Crossing family. How you doing today?
You doing? All right, man.
I'm excited to be able to spend some time with you today.
I want to welcome those of you joining at all of our different
locations. Those of you watching online,
and those of your part of the crossing inside family, I also
want to welcome those of you joining for the first time or
the first time in a long time. We are so glad that you are
here. Hopefully somebody's already
told you that they love you that they like you and that they're
your they're glad you're here if not, it's my pleasure to be able
to be the one of the people who gets to do.
That if at any point in time during the sermon, you get
bored. You like when is this guy again
stop. You can still look super
spiritual by pulling out your phone.
Click on that QR code. And it'll give you an
opportunity to kind of take some next steps or learn more about
our church. What I want to do real quick is
I want to do a quick prayer on the front end.
I want to pray over a couple specific things right now.
There are four people from our church who are in India, Randy,
and Becky dress from our Location who also used to be
part of a 48th Street location as long as as well as Jim and
Karen. Dennis who basically had a
significant impact about everywhere.
They are in India right now, encouraging pastors, looking for
a mission, partnering are opportunities and also working
specifically to find young men and women and figure out a way
to get them enrolled and pay for their continuing education.
So that way they can be deployed into Ministry and I just want to
alongside of them and pray for them today.
So you guys just join me in prayer for just a second.
Heavenly Father, we are nothing without you the sermons,
nothing. I'm nothing.
This service is nothing. This church is nothing without
your presence. And so God, we're asking you to
do a work in each and every single heart and every single
life today, I also just want to pray over the dishes and the
Dennis's and all the people that they're going to be ministering
to and learning from while they are in India.
Keep them safe. I know that they've been there
for a while. Now, I'm sure that some of the
fatigue is beginning to set in. We got our pray that they would
receive strength from your spirit and that they would be
able to be an encouragement to every single person that they
meet God. I don't know, all of the
different backgrounds in circumstances that are being
navigated by the people that can hear my voice right now.
The got I know that you are bigger than a mall and that you
care about them all and help us instead of running from you to
lean into you and your name. I pray.
Amen. I heard a cool story.
A couple who are part of our church clothes.
Dear friends of Jennifer and I she has a cousin who has been
kind of going through it. They'll have a season where
things are going really well, and when they're doing, well,
they're one of the best and then there's Seasons where they kind
of fall off the wagon, and the kind of go into a pretty deep
dark pit and they don't live in the area.
But there's been a lot of interaction going back and forth
and eventually they're like, you know, what you should, you need
to go to church. You gotta go to church.
He's like, yeah, I got to go to church.
Well, they don't live anywhere near here and they live out in
Maryland. And so, This guy wakes up on a
Sunday morning and goes into this random Church in.
Maryland, gets done with church that Sunday and calls back.
And goes, I just went to this fantastic church.
It was exactly what I needed to hear.
They're starting this brand new sermon series called weeds in my
garden. And we actually prayed for that
church without even knowing that.
Somebody from our church who has a loved one would actually be
attending that church. And only God can stitch those
kind of stories together and I know there's some of you today
who are going You're in it and you feel like you are a long way
off from your wind story, but God's timing is perfect and he
is more in their Corner than you could ever be.
And don't ever don't ever don't ever doubt what God can do with
just a little bit of obedience and a little bit of prayer.
We are getting ready for a big Super Bowl weekend at the
Crossing I told you about this last weekend, we're bringing in
Steve Weatherford, it's gonna be a great service for you guys to
invite. Your friends and family, they're
going to have a wonderful time. Getting to hang out with him on
that Saturday. We're going to be doing The
Frigid 5K and all of the money that we take in from The Frigid
5K is going to go to support people who have been trapped and
are dealing with modern day slavery.
Specifically in sex trafficking, there's going to be over 100
million people. Watch the Super Bowl this year
and today in our present climate, there are 40 million,
people still trapped, and modern-day slavery and Want to
do something about it. You're going with Clayton, it's
gonna be cold. I know.
