John 6:16-21

Let me tell you about Steve. Steve had a good job and a nice home and a family. But times being what they are his company fell on bad times. They had to let some people go and Steve was one of them. Because he lost his job he couldn't keep up his mortgage payments and now they are foreclosing on his house. The financial problems were such that it has caused tensions in his marriage and now his wife wants a divorce.

Steve felt like he was about to drown in his troubles then he got a call from his Dr. Seems he had rushed to the Dr. to get a physical before his insurance coverage ran out. Now the Dr. wants to talk to him about some questionable lab results.

Let me assure you that Steve is a fictional character. But he represents the way many feel today. His story embodies many of the fears facing people in our world. Unemployment is up and the economy is down and what about health and family issues. Sometimes it seems that we are lost in a sea of troubles.

That's where we find the disciples: literally lost at sea. Things had been going good for the disciples. Jesus was attracting huge crowds. He had just fed over 5,000 of them miraculously. Jesus was so popular that they crowds tries to make him king. But that wasn't God's plan, so Jesus had to slip away by night.

The disciples began to make their way across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus wasn't with them and a storm came up on the sea. They fought against the wind and waves and rowed with all their might. This went on for three or four miles. They probably felt that they would lose their battle against the elements.

Then they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water and coming toward them. John tells is that they were terrified. I mean it's not every day that we see such a thing. They may not have even realized that it was Jesus. But Jesus identified himself and told them not to fear. They tried to get Jesus into the boat but just then they arrived at the land.

What can this event teach us as we deal with our sea of troubles? First of all this event shows us that Jesus has the power to rise above our troubles. The miracle here was that Jesus walked on the waters of a stormy sea. A regular human would just sink and in a storm like that and probably drown. But Jesus had the power to stand in the midst of the storm and still be above the troubles.

In the same way Jesus can walk across the stormy sea of our troubles. He can be there with us and not sink. Sometimes it seems like we will drown but Jesus will not. There are no troubles that we face that Jesus cannot handle.

I think this is where most people's faith runs into the wall of their doubts. Sometimes people get into a mess and they say, "How could Jesus ever get me out of this mess?" But Jesus can. It doesn't matter how bad of a mess you get into, Jesus can get you out of it. Now sometimes he chooses not to get you out of it but rather to get you through it. But he is able to do that because he has the power to walk across the sea of our trouble like you or I would cross the street.

Jesus walking on the water teaches us that Jesus has the power to overcome our troubles. It also inspires us not to be afraid. I think it is important to note that the only thing Jesus says in this story is "It is I; don't be afraid." The disciples were terrified. They were fighting the storm then they see this apparition on the waves! But God's word to them was, "Don't be afraid."

When you feel like the storms of life are about to swamp your boat don't fear. Fear can drive people to do things that are counter productive. Out of fear people often act impetuously and without thinking things through. It can also keep people from acting. They can become frozen in fear.

But shouldn't we be afraid in the face of the troubles we face? I mean the world economy is falling apart. There are still terrorists all over the world. We don't know what the future holds. What reason do we have to not fear?

The same reason Jesus gave the disciple, "It is I." Its' Jesus who is in the storm with us. He promised to be with us until the end of the age. He is here and he is the creator of wind and waves and he has authority over any storm that could threaten us. We have every reason not to fear because Jesus is with us!

So we learn from this event that Jesus has power over the storms of life and that we should not fear. We also learn to invite Jesus into the boat. You notice how things happened in the story. John points out that when they set out for sea Jesus was not with them. The disciples are tossed about and just as they try to bring Jesus into the boat they are at their destination.

The problem is that most people try to navigate the storms of life without Jesus in the boat. You don't believe me then just look around. A lot of people are almost swamped by troubles. How many of them are inviting Jesus into their lives?

Jesus has the power to walk across the storms of life. He is available to help us. If only people would invite him into the boat. Then they would not need to fear.

Don't drown in a sea of troubles. Jesus can walk across the waves of the storm of life. He has power over the elements of nature and all the powers that threaten you. He promised to be there for us not matter what. He was there in the middle of an ocean when the disciples needed him. So don't surrender to fear.

Ask Jesus into your life. If you are not a Christian then accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you are a believer then don't try to forge through the storms alone. Invite him into your boat.

