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Well, hey, good morning and 
welcome to Real Life Church Man.

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It's going to be a good day in 
the House of the Lord this 

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morning. 
Some of you with us in person 

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are joining us online. 
Go ahead and stand on your feet.

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Put those hands together as we 
worship. 

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Praise the Lord, praise the 
Lord, praise the Lord on the 

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mountain. 
And I'll praise when I'm sure, 

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and I'll praise when I'm tired, 
and I'll praise me. 

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No, no bird, praise me. 
Surrounded as praise is the 

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water my enemies drowning. 
As long as I'm breathing, I've 

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got a reason to pray and love 
hold my soul. 

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It's when I'm feeling, and I'll 
praise when I don't, and I'll 

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praise because I know you're 
still in control. 

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Thank you, Jesus. 
It's crazy. 

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It's awaiting. 
It's more than a sound. 

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My praise is the shout that 
brings Jericho down. 

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Long as I'm breathing, I've got 
anything to breath. 

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Hold 
my soul. 

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No, I won't be fighting. 
My God is alive. 

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How could I keep inside? 
Hold my soul. 

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Today And I'll praise 'cause 
you're so praise, 'cause you 

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raid, praise 'cause you rose and
defeated the craze. 

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I'll praise 'cause you're faith,
praise 'cause you're true, 

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praise 'cause there's nobody 
created in you. 

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I'll praise 'cause you're 
sovereign, praise 'cause you 

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raid, praise 'cause you rose and
defeated the grace. 

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I praise hell is your truth. 
Praise hell is your truth. 

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Praise God, there's nobody 
greater than you. 

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Praise the Lord, Oh my soul. 
Pray is the Lord, Oh my soul. 

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Pray is the Lord, Oh my soul. 
Hold my soul. 

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No, I won't be quiet. 
My party's alive. 

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How could I keep it inside? 
Oh, I won't be quiet. 

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My party's alive. 
How could I keep it inside? 

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No, I I won't be quiet. 
My party's alive. 

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Praise the Lord, praise. 
The Lord. 

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Amen. 
Give him a shot of praise this 

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morning and I love Him. 
The church gets to gather 

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together and praises to our 
guys. 

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It's a little glimpse of what 
heaven is going to be like. 

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It is a 24/7 praise party giving
God all that he deserves and 

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it's so blessed to be together. 
So let's continue to praise him 

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as I cast my mind to Calvary, 
where Jesus. 

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Bled and tied for me, and I see 
his wounds, his hands, his feet.

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My saviour, run that curse in 
the. 

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Trees. 
And his body bow, and drenched 

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in tears they laid him down in 
Joseph's too. 

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The entrance still by heavy 
stone, Messiah still. 

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And all the lift up some praise,
oh, praise the name of the Lord,

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O God, O praise. 
Days His name forevermore for 

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endless days we will sing your 
praise, O Lord, O Lord, our 

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heart and on the earth at break 
of time the sun of there and 

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rose again. 
No dream of God. 

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Where's your steed? 
The light just rose for Christ 

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our King and incorporate the oh 
God, oh God raises them. 

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Oh God, oh God, oh God. 
There's days we will see our 

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eyes. 
Oh Lord, oh 

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Lord, oh Lord, oh shine. 
We hope somewhat the blazing sun

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shall Pierce the night, and thou
will rise among the Saints. 

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My gaze transfersed on Jesus 
face, hogging to see its face. 

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We lift your 
name, you close your. 

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Eyes. 
Can you see his face? 

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Imagine that moment and. 
Surrender, just in awe of all 

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that he's done for us. 
Shining like the sun. 

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What a beautiful day it is and 
his. 

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Power. 
His praise, His presence is here

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today, so let's lift him up in 
this place. 

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Oh God, oh praise his name 
forever. 

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Lord, Lord, in these days we 
will see our praise. 

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Oh Lord, oh Lord our God, oh 
praise him, Oh praise our name, 

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oh Lord our God. 
We will see more praise, Oh 

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Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord.
Come on, give him some crazy 

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soon. 
That's right. 

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He is so worthy. 
So worthy, Father. 

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We know you're here with us this
morning, but even more so, God, 

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we say you're welcome in this 
place. 

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Father, would you move in us 
this morning? 

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God, maybe in a way you never 
have before. 

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Father, let us experience your 
presence today in this place. 

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Father, would you rest on us? 
Today. 

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God, we love you. 
It's. 

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In your name we pray. 
There's nothing worth more that 

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will ever come close and who we 
think can compare. 

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Here we are living home, your 
presence, Lord. 

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Now tasted at sea of the 
sweetest of us, where my heart 

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becomes free, and my shame is 
until it is here in your 

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presence alone. 
Holy Spirit you, I will calm 

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you. 
Come play to this place and feel

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the atmosphere. 
Your glory, God is. 

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Would our hearts love to be 
overcome by your presence, Lord.

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It's your presence, Lord. 
There's nothing worthwhile that 

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will ever come close. 
Knows being can compare. 

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You're our living hope. 
It's your presence, love. 

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I've tasted and sing and the 
sweetest times where my heart 

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becomes free and my shame is all
done. 

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Yet in your presence, Holy 
Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy 

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Spirit, our world come comfort 
of this place and through the 

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atmosphere your glory. 
God is what our hearts alone be 

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overcome by your presence, the 
Lord Holy Spirit who are welcome

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come forward in this place and 
through the end of Spirit, your 

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glory. 
God is what our hearts alone be 

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overcome by your presence to the
Lord. 

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It's your presence you want to 
be overcome by Jesus, 

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overwhelmed by Jesus. 
When I speak, calm, you're aware

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of your presence. 
Let us experience the glory of 

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your goodness. 
Let us speak. 

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Calm, you're aware of your 
presence, Let us experience the 

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glory of your goodness. 
Let us speak, come more aware of

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your presence. 
Let us experience the glory of 

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your goodness. 
Let us be calm, more aware of 

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your presence. 
Let us experience the glory of. 

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Oh, come here, come fly to this 
place and fill the atmosphere. 

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Your glory, God is. 
Would our hearts love to be 

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overcome by your presence, love.
It's your presence, Holy Spirit.

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Holy Spirit, it's your praises. 
Let us become more aware of your

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praises. 
Let us experience the glory of 

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your goodness. 
Let us become for way of your 

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presence. 
Let us experience the glory of 

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Your goodness. 
Come on, give him some praise. 

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Again this morning. 
He's so worthy of all our praise

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this morning. 
Such a good, good God. 

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Well, hey, welcome to Real Life 
Church. 

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We're so glad you're here with 
us on this Thanksgiving weekend.

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And we also have another group 
joining us. 

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They're online. 
Can we give them a hand? 

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Just let them know we love them 
as well. 

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So good. 
Well, hey, before you guys take 

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a seat, take about 30 seconds, 
say hey to somebody around you 

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and then you can take a seat. 
Music. 

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All right, well, you can take a 
seat. 

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And once again, thank you so 
much for being with us this 

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morning right here at Real Life 
Church. 

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Hey, if you are newer with us or
if this is your first time here,

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maybe we are so glad that you're
here with us today. 

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Maybe we don't want anything 
from you this morning except for

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this, and it's just to introduce
yourself to us. 

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We would just love to know who 
you are this morning. 

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So if you can grab that card 
that's on your seat, fill out 

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that top information there just 
during the gathering anytime, 

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and then you can just hold on to
it. 

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We'll let you know what to do 
with it later in the gathering. 

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Hey Real Life Church, we are 
church on a mission and man, 

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that mission is to see people 
who are far from God discover 

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their real life and purpose in 
Jesus. 

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And that looks like a lot of 
different things. 

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But most importantly, it's to 
see the prodigal come home and 

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to see the lost be found. 
And man, God has been so good to

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us and we see that week in and 
week out of people saying yes to

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Jesus, committing their lives to
him and their eternity is 

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changed forever. 
Man, That is why we exist to see

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people far from God find real 
life in him. 

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Man, we are continuing our 
grateful series this weekend, 

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man, just taking some 
intentional time to pause and 

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slow down in this Thanksgiving 
season just to recognize man, 

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the goodness of God and how good
he's been in our lives. 

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I mean, it is just, is so much 
more than just saying thank you 

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or having gratitude. 
Sometimes it's really living 

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from a posture of gratitude and 
an overflow of all the good 

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things that God has done in our 
lives. 

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So I'm excited for you to hear 
the message today. 

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Would you help me join me in 
welcoming Diane Petri up to this

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stage? 
She's going to give us a word 

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today. 
Come on, make her feel welcome. 

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Man, good morning, real life. 
Happy Thanksgiving. 

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It is an honor to get to share 
with you this morning just what 

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God has put on my heart about 
gratitude and sorry. 

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Sometimes I have a little bit of
hard time getting over the 

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worship and then trying to get 
my brain turned back on to get 

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up here and talk. 
But I am just very excited to 

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get to talk with you guys today.
So Thanksgiving break 2025, our 

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kids, the most special part 
about Thanksgiving really is 

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getting to get together with 
family, right? 

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Family and friends connecting 
together. 

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Our children were off school the
entire week for Thanksgiving. 

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And so, you know, they haven't 
had more snacks and screen time 

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than should be allowable by law.
Probably at this point in their 

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week, they are ready to get back
into some routine. 

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And when you're on break, every 
night is movie night, right? 

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So the kids are in a battle of 
who gets to pick what movie 

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we're going to watch because 
they have definitely gotten to 

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the age where they cannot agree 
on what that should be. 

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So one of the nights, Emery 
picked a show on Netflix that I 

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hadn't seen called Crunch Labs. 
And I was like, OK, this is 

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different. 
Not a movie, but I was like, 

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let's check this out. 
So Crunch Lab is a show by a 

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YouTube influencer named Mark 
Rober. 

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Raise your hand if you've heard 
of him before. 

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Just this second. 
OK, a few nerds in the house. 

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I love it. 
Love it. 

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I was all along the nerd train 
with him now. 

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So don't worry, I'm in your I'm 
in your camp now. 

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But Mark Rober is a YouTube. 
He is a former NASA engineer and

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he spends his time now teaching 
kids about nerdy engineering 

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stuff. 
So he's an influencer. 

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He's an engineer, which just 
became Emory's dream job because

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she didn't know you could put, 
like math together with YouTube.

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So her whole mind is blown. 
It was awesome. 

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She's like, we have to watch the
show. 

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So we're watching them do all 
these different experiments and 

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robotics things and all this 
stuff, which I'm like, OK, I can

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get into this kind of screen 
time for the kids. 

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They're learning. 
This is cool. 

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Well, we got several episodes in
and there was one that really 

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kind of caught my attention. 
So there was a kid that Mark had

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heard about who was suffering 
with leukemia and he became 

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eligible for the Make a Wish 
Foundation to get a wish. 

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And so when this kid found out 
that he was going to get a wish,

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rather than spending it on 
something for himself, he 

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decided to take his wish and 
bless another kid who had the 

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same kind of cancer that he knew
with a four Wheeler because he 

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found out that this kids four 
Wheeler had been stolen. 

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And so Mark Rober heard about 
this. 

