What's going on, everyone? Sam here with late sports cards. Rubin 23, Bowman Chrome Baseball Hobby, 12 box case break, number 21. I don't know why I said number 1, number 21. There we go. Pick your team style. Read off of list of our names on our teams. Andrew H. Phillies, Anton H. Guardians. Charles A. with the Nationals and the Rangers. Chris B. White Sox, David R. Braves. Dixon K. with the Pirates, Gabriel C. Mariners. George M. with the Tigers. George, thank you. Glenn W. Twins Mets. George, thank you as well. Hyunmui Y. Marlins, Jeffrey H. Padres. Daisy Yankees, Giants and Astros. Jeremy S. Cardinals. John C. with the Angels. Jonathan L. Reds. Josh H. Rockies. Jungmin K. with the Royals. We've got Carl M. Cubs, Kohay K. Red Sox. Michael T. Athletics. Pension C. Diamond Max. Rick E. Brewers. Ryan B. Blue Jays. Tim J. Dodgers. Orioles. And Timoia Y. with the Rays. Timoia as well. Thank you, too. Appreciate that. Glenn Mets and Twins off the board in 22. Jason with another spot. We're down to 6 to go in 22 now. Glenn, thank you, buddy. Appreciate that. 6 to go here, Jay. 6 to go, Mr. Lafferty. Another one down. Another one in the books. Empty box. Here we go. We got to see a banger.  We need a super. Magic box. A magic box or a super would be nutty, dude. Magic box. There you go. Rep Beatty. Rainer Arias, 2-250. Purple Shimmer for the Giants. Here's Gilbert. I wonder how, I wonder the feeling that you must have when you flip over the card in your first card on the other slide. And Otto, she's Mike Coyotto, the 499. Guardians, congrats on that, Cleveland. And it's like you already know it's like this box. Here we go. Here in Devin's Naila Santos, the 499. Refractor for the D-Vex. That is a Rafi Devers, iconic. And Lantigua. There's Alex Ramirez. Cheville, Javier Arias. Ooh, nice. Chris Newell on the baseball factory. He's a Dodger, I believe. Nice one there on the extra auto. Jose Gerardo, 2-199. Brando Maella, Drew Jones. One sec, guys, I'm gonna check one thing. Base Auto Omari Daniel, going to the twins. Congrats, Minnesota. Miss Soda, another team that's just high, high volume. High volume in this. Gretz Glenn, came to league. Spencer Jones. We're gonna have the next coming years. Who? The twins. Yeah, they are really good. They're a deep dude. They've been good in like every single product. Manny Machado, refractor to 4-99 for the Padres. Because they had Mercedes, and then they had Lee, and then they had Acuña, then they had Julian in 23, who's in the Bigs now, obviously. But he, I mean, his markets started going crazy. Once he got called up. Once he got called up, and once he was, I mean, he was batting 300 at one point in the Bigs, like obviously smaller sample size, but never a bad thing. He's a studman. Green shimmer, Kevin Eru, 2-99. Face auto is Axial Plaws for the Pirates. Nice one there, Pittsburgh. Jeff with a spot in Divvies later today, I think Jeff. Not in plates in iMac Divvies. Orange, Adley Ruchman, Rookie, Bowman Ascensions. It's a 25 color match for the Orioles. Congrats, Baltimore. That is gonna work right there. That is gonna work just fine. Here's Prospect, Process, Drew Jones. That is a Camilo Diaz to 125. Aqua Pink Vaporwave. Let's see his super first auto, dude. Face auto, Joey Ortiz for the Orioles. Trish and Costas, it came to League Rookie, Jacob Berry. No sauce, cause sauce. Really cr- Oh, okay. It's just bad, dude, it's just bad. Juan Soto Refractor, nice one there, Padres, the 4-99. I know, trust me, I know, you haven't gotten better. You have gotten worse. Felonin Celestin, first for the Mariners. We both gotta go down. Together, I suppose, yes. I suppose that is true. I didn't say anything, like, we're gonna go down. Man. 22, White Sox, Astros, Royals, Phillies, Rays and Blue Jays. Just six to go, breaks next everybody. Six to go. Sex, sorry, text in the forest. Keep moving, thank you again, everybody, for selling this on out. Nice, Otani Blue to 150. That'll always work. I mean, never gonna say no to Otani color. Never, never in my life will I say no to that. Refractor, Anthony McGuero, nice one there to 4-99 for the, thank you there, Jonsung, picking up a spot in the next one, to 4-99. Blue Jays off the board. We are at White Sox, Astros, Royals, Phillies, Rays. That is it. That is all. He does look like an Akunya. Honorary Cameraleegra, he does look like an Akunya. Honorary Akunya, brother. Mandy Machado, iconic. And base, photo refractor to 4-99. Luis Angel, speaking of Akunya, brothers. Jefferson Cuero and more base. Gold shimmer, Yasser Mercedes, nice one there to 50. One of the better twins prospects right now. Yes, sir, Mercedes. How to say base auto, oh, Mari Daniel, going to the twins. And twins are a good team in this, man. I'm telling you, they're a good team. Espinoza and Shim. White Speckle, Jackson Holiday, nice, the 2-99. I think that super got pulled already. Just a base holiday, yeah. Akunya, iconic. Asabido. Trust me, when he gets called up. Samuel Zavala, yeah, his stuff's gonna go nuts. Base post on the skyrock.  Devisandelo Santos. Rep Beaty, gold shimmer, Jason Dominguez, nice one there to 50. That's base auto, Yeniel, ya boi, la boi. Going to the A's, congrats Oakland. There you go, there you go. That is a Nolan Gorman refractor to 499. I've pulled like 10 of these, dude. Nolan Gorman refractor. Nah, man, where's the other two? You see, that's the 499, right? Yeah, actually. That might be the variation, image variation, gotcha. Image variation. Ha ha, gotcha, y'all.  Deceived. And booze. Oh. Hug wings, let it straight. And flat out, Deceived. Run amok. Run amok. The town foolery. Well-been Francisca for the Guardians to 299, white speckle, Victor Historez and Jesus Gaba. Base auto, Brett Wisely, apparently makes wise choices according to Rich. What a bot, going to the Rays. That is a Jackson Holiday, Candle League. Invicta Manuel Beltre, that is a blue Luis Almeida to 150 for the Orioles, nice one, Baltimore. All right, again, just five remain in number 22. Five to go, here's your link to that again. Breaking next, five to go. I think the Patriots will beat the Dolphins. Uh, possible, I mean, it's in New England though. That's the only thing, they always play close games. Yeah, that's true. That sounds about right, that's why I came to brush my eyes, this is probably defense. Wow, I don't know about that. Seems a little hot. Purple Shimmer, Marcelo Meyer to 250 for the Red Sox. Henry Chavilly, Chili Chavilly. Chavilly, just chillin'. That is Camila Diaz to 499, refractor first thought of for Houston, congrats, Astros. Nice one there, Astros, Javier Rivas and base. That is Garrett Mitchell, refractor to 499. Brando Maella. Maella with the Pariah. I like that one, that's some of your best work. That's some of your best work right there. Pariah with the Pariah. Processed Drew Jones, Vicaro Yosue. Jefferson Cuero, Lamar King Jr. On the extra base auto, congrats Padres, nice. Jeremy with a hockey spot later, thank you Jeremy. Brada Munoz, Brada and Munoz. And just three cases, a Bowman Chrome hobby left today everybody, that is a green Yuri Perez rookie, nice one there to 299 for the Marlins. Imagine we see him in update. Love how they have the old throwback Marlin jerseys too. Ricardo Olivaar, goin' to the twins, nice one there in Minnesota. I'm gonna have you wipe this one down a little, Jay. The little Dusty. Axel Plaz, Juan Benjamin. That's a Yoshida, came to league rookie. Reinden Kohn, Invicta. Other Midi time, or White Speckle of Jackson Holiday to 299, Jonathan Mejia and Jordan Lawler. Mason Wynn. That'll do that there. I think Zach Wilson would definitely sink. Yeah, that's gonna be a tough game to be the immediate starter for. The tough game. Like right off the gate, bang. I hope you got one of the best in the NFL. Yep, especially after putting up a 40 piece. Purple Shimmer, Juan Benjamin to 250. Putting up a 40 piece in the garage, so. Yeah. That's kinda rough. Purple Lotto, Frederick Binscombe. Nice one there for the Orioles. Congrats on that Baltimore. White Sox gone, thank you there. Jason Weir down to four to go. Four to go in the next one, everybody. Jason, thank you, buddy. It's nice. Brandon Maella to 125 on the Aqua. Toss that recap, too. Yeah, any like, any Salas, any him, any Salastin, any of the big names Collery could throw in, too. Ooh, oh, Fuchsia. Bryce Harper, Fuchsia to 299. Purgoya, Maella, Andrew Jones, and Becara. All right, again, just four to go now. Four to go. White Sox off the board, you got Houston, Casey, Phillies, and Reyes. Four to go. Astros, Royals, Phillies, Reyes. Some good squads still available there. True Green, Yuri Perez again, 299. Face Auto is Emmanuel Terraro, the best signature in this class by a mile. Congrats on that, Pirates. Morris. Literally, simple person. Yeah, I know. Who would have thought? In 2023, that's where the best autos would come from. Five to go with Rich on the PYT HTA break over on Fanatics Live as well. If you'd like to get in a choice case, head over to Fanatics Live with good ol' Rich. Michael Harris to 499. Lovie Marte and Jacob Betty. So I'm shocked I haven't sneezed yet. Bless you, there it is. Don't worry, I'm sneezing enough for both of us. Yeah, there you go, perfect. Riley Green, Iconic Rookie, Meryl. There's Tamara Johnson. Jose Salas, Arizona Fall League. That is Gavin Cross, Aqua 125. Tegua and Chevelli. Base, no, Refractor Auto is Yoandar Rivera to 499 for the Nationals. Jeff with the twins in 24, thank you, Jeff. And Mark picking up a upper deck spot. Rivas and Tarron. Churio, Guanipa, there's a Maya as well. Willie Fentz, sorry, Invicta. Gutierrez, Tamara Johnson. Purple, Brian Acunha, nice one there. Twins to 250, Minnesota, like I said, is a good squad in this, everybody. Very good squad. Zach Veen, Ronald Acunha. Purple, Shimmer, Brady House to 250 for the Nats as well. Yes, sir. That is a base auto of Demetrio Cresantes. Going to the Diamond Max, congrats, or Arizona. Blue Jays gone in 23, Isaac, thank you, buddy. Another team off the board now in 23. Orange, Gary Cole, AL Si Young winner right there, to 25, yes sir, congrats, Yanks. And Ken Colley, love the orange. The horse was telling me that people call him Chef G. I'm white. I don't know, I don't think I've ever heard that.  Never heard Chef G. I've heard Coltrane. Again, four to go in the next one, everybody. Four to go, four to go. I think he might've been thinking of like the rapper Chef G. Chef G. Yeah, actual Chef G. Actual Chef G. I know I'm thinking about that, Kyle. I'm thinking about the Joe Engels for the Magic Throwback Jersey.  