HOW TO BE DIFFERENT

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So we've come today to ponder your greatness, to walk away with a deeper, fuller understanding of who you are and how you created us to be.

And so, Lord, we want our lives to be a monument to your greatness, not our capacity, our ability, or a passive revenue stream.

So, Lord, there's a lot of things we can put our faith in, our trust in today.

But we understand from your word and by your spirit that we were created to be people who live on you so we can sing and say things like, take the world away from me.

But if I got Jesus, I got it all.

You got to do some work in some of us to get our head and our heart lined up and on the same page with that size of a confession.

And that's what we're asking you to do today.

We don't just sing things we don't mean.

When we sing that, our heart is stirred, and our faith is kind of solidified.

Like, yes, this is the truth.

So we're asking you this morning, God, to make of us those kinds of people.

Use your word to do it.

And we ask the Holy Spirit to lead us into it now in Jesus' name.

What everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You could have a C.

If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to Colossians chapter 4.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

If you're our guest today, let me just say welcome.

Uh, thanks for exploring a new church.

We we uh uh we just finished Advent last Sunday, and we're gonna do a little short uh series we're calling Be Indifferent uh to kick off a new year, then we're gonna finish the book of Acts, and then we're gonna get into the book of Jonah.

We preach the books of the Bible, uh we do New Testament and Old Testament, because we want our people to have a holistic understanding of God and his word, okay?

Now you may be wondering, what is all that I saw back over there?

One of the reasons, like every once in a while, people that are new to our church go, hey, why don't you baptize?

Uh occasionally I'll baptize somebody as the pastor, but we believe this and we teach this here that men are the spiritual leaders of their homes.

And as the spiritual leader, men need to lead out.

So what you saw was fathers baptizing their sons.

Uh, and so that's why we do that there.

Uh, and so if you have any questions about anything you've seen or anything you hear this morning in the sermon, some of our pastors will be available down front after the service.

We'd love to answer any questions you may have, help you take your next step.

But right now, this morning, I want to talk to you from Colossians 4, verses 2 to 6 about how to be different.

Colossians 4:2–6

How to be different.

Yeah, because you're gonna get bombarded.

It started yesterday, and it'll just ramp up over the next couple days about the new year and resolutions and this, that, and the other.

And people look everywhere for ideas and tips and techniques and tricks to be different.

Few people look to the Bible.

And so I want to just look to the Bible this morning and talk to you about how to be different from Colossians chapter four.

I'll start reading a little short section of scripture starting in verse two.

Paul says this he says, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Verse 5, he says, Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.

Now, you may read those verses and think, okay, how do you get how to be different from that?

There's four things in the text I want to point to that if you and I will do these things starting today, rolling into the new year, you won't be different at uh as like that's the goal.

The byproduct of doing these things is that you will be a different person.

So there's four things I want us to see in the text.

Number one, uh, if you're gonna be different, you gotta pray differently.

You gotta learn to pray differently.

It's verse two where he says, continue steadfast in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Notice I didn't say pray more, but I said pray differently.

Because if you don't learn to pray differently, you won't pray more because eventually you'll get tired of hearing yourself pray.

Uh, if you've ever been in a room full of people and someone prays, and you're your your thought right after that is, well, I hope they don't call on me.

I hope no one nudges me and says, How about you, Billy Bob?

You want to pray?

No, I'm good.

It's like following church hill in high school speech class.

You're like, I don't want any part of that.

I I'll let him pray for me the rest of the time.

But if you learn to pray differently, not more, I'm not saying pray more, pray differently.

Because if you don't learn to pray differently, you won't pray more because you know yourself too well.

Okay.

So the Bible's helpful right here because in this one verse, uh, the Bible gives us three words to help us pray differently.

The first one is steadfastly.

He says this he says, continue steadfastly in prayer.

This refers to your a your inward posture, your disposition when you pray.

And people that main people that are steadfast, they are always in a disposition of prayer.

Like the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, it says, pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Some people hear that and think, I should go around all always praying, you know, always, no, no, no, no.

You have this inward disposition where you always you get in a conversation with somebody like I have a few friends like this, not a lot, but but but I'll be talking and I look up and their lips are kind of moving, and I'm like, Are you listening to me or what are you doing?