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He's like, Oh my gosh, we have 
to do something big for this 

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kid. 
Like, how cool is that? 

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You're suffering with cancer. 
You have one wish and you're 

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going to use that to give that 
to bless somebody else. 

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That's so cool. 
He's like, OK, I'm going to call

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my buddy Mr. Beast. 
I'm going to call like this 

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whole town in California where 
we're going to do this epic 

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explosion of a thing and like 
get all the people together, all

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these volunteers just really do 
this thing a big we're going to 

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have an epic surprise. 
And they did. 

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It was an incredible day. 
They had all these volunteers. 

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The whole town got together. 
It was super cool. 

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And of course the, you know, 
cherry on top, the bow on the 

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present was at the very end. 
They roll in the exact same four

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Wheeler that he had given away 
to another kid to really say, 

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you know what, let's just do 
this awesome. 

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And it was just really cool. 
And I was like, man, I was 

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talking to Sean. 
I'm like, wouldn't that be the 

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life? 
Just to wake up every day and be

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like, who are we going to 
extravagantly bless today? 

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Like that would be so cool. 
Just like wake up, like what can

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we do to really, you know, give 
somebody this awesome moment, 

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this awesome surprise. 
It was really cool. 

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But what was really interesting 
to me about the story is at the 

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end of it, they're interviewing 
Mark, they're interviewing Mr. 

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Beast, all these guys just 
talking with them. 

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How was the day? 
And of course, it was like, man,

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Brody, this kid, he had a cool 
day. 

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He was so blessed to get all 
this stuff. 

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00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,240
But that wasn't really what 
anybody said. 

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00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,520
What everybody said, who they 
talked to in that moment was 

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like, you know what? 
I feel so blessed that I got to 

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be a part of giving back in this
way. 

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And I thought it was incredible 
because of course, that kid was 

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00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,760
blessed. 
Like he had an awesome day, 

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00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,160
right? 
But it was so interesting that 

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00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,000
everybody there was like, just 
to be a part of something like 

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that, being a part of being able
to give back and bless others. 

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00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,680
How cool was that, that they 
felt like they got the blessing.

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00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,440
And I thought that is so 
interesting. 

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00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,840
The kid felt blessed, but the 
volunteers, the team, all the 

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00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,360
donors, all these people felt 
more blessed by the chance to 

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00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:16,520
make a difference in this kids 
life. 

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00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,560
And you know, as much as I would
love to be that life of like I'm

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the extravagant 1 giving away 
and most days I'm a lot more 

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00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:27,320
like Brody where like because of
God's goodness in my life, I am 

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just getting the blessing from 
him. 

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00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:33,200
I am blessed to be on measure. 
I have nothing to offer to earn 

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up to what God has given me. 
And it made me think it begs the

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00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,480
question if I am so blessed by 
God already because I really 

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truly am. 
I've got an unending grace. 

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00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,560
I have all this stuff. 
Why doesn't the day-to-day of 

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00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:50,520
life feel more grateful? 
It's so easy to get caught up in

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these things that are hang ups 
and like, oh man, that didn't go

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00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,600
my way and that wasn't quite 
what I wanted. 

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00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,080
Instead of living this 
day-to-day with just the 

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00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,040
gratitude of what God has given.
And that question made me think 

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00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,000
that this leans perfectly into 
our Grateful series today 

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00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,760
because it's really Grateful is 
not just saying thank you and 

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00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,960
living gratefully is not just a 
reaction to stuff that happens 

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00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,040
or circumstances in your life, 
but it's truly a revelation. 

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00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,120
It's a realization that God has 
grace in every corner of my life

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00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,280
and I am just blessed to be 
along for the journey of it. 

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00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:30,400
And once I can see and recognize
how much God has done for me, 

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00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,200
that is just the beginning of 
living grateful. 

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00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:35,400
So I want to jump into the 
scripture today. 

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00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,560
I'm going to go to Acts 20. 
Here we have Jesus spelling out 

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00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,160
the recipe for us to say, OK, 
where does gratitude come from? 

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00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:46,480
How do we live a blessed life? 
How do we live this idea of 

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00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,280
grateful? 
And so this is Paul. 

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00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,160
He's actually saying goodbye to 
the Ephesian leaders of the 

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00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,240
church there where he had spent 
several years planting churches.

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00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,960
And so we're going to go to 
verse 35 and it says in 

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00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,600
everything I did, this is Paul 
talking. 

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00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,880
I showed you that by this kind 
of hard work we must help the 

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00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,440
weak. 
Remembering the words the Lord 

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00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:13,760
Jesus himself said it is more 
blessed to give than to receive.

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00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,200
That sounds really beautiful 
until you think about it, right?

290
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,040
Post that up hanging on the wall
in the living room. 

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00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:20,560
It's more blessed to give than 
receive. 

292
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,240
But why on earth would Jesus say
that? 

293
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,920
Because I'll be honest with you,
it's pretty good to receive, 

294
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:27,360
right? 
Like when somebody's like, 

295
00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:29,880
here's a gift, you've been 
wanting this all year and Sean 

296
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,080
bought it for me. 
You know, I like nerdy gifts. 

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00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:33,560
So it's like, what should we do 
today? 

298
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,200
We have a day where the kids are
with grandma. 

299
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,920
Like I really want to go to this
Amish store and what, you know, 

300
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,040
weird stuff, but yeah, I know I 
have got 1 fan in the front row 

301
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,200
who loves the Amish store too, 
but nerdy stuff. 

302
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,680
But when somebody really gives 
you that blessing that you've 

303
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,920
been looking for and praying 
for, that is so good. 

304
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,000
It's so good to receive and to 
get that. 

305
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:52,880
But Jesus isn't saying that 
here. 

306
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,040
And I really think when you're 
looking at the context of Paul 

307
00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,560
sharing this with the Ephesians,
and we hear this line a lot just

308
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,680
in relation to money, but I 
think it's more than that. 

309
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,600
I think Jesus is not just 
talking about giving of material

310
00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:09,640
things, financial resources that
we have. 

311
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,880
He's talking about a condition 
of our soul and a posture of our

312
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,800
heart as we come before the 
Lord. 

313
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,200
Of course, it's blessed to 
receive to get that help. 

314
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,760
You need that hand up and a hard
time to, you know, have somebody

315
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,040
help you out to give money. 
But it truly is more blessed to 

316
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:28,800
give. 
And if you've been in a position

317
00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,680
where you've been able to give 
that, to give your time to give 

318
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,760
help to someone, to serve 
someone to meet a need that they

319
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,480
had, it truly is more blessed to
give. 

320
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,720
And I think of it like this, 
like you are blessed if someone 

321
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,720
gives you $100, but it feels 
more blessed to give 10 of it 

322
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,840
away, right? 
See somebody in need, say I can 

323
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,760
do something. 
Or if you have $100,000, it 

324
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,640
feels more blessed to give 
10,000 away to really make a big

325
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,200
difference for somebody who has 
a need. 

326
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,760
I also like to think of it, I 
tell people when they're joining

327
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,200
the serving team in real life, 
you know, it's blessed to get to

328
00:27:58,200 --> 00:27:59,720
come to real life and be a part 
of it. 

329
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,440
But when you're jumping into 
like serve with our kids to be a

330
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,360
life group leader, you will be 
more blessed by the opportunity 

331
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,480
to get to give back and to pour 
into others. 

332
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:11,880
It makes a huge difference. 
It's like, you know, you're 

333
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,160
blessed to be a part of a, A, 
but anybody who's done it can 

334
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,960
say you are more blessed to be 
an, a, a sponsor, right? 

335
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,800
To get to take of your time and 
to give back in that way. 

336
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:24,840
Because I think that really what
we're seeing here is there's the

337
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,320
the gap between the blessed life
and the more blessed life is 

338
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,680
spelled one way and it's 
gratitude. 

339
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,720
It's grateful. 
How do we get to that more 

340
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,080
blessed life? 
So Jesus gives us an example. 

341
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,280
Of course, He is so good to do 
that to help us know how to 

342
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:41,680
live. 
And so he gives us a picture. 

343
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,200
What does it mean to live 
grateful? 

344
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:48,000
So we're going to open up to 
Luke 17 and camp here for a few 

345
00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,360
minutes. 
Luke 17, we're going to start in

346
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,280
verse 11. 
You've got your Bibles. 

347
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,280
Everyone got your Bibles. 
Got my Bible. 

348
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:57,520
Woo. 
Yeah, give a little shout. 

349
00:28:57,520 --> 00:28:58,520
Got your Bible. 
Awesome. 

350
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,120
We'll camp here in Luke 17 for a
while, so not a ton of flipping.

351
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,000
OK, so starting in verse 11, it 
says Now on his way to 

352
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,200
Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along 
the border between Samaria and 

353
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,880
Galilee. 
As he was going into a village, 

354
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,760
10 men who had leprosy met him. 
So leprosy, at the time, this 

355
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,400
was a devastating diagnosis to 
your social life. 

356
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,720
There was a lot of laws you had 
to be outcasted. 

357
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,400
Leprosy today is a bacterial 
condition that affects your 

358
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,400
nerves. 
Most likely in this time it was 

359
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,080
just a highly contagious skin 
disease. 

360
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:30,480
It may not be what we know it is
now. 

361
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,880
That's me being nerdy for you 
again with things as well. 

362
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,720
But the the big take away is 
they had to stay on the outside 

363
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,160
of town. 
They couldn't follow Jesus. 

364
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:40,800
They couldn't go in, they 
couldn't go to the priest. 

365
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,680
They were unclean, they were 
outcast and they had no way of 

366
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,360
getting to where they needed to 
go to get that healing. 

367
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,920
And so it says as we continue, 
they stood at a distance and 

368
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,960
they called out in a loud voice 
because they had to yell from 

369
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,400
far away. 
Jesus Master have pity on us. 

370
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,280
So literally begging him as he 
walked by. 

371
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,400
By this point, we're nearing the
end of Jesus's earthly ministry.

372
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,160
So the word would have gotten 
around like, hey, this guy can 

373
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,280
heal. 
This guy has power, he can do 

374
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,640
miracles. 
So I'm sure if they heard Jesus 

375
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,000
was walking through, they were 
like, let's be ready. 

376
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,480
This could be our shot, you 
know, like, let's yell, let's 

377
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,160
cry out for help. 
And so when he saw them, he 

378
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,560
said, go and show yourself to 
the priests. 

379
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:25,560
And as they went, they were 
cleansed, all ten of them 

380
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,120
healed. 
As they were walking, they all 

381
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,080
received a gift from God and 
they were all hugely blessed. 

382
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:35,480
This would have been a life 
changing healing for them, a 

383
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,800
huge blessing. 
But here's where it gets 

384
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,520
interesting. 
In verse 15, it says one of 

385
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:46,360
them, when he saw he was healed,
came back praising God in a loud

386
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,440
voice. 
He threw himself at Jesus's feet

387
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:52,280
and thanked him. 
And he was a Samaritan. 

388
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:57,440
And Jesus asked, we're not all 
10 cleansed. 

389
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,440
Keep that question in your mind,
'cause that's a heavy 1. 