Shimmer of Jackson Holiday. Well, you're a bot too, Kyle, so. I guess that kind of checks out. Face auto, filming Celestine. Congrats to the Mariners. There he is, first Celestine of the day. Congrats, I'm gonna have Jay white this down a little, but that just looks like dust on there. Get that into a mag, congrats Mariners. White speckle is Cam Collier to 2.99. Jayrod iconic, Luis Serna. Jackson Holiday, Ethan Salas first, Hans Montero. That's Tommy Edmond, nice one there. He was Korean before 99, huh, cool. Learned something new every day, I suppose. Face auto, Henry Ramos, nice one for the Roops. Congrats, Casey. Another team that hits a lot in this. No crazy prospect, but a lot of prospects. It's definitely a volume team for sure. Might not be quality, but quality. Yes, Francisco Alvarez. A lot of quantity for sure. Another orange, Michael Arroyo, nice one there for the Mariners. The 25 Mariners had a good box. Guerrero and Bruno, and Collier, Spencer Jones. Couple of 23 Bowman guys, nice one there. Is Yoshinobo Yamamoto, nice one there. That's gonna be a random to 4.99, that's awesome. Grats on that. Two 4.99, pitched no hitter recently. Atomic Amari Daniel to 100 for the twins. Congrats, Minnesota. Isaac with the White Sox in 23, thank you, Isaac. Another spot gone in 23. I think everything's under 10 now, if I'm not mistaken. Again, just four to go in the next one. Breaking right after this, Drew Jones that came to the league. 80 Iconic, Maia first, Drew Jones base. That is a Yossi Galan to 125. Blue, pink, or aqua pink vapor wave. Galan on the Galan. Is that like a Mitsubishi reference? That is a Mitsubishi reference. Geez, God. That's the work from Mitsubishi. Did you really? Yeah, actually, yeah. I used to talk about it, you need to solve Mitsubishi, right? That is a Axial Pledge to 250. You can pull like this. So whenever I buy a Mitsubishi Mirage, I don't care what anyone says. Mirage, Javier Sanoja, nice one there to the Marlins. Rays gone in 22, that is Luev, thank you, Luev. Down to three, three to go in the next one, everybody. If it comes out that day, then yes, well 100% have PYTs of that. Another orange, dude, damn. It is gonna be Jotter Arinamo. Nice one there for the brewers on the first. Yes, pretty much whenever anything comes out, unless it's like collegiate product, we'll always have PYT for it. At least definitely on release day. Anthony Rizzo to 2.99. A lot of times in the morning, we'll do PYTs as well. I eat today, we did pretty much all PYTs. Jackson Meryl, Collier Spencer-Jones. Here's that, Elijah Green on to the next. Damn, there's a lot of oranges in this one, which is actually not too shabby. We like orange.  I'm Florida, we like orange. Yeah, right, Astros Royals Phillies, everybody. Astros Royals Phillies, three to go on the next, breaking next, that is three to go. And then we've got plates and patches. With four to go on plates and patches, divisions as well, everybody. I'm gonna drop you a link to that really quick. Four to go. Purple is Davison Gutierrez, 2.50, first for the Mets. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jacob Melton and Yoendri Vargas first. So, dude, geez, man, chill. Kim Collier came to the league. Victor Alex Ramirez, Rainer Arias, Jacob Reimer. Abraham Toro, receives Seattle to 4.99, I think. I think so. Started off with the Stroze and got traded there. That is a Luis Hanna-Lacuña. I guess we missed an auto in this mini box, but we did get an extra earlier on so it will even out to the correct amount, which is good. Sorry about that, everybody didn't miss an auto in that mini box. Did get that Lamar King Jr. ended up being an extra. Drew Gilbert, 2.199, Fuchsia Shimmer. Base auto, Jesus Galiz, nice one there for the Dodgers. Congrats, congrats. Who is Michael Harris, 2.150 on the rookie? Congrats, Braves. Cheerio and Luciano. Go to Laula, Laula. Lazaro Montez, Jesus Galiz. Is it really? Oh, okay, I love that. Hell yeah, I'm watching that for sure. Travis Hunter, apparently, is gonna have his first bowman. Him and Marvin Harrison Jr. both have their first bowman in the upcoming bowman from university, which is good. I like that. Sanders? I have not heard, Jackson Cheerio. I have not heard. Purple, Justin Henry Malloy, nice one, Braves. Congrats, Atlanta. Gersamar with the Astros, we are down to two left in the next one, everybody. Thank you, Gersamar. Astros off the board, Phillies and Reyes, I believe. Phillies and, or no, Phillies and Royals. Atomic Nick Gonzalez for the Pirates, 2-150. Phillies and Royals, available in our next one. Arizona Fall League is Mason Wynn, 2-150 for the Cardinals. Congrats, St. Louis, instead of Arizona. It's not football, so it would not be Arizona. Brooks Lee, Mejia, that is a U-Darvish to 499. Shake of Melton, base auto, nice one for the Astros card, so hot, it's Melton. Jake came up with that, unfortunately. Can't take all the credit. Right, Bulpe, came to the league. Oswaldo Paraza, that is a Josh Young Boeman Ascensions for the Rangers, rookie, short print. Don't be sweating, I'm just Jacob Melton. Purple is Jacob Reimer, first to 2-50. God, dude. Kaminaro and Rainer Arias. What's up, Roger? How you doing, buddy? Jacob Bettie, last box of the break, everybody. That's not different. Josh Young will have more turnovers and touchdowns versus the Rangers, that's not good. That's not good. I doubt that, buddy. Braylor Guerrero, nice one there to 1-99 on the Aqua Shimmer. Hello, Carl, base auto, Christopher Toran, going to the Diamondbacks, congrats, Arizona. Jonathan L with the Phillies, we have just the Royals available in the next one, everybody. We have just the Kansas City Royals available. That is it, last team available, number 22. Thank you, appreciate everybody, thank you all. I know I blame Jay again for that, too. What do I have to know? Alfredo Duno, Pink Teal Vapor, 2-1, 25. That is Jeremy Pena, going to set up Pick Your Teams on HTA cases. We have that over on Fanatics Live right now, Roger. We're doing PYTs of choice, William Bergoya, Lazaro Montez, Jose Jefferson Cuero, and Rainer Arias. All right, last mini box, good luck everybody of the case. Do a quick random, a quick recap, and we'll be on to the next. Bichette Refractor to 4-99. Oh, God, this guy out of here. Base auto, Luis Rodriguez, nice Lurad going to the Cardinals. That's Cardinals Lurad. Go Vols, mostake Yoshida. Vols should have no issue against the Gators. Gators don't look good this year. I think what's his face? Napier is already falling out of Felden's Celestine. Sean's such a bot. Jose Gerardo to 2-99. He's a lot of anybody in the ground, don't worry. God, all you have to do is have a pulse. Going to do the random for the Yamamoto, World Baseball Classic, and everybody has an equal shot at this one. WBC, random. All right, guys, gonna roll the dice. Whatever team is on top, after 12 times, we'll get the Yamamoto Refractor to 4-99. One, two, three, four. Me too, Sean. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Going to the Guardians. Guardians picking up the Yamamoto. Do a quick recap here. We had the variation of Nolan Gorman. We had a Brandon Maia to 125. Gold, Yasur Mercedes, Jason Dominguez, oranges, Garrett Cole, Michael Arroyo, Jotter Aranamo, Jesus. Jason Mason-Winn to 125, Arizona Fall League Relic. We had Autos of Luis Rodriguez, Christopher Torren, Jacob Melton, Jesus Galiz, Javier Sinoja, Henry Ramos, Demetrio Crisantes, Emmanuel Terreiro, Ricardo Olavar, Omar King, Brett Wisely, Yaniel LaBoy, Amari Daniel, Joey Ortiz, Chris Newell, Axel Plaz, Amari Daniel to 4-99, Yohanda Rivera, Camila Diaz, Anthony Baguero, Mike Coyado to 250, Justin Henry Molloy, Frederick Gwenskome, to 100, Omari Daniel, and then orange, Adley Rochman to 125, and a Felnin Celestin. Nice one there. That'll do it for the break, guys. Thanks again for the fill. Up next, 22.


That said, we'll begin reading here in Mark chapter 7 at verse 1. I'll read verses 1 through 5, and then I'm going to give to you as I normally do an introduction that gives you a sense of the context of this passage, and then go through it verse by verse to verse 23, and that's where we'll conclude. So beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 5, Mark chapter 7, then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash, and there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups and pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? And so we're going to be looking at a study of the new life. We're going to be looking at a study of the truth versus tradition. And so to lay an introduction, let me begin by quoting an author by the name of T.A. McMahon. T.A. McMahon. He said, biblical Christianity and the religions of the world are primarily set apart by what they teach about ultimate salvation and actually make up two different systems. One system relies on human achievement and the other on divine accomplishment. Biblical Christianity alone comes under the heading of divine accomplishment. All other religions of the world must be placed under the label of human achievement. You see, throughout the Bible, God often states that true worship is actually built on two things, sincere love for Him and obedience that rests on faith in Him. We see that throughout the Scriptures. Let me give you a couple of examples. One is found in the Old Testament. It's in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 6, verse 5.  In Deuteronomy 10, verse 12, it says, and now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. The relationship that man has with God is based on love for Him and obedience to Him. Now, over her long history, Israel did not consistently remain faithful to God. Instead of steady faithfulness, often the nation, and you read this in the Scriptures, will lapse into idolatry, a prophet that God ordained to the nation. By the name of Jeremiah had a message for Israel that reveals this about the nation. In his book, the book of Jeremiah in chapter 2, verse 5, he wrote, this is what the Lord says. What fault did your ancestors find in me that they strayed so far from me?  