. I don't wanna be a part of that.

16:26 And then I think the third response is kind of like that maybe, but I thought of the word apathy and apathetic. And then I thought about going to listen to Marliant K because that was the first group that introduced the word apathy to me. But apathy is essentially like you just not really, yeah, it's fine, whatever. You can't really be bothered by it. It doesn't really matter to you. And I think like sometimes in my life,

16:56 I know for actually for a fact, there's times in my life where I definitely have been apathetic towards this invitation of being a part of the lineage of God. And when I was thinking about apathy and it's kind of praying about it this week, there's like three things that jumped out to me. So we can just jump over to John 10-10.

17:31 Y'all, I love the parable of the good shepherd by the way. Just side note, nothing to do with lineage, but this is like in the parable of the good shepherd, like so good. Started rereading the book that Alchemists this week. It's like the shepherd, good stuff. Anyway, John 10-10, it says this, it says, oh, I lost it. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

18:02 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. And I thought of that second part of that verse and thinking of like my apathetic response to the invitation of God. And when I think about it, like what is God inviting us into as part of this bigger story of what he's doing? And it's hard to be apathetic when you think about

18:32 God's actually calling you into an abundant life. And a lot of times we think like abundance means, well, first off, it's gonna come to us. We don't have to do anything for it. And that it means in a lot of my mind, it goes to, is like, oh, I never have to worry about a bill being paid. I never have to worry about a sickness or a disease or anything touching my family. That's what abundance means. And I think like the more I look and I think about my life,

19:03 what abundance really means is like, it's being awakened to the reality of what God is doing. Right? Stepping into a season of hardness and struggle and staying in it and working through it, you know, spending, if need be, spending years in therapy, working through things that have happened at an earlier point in my life,

19:34 like I can now say like there's like abundance to me is not the wealth or the accumulation of like material goods or the absence of sickness from my family. Like abundant living to me looks like finding that healing and finding a little bit of heaven on this side of eternity and being able to lean into knowing that no matter what I'm walking through, I've got someone who's greater than me walking with me. And it's like being awake to that reality.

20:05 Like when you wake up to that reality, it's really, really hard to be apathetic. It's really hard to stay in a place of apathy. When I look at, when I'm tempted to have this moment of apathy, Beverly, this is so weird. You just asked me this morning. Beverly came up to me this morning and she's like, hey, you know, not for right now cause you're about to do this thing. You know, she's, but Ben said I should talk to you about your story of like how you came to Florida,

20:36 how you got to like this moment. Man, okay. When I think about that story, it's really hard to be apathetic because I realized there's so much that's been going on in my life that I had no say in. And how it's like this idea of like, oh, wow, there's something way bigger going on here. So the quick high level is born in Clearwater, moved to Tennessee when I was three, grew up in Middle Tennessee,

21:08 while I was in Middle Tennessee. My friend and his family invited me to church multiple times. There was a youth camp we were invited to. That'll make sense in a minute. There was youth camp we were invited to in Pensacola, Florida. Of course, when you're coming from Middle Tennessee, Pensacola is like the place to be. It's amazing, right? It went to the youth camp,

21:38 made a decision to consciously follow Christ, follow God in that moment. Okay, that happened. A new youth pastor started, and for some reason I just dug in and just became so consumed by what God was doing in the story of God that I was like, this is amazing, leaned into it, thought I was gonna go to ministry, moved to Florida because that youth pastor became a pastor down here. My parents were moving to France. I had nowhere else to go.

22:09 I was like, let me come down to Florida. I like palm trees and heat. And I fell in love. And so I moved down to Florida, thinking I'm gonna be a youth pastor. No, I'm in college now, so now I'm gonna be a college pastor. And started leaning in going through, I was a college pastor in college, so really, really boots on the ground there, right? Leading a youth, a college group, college students, it doesn't matter the size, but I felt like at one point,

22:39 like my worth and my value was based on how many people I could get to come. And so we started offering free food, and man, you offer free food to college students, you're gonna get a lot of people. So anyway, we had that going on, and then how I got here this morning on, you know, September 28th, 2025, the bottom fell out in those days, and had gotten married, Wilder had joined us, and got a divorce.

23:10 And during a divorce, the church that I was working at, like we had a transition away from our pastor, so in the middle of a divorce, and the youth pastor, different person, and the college pastor, we basically just took turns, being the pastor for a month, meaning you just spoke every Sunday morning for a month. So crazy season, right? Like it felt like there was like a little bit of a reprieve of trying to process through divorce in the midst of, like during the week,

23:41 you're in divorce mode trying to figure life out, but on Sunday mornings for an hour, like there's a little bit of reprieve, so it was amazing. And I look back at the moment, and I see like God, like having to preach on a Sunday for a month, it was like God's way of keeping me connected to him, like tethered. So, like all of that to say,

24:11 the journey of how I got here today, it's bigger than me. And I would argue like, you know, your story probably is not the exact same as mine, that'd be weird if it was, but we all have a story like that, and when you think about it, when you step back and you realize, like God's been doing something bigger in your life, like, it's hard to be apathetic to that invitation of, God inviting you in to be a part of his story

24:44 and his lineage. And, you know, so think of like the wanting to live life and live life abundantly. And then, you know, I was reading this morning and I was kind of like flipping through things. If we can really quickly, let's go to Genesis 25, kind of laying the plane here.

