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And then well, before I jump 
into the sermon, we got 

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something pretty cool happening.
We're going to do baby 

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dedication. 
So would Keyshawn and Amanda 

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come on up here and bring your 
family, if you'd like, Born in 

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November. 
Is it November 8th? 

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Got it here. 
We got a slide that we can put 

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up there. 
There we go. 

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November 6th. 
That was so close. 

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All right, so come on up here if
you guys like, oh, can't. 

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OK, That's all right. 
Come on. 

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Let's do it down here. 
Don't you grab me the oil, baby.

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We'll just adapt. 
We'll keep the family together. 

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Sorry if it messes up your 
sound. 

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I'll be back up there in a 
second. 

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So thank you. 
It's really cool. 

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So Kairos. 
Beautiful, beautiful name. 

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We talk about this, you know, 
there's a couple of words that 

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are used as time in the 
scriptures, and there's Kronos, 

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which is like chronological 
time, like like what you guys do

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when you get hungry. 
And I'm on my second point, and 

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you're looking at your watch. 
That's Kronos, right? 

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Kairos is when conditions are 
favorable, when the time is 

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right and it's something that is
used like in the scriptures when

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it talks about Jesus came at 
just the right time in history. 

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That doesn't mean the right 
year, minute and 2nd. 

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It means conditions were 
favourable for his son to come. 

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And so Kairos is pretty big. 
But also I wanted to say Elliot 

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comes from Hebrew roots 
connected to the word Elijah, 

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which means the Lord is my God. 
And not only that, but Ness, 

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which is like the the River Ness
and everything represents 

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stability and resilience. 
And then even the last name, 

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even Campbell, the Campbell's 
back historically were known to 

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be protectors and leaders. 
So taken together, this child is

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a person born for the right 
moments, grounded in faith, 

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steady in their character that 
will carry a legacy of strength 

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and leadership and protection. 
That's a powerful name, isn't 

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it? 
Come on. 

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So, so I know it, this family, 
what I just ask is that you just

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lift your hand towards us. 
Don't pray too long, but listen,

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your, your hand. 
It's just symbolic that we are 

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blessing this family and we're 
doing this in unity. 

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And then Father, we just speak 
every single blessing over 

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Amanda and Keyshawn and Kairos 
that you have for them. 

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Father, everything that is laid 
out in your destiny for Kairos, 

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we just pray that it would come 
to pass. 

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Not just that it would come to 
pass, but in its correct time as

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well. 
Father, I thank you so much that

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he is surrounded by a family who
loves you and serves you and 

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that he will have such wonderful
examples as he grows up. 

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So Father, we ask that you would
protect the protector, that you 

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would place your angels around 
and protect him from anything 

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that would distract him from his
destiny in you. 

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We thank you so much for this 
gift of life and the future that

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lies ahead of him in the name of
Jesus and everybody said Amen, 

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Amen. 
Thank you. 

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Congratulations. 
Absolutely. 

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We the ones. 
Yes, Sir. 

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Yeah. 
All right, Well, if you'd like 

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to to read along in the Bible 
this morning, we'll be in Acts 

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chapter 2, the 1st place that we
go. 

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I heard AI heard a few woos when
we talked about returning our 

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midweek service to 7. 
We shifted it to six because it 

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seemed like that would be 
helpful for a lot of people. 

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But have you ever done something
that seemed like it was a good 

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idea and then it didn't work out
to be as helpful as you thought?

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So 7:00 it is. 
Before we get into the scripture

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today, I want to start with a 
true story, and it's around 

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something that you're familiar 
with, but maybe not a story that

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you are specifically familiar 
with. 

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And it's from around the time of
911. 

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So while most of the nation was 
watching the the tragedy unfold 

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on TV, most of us who were old 
enough to we, we can remember 

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exactly where we were at that 
moment. 

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Obviously, there's a lot that's 
talked about there, but a less 

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obvious crisis happened because 
of 911. 

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And this is because lower 
Manhattan was suddenly sealed 

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off. 
But you do imagine how many 

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people live in that area. 
Bridges were closed and the 

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tunnels were shut down and 
trains weren't running and cell 

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service was unreliable. 
Some of you are like, it still 

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is. 
But there were hundreds of 

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thousands of people that were 
stranded and they did not have a

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clear way to get home. 
And that's when something that 

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was pretty cool happened without
being asked, without any sort of

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centralized plan, without a, a, 
a solid leader behind the 

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movement, without asking for 
permission, There were a bunch 

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00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:03,480
of boat owners that began to 
respond. 

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00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,800
And when I say boats, I mean 
boats. 

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I'm talking about tug boats, 
ferries, fishing boats, private 

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00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,360
yachts, dinner cruises, anything
that could float. 

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00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,280
There were over 500 different 
kinds of vessels that showed up 

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00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:20,840
all over the place. 
And over the course of a few 

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hours, nearly half a million 
people were evacuated and given 

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away to get home. 
Now, in the wake of a terrorist 

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attack, it's hard to then put 
your focus on some of those 

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smaller things. 
Yeah, I know that you're stuck. 

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I know you're stranded, and 
we'll get to it. 

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But right now, we've got this. 
But think about all the people 

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that were out there that 
couldn't do anything about the 

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00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,200
terrorist attack immediately. 
But they said I can do something

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about this problem. 
What makes that story powerful 

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to me is not the scale of how 
big it was. 

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And it was big because it's the 
largest maritime evacuation in 

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history, even larger than the 
evacuation of Dunkirk during 

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World War 2. 
The size of it is impressive, 

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but more impressive than that is
the motive behind it, because 

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these people didn't know each 
other. 

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It was not one company that sent
out all of its boats. 

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It wasn't one organization of 
people that said we'll step up 

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and do something. 
It was literally anybody who had

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a boat and knew how to use it in
that area, put it to use. 

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What caused that? 
Well, it was a tragedy, but more

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specifically, it was a great 
need. 

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And these people who got in 
their boats and did this, 

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there's no evidence that they 
got repaid for their fuel or 

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their time or whatever. 
And I guarantee you, if they 

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lived around that area, they 
also had loved ones that they 

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were worried about. 
But maybe they had that similar 

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thought. 
There's nothing I can do about 

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them right now, but while I'm 
waiting to hear back, I'm going 

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to do something for somebody in 
a way that I can. 

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They didn't think about 
themselves. 

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They could have isolated. 
Can you imagine how scary that 

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must have been in New York right
after that happened? 

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I would want to go and hunker 
away. 

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I would want to go and hideaway 
somewhere. 

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And they went out there sitting 
ducks in the water, not knowing 

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what was going to happen and 
helped people. 

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That story is inspirational, but
to be honest, it's also 

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confrontational. 
If you think about it. 

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Why does it take a 911 for us to
start doing things for people 

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when they need something? 
Community sounds beautiful until

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it becomes personal. 
Everybody talks about family. 

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Family's so important. 
If you go to Hobby Lobby or 

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Michaels, I'm sure there's 
nobody who spends too much time 

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there. 
But but if you go there, how 

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many pieces of artwork are you 
going to see that are going to 

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say something around the Word 
family? 

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And yet for a lot of people, 
family also feels like an F word

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of a different variety. 
And the truth is family is 

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important, but it is not perfect
community, any sort of close 

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knit relationship, it sounds 
good. 

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And then you get there and you 
realize the hard work has just 

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begun. 
This is this is a shout out to 

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everybody who thought one day 
I'll find the person that I 

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love, I'll get married and 
everything will be easier. 

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We were so wrong. 
And I have a very good marriage,

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but more people, more problems. 
That's the way that it works. 

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Beautiful blessing and Kairos 
another person, you got another 

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set of problems and you have to 
decide that your relationships 

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00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,720
are worth it because the ones 
that God gives you are worth it.

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But there are complications that
come along with it. 

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And so that's the way that it 
goes for church too. 

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In America, especially post 
COVID, it's become so easy to be

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isolated and to be removed. 
And so today may feel a little 

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00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:36,880
challenging for some people, but
community actually asks for you 

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to be known and not just no 
other people. 

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These rows tend to feel safe 
when you first attend because 

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you can come in and sit down and
sing a few songs, hear a 

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00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,120
message, and you can leave. 
Because you know, when I'm 

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starting to wrap up and then the
musicians come up, you're like, 

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00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:52,040
this is my time. 
I won't get caught in the 

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parking lot. 
I'll be the first one to the 

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restaurant. 
But from the very beginning, God

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never designed his people to 
thrive in isolation. 

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00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,640
He never intended your faith to 
be something that you lived out 

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00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,120
alone, and he never called the 
church to be a weekly gathering 

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00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,240
of spectators. 
So Acts 2 being where we start 

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today, is going to be in the 
face for some people. 

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Thank you for being here. 
Now, if you leave in the middle 

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00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:19,240
of the sermon, everybody's going
to know. 

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00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,040
So I got you for a few minutes. 
All right. 

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00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,000
Acts 2 is not a snapshot alone 
of the early church. 

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It is the birth of a new way of 
living. 

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This is not the way that the 
Jewish synagogue services 

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happened and then it just 
carried over into the New 

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Testament church. 
The New Testament church was 

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completely different. 
It was radical. 

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It was not conventional. 
And I'll explain what I mean. 

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This happened right after the, 
the, the Pentecost where tongues

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of fire descended on the 
believers and people heard 

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everybody speaking in their own 
native languages. 

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And, and, and the Lord was 
purposely doing this to bring 

184
00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,640
unity. 
And so now you've got the Holy 

185
00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,640
Spirit poured out on ordinary 
people. 

186
00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,240
They are not seasoned 
Christians. 

187
00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,120
They are all new converts. 
A lot of them are pilgrims who 

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00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,000
have travelled there. 
They don't even have a home or a

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00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,400
family or a lot of connections 
in Jerusalem. 

190
00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,640
But they ended up encountering 
the Holy Spirit in a life 

191
00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,520
changing way. 
I want you to imagine this. 

192
00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,200
All of these people came from 
different regions and cultures 

193
00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:24,080
and backgrounds, and a lot of 
them didn't have anything there 

194
00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,680
except for their faith. 
And this would have been 

195
00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,080
radically different culture. 
I mean, radically different. 

196
00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,760
We had a leadership trip over 
the weekend and my wife was was 

197
00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,520
educating somebody who's not 
from around here on how to 

198
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:37,560
pronounce a lot of the names on 
the road signs. 

199
00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,800
Why isn't it topsail? 
Why is it topsail? 

200
00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:44,080
It's spelled like topsail, 
right? 

201
00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,560
And all of these different names
that we have, if it is that 

202
00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:51,920
different around here, I want 
you to place yourself 2000 years

203
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,040
ago in a Middle Eastern culture 
where people came from different

204
00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,160
countries, where they had 
different customs and different 

205
00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,440
full on languages. 
This is what's happening there. 