Jesus was there for the disciples. He is here for you now. Invite Jesus into the boat of your life and he will see you through the storms of life to your destination.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Have you read the papers or listened to the news lately? It seems that the world is falling apart. There is violence in the Middle East. There is violence in our own country. It seems that all that is good and decent is being abandoned. And things that are vile are being lifted up as good.

In some places in our world Christians are being persecuted and martyred. In others they are simply being ignored. So what can we do? How can we bring peace to a world that seems bent of war? How can we preach love to a world that is so consumed by hate that it sees no reason? How do we teach righteousness to a world that doesn't even have the word in their dictionary?

It seems a lost cause. It seems that true righteousness has lost. The church seems so small in the face of the world's troubles. We seem so few in numbers and so weak. What can we do to make a difference in this world? Sometimes it even seems that the world will win.

I believe the passage we read from Ephesians addresses this issue. You see the Ephesians thought their world was falling apart. Paul the Apostle, the one who had brought them the gospel, was in prison. Things did not look good for him, in fact, they were not good. He had been in prison for years and it seemed he would never get out and resume his ministry or spreading the Gospel. According to tradition Paul was eventually beheaded.

It seemed to the Christians in Ephesus that the powers of evil were winning. Their persecutors had managed to keep Paul imprisoned for years. And it appeared that they would silence him for good. So Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians; a letter to try to encourage them.

This letter contains a prayer; a prayer for the Ephesians, but also a prayer for us. A prayer to help them, and Christians down through the ages, face the troubles of this world. A prayer that God would show them the true power they had been given.

In the passage we read this morning Paul is praying. He says he is bowing his knees. We are used to this as being a traditional posture for prayer. We are accustomed to coming to altar railing to kneel in prayer or kneeling by the bed for our evening prayers. Did you know that Methodists were once referred to as "kneeling Methodists" by those who derided us? I wish that our enemies would still call us that today. But in Judaism the more traditional posture is standing looking up with arms held open. After all God is in heaven not in your hands. But here Paul specifically says he is kneeling before God. This is the posture of one who is coming before God humbly in supplication. It is the posture of one who is begging for something.

Paul is begging for the well being of the church in Ephesus. He is asking God to help them, to give them strength. He is making a humble supplication on their behalf; praying for them in their hour of need.

As a pastor who prays for his church I can understand this. I have always believed that a pastor's job is not just to teach, preach, counsel, and administer but first and foremost to pray for the church. I heard a story once about a preacher ho was known for wearing out the tops of the toes of his shoes before the heels or soles. He spent so much time kneeling in prayer that the toes of his shoes would rub against the floor and be worn out. I have always wanted to be like that. I can imagine him kneeling at this altar as I have often done, praying for the church; seeking God's will and direction, seeking God's help and strength in the midst of difficulties.

But what specifically does he say when he prays. First of all he says that he is bowing his knee "before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."(vs. 15) Paul is reminding the Ephesians that God is Father of all humanity whether some people recognize it or not. Even our enemies are our brothers and sisters. Even the people imprisoning Paul and who would behead him are people loved by God. Even the people persecuting Christians and killing them in our world are children of God by creation. Even terrorists who murder innocent children are people loved by God and for whom Jesus suffered and died on the cross.

It is important that we remember that. We should never allow the evil of the world to drive us to hate. We are called to love the sinner while we hate the sin. Jesus gave us the supreme example of this love when he prayed for the forgiveness of the very people crucifying him. We can hate the acts of violence and hatred in our world, but we must love the sinner; even those who kill innocents and martyr Christians.

But there is more to this. God is not just the Father in terms of loving all people. God has authority over all people just as a father has authority over his children. He is the Father of the great human family and we are working with him. Because we have chosen to side with God our victory is assured no matter how bad things seem to get. No matter how many of God's servants are imprisoned or killed.

This is the point from which the rest of Paul's prayer takes off. He prays to God that they may be strengthened through Christ so that they be grounded in love and know the love of Christ. This is the power that sustained the church in those early years: the love of God. When we accept Christ, God gives us his Holy Spirit and one of the essential gifts the Spirit gives us is Love. That love will strengthen us. It will enable us to strive and persevere against the evil of this world. Not because we hate the world, but because we love it and want to see it saved.

