1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,320 Oh, crossing family, Happy New Year. 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,120 I love you so much and I'm so thankful to be a part of this 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,520 church alongside each and every single one of you. 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,040 And I want to welcome all of our locations and those of you 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,880 watching online and those of you who are part of the crossing 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,080 inside. I also want to give a very 7 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:24,040 special welcome to those of you who are part of our newest 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,760 location in Weaver, Iowa. We want to welcome you. 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,840 We are celebrating you. We launched this location on 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:38,360 December 24th at 3:00 PM and I figured you guys might want a 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,120 quick look of what this launch actually looked like. 12 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,760 So I'm going to have them run some pictures here so you guys 13 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,560 can see what this place looks like. 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,240 This is a picture of the lobby that we just finished redoing. 15 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,680 It looks absolutely incredible. It has been a joy for us to be 16 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,120 able to go on this journey with you and sing something that 17 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,160 we've been praying about as a church for over 10 years finally 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,160 become a reality. And it is going to be our 19 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,319 privilege to those of you who are in Weaver, Iowa to come 20 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,640 alongside of you as you try to reach the people in Lee County 21 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,760 and Des Moines County and help them find an intimate personal 22 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,560 relationship with Jesus Christ. And to those of you who have or 23 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,360 are still considering partnering with us for a year end gift for 24 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,360 an In Your Corner gift, We are using the money to pay for the 25 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,400 renovation that you just saw and the refit and the launch of the 26 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,760 Crossing Weaver, as well as turning all of our lobbies at 27 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,760 all of our locations. And what you see so beautifully 28 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,520 done there in Weaver. And just so you know, if you 29 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,360 were wondering how many people showed up in Weaver for the very 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,440 first Sunday, the number that we were praying for was 300 and God 31 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:47,640 delivered 377 people. Come on. 32 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,200 Oh, I have a very full heart. Well, recently Jerry spoke about 33 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,640 our core values as a church. And for those of you who are new 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,560 to the crossing, this is a great chance for you to get to know us 35 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:01,520 a little bit better and understand our hearts as a 36 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:03,080 church. To those of you who've been 37 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,000 around for a really long time, I like to think of this time every 38 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,840 year as an opportunity to look at like your baby pictures or 39 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,000 wedding pictures. It serves as a moment of 40 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,960 reflection and inspiration. What I want to do is I want to 41 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,120 kind of run through our core values real quick and then we're 42 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,320 going to kind of see what God has been doing as a result of 43 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,520 that. So here are our core values, our 44 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,400 core values. The first one is that we are 45 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,400 outward. We will do whatever it takes to 46 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:29,040 reach people who are far from Jesus. 47 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,680 Sometimes this gets us in trouble, but it's the right kind 48 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:33,880 of trouble. The next one is downward. 49 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,000 We will gladly give up the things we love for a future 50 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,880 generation we love even more. There is a priority that our 51 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,560 church has chosen and our priority is people who don't 52 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,880 know Jesus and people who are young in their faith and young 53 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,920 in life. Just like when you, you know, 54 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:55,760 get on a on a mass transportation, you give 55 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,560 priority to pregnant women and you give priority to the 56 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,720 elderly. At our church, we give priority 57 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,600 to people who don't know Jesus and we give priority to people 58 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,200 who are very, very young. So what do we do to make sure 59 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:07,720 that we're outward and we are downward? 60 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,320 We are relevant. We will do fresh things in 61 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,800 fresh, fresh ways to reach people no one else is reaching. 62 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,640 Then our next core value is innovate. 63 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,480 We will take big faith filled risks and never insult God with 64 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,560 small thinking and safe living. We'll talk a little bit about 65 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,680 that here in a minute. Next one is make leaders. 66 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,200 We will develop leaders who honor God and inspire people and 67 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,240 they will change the world. And then the next one is we 68 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,760 grow. We will never stop measuring, 69 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,520 changing, and moving for growth because nothing matters more to 70 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,440 God than people. And then finally, we are one. 71 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,280 The church is the hope of the world and we can accomplish 72 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,240 infinitely more together than apart. 