206
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,200
And listen to what they chose to
do in Acts 2, starting in verse 

207
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,080
42, all the believers devoted 
themselves to the apostles 

208
00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:13,080
teaching and to fellowship and 
to sharing in meals, including 

209
00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:17,480
the Lord's Supper and to prayer.
And I don't want you to miss 

210
00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,440
what it says here because a lot 
of times we look at that and we 

211
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,040
say, OK, well, they got solid 
teaching, they got prayer, and 

212
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:25,560
they learned to get along with 
one another. 

213
00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,920
Why is it that fellowship and 
sharing and meals are two 

214
00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,920
different things here? 
Have you ever noticed that? 

215
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,000
They devoted themselves to 
fellowship? 

216
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,680
They devoted themselves to 
prayer. 

217
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:40,400
They devoted themselves to sound
teaching, and they devoted 

218
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,880
themselves to sharing meals. 
All of these things, they 

219
00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,040
devoted themselves to it. 
Now we would pick on somebody 

220
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,800
today if we were like, Hey, 
what's your ministry to the 

221
00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:51,480
church? 
I am devoted to sharing meals 

222
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,680
with people any chance I get and
I'm true to it. 

223
00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,720
But it's more than that. 
Breaking bread together, 

224
00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,240
including the Lord's Supper, it 
says, which means God is still 

225
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,880
the center of it. 
Sharing a meal is great because 

226
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:06,800
when you share a meal with 
somebody, you're both there for 

227
00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:08,520
a set amount of time. 
You get to know somebody. 

228
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There's a built in end time 
also, right? 

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So you can, you can detach and, 
and do what you need to. 

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00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:17,000
But what is fellowship? 
I mean, Pastor Jared talked 

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00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,360
about this a couple months ago, 
talked about a little bit when 

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00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,320
Michael, when you were doing 
your intern sermon, you talked a

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00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,480
little bit about it because the 
community in communion, by the 

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00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,800
way, man, if you missed the 
Wednesdays over the last like 

235
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,280
couple months, we had Tom Hines 
and Joy last week and Michael 

236
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,720
all sharing messages at the 
completion of their internship. 

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Did they not do a great job for 
those that were here? 

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00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,400
The same God speaking through 
three very different 

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00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,840
personalities with different 
messages that do not contradict 

240
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,680
one another. 
It's almost like we got a book 

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00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,040
full of those. 
So cool to hear it. 

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00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,560
I was so proud of every single 
one of them. 

243
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,600
So what does it mean to be 
devoted to fellowship and to be 

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00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,760
devoted to these things? 
It's hard. 

245
00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,200
In fact, it's harder than it is 
to be devoted to a religious 

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regiment of prayer and all of 
these different things. 

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00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,160
It's harder because you're 
vulnerable to a person when you 

248
00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,160
get into fellowship, but listen 
to what happened when they did 

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00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,480
this in verse 43. 
A deep sense of awe came over 

250
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,160
them all, and the apostles 
performed many miracles, 

251
00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,280
miraculous signs and wonders. 
And all the believers met 

252
00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,800
together in one place and shared
everything they had. 

253
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,040
They sold their property and 
possessions and shared the money

254
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,440
with those in need. 
They worshipped together on the 

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00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,920
temple each day. 
They met in homes for the Lord's

256
00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,280
Supper, and they shared their 
meals with great joy and 

257
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:34,880
generosity. 
That means they didn't do it 

258
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:36,480
begrudgingly. 
They they liked it. 

259
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,520
The idea of having somebody over
for your house stresses some of 

260
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,640
you out right now you're like 
your chest is getting tight. 

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00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,400
I don't have enough notice. 
I have to get it ready. 

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00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:50,640
So they don't know how we live. 
Verse 47. 

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00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,320
All the while praising God and 
enjoying the goodwill of all the

264
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,960
people and each day the Lord 
added to their fellowship those 

265
00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,920
who are being saved. 
This was so radical. 

266
00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:02,160
And today we pray that God would
add numbers to his church. 

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00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,440
We pray that souls would be 
saved, but we normally do it 

268
00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,360
from behind a locked door. 
God, would you just move? 

269
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:13,040
Would you do this? 
I want you to know that in Roman

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00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:18,040
society, where they were, it was
very difficult because 

271
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:19,960
everything was set around what 
you had. 

272
00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:24,200
Everything was around status, 
everything was around where you 

273
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,600
fit within society. 
And this early church was just 

274
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,760
not like this. 
It was comprised of Jews, 

275
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:35,920
Gentiles, men, women, servants, 
leaders, I mean it was all of 

276
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,160
them all rolled into one and 
under the banner of the church. 

277
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:39,960
They knew that they had equal 
footing because they had the 

278
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:44,800
same dad. 
Old Testament Psalm 68 verse 6 

279
00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,040
says this. 
One of my favorite Psalm verses.

280
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,640
Psalm 68 six says God places the
lonely and families. 

281
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,280
He sets the prisoners free and 
gives them joy, but he makes the

282
00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:59,320
rebellious live in a sun 
scorched land. 

283
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,560
What happens when God tries to 
place the lonely in a family and

284
00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:05,040
the family won't answer the 
door? 

285
00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:07,920
Just want to think about that 
for a moment. 

286
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,160
Psalm 68, written long before 
Jesus walked the earth, was 

287
00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,920
during a time when Israel was 
reflecting on God's power and 

288
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,480
his deliverance and his 
faithfulness. 

289
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,680
And it was a Psalm that was 
celebrating a God who rescues 

290
00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,200
and restores. 
But tucked into that Psalm is 

291
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,040
this one verse that says God 
doesn't just rescue you when he 

292
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:27,600
rescues you. 
He doesn't say, well, there you 

293
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,120
go now you're out of danger, 
have a good life. 

294
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,520
He rescues you from danger and 
he places you into a family. 

295
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,040
And the reason he does this is 
because to be isolated was 

296
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,880
considered as being too 
vulnerable to the world. 

297
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,600
You are easily picked off. 
You are easily targeted by 

298
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,280
criminals or people who don't 
have the best intentions. 

299
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,080
It's like every National 
Geographic documentary you've 

300
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:54,680
ever seen. 
They don't go for the one at the

301
00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,440
heart of the the, the herd of 
deer. 

302
00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,280
They always go for the one 
that's lagging behind and God 

303
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:02,840
doesn't just pull you out of 
bondage, He pulls you out and He

304
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:04,560
brings you into a place that you
belong. 

305
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,000
Feeling like I belong took me a 
lot longer than it should have 

306
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,480
because this is a great church 
and I first attended this church

307
00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,800
towards the end of 2004. 
And it was an amazing group of 

308
00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,520
people at that time, much like 
it is now. 

309
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,680
But I struggled to feel like I 
belonged because I felt like I 

310
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,160
had to become somebody in order 
to belong here. 

311
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:24,920
And I want you to know how wrong
I was. 

312
00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,480
You don't have to become 
something to belong here, and I 

313
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,600
cannot promise you that every 
person's opinion in this 

314
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,080
building or this church is 
always going to be the right one

315
00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,840
because they're made out of 
people just like you are. 

316
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,360
But what I can promise you that 
in this building we will honor 

317
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,600
the Lord 1st and we will 
endeavour for unity and love for

318
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:48,360
one another at all costs. 
That's what it's all about. 

319
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,400
I wish I hadn't taken so long to
get to know people in a 

320
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,200
different way because my whole 
life was changed through the 

321
00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,920
relationships that I made. 
So please hear me when I say 

322
00:16:57,920 --> 00:16:59,080
this. 
We're not just talking about 

323
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:00,240
something that the early church 
did. 

324
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,520
We are talking about what God is
inviting us to build right now. 

325
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,119
And we have an opportunity to 
create something so beautiful 

326
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,680
here, a place where people don't
just attend, but they belong to 

327
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,760
one another. 
And people get strengthened 

328
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,640
through their relationships. 
And it could be a giant family 

329
00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,599
where burdens are shared. 
And when you have something 

330
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:19,200
going on, great people rejoice 
with you and they celebrate with

331
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,800
you. 
And nobody has to walk alone. 

332
00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:23,760
Show of hands. 
Is there anybody here that says 

333
00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:25,800
well, I wish some people here 
would have to walk alone. 

334
00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:27,960
Anybody. 
All right, Good. 

335
00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,880
You're paying attention. 
Man, that that could have been 

336
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,800
awkward. 
First thing I want to talk about

337
00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,880
is belonging always comes before
becoming. 

338
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,680
And let me tell you something. 
If you're here and you like it 

339
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,560
here and you want to be here on 
behalf of everybody here, let me

340
00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,880
tell you, you belong. 
You belong here. 

341
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,280
You might say, well, I'm weird. 
You don't know the things I've 

342
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:51,160
been through. 
Yeah. 

343
00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,240
You want to play that game. 
You don't know the things I've 

344
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,480
been through. 
We'll sit down and have a chat. 

345
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,400
Nobody wants this to be a 
building full of perfect people 

346
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:02,760
because then we'll just compare 
ourselves to the perfect people 

347
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,880
and feel bad about ourselves. 
We want this to be full of 

348
00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,960
authentic and genuine people. 
That's what it's all about. 

349
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,160
And when we talk about 
community, one of the biggest 

350
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,880
misconceptions that we carry is 
that we have to become something

351
00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,560
in order to belong. 
Well, I don't really know how to

352
00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:18,000
pray. 
Well, I'm not really sure what I

353
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,760
believe when it comes to God. 
Well, I'm not really sure you 

354
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,440
know, if, if, if the Bible is 
true or these questions say 

355
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,560
them, say them out loud. 
Get with a group of people and 

356
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,920
talk about it. 
Not so they can try and convince

357
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,160
you or talk you out of it. 
Have those open discussions. 

358
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,600
I'm never afraid of those chats 
because I feel like God is true 

359
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,240
and truth is never afraid to be 
found out. 

360
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:39,640
So let's go down the rabbit 
hole. 

361
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:41,520
What are your doubts? 
What are your fears? 

362
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,440
What are the things that hold 
you back from a deeper 

363
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,000
relationship with God or with 
people? 

364
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,160
Let's go down that rabbit hole 
together and see what God has 

365
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,360
for us at the end of it. 
I'm confident in that. 

366
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:53,120
Go ahead and go to Ruth chapter 
1. 

367
00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:58,360
I want you to know that a lot of
people feel like they need to be

368
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:00,440
healthier, they need to be more 
mature, they need to be more 

369
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,400
spiritual. 
One day I'll I'll finally get 

370
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:03,400
through and I'll read the whole 
Bible. 