I know sometimes things seem bleak. It seems at times that all the good in the world is gone. But that is exactly how it must have appeared to the Ephesians. And Paul was killed. But the church not only survived! It grew! It went from being a tiny group of believers to being the religion of a third of the world's population.

That is the power of Love. So I pray today that you would know this power. That you would be aware of the gift that the Holy Spirit has already put within you; the power not to tear down, but to build up, the power of the Love of God the Father exemplified by the sacrifice of the Son and given by the Holy Spirit. And that grounded in this love you may know the extent of God's love and in knowing be filled with the presence of God! Then you can face the evil of this world with the power of Love!

Come to this table today. See love demonstrated in the breaking of the bread that represents His body and the pouring of the wine that represents His blood. Take these means of the love and grace of God into yourself. Then go forth to face the evil of this world in the power of His love!

Psalm 14

I have only known one self-proclaimed atheist. When I was a USC I was a religious studies major. Being a religious studies major at a state school can be an eye opening experience. There was one student who was not a religious studies major but he took some religious studies classes. I remember the first time I met him. We were in a class together and in those classes people would often begin their comments by saying "As a Methodist..." or "As a Catholic..." or " As a Jew..." He raised his hand to make a comment and began "As an Atheist..."

Someone once asked a group of Christian youth what an atheist was. After some thought one of the class members said, "An Atheist is someone who had worked real hard to unbelieve." Well this young man was like that. He had reasoned things out and decided that there was no such thing as a supreme being much less the personal God of the Christian religion. For him Atheism was as much his religion as Christianity is mine. His faith was in the non-existence of God as much as mine is in the existence of God of Christ.

But most atheists are not like that. They don't reason things out like that. They don't sit down and cogitate until they come to the philosophical conclusion that there is no deity. Most atheists just act like there is no God. They are functional atheists. They function as if there is no God.

A survey asked people if they believed in God. In that survey 86% of the people agreed with the statement: "There is only one true God, who is holy and perfect, and who created the world and rules it today." So 86% of Americans believe in the existence of an Almighty God with a capital "G-O-D." But do 86% of the people act like there is a God? No! So, those who say they believe in God but don't act like it are functional atheists.

The Bible says, "Fools say in their hearts, 'there is no God.'" Here the Bible is not talking about the kind of self-avowed atheists that I met at USC. It is not talking about people who say out loud, "There is no God." It is talking about those people who say privately in their hearts, "There is no God." It is referring to the masses of functional atheists who say there is a God if they are asked, but then act as if there is none.

This has a moral dimension to it. You know recently they have discovered that many accidents are cause by people running red lights. You know the joke: "Green means go, red means stop, and yellow means floor it." Well, not all those people trying to get through the yellow light before it turns make it and many of them cause accidents. So some cities have installed cameras that take a picture of the cars going through the light in order to catch the ones running red lights. The result is that less people are running red lights.

Apparently if people know that someone is watching they don't break the rules but if they believe no one is watching they do. But someone is looking. Psalm 14 says, "The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God." The problem is that all these functional atheists are acting as if God is not looking. Psalm 14 describes the end result: "They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good."(Psalm 14:1b) "They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one."(Psalm 14:3)

You know what? I think most Christians are functional atheists. Most of the people who claim to be Christians act as if there is no God. Just consider church attendance. In the United Stated about one third of church members attend church on any given Sunday. If everyone who is physically able who was a member of this church came we wouldn't have room for everyone. We have over three hundred adult members not counting the children and barely 200 seats here.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. We have all heard about all the preachers who commit adultery and steal. Do they think there is no one watching? People watch preachers. I can't go anywhere without someone knowing that I am a preacher. We had new neighbors move in once. I went over and introduced myself while they were still unloading and someone had already told them I was a preacher.

If preachers, who are constantly reminded that someone is watching, act like functional atheists, how much more the people in the pews? How many people sitting here this morning say in their hearts, "There is no God." How many people who attend church every Sunday like many of you cheat and steal and say to themselves, no one will notice.

It has taken me a good three paragraphs to say what Psalm 14 says in one verse. "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up the people like bread, and do not call upon the Lord."(Psalm 14:4) I love the way that is worded. "Have they no knowledge?" Are they completely ignorant of the facts? Do they simply not know that God is watching everything they do and everything they think?