390
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,240
Where are the other nine? 
Has no one returned to give 

391
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,960
praise to God except this 
foreigner 'cause let's be 

392
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:12,040
honest, if this implies that the
other nine were Jews, this one 

393
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,160
Samaritan, who would have been 
the least likely one to even be 

394
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,560
able to go to the temple, The 
least likely one to come to 

395
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,920
Jesus, not even in the right 
frame of place to receive the 

396
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,200
healing, is the one who paused 
and said, wow, wow, I was 

397
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,880
healed. 
I'm going back to say thank you.

398
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,000
And it's can. 
So then Jesus said to him in 

399
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:36,240
verse 19, rise and go, your 
faith has made you well. 

400
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,120
And the way of that Greek word, 
it's actually your faith has 

401
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,400
saved you, which is incredible. 
It's all through Luke, every 

402
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:47,280
time somebody has a healing and 
their soul gets restored and 

403
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,920
made whole, it's this word like 
your faith has saved you. 

404
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,680
Your faith has made you well, 
it's incredible because I can be

405
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,280
real honest. 
That's a question I don't ever 

406
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,720
want Jesus to ask about me. 
Like, oh, I have blessed you all

407
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,280
greatly. 
Where's the others who didn't 

408
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,240
find the time to come back and 
be like, thank you, Lord, for 

409
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,960
this miracle, for saving my 
life, for changing me. 

410
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,640
It's incredible because it's 
like, you know, well, weren't 

411
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,720
they all cleansed and only this 
one return, this one foreigner? 

412
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,920
I would have really expected 
everybody to come back and at 

413
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:18,520
least be like, cool Jesus, 
thanks. 

414
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:20,400
You know, thumbs up, bro. 
See you at the temple. 

415
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,800
But instead it's like, Nope, on 
my way, I've got my healing. 

416
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,120
Life is good. 
And in this picture, we're 

417
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,320
thinking, what is the more 
blessed life? 

418
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,720
And of course, all ten of them 
were blessed with this healing. 

419
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:37,440
But the one had the more blessed
opportunity to come back and to 

420
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,960
give thanks because it's more 
blessed to give. 

421
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:47,360
One of them didn't just get 
healed, one of them became 

422
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,240
whole. 
And I love that healing of 

423
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:51,480
Jesus. 
So if we're going to break this 

424
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:53,360
down, what are the four things 
that he did? 

425
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:56,280
What what is kind of this 
pattern that Jesus is showing us

426
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,440
of how to have this more blessed
life, this grateful life? 

427
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,120
And so back in verse 15, we can 
see all the steps that he did. 

428
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,680
And this is a really good recipe
for how to live grateful. 

429
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,360
It says one of them when he saw 
he was healed. 

430
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,920
And the first step is really 
this first, we recognize the 

431
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:16,080
healing we've received. 
We take a step back and say, you

432
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,200
know what, Lord? 
Oh, what a coincidence. 

433
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,840
I had this amount of money show 
up on my bank account today that

434
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:22,600
I needed. 
Oh, what a coincidence. 

435
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,120
I ran into that person who can 
really help me with this thing. 

436
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,280
We have to stop explaining away 
the coincidences of our life 

437
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,800
when we need to be giving credit
to God who is orchestrating 

438
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,920
those moments for us, who is 
providing for us because He's a 

439
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,040
good father. 
And so the first step to having 

440
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:43,280
this blessed, this more blessed 
life is to say, let me recognize

441
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,120
I received a gift. 
Let me recognize that I'm 

442
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,040
healed. 
And then very simply, he came 

443
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,480
back. 
So not only did he recognize he 

444
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,360
was healed, because they all did
recognize that they had received

445
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:58,080
healing, but the second thing he
did was he came back to the 

446
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:00,680
source of the healing. 
He actually, in some 

447
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:02,480
translations it says he's turned
back. 

448
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,880
You see him physically turn 
around to go back to say, Jesus,

449
00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,120
you gave me this gift. 
I recognize I've been healed. 

450
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:15,000
I have this gift. 3rd it says he
was praising God in a loud voice

451
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,719
and threw himself at Jesus's 
feet. 

452
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:21,239
So he not only gave God the 
credit for the miracle, but he 

453
00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,480
gave him the praise for coming 
to his rescue, for healing him, 

454
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:29,800
for bringing him that wholeness 
and for saving his soul and last

455
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,400
and he, what does it say? 
He thanked him. 

456
00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,120
He gave thanks. 
How appropriate for this week 

457
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:41,239
that we can give thanks, right? 
So he recognized he had received

458
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,480
a gift. 
He gave credit to the gift 

459
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:48,000
giver, and then he gave him 
praise and thanks as he was 

460
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,120
going on his way. 
And so I think if you want the 

461
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:54,560
more blessed life, that recipe 
is going to serve all of us very

462
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,560
well when we're looking in to 
say, how can we get to this 

463
00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,480
point of more blessed? 
Look at what you've been given. 

464
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,720
I have been given so much 
blessed beyond measure by God. 

465
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:07,800
There are rooms I should have 
never had an audience in their 

466
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:09,480
circumstances that have come my 
way. 

467
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,400
There's financial things that 
have just, you know, magically 

468
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,680
worked out in a way in my favor 
when I've trusted God and 

469
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:17,920
instead of explaining those 
things away, I need to give the 

470
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:22,360
credit to God to say, man, you 
have blessed me so, so much. 

471
00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:25,000
Every answered prayer request. 
We give thanks. 

472
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,640
We give credit to God every time
he gives us things, money, 

473
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:30,680
stuff, possessions, 
opportunities, talents. 

474
00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:34,800
We for those back to the Lord, 
as I'm going to be real honest 

475
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:39,520
today in a sidebar, that we're 
all blessed and we might not 

476
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,120
always feel that in the 
day-to-day. 

477
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,760
There are seasons when we may 
feel more stressed or strained. 

478
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,720
A lot of that is based on our 
finances and the hard times and 

479
00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:50,280
politics and all the stuff. 
But if you live here in America,

480
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,280
you are very blessed. 
I can say that as somebody who's

481
00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:58,680
traveled across the world, we 
are very, very blessed. 80% of 

482
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:00,800
the world lives on about $10 a 
day. 

483
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:04,880
In context, a Happy Meal from 
McDonald's is about 4 bucks. 

484
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:09,640
So if you can buy 2 Happy Meals,
you are more blessed, so to 

485
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,520
speak. 
You are blessed beyond 80% of 

486
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:16,040
the world. 50% of the world is 
living on less than $3 a day. 

487
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,560
What we would consider like 
absolute poverty. 

488
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,280
And so if you look at it kind of
across the board, if you make 

489
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:28,040
$32,500 a year, you're wealthier
than 95% of the world. 

490
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,200
We put it in perspective in a 
big picture like that. 

491
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,480
Like I'm super blessed. 
It's really cold outside. 

492
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:36,080
But today I am going to leave 
from here with a big woolly 

493
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,480
coat, walk out to my car that is
climate controlled so I can 

494
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,400
comfortably make my way back to 
my climate controlled house and 

495
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,880
push a button that opens up a 
magic door so I can drive my car

496
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,120
into it. 
To not have to be, you know, too

497
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:52,880
affected by the weather around 
me to listen to 17 streaming 

498
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:54,680
channels to go. 
There's nothing to watch. 

499
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,200
I've got all these things. 
And then to go to my pantry and 

500
00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,600
there is nothing to eat in here.
Can you believe leave this 

501
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,200
place? 
I have to actually prepare this 

502
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,280
food and go to my closet. 
I have nothing to wear. 

503
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,680
It is bursting full of clothes I
don't even have enough hangers 

504
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,720
for. 
It's like we are so blessed, but

505
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:11,960
we let this world tell us 
otherwise. 

506
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,400
We see the things around us and 
we get to consume all of these 

507
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:19,280
ideas that what we have and what
God has given is not enough. 

508
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,440
We have more convenience, more 
comfort, more access, more 

509
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,680
opportunity than almost any 
generation in the history of the

510
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:27,480
world. 
And yet, when you look at it 

511
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,720
deeply, studies show counselors 
will tell you we have less joy, 

512
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:36,120
we have less contentment, we 
have less generosity than we 

513
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,400
have ever had in our country. 
And really, we have less 

514
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:45,600
gratitude than ever before. 
We are extremely blessed. 

515
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,760
So what is that key? 
How do we get from blessed to 

516
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,280
more blessed? 
God has blessed us so much. 

517
00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,560
Why don't we feel that gratitude
in every day? 

518
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:56,680
And it's been so encouraging 
because real life is truly in 

519
00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,840
kind of an unprecedented season 
of generosity. 

520
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:03,160
And seeing the faithfulness and 
the generosity of so many 

521
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,880
committing to say, I want to be 
a part of what God is doing here

522
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,280
through our Difference Maker 
initiative. 

523
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:11,040
So many people jumping on the 
team to say I want to give back 

524
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:12,920
in this season. 
I want to serve alongside, I 

525
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:14,600
want to make a difference. 
It's been incredible. 

526
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,360
Even this last week, we had 
several people donate food and 

527
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:19,480
items that we could go out and 
bless some families who are in 

528
00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,040
need. 
It's truly unprecedented 

529
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:26,280
generosity, but in the same time
we look across the country to 

530
00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:30,200
say, you know, only 5% of 
Christians give 80% of those 

531
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:32,360
give less than 2% what they 
have. 

532
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:35,240
And the way I boil it down is we
don't really have a blessed 

533
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:37,560
problem. 
We have a more blessed problem. 

534
00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:39,840
How do we get to our hearts to 
that more blessed? 

535
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,960
It's not a receiving problem. 
We've received so much, but how 

536
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:46,840
can we release and say, God, I 
trust you, I want the more 

537
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,080
blessed life. 
So we've got three things for 

538
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:50,320
you. 
How do we have the more blessed 

539
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,160
life? 
First, here's why this is the 

540
00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:55,320
nerdy part. 
If you're nerdy in the house, 

541
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:56,680
you're gonna love it. 
My friend Scott. 

542
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:57,640
Cool. 
Yeah, this is always his 

543
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,880
favorite part of when I talk 
about stuff because he likes 

544
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,600
nerdy stuff that I like too. 
But there is the study of the 

545
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:07,360
science of gratitude. 
OK, so there are pH DS who have 

546
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,680
spent their entire career 
studying gratitude. 

547
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,120
How do we get grateful? 
One of the leading ones is named

548
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,720
Robert Emmons. 
He's a leading gratitude 

549
00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,280
researcher. 
And he concluded over years and 

550
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,720
decades of study that gratitude 
truly does change our lives. 

551
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,480
And it not only changes our 
lives, it actually changes our 

552
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,320
brains. 
So when you have an opportunity 

553
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:31,000
to both receive and to give, it 
operates two different pathways 

554
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:33,280
kind of in your neural 
biochemistry. 

555
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:39,520
It releases both dopamine and 
serotonin when you give, which 

556
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:42,760
is really interesting because in
most cases dopamine is like your

557
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,480
your gift center. 
Like, oh, I ate that candy, it's

558
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:46,840
so good. 
Or I scrolled that thing. 

559
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,040
The dopamine like I get 
something in my dopamine's like 

560
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,040
Hooray. 
Like we did it, we got a gift. 