He went on in verse 8 of Jeremiah 2, and he said, the priests did not ask, where is the Lord? Those who deal with the law did not know me. The leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal following worthless idols. And so the nation of Israel would often lapse into idolatry. And so when convicted, the nation would confess their sins and very often would, as a nation, repent. But that repentance was not lasting. Soon after, they would once again enter idolatry, and once again they would begin to practice sin. Often the repentance was only external, but was not sincere. You see, God didn't want Israel to act like they repented. He wanted them to really repent. Again, a prophet named Joel in chapter 2, verse 13 says, rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Repent, repent, repent. They would lapse into idolatry. God would send a prophet. The prophet would call him to repentance. Once again, they'd lapse into idolatry. And what would happen is very often they would have an appearance of faith, but they didn't have it. And God didn't want the appearance of love and faithful obedience. He wants the real thing. Well, during the time of Jesus, Israel was still practicing external faith. To fashion outward devotion to God, the religious leaders began to develop religious rules. And these rules produced a convincing appearance, an outer appearance of righteousness. But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and he would directly confront the religious leaders in this passage. It's the Pharisees and the scribes. The scribes were the legal experts, legal not in terms of laws, regulations, and all of that pertaining to the kind of judges we have now. This was laws that are pertaining to religious life. It's those who were experts in the law of Moses. And so they were the religious experts and teachers of Pharisees and the scribes. And Jesus saw how the religious rules would produce in the people a false sense of security. The people that were being influenced, in other words, by these religious leaders and teachers would think that if they did what they were told, if they only needed to do that, if they would do those things, that they'd be right with God. It was all external though. And Jesus confronts that. In Matthew 23, verse 13, he says it like this. He says, What do you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites?  You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.  So as we're about to begin chapter seven up until this time, Jesus's popularity and ministry have been expanding. We've seen that as we've gone from chapter one through chapter six. And we saw in chapter six how he had sent out the 12. He had fed a multitude. He walked on water. He healed many. His popularity is so great that many want to take him by force and make him a king. And that's something that Jesus would not allow. John, when he was speaking concerning of the feeding of the 5000 and the response to it gives us more insight into what took place after that feeding. He writes that when the people attempted to make him their king, that Jesus himself confronted them. He told them that the only reason they wanted him was because he was feeding them. He then went on to tell them that he was the bread of life. And if they were to fully partake in him by faith, they would never spiritually hunger and they would never be spiritually thirsty again. But after he says that to them in John 6 verse 66, it says, they went away and walked with him no more. They said to themselves, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? And so they just left him. Well, from that point on, his popularity began to decrease and attacks against him began to increase. And this chapter shows us how attacks against him are now beginning to intensify. So in verse one, we're introducing into the Pharisees. It says in chapter seven, verse one, the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to him having come from Jerusalem. Now, these were influential religious leaders. They had traveled from the south, Jerusalem, and they had traveled up to the north. They're more than likely there to assist the Pharisees of the north as they confront Jesus Christ. And that's because they're concerned because the people were beginning to follow Christ in great droves and were beginning to reject them. And so for these reasons, they've come. They've come to challenge Jesus. And so they came together to him having come from Jerusalem, verse two. Now, when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. So that gives us insight into their motives for coming from Jerusalem. They were looking for a problem so they could find fault with them. So they could make an accusation against him. We've already seen that in chapter three, verse two, where he said that they had watched him closely whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. Well, at this time, Jesus has already shown no regard for much of what was important to them. He'd been busy breaking quite a number of their religious traditions. He had sat down and shared a meal with sinners and tax collectors and it bothered them so much when he did that. He had broken their tradition on fasting by not teaching his men too fast. And he had rejected their understanding of the Sabbath and its observation. And his reputation is now well known. And these religious scholars have come to see him. They've traveled from Jerusalem just to find something they could accuse him of. They knew that if they watched him closely, eventually they could find something to make an accusation. And so it says in verse two, they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands. It's not that they didn't wash before eating like we try and train our children to do. It was something different because their hands were not dirty. It says they were unwashed. And that word unwashed speaks really of a ceremonial matter. And so what Mark goes on to do, notice this in verses three and four, is he goes on to explain this to his non-Jewish readers. In verse three he says, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels and couches. So he gives an explanation to his non-Jewish readers. Mark knew some of the readers would not understand this area of Jewish religion. You see, the tradition of the Jewish elders required them to always wash before eating lest they might have touched something or someone that was unceremonial or rather ceremonially unclean. So if they're in the marketplace, they brush against the Gentile. He's not an observant Jew and all. He's a Gentile. They would go and they would wash in case they inadvertently touched something that was not clean. Jewish priests had been required by the law to wash before they would enter the tabernacle. Exodus 30 verses 18 and 19 says, make a bronze basin with its bronze stand for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar. Put water in it. Aaron and his sons, the priests, Aaron and his sons, are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. So it was a ceremonial washing for priests, but not for non-priests. Well, in the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had adopted the ritual washings required of the priests. So for them, their daily food was to be eaten as if it were priestly food and ordinary acts of life were treated as if they were sacred because they believed that this gives glory to God. Like it says in the book of Leviticus chapter 20 verse 26, you shall be holy to me. And so they had established this and they began to practice it. Well, verse five says, the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? Why? They were concerned about Jesus ignoring their traditional interpretation of the law of Moses. For them, their tradition was superior. It was superior to Scripture itself because it explained Scripture. And so let me speak about that for just a moment about tradition and all of that, how that came to be. You see, their tradition was intended to safeguard God's law from being ignored. They were to keep it and they were to transmit this law to the next generation. And so they developed traditions intended to make sure that God's law would continue into the future. And what they would do is they would train disciples to follow their traditions because they wanted their disciples to be able to teach the law of God and their interpretation to future generations. So by enforcing their traditions, they were attempting to ensure that God's law continued. And for this reason, they built what is called a hedge. They built a hedge around the law. It was to act as what is called a wall of protection. And the hedge that they built was their traditions. The problem was that this opened a way for hypocrisy to take root. Outwardly, they could appear to be sincere, even if they were only pretending. And Jesus spoke of this and he would point it out. And he did so clearly and courageously. And he said this was a sin of the religious leaders. In Matthew 23, 25, he said, What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and new Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you're filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence. You can't imagine how these religious leaders must have responded to those words as this itinerant rabbi, this man with no formal training in the law and traditions confronted them with such courage and bothered them. But that's because Jesus is dealing with the emphasis of outward appearance, because that was the breeding ground for hypocrisy. In the book of Matthew, in chapter 6, Jesus speaks to them concerning these things. And he exposed hypocrisy. He exposed the hypocrisy of their prayers, of their fasting, of their giving. He said, You do these things to be seen by men.   Look at the sorrow of his face, or you give in a way that you go into the temple and you have your coins and you drop it into this trumpet, this metal trumpet, so it rattles when it goes down. And people can hear the number of the heavy coins. And you do all of this, Jesus said, to be seen by men. And by men, you shall receive your reward. In Matthew 23, verse 5, he said, All your works are done in order to be seen by men. That's hypocrisy. You see, they were so blinded by their traditions that they couldn't even see their own hypocrisy. And that's the danger of superficial traditional ritualistic religion. So they saw the disciples didn't wash and they wonder why didn't they do that? Verse 5, again, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition? What they're saying is you are actually not treating or teaching them right. You are not truly observant because if you were really religious, you would be doing things our way.  