73 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,480 Weaver would never be a reality if it wasn't for all of our 74 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,640 other locations pitching in their time, their resources, 75 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:58,960 their talents and their abilities and their prayers to 76 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,040 make it a reality. And these core values are rooted 77 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,880 in and informed by our love for God and the mission that he gave 78 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,320 to each and every single one of us. 79 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,200 How important is this mission? Well, this is what Jesus says in 80 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,240 Luke chapter 19 verse 10 for the Son of Man. 81 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,800 That's Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. 82 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,840 Whatever church wants, a church wants to put on their wall. 83 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,480 If it is not the very same mission that Jesus came to do, 84 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,160 which is seek and save the lost, it is not a mission that God 85 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:37,240 honors because when God sent his son, he sent him to help those 86 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,360 who are far from him to eventually be found in him. 87 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,280 So you might be asking as a church, how are we doing? 88 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,200 Well, I'll just tell you, this has been one of the most 89 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,080 incredible seasons of ministry at the crossing and we are not 90 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,440 taking any credit for it. We are just so incredibly 91 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,320 thankful that God is doing it in our midst and he is blessing our 92 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,760 ministry efforts. And I'm going to give you a 93 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,800 sneak peek in what that looks like. 94 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,200 So Rise ladies, how many of you went to Rise? 95 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:15,400 OK, ladies, that was that was horrible, but you guys set 96 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,480 another all time record with 516 women coming to rise for the 97 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,800 very first time. We measure that because we want 98 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,040 to make sure that we're reaching people far from Jesus. 99 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,200 This is what's happened in our uncommon conference over the 100 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,560 last couple years. We also set another all time 101 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,880 record and we had 509 people attempt for the very first time. 102 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,360 We tracked that because we want to make sure that people are far 103 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,480 from Jesus, are being found in Jesus. 104 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,640 And then something else happened. 105 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,200 I got to step over here. Churches from across the country 106 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,440 started calling us and asking us to go into their church and help 107 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,840 them do a men's conference. And so our church provides the 108 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:52,600 funds to help them start and launch their ministry at their 109 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:54,280 location so that they can reach the men. 110 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,960 Because statistics show that if you reach the man, you have a 111 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:58,680 higher probability of reaching the family. 112 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,960 And so when you participate and sign up to be a part of our 113 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,360 men's conference, we use the proceeds from that to provide 114 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,800 the starter money so the other churches don't have to think 115 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,280 about the fiscal responsibilities. 116 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,240 They can go, you know what? I just want to reach people. 117 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,840 Will you help us? And people don't stop thanking 118 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:15,760 us for it. And there are even more to come. 119 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:17,400 And I'm actually going to the one. 120 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:20,720 If you're watch, if you're another church watching us 121 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,480 online, I would really like a whole slew of you in the South 122 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:31,520 in January, February. And I'll, I would love to come 123 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,080 and minister you guys as often as humanly possible. 124 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:40,920 OK then. Then we had our very best year 125 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,720 ever at our camp this year. Look what happened at Camp 126 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,440 16108. Students went to camp. 127 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,200 I'm praising God for that and you should be too. 128 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,480 To those of you who did sponsorships through the golf 129 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,760 outing, participated in the golf outing, To those of you who 130 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,960 joined Jennifer and I, and you made a scholarship contribution 131 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,440 for kids to go to camp. Because of your efforts, we were 132 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,920 able to take more kids than we have ever taken before. 133 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,240 You might remember we decided to change things up on Christmas 134 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:12,200 Eve. And I said, we're going to take 135 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,800 a big fateful risk because the previous time that Christmas Eve 136 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,360 or Christmas was on a Wednesday, our church church took a nine 137 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,360 percent drop in attendance on Christmas Eve. 138 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,120 That frustrates us because we're trying to reach as many people 139 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,400 as possible, and we want to tell as many people as possible about 140 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,960 what we found in Jesus. You don't want less people to 141 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:31,280 hear about it. You want more people to hear 142 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:33,160 about it. And while we're not responsible 143 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,600 for all the people coming in, we're responsible for doing our 144 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,360 part. And I just figured you guys 145 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,080 might want to know what happened at Easter this year. 146 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,160 We had the largest amount of people in the history of our 147 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,360 church come to our Christmas Eve services. 