371
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,080
Then I'll get involved. 
Then I'll start working with 

372
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:06,600
kids, then I'll do whatever it 
is. 

373
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,520
Scripture consistently flips 
this assumption on its head. 

374
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,920
Everybody, just about everybody 
that is chosen and picked 

375
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,720
throughout this book full of 
Scripture is not somebody we 

376
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,000
would have picked is not 
somebody that if we had scouts 

377
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,600
watching the congregation. 
We don't. 

378
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,280
But if you had scouts watching 
the congregation, I'm looking 

379
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,200
for people that look like church
folk who can really run this. 

380
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,680
The these are not the people 
that God chose ever. 

381
00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,800
He chose people that deceived 
and lied and Abraham's called 

382
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,800
the father of our faith, but 
twice he was like, well, I'm 

383
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,080
afraid they're going to kill me 
because you're so beautiful to 

384
00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:44,320
his wife. 
He's like, so tell them you're 

385
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,640
my sister and go spend some time
with the king. 

386
00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,680
Terrible decisions all 
throughout the Scripture. 

387
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,880
I don't have time to list all 
the terrible decisions in the 

388
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:58,160
Bible, but when you know that 
you belong to the Lord, you know

389
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,720
he has grace for the moment, you
know that he'll lead you through

390
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,440
it. 
You know that he'll correct you.

391
00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,120
And this truth is really shown 
early on in the book of Ruth. 

392
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:08,520
And I want you to know this 
before I read some of the 

393
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,080
Scripture. 
We'll we'll start in verse 8. 

394
00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,960
But Ruth is not a success story 
to begin with. 

395
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,720
It's highly depressing. 
In fact, the only reason 

396
00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,280
Christians that we're not very 
depressed when we begin to read 

397
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,440
the book of Ruth now is because 
we've read the book of Ruth. 

398
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,240
And we know how the story goes, 
so we don't feel so bad at the 

399
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,680
beginning. 
But if you had no compass for 

400
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:30,400
this, you had no idea where it 
was going, and you read the 

401
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,680
beginning, you'd be highly 
depressed because at the 

402
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:35,720
beginning you wouldn't have even
known that Ruth was the main 

403
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:37,320
character that was getting 
highlighted here. 

404
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,520
Naomi leaves Bethlehem with her 
husband and two sons during a 

405
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,840
time of famine and settles in 
Moab. 

406
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,200
It's a land outside of Israel, 
and it's outside of God's 

407
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,560
covenant people. 
And while there, Naomi loses 

408
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,600
everything. 
Her husband dies, her two sons 

409
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,600
die. 
And what remains is just grief 

410
00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,880
on top of grief on top of grief.
You have now a woman who has 

411
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,720
lost her husband and both of her
sons, and what she is left with 

412
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:09,560
is two daughters in law who have
lost their husbands and they're 

413
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,000
now highly vulnerable because 
especially in the Old Testament 

414
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,320
era when this book was written 
to be a woman, and that day, you

415
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:18,480
would not have had a lot of 
opportunities. 

416
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,920
There were no equal opportunity 
employers or things like that. 

417
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:25,200
Women could not even file for a 
divorce, but if their husband 

418
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,000
wanted one, they just had to go 
along with it. 

419
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,720
Women just did not have these 
rights. 

420
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,440
So now you have an older woman 
and two younger women that 

421
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,480
aren't even really related to 
her, especially not anymore, and

422
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,360
the three of them are in 
trouble. 

423
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,360
That's the scene that we're 
looking at. 

424
00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,200
We have no idea where our next 
meals are coming from, how we're

425
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,160
going to sustain ourselves in 
the future. 

426
00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,200
And so she has two daughters in 
law named Orpa and Ruth. 

427
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,120
And here's what she says in 
verse 8. 

428
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,280
On the way, Naomi said to her 
two daughters in law, go back to

429
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,760
your mother's homes and may the 
Lord reward you for your 

430
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:00,560
kindness to your husband's and 
to me. 

431
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,600
May the Lord bless you with the 
security of another marriage. 

432
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,040
And then she kissed them goodbye
and they all broke down and 

433
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,400
wept. 
No, they said, we want to go 

434
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,280
with you to your people. 
But Naomi replied, Why would you

435
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,800
go with me? 
Can I still give birth to other 

436
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:17,800
sons who could grow up and 
become your husbands? 

437
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,360
Thankfully, no, no, my 
daughter's returned to your 

438
00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:24,600
parents homes for I'm too old to
marry again. 

439
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,880
And even if it were possible and
I were to get married tonight 

440
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,000
and bear sons, then what? 
Would you wait for them to grow 

441
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,840
up and refuse to marry someone 
else again? 

442
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,800
Thankfully, no, she says. 
Of course not. 

443
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,160
My daughters, things are far 
more bitter for me than for you,

444
00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:42,320
because the Lord himself has 
raised his first against me. 

445
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:43,840
She's going through it, isn't 
she? 

446
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,200
And again, they wept together 
and Orpa kissed her 

447
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,800
mother-in-law goodbye. 
But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi.

448
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,960
Look, Naomi said to her, your 
sister-in-law has gone back to 

449
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,000
her people and to her gods. 
You should do the same. 

450
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,600
Was Orpa when she walked away? 
Was she in sin? 

451
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,800
It was her choice and she did go
back to a place where she felt 

452
00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:12,200
like she belonged and she did it
at the urging of her 

453
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,040
mother-in-law. 
She was endeavoring to honor her

454
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,800
and she was only doing what was 
requested. 

455
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,760
She did right. 
Ruth had another idea in her 

456
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,120
mind though. 
And verse 16, Ruth replies, 

457
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,560
Don't ask me to leave you and 
turn back. 

458
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:32,840
Wherever you go, I will go. 
Wherever you live, I will live. 

459
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,120
Your people will be my people, 
and your God will be my God. 

460
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,800
And wherever you die, I will 
die, and there I will be buried.

461
00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,640
May the Lord punish me severely 
if I allow anything but death to

462
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,920
separate us. 
And when Naomi saw that Ruth was

463
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,160
determined to go with her, she 
said nothing more. 

464
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,520
Ruth's decision changed 
everything. 

465
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,000
And normally when you hear these
verses, it's in a wedding 

466
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,600
ceremony and it's in reference 
to like, a husband and a wife. 

467
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,680
But that's not what the case was
here. 

468
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,320
You had severe loyalty. 
She trusted Naomi so much. 

469
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,400
Think about this. 
Put yourself in Ruth's shoes 

470
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,840
here. 
She trusted her so much. 

471
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:14,720
She said Your people will be my 
people. 

472
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,360
Your God will be my God. 
May the Lord punish me if I 

473
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:20,240
allow anything other than death 
to separate us. 

474
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,600
How many of Naomi's people do 
you think that Ruth knew? 

475
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,400
They're in Moab. 
She's from a different place. 

476
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:33,800
She was like blank slate over 
there. 

477
00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,440
Don't know what's over there, 
but I know you and you have my 

478
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,600
loyalty. 
So if you say it's good to go 

479
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:46,840
there, I guess I'm going there. 
She didn't wait. 

480
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,280
And then say, what shall I have 
to do in order to become Jewish?

481
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,640
How shall I convert to your way 
of thinking? 

482
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,200
Tell me about the land there. 
What kind of opportunities are 

483
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,760
there for a lady like me? 
She didn't try to become 

484
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,200
something before she went there,
so she would fit in. 

485
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,880
She said, if I belong with you, 
I'll belong with them, so I'll 

486
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,240
go with you. 
Do you understand the intestinal

487
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,680
fortitude that it takes to make 
a decision like that? 

488
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,680
But she does. 
She doesn't say the future looks

489
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:21,120
promising. 
She doesn't say, well, I've 

490
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:24,320
heard that the economy is really
doing great there and housing is

491
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:28,480
low cost. 
And she just says, I'll go with 

492
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,880
you. 
But this book is named after her

493
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,560
when all is said and done, not 
because of anything that she did

494
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,720
at the beginning, but because 
what she did, she understood 

495
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:40,640
that she belonged, and so she 
stayed with her. 

496
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,640
She's not wealthy, she's not 
powerful, she's not spiritually 

497
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:45,040
refined. 
At that point, we don't even 

498
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,360
know if she really knew the God 
that we worship at that point. 

499
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,840
She's just a grieving, displaced
widow making a relational 

500
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,200
commitment. 
But I want you to know that 

501
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,000
spiritually, this challenges the
way that we often approach 

502
00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,680
church and community, especially
in America. 

503
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,720
But in the year 2025, what we do
when we're looking for churches,

504
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,560
Well, I want to know about the 
programs. 

505
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:06,960
I want to know about the 
opportunities. 

506
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,720
What do you have for my family? 
What does all this sound like? 

507
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,520
Very few of us say I'm looking 
for a place that I can belong. 

508
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,520
Now, that being said, if you're 
only looking for a place you 

509
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,520
belong and you have no 
discernment, you will end up in 

510
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:23,200
a cult. 
So don't hear what I'm not 

511
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:27,960
saying. 
OK, But a church is meant to be 

512
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,240
a part of the church, which 
means you are supposed to 

513
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,400
belong. 
Sometimes when you feel like you

514
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,800
don't belong, it's a sign that 
you're supposed to find another 

515
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,000
church building where you do 
belong with those people. 

516
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,480
It's OK. 
It's a big Kingdom. 

517
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,560
Lots of good churches out there.
This one's my favorite one. 

518
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,680
I'm not allowed to leave now, 
I've been here so long. 

519
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,040
But I want you to know that 
Ruth's becoming is impossible 

520
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,840
without her belonging. 
If she didn't already feel like 

521
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,240
she belonged, what would have 
happened when she followed Naomi

522
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,320
there? 
Now she's in a foreign land with

523
00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:58,680
foreign people and foreign 
customs. 

524
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,280
How's she going to feel? 
Maybe bitter, Maybe resentful. 

525
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,040
Maybe. 
Man, I was really moved with 

526
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,120
emotion. 
I made a commitment. 

527
00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,640
I wasn't really ready for this. 
And now here I am in this land, 

528
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,680
and you want me to do what? 
And I can't have bacon. 

529
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:19,000
Didn't want it to get too happy.
When When's the next donkey head

530
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,440
to Moab? 
You know, I'm trying to get out 

531
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,840
of here. 
Listen to me. 

532
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:27,680
Ruth becomes the great 
grandmother of King David and 

533
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,320
part of the lineage of Jesus 
himself. 

534
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,600
But none of that happens if she 
waits on the sidelines until she

535
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,920
feels prepared or feels like she
belongs. 

536
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,200
It's like the first time you 
have a child, you're never 

537
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,640
ready. 
I love telling people that when 

538
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:45,240
they're like, well, I'm just not
ready to have a kid yet. 