And and what they're doing is they're just they're inwardly disposed to prayer all the time.

And so I'll be talking, I'll look up and what are you?

Oh, I was just praying because my spirit got activated.

You said something, and I just started interceding for you right then.

See, these kind of people are kind of a little bit scary because their inward orientation is towards prayer, they're always attentive to how they can pray for you.

So you can have a conversation with them where you never mention the phrase prayer request, and they walk away with three things to pray for you.

And not only that, but they they they pray for you and they pray differently because people that pray steadfastly, I just I'll just say it, they're kind of scary because here's why.

They know things that they're not supposed to know in this world, and they pray them out loud for you, in your presence.

Like it happened to me just about three weeks ago.

I have a friend that's kind of like this, and he's kind of got that that look about him, kind of like I love Jesus, or I'm gonna kill everybody as soon as the music stops.

Uh, and you're drawn to him and you want him to pray for you.

And what he did know is I was talking to a pastor friend of mine here in town like a week earlier.

We had lunch, and he said, How are you doing?

I said, I'm tired.

I'm just really tired.

And I said, I'm I'm it's not about sleep tired or take a nap tired.

It's just, whoo, there's just a lot going on.

And he said, Man, I understand.

And we commiserated with that.

Okay, fast forward a couple weeks later, I'm talking to my buddy and he on the phone and he's like, Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what?

When I listen to you, I got some things stirring in me.

Can I just pray for you before we get off the phone?

And I just thought, oh, this is sure.

Yeah, go ahead.

And one of the things he prayed, he didn't ask me how I could pray because he's inwardly disposed to prayer all the time.

He understands the steadfast nature.

He continues in it.

He said, Lord, I remember I wrote it down.

He said, Lord, Neil is tired on a level, he doesn't have words for.

So he needs you to come to him at that level and meet him there and give him what people do not know how to give him.

I'm like, I wanted to say back in the phone, what you're talking about, Willis.

But I did, and I was just struck.

Not by that my friend knew to pray that, but it was almost like God kind of winked at me and said, See, I got you.

I got people that are praying for you in ways you don't know how to pray for yourself.

So when I say pray differently, here's a helpful word steadfastly.

Here's a second helpful word.

He says, be watchful.

Be watchful.

This means be alert, okay?

Don't get slack, don't get tired, don't be like, okay, here we go.

Let's pray.

Let's say the same thing we said for the past six years.

Okay.

Two ways you know that you're not watchful in your prayers, very practically.

Number one, you say the same thing without much thought or emotion.

You say the same thing without much thought or emotion.

Uh, by the way, parents, be careful because you're modeling for your kids how to how to talk to God.

Uh, here's a second way you know that you're not watchful.

You think more about the people in the room hearing you pray than the God you're praying to.

You're kind of like, hey, uh, I want you to think I'm spiritual, so let me pull some words out.

I heard somebody say one time at a funeral and see if I can craft it into this prayer for this pizza we're about to eat.

And everybody at the table is kind of like, come on, bro, just just say amen so we can dig in, okay?

So being watchful, steadfastly being watchful.

And then the last one, the the third helpful phrase is with thanksgiving.

With thanksgiving.

It's it's it's grateful language.

It's more than gratitude, it's perspective on the God that you're praying to.

Because here's the thing: the more you have to be thankful for, all of a sudden, the bigger God gets in your understanding and in your imagination and in your experience.

And before long, you're like Miriam, Moses' sister, when they cross the Red Sea.

She just spontaneously combusted into song and said this to God.

Who among the gods is like you?

Awesome in glory, majestic in holiness, working wonders.

Let me ask you a practical question.

What would have to happen in your life this next year for you to say to God, Who among the gods is like you?

Who can do what you can do?

See, if you're gonna be different, the first thing you gotta do is pray differently.

But but here's the second thing in order to pray differently, you gotta think differently.

It's verse three and four.

Look at what he what he says there.

He says, at the same time, pray also for us that God may open us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Uh it's very simple, very plain, and it's so subtle.

If you're not careful, you'll miss it, okay?

When I say think differently, let me say this: your prayers are a reflection of how you think.

Therefore, in order to pray differently, you and I need to learn to think differently.

Let me demonstrate what I mean by thinking differently, and then I'll show you in the text what I mean by thinking differently.

