A Long Night's Walk Into Day
Pastor David T. Elms 4/5/2026
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33:47
Summary
In this Easter Sunday message, Pastor David Elms contrasts the tragedy of a life sinking into darkness with the hope of the Emmaus road, where a walk into the sunset becomes a journey toward eternal day. He reminds us that the resurrected Christ meets us in our common, weary moments to offer power, presence, and a new beginning.
Key points
- •The story of Eugene O'Neill's 'Long Day's Journey into Night' serves as a tragic contrast to the Christian walk, which Pastor Elms describes as a 'Long Night's Walk into Day.'
- •Jesus often reveals himself not to the powerful or the politically elite (like Tiberius or Herod), but to common, ordinary people in the midst of their daily journeys.
- •Life's schedule for us often 'unpacks' differently than we planned through grief, sickness, or disappointment, but the resurrection of Christ provides a hope that outlasts earthly trials.
- •Communion and recognition of Jesus often happen in the 'breaking of bread' and invitation of the stranger into our homes and hearts.
- •True identity as a child of God comes through being born again of the water and the Spirit, as Jesus instructed Nicodemus.
Scripture
Resurrection Hope
Transformation
Faith through Disappointment
New Birth
Life application
This week, invite Jesus into your 'disappointed' spaces. When life feels like it is fading into night, pray and ask the 'Stranger' on the road to stay with you, believing that he can turn your sunset into a sunrise.
Reflection questions
- Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, have you ever felt like you were walking away from your hopes because of a disappointment?
- Why do you think Jesus chose to reveal his resurrected self to common people rather than the ruling authorities of his day?
- The sermon mentions how our 'hearts burn within us' when God speaks. Can you recall a moment when you felt that internal witness of the Spirit?
- What does it mean to you personally that Jesus was recognized by the nail prints in his hands?
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Full transcript
0:00children, and I told my grandson, he's
0:00the most dangerous man in the room.
0:02H God bless you. We're reading today
0:05from the Gospel of Luke the 24th chapter
0:08the 13th verse. And behold, two of them,
0:12everybody say two of them.
0:15>> Went that same day to a village called
0:17Emmas, which was from Jerusalem about
0:21seven miles, three score furongs.
0:24And they talked together of all these
0:26things which had happened. This is
0:29referring the Calvary, the cross, the
0:32three days of burial. And it came to
0:35pass that while they were communed
0:37together and reasoned,
0:40Jesus himself drew near and went with
0:42them, but their eyes were not able to
0:46perceive that it was Jesus. Their eyes
0:49were holden that they should not know
0:51him. Lord, thank you for your word. Let
0:55it be clear, concise and with
0:57conviction. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
1:01You may be seated. In Jesus name.
1:09I enjoy musicals.
1:12I enjoy Broadways.
1:15I enjoy off Broadways.
1:18I enjoy shows. I fly to Washington this
1:21afternoon and we may be going to a
1:25murder mystery theater tomorrow night.
1:27Who knows? Because I enjoy going and
1:30watching these presentations. I have
1:34been so blessed that if the show isn't
1:37going very good, I have been known to
1:39catch a little um rest
1:42for my weary soul. I went to see
1:45Shakespeare and Jude Law was performing
1:49Shakespeare. But I was a little weary
1:52that day. So I I caught a little extra
1:55sleep while Jude Law was working his
1:58craft. My buddy who was near me, he
2:01said, "You're sleeping on Jude Law." I
2:03said, "People sleep on me every Sunday,
2:05so what's the difference?"
2:08I've been honored to watch the glass
2:10managerie two rows back from Sting and
2:13his wife sitting there. Uh, but I must
2:16be honest with you. Um, my favorites are
2:19ones that maybe you masculine men might
2:22be ashamed of. Uh, I like me some
2:25Fiddler on the Roof and I like me some
2:28uh Mary Poppins and I like me some Lion
2:32King. Uh, that's the musical level I
2:36see. I'm on that level. Y'all here, me
2:39here. I like the higher things in life.