They knew that he had forgiven a man who was paralyzed. He had forgiven this man of his sins. And they knew that that was in their mind a violation of the law and blasphemy. They also knew that Jesus rejected their understanding of the Sabbath because he actually healed on the Sabbath. So they already know his reputation. And so that made Jesus an enemy because he was rejecting their traditions. And they saw his influence as dangerous because he was appealing to great numbers of people. When we get to chapter 12, verse 37, it says, the common people heard him gladly. So the religious leaders were threatened by Jesus. And they're outraged. They're outraged because Christ is allowing his disciples to do this. They knew that this could spread to the people. It would undermine their religious image. And they didn't want to lose that because the religious people, rather, saw them as very righteous. And in Jesus exposing this, that it's not necessary, they'll also expose their sinful hearts. And so they speak to him and they ask that question, why are they doing that violating tradition? Verse six, he answered and said to them, well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me teaching his doctrines the commandments of men. So Jesus doesn't just argue with them. He gives them scripture. He says, this is what scripture says. And so it's not just an argument. What he does is expose their hypocrisy. And later on, he's going to explain what this means to his disciples. You'll see this in verse 17 following. But his point is this, you're only outwardly religious, but inwardly you're spiritually dead.  In the same way on the outside, you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, you're full of hypocrisy and wickedness. And so to expose their hearts, he quotes Isaiah, Isaiah 29, 13. In vain they worship me teaching his doctrines to commandments of men. So he exposes the heart of their hypocrisy. You're pretending to honor God. But in reality, you're teaching legalism to these people. You're more concerned with upholding your manmade traditions. You see, man's wisdom can never provide forgiveness and freedom from bondage to sin. Because it's the truth that sets you free, not man's traditions. In John 8, verses 34 through 36, Jesus answered them, most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. In Romans 1, 16, Paul said it like this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. For the Jew first and also for the Greek, Jesus Christ sets the sinner free. And he doesn't do it by giving them some kind of rote thing to pray or rote thing to do, something you do by memory or practice by habit. He gave them freedom and that freedom comes to the word of God. We'll look at that in a moment a little more deeply. And so he goes on in verse 8, and he says, for laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, all too well, you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition. So he says, laying aside the commandments. So the words laying aside means to desert wrongfully. It means to leave something behind. You have voluntarily deserted what true worship is and replaced it with your manmade traditions.  You see, true worship of God, he's saying, is with the entire person, the heart, the soul, the strength, the mind.  Psalm 103 verse 1, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. It's love and devotion for God that directs our behavior, not rules or feelings. These religious leaders have never been transformed from within, and that made their religious works empty of genuine faith and empty of real worship. Notice he says in verse 9, you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition. You're deserting specific commands of God. Not only are you neglecting the commands of God, but you're teaching others to do the same. For Moses, verse 10, said, honor your father and your mother, and he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, if a man says to his father or mother, whatever prophet you might have received from me is Corbatan, that is a gift to God, then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have handed down, and many such things you do. So he begins to speak to them and tells them what the word of God actually says. So he says in verse 10, Moses said honor your father and your mother, and the one who curses father or mother should be put to death. Well, these commands are found in Exodus 20, verse 12, and Exodus 21, verse 17. To honor parents is the fifth commandment. To not do so is a very serious crime.  So people will be wondering about that one because you may have a teenager and you're seeing, does this give me permission to kill him? Well, let's look at this. Yeah, preach it, brother. Let's look at this. He's not speaking of casual, impetuous teenage rebellion. Okay, we'll start that out. This is speaking of ongoing, deep-seated rebellion and when addressed, the one who is rebellious refuses to listen. In Deuteronomy 21, 18 through 21, it says, if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of the city, to the gate of his city. They shall say to the elders of his city, this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He's a glutton and a drunkard. Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones, so you shall put away the evil from among you and all Israel shall hear and fear. You will put away the evil. To execute them was to purge the nation of evil, both what was happening then and future. And it was the result of rejecting a direct command of God to honor our parents. And that's what was taking place here is the Pharisees were teaching them to get around the honoring of the father and the mother. Notice verse 11. He says in verse 11, you say if a man says to his father or mother whatever prophet you might you might have received from me is Corban, that is a gift to God.  And so this is what they would do. The word Corban means to devote to God's devoted to God. That's Corban. And I as a will say as a homeowner, I I could dedicate my furniture to God. So we'll say I have a table. So I say this, this table belongs to the Lord. And I made a vow to God. This is a table that belongs to God. Well, I have my father and I have my mother and my father and mother are now elderly. And they're the furniture that they have in their and their humble home is well, it's old and it's in need of replacement. And my father sees that I have a table that I'm not using. It's just there in the room.  And obviously, I don't have anything that that I can spend on a table. I would like to know whether or not I could have your table so we can have a table in the house to eat from. And so I say to my father, dad, I'd love to give it to you. I really would. But I've already dedicated it to God. It belongs to God. I'm sorry because I've made my vow to God and I can't go back on it. It's Coran. And so when I could have honored and cared for my father, I chose to find a loophole to keep from ministering to him. Now, in our day, there is still a need to care for our parents. I think all of us would agree on that. There's still a need when my mom, my father died. My mom went to live with my sister Rebecca. My sister Rebecca took care of my mom. On occasion, we would be of help when she needed it because that's my mom and it was her mom. She never would have thought she never did think that it was too hard. And she was a single woman at that time. She had no life. She gave up her life. She didn't go out on dates. She didn't have, you know, much she could do. My mom was in great need. Now, my sister Becky could have said, you know what? This is too hard. We'll put her in a home but she couldn't do that. In the time of Israel, there were really no retirement packages of any sort. You would be wise to save and hold on to some finances over time and still wise to this day. But you always didn't have that as an option. Sometimes you didn't have enough to do that. And so by having many children, part of the blessing, especially sons, was that they could provide for you in your old age. And that's kind of how the system worked in the nation of Israel is that I had a responsibility as a son to care for my parents. And my children would have responsibility to help me and that's how it would work. Well, the priests are giving them a loophole. They're saying, well, no, just dedicate whatever it is that you have to God. Make a Corvun. And when you do that, your father will ask and you'll have to say, no, I'm sorry. I already gave it to God. And that's how that works. And he says, so what you're doing is through your tradition, you are breaking the actual word of God. And in doing so, you're actually in great sin for that.  And it's required of believers, because if your parents are in need, then do what you can in order to help them. Like it says, even in the New Testament, 1st Timothy 5, verse four, if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents for this is pleasing to God. And so through the traditions, they were undermining actual faith and traditions do that. When you begin to put traditions of men in front of what faith actually is, you actually begin at that point to, to miss the point of what God would have us to do and what God would have us to be because the tradition can take the place of actual faith. If what I'm doing is just traditional and not filled with faith, then it's just outward hypocrisy is what it is. It's like in the United States, a lot of people, we had Christmas just yesterday and there were a lot of people who are celebrating Christmas who don't believe in the Christ child. They were just celebrating a traditional holiday. That's what they do. And sometimes you can actually be taught things that are traditional and in doing so, you're missing the point of what actual faith is. When, and you know, I'll say it like this, I don't say this in a way to, other than to explain what I mean by it. I don't know if you had a religious tradition you grew up in. I don't know. I don't know the makeup of this congregation, whether or not you were raised as a Baptist or whether you were raised Nazarene or raised a Pentecostal Catholic. I was raised Catholic so I can only draw from my own religious tradition and life when I when I make these kind of religious statements or traditional statements and being raised in the Catholic Church, I had a lot of traditions that I was taught. There were quite a number of traditions that were not necessarily scriptural, but they were traditional. There were things that we did as Catholics and my my girlfriend who became my wife Marie was raised in the same kind of religious atmosphere. She was raised a Catholic and so she carried around what we called scapulars. She had a green scapular. She had a brown scapular. She also had little statue of Joseph and Joseph was what quote unquote was her patron saint. And so Marie before she got saved had taken a statue of Joseph, a little plastic statue. Some of you guys are familiar with these and she had placed it on her dashboard facing traffic. And you should have seen that because the statue had his hands over his eyes because of the because of the way she drove. And but what happened, what happened is the son melted it.  