539
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:46,680
I'm like, that's cool. 
I'm not going to tell you do it 

540
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:48,280
now. 
But just so you know also, you 

541
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:55,720
will never feel ready. 
It's not speaking out of 

542
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:56,640
baggage. 
I love my kids. 

543
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:57,840
I'm just telling you, you're 
never ready. 

544
00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:02,640
But community is not a reward 
that you get for being 

545
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,200
spiritually mature. 
And I want you to know that this

546
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,440
is the environment where 
spiritual maturity is actually 

547
00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,040
formed and grown. 
You don't get healthy and then 

548
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,160
join the family. 
You join the family and then God

549
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,040
uses it to heal you. 
You don't figure everything out 

550
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,040
and then commit. 
You commit and then God builds 

551
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:21,560
who you are over time. 
This house is not a home on its 

552
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,600
own. 
It becomes a home when everyone 

553
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,640
inside of it decides that 
they're going to help everybody 

554
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,240
inside of it, not when everybody
inside of it has everything 

555
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,400
together. 
Does everything work out 

556
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,560
perfectly in your home? 
Does everybody have it all 

557
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,520
together in your home? 
Sorry, it's not about you today.

558
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,880
But think about this, right When
a baby comes home from the 

559
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,560
hospital, right? 
Nobody gathers around and looks 

560
00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,960
at that beautiful bundle of joy 
and says, all right, let's see 

561
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:54,800
what you bring to the family. 
You are some additional bills, 

562
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,640
so let's see what you bring to 
the table. 

563
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,520
The baby doesn't contribute 
financially, they don't help 

564
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,720
with chores, they don't 
understand the rules of the 

565
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:09,720
house and they don't know how to
behave yet. 

566
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:11,760
They don't even know where they 
are. 

567
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:15,240
But from the moment they cross 
the threshold of that family, do

568
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,760
they belong completely? 
Of course they do. 

569
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:20,720
They don't earn their place in 
the family. 

570
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,640
They don't prove their worth. 
They belong 1st and then they 

571
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:25,440
grow. 
Is it any different when you 

572
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,840
enter into the Kingdom of God? 
Learning how the family works 

573
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,960
happens as they grow and as they
learn to feed themselves and as 

574
00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,360
they learn to clean the room and
as they learn what their own 

575
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,080
tastes and preferences are. 
As they get older, they learn 

576
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,720
boundaries, they learn what love
looks like from their parents, 

577
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,320
they learn responsibility and 
they learn identity. 

578
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,720
And growth happens inside of 
this place that they belong, not

579
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,920
before they're in the home. 
Now, in the old biblical days, 

580
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,880
this was the difference between 
adoption and apprenticeship. 

581
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,480
There were two ways, into a 
family or into a household, 

582
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,000
biblically speaking. 
And in apprenticeship, you had 

583
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,680
to prove yourself before you 
could be trusted. 

584
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:01,720
If you were an apprentice, you 
would only be allowed to do 

585
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,360
certain things once they had 
seen that you could do certain 

586
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,720
things well, and then they would
allow you to continue. 

587
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,120
But in adoption, an adoption was
a full legal right. 

588
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,200
And in the Roman system for 
adoption, much like today, when 

589
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,760
you're legally adopted, you're 
legally part of the family and 

590
00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,600
you were legally allowed to have
anything that is listed as an 

591
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,680
heir would receive, biological 
child or not, you're adopted. 

592
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,040
And that's the way that that 
works. 

593
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,120
By the way, there's a whole 
covenantal doctrine of adoption 

594
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,400
and the fact that we've been 
adopted into the family of God, 

595
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,000
which is why we talk about being
a Co heir with Christ. 

596
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,880
It's a beautiful scenario. 
I guess what I'm just trying to 

597
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,120
say is you don't gather with 
other believers because you've 

598
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:41,720
arrived. 
You gather because you're being 

599
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,800
formed and grown together. 
And you may say, well, Pastor 

600
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,240
Blake, I've been on my own for a
while and God is growing me. 

601
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,080
You're probably right. 
God can do it and he does. 

602
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,440
It is not the same in the same 
way that he grows you in a 

603
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,360
community, though. 
You know, we had this 

604
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,440
leadership, you know, trip three
different times and we all like 

605
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,480
spoke life into each other. 
We all spoke life and the the 

606
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,400
good things that we saw into one
another, staff and spouses and 

607
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,880
things like that. 
Three different times I had like

608
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,080
revelation about something that 
God is doing in me that I didn't

609
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:13,880
know until somebody said it. 
How would I have gotten that on 

610
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:15,840
my own? 
I wouldn't have. 

611
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,120
Belonging doesn't happen by 
accident. 

612
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,040
But I do want you to know it 
does always require an 

613
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,320
intentional step. 
Ruth didn't drift into 

614
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,360
community. 
She chose it and stepped into 

615
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,000
it, and probably more boldly 
than any of us would have. 

616
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,440
But that's why I have to be very
practical for a moment. 

617
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:31,880
Just tell you about something 
that's coming up. 

618
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,000
One of the intentional steps 
that we offer here at Liberty 

619
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,840
Church is something that we call
the next steps class. 

620
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:39,920
And this is not me stepping away
to do APSA for it. 

621
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:41,560
I'm just telling you, I'm 
watching God do something really

622
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:43,480
cool. 
We almost always do our next 

623
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,640
steps class or membership class 
on a Sunday and we're like, hey,

624
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:49,120
be right after church. 
You're already here. 

625
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:51,920
We will have lunch here and then
we'll just, we'll roll with it 

626
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:54,560
for a couple hours. 
Teach you what we believe and, 

627
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:56,800
and where we came from and the 
vision of the church and where 

628
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,360
we're going. 
In other words, we try to make 

629
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,640
it as convenient as possible. 
Hey, you're already here and 

630
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:03,120
we'll feed you. 
Do you want to join? 

631
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,400
Right. 
And we had a couple families. 

632
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,600
They're just like, man, Sunday 
afternoons just don't work. 

633
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,960
So with about 5 people were 
like, OK, look, we'll do a class

634
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:13,840
on Thursday. 
We're doing one this Thursday, 

635
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:19,040
the 18th at 2:00. 
It's Thursday at 2:00. 

636
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,080
How inconvenient is that for 
most people, right? 

637
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:27,800
At this point, I think there's 
around 14 people that are like, 

638
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:32,160
yeah, no, no, no, Thursday at 2.
Looks good, does it? 

639
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,800
All right, come hang out. 
Now. 

640
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,680
A lot of people will ask about 
membership. 

641
00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:42,960
Why do churches have membership?
And all of this? 

642
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,280
Valid question, right? 
Because it makes it sound very 

643
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,640
exclusive, doesn't it? 
See that church? 

644
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,520
I'm a member. 
Oh, really? 

645
00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,040
What do you get? 
I don't know, but I'm on the 

646
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,600
roster. 
There are times that I have had 

647
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,120
people, you know, go to another 
church and sometimes we'll get 

648
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,160
an e-mail or a phone call from 
that church and they're like, 

649
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,720
can you please transfer their 
letter of membership over here? 

650
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,520
We don't have one. 
I e-mail them back and I say, 

651
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,040
hey, we don't have one, but they
are wonderful people. 

652
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,840
Pray you all are blessed. 
And I mean it because I want you

653
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:18,720
to know like a membership class,
the next steps class. 

654
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,080
That is not a way to try to trap
you in and make you work with 

655
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,680
kids or something like that. 
It's just not. 

656
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,080
It's a way where you can 
understand who we are, what we 

657
00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:29,360
really do believe, because 
nobody cares about the doctrine 

658
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:31,200
of a church until they get 
offended by the doctrine of the 

659
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,000
church and then they want to dig
into all the doctrine of the 

660
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:34,760
church. 
We want you to know who we are 

661
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:37,080
and we want a chance to get to 
know you because right here on a

662
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,520
Sunday, it's one of the hardest 
times to get to know somebody in

663
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,520
the church. 
So membership means you 

664
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,080
understand who we are and what 
we believe. 

665
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,520
And you're good moving forward. 
So cool, let's get involved a 

666
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,480
little bit more and you'll get 
to learn about us too. 

667
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,240
So I guess part of what I'm 
saying, I'll bring it up again 

668
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,160
at the end. 
If y'all are free at 2:00 on 

669
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:57,400
Thursday, it's not capped at 14.
Coming out to the church. 

670
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,280
It'll be a lot of fun. 
You also don't have to become a 

671
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:01,840
member. 
It's just informational for you.

672
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,040
You won't be trapped into 
membership and not allowed to go

673
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:05,480
anywhere else. 
Trust me, plenty of people have 

674
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:07,680
gone somewhere else. 
It's OK. 

675
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,960
It's one Kingdom, all right. 
Just want you to know about 

676
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:12,639
that. 
But why do I say this? 

677
00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:15,320
Because I remember when I 
decided to join the Big Brother 

678
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:16,719
program in Eastern North 
Carolina. 

679
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,120
This is before I worked here and
it sadly doesn't operate here 

680
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,600
anymore, but it was this program
where you were sort of a mentor 

681
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,400
to a young boy and then the the 
girls would be in the Big Sister

682
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:26,920
program and you'd mentor a young
girl. 

683
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:28,840
And for a long time I wanted to 
do it. 

684
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,800
A lot of it driven because of my
childhood and, and not having a 

685
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,360
lot of dad figures. 
And I just remember I kept 

686
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,480
saying, ah, someday I'm going to
serve with the Big Brothers 

687
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,920
program. 
And one day I was just driving 

688
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,520
the van for work. 
You know where I was working at 

689
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:42,600
the time? 
I was driving down the road and 

690
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,800
I saw a sign for it with the 
phone number. 

691
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,000
And I just pulled over. 
And I pulled out my phone and I 

692
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,400
called them and it was a 
Saturday and I knew nobody was 

693
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:51,880
going to answer, but I left a 
message because I knew they were

694
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,880
going to call me back. 
Because organizations like that 

695
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,000
are never like, sorry, we have 
way too many volunteers. 

696
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:02,280
And when I got home, I remember 
like talking to my friends and 

697
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:03,640
tell them that I did it. 
And they were like, why don't 

698
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:04,840
you want to think about it for a
little bit? 

699
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:06,360
And I said, no, I've been 
thinking about it for a long 

700
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,000
time. 
If I keep thinking about it, 

701
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,160
I'll never do it. 
Later becomes never, but now I 

702
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:12,960
have to do something about it 
because now they're calling me 

703
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,040
back. 
And they called me back and I 

704
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,200
got matched up with a nine year 
old kid named Daniel. 

705
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,440
And he's like in his late 20s 
now and I haven't aged, but he 

706
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,280
has and he's doing great. 
And the cool thing is I would 

707
00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:30,600
have never met him unless I just
took a step. 