148 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:52,000 So instead of a nine percent drop, we had a 17% increase. 149 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,000 Only God can do stuff like that because none of our towns are 150 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,080 growing like this but our churches, and we are 151 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,000 unbelievably thankful for that. Easter was another big time. 152 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,040 You guys heard us talk about Easter every year. 153 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,960 We had 13,666 last year. I have no idea what God is going 154 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,880 to do at this year's Easter, but God is obviously doing 155 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:14,480 something. In fact, if you're to go back 156 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,760 and look at our average attendance over the last couple 157 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,520 of years, we've gone from a Church of 4500 to a Church of 158 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,280 5900 to a Church of 6500 to a Church of 7300. 159 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,400 We are growing very, very fast and we are giving all of that 160 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:29,880 credit and all of that glory to the one who deserves serves it 161 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,159 because God is the one who draws people in. 162 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,480 You are simply obedient to what God is doing. 163 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,880 But God is blessing what is happening at our church. 164 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,799 And the part of this that is like the most bonkers that none 165 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:43,039 of this math makes sense to me is because we also track how 166 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:46,360 many people come to our church for the very first time and look 167 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,040 at how many people have come to our church in the last couple of 168 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,360 years. And this is really exciting. 169 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,920 How you can do a small golf clap, small this the OK small 170 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,680 golf clap here, nothing big. OK, I don't want you guys to, 171 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:00,240 you know, be thankful for what God's doing. 172 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:06,240 I want you to be skeptical, OK? And OK, here's the crazy part. 173 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,920 If you add those numbers up, it's basically 3003 thousand 174 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,000 4000, which means that there are people who are coming to our 175 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,560 church for the very first time and then they're just 176 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,920 disappearing. And So what we're like over the 177 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,760 moon excited about our church grown by over 1000 people. 178 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,960 What is keeping us up at night is that there are people who are 179 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,720 walking through our doors and then they're walking back out. 180 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,640 And when the Bible says that we seek and save the lost, 181 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,560 sometimes we're having to seek people multiple times. 182 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,600 And I just want you to know that we are going to be committed to 183 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,600 doing that. In fact, that's why we're making 184 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:47,000 some significant upgrades at all of our locations. 185 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:49,600 That's why we're trying to update our lobbies to make it 186 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,720 easier for people to get connected so they can't fall 187 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,240 through the cracks. There are so many people coming 188 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,640 to our church and we need to remove as a church every single 189 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:02,160 unnecessary barrier for them so they can take their next step of 190 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,160 faith. You might be asking Clayton, OK, 191 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,240 those are all great numbers, but let's talk about the number 192 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,480 that's the most important. Now, these numbers are not 193 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,560 reported annually. These numbers are captured on 194 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,640 our fiscal year so that they ended October 31st. 195 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,320 But here is what's been happening as far as people 196 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:22,280 coming to faith in Jesus Christ. In 2019, we had 724 baptisms. 197 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,120 This is kind of crazy during COVID when, you know, everybody 198 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:31,920 hated us and the government and the CDC and Republicans and 199 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,800 Democrats and we were everybody was drinking like hate haterade. 200 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:38,680 Remember that? You guys want to remember it. 201 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:40,560 Our church, even though we weren't meeting for half the 202 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:46,080 year, still baptized 592 people. Can I only God can do stuff like 203 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,240 that. But this year was a really, 204 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,920 really special year because this year as of October 31st, we had 205 00:10:53,160 --> 00:11:04,560 986 baptisms. And if we had a year for you to 206 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,960 hear every single one of those stories, every single one of the 207 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,880 battles that those people were facing, the turmoil that was 208 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,760 going on in their life and how they came to faith and how 209 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,840 they've been wrestling through their faith answers, it would I 210 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:21,760 mean, I just hear bits and pieces, but God is on the move 211 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,600 in our midst. Look what it's Jesus says this 212 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,440 in Luke chapter 12. From everyone who has been given 213 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,840 much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been 214 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,400 entrusted with much, much more will be asked. 