That's why it's called a frigid 5K.
And I know you guys all have car Hearts, okay, I know this, we've
lived here long enough and if you don't have some, they sell
them at literally almost every store.
So go buy something warm and go for a run or walk if you're a
runner, Jill run, okay? If you're not a runner, this guy
just come with me, we'll do like our own little side B.
Like who can eat the most hot dogs during A 5k.
All right. And the goal of this is its can
be a great opportunity for us to make memories with our friends
and our family and also support a great cause you can sign up
for that on the qr-code. I'm hoping that we'll have over
500 people, join us in the first inaugural might be the only the
5K we ever do as a church. The other thing is when you get
ready for Super Bowl weekend, would you make sure that you try
and invite some friends to hang out with you or go to a place
where you can point some people to Jesus because we want to be a
light in the world. Now We are in a sermon series
called there has to be a place, and we've talked about all kinds
of stuff, there has to be a place that makes Jesus last
words their first priority. And you guys know what those
words are. Matthew chapter, 28, then Jesus
came to them and said all authority on Heaven and Earth
has been given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of all
Nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and the Son
and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything.
I have commanded you and surely. I Am With You Always to the very
end of the age and the word discipleship.
This is kind of how we Explain what discipleship is
discipleship is moving people from the left or right.
So, if you have a minus 5, a person who, you know, hates God
and you have a person who's +5, who's your grandma, who's
already met God, probably because you really got to be in
heaven, to get to the plus 5. Our job is to move people from
left to right. That's what being a discipler
is. And then we talked about there
has to be a place that believes that Jesus still changes people
that over time, sometimes our faith and What God can do has
been eroded. But we want to rekindle that
belief that God is still moving and active that.
His power is not diminished, he's just as alive just as
amazing and just as life-changing as he has always
been. And then we talked about there
has to be a place where the people of God leverage, their,
their gifts to advance God's glorious mission.
That all of us. Every single one of us have a
gift that was placed in Us by God, to serve the mission of God
through through the church. Why are we doing this?
That's super easy to you guys know this answer because we want
to make this place all ten thousand seven hundred, ninety
five square miles. The hardest place on planet
Earth to get to Hell from every day when you wake up and your
alarm goes off. I want demons going there awake
because we are flat serious about helping people in our
region, know the beauty of the Cross and the power of the
resurrection and God's forgiveness and his love.
And in order to make This a reality.
There has to be a place that is committed to biblical Community.
There has to be a place that is committed to biblical Community
hear me. Jesus is not enough.
God is Not Enough. You cannot live the life that
God called you to live or accomplish the purposes that he
you were created to engage in if you are doing it alone.
And I know for some of you right now you're going Clayton, I've
been in church a long time and based on what you just said,
there's two words that come to my mind blasphemy heresy, you're
gone. I knew it.
Clayton was way too fun to be a real Christian.
Yeah, okay, but just stay with me for a second.
Can I all right? We got to deal with this a long
time ago when I was talking about, do Spirit, fingers, and
my wife, critiqued it. And so, I stopped, I stopped
doing this, but then recently, she said that when I do this,
come here that she hates that. So come here.
Genesis 1:26. Look at this.
Then God said, let us make Mankind in our image.
Who's the US? Who's the Our God exists in
community? The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Now check this out Genesis 2:18.
The Lord God said it is not everybody.
Say this word. You guys know the word.
Good is. Yeah.
Good for man to be alone. I will Kim AR will make a helper
suitable for him. For those of you who've been
around church for a long time. Here's Adam living in perfect
Community with God, and God says, in that, perfect
Community, it's not good for him to be alone.
So he formed someone to come alongside of him a suitable
helper. I can continue in the Old
Testament think of all of the main characters that and all the
incredible Endeavors that they accomplished you had Moses and
he had Add Aaron and at times he had her Hur.