And then one day, you know, we're still just dating. She had left her purse next to me and she had walked out of the room and being the kind of scoundrel I am. I thought I wonder what she has in here. And I opened her wallet up and I saw a picture of Joseph saying Joseph, that was her patron saint. And she's already saved. And so she came and sat down next to me and I said, you know, Marie, I'm kind of upset with you. Why is that? You're going out on me. She goes, what are you talking about? I said, you have another boyfriend. She's going, No, I don't. Yes, you do. You're going out with Joe. She goes, Joe, Joe, Joe. And I pulled out the picture of Saint Joseph. You know, I said, you're carrying Joe's picture. You know, what's with you?  I said, I said, Marie, you need to let go of any tradition that keeps you away from Jesus Christ. I said, you need to do that, sweetheart, because you're free in Jesus Christ. And these traditions that you keep in them are going to keep you from growing. I said, when I got saved, I let go of anything that wasn't in Scripture. What I did is I was two years old in Christ or so, right in that I was still a new believer. But I was at somebody's house and I found one of these giant Bibles that people have on the table, you know, and I opened it up and it was a Catholic Bible. And I began to read it and look at the back for the different doctrines of the Catholic faith.  I had gone through the different rites of the Catholic faith and all. And so I said to myself, I'm now a Christian. And this actually was before I was, it wasn't even two years. It was within the first few months. I opened up the Bible and I started from A to Z because it was big family Bible and it had all the doctrines that I'd been taught from A to Z. So I went and I said, is the assumption of Mary in Scripture? And I discovered that it's not. I look for the doctrine of penance. It's not. I look for the doctrine of purgatory. It's not. I look for the doctrine of limbo. It's not. I went through all of it. And as I was there looking through every doctrine, I made a determination then that if it's not in Scripture, I'm not going to believe it. If I can't read the Bible and find that there, then I'm not going to believe it. And that wasn't some act of rebellion again. It was nothing like that. I knew that the truth would set me free. I'd already been taught that. I had gone through an experience of coming to faith in Jesus Christ. I knew what freedom was and I didn't want to be in bondage to any man-made tradition. And it was so. It was never. It was never an argument. Really. It was never. It was never, oh, I hate. No, I had nothing to do with that. As a matter of fact, just before I got saved, a friend of mine named Bill had been trying to bring me to Christ and take me to this cult church called Calvary Chapel. And I was upset at him because I said, Bill, I said, man, you've never had faith in your life. You were raised a Lutheran. You didn't even go to church. What do you know? I said, I was raised in the true church, the Catholic Church. We have a descendant from Peter himself as our Pope. I mean, I knew my theology as a pertain to the basics. And I would argue with them about that. Even though I was a Lodi and a drunk, I still argued with them. And that's a fact because I knew that one day I'd meet a nice Catholic girl and that she would marry me and we'd raise our kids as Catholic kids. I'd stay home and drink a beer and watch the game on Sunday while she took the kids to church. That's what I thought church was and all of that. So that was it. So I got upset because he was trying to win me to this Protestant faith and I was real upset. So I went and spoke to my parish priest. And I said, I have a friend, a Protestant.  I said, I have a friend, a Protestant who's trying to convince me to be born again. I said, I was when I was baptized, right?  As a matter of fact, this month celebrates 71 years since my mama as a 21 year old little girl. Young lady took her baby to the church in LA right by Alvaro Street, the little Plaza church where every Mexican in California was baptized there. And that's where I was baptized. I had my baptism certificate. I was four months old. I got baptized in December 1950. And so I was a staunch Catholic. I just wasn't practicing. I felt that I would later, but it wasn't then.  I have a Protestant who's telling me about Jesus Christ and it's angering me. Give me some answers. And he leans back. I'll never forget this, not to his shame. Seriously, he just leans back. Now you have to picture, I was a hippie. I had the long hair. I had the full cyborns and granny glasses. I was barefooted. You know, I was a hippie. I'm sitting in his office. I'm 20 years old and I've got my arms folded. I need some ammunition. Tell me. This is his answer. I still remember it to this day. He leaned back, put his hands behind his head, leaned back in his chair and he said, I tried Eastern religion. I've tried other things. I came back to the Catholic church. So will you. That was his answer. As a young kid seeking truth, I walked out of that room and I'll never forget my feeling. I still have it to this day. I said, he doesn't know truth. He doesn't have an answer. And that's what made me start listening more to those who said, I can tell you the truth. See, tradition versus truth. Tradition sets you into a legalism, but truth will set you free.  And so when he's speaking to these people and they're speaking of their man-made traditions and all, Jesus confronts them and it makes it very clear that this is hypocrisy. And now in verse 14, when he had called all the multitude to himself, he said to them, hear me, everyone understand there's nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him, but the things which come out of him. These are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And so Jesus explains what true righteousness is. It's not what goes in. It's what is coming out. It's not whether you wash or not. It's rather whether your heart has been washed. And that's the point it's making. And we understand that, but notice his, you know, what takes place in verse 17, when he entered a house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. So he said to them, are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him? Because it doesn't enter his heart, but his stomach and is eliminated thus purifying all foods. He said what comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within out of the heart of men proceed the evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within. And defile a man. It comes from your sin nature. Don't you have ears to hear? Sacrifices, circumcision, dietary laws, festivals are only pictures of the future. These things that the Jews practice were intended to prepare them for Messiah, who fulfilled all of the law's requirements. In Colossians 2.16 and 17, let no one judge you in food or in drink regarding a festival, a new moon, Sabbath, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. So it isn't food that produces sin, it's man's understanding. It's his unredeemed human nature that does. Food is physical and only affects what is physical, but it doesn't affect the spiritual. These sins come from an unwashed heart, not from unwashed hands. And God's design for salvation is to wash your heart with the blood of Jesus Christ in Titus 3.5 and 6, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us boundingly and abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. And that's what produces freedom. I was in the army. I was going through Chow Line. Some of you military vets remember that experience. And as I was going through the Chow Line, I saw ahead of me a few men, a few of the guys who were being served and the guy who was placing a pork chop on their plate, he was saying something to them and they were kind of looking at them all shocked. And I was only a Christian about a year and a half at this time. And I'm wondering, what is this guy saying?  If you've eaten army chow, you feel like you were.  And so I'm a new Christian. So I had my plate out and tray and he drops and says the same thing to me.  And I stood there and I said, why?  And I held up the line for a moment. This is worth talking about. That better be the best pork chop I ever ate. So I said, why?   I said, really? I didn't know that. So I went to my eight and went and sat on my bunk and I opened my Bible because I've been reading it because I was taught that you should read your Bible and I'd been reading it. And I knew Paul had said something in Romans, Paul had said something in 1 Corinthians. And so I read 1 Corinthians chapter eight, verse 18, verse eight, 1 Corinthians eight, verse eight. And it says, food does not bring us near to God. We are no worse if we do not eat and no better if we do. So the next day I go through the chow line again and he was still dropping food on plates and I stood there again and I said, you're wrong. He goes, what?  He says, you are. I said, no, I'm not. For food does not commend us unto God. Neither if we eat, are we the better. Neither if we eat, not are we the worse. That's the King James. I used to memorize my scriptures in King James. It doesn't commend me to God. It doesn't make me close to God. Eating food, eating pork is not going to make me closer to God and it doesn't take me away from God. What you're telling me is not true. See, so from the very beginning I made a decision. I'm going to find it in Scripture. If it's not there, I won't believe it. And if it's a man's tradition, I will not believe it. If it's a word of God, I will thoroughly do my best to investigate that to do exactly what he would have me to do because it's the spirit that gives life and not the flesh. And I want to live not by man's traditions, but by God's word. And so I study it and I present it to you in the same way. That's how it works. You see, 2 Corinthians 3.17 says, the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. So somebody said, it is the presence of the spirit that gives freedom in contrast with the bondage of the letter of the law. We are set free from fear, freedom from the guilt and burden of sin and freedom from the tyranny of the law of Moses. The one who is renewed in Jesus can be trusted with full liberty because they are upheld by a power that guarantees that they will righteously live out their freedom in Christ. And that's why again in John 8.36 Jesus said, if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. So it is not traditions of men. Jesus said, you guys are hypocrites. You scour the outside of the cup, but inside you are filled with rottenness and decay. You do the outer appearance, but you don't understand it's the heart. You make an issue over washing hands, but it's your hearts that need to be washed. And that's why here in this church, if somebody walks up to me wearing weird piercings, I do kind of trip on that. I go, whoa, that must have hurt. Or if they've got tats, I don't care.  Well, these people who are all marked up are going to people who are marked up and are reaching them for Jesus Christ, or the people who are condemning them don't go outside of their door, let alone down the road to tell someone about Jesus. I'm going to go with the tatted kid every time, every time, because that's, it's, it's the matter of the heart. Now, do I want everybody next week?  If you like that, that's fine. But I was raised in a, I'll close with this. I was raised in a movement where we, there's this old song we used to sing, looking past the hair and straight into the eyes. We learned to look into hearts. We learned what really true faith in Christ was, which was loving God and loving your brother.  And we learned that you needed to be born again, to have the washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Spirit, in order to have a clean heart. And I asked God, I'm sorry, 51 years ago yet, tomorrow, creating me a clean heart, renewing me a right spirit, make me new Jesus. And for 51 years, he has worked in my heart to change me. And I bless God every day for the goodness of God. And it was not by a tradition, it was by my Savior Jesus, who laid his life down for me.