215 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,080 What that means is if you've been given more, more is 216 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,520 expected of you. And I would say looking at all 217 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,720 those numbers, God is presently entrusting us collectively with 218 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,720 more. And because He is, He is 219 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:58,840 entrusting us with more. More is expected of us. 220 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,520 That is why this year we are going to push forward like never 221 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,240 before. We are going to leverage Super 222 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,960 Bowl Weekend to be the single most outwardly focused we have 223 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,440 ever been during a weekend service, and I believe it is 224 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,720 going to create the most memorable church service in the 225 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,120 history of our church. You will never remember a sermon 226 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,160 that I have preached like you will remember what will happen 227 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,840 to you on Super Bowl weekend at this church. 228 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,840 Mark your calendar now and start thinking of who you're bringing. 229 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:35,320 It is so sick. I, I, I'm telling you, I'll 230 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:45,880 snippet. OK, Just I did a sermon and I 231 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:50,240 talked about how you, you could go into a round pin with a, with 232 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,200 a, with a wild horse and you could get it to follow you 233 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,280 around. Well, apparently the algorithm 234 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:01,080 was listening to my own sermon and it gave me a contact on a 235 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:06,320 feed of a guy who goes to churches and takes a, a wild 236 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:11,240 horse into the church building and he rides it during the 237 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,680 service and he does this as his job. 238 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,440 That's his ministry. And you're going, it can't be a 239 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,320 wild horse. I know it's a wild horse because 240 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,360 we're responsible providing the wild horses and we'll make sure 241 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:29,000 that they're good and wild. And I, when you watch him do 242 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,800 this in a sermon, what he does is he takes on the role of our 243 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,520 Heavenly Father and the wild horse. 244 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:37,720 He personifies that as you and me. 245 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:44,120 And he woos the horse into a relationship with him where the 246 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:48,240 horse trusts him and you can't watch it without crying. 247 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,720 I'm not giving it away any more than that. 248 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,600 But I'm telling you, Super Bowl weekend, I'm showing up looking 249 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,040 like RIP from Yellowstone. I'm buying boots. 250 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,400 OK. And before I get hate mail, I 251 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,320 stopped watching Yellowstone because I didn't feel right 252 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,960 about watching it. But I learned enough to know my 253 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,040 spirit animal is RIP and my wife's spirit animal is Beth. 254 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,520 OK. That's who we are. 255 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,440 I would like to be John Dutton. I would like to be John Dutton. 256 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,880 And I see some of you looking about me call my wife Beth. 257 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:16,920 Baby is Beth. Yeah. 258 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:18,680 She she trust me. She knows. 259 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:20,320 Trust me. OK. 260 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,960 All right, here's what else you need to know. 261 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,880 We are looking at expanding our ministry to the in crossing 262 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,000 inside into more inside locations. 263 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,200 So for those of you on the crossing inside, we're going to 264 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,840 be opening up in more inside locations. 265 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,920 But we are also going to be looking at repurposing some of 266 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,160 the very same technology that we used to do the crossing inside 267 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,440 to start doing ministry and long term care facilities and 268 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,360 assisted living centers. Why? 269 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,480 Because when, yeah, why are we doing this? 270 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,360 Because when your days on earth are numbered and you are 271 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,320 experiencing the greatest amount of loneliness, we should be in 272 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,800 your corner too. And just like we do ministry for 273 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,160 those on the inside, and we don't expect anything in return, 274 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,400 we are going to do ministry to the most vulnerable in our 275 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,760 communities without expecting anything in return. 276 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,000 Our Heavenly Father will see it. He will reward it, He will bless 277 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,760 it. And all people are created in 278 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,440 the dignity of God and therefore in the image of God. 279 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,800 And therefore they deserve to be treated like children of God 280 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,320 even in their last days. Next thing I'm excited to tell 281 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,920 you about is in August of 2022, our church did a sermon series, 282 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:27,800 You may remember it called Weeds in My Garden. 283 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,520 It was a sermon series about being honest about mental 284 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,800 health. Since then, churches across the 285 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,080 country have done spin offs of that sermon series and we are 286 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,480 still receiving letters from people thanking us for leading 287 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,520 out in that area. Well, earlier that year on 288 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,840 January 16th, 2022, as I was preaching to you in a sermon 289 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,760 series called There Has to Be a Place, I listed a whole host of 290 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,840 things that I hope that one day our church would be able to do. 291 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,520 And one of the things that I said that one day I hope that we 292 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,880 will be able to do is that we will be open a high quality 293 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,160 Christian counseling center project. 