Then you had David and Jonathan and David and his mighty men,
then you had Shadrach Meshach and away we go, then there was
Gideon. And the 300, there was Nehemiah
who built some of, you didn't get that joke and that's why our
church exists to help people who are far from Jesus finding it's
that personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Nehemiah built the wall with the community of people committed to
the project but you are might be gone.
But Clayton, I'm a New Testament.
Christian. That's all Old Testament.
Okay fine. Let's hang out in the New
Testament for a little bit. There's this main character who
arrives on the scene in the first four books.
His name is Jesus also known as Son of God.
Kind of a big baller in the Bible and one of the first
things he does before he starts his Earthly Ministry is what
Circle up a group of 12, dudes to be in community with to be
about his mission and then check this out.
When the son of God. God sends them out to do his
ministry. He sends them out the exact same
way. Noah got all the animals on the
ark to buy, that's exactly right.
You were made for Community. If you want to accomplish the
purposes of God, he wants you to accomplish that in community and
there might be some of you like the real grade-a curmudgeon,
who's going, but Clayton, that was before the Holy Spirit
showed up. And once the Holy Spirit shows
up in Jesus comes into my Heart. I don't need Community anymore.
Welcome here for a second. Read the book of Acts and see
what happens. You'll see that there's all
kinds of ministry moments that people are doing together, read
the rest of the New Testament and almost in every epistle
which is the letters that were written by Paul to the different
churches. It Ends by him sending,
greetings to the people that he was doing Ministry alongside
when you read the scriptures you're going to hear about Peter
and John Paul and Silas Paul and Timothy Paul and Is Peter and
John Mark in short, the idea of living the Christian life,
outside of community would have been foreign to the biblical
authors, to the biblical, text to the community.
And there are first century Church to all of church history
and to God himself, you were made to live in community.
It is God's way of equipping you to manage the life that you have
been called to live and to excel.
Now, look at what Says here, in Ecclesiastes chapter 4, two are
better than one because they have a good return for their
labor. If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up. Let's pause here for a second.
Do you guys remember when you were freshly married, like in
your honeymoon, stage, you both look good naked, remember those
like lights on times and Jennifer and I freshly married
and I was playing basketball. Threw my back out, okay?
And I was, it was one of those back problems.
That you can get on the toilet. But you can't get back up,
right. Fortunately, God put me in
community with the wife. If we the one of them falls
down, one can help the other up, but pity anyone, I could still
be there today who falls down and has no one to help them up.
Let's keep going. Also, if to lie down together,
they will keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
Let's keep going. I'll are the one may be
overpowered. Two can defend themselves a cord
of three? Strands is not quickly, broken
guess. Who writes this?
The guy's name is Solomon. Universally known outside of
Jesus, as the wisest man to ever live.
If the wisest man who ever lived says to you, it is not good for
you to be alone that you need to be in community.
I think we should go. All right, we got to get this
thing. Figured out in my experience, I
do not know of a person who is in a small group or a d group.
And what I mean, small group of D group thinks small group is
like co-ed Group D group, as dudes, getting together or Girls
getting together, I don't know, women, whatever.
I have never seen a person who's, in a small group or D
group, whose have their needs go unmet.
I've seen small groups, and D groups prepare meals for weeks.
I've seen them, pull their money to meet a need.
I've seen their small group show up to pray at hospitals and a
funeral homes. It is in biblical community that
you get to know people and people get to know you.
I had a person call me one time and they were frustrated that no
one came to to see them at the hospital and no one came to pray
for them at their house and follow up with them and see how
they were doing. And I'm, there was a longer
conversation and it was, you know, I was super nice and
pastoral but there was this Chunk in that conversation where
I ask them some questions. Hey, your small group didn't
come and take care of you, who's your small group leader, I'll
call him up, figure out what was going on and and see how you how
it fell through the cracks. Well, I'm not in a I'm not in a
life group, okay? Well then let me call your
ministry leader and see how this situation was overlooked.
