1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,880 Welcome to the River City Church podcast and a message by our 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,960 lead pastor, Jason Powers. Our prayer is that this message 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:12,240 would inspire and encourage you, build your faith and point you 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,840 to the life changing love of Jesus. 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,680 May you enjoy the goodness of God as you follow Him today. 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,160 Confession is just telling the truth, right? 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,480 Like if I confess something, I tell the truth about what 8 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,640 happened. And each week we get together 9 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,160 and we tell the truth about this reality that we live in. 10 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,880 And our truth, our confession, is we're badly broken. 11 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:38,280 Yes, you are. Grace and peace to you. 12 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,920 One of the things I got to do, I was on my break, was I joined 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:51,960 Costco. Yeah, Holy cow, For $65 a year 14 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,280 and a short drive north to the city of Kyle, I can have at my 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,240 disposal all the bounty that American capitalism can provide. 16 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,120 It is. I mean it is a. 17 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:04,040 Glow, I thought. Bucky's was awesome and it is 18 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,480 just wonderful, right? Like I can get floodlights and 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,920 dress pants and like produce and enough toilet paper for a year 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,280 like. It was just, it was a wonderful 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,240 thing. And we go and we go back all the 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:18,720 time and it just like, listen, it's. 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,360 Worth every penny. I have to drive a little bit, 24 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:22,160 right? Like I have to join. 25 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,480 I have to do a thing and, and, and I just, I love it. 26 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,280 And some of you are like, it's the 21st century, like Costco's 27 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,320 been around for a long time. Why do you not go to Costco 28 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:35,520 earlier? And this is where another bit of 29 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,920 confession comes in. I am not a joiner by nature. 30 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:46,080 I resent that everywhere I go like they want my e-mail and a 31 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:48,120 password. I'm like, I don't have any more 32 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,680 passwords in me. I've used all the passwords. 33 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,160 There are no more configurations of numbers and letters that I 34 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,400 can put in and I'm just like my password is not like if you're 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,040 going to hack into Google, my 8 number alphanumeric thing is not 36 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,400 keeping anybody out. So if you want it just just have 37 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,120 it right. And it kind of changed against 38 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,840 me because because I'm not a joiner and because every. 39 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,880 Everyone now wants me to join something I have. 40 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,280 I have joining fatigue. I'm tired of trying to sign up 41 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,760 for things and one of the things that I truly like and I'm 42 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:22,480 thinking about. This as I walk around Costco 43 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,800 because I've been off of work for a while and I hadn't. 44 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,280 So I was thinking about things like that is a picture there are 45 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,240 there's implications to that, right? 46 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,240 Like this whole joint thing and we see it. 47 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,920 We see it in the demographics. I was reading demographics 48 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:39,880 today, but not today, but this week about spiritual interest 49 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,880 among emerging kind of emerging generations. 50 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,920 Call it younger millennials and Gen. 51 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:49,280 Z. And whether you read Barna or 52 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,280 you read Pew or or whatever you've seen, especially 53 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,320 particularly since Covert over the last three or four years, 54 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,120 spiritual interest among emerging generations is up and 55 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,520 to the right. It is growing, right? 56 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:05,200 And listen, I just want to say like, I don't, I, I went and got 57 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,520 the numbers to support that. But I, I see it, I see it in our 58 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,720 youth ministry. I see it in the kids. 59 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:12,880 We send kids to camp and what are they wanting to do? 60 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:14,000 Right? Like, like I've got kids. 61 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,720 I'm looking at it. I'm looking at a parent of the 62 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,040 kid right here whose 16 year old boy is like, Hey, can I get some 63 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,360 middle schoolers together? And can we just like go talk 64 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,280 about the Bible, right? They want to share their 65 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:24,920 testimonies. They go it on Monday night and 66 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:27,280 they share their testimonies about what God is doing in their 67 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,240 lives. And I see it and it's real and I 68 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,880 celebrate it and I want, I want to point at it and I want to 69 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,320 talk to young people and say, your time is now. 70 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,320 Like we're not waiting for you to be the church. 71 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,280 You are the church. This is this is what it is and 72 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,160 what God is saying to you and leading you into and doing in 73 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,080 your life. It is real and it is valuable. 74 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,160 And he's not waiting. And there's all kinds of numbers 75 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,440 and statistics to prove that. And there's a corollary set of 76 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:58,560 statistics and numbers say that as spiritual interest increases, 77 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,560 I can't even say it. See. 78 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:10,080 As their interest increases, the incidence of a real and 79 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,120 meaningful and sustained and sustained and consistent 80 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,480 participation and full engagement in local 81 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,399 congregations is flat. It's not growing. 82 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,680 Younger generations are. And, and also side note to check 83 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,880 the footnotes, there's also been a decrease in church 84 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:33,280 participation among boomers as well since, particularly since 85 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:34,480 COVID. We've seen this, right? 86 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,520 But especially emerging generations, younger 87 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,680 generations, they prefer kind of a more individual, kind of a 88 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,920 more personal and especially a more informal kind of 89 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,920 exploration of spiritual things. They'll get a few people and 90 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,760 they'll have deep conversations. They'll read a book and have 91 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,600 deep talks. And I know that it can be easy 92 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,560 to kind of poop. That right, it can be easy to 93 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,680 look at that and just go, we're just not get it. 94 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,360 They're not right. Like what I would my take on 95 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,960 that is a little bit different and what I would encourage 96 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,840 people like I'm Gen. X, right? 97 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,560 Like all this. My parents are like kind of the 98 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,080 boomers that what I would encourage us to do is to have a 99 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,960 posture of observation and of learning because these 100 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,200 generations they wanted and what they want is real. 101 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,800 And so when we look at this incident, why aren't they 102 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,680 joining churches? Why aren't they going back to 103 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,160 churches? Why aren't they seeking out 104 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:24,920 churches and full participation in churches? 105 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,240 Well, I know why, and a lot of it's our fault. 106 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,640 They watch the news and they watch Gen. 107 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,760 X boomer pastors mired in scandal after scandal after 108 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,240 scandal all the time. It's easy to lose. 109 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,960 Confidence in that. They watch churches get aligned 110 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,640 to this movement or to that movement or to this leader or to 111 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,760 that leader and to be and to just also clearly ignore and 112 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,800 deny other matters of scriptural interests that are significant 113 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,400 and important. And they look at it and they 114 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,440 just go that what I don't want, that I'm not interested in that. 115 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,320 If we get a little closer to home, what can be? 116 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,600 Difficult is many young people were grown up, grew up in 117 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:12,240 households that were full of church, less full of Jesus, full 118 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,280 of the rules. And the institution and even 119 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,800 participation and going, but they went to the church, but 120 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,920 they haven't seen an increase in humility and grace and 121 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,840 forgiveness and service and love at home. 122 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:27,040 And I have to look in the mirror. 