Uh uh little kid named Tommy was in the second grade, and it was coming up on Valentine's.

His teachers got a little uh, because teachers are underpaid and overworked.

Amen.

Uh and so the teacher's like, hey, we're gonna have a Valentine party, and she got those little brown lunch sacks, and the kids one day they got to decorate them all, and then she took them and she stapled them across the bulletin board.

I was 24 little sacks for every kid in the classroom.

And she said, now when you come back on Monday, we're gonna have a Valentine's party and we're gonna change Valentine.

So you bring a Valentine for anybody in the class you want to give a Valentine to.

So Tommy went home, rode the bus.

He got home that day and he said, Mom, I've got to go to the store, I gotta get Valentine.

I want to give a Valentine to everybody in my class.

And his mom's like, that is awesome.

But thinking like a mom can sometimes think, which is different than a second grader, it's not right or wrong, it's just different.

She's like, Man, if my son gives everybody in the class a Valentine, he's probably gonna get one back.

And so they get Valentine, he makes them out all by himself, writes their name on them, sitting at the kitchen table, gets on the bus on Monday, goes to school, comes off.

Mom's waiting, she cannot wait to see the hall.

He got his head down when he gets off the bus.

He's kind of walking towards her and he's mumbling to himself.

And she's like, What is he doing?

What's he saying?

And he's just shaking his head and mumbling, and her heart just drops, and she's thinking, Where am I gonna bury the bodies of these people who disappointed my son?

And he gets closer and she hears him saying, Not a single one.

Not a single one.

And she's like, Uh-oh, but you tell me my kid didn't get a Valentine.

And she he gets close to her and he raises his head up and he's not crying, he's beaming, he's smiling, and he says, Mom, I didn't forget a single one.

Everybody in my class got a Valentine from me.

He thinks differently.

Mom thinks differently.

It's not just in the second grade, it's also in the text.

See, to pray differently, you have to think differently.

You say, What do you mean?

Verse three and verse four.

I want you to notice what Paul's prayer requests are, okay?

There's three of them.

He says, number one, that God may open to us a door for the word, that God may open a door for us to the word.

Nowhere in here does he pray, hey God, would you open a door to this prison so I can get up out here?

No, he says, Would you open for us a door for the word?

If your prayer, one of the reasons our prayers don't get answered, there's they're all so self-centered.

They're just all about us and our kids and blessing this and giving that and providing this.

And God, if you do this, we'll thank you for it.

Paul just prayed differently because he thought differently.

He said, first prayer request that God may open to us a door for the word.

Secondly, that we may declare the mystery of Christ.

By the way, it's not a problem, it's a mystery.

Some people just don't understand it because no one's ever explained to them Christ or Christianity.

That we may declare the mystery of Christ.

Here's the problem with here's the beautiful problem with that phrase after he says, Hey, that we declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison.

In other words, this is what got me thrown in prison, and I'm praying that I get to do it again.

What was really hard this year that you're asking God to do again in you?

Because while it was hard, it was also helpful.

Here's a third prayer request that I may make it clear.

That I may make it clear.

No, by the way, I'm in prison while I'm asking for this prayer request.

And I'm I'm in here because I'm I was declaring the mystery of Christ to people.

And I don't want out of prison.

See, here's the thing, here's how people that think differently pray.

His desire is for the gospel to advance, not for him to be blessed personally.

His prayer is not for relief.

His prayer is that the truth, uh, would there be an open door for the truth?

And so to pray differently, you have to think differently, okay?

Here's the third thing you see in the text if you want to be different, walk differently.

Walk differently.

It's verse five.

He says, walk in wisdom toward the outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Now, if you've got an NIV version, a new international version of the Bible, say amen.

All right, check me on this because about 35 years ago, I memorized Colossians 4.5 because the person that was discipling me would write down Bible verses on an index card and hand them to me and say, You got three days, I want to hear this coming out of you naturally.

And I'd be like, Okay, great.

And so I'd have in my back pocket and I would stop at work, I'd be on break or at lunch, I'd read over it.

Colossians 4 5 in the New International Version says this conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

Is that not what it says, my NIV people?

Yeah, what does it say?

Oh, I'm I'm that's in my entire bat.

We memorize the New American Standard.