25:27 Okay, Genesis 25. So, this is kind of the, this is the end of Abraham's life. And I was reading it this morning and Ben actually talked about this a lot in August, August 10th, I think it was. He actually spoke about this passage. He spoke about his dad. And so I'll just kind of lean in here.

26:00 And verse 11, so we all know the story of Abraham, right? Right? God calls Abraham when his name was an Abraham, calls his name was Abram. And this is an older man who's married to his wife Sarah and he says, I'm gonna, you know, if you come follow me, I'm gonna essentially create a nation, great nation from you. And your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in heaven and he tells his wife. And it's like, how does that even possible? We can't have kids. And we're also way too old now. And so, you know, what's interesting about Abraham,

26:31 Abraham and Sarah, they had one child together, Isaac. That's it. And Ben actually kind of walked through chapter 25 a little bit. They talk about like the place that Abram lived and where he was buried. He was buried next to his wife Sarah, right? And like Abraham is considered the father of our faith. And this, his life is a really, really, really big deal. And when you think about it, it's like, why does his life a big deal?

27:01 Well, he only had one kid with Sarah. And he arguably didn't own a bunch of land. Let's see here. It doesn't talk about him ever sitting on a throne and ruling. He didn't have a tremendous amount of material possessions, but Abraham's life mattered. And verse 11, this just stuck out to me. It says, after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son.

27:31 We started watching this little show with our kids. And I think the jury is still out on if they like it or not. But it's, I forget the name of it. Magnolia Network, it's about like, back to the frontier, I think. Everybody heard of this? They take three families and they basically drop in the middle of the Rockies and it's like 1880s and they have to, they have to homestead. Okay? And it's like, it's such a good show.

28:02 I think the kids, what's the jury, you like it or no? Water likes it, yeah. Maybe because he's like, why are you talking to me while you're up there? But water likes it today, but we'll see tonight when we watch it. And so it's amazing. They take three families, three different backgrounds, three different makeup, right? And they're talking about homesteading and homesteading was actually, like they took about the hardships of it. Like one family rolls in and they've got like essentially this cabin that has three walls.

28:33 The fourth wall has nothing. And the first night they all they have is a tarp and they put a tarp up, that's their fourth wall. And the next morning the wife is like, that's not gonna work long term. So the husband has to obviously build the last wall. But it's three families from three different backgrounds and they talk about the homestead act of the 1800s, right? And essentially the way it was is like if you could prove yourself that you could move out to this plot of land and you could keep this plot of land

29:03 and there was like supervision and you had to check in and stuff like that. But after a period of time, that plot of land became yours. And the reality of like what that owning land meant to people in the 1800s is pretty tremendous. And so the other night I think it was like Friday night we're watching this. And there's just one family. There's this black family and they're, it's interesting, we'll see what happens.

29:34 They came with two boys, a dad and a mom and then dad's mom came, right? So grandma's with them, but she's only staying for half the time. And this is where it gets good because grandma knows about homesteading. Grandma knows all these things. So she's trying to help the wife out figuring all these things out, like cooking over wood stoves and what is lard and cooking and telling the land and all this stuff. And so grandma is getting ready to leave and it's her last day and then this person comes

30:04 and they bring like the historical records of the census and they bring the families genealogy up with the census itself. And they're sitting with this family and they're talking about how great, great, great, grandfather, I think it was, grandparents, they were a slave and then had moved out west. And at the end of their life, you know, the census, they did the census and there was,

30:35 like the last recording of them, they owned no land. But the very next generation owned land, according to the census. And the reality of like what that meant to that family and how that's changed their story. You know, when you think about your story, how you got here, like it's kind of crazy that I'm here this morning and I'm sure it's probably the same for you, like there's so many obstacles and things along the way that doesn't make sense for you to even be here at this moment.

31:08 And I think of like, when I have this apathetic response to this invitation that God has put out there for us to be a part of his bigger story, I think of Genesis 25, verse 11, it says, after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. Like God blessed Isaac right after Abraham died. Abraham doesn't, you know, arguably wasn't there to see all the things that God started doing through Isaac and then Jacob,

31:40 like he doesn't see all that stuff. And that's the same thing for our lives. Like our lives are a vapor and we should live our lives in a way to where we set up future generations for something that God wants to do. He's gonna continue his story through our future generations. And y'all, I'm gonna be honest with you. I am not, I feel like I have like not bat anethalom as a dad, okay? Does anybody here feel like you're bat anethalom?