123 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:30,520 I know that churches that I went. 124 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,760 To when I was growing up, churches that I was a part of, I 125 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,760 fell in love with the idea of grace. 126 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,400 At a church, at a Christian Church, I fell in love with the 127 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,720 idea of love your neighbor, love your enemy. 128 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,680 Greater love has no man than this. 129 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,720 Then he lay down his life for his friend. 130 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,960 I fell in love with those ideas. I unfortunately went to churches 131 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,960 where I didn't see it. What do you mean love your 132 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:55,760 neighbor like I'm bringing friends. 133 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,480 You don't even like my friends and SO. 134 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,280 I get it. I understand and what I want to 135 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,680 say, but like to people in my generation, like we've got some 136 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,680 humbling to do. We've got to acknowledge and 137 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,160 recognize that there's something that has been missing. 138 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,080 My challenge to younger generations is. 139 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,920 Hold us accountable. But also you learn too, just 140 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,600 because maybe it hasn't looked like what you think it should be 141 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,160 and maybe you rightfully believe that it it what it it hasn't 142 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,240 been what it should. That doesn't mean that you throw 143 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,440 out the baby with the bathwater just because it hasn't been. 144 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,720 And So what I would love to do over this week, in the next two 145 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,760 weeks, what I would love to do is kind of maybe reclaim this 146 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,120 idea of membership, of church membership. 147 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,040 And what I think may even be helpful to do is like, let's try 148 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,280 to talk about a different word. Maybe that word of membership is 149 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,880 too loaded with baggage. Maybe it's too heavy and weighed 150 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,200 down with bad ideas and fallen principles. 151 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,400 Maybe we need a new idea and a word to describe it. 152 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,760 And So what if we talk about it in a different way? 153 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,800 What if we use Paul? From and again, like all of the 154 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,040 elders now are wearing glasses. You're welcome, Greg. 155 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,960 It's not just you. Listen to how Paul wrote to the 156 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,160 church in Philippi first in Philippians 1. 157 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,200 He starts in verse 3 says I give thanks for every remembrance of 158 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,040 you and listen to how he talks about in verse 4, always praying 159 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,000 with joy for all of you, all the church members in in my every 160 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:27,040 prayer because of your what's that word partnership in the 161 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:32,039 gospel from the first day until now, Paul looked at his ministry 162 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,039 as the gospel of taking the good news to people and tell them 163 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,960 this is what God has done and this is what God is doing in 164 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,120 your life. And he saw ordinary Philippian 165 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,400 peoples as being partners with him in that gospel. 166 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:47,480 He's saying, listen, it takes all of us. 167 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:50,320 Sure, I'm doing my part, but you got to do your part too. 168 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,960 And what Paul saw when he looked around Philippi at the church 169 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,360 and the expansion, the growth was not perfection, but what he 170 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,080 saw was a partnership. And So what I'd like to do is 171 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,600 reclaim that idea. And sure, maybe it needs a new 172 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:06,360 word. Maybe this idea of partnership 173 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,760 works now for this idea. But we don't want to just slap a 174 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,720 new word on the same old tired idea. 175 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,080 So let's reflame the idea of what membership, of what 176 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,680 partnership should look like. And what we're going to do this 177 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,440 week and over the next several weeks is flush this out. 178 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,360 What does it look like? But let's define it first, OK? 179 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,760 Church partnership is a mutually held agreement. 180 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,000 That's so important. What church membership is not 181 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,920 you giving everything to me and me taking everything from you. 182 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,120 It is a mutual agreement. That means listen. 183 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,240 Are you listening? I don't have any authority in 184 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,920 your life that you don't give me, OK? 185 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,680 I don't have any right to speak into your life except whatever 186 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,240 authority that you give me and some of you. 187 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:56,560 That's right. And some of you have been so 188 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:01,440 wounded that I understand that. My hope is that it. 189 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,840 Becomes in this mutuality, it becomes an agreement of trust 190 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,480 and an agreement of confidence. Church partnership is a mutually 191 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:13,840 held agreement to be immersed, to be formed, and to be engaged 192 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:21,080 in the process of becoming like Jesus in this world, together. 193 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:27,360 The goal of church membership is to increasingly look like Jesus 194 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,960 together and individually. And with this idea, right, like 195 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:36,400 this idea of us helping each other become more like Jesus, of 196 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,240 encouraging each other, of praying for each other, of 197 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,320 telling each other the truth about ourselves and about 198 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,360 themselves, this kind of participation, this kind of 199 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,760 membership and partnership, it's not option. 200 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,520 There aren't options to the Christian experience that go 201 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,080 like, if you just want to get saved, like if you just want to 202 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,240 get in, then you just have to pray this prayer and you just 203 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,120 have to believe it. That's not presented as an 204 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,560 option. You can't just say, yeah, I 205 00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:04,440 like, I like, I like the salvation part, but I don't like 206 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,760 church. And listen, you got to know that 207 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,960 was my like I had a moment with Jesus where I was just like, no 208 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,280 Jesus, I know that you're real. And little while later I had a 209 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,720 conversation about the church and he was like, I think you 210 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:17,920 should go back to church. I was like, the church Lord is 211 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,640 terrible, right? Like save me from your people. 212 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:28,560 And I went back to the church and it was radically imperfect 213 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:30,080 and it was everything that I needed. 214 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:38,520 And I've experienced from the church great deals of pain and 215 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:45,120 unbelievable measures of healing and redemption and grace and 216 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,320 restoration. And so I want to talk a little 217 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,320 bit about several of you as you've come through the years 218 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:52,080 and you've seen me on Sunday morning, you come and you're 219 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:53,720 like, hey, I really like this here. 220 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,160 And I can tell you've been around the kind of the church. 221 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,640 Would you just say, what do I have to do to become a member? 222 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,840 And now as a moment of confession, right, elders are in 223 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:01,360 the room. I'm not like letting any secrets 224 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:03,120 out of the bag. We haven't had a membership 225 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:08,560 process for probably six years, six or seven years, and here's 226 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:11,120 why, because I felt like it was hollow. 227 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,560 The membership process at that point was you go to a class on a 228 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:17,200 Sunday afternoon and you would hear me talk about our mission 229 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,320 and our vision and our values and what it means to be a member 230 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:21,960 at River. City and it means you got to be 231 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:23,920 a part of a community where you're known and where they 232 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,680 encourage and help you follow Jesus. 233 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:28,240 And it's about growing spiritually and practicing 234 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,000 Christian disciplines. It's about participating in the 235 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,240 body and supporting the ministry with your presence and with with 236 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,040 your finances and with all that. And there was a group of people 237 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:38,880 that would come to that meeting and they'll go, yeah, 238 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,960 Hallelujah, praise you. Finally, Bible believing church 239 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,320 does this do this and it's sign on the line and hand in their 240 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,160 thing. And there are members and they 241 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,720 don't ever do any of the things that we talked about right. 