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[231.16 --> 233.26] or just holding a grudge inside of you,
[233.60 --> 236.34] or worse, finding different ways to cope,
[236.66 --> 237.74] such as gossiping,
[238.06 --> 240.68] or holding hatred inside of your heart.
[242.30 --> 245.08] Specifically from Jesus' teaching from our passage this morning,
[245.40 --> 248.54] it reminded me actually of my upbringing in my dad's church,
[248.54 --> 251.50] a smaller church that I grew up in.
[252.00 --> 255.50] Our church was small enough where everyone practically knew everyone.
[255.80 --> 257.52] That's sort of the dynamic that we had.
[257.88 --> 260.94] And one of the gifts from being a smaller church is that
[260.94 --> 263.20] whenever sins are committed,
[263.58 --> 264.80] and we'll talk about that today,
[264.84 --> 265.98] we'll expand on that,
[266.38 --> 268.74] but when some things go wrong,
[268.74 --> 269.82] and when there's conflict,
[270.30 --> 273.62] you usually don't have the option of avoiding it,
[273.92 --> 275.12] and pretending it didn't happen,
[275.22 --> 276.24] or you brush it off,
[276.52 --> 277.90] oh, I'm not part of that circle.
[278.50 --> 279.80] Well, there's only one circle.
[280.20 --> 281.34] Everyone knows everyone,
[281.70 --> 283.64] and everyone will probably know
[283.64 --> 286.14] about the conflict or the wrongdoing
[286.14 --> 287.40] that was done by somebody.
[288.04 --> 289.24] And so with that in mind,
[289.72 --> 291.48] that was especially annoying for me.
[291.96 --> 292.20] Why?
[292.60 --> 293.74] Because I was the PK.
[294.54 --> 295.50] Eyes are on you.
[296.10 --> 298.30] And that meant I could not sin easily.
[298.74 --> 299.90] I had to be creative.
[301.04 --> 305.00] So growing up in one of these creative seasons of my life
[305.00 --> 306.12] in high school, okay,
[306.16 --> 307.94] it wasn't when I was super mature,
[308.84 --> 309.46] I acted,
[309.58 --> 311.92] so I was struggling with my Christian identity growing up,
[311.96 --> 312.90] especially being a PK.
[313.30 --> 314.06] PKs are weird.
[314.36 --> 315.88] Just, no offense, sorry Levi,
[316.08 --> 316.56] but I'm,
[317.26 --> 318.98] that's just the dynamic of being a PK.
[319.60 --> 323.00] And as I wrestled with my sort of struggle,
[323.48 --> 324.68] I did things,
[324.68 --> 326.22] I acted in certain ways,
[326.32 --> 327.54] I said certain things
[327.54 --> 329.50] that I was very not much proud of,
[329.54 --> 330.04] even then.
[331.08 --> 332.24] And when word got out,
[332.32 --> 333.30] and word gets out,
[333.44 --> 335.14] especially again in a small community,
[335.70 --> 337.04] of my misbehaviors,
[337.32 --> 339.54] one of the older youth confronted me,
[339.98 --> 341.82] which is sort of what Jesus teaches us today.
[342.44 --> 343.42] He confronted me,
[343.50 --> 345.34] but with gentleness and care,
[345.50 --> 347.58] also from Galatians passage.
[348.04 --> 349.52] That's the important part, by the way.
[350.04 --> 351.18] There are three steps here.
[351.66 --> 352.68] You confront sin.
[352.68 --> 354.88] You do not let sin just slide by
[354.88 --> 356.94] and continue on as a pattern of life.
[357.44 --> 359.96] But you do it with care and gentleness,
[360.08 --> 361.04] as Paul teaches us.
[361.36 --> 362.24] And the last part,
[362.96 --> 363.58] the goal,
[363.84 --> 364.78] the ultimate goal,
[364.94 --> 365.62] is reconciliation.
[366.32 --> 367.76] Whether that's achieved or not,
[368.16 --> 369.52] that's the direction we're heading.
[370.06 --> 371.90] We head toward reconciliation.
[372.40 --> 372.94] And so anyways,
[373.04 --> 373.78] with that in mind,
[374.04 --> 375.48] this older youth confronted me,
[375.84 --> 378.72] and he was so Christ-like in that situation.
[379.40 --> 381.86] I don't think he realized how Christ-like he was.
[382.12 --> 384.22] I didn't realize how Christ-like he was.
[384.60 --> 384.94] Why?
[385.14 --> 385.84] In the sense,
[385.94 --> 387.94] because just as Jesus teaches us today
[387.94 --> 388.76] from Matthew 18,
[388.76 --> 391.00] he confronted me privately.
[391.68 --> 392.74] He pulled me aside
[392.74 --> 394.04] during one of Sunday services,
[394.50 --> 395.70] and he confronted me
[395.70 --> 397.12] and forced me in a way
[397.12 --> 399.08] to reflect on how serious
[399.08 --> 400.54] and how destructive
[400.54 --> 401.78] my patterns,
[401.90 --> 402.88] my misbehaviors,
[403.08 --> 403.80] could be,
[403.90 --> 404.52] and is,
[404.70 --> 405.40] at that point.
[406.96 --> 408.48] He was not a saint, though.
[409.50 --> 410.88] That's an important part as well.
[411.42 --> 412.84] He did not confront me
[412.84 --> 415.04] from a place of self-righteousness and pride.
[415.42 --> 417.04] He did not have his life altogether.
[417.14 --> 418.26] I can tell you that for sure.
[418.74 --> 419.86] But he came to me
[419.86 --> 422.30] in a posture of care and gentleness,