561
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,120
Serotonin is kind of like your 
mood elevator. 

562
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,880
So like where am I like happy 
sad in the middle, wherever the 

563
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,680
serotonin released is pushing up
that like happiness. 

564
00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:02,800
So Hooray, we got a gift and 
whoo, our brain is happy like 

565
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,200
all connected together because 
we gave, which is really 

566
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,480
interesting when you think about
gratitude in that way. 

567
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,680
So it not only affects your 
brain, but that affects your 

568
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:14,920
mood, which changes your life, 
which it decreases your stress, 

569
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,200
it helps you sleep better and 
improves your relationships. 

570
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:21,640
It's incredible to see that when
and not only the gratitude side 

571
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:26,480
of it, but those pathways, when 
looked at in gratitude, they 

572
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:29,360
found that there was a 
connection of those two in 

573
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,160
gratitude and giving back. 
So not only has God hardwired 

574
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,800
us, that gratefulness improves 
our brain, improves our mental 

575
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,960
health, improves our lives. 
Giving does the same thing when 

576
00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:44,880
we take the opportunity to have 
the more blessed life to give 

577
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,160
back. 
God has created our body in such

578
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,560
a way that it is a reward system
for us. 

579
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,920
It boosts who we are. 
It brings us more joy. 

580
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,800
And I think it is awesome when 
the body does things. 

581
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,640
That and when science finally 
figures out things that God has 

582
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,760
already said are true, it's 
always kind of reassuring, like,

583
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:05,120
hey, you know what? 
Our bodies are actually 

584
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,400
confirming that God is kind of 
in the business of all the 

585
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,920
things he says to do. 
What's also interesting is that 

586
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:15,760
he found that our brains assign 
a higher value to things that we

587
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:17,800
give than things that we 
receive. 

588
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,760
Which is why all those people in
that story say, oh man, it was 

589
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:24,440
so much more blessed to give 
back to Brody, to give back to 

590
00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:27,600
this kid rather than just 
receiving something on my own. 

591
00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,080
The value of that becomes 
higher. 

592
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,880
And so the secret sauce of the 
more blessed life is gratitude. 

593
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,600
Science has finally figured out 
what God has already said One 

594
00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:43,040
very famous passage that speaks 
to the science of gratitude and 

595
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,400
the science of how God can 
affect our mental health and our

596
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:50,480
outlook is in Philippians 4. 
So Philippians 4-6 and seven 

597
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,920
very famous verse closely ties 
into this. 

598
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:57,440
So it says do not be anxious 
about anything, but in every 

599
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,520
situation by prayer and petition
with what does it say with 

600
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:08,240
Thanksgiving, Present your 
request to God and the peace of 

601
00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:11,000
God, which transcends all 
understanding will guard your 

602
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:12,720
hearts and minds in Christ 
Jesus. 

603
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,360
I love that giving thanks brings
peace. 

604
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,360
When you have anxiety, you offer
to the Lord, you give thanks and

605
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:24,120
God brings peace. 
So there's one other nerdy study

606
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:27,400
to researchers Wong and Brown. 
They did a study on 300 people. 

607
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:30,760
They divided them up into three 
different groups, and these were

608
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,480
people who were suffering with 
severe depression or anxiety, so

609
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,320
needing clinical treatment, like
very severely down this road. 

610
00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:39,520
300 people, they put them in 
three groups. 

611
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,680
The first group they offered 
just counseling too, so 

612
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,080
counseling every week or 
whatever the rhythm was. 

613
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:48,960
The second group, they offered 
that counseling, but they also 

614
00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:53,080
added in that they would do have
some journaling where they would

615
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:56,560
process all of the negative 
experiences they had to try to 

616
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,480
find healing in that. 
And the third group they said 

617
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:03,040
once a week, I want you to write
a letter of gratitude to 

618
00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:06,040
whomever, to whatever. 
Once a week write a letter. 

619
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:08,360
And it's they did this for 12 
weeks. 

620
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:11,920
So in context of what I'm 
saying, every single one of 

621
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,520
these 300 people were blessed. 
They all received the 

622
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:16,400
counseling, they all received 
services. 

623
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:19,480
But those people who were in the
third bucket who wrote that 

624
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:23,080
letter of gratitude, 
interestingly, even if they 

625
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:26,880
didn't deliver it to anybody, 
just the process of writing down

626
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,840
what they're grateful for and 
expressing gratitude to somebody

627
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,400
else. 
They showed a significant 

628
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,920
improvement in their mental 
health over just 12 weeks of 

629
00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:38,600
time, which is incredible 
because a lot of times when 

630
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:41,800
you're that deep into severe 
depression and anxiety, that is 

631
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:43,200
a rope. 
I'm sorry. 

632
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:46,480
It's a road. 
It takes time to dig out of that

633
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:48,920
pit. 
And it's incredible to see that 

634
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,400
every single one of that last 
group had significantly better 

635
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,200
mental health than their 
counterparts in the study. 

636
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,880
The study concluded kind of in 
their summary, that gratitude 

637
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,400
unshackles us from those toxic 
emotions. 

638
00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:04,560
It helps you even if you don't 
share it with others. 

639
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:07,680
Meaning that gratitude is 
powerful for you and it's 

640
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:10,360
powerful for your heart and your
mind to receive that. 

641
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:14,120
The benefits they deposit over 
time and it leaves lasting 

642
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,520
effects on your brain chemistry 
like we talked about. 

643
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:19,560
And so gratitude asks, are you 
simply receiving a blessing? 

644
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:23,480
Are you giving a blessing? 
Are you just blessed or more 

645
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,280
blessed? 
And your body, your brain, and 

646
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:28,400
even science have figured out 
why God made us. 

647
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:32,280
He wired us for gratitude. 
So that's why Here's a story 

648
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:36,200
about gratitude. 
In 2012, I had the opportunity 

649
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:40,160
to spend 5 weeks in rural Ghana 
in a hospital as part of a way 

650
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:42,120
to learn more about 
international health and some 

651
00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:44,600
different diagnosis and things 
as part of a training program I 

652
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:47,960
was doing. 
And it was a very rural clinic. 

653
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,560
It was kind of right on the 
border of Burkina Faso. 

654
00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:54,400
This hospital actually not a 
clinic and people would walk for

655
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,280
days and days to come. 
And we would have clinic every 

656
00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:59,400
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, like 
a sun up to sundown, like busy 

657
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,360
clinic day kind of situation. 
And people would walk and it was

658
00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:04,440
first come, first serve. 
And so they would come, they 

659
00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:07,880
would bring their medical record
on their head and walk over to 

660
00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:11,120
the clinic sometimes for miles, 
sometimes for days to come and 

661
00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,720
be seen to get whatever health 
ailment they needed taken care 

662
00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:15,920
of. 
So they would come in first, 

663
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,520
come first serve and sit for 
hours and hours. 

664
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:21,120
And the clinic of course is very
different than clinic that you 

665
00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:23,720
may have been to here. 
There was a lot of different 

666
00:45:23,720 --> 00:45:26,560
languages, ethnicities, people 
because they came from Burkina 

667
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:29,720
Faso, from Togo, from all over 
Ghana to come and be seen at the

668
00:45:29,720 --> 00:45:32,200
hospital here. 
And so I saw a lot of common 

669
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:35,120
things, pneumonia, eczema, high 
blood pressure, those kind of 

670
00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,160
things are common. 
And saw a lot of things that you

671
00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:40,800
would not be familiar with here 
of severe malaria, deadly snake 

672
00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:42,520
bites. 
We didn't have anti venom at the

673
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:46,600
time, tuberculosis, meningitis. 
I even saw a guy with tetanus. 

674
00:45:47,240 --> 00:45:49,920
So that's real and it's bad, 
just in case you didn't know. 

675
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:53,440
And one day at clinic, we're 
nearing the end of the day. 

676
00:45:53,440 --> 00:45:55,640
You always knew in the end of 
clinic day was coming because 

677
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:58,720
this lovely, lovely man would 
come by with a cart and bring 

678
00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:01,400
around ice cold bottles of 
Coca-Cola. 

679
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,520
So, you know, we didn't have 
anti venom for snakes, but we 

680
00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:08,120
had a Coca-Cola in rural Ghana 
and the man would come by and it

681
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,440
was so hot and bring you the 
Coke and you're like, OK, a 

682
00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:12,160
couple more hours of clinic, we 
can do this. 

683
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:17,040
And as was typical for the day, 
this couple sat down and they 

684
00:46:17,040 --> 00:46:19,520
handed me their medical records,
which were in English because 

685
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,600
that's the language of medical 
records in Ghana. 

686
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:24,960
And they would speak to the 
nurse in Manpuri, their language

687
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:27,480
and kind of express what's going
on while I review the chart. 

688
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:31,920
And they were, the nurse started
to explain to me, well, they are

689
00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:34,720
coming because last week we 
cared for their child who had 

690
00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:37,040
severe malaria. 
And I was like, oh, thinking 

691
00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:38,760
maybe they're having similar 
symptoms. 

692
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:40,000
Maybe they're here for treatment
today. 

693
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,080
They look all right, you know, 
So I was like, well, tell me 

694
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:44,360
more. 
What symptoms are they having? 

695
00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:47,720
And they talk a little bit more.
And then her face kind of goes 

696
00:46:47,720 --> 00:46:50,880
flat and she pauses and she 
looks. 

697
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,040
She says, well, last week their 
child was here in the hospital 

698
00:46:54,040 --> 00:46:57,480
and he got cerebral malaria, 
which is malaria in your brain 

699
00:46:58,320 --> 00:46:59,680
got. 
And he passed away. 

700
00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:08,800
And in that moment, I'm like, 
well, OK, like, wow. 

701
00:47:09,240 --> 00:47:13,920
And they had come back, walked 
to the clinic, waited in line 

702
00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:19,600
all day to come and to say thank
you for caring for my child. 

703
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:24,200
My kid didn't make it, but you 
guys did everything you could to

704
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:28,920
try to help my child. 
It was in that moment in my life

705
00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:33,920
to see these parents facing the 
worst, most devastating thing 

706
00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:38,520
you can face as a parent 
expressing their gratitude, to 

707
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:42,320
know this is what gratitude 
really is. 

708
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:50,760
This is really how you live. 
Grateful gratitude turns what 

709
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:53,040
you have in your circumstances 
into enough. 

710
00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:57,080
Whether that is the highest 
mountaintop or the lowest 

711
00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:01,280
valley, it's a gratitude for the
Lord that makes it enough. 

712
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:06,440
And what these parents knew, 
they knew that they had received

713
00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:09,240
care. 
They were blessed to have care. 

714
00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:12,080
A lot of people in the region 
didn't have a hospital to go to.

715
00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:13,520
They wouldn't even have that 
opportunity. 

716
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:18,720
But they were more blessed to 
come back and to say thank you. 

717
00:48:20,240 --> 00:48:23,640
And that's a word for any of us 
who've experienced devastating 

718
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:29,960
pain, have experienced loss in a
couple of really famous verses 

719
00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:33,040
in First Thessalonians, Paul 
talks about this in First 

720
00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:36,240
Thessalonians 516 through 18. 
These are power packed verses, 

721
00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:38,600
but instructions for living a 
grateful life. 