242 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,640 Then there's another group of people who man, they're here 243 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,520 every Sunday and they're serving and they're moving the cameras 244 00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,640 and they're doing the stuff and they're serving and they're 245 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,200 giving and they're praying. I can just see them growing and. 246 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,360 They're just like, I'm not going to your class and like, like 247 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,440 which one of those is the member? 248 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,640 And what I want to say is you need both. 249 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,720 You need both. You need to know. 250 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,000 What it means to be part of what US is. 251 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,920 You need to know what God is calling and doing here in the 252 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:31,800 way that we're walk specifically because membership is a mutual 253 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,160 agreement. You got to say, yeah, I see what 254 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:35,880 God is doing there. I see where there I was like, 255 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:37,760 and I think that I want to be a part of that. 256 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,320 I think I want to walk that way. So you need the information, but 257 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,080 we're not saved by information. We're saved as we walk in 258 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,080 freedom. It takes it takes both. 259 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,560 And the problem is too many times we can just go have a 260 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:54,520 robust. Membership list and anemic 261 00:13:54,680 --> 00:14:00,400 participation in our ministries. Like we're, we've got members 262 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:05,400 here who need their children to be raised to know the Lord. 263 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,160 But like people show up and they drop their kids off and they're 264 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,480 like, I'm not helping with that. Like I don't want to. 265 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,760 I don't want to do that right? And so membership is 266 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:16,920 acknowledging this is the way that God has called. 267 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,920 Us to walk and then walking in it. 268 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:23,400 And I want you to know at the end of this series, this week, 269 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:25,520 next week and the week after that, you're going to have an 270 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:30,000 opportunity if you so desire to be among the fur no to be the 271 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,360 first in our reconstituted membership process. 272 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,040 OK? You'll have a chance to sign up 273 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,080 and do all that hear what we're about and sign up and do that. 274 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,440 But I want to stay out of front, and this is important. 275 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:44,800 OK? At no point will you hear me 276 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:50,560 trying to make you do that. My role in this process is to 277 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,720 clarify, to identify this, what we did believe. 278 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,760 This is who we are. To invite you to tell you that I 279 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,640 think that God wants when God moves, he moves through people. 280 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,840 But I will never try to control you or manipulate you or try to 281 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,200 get you to do it. When I would say if you're here 282 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,200 for the fright, I'd say some things over and over. 283 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,640 One of the things that I try to say often is that I wish I could 284 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,080 just offend you at the door so that you would know that I'm 285 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,760 just a dude trying to follow Jesus, right? 286 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,280 Like I'm just, I'm just a guy here and at River City, we 287 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,880 follow Jesus. And my job here isn't try to 288 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,480 manipulate you into church membership so our roles are big 289 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,960 or anything like that. That's not what we do. 290 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,640 Here's the idea. The goal of River City Church, 291 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:40,520 the goal of RCNB, is not to recruit members, but to be a 292 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:45,960 place where apprentices of Jesus partner with other apprentices 293 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,680 of Jesus to become more like him. 294 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,120 OK. And I believe that church 295 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,200 partnership is a part of that. I believe it is a vital and I 296 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:03,480 believe that Jesus showed us that Jesus left us a symbol of 297 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,080 partnership, right? And he didn't, he didn't do this 298 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,840 symbol and then just go, this is about church membership, right? 299 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,440 He just did it. And he showed us what it, what 300 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,160 it looked like to be with him and following, right? 301 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,760 And that symbol, that thing that Jesus showed us is baptism. 302 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:22,240 Baptism is a picture of what it means to belong to Jesus, right? 303 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,640 And baptism is immersion into the identity. 304 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,280 It is immersion into the authority and immersion into the 305 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,280 community of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 306 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,200 The word baptized literally means to immerse. 307 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,880 It is a Greek word. It wasn't translated from the 308 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:40,720 original language. It was transliterated. 309 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:42,800 It was just picked up and moved over. 310 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,880 The Greek word is baptizo and it means to immerse. 311 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,480 It was originally used in the textiles industry. 312 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,520 Textile worker would take a Swatch of cloth and he would 313 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,400 baptize it. He would immerse it into dye and 314 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,480 then it would come out and it's different, It is changed, it is 315 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,920 transformed because of the immersion process. 316 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,480 That's what immersion means. It is to be immersed into 317 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,880 something symbolically that leads to a new and a different 318 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,599 identity. And here's how we do it. 319 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:15,040 Matthew chapter 3, starting in verse 16, Jesus went to the 320 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,160 Jordan River with John the Baptist and when Jesus was 321 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,440 baptized, he went up immediately from the water. 322 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,800 So Jesus went to the Jordan River and he got all the way in 323 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,800 and he got all the way in out and then he came out of the 324 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:29,240 water. Jesus was perfect. 325 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,960 Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus came straight down from 326 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,280 heaven. He didn't need to do this, but 327 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,800 he set us an example. And here's what's here's why 328 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,160 this is important. Here's where it's good, because 329 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,760 notice what happened when Jesus was baptized when he came up. 330 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:44,400 Out of the waters. Immediately. 331 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:49,920 The heavens open for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending 332 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,280 like a dove and coming down on him. 333 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,080 Holy Spirit was there, and a voice from heaven. 334 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,600 So the Father was there, said, This is my beloved son with whom 335 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,520 I am well pleased. What's great about the baptism 336 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,440 is what Jesus heard at Baptist. Listen, Jesus hadn't saved 337 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,760 anybody yet. Jesus wasn't the Savior yet. 338 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,680 Jesus hadn't taught yet. Jesus wasn't a miracle worker. 339 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,440 He wasn't. He didn't have disciples before. 340 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:23,000 Jesus did one single thing. He was immersed in his identity 341 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:24,720 as a son. And what? 342 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,040 I want you to know is when you to be a member. 343 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:32,040 At River City is first and foremost to be a child of the 344 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,680 king. You are more important than what 345 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:36,760 you. Do. 346 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,280 We're not making a product at River City. 347 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:46,440 We are the product. And when we are immersed into 348 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,480 the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit, it changes 349 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,760 us because you realize I don't have to earn anything. 350 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,720 I don't have to force. Anything. 351 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:01,000 I just AM. And so Jesus and his baptismal 352 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,440 waters with the Father and the Holy Spirit present there the 353 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,320 whole Trinity represented. Jesus was immersed in his 354 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,280 identity as a child of the king. Then he went on, let's go to the 355 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,360 end of the book, right? Jesus does all the stuff and the 356 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,720 miracles and the resurrection. And then we get to Matthew 357 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,760 chapter 28, verse 18. Jesus came near to them and said 358 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,640 all authority has been given to me in heaven on earth. 359 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,560 And I want to stop right there and just say from this point on 360 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:27,480 for the rest of this book. It's just a couple of verses, 361 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:29,320 right? Jesus is speaking on a 362 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,040 authority, on his authority as the resurrected King of all 363 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:34,880 things. He's not suggesting. 364 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,720 Whoa. He's not recommending. 