Welcome to the Bethel Church Sermon of the Week. We hope you enjoy this message by Pastor Candace Johnson.

For more information about this podcast and other resources, visit bethel.com.

I wanted to open up with one of my favorite scriptures, and it's a scripture that we have all heard before and read.

But as I'm reading, I just want you to invite you in to something I feel that the Lord is saying,

come closer and come deeper.

It's one thing to read truth, to know truth, to experience it, but in God there's always more and as i'm reading this i believe

that he's inviting us to step into the more of the words that we're reading and i'd like to start with

isaiah 61 the spirit of the lord god is upon me because the lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the

poor he has sent me to preach good tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the

opening of the prison to those who are bound.

Super powerful.

I love this.

I read this and I'm like, oh, what is it like to live in a prison?

I have never been in a prison. I have never been in jail. Have you? Don't raise your hand. It actually is a really fun get to know you question. If you just wanted to get to know the people that you already know a lot deeper, you just say, have you ever been arrested? Please do, if you have any stories do share.

I have learned the funniest things about people by asking them that question.

So I stand before you telling you that I have never been arrested and I've never been in jail.

But when I was in college, I went to school in the Santa Cruz area.

And when I first went to school, it's a new environment.

I knew my sister, I knew Lance, Bethany. But other than that, I didn't know a single soul. And they were seniors when we were on campus, so I wasn't around them as much. And when I got there, you know, you're there for one day, and everyone you know for one day, the history you have is just building day by day. By day two and three, you're like, these are my best friends of two days. And on the three or four, one of them said, hey, do you guys want to go Splunking tonight? And I said, sure, what's that? That gives you a little bit of context for how I was or how I am. Like, yes, I'm up for the venture. What am I saying yes to? So he said, well, Spunking's caving. We're going to go caving up by UC Santa Cruz. There's some great caves up there. I'm like, I've never done that. Sounds like fun. And you've done this before, right? Yes. And I trust you all of three days. Yes. So we put glow in the dark stars on our head and a flashlight's

tried to spread out as much light as possible. And I'm thinking what level of caves is

because I never have done this? So is it like a mountain that just has part of the mountain

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