722
00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:42,520
And really it's this is what 
these parents believed in their 

723
00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:46,560
deepest darkest valley when 
their greatest loss. 

724
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,080
It is the moment of opportunity 
to experience God's greatest 

725
00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:52,320
presence. 
Then first Thessalonians it says

726
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:56,880
rejoice always, pray 
continually, give thanks in all 

727
00:48:56,880 --> 00:49:00,440
circumstances for this is God's 
will for you in Christ Jesus. 

728
00:49:01,240 --> 00:49:05,960
What I love about this verse is 
the word this refers back to all

729
00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:10,080
three of those things. 
This answers the question, what 

730
00:49:10,080 --> 00:49:12,000
is God's will for you? 
What kind of life does God want 

731
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:13,840
you to have? 
This kind of life? 

732
00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:15,600
He wants you to give praise all 
the time. 

733
00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:18,280
He wants you to be constantly 
connected to Him in prayer, and 

734
00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:22,040
He wants you to give thanks in 
everything that those parents 

735
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:24,600
taught me, that God's not just 
in control of the easy stuff. 

736
00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:28,720
He's writing a story. 
And in every circumstance where 

737
00:49:28,720 --> 00:49:32,080
we find ourselves, we have the 
opportunity to give thanks and 

738
00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:35,120
to praise God. 
Every circumstance delivered to 

739
00:49:35,120 --> 00:49:38,520
us here on earth is an 
opportunity to know God more 

740
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:40,960
deeply. 
It's given to us. 

741
00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:43,640
It's kind of like a package sent
to us that we can then return to

742
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:46,800
cinder the gift and the 
gratitude that he's given to us.

743
00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:51,000
So why can we be grateful? 
A story about gratitude. 

744
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:53,880
And here's the last piece. 
What does the more blessed life 

745
00:49:53,880 --> 00:49:56,880
look like? 
The top two places that receive 

746
00:49:56,880 --> 00:49:59,240
donations are hospitals and 
schools. 

747
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:03,520
The reason why is because people
have received something. 

748
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,440
They've gotten great care, they 
have gotten a teacher who cared 

749
00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:08,680
for them, they've learned a lot,
they've perceived, and they want

750
00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:11,600
to give back. 
And I think as believers, as 

751
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:14,440
Christians, people following 
Jesus, we should be the most 

752
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:18,240
grateful of all people. 
Because when you pause and have 

753
00:50:18,240 --> 00:50:22,040
that recognition like that one 
leopard did, of how much we have

754
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:24,480
received, we can't help but be 
grateful. 

755
00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:28,680
We've received the greatest gift
of all from Jesus of 

756
00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:31,120
forgiveness, A pardon for our 
sin. 

757
00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:34,720
Every sin I've ever done, the 
ones that I'll do later today, 

758
00:50:34,720 --> 00:50:36,760
the ones I'm probably doing 
right now and don't know it, 

759
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,440
every sin from the east to the 
West, which means it just keeps 

760
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:41,960
going. 
You can't separate things 

761
00:50:41,960 --> 00:50:46,080
farther than east and West. 
It's God who came our 

762
00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:49,880
righteousness on the cross. 
He no longer counts anything 

763
00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:53,000
against us so that we could be 
made whole and complete. 

764
00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:56,920
He says to us the same thing to 
that leper, go your faith has 

765
00:50:56,920 --> 00:50:59,120
saved you, your faith has made 
you well. 

766
00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:03,440
We have received so much, and I 
believe God is inviting us to 

767
00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:07,280
the more blessed life, to the 
life of gratitude that gives 

768
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:11,600
back to others. 
God's inviting us to live the 

769
00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:14,760
more blessed life. 
So here's how Paul summarizes 

770
00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:18,600
this Second Corinthians 9/6 
through 11. 

771
00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:23,840
It says, remember this, whoever 
sows sparingly will also reap 

772
00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:27,800
sparingly, and whoever sows 
generously will also reap 

773
00:51:27,880 --> 00:51:31,680
generously. 
I'll pause there because so many

774
00:51:31,680 --> 00:51:34,240
of us are looking for a harvest 
that we never planted. 

775
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:38,960
If we're planting bitterness, if
we're planting negativity, if 

776
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:44,240
we're planting just a control or
an unwillingness to let God be 

777
00:51:44,240 --> 00:51:48,280
used, I don't know why we expect
joy and gratitude and generosity

778
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:52,360
to spring up out of the ground. 
What we sow is what we'll reap. 

779
00:51:53,720 --> 00:51:55,840
Each of you should then give 
what you've decided in your 

780
00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:59,360
heart to give, not reluctantly. 
You're under compulsion, for God

781
00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:01,840
loves a cheerful giver. 
But don't miss this next part, 

782
00:52:02,560 --> 00:52:07,720
because God is able to bless you
abundantly, so that in all 

783
00:52:07,720 --> 00:52:12,200
things, at all times, having all
you need, you will abound in 

784
00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:14,760
every good work. 
As it's written, they have 

785
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:16,400
freely scattered their gifts to 
the poor. 

786
00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:17,960
Their righteousness endures 
forever. 

787
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:21,520
And now he who supplies the seed
to the sower and bread for food 

788
00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:25,160
will also supply and increase 
your store of seed and will 

789
00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,200
enlarge the harvest of your 
righteousness. 

790
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:31,960
You'll be enriched in every way.
God's already saying you're 

791
00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:35,600
blessed, you have received, you 
are enriched in all the things 

792
00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:39,720
so that you can be generous on 
every occasion. 

793
00:52:40,640 --> 00:52:44,760
And through US, your generosity 
will result in Thanksgiving to 

794
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:47,920
God. 
This is really what generosity 

795
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:51,360
can be, is a ripple effect 
because God's already saying, 

796
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:53,360
I've given you so much, you've 
been so blessed. 

797
00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:57,920
And when we take that blessed 
life and we give back to others,

798
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:01,280
we give our time, we give our 
care, we resource, we're there 

799
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:03,600
to walk along somebody in a hard
season. 

800
00:53:03,760 --> 00:53:06,680
When we provide that gratitude 
back, then all of a sudden that 

801
00:53:06,680 --> 00:53:11,480
person now has received a 
blessing and now they're living 

802
00:53:11,480 --> 00:53:14,240
the blessed life with an 
opportunity from God to then 

803
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:19,160
move into the more blessed life.
It's incredible to see in the 

804
00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:22,200
economy of God how he ripples 
out and will take such a small 

805
00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:26,200
moment for me that might mean 
something to somebody else. 

806
00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:29,560
And he uses that. 
It says right there that on 

807
00:53:29,560 --> 00:53:32,560
every occasion through US, your 
generosity will result in 

808
00:53:32,560 --> 00:53:34,960
Thanksgiving to God. 
And what's most incredible about

809
00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:38,200
this is that when you live the 
more blessed life, whether it's 

810
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:41,680
on this side of eternity, 
whether it's in heaven, it says 

811
00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:44,040
that there's going to be people 
in heaven thanking God for you. 

812
00:53:45,120 --> 00:53:46,880
They're thanking God for your 
generosity. 

813
00:53:46,960 --> 00:53:49,280
They will be thanking you for 
being a part of our Difference 

814
00:53:49,280 --> 00:53:51,760
Maker initiative. 
They're going to thank you for 

815
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,120
the time that you poured into a 
little kid and real life kids 

816
00:53:55,120 --> 00:53:58,480
and they grew up to be a person 
of faith who made a difference 

817
00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:00,480
in their life. 
They're going to thank you for 

818
00:54:00,480 --> 00:54:03,640
putting a sign in your yard so 
someone could drive by and lead 

819
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:06,680
somebody to Jesus. 
There's every little thing that 

820
00:54:06,680 --> 00:54:13,000
we do that we give back, God can
use, and that's the more blessed

821
00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:16,520
life. 
Every piece of what we do, every

822
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:20,800
way that we can give thanks back
to God, we can give praise, we 

823
00:54:20,800 --> 00:54:24,080
can give of ourselves, God is 
going to use it. 

824
00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:27,960
And the fact that you chose the 
more blessed life, you chose, 

825
00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:30,480
the eternal return on 
investment, you freely 

826
00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:34,680
scattered, God gives back to 
what He's given to you. 

827
00:54:36,440 --> 00:54:39,400
So I want you to picture that 
moment in Luke 17 one more time.

828
00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:42,360
close your eyes. 
You can see Jesus on a dusty Rd.

829
00:54:42,360 --> 00:54:46,800
He's walking and 10 lepers are 
shouting. 

830
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:48,960
They're pleading. 
Please Lord, have mercy on us, 

831
00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:51,600
heal us, save us. 
And Jesus sees them. 

832
00:54:51,600 --> 00:54:54,120
He does go and be well, be 
whole. 

833
00:54:55,160 --> 00:54:59,320
As he continues to walk, just 
the one with tears in his eyes 

834
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:05,920
falls to his knees praising God.
Lord, you're so good. 

835
00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:09,440
Thank you. 
Thank you for making me whole. 

836
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:12,160
Just the one came back to give 
credit. 

837
00:55:12,160 --> 00:55:15,600
Just the one gave praise. 
Just the one gave thanks. 

838
00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:21,640
And it brings us back to those 
two questions that I don't think

839
00:55:21,640 --> 00:55:24,320
I want. 
And I know I don't ever want 

840
00:55:24,360 --> 00:55:26,840
Jesus to ask his first Didn't I 
heal you? 

841
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:30,560
And maybe that's you today. 
Gratitude's been hard in this 

842
00:55:30,560 --> 00:55:34,680
season for whatever reason, but 
Jesus is calling today to say, 

843
00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:39,320
didn't I make you whole? 
Didn't I give you everything 

844
00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:43,280
that you have? 
Come back to me, turn back, 

845
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:47,800
return to me. 
Because I don't want Jesus to 

846
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:50,760
look at my life and wonder where
my gratitude went. 

847
00:55:51,680 --> 00:55:55,120
When it says to rejoice always 
in everything, give thanks. 

848
00:55:55,120 --> 00:55:57,320
This is the will of God for 
Diane's life. 

849
00:55:57,320 --> 00:55:59,040
Where's the gratitude? 
It's here. 

850
00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:02,880
It's here when I recognize what 
Jesus is doing or the other 

851
00:56:02,880 --> 00:56:05,400
question Jesus asked, where are 
the other nine? 

852
00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:08,600
It echoes through the centuries 
to be one of those nine who said

853
00:56:08,600 --> 00:56:11,600
I've gotten so much from Jesus, 
so much healing, so much faith, 

854
00:56:12,200 --> 00:56:15,480
but not to return back. 
You know, real life's not called

855
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:18,600
to be A1 leper church. 
We're only one out of 10 come 

856
00:56:18,600 --> 00:56:21,480
back to give praise. 
Only one out of 10 serve. 

857
00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:25,920
Only one out of 10 lean in to 
make a difference. 

858
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:30,200
We're a more blessed church and 
it starts today by recognizing 

859
00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:33,080
and every breath that we 
breathe, every blessing we 

860
00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:35,520
received, every door that's been
opened, it was Jesus. 

