Aren't as common as they used to be. But there is one family that already numbers in the billions and continues to grow, Dr. Dale Meyer says. It's the family of Jesus. Do you see yourself in the picture? We are sitting together listening to Jesus words. Jesus looks intently at you and me. And says that we are his true family. His word turns us out from ourselves and our problems to the faith, Hope and love that he brings Dr Myers messages titled Lost in Wonder, Love and Praise. Hello. I'm Mark. I sure Thanks for joining us today. Your gift and prayers Help the Lutheran Our bring Christ to the nations and the nations to the church. Thank you for your faithful support. Learned Maura at Lutheran, Our dad or egg. The Reverend Dr Dale Mayer was Lutheran. Our speaker from 1989 to 2001. He recently retired as president of Concordia Seminary in ST Louis. Now here is Dr Dale Meyer. Almighty God. You created all things. And you see us as we really are be set by the problems and feelings of our daily lives. We pray that your holy spirit will bring us together around Jesus. And deepen our on devotion to your good and gracious will. In Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Charles Wesley wrote some wonderful hymns. His popular him love divine all loves excelling ends with this phrase Lost in Wonder, Love and praise. I hope these next few minutes will join us with people long ago who were lost in wonder Love and prays at the loving kindness of God to us. Even before Cole did. It struck me How seldom life lift us up too often. We're looking down. Literally. We look down down at the phone down at the bills downcast because of our problems. And that was before Cole did. Let our spirits be raised. Let us know at least for a moment. The odd Jacob felt when he said surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. My prayer is that we, too will be lost in wonder, Love and praise. Mark. Chapter three can do that. In one way, it's a mundane chapter will hear stories filled with the things of our own daily lives. Illness, anxiety hatred. You know, Where is God in my little life. That Jesus comes He comes into the real world of real people with loving kindness. Let's listen and picture in our imagination. The first scene from Mark Chapter three. And again he went into the synagogue and a man was there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath that they might accuse him. And Jesus says to the man having the withered hand. Get up come into the middle. And Jesus says to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil to save life or to kill? But they were silent and looking around at them with anger. Grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said To the man, stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out. And his hand was restored. And straight way, the heresies going out from the synagogue to a council with of erode Ian's against him how the might destroy him. And Jesus with his disciples got out of there. You and I have the terrible ability to say no to God. Jesus brought the loving kindness of God right into the middle of that synagogue right into the middle of our lives, too, But those ancient Farris ease would not have it. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil to save life or to kill? Isn't that the will of God? We know so little about the mysterious God. But we do know that God wants us to show loving kindness to others every day of the week. Leviticus 19 says You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. And that's what the 10 Commandments are about. But no, those ancient authorities were locked into their own view of religious life. They had a system of man made rules that went way behind what the Hebrew Scriptures had said they had their will not God's will. Because they were turned in on themselves. They said, no to the wonder, love and praise they should have offered because of Jesus Miracle. Jesus got out of there. If you look at English translations of Mark, you'll read that Jesus departed or withdrew. He was more than that Jesus enemies were turning up the heat. The Greek word here can also convey the sense of Let's get out of here. That's what Jesus did. Now, in the next scene, we see Jesus continued to bring God's loving kindness to people. But we will also see the devilish opponents of Jesus. And Jesus with his disciples got out of there and departed to the sea and a great crowd from Galilee and from Judea and from Jerusalem and for me to Mia and beyond the Jordan and around tire and Sidon followed him. The great crowd hearing what he did came to him, and he told the disciples that a boat should be prepared for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him. For he was healing many so that whoever had diseases pressed on him that they might touch him. And whenever the unclean spirit saw him, they fell before him and cried, saying You are the son of God. He spoke strongly to them that they should not make him publicly known. Let me make three comments about that passage first about unclean spirits. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist Mark. Chapter one says the heavens were opened and Jesus saw the spirit like a dove descending into him. And the voice came from heaven. You are my beloved son with you. I am well pleased. Jesus has a good spirit within him. The Holy Spirit of God. That put Jesus into conflict with the unclean spirits, demons and devils, who say no to God's loving kindness. Shortly after Jesus was baptized, He went into a synagogue. This is still in March. Chapter one. And an unclean spirit cries out. What have you to do with us? Jesus of Nazareth, Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are The Holy one of God. Yes, Jesus did come to destroy the forces of evil. Those forces trying to pull us away from God and take us down. Getting back now to Chapter three. The unclean spirits cried out. You are the son of God. And he spoke strongly to them that they should not make him publicly known. In No way does Jesus want to be associated with a destructive purposes and dark powers of evil? His mission is to destroy their power. That's the dark side of the scene. My second comment. The upbeat side is all the people who thronged around Jesus. There's a progression in the gospel of Mark. The crowds coming to Jesus keep getting bigger. In this scene. They came from all over from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem and even from outside of Israel, Jews and Gentiles came to Jesus. Did he have a PR department? No, just word of mouth. People who had experienced God's loving kindness through Jesus told others more and more came because they too yearned to be touched with his loving kindness. Don't we all want loving kindness? Don't we want our down spirits lifted up? Often ate his health where we need hope. That was true. For many this great crowd for he was healing many so that whoever had diseases pressed on him that they might touch him. Third and this is important. The boat The crowd was so large that Jesus said to his disciples that a boat should be prepared for him because of the crowd. Leslie crush him. It wasn't just that the boat would protect Jesus from being crushed by the crowd. Yes, it would do that. But the boat was also a place where he could teach the crowd. In Mark, Chapter four. You will see Jesus teaching from a boat. Jesus was always teaching. But he did not always heal everyone who came to him. He was very clear about that back and Mark Chapter one. The disciples found Jesus early in the morning and said, Everyone is looking for you. And he said to them, let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also for that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus healed people to call attention to his teaching through his teaching. Jesus taught that God's loving kindness brings something even Maurin important than physical health. His word breaks the hold of evil and sin Jesus Word brings God's gifts of forgiveness, hope and eternal salvation. Fast forward from.