2:43Uh but uh so in in the study of musicals
2:46though uh there are experts that break
2:50them down according to the specialty and
2:53the the craft and the excellence with
2:55which they've been both written and
2:58received. Eugene O'Neal
3:01wrote what is now known as potentially
3:05the greatest
3:07drama presentation
3:10that a United States artist has ever
3:13written. And the name of it is Long
3:16Day's Journey into Night. He wrote this,
3:19but he made a deal. Even though he was a
3:22very celebrated playwright, he had
3:25determined that this play would not be
3:27presented until 25 years after he died.
3:32because it was a story about his family.
3:36A family that had had a great beginning,
3:39tremendous hope at the start, but his
3:42life and children and family had
3:44devolved down until many of them were
3:48drug laced driven people living by
3:52addictions, living by problems. And so
3:55he wrote this story, Long Day's Journey
3:59into Night, and determined by a deal
4:02signed with RandomHouse, that this play
4:05is not to be shown until 25 years after
4:09I die. Because if any of my family or my
4:12children or my children's children see
4:14this, I don't want any of them to have
4:17the dark pale of doom to come over them
4:21while they watch this play that
4:24describes life as a long day's journey
4:28into night. But just 27 months after he
4:32passed away, because his wife was
4:35financially strapped and she knew this
4:37potentially would be his greatest work,
4:40even though she wasn't aware of what was
4:42what was in it, she went to Random House
4:46and said, "Let's put it out." They told
4:49her, "We have by contract an agreement
4:52that we will not put it out until he has
4:55been gone for 25 years." And so she
4:59said, "But I'm his widow. I am the owner
5:01of all of his writings. So give it to
5:04me." They couldn't hold back the
5:06playwright. Therefore, she took it to
5:09Yale University Press just 26 months.
5:12And the whole world saw in living color
5:16the story of a family that had much hope
5:19in their beginnings devolve and devalue
5:22the essence of living to the point where
5:25it's all wrapped up by being called a
5:28long day's journey into night. In our
5:31text, the 24th chapter of the book of
5:34Luke, if I could name it anything, I
5:37would call it a long night's walk in
5:40today. Because it starts out with two
5:44people, two people who were not all that
5:46spec spectacular, not that special. In
5:49fact, by every measuring stick, they
5:51were common to the measuring stick of
5:54the day. Jesus often known as a rogue
5:58rabbi that cobbled together some
6:01followers and did some interesting
6:03things. But he was not unlike many other
6:06rabbis in that day that s said they had
6:09an access to the law and a knowledge of
6:12the word. They said they could do many
6:15good things. And even in that day, many
6:17supposed and proposed that they were the
6:20Messiah. This Jesus, what made him
6:23different? This man who never built any
6:26great university. He never wrote an
6:28amazing song. He never put pin to
6:31parchment. He never did any astonishing
6:35thing necessarily as men call great
6:37things. He never left us a museum. He
6:41never left a great grant for others to
6:44get scholarships from. He never did
6:46anything of amazement that could be
6:49trafficked into tomorrow. Of all the
6:52things that he said, no book left. He
6:55led no great army. He was never elected
6:58governor, mayor, or even town council.
7:02He was never elected anything that men
7:04would call special. He never had the
7:07credentials of uh uh th those that were
7:10marked and measured as accomplished in
7:13that day. He never had any great
7:15education that men would speak of.
7:17Nobody ever said whose feet he sat at.
7:21No, he wasn't that special according to
7:24the measure of men. And honestly, there
7:27are many people who would say he's all
7:30not that special today. Oh, he's a good
7:32by word. Maybe he's a word at the moment
7:35of great anger that can come somehow
7:38make you feel like you cut into the
7:40atmosphere. Maybe it's a word that you
7:43can say at your most angry moment to
7:46throw that name out there in the most
7:49profane second and say Jesus Christ.