365 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,200 He's not got a few pointers. This isn't 5 easy steps. 366 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,000 He's saying listen because of resurrection I am the king, I am 367 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,320 the author. You can choose to accept this or 368 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,240 not, but this isn't a suggestion to ignore this is to not accept 369 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,200 Jesus as the king. And he said this. 370 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,680 All authority has been given, so go and make. 371 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,680 Disciples, There's another one of those words that maybe 372 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,040 doesn't serve us super well because we're not familiar with 373 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:04,360 it, right? It's a great. 374 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:05,960 Word. It means everything that it 375 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,000 needs to mean. We just don't have a lot of 376 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,960 disciples in our culture, right? What we do have is apprentices. 377 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,880 Right, You can be an apprentice electrician, you can be an 378 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,040 apprentice plumber where you learn or you follow the master 379 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,040 around and you learn a skill and you learn a product. 380 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,080 That's what he's getting at. Go and disciple. 381 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,880 Go and make apprentices, right? And what did he tell you to do? 382 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,080 Make apprentices of all nations, all nations, all of the nations, 383 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,680 every single one. See, this is the thing about a 384 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,600 baptism. What baptism does is it immerses 385 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,680 us in a new identity. That means that your first 386 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,360 identity as a child of God, that Trump's all of the other 387 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:43,680 identities, more than your nationality, more than your 388 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,720 politics, more than your last name, more than any of that, 389 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,520 your first identity, if you're baptized, is as a child of the 390 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,400 king. Baptized children of the king 391 00:20:54,680 --> 00:21:01,480 have more in common, literally in common with foreign born 392 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,480 citizens of another place than they have maybe with the person 393 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,240 that lives right next door to them going to all the world. 394 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,760 Make apprentices and immerse them into the name of the Father 395 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:16,000 and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe 396 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:18,400 everything that I have commanded you. 397 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,360 Teach them to be baptized, too. Teach them to love their 398 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:24,240 neighbor. Teach them to love their 399 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,760 enemies. Teach them to serve the poor. 400 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,400 Teach them to be a voice for the powerless. 401 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,360 Teach them to overcome oppression with kindness. 402 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,720 Teach them to be a voice for goodness and justice and mercy 403 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,640 and freedom and liberty in the world, because that's what I did 404 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,080 with you. You can't follow me and do the 405 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,320 things that are radically different from me. 406 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:51,360 He said be immersed in that. And so we can't be followers of 407 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,160 Jesus if we aren't doing what he said and we aren't doing what he 408 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,560 did. Now you going to be my friend. 409 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,000 You get like I I love. You like, let's have dinner, 410 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,080 let's talk about it. But to be a follower of Jesus is 411 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,280 to do what Jesus said and to do what Jesus did. 412 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,360 And his ministry began with baptism. 413 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,720 Now, let me make a, a real, a quick doctrinal point real 414 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:14,400 clear, right? Like I went to a Church of 415 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,680 Christ college and part of the doctrine in the Church of Christ 416 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,320 was that baptism is like what saves you. 417 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,960 Like you can't get in without being saved. 418 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,360 And that presents some theological problems that I'm 419 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:26,200 not going to unpack. But a River City? 420 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,920 Here's what we believe. About baptism, it's like my my 421 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,600 wedding ring. I could get it off first service 422 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,320 I was when I was puffy and I couldn't get it off but. 423 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,720 The way that. It went at my wedding is the 424 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,120 pastor stood in front of the witnesses, the congregation, and 425 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:48,360 he said before God, Jason, do you vow to take this woman for 426 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,480 richer, for poorer, for better or worse, in sickness and in 427 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:57,920 health until death do you part? And I looked at her and I look 428 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,480 to God and I look to the pastor and I said I do. 429 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,480 And listen, I had no idea how annoying she was going to be 430 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,800 back then. I'm just kidding, just kidding. 431 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,800 She's great. She's so good. 432 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:22,160 She's someone she yeah, I have so trouble. 433 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,440 So trouble. She knows. 434 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,400 And you know what? And then he looked at he looked 435 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,200 at Natalie and he said, Natalie, did you promise to take this 436 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,280 guy, this guy? Are you sure? 437 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:44,680 Look, look again. Till, till death, Till death. 438 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,360 And she said, Yep, yeah, thank you. 439 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,440 And he said, you're going to forget. 440 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,480 And so I'm going to do is I'm going to give you a symbol to 441 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,840 remind you and you're going to put it on your finger. 442 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,920 And when you're driving her crazy, she's going to remember 443 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,280 baptism is like that. I'm not asking you when I asked 444 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:11,920 you to follow Jesus. I'm not asking you to just 445 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,120 believe something. I'm asking you to let the Father 446 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,840 who is good and the creator of all things invade your life to a 447 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,640 degree that you can't fathom. I'm asking him, I'm asking you 448 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,280 to give him access to parts of your life that you have would 449 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,600 never even dream of giving to another person. 450 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:30,000 And not just access, but give him the permission to change and 451 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,680 will make you uncomfortable and you won't know what he's doing 452 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:34,240 all the time. And you're going to wonder and 453 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,480 it's going to be hard. And what baptism does, the 454 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,600 little getting physically wet under the water, is a day that 455 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,240 you can remember on that. Day. 456 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,880 Here's what that is. Because the day before baptism 457 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,320 is the day when you did exactly what you wanted to do. 458 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,400 That's the day when you were a Lord unto yourself. 459 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:49,960 That was a day when you made the rules. 460 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,680 When you define your marriage, when you define your finances, 461 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,640 when you define how you spend your time and what job you went 462 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,320 to. And on that day, you chose. 463 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:03,120 Jesus and baptism is a reminder of that day. 464 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,320 I remember my baptism. I remember how it felt to come 465 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,640 up out of the water. And baptism is a symbol of the 466 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,560 redemption. It's a symbol of our new 467 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:12,960 identity. It's a symbol and immersion. 468 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:17,440 Look, I'm wearing my Astros shirt today, and several of you 469 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,400 came up and celebrated me as you should. 470 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,280 And some of you need Jesus. I can tell. 471 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,960 But listen, this shirt identifies my allegiance to a 472 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,640 baseball team and I wear it proudly. 473 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,680 And what I want to say is there are places in the world today 474 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,360 that understand baptism better than we do. 475 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,040 Because there are places in the world today where to be baptized 476 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,440 into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of 477 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,400 Jesus is a death sentence. Because it is the because it is 478 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:58,360 the radical realignment and and reissuing of all allegiances. 479 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,880 This will not bow the knee to any other king. 480 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,880 Not in your life, not. In anybody else's eye, not in 481 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:11,040 any sphere of what we do. And baptism is a sign and a 482 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,760 symbol of our allegiance. In the same way that this ring 483 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:19,960 says I am Natalie's full stop, my baptism says I am Jesus's. 484 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,240 If you haven't been baptized. And you're a follower of Jesus. 485 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,160 You should be baptized. You should do it. 486 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:28,400 We do it right after the service. 