708
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,960
I just took a step. 
When it's hard, I'll never 

709
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,040
forget some of you don't judge 
me. 

710
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,680
When he got into my car, he was 
like, do you like Eminem? 

711
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:45,320
And I said, yeah, do you know 
why he asked that? 

712
00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,960
Because there was ACD on my 
floorboard of Eminem. 

713
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,120
ACD is where we used to listen 
to music on Circles. 

714
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,880
It was a physical product that 
you inserted into your car to 

715
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,680
listen to music. 
There was no streaming, but 

716
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,160
about two months later, 
something about Eminem happened.

717
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:09,840
And I'm like, what is your 
favorite Eminem song? 

718
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,560
And he's like, I don't listen to
Eminem. 

719
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,280
And I said, why did you, why'd 
you tell me you listened to 

720
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:19,040
Eminem and asked me about it? 
He was like, I just, I saw that 

721
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,760
and I thought that would make 
you feel like we had something 

722
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,360
in common that 9 year old was 
looking for. 

723
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:32,760
What belonging do I fit in here?
Will you love me for who I am? 

724
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,920
Do I need to become what you are
in order for you to love me? 

725
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,120
And the answer is no. 
No, you don't have to become 

726
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:41,720
what I am. 
Dear God, I have so many issues.

727
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,040
Please, why did you shake your 
head yes when I said I have so 

728
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:52,880
many issues? 
You belong before we really 

729
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,520
became like family. 
What I learned is this growth 

730
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,800
almost always happens on the 
other side of discomfort. 

731
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,680
It was not convenient for me to 
go and pick up that kid on a 

732
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,520
Saturday and to spend 2 days 
with him most weekends for 

733
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,640
several years. 
But man was it so good. 

734
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:12,440
Brought him to church here, 
brought him to the youth group 

735
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:13,920
here, introduced him to my 
family. 

736
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,520
He's met so many people because 
of this one connection that we 

737
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:17,960
made. 
And you know something? 

738
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:19,520
I met a lot of people through 
him too. 

739
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:25,400
Underneath everything that we 
have, we all want to be seen. 

740
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:30,160
But right above our desire to be
seen is this fear of being seen.

741
00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,240
Have you ever noticed that? 
We really want to be seen and we

742
00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:35,480
want to be accepted, but we're 
also afraid that once we're 

743
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:40,080
seen, we'll be rejected. 
That's not how the church is 

744
00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,120
supposed to be. 
Some people don't step in the 

745
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:44,920
community because they're afraid
they won't fit in. 

746
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,480
But I would be remiss if I 
didn't mention others avoid it 

747
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:49,120
because they don't want to be 
seen. 

748
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,160
Both of those responses are 
founded in the same place, so 

749
00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:53,480
please hear my heart when I say 
this. 

750
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:57,400
But it is founded in self focus 
and I'm not saying selfishness 

751
00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,120
in like a harsh way or anything.
It's a self protection that many

752
00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,520
of us have. 
We ask, will I be comfortable? 

753
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:04,880
Will I be accepted or will this 
expose me? 

754
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,720
By the way, those questions all 
make sense because we are human 

755
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:09,400
and we have been through some 
stuff, haven't we? 

756
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,840
But in Philippians 2, it reminds
us that we're called not only to

757
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,400
look out for our own interests 
but also the interests of 

758
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,360
others. 
Some of us look at a group of 

759
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:19,840
people and we say what could 
they possibly have to add to my 

760
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:22,080
life? 
And we don't stop and ask. 

761
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,840
I wonder what I could be adding 
to their lives. 

762
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:27,160
And you don't even have to 
listen to Eminem. 

763
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,640
It'll be all right. 
I don't even know his newest 

764
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:33,560
songs. 
When we shift from will I fit in

765
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,840
to who might need me, something 
in US changes because we move 

766
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,800
from I don't want to be seen to 
I'm willing to be known so that 

767
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,800
others won't be alone. 
It's just like having that baby,

768
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,000
right? 
Nobody ever feels fully ready to

769
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,480
belong. 
But you don't become brave and 

770
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,240
then step in. 
You just step in and then find 

771
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:52,840
your place. 
So whether your next step is the

772
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,360
membership class this Thursday 
or joining a group or serving on

773
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,920
a team or just talking to 
somebody after the service, 

774
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:00,240
that's all right. 
Just take a step. 

775
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:01,480
We'll talk more about that in a 
minute. 

776
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,520
Sounds similar, but the next 
thing I want to talk about is 

777
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,840
not just belonging before 
becoming, but rows above 

778
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:09,000
relationships. 
How to move from just sitting in

779
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,960
the rows to the relationships. 
Thankfully, I don't have to put 

780
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,120
from pews to people because we 
don't have pews, because that's 

781
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:21,720
that's an uncomfy word anyway. 
My pastor used to always say the

782
00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:24,240
only place I saw pews were in 
churches and courthouses, and 

783
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:25,920
most people were uncomfortable 
with both of them. 

784
00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:31,360
Once belonging has been chosen, 
something else has to happen. 

785
00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:34,360
You start moving and practicing 
your belonging. 

786
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,640
Otherwise it just remains an 
idea instead of becoming a new 

787
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:38,880
way of life. 
Romans 16 is where we're going 

788
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:40,640
to be in a moment. 
It's one of the most overlooked 

789
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,360
chapters in the New Testament 
because Romans is considered a 

790
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,720
very meaty book. 
Lots of good theology. 

791
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:48,760
But in Romans 16, it starts with
a bunch of names, not a 

792
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:51,200
genealogy, but names where we 
read through it and we're like, 

793
00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,440
what does this matter to me? 
Well, we'll talk about that in a

794
00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:57,640
minute. 
It's one of the clearest 

795
00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,360
pictures of how real Christian 
community actually functions. 

796
00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:02,800
And before we read it, let me 
just tell you, Paul is writing 

797
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,320
to a church he did not 
personally plant, but he still 

798
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:09,040
knows people by name. 
He knows their stories, and he 

799
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:11,480
knows their sacrifices. 
And he knows who hosted 

800
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:14,440
gatherings in their homes, and 
he knows who risked their lives 

801
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,120
for the gospel. 
Who laboured faithfully behind 

802
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,360
the scenes and he knows who 
carries the weight of ministry 

803
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:21,440
and he knows the people that 
serve without public 

804
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,120
recognition. 
I want you to remember this. 

805
00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:26,760
Just like we talked about, Rome 
was a gathering of people that 

806
00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:30,200
were all jockeying for position.
They all wanted status, but he 

807
00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:33,360
knew all of them. 
To join the church in that day 

808
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:35,840
meant that it could cost you 
your status or your income or 

809
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,640
your safety, sometimes your 
lives, and they still chose it. 

810
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,240
So in Romans 16, Paul is showing
us something important. 

811
00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,560
These are not just people that 
attended the same service. 

812
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,240
Romans 16 starting in verse 
three, he says give my greetings

813
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:52,440
to Priscilla and Aquila, my Co 
workers and the ministry of 

814
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,080
Christ Jesus. 
OK, well they're Co workers so 

815
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:57,240
he knows them. 
In fact they once risked their 

816
00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:00,160
lives for me. 
I'm thankful to them and so are 

817
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:03,640
all the Gentile churches. 
Also give my greetings to the 

818
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:08,480
church that meets in their home.
Greet my dear friend Epinatus. 

819
00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,840
He was the first person from the
province of Asia to become a 

820
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:15,360
follower of Christ. 
Give my greetings to Mary who's 

821
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:19,240
worked so hard for your benefit.
Greet Andronicus and Junior, my 

822
00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:21,560
fellow Jews who were in prison 
with me. 

823
00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:25,560
They are highly respected among 
the apostles and became 

824
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,240
followers of Christ before I 
did. 

825
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,920
Wow. 
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend 

826
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:35,040
in the Lord. 
Greet Urbaneus, our Co worker in

827
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,400
Christ and my dear friend 
Stacus. 

828
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:44,040
Greet Apellis, a good man whom 
Christ approves, and give my 

829
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:47,720
greetings to the believers from 
the household of Aristobulus. 

830
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:51,240
Greet Herodian, my fellow Jew. 
Greet the Lord's people from the

831
00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:53,600
household of Narcissus. 
Wow. 

832
00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:58,440
Give my greetings to Trophena 
and Trafosa, the Lord's workers,

833
00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:01,720
and to dear Persis, who has 
worked so hard for the Lord. 

834
00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:06,200
Greet Rufus, whom the Lord 
picked out to be his very own, 

835
00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:09,160
and also his dear mother, who 
has been a mother to me. 

836
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:17,080
Give my greetings to Asynchritis
Flagon, Hermes, Petrobus, Hermes

837
00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:20,560
and the brothers and sisters who
meet with them give my greetings

838
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:27,960
to I did so well. 
Philologus, Julia, Nerius and 

839
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,440
his sister, and to Olympus and 
all the believers who meet with 

840
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,240
them. 
Greet each other with a sacred 

841
00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:36,080
kiss. 
All the churches in Christ send 

842
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,720
you their greetings. 
I hope you never read that part 

843
00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,240
the same way again. 
Maybe you won't learn about all 

844
00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:44,640
those people individually. 
But again, we're not going to 

845
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:46,800
look at this like, yeah, what 
does that Scripture have for me 

846
00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,520
other than look at how detailed 
the church was, Look at how 

847
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:54,280
everybody did certain roles and 
grow in different ways and they 

848
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:55,720
were connected to different 
people. 

849
00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:58,440
And he knew it and he could see 
it. 

850
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:02,760
These people's names don't get 
mentioned in the Scriptures when

851
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:05,880
they're read from a pulpit half 
as often as so many others. 

852
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,520
And they were all integral to 
the launching of the church. 

853
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:11,400
Without every one of those 
names, this church may not even 

854
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:13,640
be what you're looking and 
sitting in right now. 

855
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,880
But it's not about us, right? 
So what's important to notice is

856
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,960
just how normal this text is. 
Paul does not single out people 

857
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:25,520
to make a point. 
He's just reflecting on the 

858
00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:27,400
reality of the early church. 
He's like, oh, thank him. 

859
00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,560
His mom's like a mom to me. 
Thank these people. 

860
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:30,960
They helped me when I was in the
mission field. 

861
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,120
They actually saved my life. 
Oh, thank this person. 

862
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:34,840
He's really, you know, welcoming
everything. 

863
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,040
I mean, he's just like, here's 
all the great things about him. 

864
00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:40,280
One of them he says who God 
chose to be his very own. 

865
00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:43,560
We could sit there and we could 
say God's chosen all of us to be

866
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:44,360
his very own. 
Yeah. 

867
00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:46,080
But he highlighted it for him 
right there. 