7:54Maybe, as an acquaintance of mine has
7:56found, he has found that maybe just
7:59those two words didn't bite enough when
8:02he's trying to express his feelings
8:04about others. And so now he's cobbled
8:07together with those two words three more
8:10words. Instead of just saying Jesus
8:13Christ, he finds it to be the most
8:15effective expression of his frustration
8:18to say Jesus Christ on a cross.
8:23He did nothing great that we can speak
8:26of except one thing. He said he was
8:30going to die. Said he was going to be
8:32buried.
8:34And he said, "In three days I will
8:36rise."
8:37>> Houdini, the great great escape artist,
8:41set up code words with his wife and told
8:44her, "Every year on a certain date, I
8:47want you to reach out to me because if I
8:49can escape death, I will send you the
8:52code word." And Mrs. Houdini conjured
8:55spirits for years all around the globe
8:58in different continents and different
9:00places with different spiritualists to
9:02see if any of them could deliver to her
9:05the code word that Houdini told her he
9:08would give if he had escaped death. And
9:12he has not escaped death, ladies and
9:14gentlemen. But we have danced and we
9:17have shouted and we have sung. We have
9:20smiled. And all day long I'm going to be
9:22rejoicing because there's one man that
9:26dealt with the most frustrating thing
9:29any of us will face, death,
9:33and said, "I will conquer it." I have a
9:37dear friend who is a pastor and I've
9:40known him for many, many years. He
9:42contacted us yesterday or we found out
9:45that uh he and his his wife's been sick,
9:49but they've scheduled that tomorrow
9:52tomorrow he will be taking his wife into
9:56hospice.
10:00You know that day might happen for me.
10:03When I prayed this morning, I thought,
10:05what's my Sunday going to be like on the
10:08day before
10:10I'm having to take my wife into hospice.
10:19Now, of all places that I would have
10:21thought comedy was in my sermon, I would
10:23have not anticipated comedy right there.
10:30>> You're timeless, girlfriend. your
10:32timeless.
10:34I still have my first wife right there.
10:36That's that's still my first wife.
10:38>> She's going in the rapture. I'm going in
10:40the rapture, too. But what if we don't?
10:45>> What is the heaviness of the reality
10:48that this is his last Easter Sunday
10:53with his wife not in hospice? That's
10:56that's really almost too much for me to
10:58think about. But as I look at this
11:01story, this truth that I will sing and
11:04shout about, that I videoed my grandson
11:07worshiping about, that I watched my kids
11:10and my grandchildren love him about, and
11:13my friends and so many loved ones here
11:16celebrating, you couldn't stop your
11:18smile. What is this all about? Well,
11:21this rogue rabbi named Jesus did
11:24something no one else has ever done. and
11:27all around the world right now. Singing
11:30in Russia and singing in Iran and
11:32singing in Iraq and singing in China and
11:36singing in South America and singing in
11:38North Korea. They will be hiding in
11:40bushes and jungles and under bridges and
11:43on buses and they will be singing about
11:46Jesus of Nazareth who the grave could
11:50not hold.
11:52Now that's that's a neat story. Neat
11:55story. Nice presentation. It's just a a
11:58playright.
11:59Is it? Or is it the essence of life? Is
12:03it what makes me keep my smile? Because
12:06the Bible says in the book of John, he
12:08came unto his own
12:10>> and his own received him not.
12:13>> But as many,
12:16>> and I want to put this in there because
12:17many people think Jewish people aren't
12:19Christians. No, that's not true.
12:22Everybody can be followers of Jesus
12:25>> because here's what it says. He came
12:26unto his own and his own received him
12:29not
12:30>> but as many of his own
12:34>> Yes sir
12:34>> as received him
12:38>> to them he gave power
12:41>> to become the sons of God.