Anybody got a new American standard?

Yes, right there.

Yes, yeah, yeah, we're gonna find the right translation.

Because here's the thing.

Because my guy would not only, he wouldn't write the verse on the front, but after I memorized, he'd flip it over on the back and say, here's what it looks like with your life wrapped around it, Neil.

See, I I thought everybody got discipled this way.

Conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

And I said, What do you mean the opportunity?

And here's what I want to pass on to you.

It was given to me a long time ago.

You cannot confuse the outcome with the opportunity.

Because when you confuse the outcome, what you want to see happen with the opportunity, you become heavy-handed and you use guilt and emotional uh manipulation and all kinds of stuff because you want to see something happen.

But when you, he says that make the the ESV says making the best use of the time.

Uh, I think make the most of the opportunity.

It leads you and I to ask, hey, what is the most I can make out of this opportunity?

And am I willing to let that be enough?

Here's what I'm saying: not every conversation you get into is gonna end with someone falling to their knees and saying, What must I do to be saved?

No, but if you're looking, if you're thinking outcome, not opportunity, you're never as fully present and available in that conversation as you could be and should be.

And again, it's important we not confuse opportunities with the outcome.

Uh, because you you can make the most of the opportunity and just walk away and be content.

Like, hey, you know what, God?

I spoke what I thought I was supposed to speak in this conversation.

I made as much of this opportunity as I can.

You can see a lot of you beat yourself up because you don't think you're good at having spiritual conversations, because all you've been taught in the church is outcomes, not opportunity.

And just make the most of the opportunity.

That's all I try to do.

Like I saw a teenager for counseling uh earlier this year.

And you could tell when they walked in, folded his arms and sat down.

I said, Are you this excited?

He goes, I don't want to be here.

I said, I don't want to be here either.

It's a great sunshiny day.

I should be on the golf course, but I'm stuck here at work.

He goes, No, I don't want to be here, no offense, but I don't want to be in counseling.

I mean, I'm just I'm just not happy.

I can't stand my family.

I hate my life, I hate school, I want to quit school and just get a job and start saving money and buying a house.

And it was 20 minutes of how unhappy he was.

And I'm thinking to myself, okay, there's not much opportunity here.

What is the opportunity and how do I make the most of it?

And so 20 minutes of negativity spewing out of this kid.

And finally, the Holy Spirit's like, here's our opportunity.

I bet he said the word happy at least 20 times.

It was happy, I'm not happy, I've not been happy in a long time.

Because I said, How long was it?

When's the last time you were happy?

I couldn't remember.

I was probably a little kid.

But I just I just don't enjoy my life.

I don't enjoy my parents, make me go to church, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And then finally dawned on me, this may be the only opportunity I have, so I want to make the most of this.

And I said, Hey, I want to say one thing to you and we'll be done for the day.

He goes, Are you serious?

It's like not even 30 minutes.

My mom said it's at least an hour.

I said, Yeah, it doesn't have to be an hour every time.

I don't think we got an hour's worth of stuff to talk about.

But I just want to say one thing.

He said, Okay.

I said, I don't think the goal of your life should ever be to be happy with yourself or with your life.

He looked at me and he goes, What did you say?

I said, You should never make it your goal in life to be happy with yourself or to be happy with your life.

Here's why.

You can do a lot of things that are wrong, that are sinful, that violate what you were raised to believe, even if you don't believe it, in order to be happy.

You can be ashamed of things you did in order to feel happy.

He said, Well, what am I supposed to do?

The opportunity increasing.

And I said, Here's what I think you should do.

And this is the only thing I'm gonna encourage you to do today.

So don't try to make me talk about it more because I'm gonna tell you this, and then I'm gonna pray, or I don't even have to pray, and we're gonna walk out.

You can get done early, get out of jail free, go back to your miserable, unhappy life.

And he's like, Okay.

I said, You should never make it your goal to be happy, you should make it your goal to be proud of yourself.

And if you were proud of yourself and how you live, the byproduct of that life is you will be happy.

And he goes, wait a minute, can you explain that?

The opportunity just got bigger.

See, the door was shut when we started, and it got cracked open, and then it swung on a little bit more.

78 minutes later, his mom's texting, are you okay in there?

And he texts, go to Starbucks and come back.