868
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:49,120
It was personal for him. 
It wasn't a program. 

869
00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:51,400
It wasn't some sort of thing 
that you just attended and 

870
00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:53,680
checked off, like your your 
perfect attendance Mark. 

871
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,000
And I just want you to know that
once you're part of the family, 

872
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,600
faith begins to express itself 
in relationships. 

873
00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:01,360
And just so you know, it doesn't
mean you'll be in an equal 

874
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:03,640
relationship with everybody in 
your House of faith. 

875
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:06,000
First of all, who's got time for
all that? 

876
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,000
Second of all, you won't like 
everybody in your family of 

877
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:11,920
faith. 
You don't like everybody in your

878
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:17,040
family of origin. 
It's OK, But you can still 

879
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:18,680
recognize that you got the same 
father. 

880
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:22,760
You'll start to know the names 
instead of faces, instead of 

881
00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:25,120
knowing statistics or hearing 
that it was a great program. 

882
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:29,400
You'll know because you saw it. 
Instead of assuming something 

883
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:31,560
about somebody, you'll know the 
story behind the story. 

884
00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:34,680
I just want you to know that 
Romans 16 dismantles the idea 

885
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,760
that community is built by a few
visible Christian leaders. 

886
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,240
Paul names women and men and 
Jews and Gentiles, just like we 

887
00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:43,880
were talking about before. 
And he talks about people who 

888
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:46,280
preached publicly and those who 
supported quietly behind the 

889
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:48,040
scenes. 
He talks about people that 

890
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,120
hosted churches, people who 
travelled, people who were 

891
00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:54,320
working because everybody had a 
place and everybody mattered. 

892
00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:57,440
And it really challenges the way
that we often think about the 

893
00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:59,600
modern church. 
It's really messed me up as I've

894
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:02,320
been studying this. 
And most people assume that 

895
00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:04,120
community will happen 
automatically if they keep 

896
00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:06,200
showing up. 
But showing up is only the 

897
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:08,720
beginning. 
Relationships always require 

898
00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:11,920
initiative and intentionality. 
I'm now going to highlight a few

899
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:15,160
statements that are pet peeves 
for this pastor. 

900
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:18,360
And I'm so sorry if this is 
something you said, take it to 

901
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:24,640
the Lord because the one that I 
hate the most is hearing 

902
00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:27,880
somebody say I didn't go to 
church for three weeks and 

903
00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:31,960
nobody noticed. 
Here's why I don't like this. 

904
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,440
Do you want a truancy officer 
assigned at the church? 

905
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:41,360
Do you want somebody to call you
every time you're not here? 

906
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,600
You do not. 
That's cold. 

907
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,720
It's informal. 
But if you have a friend here 

908
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,600
and they look forward to seeing 
you and they notice you're not 

909
00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:54,320
here and they're like, hey, 
brother, what's going on? 

910
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:56,520
I'm used to seeing you. 
Is everything OK? 

911
00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,120
That's totally different, isn't 
it? 

912
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:05,000
Look around. 
Just look around for a second. 

913
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,440
If a police officer came to your
door this afternoon and asked 

914
00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:11,440
you to identify all the people 
here today, could you do it? 

915
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:17,560
Neither could I. 
I might have a higher than 

916
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:20,960
average number of them, but I 
couldn't do all of it. 

917
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:23,760
It's so hard be part of the 
community. 

918
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:26,360
Another thing that I hate 
hearing is, well, when I stopped

919
00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:29,640
going to that church, people 
stopped talking to me from that 

920
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:31,600
church. 
In fact, sometimes you'll see it

921
00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:32,720
online. 
You know, we could still be 

922
00:46:32,720 --> 00:46:34,160
friends. 
We're not rival gangs or 

923
00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:35,880
something like that. 
Here's the reality. 

924
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:40,280
When you walk through life with 
somebody, you have natural 

925
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:42,520
connections. 
When you serve on this worship 

926
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:45,000
team, you build friendships on 
this worship team. 

927
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,840
When you go to a small group, 
you build friendships in a small

928
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:49,400
group. 
When you're serving at events 

929
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:51,800
that are happening, when you're 
there for the fall festivities 

930
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,080
or you're helping us out at the 
memorial picnic and you were 

931
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,080
this close to beating somebody 
at horseshoes, but you got 

932
00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,080
second place this year. 
You'll get them next year. 

933
00:46:58,240 --> 00:47:01,440
When you go through these things
with people, you have stories 

934
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,080
and shared experiences. 
It's not that somebody's written

935
00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:05,600
off because they're somewhere 
else. 

936
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:09,600
You just have less time that you
bump into each other, and it's 

937
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:14,080
not about you. 
It's about the community that 

938
00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:16,400
you're committed to growing 
under the banner of the Lord. 

939
00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:20,600
That's all it's ever been about.
It's only been about the Lord 

940
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:22,080
building and reclaiming his 
family. 

941
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:26,040
That's it. 
A house becomes a home, not when

942
00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:27,960
it fills seats, but when it 
fills lives. 

943
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:31,600
Jed, I didn't ask you in 
advance, but can can I use one 

944
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:33,280
of these mics? 
Jay and Trevor, I'm going to ask

945
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:34,600
you guys to come up here for a 
second. 

946
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,480
You got a preference, This one 
keyboard. 

947
00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:48,760
All right, this is so cool. 
I asked Jay and Trevor to come 

948
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,640
up here because, man, Jay's 
like, I was breathing on my 

949
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:52,840
neck. 
She's like, when can I get more 

950
00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:59,000
attention? 
So just kidding. 

951
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,640
That's funny. 
If you cannot tell here, she's 

952
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:06,640
not pleased with that joke. 
But here's what is so cool. 

953
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:10,600
Listen, the leadership, we we 
plan to do this like team 

954
00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:12,800
building thing and like vision 
casting thing for the new year. 

955
00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,520
And it happened to land on the 
weekend where we were doing the 

956
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:18,680
have what Christmas parade. 
So we were not able to be 

957
00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:20,560
involved in it because we were 
not there. 

958
00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:23,440
And so Pastor Kerry, Pastor 
Drew, they were looking for some

959
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:25,120
people. 
And so Jay and Trevor decided 

960
00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:26,840
that they would take on this 
this goal. 

961
00:48:26,840 --> 00:48:32,200
And if you haven't heard, we got
first place in the Christmas 

962
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:34,240
parade. 
Come on, there you go. 

963
00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:36,160
You don't need me in that 
picture. 

964
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,080
Go ahead and get that one, and 
then I'm going to ask you a 

965
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:40,440
question. 
OK. 

966
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:44,120
But first, there you go. 
No, it's OK. 

967
00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:45,840
While she's taking a picture, 
everybody just stare at them. 

968
00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:51,280
Come on. 
Now, listen, while they're up 

969
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:53,360
here, while he's wearing his 
Jumpstart shirt because we also 

970
00:48:53,360 --> 00:48:54,920
serve in prison ministry 
together. 

971
00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,360
Now, first of all, it wasn't 
just you guys. 

972
00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:00,400
So who helped you with the 
float? 

973
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:08,400
It was Don and Sandra McLean. 
Kimberly Gardner, Joshua Merjo, 

974
00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:14,200
Kaiser, Crystal Austin and a few
other people donated some some 

975
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:17,240
stuff for us, yeah. 
We also had the Ochoa children 

976
00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:21,880
and we had Jack, who is 
Bernadette's son, and we also 

977
00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:23,240
had Emily's. 
Son. 

978
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:24,960
Yeah, Joshua as well. 
Yeah. 

979
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:26,960
So you had some people with 
their kids were like, we'll be 

980
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:28,400
involved. 
Some people just donated, but 

981
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:29,760
they couldn't be there. 
Some people helped put it 

982
00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:31,760
together. 
Some people are actually driving

983
00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:32,760
it. 
Who drove the float? 

984
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,560
Awesome. 
I'm telling you, man, like, I 

985
00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:39,200
mean, seriously, he's all put 
together now that being said, 

986
00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:40,840
how long have you come to this 
church? 

987
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:43,800
You've. 
Been going there for three years

988
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:45,400
now. 
About three years or so. 

989
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:47,280
Now here's what is so cool. 
Come on, let's step up so 

990
00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:48,800
everybody can see us all so much
better, right? 

991
00:49:49,040 --> 00:49:51,320
All right, here's what's so cool
about this. 

992
00:49:51,320 --> 00:49:54,320
I remember when you all came 
because when you first came, you

993
00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:57,640
were engaged, not married yet. 
Now you're expecting your second

994
00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:01,560
child and and you would sit by 
yourselves and kind of slip out,

995
00:50:01,720 --> 00:50:03,120
which is cool because you're 
feeling it out. 

996
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:07,080
So the parade is cool. 
But more importantly than the 

997
00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:09,520
parade, who made this feel like 
a home for you? 

998
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:15,440
Can I start with, you were 
talking about Ruth, and at first

999
00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:18,720
I was going to say like, they're
yeah, everybody had made this 

1000
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:24,200
feel like a home. 
But originally, I think with the

1001
00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:29,800
perspective of Ruth having moved
down here because my husband was

1002
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:35,600
a Christian and I was not, and 
forcing him, honestly, it was 

1003
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:37,440
more not forcing, but like 
pushing him. 

1004
00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:40,080
He told me like, we're going to 
go to church together. 

1005
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:41,720
I'm like, OK, let's go to 
church. 

1006
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:43,360
I don't know what church is 
like. 

1007
00:50:43,720 --> 00:50:49,080
But so we came here, the Holy 
Spirit guided us, and the first 

1008
00:50:49,080 --> 00:50:54,000
people that kind of made us feel
like home, made this feel like 

1009
00:50:54,000 --> 00:51:00,320
home were the Finches, the 
Ericsons, even Anna and Jed when

1010
00:51:00,320 --> 00:51:02,880
they came to pick me up and I 
didn't have a car to go to. 

1011
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:04,240
You can. 
You can skip them, no. 

1012
00:51:04,240 --> 00:51:06,640
I'm not going to skip. 
That I'm just kidding, but. 

1013
00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:10,720
I didn't have a car to come to 
like a ladies night and my 

1014
00:51:10,720 --> 00:51:15,240
husband was working night 
shifts, so I kind of felt 

1015
00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:20,040
isolated being home by myself. 
But there were a lot of people 

1016
00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:23,760
that continue to make me feel 
like I belonged as a Christian. 

1017
00:51:24,800 --> 00:51:28,280
And then slowly in time, my 
husband also took that leap of 

1018
00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:32,560
faith as well. 
But a lot of that was you have 

1019
00:51:32,560 --> 00:51:37,280
to make an effort as well and 
say yes and give your yes. 