12:44>> And so here's my point. Death is not
12:49kind to anybody and it's coming to
12:53everybody unless the rapture happens.
12:57All of us get to die. And I know AI is
13:00promising us to live to 120. And some
13:03are saying they're going to go to 400.
13:05Yippi.
13:09You know, I tried to be a yodeler, but I
13:11forgot the words. Here's my point. The
13:14point is it doesn't matter who you are.
13:16You need to face some realities in life
13:19because life can hit us all square in
13:22the nose. And if you're not careful, you
13:24can start with a dance and start with a
13:26song and start with a hope and start
13:28with a dream and life can turn into a
13:32long day walk
13:35into night.
13:37But the Bible says of Jesus, he showed
13:39himself of many infallible proofs. He
13:42came and he appeared to all kinds of
13:43people in all sorts of situations at all
13:46times of day. He comes and he appears to
13:49one failing disciple like Peter. He
13:53appears to a loyal disciple like John.
13:55He appears to an anonymous disciple like
13:58Cleopus in our text or the unnamed one
14:01that wasn't even special enough to get
14:03their name written down. The other
14:05disciple on this long sevenmile walk. He
14:09appears to men. He appears to women. He
14:11appears to people we know. He appears to
14:14a 500 that remain lame nameless that we
14:17don't know. He appeared outside in the
14:20daylight. He appeared inside in the
14:23dark. He appeared when many conditions,
14:25many times of day. He appears to Mary
14:28Magdalene in the garden. He appears uh
14:31to Peter on the lakeside. He appears to
14:34those that are afternoon and at dusk. He
14:36appears in an upper room. He appears at
14:39all times to demonstrate that his living
14:42was not staged.
14:45It wasn't a fraud. Now, if I was him, I
14:48would have appeared to Tiberius, Roman
14:51emperor, and I would have shown up and
14:53said, "Did you know your Roman
14:54consulate, Pilate, your governor, has
14:57tried to crucify me? There's the there's
14:59the nail scars. There's the feet. But
15:02let me tell you something, Mr. King of
15:04all the Roman centurions. I'm back.
15:08Or I would have gone to Herod, the man
15:10that Jesus called a fox. He wouldn't
15:12even talk to him. Uh he said uh Herod
15:15said all these things about him, wanted
15:17to get Jesus to talk. Jesus wouldn't
15:19talk at all. Listen, if I was Jesus, I
15:21would show back up and I would show out
15:23to Herod. I'd walk in his palace and
15:26say, "Hey, Buster Brown, you thought you
15:28could get rid of me? I'm back."
15:32I would have shown up to Pilate, the guy
15:34that I think must be a pretty good guy.
15:36He was the one who washed his hand. He
15:39was the Roman governor. Uh and I would
15:42have said, "Pilate, let me shake your
15:44hand. Thank you for saying you found no
15:46fault in me because guess what, big boy?
15:48I'm back. No fault in me."
15:52>> But that's not what Jesus does. Jesus
15:55appears to people who love him, people
15:58who want to serve him, people who want
16:00to live with him, people who want to
16:02obey him. And he comes and chooses the
16:06greatest amount of time of all the
16:09biblical record with two common people
16:12on the road to an ordinary destination
16:17walking into a sunset. The word
16:20literally says that he overtakes them.
16:23They have left Jerusalem because they've
16:26been there for the celebration. Then
16:27while they were there for Passover, this
16:29all happened during Passover weekend.
16:31And so they can't go to Jerusalem for
16:33Passover. They love Jesus. They followed
16:36after Jesus. But now they go and see
16:38from afar. They crucify him. He's dead.
16:40He's gone. And then it's Sunday morning.
16:43They are walking back home. And while
16:47they're walking home, a stranger comes
16:49up. Everybody say, "He's a stranger." He
16:52comes up, starts walking with them. Oh,
16:54they knew Jesus, but they didn't know
16:56this guy. And as he's walking with them,
17:00he begins to say, "Why? Why are you so
17:03sad?"