487 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,000 You can go out today and get wet. 488 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,440 That's fine. We do big baptism. 489 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,920 We did it last week right at the end of every month, we do a big 490 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,040 baptism kind of outside. You can wait and sign up for 491 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:37,560 that. But I really would encourage you 492 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,320 if you're, if you want to be a partner here, you have to be a 493 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,440 follower of Jesus. But we encourage you also to be 494 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,280 baptized, to be immersed as a sign and a symbol and a 495 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,120 declaration of what God is doing and has done in your life, a 496 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,200 symbol of your allegiance. So that's what the church is. 497 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,520 When we talk about the church, we're talking about the immersed 498 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,160 ones, right? The Capital C Church, those who 499 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,920 have been immersed. Into the identity of Jesus and 500 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:02,760 you're terrible at it first, right? 501 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,000 Like that's the thing I look at some of you and like I know your 502 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:06,800 journey and you've just been following Jesus for a little bit 503 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,040 while and you're just like, I'm the worst disciple ever. 504 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,360 That's fine. Be like you're growing. 505 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:12,880 You don't have to get it right all the time. 506 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:14,760 Keep coming, keep being a part of it. 507 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,600 Keep submitting, keep wearing the ring, keep remembering. 508 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,560 Keep you'll grow. And I see you grow, and I see 509 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,440 that. And so that's what the church 510 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,440 is. It's not people who are perfect, 511 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,280 it's not people who get it right all the time. 512 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:28,800 It's not people who believe all the right things. 513 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:32,160 It's people who are following Jesus, who are increasingly 514 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,880 immersed in his life. And what this is then is a 515 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,640 congregation of the church. And the reason we do that is 516 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,280 because it's hard to get a billion people together in one 517 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,320 place, right? And so we meet. 518 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,640 In congregations, we're meeting across the city, so now there's 519 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,400 a congregation of the Church at Oakwood Fellowship, and I love 520 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:53,720 them. They're fantastic. 521 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:57,120 There's a congregation of the church that's meeting at 522 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:01,720 Redemption Fellowship right across I-35 at Epic Life at Hope 523 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,440 Presbyterian. There are great congregations of 524 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,440 the Church of Jesus all around. And you know what? 525 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:12,400 We disagree on a lot of stuff. But we agree. 526 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,320 That there is one person who makes all of it possible. 527 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,960 And so me and my Presbyterian friends, we get together and we 528 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,960 joke about, you know, whether we're always saved. 529 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,800 We're not always saved, whether it's, you know, like, whatever. 530 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,240 We joke about all that stuff. And at the end of the day, we go 531 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,600 just Jesus, right? Just Jesus, Right. 532 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,160 Yeah. And So what that means for this 533 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:37,680 congregation? As a part. 534 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,160 Of the larger congregation is that there's a metaphor, the 535 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,960 biblical metaphor for the church, for the Capital C Church 536 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,120 and all of our unique congregations is a body. 537 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,200 That's the picture that helps us understand what it is and 538 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,360 listen. There is a global church, the 539 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,960 Church of all believers around the world, that is, believers 540 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,720 and baptized followers of Jesus, baptized participants of the 541 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,600 church in Thailand and in Swaziland and in South Africa 542 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,760 and in Venezuela and in Cambodia and any nation. 543 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,320 Any place that you can imagine, you can think of, there's a 544 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,920 gathering of the church and there is also a gathering the 545 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,840 church in New Braunfels and listen, each church in New 546 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,880 Braunfels has a unique voice, a unique aspect, a unique role to 547 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,400 play in the ministry that God is doing at at in New Braunfels. 548 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,640 And in the same way that River City is a part of the church, 549 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,480 the body of Christ in New Braunfels, you if this is your 550 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,920 church, you are a member of the body of Christ here at River 551 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:36,840 City. Here's how Paul. 552 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,200 Describes that First Corinthians chapter 12. 553 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,560 He says this verse 12 for just as the body is. 554 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,920 One and has many parts and all the parts of that body, though 555 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,280 many are one body. So also it is with Christ. 556 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,920 He's just saying like you're made-up of a lot of parts. 557 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,200 You're not all in arm, you're not all in leg. 558 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,560 You have arms and legs and hands and fingers and livers and 559 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,760 spleens and appendices. And listen, some of the parts 560 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,680 you don't even know this. I didn't even know I had a 561 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,520 gallbladder until that sucker like erupted and started. 562 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:10,760 Messing up my life, right? All the parts are important. 563 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,920 Every part matters. Your liver gets sick. 564 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,600 You know it. You ever hang your pinky toe on 565 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,240 a door jamb? It's the most important part of 566 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,480 the body. Dude, listen, I can go. 567 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,800 On for a little bit of my liver sick of my if I stub my toe I'm 568 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,400 out right now until it decides it's going to be OK, right. 569 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,840 He says. We as the body have one part 570 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,120 we're all all unique parts. I'm looking at you, your part, 571 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,160 your part, your part, your part they're all different right Paul 572 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,080 goes on. We were all baptized again by 1 573 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:46,520 spirit into one body. Whether Jews? 574 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:53,280 Or Greek or Americans or Canadians or French, whether 575 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,760 slaves are free. And we were all given. 576 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,680 One spirit to drink. See, that's ultimately what the 577 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,560 church is about. It's about his spirit in US. 578 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:06,040 And there's all kinds of spirits, right? 579 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,640 Like, I don't want you to, when you think about a spirit, I 580 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,320 don't want you to think about like Casper the Friendly Ghost, 581 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:11,680 right? Like I want you to think about 582 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:14,040 movement, right? And there's a spirit of the 583 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:15,400 church. And some spirits are for 584 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,320 reconciliation. Some spirits there's a spirit of 585 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,000 our age that tells us what defines us and what makes us who 586 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:23,520 we are. And what we're saying is a 587 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,480 church is we together from wherever we come from, wherever 588 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:32,480 we've been, we have one spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ 589 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:34,320 which raised. Him from the dead. 590 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,760 Which means that the spirit that unites us should increasingly be 591 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:44,000 forming us to look like Him. So there's a. 592 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:49,200 Personal, private aspect to our faith, a private, spiritual 593 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,280 part. Your prayers are part of your 594 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:53,800 spiritual practice of being a part of the Christ. 595 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,080 But there's also a public domain too. 596 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,040 That's what Greg read. Listen. 597 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,360 In Acts chapter 2, starting in verse 41. 598 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:03,720 So those who accepted his message. 599 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,160 Were baptized, right? It begins with baptized. 600 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:08,920 So then what happens that like do they immerse and then go do 601 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,000 their own like, oh, I'm part of the body but my body plays golf 602 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,680 on Sunday. Yeah, me too. 603 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:17,160 I wish, right? They were all baptized. 604 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:20,480 And then what do they do? They devoted themselves to 605 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,840 teaching. To the breaking of bread. 606 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,160 And a prayer they devoted themselves to being together, to 607 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,240 learning, to growing, to doing these spiritual practices. 608 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:33,000 They said everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and 609 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,240 signs were being performed through the apostles. 