I also like the way it describes the evildoers. They eat up the people like bread. In other words they use and abuse people instead of loving them. And what's more, they do not call upon God. It reminds me of Jesus' statement that all of the law and the prophets is summed up in this one commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself.

So if God's people are functional Atheists then who says in the their heart "There is a God?"

The psalmist is right. They have all gone astray. For this reason the psalmist proclaims God's word of judgment upon those evildoers. "They shall be in great terror." I have never been a good liar. Even when I try to keep a secret for good reasons, like a birthday surprise or something, I become paranoid. And my odd behavior eventually betrays me. Those who believe that God is not looking are often afraid that someone else might see their evil. But the psalm is not talking about the mere shame of being caught in the act but the eternal shame of God's judgment. "They shall be in great terror" is obviously a reference to Hell.

On the other hand "God is with the company of the righteous" and "the Lord is their refuge." If only people would realize that. Not only that God exists but that God is with those who accept his presence. If only people could know that they are being watched. And that there are eternal consequence to the decisions they make or fail to make today.

I like to read science fiction. I once read the book "1984." It was written in 1947 and depicted a far distant future where a world wide totalitarian state used video cameras everywhere to watch the people. Propaganda described the state as a benevolent and well-intentioned Big Brother. Hence the expressions "Big Brother is watching."

I don't want people to get the idea that I am pointing to heaven and saying, "Big Brother Is watching." But I am pointing to heaven and saying, "Your heavenly Father is watching." God is not a heavenly tyrant who is looking for a chance to get you for the bad you do. God is a loving parent who yearns to see us do good.

But, you know, Big Brother is watching. But Jesus didn't just watch. He also came to live a perfect life as an example for us to learn from. And he died to pay for our crimes against the Kingdom of God. Fools say in their hearts "there is no God" but we know that Big brother is watching ... and forgiving!

John 6:1-15

Our world is full of hungry people. Many hunger for the basics of life: food, clothing, and shelter. Thousands die daily for lack of basic nutrition. Children are robbed of their potential because of malnutrition. Many suffer because of a lack of proper health care. Right here in America, the richest country in the world, people live in cardboard boxes, wear plastic bags, and children starve.

But hunger doesn't end with the necessities, it only begins there. People hunger for security. As the rate of crime rises people feel less and less safe. People don't even feel safe at home any more. People also hunger for love. People need to be loved, and they need to love. Many feel alone and abandoned. People also need to feel that they matter: a hunger for self esteem. But in a world of over five billion people the individual is lost. "Who am I compared to so many?" Beyond these physical and emotional needs there are also spiritual needs. There is the need for forgiveness. The need for spiritual growth. The need for God's presence. And the need for faith in the face of life's uncertainties.

Our world is full of hungry people. And as we see the masses of starving people with emaciated bodies or malnourished souls, our hearts go out to them. How are we going to feed them? Where do we begin to feed all those hungry bodies and souls; hungry for grace, hungry for love, or just plain hungry? Once we start, will we ever finish?

The people following Jesus were hungry. They had heard Jesus' words and seen the miracles he worked and they yearned for more. The miracles that Jesus did were more than entertainment. They weren't just parlor tricks. The healings and demon exorcisms were demonstrations of the hand of God: visible signs that God was still with Israel in a saving way. The things that Jesus said were more than pretty sayings. Jesus told them about the Kingdom of God. Jesus talked about a heavenly banquet where all would be fed. The people wanted and needed more. More of God's words more of God's wonders. They hungered for freedom from the oppression of the Romans. They hungered for justice for those who had been trampled under by the rich and powerful. They hungered for the power of their heavenly King to be manifest in their lives. The people hungered for God, so they sought out Jesus, God's Son.

Their hunger was so great that they were driven to extremes. A truly hungry person will do anything to satisfy their hunger, and these people were hungry. They left their businesses, homes, and the activities of their daily lives. 5,000 of them came! Just to witness this traveling wonder worker. Jesus had tried to get away from the crowds, by traveling to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Yet the people followed him. Driven by a spiritual hunger that consumed them, they went after Jesus.

The people were hungry for God, but they were also just plain hungry. They had come a long way to see Jesus. The human body has its limitations. It runs out of energy rather quickly. They needed the basics of life: bread, food, something to fill their empty aching stomachs.