1020
00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:39,520
It's not just people are not 
always just going to come to 

1021
00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:41,240
you. 
Some people do because they're 

1022
00:51:41,240 --> 00:51:45,600
really nice. 
But when you are like us, where 

1023
00:51:45,600 --> 00:51:48,640
we sit in the back and we didn't
want to talk to anybody, we were

1024
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:53,840
like, let's go, let's go, Yeah, 
You have to make a leap of faith

1025
00:51:53,840 --> 00:51:55,640
and talk to people. 
Do you want to say? 

1026
00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:01,880
Something You got it? 
Yeah. 

1027
00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:06,000
Hey, is there anybody here just,
I mean, hopefully don't 

1028
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:07,640
backfire? 
Anybody here that Jay and Trevor

1029
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:12,400
have helped make feel welcome? 
Wow, Look at that. 

1030
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:17,640
Three years ago, quiet and in 
the back, not involved. 

1031
00:52:18,760 --> 00:52:20,960
Now you're a champion. 
Come on. 

1032
00:52:25,200 --> 00:52:26,920
Thank you. 
Thank you both of you for who 

1033
00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:30,040
you are. 
And by the way, again and all 

1034
00:52:30,040 --> 00:52:31,800
the different ways that we do 
this, I've been waiting, I 

1035
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:33,720
wanted to to show this for a 
couple weeks. 

1036
00:52:35,240 --> 00:52:37,320
We have a mock up for what the 
carpet's going to look like when

1037
00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:38,960
they put it in next month. 
Can you put that up there real 

1038
00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:40,880
quick? 
You able to see this? 

1039
00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:45,680
I think it's going to make it 
look so much bigger in here, and

1040
00:52:45,680 --> 00:52:49,400
I'm so excited for it. 
And all I can just say to you is

1041
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:53,280
look at what you made possible, 
OK, from coming together. 

1042
00:52:53,280 --> 00:52:55,520
Could you imagine if one person 
had to do this? 

1043
00:52:56,600 --> 00:52:59,880
In the middle of this, we 
started raising funds and then 

1044
00:52:59,880 --> 00:53:05,120
we found that we needed a new 
roof, but we did not divert the 

1045
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:07,360
funds from the carpet over to 
the roof. 

1046
00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:09,280
We believe that God had told us 
to do this. 

1047
00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,160
And we're not doing the carpet 
just because we like the colour 

1048
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:13,480
better, it's prettier. 
We're doing it because there's 

1049
00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:15,960
places that are stained and 
won't come out and that are torn

1050
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:18,280
and it's highly custom and we 
need to make sure that this 

1051
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:20,600
building is well taken care of. 
We're going into the new year 

1052
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:22,640
with a brand new roof and a 
brand new floor. 

1053
00:53:29,460 --> 00:53:31,740
So when we cancel one of the 
midweek services in January, 

1054
00:53:31,740 --> 00:53:34,660
you'll know why. 
All right, you can you can go 

1055
00:53:34,660 --> 00:53:38,320
past that to Jane Trevor, thank 
you for coming up here. 

1056
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,240
I just wanted to highlight what 
they were doing. 

1057
00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:41,920
I was going to ask them for a 
list of people that had helped 

1058
00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:43,680
them and made them comfortable. 
And then when I was talking to 

1059
00:53:43,680 --> 00:53:45,720
Jay this morning, I'm like, 
you'll say it better than me. 

1060
00:53:45,720 --> 00:53:47,760
Do you want to come up here? 
And she was like, sure. 

1061
00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:53,240
Have you ever had your your 
feelings hurt in this church? 

1062
00:53:54,160 --> 00:53:58,280
Yeah, me too. 
Community doesn't deepen because

1063
00:53:58,280 --> 00:54:01,160
we agree with it. 
It deepens because we step into 

1064
00:54:01,160 --> 00:54:03,080
it regardless. 
And thankfully for most of us, 

1065
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:05,880
that next step isn't dramatic. 
It's just something intentional.

1066
00:54:06,240 --> 00:54:09,000
So here's ways to get involved. 
All right, first of all, you 

1067
00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,040
have to be willing to be present
beyond just the service. 

1068
00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:14,960
And for some of us, that means 
that the easiest habit of 

1069
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:16,280
slipping in later, leaving 
early. 

1070
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:18,200
We come early and we try to talk
to people. 

1071
00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:20,680
Maybe you're like, you're lucky.
I get here at 9:45. 

1072
00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:25,120
Cool, stay late. 
Can I just challenge everybody 

1073
00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:26,480
here? 
Let this be the day that you 

1074
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:29,720
walk up to somebody you don't 
know after church and say, like 

1075
00:54:29,720 --> 00:54:32,120
a child, I like your shirt. 
That's my favorite colour. 

1076
00:54:32,120 --> 00:54:36,800
Do you want to be friends? 
Walk up to somebody? 

1077
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:40,000
It's not going to change until 
something changes, OK? 

1078
00:54:40,440 --> 00:54:42,960
So choose to be present beyond 
just a service. 

1079
00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:45,280
Now, if you're like, this is not
my season or I'm leaving soon or

1080
00:54:45,280 --> 00:54:46,880
whatever, that's between you and
the Lord. 

1081
00:54:46,880 --> 00:54:48,000
I'm not going to make you do 
anything. 

1082
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:50,920
And if I see you later on in 
Walmart or something, don't look

1083
00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:53,280
at me and say, Pastor Blake, I 
know I left really quickly, but 

1084
00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:56,040
you don't owe me an explanation.
I'm just challenging you into 

1085
00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:57,480
something that I think is going 
to be good for you. 

1086
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:01,160
OK, so staying a few minutes 
after service and introducing 

1087
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:03,600
yourself to somebody you don't 
know can really make a big 

1088
00:55:03,600 --> 00:55:05,400
difference. 
Normally I'm back there in that 

1089
00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:07,240
room and I get to meet people 
for the first time. 

1090
00:55:07,440 --> 00:55:09,800
And unless we have some follow 
up conversations, it's hard to 

1091
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:12,000
remain connected. 
Plus you're like, well, that's a

1092
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:13,440
pastor. 
They, you know, he's going to do

1093
00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:15,160
that. 
Meet somebody who's here. 

1094
00:55:15,880 --> 00:55:17,520
The second thing I would say is 
find a circle. 

1095
00:55:18,720 --> 00:55:20,440
There are large gatherings that 
are powerful. 

1096
00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:22,720
This is a powerful moment 
because it's a corporate word, 

1097
00:55:22,720 --> 00:55:24,520
but they're not designed to 
carry the full weight of a 

1098
00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:27,760
relationship. 
That's why we encourage groups. 

1099
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:30,400
Groups give you a place where 
you can be known and ask 

1100
00:55:30,400 --> 00:55:32,360
questions and pray honestly with
people. 

1101
00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:35,520
We limit those groups to run 
1012 people so that you don't 

1102
00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:36,720
really disappear in the 
background. 

1103
00:55:36,720 --> 00:55:38,000
And you may say, well, I'm 
trying to disappear. 

1104
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:39,600
Have you listened to anything 
I've said today? 

1105
00:55:40,080 --> 00:55:43,240
OK, you don't join a group 
because you have everything 

1106
00:55:43,240 --> 00:55:45,360
figured out and you're worried. 
Well, I think they're all going 

1107
00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:46,560
to know the Bible better than 
me. 

1108
00:55:46,560 --> 00:55:48,400
What a great place to learn the 
Bible. 

1109
00:55:50,240 --> 00:55:52,200
We have men's ministry that 
meets every month. 

1110
00:55:52,200 --> 00:55:54,920
We've got women's ministry, the 
youth, the teenagers, they've 

1111
00:55:54,920 --> 00:55:56,560
got a youth group that meets on 
Wednesdays. 

1112
00:55:56,560 --> 00:55:59,720
C2 is for single adults up 
through age 30 and they meet 

1113
00:55:59,720 --> 00:56:02,040
twice a month. 
North of 50 is for those that 

1114
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:06,840
are 50 and more northern, right?
We've got, that's just some of 

1115
00:56:06,840 --> 00:56:08,440
them. 
We've got so many opportunities.

1116
00:56:08,440 --> 00:56:11,160
And, and then we also have just 
small groups that meet in homes 

1117
00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:13,120
or sometimes here throughout the
community. 

1118
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:16,080
Find one. 
By the way, coming up on January

1119
00:56:16,080 --> 00:56:18,680
11th, we're going to have a 
ministry round table like we did

1120
00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:21,160
earlier this year and talk about
different ideas we can do. 

1121
00:56:21,400 --> 00:56:24,520
But also we're going to have a 
potluck over next door, good old

1122
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:26,880
fashioned church potluck and 
have some stickers. 

1123
00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:29,360
And if you're looking to be 
known or to find groups, we're 

1124
00:56:29,360 --> 00:56:34,160
going to make it easy for you. 
OK, more info on that to come #4

1125
00:56:35,320 --> 00:56:37,640
or sorry, number number three, 
serve somewhere. 

1126
00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:40,080
Serving doesn't mean just 
meeting needs. 

1127
00:56:40,080 --> 00:56:43,200
It means building relationships.
And when you show up regularly 

1128
00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:45,800
and serve with the same people, 
trust grows. 

1129
00:56:45,800 --> 00:56:48,240
You start to have conversations,
you start to know them. 

1130
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:50,920
Those people in the tech booth 
would love your help. 

1131
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:54,840
And you don't have to be the 
most technologically advanced 

1132
00:56:54,840 --> 00:56:59,080
mind in order to serve there. 
Listen guys, I've served there. 

1133
00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:03,840
Some of it requires a great deal
of training and some of it, can 

1134
00:57:03,840 --> 00:57:06,400
you push some buttons for us? 
We could use your help. 

1135
00:57:07,480 --> 00:57:09,000
All right, So hopefully that's a
good sales pitch for TA. 

1136
00:57:09,080 --> 00:57:12,040
We need some help there. 
But when people used to play on 

1137
00:57:12,040 --> 00:57:14,080
the softball team, when that was
happening, you got to know the 

1138
00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:15,880
other players. 
When you work with somebody in 

1139
00:57:15,880 --> 00:57:17,800
kids ministry, you get to know 
the other teachers. 

1140
00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:20,000
And by the way, if it's not in 
the church, that's all right. 

1141
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:22,000
People that serve at the 
Gathering Place, they get to 

1142
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:23,880
know each other because they're 
serving together at the 

1143
00:57:23,880 --> 00:57:26,080
Gathering Place or the Pregnancy
Resource Center. 

1144
00:57:26,280 --> 00:57:29,400
There's lots of opportunities 
out there where we can all get 

1145
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:34,440
to know one another. 
Number 40, by the way, serve 

1146
00:57:34,440 --> 00:57:36,560
somewhere consistently. 
I talked about different groups.