294 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,600 Hope recently published 10 numbers to know about mental 295 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:06,600 health. I'm not going to take you 296 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,680 through all 10, but here's some troubling stats. 297 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,440 One in four people are afflicted with mental health at some point 298 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:19,040 in their lives. 2/3 of people with mental health conditions 299 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:23,120 don't receive the care they need. 300 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,200 You might be going Clayton that stats artificially high because 301 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,680 of all the developing countries affecting the numbers. 302 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,520 And if you thought that, you'd be wrong, because here in the 303 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,520 US, only one in three people experiencing mental health 304 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,440 illness receive treatment. Depression is now a leading 305 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,960 cause of disability worldwide, affecting one in three women and 306 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,640 one in five men from all walks of life. 307 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,080 Fellas, right here. Men, if you are struggling, I 308 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,080 want you to know that every fifth dude you look at is in the 309 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,960 same boat you're in. You're not alone. 310 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,280 One in four Americans seeking mental health treatment worry 311 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,240 about what other people will think. 312 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,480 And we are going to make it completely OK to not be OK here 313 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,680 at the crossing. It will just not be OK to stay 314 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,440 that way. To add to the crisis, those who 315 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,440 need treatment find themselves standing in line to get 316 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:24,119 treatment because there are simply not enough providers. 317 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,319 For the last 18 months, we've been working on a plan and a 318 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:31,640 strategy to make sure that we can be in the corner of those 319 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,640 who are struggling with mental health issues and who want 320 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,800 counseling in a way where the Christ is also a part of the 321 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,040 equation. We've also been figuring out how 322 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,600 to do this in a way where we don't have to partner with 323 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,960 insurance agencies. So that way what you discuss 324 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,960 with your counselor does not show up on your medical record 325 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:54,080 and affect your other treatment options or somebody that you 326 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,760 know. A while back I had something 327 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,600 wrong with my knee and my doctor said I needed to get something 328 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,040 done with it. And then they did all the X-rays 329 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:02,080 and all that stuff. And then my insurance company 330 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,680 called me and then they told me that my knee was fine. 331 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,400 And I said, oh, I didn't know you had my freaking knee. 332 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,080 And they're like, well, yeah, we looked at it. 333 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,680 I go, so did my doctor. My doctor said I needed it, but 334 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,680 who are you? And I realized right then and 335 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,640 there, and if you work for an insurance company, God bless 336 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,480 you, OK, We're glad you're here. Jesus saves. 337 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,240 I'm just saying the last thing I would want if my kid was 338 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,760 struggling is for an insurance company to deny my kid the 339 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,880 treatment that was actually working in my kids life. 340 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,320 And if I was getting ready to go and get my life insurance policy 341 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,760 updated, I wouldn't want my life insurance policy rates to be 342 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,400 affected by what I was sharing and supposed to be in confidence 343 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,360 with my counselor. And so we want to figure out a 344 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:49,440 way to do it where it's high quality, meets all, supersedes 345 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,440 all the regulations that the state and the government put out 346 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,040 there, but does it at an affordable rate and does it with 347 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:55,920 Christ as a part of the conversation. 348 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,280 That is why I am beyond pleased to announce that on January 1st, 349 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,320 we will be opening our counseling center and it is 350 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:08,760 called Vinco Counseling. Oh, I've been waiting for this. 351 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:13,240 I'm such an impatient person. Why do we call it Vineco 352 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,120 Counseling Center? Because we want to connect you 353 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,680 to people to the very true Vine that brings life and brings 354 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,440 healing. And we are so pleased to 355 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,200 announce that we are going to be off able to offer these 356 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,360 counseling services at the most affordable price in our 357 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,240 communities. If people choose to go somebody 358 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:34,240 else for counseling, they can expect to pay 55% more than what 359 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,560 it will cost them to get help with us. 360 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,320 Some of you, you might be looking for some help and so I 361 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,360 want you to know you can start registering today. 