Well I'm not in a Ministry And I said, Okay the reason why nobody
came in your hour of need is because nobody knew you were in
need you had no Community pity, the person who falls down and
has no one to pick them up. Now you need to know this some
of the very best Best pastoral care that happens at this
church. Does not happen at my hands.
It doesn't even happen at the hands of our campus pastors.
It happens because small groups in Ministry groups, know what is
going on and are there to help you live out your Christian walk
biblical Community is God's way of encouraging you in your
faith. The Bible is full of one another
passages over 100 times in the New Testament 1994.
Different verses 47 of those verses are instructions to us is
Jesus There's a third about getting along.
A third are about loving one. Another 15% deal with your
attitude toward one another. Look what it says in Galatians
chapter 6 carry each other's burdens.
And in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.
His goal is for you to be in relationship.
Now, some of you might be going. Oh, I understand what's
happening here. We're getting ready to start
first the month here, so I should get in life groups, that
way I can get my rent, paid at the end of the month.
That's not what this is about. This is about About you,
proactively being in community, and growing in Christ.
And inside of that Community, as your affections for.
One another grow, you find yourself being become bonded
through Christ and you become brothers and sisters, and you
can't help. But see somebody you care about
and somebody that you've submitted to and somebody that
you were in relationship with struggle, you come alongside of
them and you lift them up because I don't know if you know
this sometimes life gets hard and sometimes the Christian Life
is Hard derp, look what happens, Hebrews 10 let us consider how
we may spur one another on towards love and Good Deeds
because we're going to have to be encouraged and spurred on to
take the high road. We're going to need someone to
come alongside of us and point out our sin and help us give it
over to God. Now, let me say this, And I was
getting nervous about doing this.
I just want to talk for just a second to our online family, to
those of you are one of our locations, you can listen in
because I think there's some wisdom here for you, but I want
to speak specifically to our online family.
And I know right now, you could be going.
Oh, you better be careful because I will click the X.
I will swipe up and work. Can I can I just be your pastor
for just a second? I want to tell you a couple
things one, we love you. We put a ton of time and energy
and resources to give you the very best online experience that
we can week after week last week.
There was a group of people from Peoria who watch online and they
got up at 6 a.m. and they drove all the way from.
Peoria, all the way to be here at first service on Sunday here
in Quincy. They're trying hard to start a
DOT TV location in someone's living room and I think they
have desire that one day. Maybe there could be a location
there during second service last week.
At 48th Street and 11 year old boy, Boy was baptized here.
He was watching online with his family for the last two years
and he realized that his next step was that he needed to be
baptized. So they're very first time at
the Crossing was when they drove two hours to show up at our
church that came on a Saturday went out to Texas Roadhouse
which is what people do. They stayed in a hotel that got
up the first time, they walked in there and our doors was the
day. Their child was getting baptized
However, as awesome as those stories are.
Yeah, you can applaud if you guys are still awake.
Yeah, that's great. Listen to both of you who
Applause. God bless you.
May God repay. You know, just take care of you.
Those of you who are asleep, may God wreak havoc on your life,
just messing with you. Listen, however, online online
is at its best when you are using it to stay connected and
dealing with sickness and you're navigating travel online is at
its best. When people are using it as an
opportunity to get to know our church before they attend our
church, Church. However, online is at its worst.
When you use it to avoid the weekend services and being
connected to community. If you live in community, where
it's too hard for you to find a church or where the crossing
doesn't exist, I want you to hear me say this, we will work
with you. We will make it our priority to
help you find a really great. Fantastic Church.
There are better preachers. Better pastors and better
churches out there than we can provide to you online, and you
will be blessed by God inside of his Plan for Community.
My experience is that those who begin to neglect the Gathering
of the assembly end up growing cold in their faith week in
their walk. There is less evangelism, less
growth less serving, less caring for and meeting the needs of
others less discipleship. It appears to me that they can
end up being lulled into spiritual complacency and give
up participation in God. Glorious Mission.