610 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:37,880 Now all the believers were together. 611 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,880 And there are people from all over the place. 612 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:44,040 There were people that were listen the book of Philippians. 613 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,000 It was written mostly to Roman citizens. 614 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,480 When I get done in just a couple weeks, we're going to look at 615 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,320 the book of Ephesians, written to a largely, maybe an almost 616 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,120 exclusively Gentile congregation. 617 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,840 They devoted themselves to these practices. 618 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,760 It was private and it was public. 619 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,200 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together 620 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,280 in the temple, and they broke bread from house to house. 621 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,160 They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God 622 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,040 and enjoying the favor of all the people. 623 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,920 And every day the Lord added to their number those who are being 624 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:22,200 saved. Listen. 625 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,480 This body is the physical representation of Christ. 626 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:29,960 For better and for worse, right? When we fall, we fall publicly. 627 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,720 But listen, I see what you're doing, River City. 628 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,920 I see how much you give to orphans. 629 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,560 And I want to tell you that's exactly what Jesus would do if 630 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,880 he was here. When we teach, when we get Jason 631 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,960 Casey to stand up here and teach, that's because Jason has 632 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,280 a unique experience of God's work in his life. 633 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,520 And you need to hear Jason Casey teach about Jesus. 634 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,080 And the question is, what about you? 635 00:33:55,360 --> 00:34:02,600 What's your part? What's your role in all of this? 636 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,080 And so now let's talk about. Kind of how River City operates 637 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,360 and what it means. How does that body come 638 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,120 together? River City is currently a non 639 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,600 denominational congregation and what that means is we don't have 640 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,800 a denominational affiliation. We're not part of the Baptist or 641 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,159 the Presbyterians or the Methodists like that. 642 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:26,120 River City is an elder LED congregation and here's what 643 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:27,639 that means. Here's why that's good news for 644 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:29,159 you. That means that we. 645 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:35,520 Don't just do whatever I want. Because I'm broken, badly 646 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:37,880 broken. And So what the elders do. 647 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,159 Greg is an elder. Scooter Stanley is an elder. 648 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:42,520 In the first service. Bob Johnson was an elder. 649 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:46,280 Sean Bowers is an elder. Tony Martinez is an elder, and 650 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,280 these guys and their families have shown evidence through the 651 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:53,360 life of this Church of spiritual wisdom, of spiritual maturity, 652 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:55,320 and they are worthy to have authority. 653 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,320 And here's what that means. They have authority in my life 654 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,240 too. If Greg comes up to. 655 00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:05,120 Me and just says hey Jason you don't seem like you're doing OK 656 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:10,800 I answer him I talked to him not because he pulls rank on me Greg 657 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,880 has never pulled the authority card on it. 658 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,760 He has never pulled the elder card on me and in fact if he. 659 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:17,520 Did that would. Probably be signs that he wasn't 660 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:18,560 ready. He doesn't do that. 661 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,240 You know why? You know why I trust Greg with 662 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:23,040 everything? Because I trust him. 663 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:25,880 Because I know that Greg wants what best for me. 664 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,240 Do I believe that Greg is perfect? 665 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,640 Absolutely not. It works both ways. 666 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,240 That means that I go to Greg too and listen, he can ask me about 667 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,920 my marriage. He can ask me about my spiritual 668 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,600 practices. Jason, are you spending time in 669 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:39,880 the word? Are you praying? 670 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,960 What's God saying to you? We get together regularly and 671 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:44,480 sure we talk about business stuff. 672 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:47,040 We balance the budget because we believe that the budget is 673 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,440 important and we believe that it is it is a it is a spiritual 674 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:54,280 tool for the ministry that what we do, but I am submitted to the 675 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:56,840 leaders of this congregation. So there's currently. 676 00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:58,720 Six of us. Currently. 677 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:00,400 There's six of us, and you know who the. 678 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:02,800 Boss Elder is. Jesus. 679 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,120 We don't have a boss elder if we're making decisions. 680 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,840 I don't think we've ever been split on a vote because here's 681 00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:10,800 the deal. If we're taking a vote to do 682 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,720 something, to build, to buy, to expand, like and listen, the 683 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:16,320 elders, they don't, they don't like decide what children's 684 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,800 ministry curriculum we're doing. They have delegated that to the 685 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:20,320 staff. The staff gets to do that. 686 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,800 But when we make decisions, are we going to build, Are we going 687 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,680 to grow? Are we going to plant churches? 688 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:26,800 What are we going to talk about when those things come up? 689 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,680 If one, even if Greg just says I don't, I don't, I'm not sure we 690 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:34,720 would. Wait and we would come together 691 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,640 or we would agree that God hasn't called us to do that 692 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:43,120 because we trust each other and because we're submitted to each 693 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:47,040 other, our doctrine as a church. What do you believe about You 694 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,360 won't? Say it always say maybe. 695 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,920 Maybe if you're Presbyterian you're hoping so, but if you're 696 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,560 predominantly Methodist, you're hoping not, right? 697 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:58,880 So here's what we say. Here's what we as elders and 698 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,840 what we'll ask you to agree on. If, if this is going to be your 699 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:07,920 church, we affirm without descent the historic traditional 700 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:12,320 creeds that is the Apostles Creed and the the Nicene Creed. 701 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,320 I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and 702 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:21,040 earth, and in Jesus Christ, his one and only Son. 703 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,120 We believe in the Holy Spirit, we believe in the Church, we 704 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:25,400 believe in all these. You can go read them. 705 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:26,480 Go. Look on their on our website, 706 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,040 the Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed about those things. 707 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:31,200 Listen, if you just come and say, I don't really believe that 708 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,360 Jesus was the son of God, we can still be friends, but we can 709 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:36,560 acknowledge this is a different thing. 710 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,000 This is a different thing, right? 711 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:41,240 Like if you're wearing your your ranger's shirt today, that's 712 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:44,280 fine. That's fine you. 713 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:47,080 Just clearly need more. Jesus, than you have right. 714 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:53,560 Just kidding. So what about all the other 715 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,680 stuff? What about the end times? 716 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,200 1 believes there's a rapture, 1 believes there isn't. 717 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:05,400 In those secondary. Issues we walk in grace and 718 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,400 here's what that's going to look like someday we're going to go 719 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,720 to heaven and the rapture guys I told you there's. 720 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:11,680 A rapture. There's a rapture. 721 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,040 And you lost. I'm going to go. 722 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:16,960 Yeah, you were right. Let's go worship Jesus. 723 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,280 Yeah, we're going to have lots of grace. 724 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,040 And here's the deal. If you can't of that, if you're 725 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:26,520 like, you must. Speak in tongues every single 726 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:27,400 time. Listen. 727 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:29,720 There's some places that absolutely believe that and I 728 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:31,920 believe that we will worship in heaven together for all of that 729 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:32,880 and they'll be speaking in tongues. 730 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:34,760 They don't be all that. I can help you find that. 731 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:36,280 I can help you find that place, right? 