17:04>> And they said, "Have you been in
17:06Jerusalem and you do not know what has
17:09been happening there?
17:11>> Where have you guys been? Where are you
17:13at?" And they began to tell him all the
17:16things about the mock trial, the
17:19kangaroo court, the crown of thorns, the
17:22crucified one, taking his body down off
17:25the off the the the the cross before
17:28sundown because Sabbath, it starts at
17:31sundown. And we've got to get the dead
17:34away from everything before the Sabbath,
17:37Passover starts. And so they take him
17:40down. And then they hear on Sunday
17:42morning that some women say that he's
17:44risen. They don't know. You know,
17:47sometimes you can't believe those women.
17:54She loves me. She loves me not. She
17:55loves me. She loves me not. She lo 37
17:59years. This past week we celebrated our
18:01anniversary.
18:07There was just some women who said he
18:09was raised and then they heard, "Oh,
18:11somebody said that Peter and John saw
18:13him." But you know that we can't believe
18:16them either. Peter was just cussing
18:17yesterday.
18:20>> And so they are so discouraged that
18:23they're walking home. They're not even
18:25saying for the good report. Now, where
18:27is Jesus?
18:30He's rose from the dead.
18:32Every angel in heaven is expecting him
18:36to finally get back where he belongs.
18:40Finally bring Messiah up where we can
18:43praise him like he ought to be praised.
18:46>> Finally bring him to where he's cared
18:49for. Like he ought to be cared for.
18:51>> Birds have nests and foxes have holes,
18:55but Messiah has no place to lay his
18:57head. get up here where we know how to
19:02celebrate you.
19:03>> Every Sunday I walk into this pull pit
19:07and I attempt to tell people about
19:10Jesus. I do my best. I write, I prepare,
19:14I seek the Lord's face. I try to model
19:17him all week long. Our band puts
19:19together preparations of worship. And
19:21didn't they do a great job today?
19:29Sister Elms come, musicians come. I'm
19:32finishing. And we sing and we worship
19:36and we sing passionately. Listen, if
19:39you've ever seen Selene Dion perform,
19:41she's awesome. She's been one of my
19:44greatest performers, but she doesn't
19:46perform with more passion in her
19:48performances than we do here. Now, a lot
19:50of churches may not take it to that
19:52level, but listen, baby. AC/DC isn't
19:54going to have a better performance than
19:56what we do in this house.
20:02So, if y'all are a little bit afraid of
20:04coming to the cathedral, please don't go
20:07to a KISS concert.
20:10Babe, are you trying to tell me I'm an
20:12old man? They don't know who KISS is. I
20:15bet the young kids have KISS shirts.
20:21>> My wife said she hopes not. See, she's
20:23been in prayer. I appreciate her being a
20:26spiritual woman.
20:29Why? Here's the reason. And you feel my
20:32passion. I'm not like this all the time.
20:35I mean, I'm kind of passionate. My
20:37people will tell me my lieutenant,
20:39Lieutenant Patty Raven, is my boss.
20:41Okay. How you doing, boss? Am I doing
20:43okay today? I love this girl. This This
20:46is This is a special queen right here.
20:49This is my boss.
20:53She's here. She's here by miracle.
20:57>> She She She flew. You know, you're
20:59supposed to go on the rapture, not when
21:00you get hit by a car. How far did you
21:03fly that day? 50 feet. 50
21:0650 or 60 feet. She flew down 75. Don't
21:09anybody try it. Okay. She She was in the
21:12air, hit by a car, flew 60 feet in the
21:15air, hit the pavement at 75, and she
21:19should be dead. And let me tell you why
21:21she's you see that smile on her face. We
21:23know she's brain damaged. Okay? She it's
21:25it it has affected her.
21:29Listen, if she will accept me as one of
21:33her uh her underlings, if that the word
21:37I hope that one's not a bad word. What
21:39What do you call the people under you?