They can just end up checking a box.
My parents have a huge wood burning fireplace in every
Thanksgiving we go. When we spend the whole week
there and we chop wood and we throw it in the fireplace.
And you can take fiery, hot coal and you can pull it out and you
can leave it in the fireplace, but you can put it off to the
side right at the corner and it won't take long before it glazes
over becomes gray and cool to the touch.
However, you take that cold call and you put it back into the
fire with the other coals and in no time at all.
It is brought back to a fiery orange and red and I believe
that that can happen to you. You listen to me right now as
I'm talking some of you hopefully are feeling a little
Convicted that for one reason or another.
You haven't made being a part of a church.
A priority. And Satan might be whispering in
your ear. Yeah, I'd like to go back but
it's going to be awkward because it has been too long.
I want you to hear me say it. Not true.
We will rejoice, and be excited. And I will wear my arms out.
Giving you hugs that you are back, you were not supposed to
do life alone. And the very moment you're being
pointed towards truth. Satan will try to rob it.
Look what it says, Hebrews chapter 10 and let us consider
how we may spur one. Another on towards love and Good
Deeds. Look what happens, the very next
verse not giving up meeting together as some are in the
habit of doing but encouraging one, another and all the more as
you see the day approaching, it is hard for you to be encouraged
when you are not in community. Now, I want to be clear.
Biblical Community is not friends who get together to
coffee shop or go on shopping trips or who are all the fun
moms on the travel baseball team.
Listen, it's not a bunch of guys going hunting or golfing.
That's not what I'm talking about.
You can do all of those things, but that is not what I'm talking
about. When I say being in community,
here are the four components as we see in scripture, when it
comes to biblical Community, it has an intentional leader, a
relational environment, A Biblical foundation and a
reproducible process. Here's what I mean, when I talk
about an intentional leader, an intentional leader, is someone
who is committed to moving people on the content on the
spiritual Continuum. Okay, they are going.
How can I move somebody? They're obsessed by it.
It's there. They're wanting to help people
mature in Christ and grow in Christ and learn and Christ.
This is what Jesus did with all of his disciples.
This is what Paul did with those who are doing Ministry,
alongside of them, they feel a spiritual.
A burden to take ownership and responsibility of what is
happening in their French Circle.
And the lives of the people they care about they're strategically
going, how can I help this person move closer to Jesus?
You have to have an intentional leader.
You also have to have a relational environment, okay?
You have to have an environment where there can be dialog where
you can hear from one another. This is not a relational
environment, okay, I'm talking to you and I'm assuming an awful
lot about. What's going on in your world or
what? You need to hear and I'm relying
too heavily on the holy spirit for that.
But some of the best growth that ever happens, happens across a
kitchen table and in the middle of the back swing while you're
golfing, while someone is trying to help you grow in Christ then
you got to have a Biblical Foundation.
Hey, the reason why you have to have a Biblical Foundation is
because if we are going to meet week, There's No Foundation that
has been laid other than Jesus Christ.
And if we are going to help somebody build their life, they
need to build it on a foundation that will not crumble when the
storms come, look what it says in.
Second, Timothy all scripture is god-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking correcting and training in righteousness.
So that the servant of God, may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work. Work when we commit ourselves,
as a group of Believers as a community of Believers to the
Bible, we are going to be made useful for every good work that
God has us to do. Now.
Why are all three of these things important?
Well, imagine what would happen if you take one of these away.
What if you took away a Biblical Foundation, you just had an
intentional leader and relation environment.
You have a recipe for a really cool cold, right?
That wouldn't be good. Anybody want to be a part of a
cult? Didn't think so.
Okay, why don't you get rid of relational environment?
Well, now you have a classroom, all of us were like, hey, we got
Out of school for a reason, we are not going back, okay?