861
00:56:36,360 --> 00:56:37,920
It's the last question. 
I want to leave you this. 

862
00:56:37,920 --> 00:56:41,640
It's been on my mind thinking 
about these two questions that 

863
00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:49,040
Jesus said to the lepers this 
What if we've become so content 

864
00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:53,880
with the blessed life here on 
earth that we're going to miss 

865
00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:57,000
the more blessed opportunity 
that Jesus has in front of us? 

866
00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:03,400
What if we've become so deep 
into the blessings of this earth

867
00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:06,920
and the things of this world 
that we miss the blesser 

868
00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:10,920
altogether? 
To say, Lord, I, I know you. 

869
00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:14,400
I know you, but I haven't gone 
deep with you. 

870
00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:19,160
I haven't really known you. 
I let you save me from my sins. 

871
00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:22,400
But God, I want to know you more
deeply. 

872
00:57:22,720 --> 00:57:26,080
I want to be walking in step 
with the one who gave the 

873
00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:28,880
blessing. 
And so I think that today is an 

874
00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:30,960
opportunity that we all get to 
come back to Jesus. 

875
00:57:31,800 --> 00:57:34,680
For some of us, it's just to 
walk back, to say, to turn back 

876
00:57:34,680 --> 00:57:37,080
and give God the credit for what
he's doing in our lives. 

877
00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:39,600
It's incredible. 
And maybe for some of you, 

878
00:57:39,600 --> 00:57:45,000
you've never taken that first 
step to say, Lord, I need to 

879
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:47,040
trust you. 
I need to be healed. 

880
00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:52,720
I need you to save me. 
So let's pray, God, you're the 

881
00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:57,400
one who's given us everything, 
and now you invite us to respond

882
00:57:57,400 --> 00:58:00,640
to that. 
God, I think about a first group

883
00:58:00,640 --> 00:58:03,920
of us that today we've been 
living in a way that's not 

884
00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:07,040
grateful. 
We haven't expressed gratitude 

885
00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:09,960
for every season. 
God, we haven't rejoiced always.

886
00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:13,960
And God, today I think you're 
inviting us to be the one that 

887
00:58:13,960 --> 00:58:18,560
comes back to say, come back to 
recognize what I've done, to 

888
00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:22,920
recognize how much I love you. 
When we get an opportunity today

889
00:58:22,920 --> 00:58:26,440
to say, God, I need to spend my 
days, my time giving you the 

890
00:58:26,440 --> 00:58:30,880
praise and giving you the thanks
that you deserve. 

891
00:58:32,480 --> 00:58:35,120
Maybe today is your moment to 
come back, just like that one 

892
00:58:35,120 --> 00:58:38,160
leper. 
If that's you here today and 

893
00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:39,840
you're like, you know what? 
I need to come back with 

894
00:58:39,840 --> 00:58:42,480
gratitude. 
I need to come back to the Lord 

895
00:58:42,480 --> 00:58:45,400
with a grateful life. 
I need to sow seeds of joy and 

896
00:58:45,760 --> 00:58:49,000
gratitude and generosity in my 
heart so they can rise up in 

897
00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:52,000
everything that I do. 
I want God to do something in my

898
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,840
life today. 
If that's you, I just invite you

899
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:56,400
to raise your hand. 
I'd love to pray for you. 

900
00:58:56,520 --> 00:59:00,040
I won't call you out just to say
today, God, I'm turning back to 

901
00:59:00,040 --> 00:59:02,920
you with gratitude in my heart, 
with thanks. 

902
00:59:04,360 --> 00:59:07,960
I want to give it back to you 
because I want the more blessed 

903
00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:14,280
life today that you look to pray
for you today to say, Lord, we 

904
00:59:14,280 --> 00:59:17,920
thank you for this beautiful 
picture of your gratitude, of 

905
00:59:17,920 --> 00:59:21,360
our gratitude towards you. 
God, your grace, I thank you 

906
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:23,680
that we can see your grace in 
every pocket of every corner of 

907
00:59:23,680 --> 00:59:25,240
our lives. 
God, I pray that you open our 

908
00:59:25,240 --> 00:59:28,080
eyes to that so we can recognize
you in everything we're doing. 

909
00:59:28,080 --> 00:59:31,120
God, that we would lean in and 
be people who give you credit 

910
00:59:31,560 --> 00:59:34,560
and that we would be people who 
give you the praise and the 

911
00:59:34,560 --> 00:59:37,120
Thanksgiving you deserve. 
God, help us to come back to you

912
00:59:37,120 --> 00:59:40,000
today. 
Say, God, I love you and I'm 

913
00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:41,760
following you. 
I'm walking in step. 

914
00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:43,800
You've healed me, you've saved 
me, You make me whole. 

915
00:59:43,800 --> 00:59:47,720
God, I'm giving it to you with 
open hands. 

916
00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:50,000
I surrender my life. 
I surrender all you've given me 

917
00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:53,040
to give back to you with 
gratitude and praise. 

918
00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:56,880
And there's one more group of 
people here today. 

919
00:59:57,600 --> 01:00:00,480
So you know what? 
I don't know this Jesus. 

920
01:00:01,600 --> 01:00:08,160
Maybe I was walking along a path
as a leper outcasted the least 

921
01:00:08,160 --> 01:00:11,480
likely. 
To be here today. 

922
01:00:12,240 --> 01:00:14,880
But there's something about this
Jesus who brings healing, 

923
01:00:15,160 --> 01:00:17,720
something about this wholeness 
that I need, and something about

924
01:00:17,720 --> 01:00:22,920
having a grateful heart that 
stems from a healed soul that I 

925
01:00:22,920 --> 01:00:25,680
want a piece of today. 
I feel it rising up in my chest.

926
01:00:25,680 --> 01:00:29,000
If that's you, I feel the 
goosebumps on my arms to say 

927
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:33,920
today is the day of salvation. 
Today is the day that I can turn

928
01:00:33,920 --> 01:00:38,640
back not just from myself, God, 
but turn towards you, turn 

929
01:00:38,640 --> 01:00:43,040
towards Jesus, the only Son of 
the Father who gave himself, who

930
01:00:43,040 --> 01:00:46,920
sacrificed for us to make us 
whole, to make us heal, to take 

931
01:00:46,920 --> 01:00:49,400
our sins. 
If you need to meet that Jesus 

932
01:00:49,400 --> 01:00:52,240
today, this is a place that's 
safe for you to say. 

933
01:00:52,240 --> 01:00:56,600
I want to commit my life to him.
If that's you, I'd ask you to 

934
01:00:56,600 --> 01:00:59,120
raise your hand. 
I'd love to pray for you if 

935
01:00:59,120 --> 01:01:01,920
today you would say, I need this
Jesus. 

936
01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:04,320
I need this wholeness. 
I need this gratitude in my 

937
01:01:04,320 --> 01:01:06,720
heart. 
If that's you, raise your hand. 

938
01:01:06,720 --> 01:01:10,560
I'd love to pray for you. 
And actually, I'd love you to 

939
01:01:10,560 --> 01:01:14,080
pray along with me. 
It's not the prayer that saves 

940
01:01:14,080 --> 01:01:16,000
you, but your heart towards 
following God. 

941
01:01:16,280 --> 01:01:19,480
You lift up your hand and you'd 
say, God, everything I have is 

942
01:01:19,480 --> 01:01:21,600
from you. 
And today I'm coming back with 

943
01:01:21,600 --> 01:01:25,560
things. 
I want to restore the gratitude 

944
01:01:25,560 --> 01:01:31,480
in my heart by coming to you. 
God, today I turn back to you. 

945
01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:34,720
You have the forgiveness for my 
sins. 

946
01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:37,840
You have the victory I need in 
my life. 

947
01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:40,240
God, your sacrifice has made me 
whole. 

948
01:01:40,240 --> 01:01:46,600
I trust you and I ask you to 
come into my life today in Jesus

949
01:01:46,600 --> 01:01:47,880
name. 
Amen. 

950
01:01:48,600 --> 01:01:50,920
Hey, let's give it up for 
everybody today who has turned 

951
01:01:50,920 --> 01:01:58,760
towards Jesus. 
Who's grateful today? 

952
01:01:58,760 --> 01:02:02,200
Amen. 
Sometimes you forget just the 

953
01:02:02,200 --> 01:02:06,280
simplicity of the Gospel, how 
much Jesus truly loves us and 

954
01:02:06,280 --> 01:02:12,160
that foreigner like the least 
likely person to get it got it 

955
01:02:12,680 --> 01:02:15,360
and did not get distracted with 
all the world and came back to 

956
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:16,520
Jesus and remember what 
happened. 

957
01:02:16,520 --> 01:02:21,200
He got back to Jesus. 
It said you are made whole. 

958
01:02:22,440 --> 01:02:25,760
Like he's completely restored. 
It's questionable if the other 

959
01:02:25,760 --> 01:02:28,840
nine are even saved. 
That's what blows my mind about 

960
01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:30,840
the story. 
And then I want to say as a 

961
01:02:30,840 --> 01:02:34,400
church, like thank you for your 
gratitude, as a leader, as the 

962
01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:36,720
pastor of the church, like we 
are extremely blessed. 

963
01:02:36,720 --> 01:02:39,360
I hope you guys feel blessed 
because we're living out a lot 

964
01:02:39,360 --> 01:02:40,640
of what Diane just talked about 
today. 

965
01:02:41,320 --> 01:02:43,400
Like you're returning to the 
Lord and following him. 

966
01:02:43,400 --> 01:02:44,920
It's just one of the amazing 
seasons. 

967
01:02:45,200 --> 01:02:47,040
But for some of you guys, you 
actually came back to Lord. 

968
01:02:47,560 --> 01:02:49,320
Like you recognize what you 
already did for you. 

969
01:02:49,840 --> 01:02:53,040
Like he has already done the 
work on the cross. 

970
01:02:53,560 --> 01:02:55,320
And some of you today just put 
your faith in Christ. 

971
01:02:55,320 --> 01:02:57,920
And I would encourage you guys, 
those who called on Jesus to let

972
01:02:57,920 --> 01:03:00,440
us know we don't want you to do 
this alone really. 

973
01:03:00,440 --> 01:03:02,720
You're really not going to make 
it very far to be honest with 

974
01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:04,200
you. 
I'm going to be praying with you

975
01:03:04,200 --> 01:03:06,600
and encouraging you and building
you up and inviting you to the 

976
01:03:06,600 --> 01:03:09,440
family, just cheering you on. 
So if you can't just take that 

977
01:03:09,440 --> 01:03:10,920
card as that commit life to 
Christ. 

978
01:03:11,160 --> 01:03:14,240
We truly want to help you every 
step of the way to become part 

979
01:03:14,240 --> 01:03:16,280
of what God has for you. 
Just the purpose and the 

980
01:03:16,280 --> 01:03:17,720
direction and knowing your 
faith. 

981
01:03:17,720 --> 01:03:20,720
And so we'll mail you a book and
there's a Bible on the way out 

982
01:03:20,720 --> 01:03:23,920
in the red bag, all that things.
But I'll encourage you guys to 

983
01:03:23,920 --> 01:03:25,720
get baptized as well. 
There's a lot of people who come

984
01:03:25,720 --> 01:03:28,960
to Christ lately, just God just 
moving. 