32:12 Okay, good, yeah, right? I'm not bat anethalom as a dad. I am impatient, I am grouchy sometimes. I'm not looking this direction towards my family because I don't want to see there. Not batting a thousand as a dad and not like, are they, does my life matter to my family? Like, I know it does. And it's like there's moments where you're like, oh, you're just trying to get it, you're trying to get it.

32:43 So, water's going through confirmation, I think today was the last day of like the right, today's the last day. Megan gave me the, what's that for a wilder? For eighth grade, for eighth grade, a wilder's eighth grade. So he's been going through confirmation, studying things for the last few weeks. We've been studying it together and talking through the different artifacts and things like that. Y'all, trying to explain this stuff is somewhat hard for me and I'm up here speaking on a Sunday, which I know is so crazy. But I can assure you, like, hey, parents,

33:16 has it ever felt awkward when you're trying to explain the story of God to your kids? Like, it feels, I think there's like awkwardness and yet intimidation and it's like also this fear of like, am I gonna get it right? Like, cause I don't want to mess it up. And then, there's like random moments, I promise you, like at the Rosenfarbe House, we don't walk around the house quoting scripture on a daily basis to each other. That doesn't happen, okay? I'd love to say that it does, but it doesn't happen.

33:49 We're literally on the way here to church this morning, minds in a thousand places, trying to, where's God gonna land the plane? For weeks, I've been trying to teach wilder and working, we're talking through the small catechism and these are big ideas that I'm trying to translate to a 13 year old, a feeling inferior.

34:20 What does it matter? I can't get this, I can't get this, I can't get this, I can't get this, what does it matter? I can't get this right. Wilder, he says, you know, I came across this verse the other day. Like, we're literally pulling out a neighbor getting ready to get on the 408. Came across this verse and he didn't, he didn't quote it exactly right, which is totally fine.

34:51 And it was John 1633, he did remember, it was John 1633 and I'm like, who is this kid? Anyway, and John 1633 says, I have said these things to you that you may have peace in the world you have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. I mean, that verse is the sermon in and of itself. When I think about the invitation, when I think about my life being a vapor, right? And when you stack it up into the reality

35:21 of like something like tangible like these sequoias, you really get this sense that your life is short. I step into this, I want my life to count. And the way for my life to count is just like Abraham. In order for my life to truly count, I need to be a part of what God is already doing. And so there's this invitation from God to join him on what he's already doing. Across generations.

35:53 And just like, you know, God blessing Isaac after Abraham passed away and while recording a scripture for the first time that I can even remember this morning, right? Like you're not gonna get it all right and you're not gonna see it all come to fruition in this one life, but your life is building on other, the next generation, you are building, like God is doing something through you, through your imperfectness. God is doing something through you.

36:26 Well, Wilder's Prez, I'm not gonna talk about driving and the dumb things I used to do, but the mistakes that you make in life, God can still work in those and through those and even around those. And so that invitation, right? When you have that apathetic response or you have that Jonah response of like, no, I'm not gonna go do this, the amazing thing is, is that while you're alive every day is another invitation to that.

36:58 And that's the beauty of the gospel is, is that grace comes alongside of you and it does things that you just don't deserve. God still does things, even while we were still sinners, Christ died for our sins, right? Like God still does things through us and around us that is clearly not of you. And so I just, you know, this morning the invitation is, while we're alive, right?

37:30 In this brief moment that we're alive, 4,000 weeks, God's inviting us to be a part of his bigger story. And if we want our lives to count, the only way for that to truly happen is to have your life hidden in Christ, to be a part of what God's already doing in this world. And so this morning, if your answer is anything other than a yes to that, that's okay, first off, a lot of mornings, my answer is not yes. But if the answer is a no or it's just an apathetic response or just pray that God will just use this time,

38:02 He'll use this moment, He'll use these thoughts and words all over the place to just kind of remind you that he's, A, the grace is still there and B, he still wants you to be a part of what he's doing. Like you're wanted to be a part of this and that's amazing. So let's, let's pray really quickly and then Mike's are coming up to lead us in the time of worship. And yeah, let's just go ahead and pray. Hey God, thank you for, thanks for this morning.

38:34 Thanks for this invitation. You know, God, I just, I just really appreciate the reminders that you've given me and just leading up to sharing this morning of how you are continually inviting me into this bigger story of what you're doing. And hey God, thanks for having enough patience and grace for me on the days where my response to the invitation is no thanks or meh, sure.

39:09 God, thanks for continuing to be the shepherd. Thank you for being there to continually call my anxiety to see me through each tribulation, to each trial that I'm gonna face. Thank you for, for, for doing that and thank you for this invitation to be part of something bigger of what you're doing. Jesus, it's in your name that we pray, amen.