What if you don't have an intentional leader, you have
chaos, you have a bunch of people trying to do stuff, but
nobody actually helping people move strategically forward.
But the last thing you have to have, you have to have a
reproducible process. Were you raise people up to
eventually be the intentional leader in their own relational
environment, where eventually you come alongside and say, you
know what, I want to help people grow and develop in their walk
with the Lord where they leave your biblical community and
start a Biblical community on their own.
Eventually the kids need to leave the house.
Eventually you're going I'm not making you your macaroni
anymore, you can make it Yourself.
Get them clicking. I will.
Okay. You got to, you got to step into
this gently, but you want to help people realize that God
made them to make a difference too.
That there's some of you right now like you're going man, I I
do feel a sense of spiritual ownership over what's happening
in people's lives and I do want to be a part of people growing
in the relationship with Jesus that that might just be the Holy
Spirit telling you you just might be an intentional leader
and what you need to figure out a way is to create a relational
environment so you can help people grow, do you know how you
came to Faith? You came to Faith because other
people were intentional leaders, they branched out.
And made sacrifices to help you grow and it would be a shame.
For us not to pass that very blessing on that brought so much
joy and life changed in to us. There has to be a place that is
committed to biblical community and I say it's here and I say
it's with us and I say it's now we're moving to a time of
decision. All listen to me if you are here
and you've never started an intimate personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. I want, you know, we would love
for you to be a part of our community because being a part
of our community. You don't have to believe all
the right things or have done all the right things.
Do you know what the qualifications are for you to
being a part of this community? Jesus died on the cross for your
sins because that is the only qualification that unites any of
us that God poured out, his love on us when we did not deserve it
and it has nothing to do with whether or not you've responded
to it or not and you might be going too.
You mean I can be in a Biblical community and be mad at God.
Yeah. Can I be in biblical community
and not believe in God. Yeah.
Can I be in biblical Community? If I've only been to church
once? Yeah, there's not like a
prerequisite for how many times you have to come to church
before. You can start receiving the
blessing of the church because the church exists, for all the
people who haven't found Jesus. Yet it exists to glorify God in
accomplish his mission, which means you are.
Welcome here, you can belong, here you can Be a part of what
God is doing here and this church is committed to this,
this church is committed to you, but here's what happens when you
come into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
He deposits his holy, spirit into your heart, and he brings
about change from the inside out.
You know why you get frustrated? Is because so, much of our
change is, from the outside in. You just got done with your New
Year's resolutions. And when I'm done, I mean,
Already done with the resolutions you made, okay, you
know, and we kind of take that approach into our relationship
with Jesus Christ. You know what, I'm going to
really get my sin figured out and then and then I'll get
serious about Jesus. Like then I'll step into the
relationship. Like I'm not going to buy the
swimsuit until I should put the swimsuit on.
And so you're working hard all on your own to accomplish
something. Just so you know that you
couldn't have fixed from the very beginning.
Check this out. If you could fix.
Hugh. God would not have sent his son
to die on the cross for you. If you're thinking, man, I've
got to get enough things right in my life, before I start a
relationship with Jesus. Satan is clouding, your mind.
He is doing everything in his power to keep you from accepting
the grace. That is a free gift, deposited
into your life. When you accept that
relationship with Jesus, here's what happens.
We just come to the realization that we can't fix it.
If we could have fixed, it would have already been fixed, but
This comes and says I love you where you are.
And I love you enough, not to leave you there.
And so you go to him and you say I'm ready to begin an intimate
personal relationship with you. I want to make you Lord and
Savior. My Life savior means that.
He is the one who rescues you redeems.
You he's the one who handles your sins of your past in the
sins of your present. He's the one who purifies you
and makes you holy and then you make him your lord where you're
going. Alright, from here on out
because of what you've done for me, I am ready.