362 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:48,360 Here is the website vinecounseling.co and if you are 363 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:50,720 wanting to e-mail them and get some information, you can go to 364 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:55,480 hello@vinecounseling.co. It's also on the QR code on the 365 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,280 seat in front of you. Others of you might want to help 366 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,920 and here's what we're doing to kind of give a runway to some 367 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,640 people that might be going, hey, I want to try this out. 368 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,000 Or to people who are in absolute destitute circumstances. 369 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,400 We want to give them a cushion to be able to say yes to people 370 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,600 who may have been turned down everywhere else because they 371 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,280 have no money to bring to the table. 372 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,680 So if you are interested, you can hop on and you can buy your 373 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,880 version of this swag. And I'm not nearly attractive 374 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,360 enough to be modeling stuff. OK, so you know, there's a 375 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,920 there's a skinny version at your campus wearing what I'm wearing 376 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,720 that looks way better. Here's what now I'm going to be 377 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,520 upfront with you, OK, I'm going to be upfront with you. 378 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,240 All of these are super expensive, OK, So I don't want 379 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,880 you to hop on there and be like, man, this church is you know, 380 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,760 who do they think they are? I know you have Christmas money, 381 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,680 OK, if you are not the one who bought the presents, OK, if you 382 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,440 bought all the presents, I understand you're broke. 383 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,960 I'm with there. OK, I, I see you, but here's 384 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,680 what we're going to do. If you buy the T-shirt, you are 385 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,440 subsidizing 1/4 of the cost of an, of a counseling session. 386 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,280 And if you buy a hoodie, you're covering half the cost of a 387 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,240 counseling session. And we built that into the price 388 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,920 on top of what it costs to do the, the shirts and everything. 389 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,880 So if you're going, hey, I want some swag and I want to help 390 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,080 people get help that they need. Use the QR code and you can get 391 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:16,920 this or you know, the T-shirt version. 392 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,600 For the last couple years as a church, I've been using this 393 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:22,920 graphic. I call it the spiritual 394 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,160 spectrum. And I'm going to be unpacking a 395 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,400 little bit more about this over the next couple couple of weeks. 396 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,400 But we exist as a church for absolutely every single person 397 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,160 on this spiritual spectrum, for those who don't believe in God 398 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,760 and those who hate God and those who've been walking with him for 399 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,000 as long as they can remember. And if we see people as moving 400 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,640 from a -, 1 to a + 1 as the moment that a person is 401 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,640 baptized, there are a lot of people in our church who are 402 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:50,480 very, very young in their faith. However, the way you move from, 403 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,840 from as you're looking at it from this side to that side is 404 00:21:54,840 --> 00:22:00,280 not by time served or knowledge, but through obedience. 405 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,640 And since to whom much is given, much is expected, we realize 406 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,880 that as a church, we needed to not double or triple, but 407 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,600 quadruple our efforts and help people discover and live out 408 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,600 God's plan for their lives. That's why this year we are 409 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,120 going to be launching a new experience called The Outlet. 410 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000 Here is the purpose of The Outlet. 411 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,720 It is to get everybody in our church allergic to apathy. 412 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,120 We want everybody in our church who calls the crossing home to 413 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,680 experience all that God has to offer and to join Him in His 414 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:36,120 mission to reach people who are close to them but far from God. 415 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,160 It is going to take some time, but hear me, our hope is to have 416 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,320 every person in our church go through The Outlet and take 417 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,240 their next step of faith. The Outlet is not a class, but 418 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,240 an experience that will help you join God in His glorious 419 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:53,920 mission. Why? 420 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,840 Because we believe the Bible and the Bible says that people who 421 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:04,600 don't have a relationship with Him are going to hell and we 422 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:11,120 must do something about that. If you included the counties 423 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,080 where we have campuses and the counties where people drive to 424 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,400 one of our locations, there are 450,000 people who do not have 425 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,680 the hope in this life and in the life that is to come. 426 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,600 And if our church were to keep growing by 1000 people a year 427 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,080 and baptizing 1000 people a year, it would be wonderful and 428 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,080 great and there would be no part of me that wouldn't celebrate 429 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,000 that. But it is a drop in the bucket 430 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,520 of what this region actually needs. 