21:42Subordinates. Oh, I don't like that
21:44word.
21:48Uh, the team. I like that one.
21:52>> Listen y'all, that's my team.
22:09>> Hello, teammate.
22:16My buddy's going to
22:19take his wife to hospice tomorrow.
22:24It's real.
22:31See, life can get you, buddy.
22:39It didn't unschedu the way you had it
22:41scheduled.
22:45doesn't always unpack the way you packed
22:48it up.
22:53You put your luggage in, but somebody
22:55went through it.
23:00You went to unpack the things you
23:02thought it was supposed to be when you
23:05got in your 30s.
23:10Then you get into your 40s. I'm going to
23:11lose half the crowd right now. Okay.
23:19when you get in your 50s.
23:23Don't feel sad for me.
23:26This is my last Easter in my 50s. Sh.
23:31I told the Lord that this morning. I
23:32said, "Lord, this is the last one in my
23:3450s. Watch me while I soar."
23:42You know what? The schedule doesn't
23:43always show up the way you wrote it
23:45down.
23:46The relationships
23:50can get burned and the love can get
23:54chapped.
23:56The heart can get wounded
23:58and the bitterness
24:00can show out.
24:03You know all the addages. You've read
24:05all the self-help books.
24:09You put the band-aids on.
24:12You pinned on your flowers,
24:16but you're needing to lean on more
24:18crutches than you've ever leaned on.
24:21You're trying to find more hope than you
24:23ever thought you could lose.
24:27For you, maybe.
24:32While you'd never say it out loud, it's
24:34starting to look like a long
24:37day journey into tonight.
24:44There's one king,
24:46one man,
24:49Jesus of Nazareth,
24:51born in Bethlehem,
24:54who came to his own.
24:57Some of his own didn't receive it, and
25:00some of them received him.
25:02And to as many as received him, he gave
25:05them the power to become his sons. Oh,
25:10just being born doesn't make you a son
25:12of God. I know everybody use that cute
25:14language. Oh, they're so cute. That's a
25:16child of God. Well, that'd be nice, but
25:19it's just not true. They're a child of
25:21hell on Thursdays and on Mondays.
25:27What makes me a child of God? If I'm
25:29born of him, not the first birth, a
25:32second birth. Except a man be born
25:35again, he cannot enter into the kingdom
25:39of heaven.
25:42So the guy he tells that to which was a
25:44part of the Sanhedrin, the supreme
25:47supreme court of of Israel in that day,
25:50he came, his name was Nicodemus. He
25:52said, "But Lord, uh, you're not making
25:54much sense here." And then he makes it
25:57very practical. He said, a man to back
25:59into his mother's womb and be born
26:00again. Now listen, nobody would want him
26:02to ask that out loud, but it was just
26:04Nicodemus and Jesus and no crowd. And so
26:07old Nick was saying, "Got to figure it
26:09out."
26:11Jesus said, "No, it's not like that. You
26:15must be born of the water. That's
26:17baptism. And you must be born of the
26:19spirit. That's the infilling of the Holy
26:21Ghost.
26:23Or you can't even see the kingdom of
26:27heaven.
26:28What? Yeah,
26:31you all who are walking a long day's
26:34journey. I hope it's not in tonight. I
26:37hope all your bonuses have happened and
26:39all your raises have occurred and all
26:41your promotions have come along and I
26:44hope your body is still strong
26:50and there's no atrophy in your mind. I
26:53hope.
26:57But when you do come to realize
27:00night's coming,
27:02I want to tell you there's one that
27:05brings the day.
27:07The only one that brings the day. Not
27:09Houdini.
27:13Not a president, not a king, not a
27:15governor,
27:17not a bank account, not a corporate
27:20business, not a retirement pension,
27:24no one.
27:27I give you
27:29a stranger.