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Welcome everyone. At this time I'd like to call to order the first meeting of the 2019-2019 Common Council. It's rather 2020 Common Council. Would the clerk please read the quote for the day. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Teamwork gives you the best opportunity to turn vision into reality. Thank you for those words of wisdom. Would the clerk please call the roll? There are 10 present. Next we'll start off with a presentation of the National Colors by the Sheboygan Police Department's Honor Guard. Please stand. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated. Next we have a musical performance by Vox. Thank you very much. Next I'd like to call up Pastor Bill T. Winkle from Hope Church for our invocation. Bill is a longtime attorney in town and he also served the state senator a few years ago. Bill welcome. Distinguished guests and members of the council, Hope Church is a proud resident of the city of Sheboygan since 1891. Appearances to the contrary, I have not been its only pastor. But I am thankful for the opportunity on behalf of the faith community of Sheboygan to offer this invocation. So if it is your pleasure I invite you to join me in prayer. God of this city, we come to you tonight mindful of the truth that you are God and we are not. We come to you tonight aware of the truth that you govern the universe and beyond from time immemorial to beyond time and yet in your grace you have given these people the task of governing this city for a time. So it is we seek your blessings. The blessing of servant hearts which understand the call to be servants of the people not their masters. The blessing of knowing that to govern will require decision making growing out of their knowledge and discernment of what is necessary and best, whether the necessary and best is popular or not. We seek for these leaders the blessing of knowing how to govern this city, your city, with the conviction of protecting individual rights, the understanding that to compromise over debatable differences is not a sin. When it achieves the greater good and the wisdom to know the difference. We pray that you will endow all these servant leaders then with wisdom, wisdom to know the important difference between prudence and penny pinching in matters of health, safety, roads and infrastructure. We pray tonight as well that the spirit of Sheboygan will be one which offers opportunities to all of the rainbow of races and variety of languages you have called these people to govern. May words like equality and justice be more than hollow slogans and instead serve as their guiding principles. We pray that the residents and guests of this city will enjoy the spirit of genuine hospitality as it is offered in our parks and lakes and festivals. Tonight then God of this city give these leaders servant hearts, wise minds and generous spirits as they serve and govern this city in this time. We pray this in the name of the one whom we worship and adore. Amen. Thank you very much. Next I'd like to call up recently reelected municipal judge Natasha Tory to swear in our city attorney and our city clerk. I have been elected to the office of city clerks where that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Wisconsin and will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations. Charles Adams haven't been elected to the office of city attorney having been elected to the office of city attorney swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin and will faithfully and impartially and will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of said office discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability the best of my ability so help me God so help me God thank you very much judge and next I'd like to call up the older persons representing odd number districts to please come forward for Meredith de Bruyne to administer your oath of office next is item 1.7 adopting the rules of the common council all the person will thank you mayor I make a motion to approve thank you for that motion in support is there any discussion on the motion to approve the rules of the common council see none all those well I have to call roll I'm sorry ten eyes motion passes next we'll go on to election of the president and vice president of the common council go ahead thank you mayor I moved to I moved that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by closed ballot and if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and the balloting to continue until one candidate receives the majority is there a second thank you very much nominations are then open all the person down here thank you for that motion and support Todd you accept yes are there any other nominations are there any other nominations are there any other nominations accept the motion is there a second we have a second all those in favor please signify by saying aye opposed motion passes congratulations Todd next we'll go on to election of the vice president of the city council all the person will thank you mayor I moved the not that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by closed ballot and if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and the balloting to continue until one candidate receives a majority second is there a second nominations are open all the person sorenson I move that we nominate Mary Lynn Donahue for vice president of the common council second we have a lot of seconds thank you very much do you accept all the person down here I do are there any other nominations are there any other nominations are there any other nominations entertain a motion all the person will thank you mayor I moved to close nominations and direct the city clerk to cast in a unanimous ballot for Mary Lynn Donahue there a second we have a second all those in favor of that motion please signify by saying aye opposed motion passes congratulations next we'll move on to election of a representative on the city planning commission all the person will thank you mayor I moved to that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot and if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate for the lowest number with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and the balloting can to continue until one candidate receives a majority you have a motion and a second all those in favor please signify by saying aye opposed motion passes nominations are open all the person Mitchell second thank you for that motion in support all the person born do you accept thank you are there any other nominations are there any other nominations are there any other nominations all the person will thank you mayor I moved to close the nominations and direct the city clerk to cast a unanimous ballot for Jim born thank you for that motion in support all those in favor of the motion please signify by saying aye opposed motion passes congratulations all the person born next is selection of two representatives to serve on the capital improvements commission all the person will thank you mayor I moved that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot and if more than two candidates technically two candidates are nominated the candidates with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue until the one candidate receives a majority thank you for that motion and second nominations are all we have to vote on it all those in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed motion passes nominations are open all the person born thank you for that nomination all the person Sarnson do you accept I do thank you very much are there any other nominations all the person down here with the second position I nominate council president Todd will thank you very thank you very much for that motion in second all those in favor please signify by saying aye opposed are there any other nominations are there any other nominations are there any other nominations seeing none all the person wolf thank you mayor I moved to close nominations and direct the city clerk to cast the unanimous ballot for Ryan Sarnson Ryan Sarnson and Todd will second thank you for that motion in support all those in favor of the motion please signify by saying aye aye opposed motion passes congratulations everyone next we'll take a short recess to elect the chairman of the committee the whole thank you chair I move that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot and if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue until one candidate receives a majority thank you is there a second thank you nominations are received from the floor someone will be nominated Maryland I nominate Ryan Sarnson thank you are there any others are there any others are there any others I moved to close nominations thank you for that second and I moved to mr. chair to close nominations and direct the city clerk to cast a unanimous ballot for Ryan Sarnson all in favor I motion carries congratulations Ryan also meeting will reconvene next is a report by the council president the