When Jesus saw this great crowd coming he knew they were hungry. And he knew how great their hunger was. He knew how overwhelmingly they hungered for God. They were lost without God; like sheep without a shepherd.(Mark 6:34) Jesus also knew that they needed bread. After all Jesus was human too. He had fasted in the wilderness. He had felt emptiness in his stomach. He knew their hunger because he had experienced oppression and injustice just like them.

Jesus knew what he was going to do. He was going to feed the people. If he had to call down manna from heaven like Moses, he would feed them. But he was going to feed them more than bread for their stomachs. He was going to give them spiritual food. Through feeding the people he would teach his disciples a lesson. By feeding their physical hunger he was going to show them something that he would feed their spiritual hungers.

So Jesus turned to Philip and he said, "Where are we to buy bread to feed these people?" I am sure Philip was surprised by this question? His first reaction was, "How in the world could we feed all these people? Their are too many of them. It would cost six months wages to buy food for all of them. According to Judas' last treasurer's report we don't have the money. And after all, feeding the multitudes is not in the budget." But Andrew said, "Look Jesus, here is a child with five rolls and two fish. It ain't much. It couldn't possibly feed all these people, but it's a start, and the people are awfully hungry."

The people were hungry, so Jesus took the food and went to work. First he commanded the disciples. "Make the people sit down." After the people were seated, Jesus took the bread and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and the fish also. They distributed the food to all the people, and they ate until they were filled. Then Jesus told the disciples to go gather up the scraps. As they went around and gathered the scraps they each filled a basket. Five thousand people had eaten from just five loaves and there was more left over than what they began with.

The hunger of the people had overwhelmed Peter. He knew they couldn't feed them all. But Andrew responded to Jesus� command to feed the people. And the way he did it is important. He brought Jesus what little he had. Jesus took that meager offering, it was so small in comparison to the need, and he multiplied it so that it would meet the need. That wasn't all. Jesus fed the five thousand with just five loaves and two fish. But there was still plenty left over after Jesus was finished.

But the people misunderstood. Jesus had filled their bellies and that was all they though about. They realized such a man could bring them national security. If he could single handedly feed all the hungry, he could surely make the Romans go away. So they tried to make him King of Israel. But Jesus' point was that just as he had fed them physically, he could feed them spiritually.

Our world is full of hungry people. We have all seen the face of that hunger. On the news we see the starving children of Africa and the world with poencil thin limbs and bloated stomachs. Then we are told that hundreds even thousands of such children are dying each day. And Jesus turns to us, his disciples, and says, "Feed them." Like Philip we say, "Lord, the need is too great. We don't have the resources to feed all the hungry. Do you know how much it would cost to build all the drug treatment centers that are needed? We don't have the time, energy, or people to bring the Good News to all the lost souls of this world. After all feeding the multitudes is not in the budget approved at the last Charge Conference, we'll just pay our apportionments and let the General Conference worry about that."

The Gospel according to John reminds us that it was not Philip's excuses that fed the hungry. It was Andrew's offering that made the difference. God accepts our meager offerings of time, energy and material resources, and multiplies them. It wasn't Andrew, with his gift that fed the hungry, it was God who fed them. In the same way we don't feed the hungry with our meager offerings. We can't fill the empty places in everyone's stomachs and hearts and souls. Only Christ the Son of God can do that.

But, glory be to God, Jesus calls us to participate in that miracle of feeding the multitudes whether they be 5 thousand or 5 billion. It�s not what we give that meets people�s needs. It is what God does with what we give that makes a difference. So don't be overwhelmed by the magnitude of need in our world. Just offer the few loaves and fishes you have and let the Master bless them. Then stand back and watch a miracle unfold.

2 Samuel 11:1-15

David was the King. He had the authority to do anything. Well, anything that the law of God allowed. But David decided to do something that the law didn't allow. He slept with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah one of his generals. When she became pregnant, he had Uriah conveniently assigned to the front of the attack and then called a retreat without telling him. And so he added murder to adultery on his list of crimes.

He managed to marry Bathsheba soon enough that no one asked any questions. It was all done so skillfully that no one knew what David had done. Well, almost no one. God saw and God knew what David had done. According to the psalms the Kings of Israel were the adopted sons of God and David, God's adopted child, had disgraced his name.