985
01:03:29,160 --> 01:03:32,120
But if you start relation with 
Jesus recently or have not been 

986
01:03:32,120 --> 01:03:35,720
baptized by no Jesus, if you're 
baptized as a child before it 

987
01:03:35,720 --> 01:03:38,520
knew Jesus, I would encourage 
you to get baptized. 

988
01:03:38,520 --> 01:03:41,000
We're baptized in the last son 
of the year is December 28th. 

989
01:03:41,600 --> 01:03:43,240
We do something very special. 
We started this last year. 

990
01:03:43,240 --> 01:03:47,360
It's called a end of the year 
social and it's a 10:00 only. 

991
01:03:47,360 --> 01:03:50,240
We have a whole spread of food. 
I don't know if we're doing a 

992
01:03:50,240 --> 01:03:52,320
charcuterie or whatever is that 
we're doing. 

993
01:03:52,320 --> 01:03:53,760
Holly's giving. 
Yes, she is OK. 

994
01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:58,040
We commit to that right now and 
we're going to she's like OK, 

995
01:03:59,000 --> 01:04:00,360
what else you guys want me to 
say? 

996
01:04:01,160 --> 01:04:03,040
We can get it in. 
We have table. 

997
01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:05,520
It's just a big hangout. 
We celebrate just what all guys 

998
01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:08,280
doing and we're going to baptize
this year and I'll encourage 

999
01:04:08,280 --> 01:04:09,920
you. 
This is a great moment because 

1000
01:04:09,920 --> 01:04:12,720
baptism is really a picture of 
your freedom. 

1001
01:04:13,760 --> 01:04:17,680
It's I was dead and now I'm 
alive and sometimes you think 

1002
01:04:17,680 --> 01:04:19,960
baptism like you're like a good 
or bad person. 

1003
01:04:19,960 --> 01:04:23,120
Tell me good like you're a check
box Christianity like I'm doing 

1004
01:04:23,120 --> 01:04:25,480
all the right things. 
Jesus already do the right 

1005
01:04:25,480 --> 01:04:26,160
things. 
Amen. 

1006
01:04:26,840 --> 01:04:28,320
And we are just letting the 
world know. 

1007
01:04:28,320 --> 01:04:30,320
I'm ashamed of that. 
And I would encourage you to 

1008
01:04:30,320 --> 01:04:32,080
step in. 
You can let us know on the card,

1009
01:04:32,080 --> 01:04:33,320
there's a blue card on the 
chair. 

1010
01:04:33,320 --> 01:04:36,080
If you're interesting and 
baptized, we will help you with 

1011
01:04:36,080 --> 01:04:39,800
that as well. 
We do an awesome like giant tank

1012
01:04:39,800 --> 01:04:43,160
here and it's just a lot of fun.
But it's really you to step out 

1013
01:04:43,160 --> 01:04:46,320
in the faith and it's the first 
act of obedience that God asked 

1014
01:04:46,320 --> 01:04:47,760
us to do. 
And so I'd encourage you guys to

1015
01:04:47,760 --> 01:04:50,440
jump in with that. 
And just in this year, like in 

1016
01:04:50,440 --> 01:04:52,920
this awesome high note, nothing 
greater than celebrating what 

1017
01:04:52,920 --> 01:04:54,360
God is already doing in people's
lives. 

1018
01:04:54,360 --> 01:04:57,360
Those come to Christ and so I 
would say to you guys are newer 

1019
01:04:57,360 --> 01:04:59,320
today or new today. 
Thanks for being here. 

1020
01:04:59,760 --> 01:05:01,640
Hope we love you being here. 
I hope you felt welcome. 

1021
01:05:01,640 --> 01:05:02,960
Hope you felt the presence of 
God. 

1022
01:05:03,160 --> 01:05:05,280
I hope you are seeing some 
community. 

1023
01:05:05,640 --> 01:05:07,400
Just know we love you back next 
week. 

1024
01:05:07,480 --> 01:05:08,240
Amen. 
Real life. 

1025
01:05:08,760 --> 01:05:11,080
So give it up for everybody's 
new day love know we love them. 

1026
01:05:12,280 --> 01:05:15,280
Love me back. 
I'll be able to follow God with 

1027
01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:17,880
your walk if you can just let us
know that you can today 

1028
01:05:17,880 --> 01:05:19,520
introduce yourself. 
There's a on the card. 

1029
01:05:19,520 --> 01:05:21,720
You can just say I'm new. 
Bring it to your booth. 

1030
01:05:21,720 --> 01:05:23,080
Love to give you a gift and just
honor you. 

1031
01:05:23,080 --> 01:05:25,000
I'll be out there as well. 
Love to connect with you If you 

1032
01:05:25,000 --> 01:05:27,000
get a chance to meet you yet, 
I'll be kind of buried back at 

1033
01:05:27,000 --> 01:05:29,560
our soundboard today, which has 
been fun. 

1034
01:05:29,640 --> 01:05:31,800
Come on somebody if it was too 
loud. 

1035
01:05:32,600 --> 01:05:37,160
I don't care. 
I love you, it's all good. 

1036
01:05:37,160 --> 01:05:40,920
I was going to say it. 
You know, if you call real life 

1037
01:05:40,920 --> 01:05:43,960
home, I would encourage you guys
all new church also commitment 

1038
01:05:43,960 --> 01:05:45,200
card. 
I would say first of all, thank 

1039
01:05:45,200 --> 01:05:48,360
you to all of you who have 
committed to our difference 

1040
01:05:48,360 --> 01:05:50,600
maker for us to find our first 
permanent space. 

1041
01:05:50,920 --> 01:05:52,840
It is huge. 
It's making a difference. 

1042
01:05:52,840 --> 01:05:55,080
I'm really, really excited. 
I will let you guys know if you 

1043
01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:56,960
missed the last few weeks or 
maybe you haven't committed yet 

1044
01:05:56,960 --> 01:05:59,080
been praying, thinking or a 
little nervous about being what 

1045
01:05:59,080 --> 01:06:01,200
should I do? 
I would encourage you to be a 

1046
01:06:01,200 --> 01:06:02,920
part of what God is doing 
because it's going to be a very 

1047
01:06:02,920 --> 01:06:05,280
special part of our church and 
you're going to look back and 

1048
01:06:05,280 --> 01:06:07,840
say I sowed some seeds and I 
know a lot of people a little 

1049
01:06:07,840 --> 01:06:10,520
nervous to step out. 
I would encourage you, it's a 

1050
01:06:10,520 --> 01:06:13,200
two year commitment. 
So you think over the course of 

1051
01:06:13,200 --> 01:06:17,760
104 weeks, right? 
You get like, okay, Lord, what 

1052
01:06:17,760 --> 01:06:20,120
can I do in 104 weeks? 
You know, because you may not 

1053
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:23,440
like I don't have a lot, but 
Lord, you bless me throughout 

1054
01:06:23,440 --> 01:06:26,200
those seasons and I can not 
maybe go to Starbucks or I can 

1055
01:06:26,520 --> 01:06:29,360
cut back on going out to eat, 
which cost me about $75 every 

1056
01:06:29,360 --> 01:06:31,520
time with my family just one 
time, right? 

1057
01:06:31,520 --> 01:06:34,520
I could be like, OK, it's 75 
months or maybe I got I always 

1058
01:06:34,520 --> 01:06:37,040
get a tax return, Lord willing. 
Come on, praise God, Hallelujah.

1059
01:06:37,160 --> 01:06:39,640
Maybe the part of that I don't 
know what it is, but just the 

1060
01:06:39,640 --> 01:06:42,240
Lord maybe prompted me like I 
got to play part of the story. 

1061
01:06:42,680 --> 01:06:44,920
You may feel like you don't have
a lot, but it's not about what 

1062
01:06:44,920 --> 01:06:46,080
you have. 
It's what what you do what you 

1063
01:06:46,080 --> 01:06:47,880
have. 
It's just about honor the Lord. 

1064
01:06:47,880 --> 01:06:49,760
Amen. 
It's not about writing a big 

1065
01:06:49,760 --> 01:06:52,040
check. 
I mean, it's literally about 

1066
01:06:52,040 --> 01:06:55,120
like Lauren, be faithful to you 
and play part of the story. 

1067
01:06:55,320 --> 01:06:57,760
And I would say there there's 
room for a church to step into 

1068
01:06:57,760 --> 01:07:00,440
that a lot of you have, but 
there's a lot of us that haven't

1069
01:07:00,840 --> 01:07:02,440
that encourage you. 
If you haven't done that, just a

1070
01:07:02,440 --> 01:07:03,960
step. 
It doesn't have to like you're 

1071
01:07:03,960 --> 01:07:06,320
not have to impress anybody. 
Don't have to press yourself. 

1072
01:07:06,880 --> 01:07:08,760
Amen. 
You just have to say, Lord, what

1073
01:07:08,760 --> 01:07:11,160
would it take for me to be 
faithful to this? 

1074
01:07:11,160 --> 01:07:14,160
And it just may be a small step 
and just makes a big difference.

1075
01:07:14,160 --> 01:07:16,240
It takes all of us to play a 
part of story and be honest with

1076
01:07:16,240 --> 01:07:17,680
you. 
I'm already kind of like real 

1077
01:07:17,680 --> 01:07:20,840
deal of mind of places. 
I'm actually, I shouldn't tell 

1078
01:07:20,840 --> 01:07:23,680
you this, but I'm skip tracing 
some dude this week to find out 

1079
01:07:23,680 --> 01:07:26,600
who owns this thing. 
So you can be like, hey man, I'm

1080
01:07:26,600 --> 01:07:29,240
just curious. 
That's going down this week, you

1081
01:07:29,240 --> 01:07:32,400
know, and you may just be like, 
no, it's not for sale. 

1082
01:07:32,400 --> 01:07:34,240
Or may say maybe it is. 
I don't you never know. 

1083
01:07:34,240 --> 01:07:36,280
Amen. 
So I'm like, you might miss out.

1084
01:07:36,280 --> 01:07:37,480
Like if you're like, man, we get
somewhere. 

1085
01:07:37,480 --> 01:07:39,080
You're like, man, I wish we'd 
just done something, you know, 

1086
01:07:39,080 --> 01:07:41,200
like play part of the story. 
And some of us has means and 

1087
01:07:41,200 --> 01:07:44,640
abilities that just right there 
we could do something. 

1088
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:46,520
Some of us like, I don't know, I
have to kind of like cut back a 

1089
01:07:46,520 --> 01:07:47,480
little bit. 
I can do it. 

1090
01:07:47,760 --> 01:07:50,120
I'd encourage you, please make 
generosity a part of your 

1091
01:07:50,120 --> 01:07:53,360
worship. 
Like that one leper, like Diane 

1092
01:07:53,360 --> 01:07:54,800
talked about it. 
It would be, it would be just 

1093
01:07:54,800 --> 01:07:58,800
sad to meet Jesus and Jesus say,
where are the others? 

1094
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:02,120
Where is the other nine? 
Like that's such a great point. 