election of the committee the whole chair person Alderperson Wolf thank you Mary Ryan Alderperson Ryan so Ryan Sarnson is the elected committee of the whole chair person thank you very much congratulations Ryan next aid money agenda is the president of the council's message Alderperson Wolf thank you Mary all right I was up all night doing this I know you guys like really short speeches so I hope this won't take us too long so so anyway dear mayor city administrator city attorney fellow elders and our city managers and staff we have accomplished another positive and momentous year in advancing our cities 2017 through 2021 strategic plan our city has shown continued growth and prosperity that has been identified by several outside sources this is can has continued to show us that the direction that our city is progressing in a positive and meaningful to many in our city and outside sources we have changed the city's path of the past and listened this is in developing our new 150 acre industrial park south point enterprise campus so we have shelf already locations for business growth versus watching it pass pass us and go down the road we have invested in our city's infrastructure like our great city hall which is which will be a beacon where the old and the the and the new state of the art technology will coexist the city was was able to accomplish this with 5.5 million cash reserves in order to limit the amount of 6 million borrowed funds we continue to invest in roads although this past this path that is truly cobbled with frustration this will take many years and even to get a handle on the damage has been has gone on for too long to correct in a quick manner even our great straight states infrastructure is showing the troubles and where but in 2018 more than 7.2 miles of streets were reconstructed or received overlays in comparing this number of miles in the past decade this 7.2 miles is more mileage than the combined mileage of the first five years of our past decade the city has successfully worked with the SSEDC to meet the needs of the of our local businesses in attracting their employees a part of the solution is creating a market rate workforce multi-family developments several residential developments are under construction and will soon commence as we all know please note that Sheboygan was noted as one of the top 20 small cities for business Sheboygan County lands on the best places for millennials to move to list reasons we made it on the list abundance of jobs as we all know low low-cost housing and low crime rates another positive was the double digit growth in Sheboygan County's home median sale price even with the growth of the residential housing that we've all been involved with we have we have assisted in filling the needs that were identified the city had with the multi-departmental strategy is working hard to stabilize and improve neighborhoods that surround our downtown area this the strategy includes the partnership of the city and the neighborhood associations nine neighborhood associations exist as of December 31st 2018 we are looking to see this number increase over the next years even our city's local surveys are showing positives in the many changes that have been happening locally another good example is city transit improving services over the years ridership in 2018 was 599,714 so close to getting that 600,000 which was a 13.2 increase over 2017 highest ridership since 2002 16 years and some questioned why buses are not full that's the one I enjoyed but I do disagree with with it because of the numbers ridership in the first quarter of 2019 is up 15.9% over the first quarter of 2018 average work week day trips is over 2,500 riders this Thursday five new state-of-the-art buses will be released to our city's routes for our ridership to enjoy shoreline metro ridership increased to its highest level in 16 years thanks in part to a new partnership with the Sheboygan area school district whereby local students can ride year round for free which is huge crime in the in Sheboygan continues to decrease and we've been very blessed by that these are some of the many positives that together we can we will continue to affect and help provide the voice of the cons of our constituents we know that there will always be topics that will be reviewed and questioned today and into the future sometimes these decisions are difficult and some are personal or issues that blur that blur the lines of logic and good stewardship our jobs are not always appreciated and understood and as as we will welcome our newer elders together we will continue to learn together lean on each other and support the changes that will continue to drive positive change for today tomorrow and the future please note that I want you to know that you you can count on me to assist our teams in continued transparency and communicate together together we can find the information and the proper city staff person or department to make your jobs easier when helping our mindful constituents thanks for electing me as your council president thank you all for taking these difficult positions and helping to make Sheboygan a great place to live work and play thank you thank you very much all the person wolf next item on the agenda is the committee of the whole chair persons message all the person sorenson all right thank you mr. Mayor Todd might have had that big stack of paper this is my speech all right thank you to all my colleagues for entrusting me to serve as another term as the committee the whole chairman I first off want to congratulate Barb Felde for the newest addition to the Common Council I know Barb you'll be a fine addition to this council I also want to thank the city staff that are here today in the city leadership you guys are doing an awesome job and I'm excited to see what Sheboygan has in future with your leadership over the past few years as all the person Todd Wolf has mentioned we have accomplished a lot however we still have a long way to go as we move forward to make Sheboygan a thriving 21st century city I challenge every single member of the Common Council to help move this city forward engage listen with your constituents research and see what other communities are doing across the country and let's bring those ideas to the Common Council and the committee the whole for that matter as a platform to bring innovative and bold ideas that will help move Sheboygan forward to a stronger community we still have many miles of roads that need to be repaired we need to increase their housing stock with the focus on affordable housing for the average working Sheboygan I we also need to embrace our diversity and make sure that our city is much more inclusive we must also focus on creating an environment of entrepreneurship to attract businesses in our community and help them grow along the way every member of the Common Council has different backgrounds and experiences some of us were born in Sheboygan some of us were born in other states some of us have mothers fathers daughters and sons some of us are blue collar workers some of us are white collar workers some of us are perennials and some of us are millennials but all of us all of us all of us have a shared love for our community we want to see it thrive from time to time we might disagree on specific topics and we might get in heated debates but that's okay because at the end of the day we love and respect each other and we all get along our politics today need needs a lot more civility and we can be that shining example I want to end with a quote that means a lot to me and I think that we should all take it to heart whenever we're talking or working with our constituents are debating an issue when we're in the council meetings so this is by President Franklin Roosevelt happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of a creative effort again thank you for entrusting me and leading you all in the committee the whole I know that this will be a great session now let's get to work thank you everybody thank you all the person sorenson next item on the agenda is public forum there is no one this evening okay thank you then we'll go on to mayor's message city council members sheboygan staff and residents 2019 promises to be an exciting year for the city of sheboygan I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the candidates that ran spirited campaigns for office and tonight we welcome two new members to our council Betty Ackley and Barbara Feldy my congratulations to the city officials Maris de Bruin city attorney Chuck Adams and all their persons Barbara Feldy from the first district Mary Lynn Donahue from the third district Marcus of Aglio from the fifth district Rose Phillips from the seventh district and Trey Mitchell from the ninth district we now have a year positive experience behind us with a reduced council of ten all their persons and I'm looking forward to working with all of you to make sheboygan someplace better tonight we're going to look forward to the future of our city a high priority on the list is to continue the resurfacing of our city streets last year we're able to see 7.2 miles of streets resurfaced this was the best mileage in over a decade and we in this year we have some expensive projects north avenue and Pennsylvania bridge so while our mileage mileage might drop slightly we're still committed to putting all of the city budget that we have available to to draw down some state money to dovetail this and and get as many of our roads paved as possible unfortunately the north avenue project for example came in 1.3 million dollars over budget this will cause some of our contracted projects to be delayed for another year and so that they remain eligible for future state funding for the last few years the streets crew has paved about 40% of all the mileage that we've done this department is looked being looked to to increase the mileage this year to try to make up some of that difference sheboygan was the 11th city to join the green tier communities of wisconsin the 2018 sheboygan sustainability annual report detailed a number of the impressive accomplishments that we have achieved to sustain this progress we will start a green team composed of city staff as suggested by Chad Pellecek we had a good discussion on the sustainable sheboygan task force and the council made it clear that they wanted to see sustainable resident committee and I've asked Chad Pellecek to look for a new model for the makeup of this committee and after council approval and the appropriate appointments will be forward for your consent sheboygan will continue to address