So God called the prophet Nathan to let David know he could not get away with murder. Nathan knew that if he confronted David directly he would probably end up in the same state as Uriah. So he tricked David into passing sentence on himself. He told a story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man of course was David and the poor man was Uriah.

In this story the rich man has many flocks but the poor man has one ewe lamb that he cared for as one of his own children. This ewe lamb of course is Bathsheba. One day the rich man has a guest and instead of taking a lamb from his flock to feed the guest he steals the poor man's lamb. Enraged David declares, "That man should die!" And Nathan replies, "You are that man."

To me the amazing thing about this episode is what happened next. David repents! He declares, "I have sinned against the Lord." David didn't have to do that. He was the King. He could have had Nathan beheaded on the spot. But something happened in that moment.

David's heart was changed. You know the word "repent" is often misunderstood. People think it means to be sorry for something. To feel bad about what one has done that is wrong. That is part of it but the word used for "repent" in the Greek is "metanoia" "Meta-" means change. A "meta-morphosis" is a change in form. The last part of the word "Meta-noia" means mind. So repentance is a metamorphosis of the mind or heart.

David saw himself in Nathan's parable. He saw himself and he didn't like what he saw. So he changed his direction and he turned to God. He went through a radical transformation of heart and mind. And David was forgiven!

I wish we had more Nathans around, or maybe more Davids. Every day we hear about government and industry officials abusing their power. We hear of officials openly accepting illegal campaign contributions and companies tailoring their advertising to target youths who are not old enough to buy their product legally. When they are confronted with the truth and it is publicized, they seldom repent. Most of the time they engage in a cover-up and then there is a cover-up of the cover-up. If only someone could confront them with their sin in such a way that they were led to a change of heart.

But I don't think that will happen any time soon. They will continue to deny knowledge of the alleged offense and claim that they were outside the loop. They will continue legal stalling tactics and character assassination upon the accuser. And in the end nothing will be accomplished. There will be no soul shaking instance of a metamorphosis of their minds and hearts. They won't repent and turn to God.

How I long to hear one accused official get up in front of the cameras and say, "I was wrong." I can just see it: a press conference is called and CNN goes live to the meeting. Everyone is expecting a carefully prepared statement denying all knowledge of the alleged crime. Then when the statement is read, it's not a denial but a confession. A person who has the power to deny the truth accepts it and openly acknowledges their sin. Just such a public confession could create a rash of honesty that would threaten the very fabric of our society.

Since we are talking about Nathan's parable I have a little parable for you. Once upon a time there was a state senator. He had come to office honestly enough. But the power he had soon changed him. He would regularly bend or even break the truth to convince people to vote for him. He would use the influence of his position to get favors and he would wrangle around the law to accept cash payoffs for votes.

When some of his shady deals started to come to light, he got deeper into trouble. He began lying and paying people off to keep the truth from coming out. He accused his accusers of crimes they did not commit to draw attention away from himself. He even exerted his influence on the state investigation agencies to get them to "misplace" or overlook key pieces of evidence.

What do we do with people like that. People who lie and cheat and abuse the system. How many of you think we should impeach officials like that raise your hands!

You are that man!

You might protest, "But I have never been in a position to abuse power like that and lie like that." But who hasn't told a white lie to make yourself look good in an other's eye. Or who hasn't failed to tell the truth to keep someone from getting mad at us. Maybe you notice that in the end the real point of this parable is that we are all like David. And you might protest, "But I have never cheated on my spouse or killed someone!" But Jesus said if you look at another in lust you have committed adultery and if you hate a person you have as good as killed them in your heart.

David, the wife stealer and killer, is an example for all of us. We may not view our crimes as serious as David's, but they are in God's eyes. They are as serious because our crimes against God's law leave us just as separated from God as David's crimes did. But David's example doesn't end with his sin. It only begins there. When he was confronted with his sin David turned to God and repented.

I am confronting you with your sin today. You are all sinners. We are all sinners. Now that I have confronted you with your sin what will you do? Will you try to cover it up and deny its existence. Will you lie to yourself and to God and say, "I have nothing to repent." Or will you have a change of heart and repent.

Repent! Turn to God and let Him change your heart and mind. I know that by today's standards all of you have lived good lives. But by God's standards we are all sinners. Repent and be forgiven!

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