732 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,000 Like we don't have to agree about all things, but we do have 733 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:42,600 to do is walk together in love. Here are a few big things. 734 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,760 Though that we just. Kind of reject out of hand, 735 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,360 right? We reject out of hand. 736 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,680 You will never experience that River City, US approaching 737 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,600 worship or the word as a performance. 738 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:57,760 We will never, ever, ever have a smoke machine. 739 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:04,040 Yeah. And here's here's listen, 740 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,360 someplace have smoke machine. That's fine. 741 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,560 But here's here's what I don't. This is what I'm worried about, 742 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:09,040 right? Like it in in my leadership and 743 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:11,240 my thing like this. Here's what I'm worried about. 744 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,120 I don't want to try to manipulate you into feeling 745 00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,600 something other than what the Holy Spirit has for you. 746 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:19,880 Right, I'm not here to. Manipulate you. 747 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,000 I'm not trying to hear to get you to try to follow me. 748 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,280 I'm here hoping that you'll have an encounter with Jesus, and 749 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:28,240 Jesus can do all kinds of things in all kinds of different ways. 750 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,520 We are not at River City a brand. 751 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:37,040 We are not here to. Promote the brand At River City, 752 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:43,240 we reject out of hand the idea of celebrity leadership. 753 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:47,680 You are not here to make me famous, we are here to make 754 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:51,600 Jesus famous. And I want you to know, having 755 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:56,480 that teaching team teach 8 times during the summer, it's as much 756 00:39:56,480 --> 00:40:00,880 about me as it is about you. It is every bit as important for 757 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,360 me to see, to go. Look, Jason, it's not about what 758 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:06,600 you're doing, it's about what Jesus is doing. 759 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,080 We're not here for me. My hope is that River City's 760 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,320 best days will be the day after I leave. 761 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:18,880 And they'll go and keep going. My prayer is that 150 years from 762 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:22,800 now, River City will be making an impact and having an impact. 763 00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:27,200 We, I'm not sure that Christian and celebrity the like celebrity 764 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,000 Christian can it goes it now you can be a celebrity and be a 765 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:34,920 Christian, but Christianity is about submission and humility 766 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,640 and getting small. John the Baptist said he must 767 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:40,760 increase and I must decrease. That's hard. 768 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,240 That's hard teaching, but that's what we want, right? 769 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:46,080 We reject I, I don't manipulate you. 770 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:47,760 I'm not trying to make you feel what I feel. 771 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:50,040 One of the things that you may have heard at other places that 772 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,160 we reject out of hand is this idea of touch. 773 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:55,400 Not the Lord's anointed. There is not a special set of 774 00:40:55,400 --> 00:41:00,080 rules for me and for you at River City. 775 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:04,000 We give voice to the voiceless at River City. 776 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:08,160 We speak for the weak. We speak for the powerless. 777 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:14,080 And if I use my power to score, to win, to get over, to 778 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:18,440 manipulate or to control someone with less power than me, I am in 779 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:20,160 error. And the elder's job. 780 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:24,000 And they would let. They will correct and rebuke. 781 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:30,880 I don't have special rules. We are followers of Christ 782 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:34,480 together. So what we embrace then as 783 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:42,280 leaders is submission, service, protection and love. 784 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:47,440 We won't put somebody in leadership who wants to, to 785 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:49,360 prove something or to get something. 786 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,000 You cannot be in leadership at River City unless you can be 787 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,480 under leadership. Now we understand like, like we 788 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:57,720 know that the tension and that can be, and I know some of you 789 00:41:57,880 --> 00:41:59,880 have been abused. I, I get it. 790 00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:01,760 I understand. We're not trying to change your 791 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,080 mind about anything. I'm asking you to just pray and 792 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,240 sense and see. Because we acknowledge God made 793 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:12,480 being a Christian synonymous with being a part of the body. 794 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:14,200 You can't say. Right. 795 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,720 Like I want salvation, but I want the but I don't want the 796 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:17,720 body. You can't. 797 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:20,440 It's like saying I want to be a follower, but I don't actually 798 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:22,480 want to follow. It's like saying I love 799 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,240 breathing but I hate lungs. You can't. 800 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:27,080 That's not a thing. It's not. 801 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:28,800 It's not a. Thing that works. 802 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:33,920 And so River City, we live out our baptismal profession 3. 803 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:38,200 Things first. Presence, to be a member, to be 804 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:45,160 a partner at River City, it means showing up here to church. 805 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:48,360 And I want you to know, and again, because I'm not trying to 806 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:49,560 manipulate you, I'm just presenting you. 807 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,120 Here's what I would ask. I would ask you to prioritize 808 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:55,720 your schedule around it. Now I know sometimes you got to 809 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:56,480 go on. Vacation. 810 00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:57,520 You got to go do that. That's great. 811 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,200 But what I'm saying is if you're around, are you here? 812 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:02,480 And let me go one further and we'll talk about this a little 813 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:08,960 bit a little bit later, but. Before you ever if you're here. 814 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:10,520 You like the way I speak? That's great. 815 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:15,120 Before you ever heard a word out of my mouth, you experienced our 816 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:19,840 parking lot team, our guest services team, our coffee team, 817 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:24,640 our greeting team, our worship team, perhaps our children's 818 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:27,600 ministry team, right? You experienced all of that 819 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:30,640 before you ever, you've tasted and seen River City before you 820 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:34,080 ever got to this place. And So what I would ask you is, 821 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:38,040 are you a part of that? Are you contributing to that or 822 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:41,800 are you just consuming? Are you mad when we have to 823 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:44,480 close down a children's ministry classroom, but not willing to 824 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:47,080 get on the schedule and help make sure that we stay in open? 825 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:52,640 That's not what we do here. And you say, like, Oh my, I'd 826 00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:54,800 serve the hungry people. Outside you should do that. 827 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,240 Go do that. But you worship here on Sunday, 828 00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:02,920 help serve, grow those places that you serve their 829 00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:05,680 communities. Miss Jamie in the nursery, she 830 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:07,960 loves that team. She served. 831 00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:09,440 Somebody's back there, they got it right. 832 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,200 She takes care of those people. She's a pastor to those people. 833 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,400 If I died and left and got hit by a bus, there's people on 834 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:19,120 Jamie's team who would continue to be loved and served because 835 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:23,480 Jamie loves them. Well, serve, get involved, be a 836 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:27,360 part of the team, show up and be a presence here, right? 837 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:29,840 Second thing we ask is formation. 838 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:32,240 This assumes the idea. That if you stay. 839 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:33,960 Here long enough, you're going to be changed and you're going 840 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:36,360 to be transformed. God is going to put his finger 841 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:39,080 on things in your character that he says, hey, I'm not mad at 842 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:41,680 you, but let's deal with that. Hey, I'm not mad at you, but 843 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:42,880 you've been selfish in that area. 844 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,040 Will you give it to me? Hey, you've been giving, you've 845 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:46,800 been holding your Sundays to yourself. 846 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:48,760 I want you to give me one extra hour on Sunday. 847 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:50,880 Will you give me that so that you can greet people in the 848 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,560 parking lot, so that you can stand with Chris Adams and see 849 00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:57,320 people grow, so that you can like, what is it I want you to 850 00:44:57,320 --> 00:44:58,960 give me? Your Wednesday night so that you 851 00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:01,520 can go to a small group. He will change our desires. 852 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,640 He will change even our ingrained powders and habits. 