To live for you. I believe that your way is the
best way and I want to live in accordance with that and just so
you know, you're going to screw it up because some of you might
be going, I mean I want all that but I'm pretty sure I'm in a
mess up just so you know, you are surrounded by a bunch of
monumental screw-ups. They emailed me, you are sitting
by some messed up people, we all still mess up, but that doesn't
take away. God's grace, that doesn't take
away God's vision for our life. That doesn't take away his love.
You've been dealt with so many people who love.
So Poorly who their love is based are the love that you have
with them is based on conditions.
I'll love you as long as but God has all of you anyway, I love
you. Anyway, you can get things right
today and screwed up tomorrow. And God says, I love you anyway.
You can be talking to somebody and you could be on, man.
I remember when we had a good fill in the blank, I remember we
had a good run, you don't have a good run with God because God
never runs from you. He stays with you every step of
the way. And if you're here today and
you've never started An intimate personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. Please don't walk out of here,
without talking to somebody about it.
That just a few moments when the people around, you stand up and
they start singing and some of them come to the steps.
There's any somebody over there by the Baptist, who would love a
chance to connect with you or maybe you want to talk to
somebody over at the info bar in the lobby or maybe you want to
talk to somebody in your row but talk to somebody, get some of
your questions. Answered some of you know that
you just need to make that decision today.
Like you need to stop putting it off.
You've watched everybody else start there.
Relationship with Jesus and you're just kind of Holding Out
for. I don't know what, let's talk
about that to the rest of you in the room, Christians.
Come here. We have to be committed to this.
We have to be committed to allowing people closer than
Arms. Reach have to let people in.
Not just for them, not just because they need an opportunity
to learn and grow from your triumphs and your struggles, but
because you need an opportunity in humility to learn from them.
But you're going to need people around you to encourage you and
support you as you try to live the Christian walk.
And when you do this life without community, What I've
seen. Is overtime Satan wins?
He plucks you from The Herd. He steals the joy that you once
had in your salvation. Not only that the best way to
reach the people we care about. Is in community where they
actually experienced love and there's dialogue and you can
help them grow and I'm praying. But you.
That you would take this seriously, you're going.
Oh man, Clayton know. I was actually really glad that
my friend was here because I wanted my friend to hear this.
And I want that person who sit in front of me for them to,
really listen to your sermon. I'm taking this one off.
No, come here. God has equipped you to make
disciples. He has equipped you to make a
difference. He has put it inside of you to
be an intentional leader. That's what the family
originally was it was the place where kids were were developed
and grown in the Lord and in some of us go, you know what, on
top of the responsibilities of my family.
I'm going to make an investment in somebody else's family for
their good. And I know you might be gone but
I don't have all the answers just so, you know, I don't
either sometimes people ask me question, I have no clue, so I
go to Google and my Bible and I figured out and I get back to
him. But I'll tell you this, it's in
those conversations. And in those questions that my
faith has grown the most, what if, what was holding you back
from growing? The most in your faith?
Was you taking responsibility to help somebody grow in.
There's, here's what I'm asking. If you're Christian, if you've
been touched by the blood of Jesus, if your life has been
changed by Mercy and his grace, would you find some time to the
next song to whether go? You go to the bathroom, put your
hands in the water. You've decided to just pray,
right, where you're at or you want to come here and get down
on your knees, but would you ask God to help you take a step
towards community? Would you stand with me?
Heavenly Father, we love you. We're thankful for you.
We don't deserve you, but God, I'm asking that you would do a
work in our church today. Not just here at our 48th Street
location. Not just to those watching
online and not just to those who will eventually watch inside.
But at every single one of our locations, That you would fire,
some people up to be intentional leaders, that you would get some
people to the point where they're ready to be in community
and step out of isolation. Got that you would use this
church with all of her deficiencies and all the areas
where we fall short. To reach people that nobody else
is reaching and your name? I pray.
Amen. To reach people that nobody else
is reaching and your name? I pray.
Amen.