431 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,840 And if we really are going to set our minds on making this 432 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,640 place the hardest place on planet Earth to get to hell 433 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,560 from, we got to start dialing it up. 434 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,880 Why? Because we believe to the core 435 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:54,000 of our being that God's way is the best way and every single 436 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,400 person deserves to experience it and hear about it. 437 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,360 Therefore, I need to let you be aware of some things that are 438 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:05,360 happening in me as I keep seeing these stats, as I keep seeing 439 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:13,960 what's happening at our church. You just need to know where I'm 440 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,840 at. I am pre ticking you off for the 441 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,880 next 5 minutes. I will not apologize for 442 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,360 preaching God's purity because God's holiness demands it. 443 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,400 I will not apologize for calling people to live generously 444 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,600 because I believe God changes us through it and He blesses it and 445 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,240 people are saved because of it. I will not apologize for 446 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,160 biblical fidelity because there is no foundation upon which you 447 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,480 can actually build your life. I will not apologize for calling 448 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,720 you to obedience because it is the love language of God. 449 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,280 I will not apologize for raising the bar because I believe the 450 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,480 gospel is worthy of it. I will not apologize for making 451 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,760 our church allergic to consumerism because the Spirit 452 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,000 calls us to contribute. I will not apologize for urging 453 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,040 people to have faith because that is how we please God. 454 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,480 I will not apologize for normalizing sacrifice because 455 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,320 the cross demands it. I will not apologize for making 456 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,400 discipleship a priority because Jesus commanded it. 457 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,120 I will not apologize for making you feel uneasy, unsure, and 458 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:24,640 uncomfortable, because that is nothing compared to the martyrs 459 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,440 who carried the faith to us. I will not apologize for a 460 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,320 strategy that might be outside of your strengths. 461 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,160 Because He promises to be our strength in our weakness, He 462 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,480 will be strong. I will not apologize for 463 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,960 believing that God is who He says He is and will do what He 464 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,520 says He will do. I will not apologize for 465 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,840 believing that the best decision a person can make is starting an 466 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:50,560 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ because I've 467 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:54,440 experienced it. I will not apologize for doing 468 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,200 everything in my power and calling this church, and that 469 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,600 includes you, to do everything in our power to make this region 470 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,240 the hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from. 471 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,280 Because what else could we possibly give our lives to? 472 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:17,920 We will not stop. We will not quit until every 473 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:23,920 person in our region is able to say what Avery Willis said best, 474 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,920 and I can't wait until our whole church is able to echo these 475 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:32,320 words when he said this. I'm a part of the fellowship of 476 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,680 the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. 477 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,600 The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. 478 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,320 The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of his now. 479 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,480 I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. 480 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,240 My past is redeemed. My presence makes sense. 481 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:53,640 My future is secure. I'm finished and down with low 482 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,200 living, sight, walking, small planning, smooth knees, 483 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,680 colorless dreams, attained visions, mundane talking, cheap 484 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,800 living and dwarf goals. I no longer need preeminence, 485 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,800 prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or 486 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:07,880 popularity. I don't have to be right. 487 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,480 First, top recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. 488 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:16,880 I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift 489 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,360 by prayer, and labor by His power. 490 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,240 My face is set. My gate is fast. 491 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,080 My goal is heaven. My Rd. is narrow. 492 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,160 My way is rough. My companions are few. 493 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:33,800 My guide is reliable. My mission is clear. 494 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:41,120 I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned 495 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:46,800 back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of 496 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:51,480 sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate 497 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,400 at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of 498 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,920 popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. 499 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,600 I won't give up, shut up, let up till I've stayed up, stored up, 500 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,600 prayed up, paid up and preached up for the cause of Christ. 501 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:12,040 I'm a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give 502 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:16,600 till I drop, preach till all know work till he stops me. 503 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,480 And when he comes for his own, he will have no problem 504 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,560 recognizing us because our banner will be clear. 