1147
00:57:36,560 --> 00:57:39,040
Let me talk about these service 
related areas too. 

1148
00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:42,200
Even though it's not directly 
service, I think it, it 

1149
00:57:42,200 --> 00:57:43,680
ultimately serves other people 
well. 

1150
00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:46,240
Conquer Ministry, Conquer 
ministry. 

1151
00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:48,200
You got two ways you can be 
involved with Conquer Ministry. 

1152
00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:50,720
There is the full on Conquer 
ministry, but then there's also 

1153
00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:52,680
just arming you with some of the
details and everything. 

1154
00:57:52,680 --> 00:57:55,120
There's two groups that are 
basically forming over this next

1155
00:57:55,120 --> 00:57:59,800
year to help you men and create 
better relationships and get 

1156
00:57:59,800 --> 00:58:01,160
free from some of the past 
baggage. 

1157
00:58:01,160 --> 00:58:03,200
So if you're interested in that,
I know Jonah would be happy to 

1158
00:58:03,200 --> 00:58:04,440
talk to you at the end of 
service. 

1159
00:58:04,440 --> 00:58:06,280
Jonah wavering. 
That's Jonah, right? 

1160
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:09,720
So he'll be back there, but not 
just not just conquer, but 

1161
00:58:10,240 --> 00:58:12,920
legacy Ministry where we 
minister at a nursing home in 

1162
00:58:12,920 --> 00:58:14,760
Morehead City. 
We try to do it about once a 

1163
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:16,920
month. 
Jumpstart Ministry will kick 

1164
00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:20,560
back up next year where we're 
ministering to the prison in 

1165
00:58:20,560 --> 00:58:22,600
Newport. 
It's an incredible ministry. 

1166
00:58:22,600 --> 00:58:25,880
I cried at the graduation 
watching these guys graduate 

1167
00:58:25,880 --> 00:58:28,480
after 40 weeks. 
We're not just in Newport, by 

1168
00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:30,920
the way. 
We're also in Pamlico, Kids 

1169
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:32,720
ministry, tech Arts. 
There's lots of ways you can 

1170
00:58:32,720 --> 00:58:35,600
serve, but #4 and this is where 
it really will change for you. 

1171
00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:37,320
No matter where you find 
yourself, do this. 

1172
00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:42,520
Learn names and stories. 
When somebody says my grandma is

1173
00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:45,840
sick and she needs prayer, ask 
the name of the grandma and 

1174
00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:49,080
write her name down because you 
won't remember it to begin with 

1175
00:58:49,600 --> 00:58:52,080
and ask about it. 
Once you Start learning names 

1176
00:58:52,080 --> 00:58:54,440
and stories, it's different. 
Now. 

1177
00:58:54,440 --> 00:58:56,720
It's not the awkward, oh, we're 
in the same Mexican restaurant. 

1178
00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:00,480
I think he goes to the church 
now. 

1179
00:59:01,560 --> 00:59:05,640
You'll get to walk over there 
and be like, wow, how are you 

1180
00:59:05,640 --> 00:59:07,560
doing, Mark? 
And they'll say, my name is 

1181
00:59:07,560 --> 00:59:09,240
Mike. 
And you'll be like, I was close,

1182
00:59:12,120 --> 00:59:17,040
but thank God you tried. 
Nobody's expecting perfection. 

1183
00:59:17,640 --> 00:59:19,280
This is not a community of 
perfection. 

1184
00:59:19,280 --> 00:59:22,200
It's genuine and real people. 
We all forget our names 

1185
00:59:22,200 --> 00:59:23,880
sometimes. 
Some of us forget our own names 

1186
00:59:23,880 --> 00:59:27,600
at times. 
But more than any of it, just 

1187
00:59:27,600 --> 00:59:31,000
make one step today. 
And maybe it's the class, Maybe 

1188
00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:32,120
it's telling us you'll be at the
class. 

1189
00:59:32,120 --> 00:59:35,080
Maybe it is meeting a friend, 
maybe it's trying to get 

1190
00:59:35,080 --> 00:59:38,440
information about a ministry. 
Whatever it is, make one step so

1191
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:41,440
that you can get connected into 
the community that God has 

1192
00:59:41,440 --> 00:59:45,200
ordained for you. 
Now as we close today, I want 

1193
00:59:45,200 --> 00:59:47,880
you to know that everything that
we talked about today, as it 

1194
00:59:47,880 --> 00:59:50,840
always should, always comes back
to Jesus himself. 

1195
00:59:51,680 --> 00:59:55,480
Community is not the end goal. 
Jesus is the end goal. 

1196
00:59:56,280 --> 00:59:58,720
And the reason community matters
so much is because it reflects 

1197
00:59:58,720 --> 01:00:00,920
what He's already done for us. 2
scriptures for you. 

1198
01:00:00,920 --> 01:00:04,680
First of all, Ephesians chapter 
219 through 22 says this. 

1199
01:00:05,560 --> 01:00:08,440
Now you Gentiles are no longer 
strangers and foreigners. 

1200
01:00:08,840 --> 01:00:12,000
You are citizens along with all 
of God's holy people. 

1201
01:00:12,680 --> 01:00:16,280
You're members of God's family. 
Together we are his house. 

1202
01:00:17,160 --> 01:00:19,680
Built on the foundation of the 
apostles and the prophets. 

1203
01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:22,880
And the cornerstone is Christ 
Jesus Himself. 

1204
01:00:24,080 --> 01:00:26,440
We are carefully joined together
in Him. 

1205
01:00:26,440 --> 01:00:27,920
Do you hear the beauty of this 
language? 

1206
01:00:28,080 --> 01:00:32,480
We are carefully joined together
in him becoming a holy temple 

1207
01:00:32,480 --> 01:00:35,400
for the Lord. 
Through him you Gentiles are 

1208
01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:39,040
also being made part of this 
dwelling where God lives by His 

1209
01:00:39,040 --> 01:00:41,120
Spirit. 
It goes on. 

1210
01:00:41,120 --> 01:00:43,680
Listen to this. 
That word cornerstone matters 

1211
01:00:43,680 --> 01:00:46,440
because in the ancient world the
cornerstone was not something 

1212
01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:48,720
decorative. 
It was where it aligned the 

1213
01:00:48,720 --> 01:00:53,960
whole position of the building. 
Jesus is the cornerstone of what

1214
01:00:53,960 --> 01:00:56,080
we do here. 
Please hear me on this. 

1215
01:00:56,080 --> 01:00:58,520
We belong, but we belong because
of Jesus. 

1216
01:00:59,240 --> 01:01:02,080
We are no longer outsiders, and 
that's because of Jesus. 

1217
01:01:02,240 --> 01:01:04,600
We are joined together because 
of Jesus. 

1218
01:01:06,200 --> 01:01:08,680
So my question to you is, what 
if Jesus himself makes it 

1219
01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:12,600
unmistakably clear what life 
inside that family is supposed 

1220
01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:14,600
to look like? 
What will you do with it? 

1221
01:01:15,320 --> 01:01:18,400
In John chapter 13, he says, now
I'm giving you a new 

1222
01:01:18,400 --> 01:01:23,080
commandment, a new commandment. 
It's commandment, suggestion, 

1223
01:01:24,360 --> 01:01:28,560
recommendation, commandment, 
love each other. 

1224
01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:36,200
I can't just turn that on Jesus.
Just as I have loved you, you 

1225
01:01:36,200 --> 01:01:39,600
should love each other. 
Oh, that kind of love, your love

1226
01:01:39,600 --> 01:01:41,720
for one another will prove to 
the world that you are my 

1227
01:01:41,720 --> 01:01:44,200
disciples. 
So when we pray for more people 

1228
01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:48,040
to know the Lord from behind our
locked door, we've got to get 

1229
01:01:48,040 --> 01:01:49,720
out there and they've got to see
it in us. 

1230
01:01:50,400 --> 01:01:52,760
They've got to see you pouring 
into somebody and saying, I 

1231
01:01:52,760 --> 01:01:55,760
thought you didn't like that guy
and you're like, he's my 

1232
01:01:55,760 --> 01:02:00,640
brother. 
That's all right, he doesn't 

1233
01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:01,720
say. 
People are going to recognize 

1234
01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:04,080
his followers by how much 
Scripture they can quote, or by 

1235
01:02:04,080 --> 01:02:06,640
their polished theology, or by 
how many numbers show up on a 

1236
01:02:06,640 --> 01:02:09,840
Sunday. 
They're only going to know by 

1237
01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:12,480
real, visible practice. 
Love for one another. 

1238
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:15,880
And not just any love, he says, 
Just as I have loved you. 

1239
01:02:17,120 --> 01:02:20,000
The good news is this. 
To have that kind of love is 

1240
01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:22,680
easier than to have your natural
affection for somebody. 

1241
01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:24,640
I don't have to know you to love
you. 

1242
01:02:25,680 --> 01:02:27,360
I don't. 
I already know you belong. 

1243
01:02:30,240 --> 01:02:33,040
This means sacrificial and 
patient love and forgiving love.

1244
01:02:33,400 --> 01:02:35,880
Love that moves towards people 
instead of away from them. 

1245
01:02:36,200 --> 01:02:37,880
So just hear this clearly today,
OK? 

1246
01:02:38,480 --> 01:02:41,240
You belong here, everyone of 
you. 

1247
01:02:41,240 --> 01:02:43,480
You belong here. 
But you don't belong here 

1248
01:02:43,480 --> 01:02:47,640
because you earned it. 
You belong here because Jesus 

1249
01:02:47,640 --> 01:02:50,400
made a way. 
You belong not because you are 

1250
01:02:50,400 --> 01:02:53,200
perfect, but because He's 
perfect and because He's 

1251
01:02:53,200 --> 01:02:56,680
faithful. 
You belong here because the same

1252
01:02:56,680 --> 01:03:00,160
Saviour who welcomes sinners and
heals broken people and ate with

1253
01:03:00,160 --> 01:03:02,760
the overlooked people is still 
building his family today. 

1254
01:03:04,600 --> 01:03:08,320
So that being said, I pray that 
you all will take a step, 

1255
01:03:08,800 --> 01:03:11,000
whatever it is. 
I'll be back there. 

1256
01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:13,440
We'll have a prayer team over 
there, and Jonah will be back 

1257
01:03:13,440 --> 01:03:14,840
there. 
Just look for somebody who's 

1258
01:03:14,840 --> 01:03:16,400
standing around waiting to talk 
to somebody. 

1259
01:03:16,400 --> 01:03:17,880
Somebody will get you where you 
need to go. 

1260
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:20,720
OK, Let's take a step towards 
becoming a family. 

1261
01:03:20,720 --> 01:03:21,040
Amen.