27:32That's what he was to these two walking
27:35to Emmas. A stranger. They finally got
27:38to the town where they were headed. And
27:41the Bible says this so interestingly.
27:46Jesus
27:48made as though big words that mean he
27:50pretended like he had somewhere else to
27:53go. They were turning left and Jesus
27:56said, "All right, guys.
28:00It's been nice.
28:03Y'all be good."
28:06He made as though he would walk on. The
28:09Bible said those two.
28:13They said our heart burned within us.
28:17Hey sir, why don't you come to our
28:20house?
28:22We'll sit down and have some
28:23refreshment. Maybe you can stay the
28:25night. Jesus, that's all they really
28:28wanted.
28:30every one of you. He'll come at the most
28:34unexpected
28:36time,
28:38a dream, a day, a song. More often, not
28:43at church.
28:45More often, not when you're hearing a
28:47sermon. It might be a sunrise or a palm
28:49tree at sundown.
28:51A moment the God of heaven walks up to
28:54you and he said, "You know, you're on
28:58purpose.
29:02You know, you're not a mistake.
29:05You know, it doesn't have to end in the
29:08dark.
29:11And if you will invite him, he'll stay.
29:17The Bible said that when they sat down
29:19to eat, when he took the bread, I don't
29:24know, I imagine in my sanctified
29:25imagination,
29:27maybe
29:29It was when he pulled his sleeves back,
29:32he started breaking the bread that they
29:35saw
29:37the nail prints.
29:40The Bible said when he did it, they saw
29:44that it was him.
29:49For two and a half hours, he's been
29:50walking with us.
29:52Our heart burned within us. Soon as they
29:54knew it was him, he vanished.
30:00Standing somewhere
30:05in your shadows,
30:09you'll find Jesus.
30:16He's the only
30:19one
30:21who cares
30:23and under
30:25stands.
30:31Standing
30:33somewhere
30:35in your shadows.
30:39You will find
30:41him.
30:46And you'll know him
30:48by
30:50the nail prints
30:53in his hands. A prophet in the Old
30:56Testament said that when his people see
30:59him come back,
31:01they're going to look at him and know
31:04he's Messiah.
31:07And the next thing the prophet said,
31:10they'll notice
31:12is that
31:15who we wounded.
31:18They didn't wound him.
31:21Nor did the Roman soldiers who nailed
31:25him to the tree wound him.
31:27You know who nailed him to that tree?
31:34Me.
31:36And even though today I have just failed
31:40in my task,
31:43I have failed to tell you how good he
31:48is.
31:49I have failed to tell you
31:53how gracious he is.
31:56I have failed in telling you how
32:00merciful he is.
32:03I have failed
32:05and telling you how much he knows you.
32:11And I failed telling you how much he
32:14loves you.
32:16But somewhere
32:18the stranger will come by
32:23and he'll act
32:25like he's wanting to walk on.
32:29Shall we stand? Our prayer workers are
32:31coming to stand at the front. While I've
32:33been preaching, some of you, your heart
32:35began to burn within you. It wasn't
32:38emotion. It wasn't some dynamics of a
32:40speaker. It wasn't the song setup. It
32:43wasn't the spirit of the place. No, your
32:47creator,
32:48the one who loves you. And I failed in
32:50telling you how much he does. He wants
32:53to turn your long days walk
32:57that's headed toward the dark
33:01in the long night's walk headed towards
33:04the day.
33:06We pray at the end of every service.
33:08It's an opportunity for people who are
33:11fighting things but they really don't
33:12know how to pray, don't know what to say
33:15to come and join with some people that
33:17they they've been where you're at. They
33:19they know exactly what you're going
33:21through and they can link up with you
33:24and pray and break into a place where
33:27you can start to feel freedom and
33:29deliverance and hope and your sun set
33:33begins to turn into a sunrise.
33:38While the singers sing, I'm turning this
33:40entire sanctuary into a house of prayer.
33:44Let's come to his presence crucified.