505 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:30,480 We are Jesus people on a Jesus mission and I hope, crossing 506 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,920 family, you'll join us in that. We are moving to a time of 507 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:42,520 decision. To those of you who are here and 508 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,840 you know Jesus or you don't know Jesus, man, is this church here 509 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,120 for you. If you knew, Oh my goodness, if 510 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,680 you knew all the ways we think about you and trying to figure 511 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,280 out ways to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus, 512 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:02,040 Man, you're loved at this place. We take a lot of people off here 513 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,920 just so you could hear this stuff on a regular basis because 514 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,920 deep down inside, we genuinely believe it's the best decision 515 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,960 you could ever make. And you need to know you might 516 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,520 be looking at the Christian life and going, yeah, I think I want 517 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:18,040 it. But you're trying to live the 518 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:19,640 Christian life on your own power. 519 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,240 And you cannot live the Christian life until Christ 520 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:29,840 resides in you. And for some weird reason, I'm 521 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,840 going to, I think I'm preaching on this later this year, so I 522 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,080 don't want to give the whole sermon away. 523 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:38,840 But for some weird reason, believing in Jesus and being 524 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,160 obedient to Jesus have been separated. 525 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,880 And for some of you, you've you've been following Jesus for 526 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,880 a while, but you've never been obedient in the area of baptism. 527 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:57,080 And there's a lot of debate about what happens and when does 528 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,280 your salvation take place and when are you right with God. 529 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:04,120 And I, I get all that. I would just say that the clear, 530 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,520 consistent teaching of Scripture is that the moment someone 531 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:11,440 believes in God, they are obedient in the area of baptism. 532 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,200 And with one exception in Scripture, when people get 533 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,440 baptized, that is when the Holy Spirit stops working on them and 534 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,600 starts working in them because it lives in them. 535 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,600 And so there are some of you trying to figure out a way to 536 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,720 live the Christian walk in the margins. 537 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:36,240 You're trying to figure out how to live the Christian life with 538 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,640 the exception to the rule, instead of actually doing the 539 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:45,800 very thing that God has called you to do, to trust Him, to be 540 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:50,120 obedient to Him, to follow him. And so if you're here today and 541 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,760 you've never started a relationship with Jesus Christ, 542 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,440 you're on the fence. I just keep saying this over and 543 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,280 over again. If you've got questions, ask 544 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:03,240 them, because the only person who wins when you don't ask him 545 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,240 and those questions are going to help you develop a faith or take 546 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,120 steps of faith. The only person who wins when 547 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:12,760 you don't ask him is Satan. And why on earth would you give 548 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,640 him any more wins? He's got far too many already. 549 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:21,960 So just a few moments when the people around you standing 550 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,320 singing, some of the people come to the steps and pray. 551 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,520 I'm going to encourage you, it's either talk to somebody who 552 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,280 brought you, talk to somebody who's sitting next to you, or 553 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,080 walk right over here underneath that screen next to the Baptist 554 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:34,960 St. and talk to somebody about some of the questions you have 555 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,000 when it comes to faith. To the rest of you in this room, 556 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:46,000 to those of you who know Jesus, would you spend a little bit of 557 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:53,080 time praying that you will be right in the middle of what God 558 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:57,440 is trying to do in this region? That He would use you in ways 559 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,040 you never thought possible? Stir stuff in you that you 560 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,680 thought was long gone? And maybe would some of you be 561 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,160 willing to get down on your knees and pray for all the 562 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,560 people in our region who desperately need counseling, 563 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:15,000 specifically the men, and are too ashamed to reach out, that 564 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,080 we would be a place where they do? 565 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:32,400 Could you stand with me? It's crazy what you're doing 566 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:39,880 here, God. And in some ways it's just so 567 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:45,720 much that it's hard to take it all in, and in other ways that 568 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,200 feel so incredibly small compared to the need that 569 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,840 exists. And so, God, if your blessing 570 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,800 that's happening at this church is in response to our faith, 571 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,680 would you forgive us? And would you forgive me for 572 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:06,160 believing so little? We just want to be a church that 573 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:10,560 makes you proud. We want to be a church that 574 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,680 makes you smile. We want to be a church that 575 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,320 pleases you. And so, God, you know the work 576 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:18,520 that needs to happen in our hearts and our lives today. 577 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,240 And so, God, would you just give us the courage to be obedient? 578 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:23,800 Your name I pray. Amen.