853 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:08,920 The things that we identify ourselves by we to be him needs 854 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:12,280 to be formed and be transformed like and let me say real quick, 855 00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:16,280 there is grace for your failure when you go. 856 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:19,000 I see people all the time like I'm trying to quit smoking, I'm 857 00:45:19,240 --> 00:45:21,840 trying to quit doing drugs. I'm trying to quit talking to my 858 00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:23,760 spouse that way. I'm trying to get to this, but I 859 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:25,320 did it again and again and again. 860 00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:28,280 What I want to say is there's more grace in you for you than 861 00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:31,600 there is failure in you. Keep getting up, keep walking. 862 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,240 We will walk together with that humility. 863 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:38,600 But what grace does not cover is the person who says, I know the 864 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:40,600 Bible says that, but I'm just not going to do it. 865 00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,360 What you're looking for is. Not grace, what you're looking 866 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:49,280 for is a redefinition of terms. And we don't do that. 867 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:53,640 I don't get to just marginalized the uncomfortable parts for my 868 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,240 life. And so listen like you can and 869 00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:59,360 and here's what happens if we make, oh, you can believe 870 00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:01,600 whatever you want about this or that, Like what happens then? 871 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:04,000 And we make that into marriage, then this, or we make that into 872 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:07,200 partnership, and partnership just stops meaning anything. 873 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:12,320 It's supposed to mean something and it will change us and it 874 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:17,600 will transform us. Saying I failed is not the same 875 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,720 thing as saying I won't do that. The third thing we ask is 876 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:26,480 participation. Church isn't a thing that you go 877 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:29,520 to or consume. It is not a spiritual Sam's 878 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:33,040 Club. It is the living and active body 879 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:36,160 of Christ at work in New Braunfels, TX. 880 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:38,120 And here's a question just like you know I have to answer. 881 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:39,560 I just want you to go home and think about it. 882 00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:44,400 If everybody contributed to River City the way that you do. 883 00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:49,360 Would this be a church that you? Wanted to go to What if 884 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:52,080 everybody in our children's ministry served the same 885 00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,200 intensity that you served? What would our children's 886 00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:58,320 ministry be like? What if everybody gave 887 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:01,600 financially to the needs, not just of this congregation, but 888 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,680 of this community to the same degree that you did? 889 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:10,280 Would we have this place? Would we be able to give shoes 890 00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:15,920 to to orphans? So don't just come participate, 891 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:20,000 be an owner and what it is. And that's the metaphor really, 892 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:22,760 that Jesus leaves for us. We're going to take communion 893 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:25,400 together now as an expression. The elements are down on the on 894 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:28,400 the side aisles. You're going to take those and 895 00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:31,760 pass them around because when we talk about this membership, 896 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:35,440 membership isn't a question of what I want or what I expect. 897 00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:40,840 And I don't want you to. Answer this question today. 898 00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:45,360 What I want to acknowledge. Is that membership and 899 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:49,360 participation here isn't just what I want, or it's not the 900 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:52,080 elders congregation? Listen, I'm firmly convinced 901 00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:56,080 that this is not my church. This church belongs to Jesus. 902 00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:58,880 It is his. And he gives the example. 903 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,640 Are you listening? Jesus gives the example of what 904 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:05,240 it means to be a participant. On the night he was betrayed, he 905 00:48:05,240 --> 00:48:07,800 took bread. And when he had given things, he 906 00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,560 broke it. And he said, this is my body, 907 00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:16,080 which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 908 00:48:16,080 --> 00:48:19,320 Jesus took bread and he said, I'm like this. 909 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:22,040 And here's the thing, all those folks standing around, they came 910 00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:24,440 as individuals, right? Like you got Matthew the tax 911 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:26,200 collector, and you've got Simon the zealot. 912 00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:30,160 And those two could not be more politically diverse than they 913 00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:32,160 were. But once they took this bread 914 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,960 and they had Jesus inside them and had that spirit in them that 915 00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:38,000 was greater than whatever else was before. 916 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:41,400 So when we take this as the church with professing 917 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:43,960 Christians around the world, that's what we're saying. 918 00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:47,640 This is the most real. This is the thing. 919 00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:51,200 The. Spoken and given body of Christ 920 00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:55,320 and His instructions to go and do the same. 921 00:48:57,080 --> 00:48:59,120 So as we take this. Bread together. 922 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:02,920 It's an invitation to be a part of something bigger than 923 00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:05,360 ourselves. Let's take the bread together. 924 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:09,840 And in the same way after supper. 925 00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:13,040 He took the cup and. He said this cup is the new. 926 00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:16,400 Covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it 927 00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:19,080 in remembrance of me. See, when Jesus talked about the 928 00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:21,720 blood, he was talking about the sacrificial system, about the 929 00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:23,880 lambs that were about the forgiveness of sin. 930 00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:27,040 And what's great for me, what encourages me, is there's no one 931 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:28,920 at that table that didn't need it. 932 00:49:30,240 --> 00:49:31,720 You know what brings us all? Together. 933 00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:35,040 If it's not our ethnicity or our politics, or our socio economic 934 00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:39,160 standing, or our doctrine or our faith, what brings us all 935 00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:41,960 together at the foot of the cross is our need for something 936 00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:45,480 that forgives, that sets us right. 937 00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:50,800 This cup is a reminder of our need for Jesus. 938 00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:55,840 This is why Jesus is famous. This is why we make his name 939 00:49:56,080 --> 00:49:59,240 known. This is why it's about him and 940 00:49:59,240 --> 00:50:02,280 not us. So let's take the cup together. 941 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:07,880 As often as you eat this bread. And drink this cup. 942 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:10,200 You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 943 00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:13,000 See what church membership is about, what the communion about, 944 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:16,320 what baptism is all about is about this Kingdom that we're a 945 00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:19,880 part of and this Kingdom. The king, the ruler, the 946 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:22,960 authority, the boss. He humbles himself and gives his 947 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,880 life for the servants. He doesn't demand that they do 948 00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:29,400 that for him. He gives and loves and serves 949 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:32,720 and he sends into the world and says go make apprentices who do 950 00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:38,080 the same thing. And immerse them in the life of 951 00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:41,920 the Kingdom. May you be immersed in the name 952 00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:46,440 of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit this week. 953 00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:48,640 May the Lord bless you and keep you. 954 00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:52,200 May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. 955 00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:55,080 May He lift His countenance and give you peace. 956 00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:56,840 Have a great week. See you next time. 957 00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:00,000 Thank you for joining us today. River City Church is all about 958 00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:02,720 experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and 959 00:51:02,720 --> 00:51:05,440 community, and we hope that you've been able to experience 960 00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:08,080 that today. As grateful as I am that you've 961 00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:11,360 spent this time listening in this morning, this podcast is no 962 00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:14,400 substitute for full participation in a local church. 963 00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:18,000 I love it when River City people listen to other pastors, but it 964 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:21,040 is those who show up week after week, faithfully giving their 965 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,880 support and time and resources that make all of this possible. 966 00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:27,800 If we can help you get connected to a local church, pray for you, 967 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:31,080 or support you in any way, click the link in the description and 968 00:51:31,080 --> 00:51:33,200 let us know. If you'd like to financially 969 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:36,040 support the ministry of River City, click the give link on our 970 00:51:36,040 --> 00:51:39,240 website in the description. Don't forget to subscribe and 971 00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:40,920 don't forget to share this with your friends. 972 00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:43,960 Thanks so much for listening. May the Lord bless and keep you 973 00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:45,560 in all grace and peace.