the short fall in our housing stock this year we look forward to ribbon cuttings at several projects that are under construction the lux 42 units 7 pin 85 units these two projects are market rate apartments the badger state loss 118 units and these are workforce apartments which are partially subsidized and also the waters edge condos they're completing the first 15 condos planned in this development and there's another phase that will follow later on and also the Kingsbury site another 30 condos we also are working on the Oscar project which is proposed for the Vandervaart site and if approved could add another 240 subsidized apartments there have already been about 800 units built in sheboygan county in the last two years but sheboygan is still at a very low occupancy rate just a little bit above 1% a good community strives for a 3 or 4% occupancy so we have to keep on working on our housing stock in order to get close to those numbers for some time we've tried to meet the desire for a grocery store downtown and last year we commissioned a grocery store market study we have the expectation that some of these new rental projects will help improve our opportunity to create the environment that will attract a grocery store in our downtown area when you live in sheboygan you live in a great city in a great neighborhood we now have nine neighborhood associations which are managed by the mayor's neighborhood leadership cabinet and I want to thank the members of sheboygan neighborhood pride for the work to develop the new neighborhoods associations we further leveraged our neighborhood revitalization efforts by adding a second code enforcement officer and a new another beat cop they follow up on problem properties and keep our neighborhoods clean maintain clutter free and safe we have four target neighborhoods which will be concentrating our efforts on in 2019 those neighborhoods are south Calumet river bend river watch and south lake this year the finishing touches of lighting and walkways and signage and a new water tower will complete the south point enterprise campus development sheboygan's business park expansion in this first phase we developed 150 acres of streets water lines and sewers to accommodate the future business growth we have also contracted with a commercial realtor to market the business sites last year parts of a memorial mall were demolished to make way for the new Meyer store location Meyer will hold their grand opening next week Friday and there's more development opportunity for a 40,000 square foot small store and also the outlots on this site we look forward to these additional developments our police department continues to bring strong focus to community policing this strategy has produced significant decrease in part one crimes in 2018 the department has also added a second beat cop to strengthen our north side neighborhoods the conversion to county dispatch for all 911 and emergency calls has eliminated the transfer of cell 911 calls from one dispatch center to another and consolidated all dispatch operations in the county law enforcement center the city green will again be hosting entertainment just name a few the Levitt amp concerts on Thursday nights this summer along with several picnic on the green events and other new programming for the summer and it looks like it's going to be a great time downtown again our century old city hall is being restored and remodeled and in 48 days we're looking forward to moving back into our new offices at 828 center Avenue plans will soon be announced for a ribbon cutting and open house so that everyone in the city can come to see these remodeling efforts we also look forward to a new authentic German beer garden which will open on May 25th along the Sheboygan River on the south side of Kiwanis Park the city is contracted with a party to operate the concessions from May 25th through mid-October the German and craft beers will be served in liter and half liter glass mugs baked pretzels will be sold and other food items may be added to the menu later and patrons may bring their own food and a deposit will be charged on the mugs and we've also made it clear that dogs will be allowed in this area we also have a new bike trail that is going to begin construction on that along the lion energy transmission corridor and that project will commence this summer the city has also purchased additional land from the Union Pacific Railroad to extend the shoreland 400 bike trail south down to Union Avenue the Sheboygan County non motorized projects have given us bike trail improvements to benefit the residents of Sheboygan also look for Sheboygan to set up a trek bike share program this year to start out we plan to purchase 20 bikes they will be positioned at three different locations on south pier the harbor center marina and our downtown and in 2018 Sheboygan was recognized as a bronze level bike friendly community we hope that these non motorized improvements will allow Sheboygan to be recognized as a silver level bike friendly community in the future the city remains committed to increasing its communication with our residents last year we launched a communications committee to make recommendation to approve both our internal and external communications we currently provide a monthly newsletter the Sheboygan insider and use various social media twitter next door nixle facebook and council meetings are streamed live in on video on demand and council videos are now being produced as separate videos for the public consumption and when we move back into city hall we'll also have the capability to transmit and record our committee meetings residents have asked the city to establish a dog park on the north side we will be working with the humane society to develop a north side dog park in conjunction with their facility expansion plans a committee will also be set to inventory our community and make recommendations for Sheboygan to be recognized as a pet pet friendly community other parks will also see improvements this summer the Valrath Park tennis courts will be resurfaced and three pickleball courts will be added to the Valrath Park along with some new fencing Optimist Park splash pad is was finished last fall will be open this summer and the Shaw family universal playground will be formally open in June the new park will be set to open on the east side of the park and the lights at the Mary T canal fields at wildwood baseball park will be turned on for the A season opener and they plan to open up a new party deck and concession stand which should be finished soon and we also are ready to open up our kayak launch which was installed along the Sheboygan River in Kiwanis Park. Our forestry department has been very busy as well and is implementing this year will be planting five hundred and fifteen new trees and eight hundred ash trees will be treated three hundred and seventy five ash trees and three hundred and fifty to five hundred other trees will be removed and the stumps will be ground out and two thousand five hundred trees will be trimmed Sheboygan will be celebrating Arbor Day on April twenty six at ten o'clock at J.C. Park the city will receiving Wisconsin's first forty one year tree city U.S.A. recognition that means that the first Wisconsin community to meet the guidelines set by the Arbor Day foundation and continually cared for the trees for forty one years as the city of Sheboygan. The public works department has also stepped up to reevaluate their operations this last year and council accepted the new winter snow emergency rules that they recommended and last night they approved the changes proposed to modernize our garbage collection system. Both of these changes will allow the apartment to be much more effective in the future. I would like to thank all of our city employees for the hard work that they do every day. I also am so appreciative of all the work that you do and for your service to the city without all of you we would not be the great city that we are today. Thank you also for the volunteers who serve on city committees or participate in our community in many different ways. It's those contributions that makes our city so great. It's my honor and privilege to serve the people of Sheboygan as your mayor and I'm very proud of our past accomplishments and look forward to a successful council year. May God bless each of you and may God bless the city of Sheboygan. Thank you. Next we have a resolution item two point one is resolution number one of nineteen twenty by Alderperson Wolf requesting that the mayor reactivate various special committees for the twenty nineteen twenty twenty council year. Alderperson Wolf. Thank you mayor. I make a motion to pass the resolution. Second. Thanks for that motion and support. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor please signify by obviously we have to take the roll. I'm sorry. Ten ayes. Motion passes. Would the city clerk please hand out the mayor's appointments pursuant to section two seventy two of municipal code the Standing Committee assignments are made by the mayor on Tuesday April 16th and subject to confirmation by the full council next Monday on April 22nd. The code further states that it's the mayor's responsibility to make assignments that best serve the interests of the city of Sheboygan. To assist me in that process I've asked all the council members to rank their committee preferences and made every effort to take these preferences into consideration in the Standing Committee appointments that I have made prepared for tonight and present for your consideration and approval. Under the municipal code each alder person shall be appointed to at least one and not more than two Standing Committees. In addition to the list of appointments for the Standing Committees I've shared the council's committee preferences spreadsheet with the rankings of all the alder persons and I'm pleased to report that eight of the alder persons received their first choice and two received their second choice and their first committee appointment. I trust that you as common council members will agree that these committee assignments and leadership selections along with the elections to help tonight will position the city of Sheboygan for a successful 2019-2020 council year. Those appointments will lie over till next Monday. Next item on the agenda is adjournment alder person wolf. Thank you mayor I make a motion to adjourn. Second. Thank you for that motion in support. All those in favor please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed. Motion passes. We stand adjourned. Thank you very much.