1095
01:08:02,800 --> 01:08:04,920
Like why didn't they come back? 
That was the first thing Jesus 

1096
01:08:04,920 --> 01:08:06,840
said did not heal all of you 
guys. 

1097
01:08:07,400 --> 01:08:08,920
Like we can play part of the 
story. 

1098
01:08:09,560 --> 01:08:12,080
It's not just generosity, but 
generosity's worship and play 

1099
01:08:12,080 --> 01:08:14,040
part of the story. 
So on the 14th, we're going to 

1100
01:08:14,040 --> 01:08:17,640
celebrate big. 
So in two Sundays we are going 

1101
01:08:17,640 --> 01:08:21,439
to reveal like what God has done
through our people and how much 

1102
01:08:21,439 --> 01:08:22,880
people are committed to this 
project. 

1103
01:08:23,120 --> 01:08:25,520
We're going to tell stories. 
There's so many amazing stories 

1104
01:08:25,520 --> 01:08:29,920
already to share of teenagers 
that have ridden thousands of 

1105
01:08:29,920 --> 01:08:35,439
dollars on cards to adults, the 
single moms, new givers, people 

1106
01:08:35,439 --> 01:08:38,760
who barely been coming here for 
a week and 1/2 or two or two 

1107
01:08:38,760 --> 01:08:41,160
weeks and have committed. 
There's so many just amazing 

1108
01:08:41,160 --> 01:08:42,720
stories. 
People have been faithful with 

1109
01:08:42,720 --> 01:08:44,920
the just being here the whole 
time and saying, I'm going to 

1110
01:08:44,920 --> 01:08:46,880
step in people just going a 
little further. 

1111
01:08:47,160 --> 01:08:49,359
I mean, just a step of faith and
it so we're just some of those 

1112
01:08:49,359 --> 01:08:51,479
stories. 
Amen and say, what can God do 

1113
01:08:51,479 --> 01:08:53,560
together? 
So the 14th is our kind of our 

1114
01:08:53,560 --> 01:08:55,000
day. 
Like we're trying to kick this 

1115
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:56,760
thing off. 
Well, right, like maybe I've 

1116
01:08:56,760 --> 01:09:00,080
stored resources. 
Maybe it's like this is our best

1117
01:09:00,080 --> 01:09:04,439
one time gift kind of Sunday 
just to kind of kick off this 

1118
01:09:04,439 --> 01:09:07,200
whole difference maker in a big 
way and just see what the Lord 

1119
01:09:07,200 --> 01:09:08,439
can do. 
So I'd encourage just to be 

1120
01:09:08,439 --> 01:09:10,040
praying about that. 
We're really excited about it. 

1121
01:09:10,800 --> 01:09:12,560
I'll say thank you. 
I'm very grateful. 

1122
01:09:12,760 --> 01:09:15,479
I've been probably avoiding the 
season of a building initiative 

1123
01:09:15,479 --> 01:09:19,560
for a long time because I've 
been like, ow scary, right? 

1124
01:09:20,120 --> 01:09:23,120
But it's also like, Lord, we, we
cannot stay here forever. 

1125
01:09:23,720 --> 01:09:27,240
Like we're blowing air 
conditioning on us today in this

1126
01:09:27,240 --> 01:09:33,680
building. 
I'm wearing a vest. 

1127
01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:37,760
This is my first time wearing 
this vest and by God's grace may

1128
01:09:37,760 --> 01:09:40,359
be the last. 
David, I'm just saying. 

1129
01:09:40,600 --> 01:09:42,160
But anyway, I would encourage 
you guys to be faithful. 

1130
01:09:42,160 --> 01:09:44,120
Lord's giving you. 
We'll be collecting off here in 

1131
01:09:44,120 --> 01:09:45,160
a minute. 
You can see all the ways to 

1132
01:09:45,160 --> 01:09:46,560
give. 
We do stocks and stuff. 

1133
01:09:46,560 --> 01:09:48,479
You're thinking about your end. 
I will encourage you. 

1134
01:09:48,479 --> 01:09:50,240
You don't have to give on the 
difference maker like 

1135
01:09:50,240 --> 01:09:53,000
consistently every week. 
Like I had some people I've 

1136
01:09:53,000 --> 01:09:54,240
talked to. 
It's like, man, I can't do it 

1137
01:09:54,240 --> 01:09:55,880
all the week. 
If it's sporadic income over the

1138
01:09:55,880 --> 01:09:59,080
next two years, you kind of take
a gander what that is and just 

1139
01:09:59,080 --> 01:10:01,280
give it as you can. 
A lot of minds can be pretty 

1140
01:10:01,280 --> 01:10:03,920
sporadic, Amen. 
Like you think I'm putting out 

1141
01:10:03,920 --> 01:10:05,920
$100,000, just my number and 
give it a weekly. 

1142
01:10:06,080 --> 01:10:09,920
You're out of your mind, Amen. 
You don't get too excited next 

1143
01:10:09,920 --> 01:10:11,720
week when the number doesn't 
change because I'm working on 

1144
01:10:11,720 --> 01:10:14,520
it, you know, but just play part
of the story. 

1145
01:10:14,880 --> 01:10:17,240
And if you need help in this 
season, because I know that a 

1146
01:10:17,240 --> 01:10:20,000
lot of us are struggling, it's 
just holidays, bills that you 

1147
01:10:20,000 --> 01:10:24,160
know, the the great real estate 
taxes, all the things, right? 

1148
01:10:24,160 --> 01:10:27,400
Property taxes just reach in the
bucket, take out loose cash for 

1149
01:10:27,400 --> 01:10:28,960
you and your family. 
Just get help. 

1150
01:10:28,960 --> 01:10:31,080
If you need something more than 
that, come find me. 

1151
01:10:31,080 --> 01:10:32,360
Come find Holly, come find our 
team. 

1152
01:10:32,640 --> 01:10:34,480
We'd love to help you and work 
with you behind the scenes. 

1153
01:10:34,480 --> 01:10:37,200
So if I come before you, just 
blessed today, God bless our 

1154
01:10:37,200 --> 01:10:39,880
church. 
God, we are grateful for what 

1155
01:10:39,880 --> 01:10:41,640
you've done for us. 
God, we just come back to you 

1156
01:10:42,040 --> 01:10:44,600
and just give thanks. 
And God, you bring wholeness to 

1157
01:10:44,600 --> 01:10:46,120
us. 
So God, we leave here whole. 

1158
01:10:46,440 --> 01:10:49,160
We leave here complete. 
We leave here forgiven. 

1159
01:10:49,200 --> 01:10:51,520
We live. 
We leave here on mission with 

1160
01:10:51,520 --> 01:10:54,840
that joy that Diane talked about
that is so much better and 

1161
01:10:54,840 --> 01:10:57,360
receiving but to give God. 
So we give our lives back to you

1162
01:10:57,360 --> 01:10:58,760
God. 
We are the New Testament 

1163
01:10:58,760 --> 01:11:01,160
sacrifice God, we lay ourselves 
down for you. 

1164
01:11:01,160 --> 01:11:02,520
So God we give you praise with 
your glory. 

1165
01:11:02,760 --> 01:11:06,400
God bless the church, pray Jesus
name, everybody said Amen. 

1166
01:11:07,320 --> 01:11:10,320
Man, well, man, what a blessed 
day in the House of God this 

1167
01:11:10,320 --> 01:11:11,800
morning. 
And hey, before you guys go, I 

1168
01:11:11,800 --> 01:11:14,000
just want to put a couple things
on your radar real quick. 

1169
01:11:14,000 --> 01:11:17,400
The first one is this, man, we 
would love for you to celebrate 

1170
01:11:17,400 --> 01:11:19,200
Christmas at Real Life Church 
with us. 

1171
01:11:19,200 --> 01:11:21,560
We're going to have two 
identical gatherings on 

1172
01:11:21,560 --> 01:11:25,640
Christmas Eve on the 24th right 
here at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM. 

1173
01:11:25,640 --> 01:11:27,320
So invite out your family and 
friends. 

1174
01:11:27,520 --> 01:11:30,120
It's going to be a beautiful 
time together. 

1175
01:11:30,400 --> 01:11:33,400
And the next one is this. 
We're starting a new series next

1176
01:11:33,400 --> 01:11:36,920
week called Here I am to worship
and we're really going to dive 

1177
01:11:36,920 --> 01:11:40,520
in just the power of personal 
worship and really what it looks

1178
01:11:40,520 --> 01:11:44,960
like when we draw near to God 
really with our whole heart. 

1179
01:11:45,240 --> 01:11:48,080
And as you leave this week, I 
want to read the scripture over 

1180
01:11:48,080 --> 01:11:50,000
you. 
And just like Diane had 

1181
01:11:50,000 --> 01:11:53,600
mentioned, the one leper man who
remembered and returned to give 

1182
01:11:53,600 --> 01:11:57,800
thanks to Jesus, may we be 
people this week that can pause 

1183
01:11:57,800 --> 01:12:01,320
and reflect and remember all the
good things that God has done 

1184
01:12:01,320 --> 01:12:03,400
for us in return to give him 
thanks. 

1185
01:12:03,600 --> 01:12:06,280
So let's check out these verses.
The first one, Psalm one, O 3, 

1186
01:12:06,280 --> 01:12:10,480
two through 4, praise the Lord 
my soul, and forget not all his 

1187
01:12:10,480 --> 01:12:12,760
benefits. 
Who forgives all your sins and 

1188
01:12:12,760 --> 01:12:16,400
heals all your diseases? 
Who redeems your life from the 

1189
01:12:16,400 --> 01:12:19,080
pit? 
And then Psalm 107, one through 

1190
01:12:19,080 --> 01:12:22,640
2, give thanks to the Lord, for 
he is good man. 

1191
01:12:22,640 --> 01:12:27,600
His love endures forever. 
Let the redeemed of the Lord 

1192
01:12:27,600 --> 01:12:30,880
tell their story. 
Amen. 

1193
01:12:30,880 --> 01:12:33,040
Well, hey, if you or your family
need prayer this morning, 

1194
01:12:33,040 --> 01:12:35,400
there'll be somebody up here at 
the front of the stage love to 

1195
01:12:35,400 --> 01:12:37,320
pray with you and for you this 
week. 

1196
01:12:37,320 --> 01:12:41,000
We'd love to see you back next 
week right here at 9:00 and 

1197
01:12:41,000 --> 01:12:43,200
10:45. 
And remember, whoever finds 

1198
01:12:43,280 --> 01:12:46,720
Jesus discovers real life and 
purpose. 

1199
01:12:46,720 --> 01:12:53,320
Have a good week y'all. 
This is the end of this podcast.

1200
01:12:53,320 --> 01:12:55,960
We hope you've enjoyed it. 
If you have, be sure to hit the 

1201
01:12:55,960 --> 01:12:58,400
subscribe button so you don't 
miss another inspirational 

1202
01:12:58,400 --> 01:13:00,400
podcast. 
For more great content and 

1203
01:13:00,400 --> 01:13:02,880
updates, visit Real Life Church 
KC dot. 

1204
01:13:02,880 --> 01:13:03,280
Com.