And he looked up at me and said, You want something from Starbucks?

Yes, I do.

And then we ended and he said, Hey, this was actually helpful.

I love the word actually.

I said, Are you surprised?

And he goes, Yeah, I am.

And I said, I just trying to make the most of the opportunity.

He goes, What does that mean?

I said, That's for another session.

But see, when the Bible, when Paul says right here in Colossians 4, hey, make the most, conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

If you think every conversation you get into, you're thinking outcome.

Think opportunity.

Look, it'd be parents.

If you want to parent better, especially your adult children, don't think outcome, think opportunity.

What's the opportunity I have and I want to make the most of this opportunity instead of trying to manufacture some outcome?

You'll feel better about yourself and your kids.

Your adult children will trust you more.

Does that make sense to anybody but me?

Say amen.

Here's the last thing I want to give you this morning.

Talk differently.

Talk differently.

Listen very carefully.

Because in the church we teach manners.

Look at me.

Jesus did not come for you to be nice, he came for you to be new.

Be in, I'm not saying don't be a pendular thinker.

Oh, you said this, and so you must No, no, no.

I'm not saying don't be nice, but He came for you to be new.

Look, hear verse 6 again.

He says, Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Hear it again.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.

Why?

So that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

If you if you've got a Bible and you're prone to writing in your Bible, underline or circle the word each.

Verse 6 pivots.

That's the fulcrum that this thing pivots on.

So you may know how to answer each person.

And what does that mean?

Every conversation doesn't call for the same response from you.

It doesn't.

If you do that, you're not representing the gospel, you're representing yourself because you're afraid to season your speech with salt, because you fear rejection or you crave acceptance.

And people that fear rejection and crave acceptance, you're always full of grace.

You're just grace.

Oh, grace, grace, grace.

And grace is a great thing.

But look at me.

Sometimes you have to put some savoriness in the conversation for the person to hear what they need to hear.

Take a message.

Let me say it again.

Sometimes you have to, the Bible says right here, hey, hey, let your speech, let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

You have to balance our language because some conversations require a little seasoning with salt, and others call for the fullness of grace.

You can't simply go out into the world and say the same thing to everybody.

And here's why.

This is bland.

And nobody enjoys bland.

It's safe, it's bland, it's not interesting.

Bland people are easy to listen to, easy to forget, and hard to trust at the deep places of life.

Let me say that again because some of you are bland people.

Corporate America loves you.

You got taught it in corporate America.

That's how you climb the ladder.

That's how you get the corner office, that's how you get the VP or whatever.

You're just slick and slow.

And smooth.

But no one calls you and says, hey, dude, my marriage is in the tank and my children don't respect me.

Can we meet for lunch?

Because I need some help.

Because bland people, I mean, they're safe.

They're easy to listen to.

They're easy to forget.

And they're hard to trust at the really deep places of life.

Because here's why.

The people you talk to, they know you're not telling them the truth.

They just know.

They're just like, hey, you can tell because somewhere in the conversation, they're like, okay, okay, yeah, yeah, right, right, right, right, right, right.

That's it.

I got, I got, I got.

Now, I'm not telling you how to talk.

I'm just telling you, if you talk the same way in all conversations, you're not representing God or the gospel, you're representing yourself.

You've confused Dale Carnegie with the New Testament.

Dale Carnegie is a motivational speaker from years ago.

I think the guy's dead now, or he's 108.

He wrote a book called How to Win Friends and Influence People.

And for some people, it became their Bible.

And I would just say this: their speech is it's either it's typically always gracious, but the Bible calls us to this balance.

This is what I mean when I say talk differently.

What do you mean?

Again, verse 6.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

That means that sometimes in the conversation, it doesn't come from here.

Look at me.

It doesn't come from here.

The salt doesn't come from here.

What thing can I interject here and sound savory?

No, it comes from in here.

Where the Holy Spirit is like, I need somebody to represent the truth, and I nominate you.

And sometimes you have to say to people, I think you confuse me for somebody that's intimidated by you.

By the way, the teenager that was like, I don't want to be here.

You know the last thing he said to me before he walked out?

He said, Hey, uh, do you have any openings next week?

And I said, No, I don't see anybody hardly ever every week.

That way, it gives you some time to sin and screw your life up further, and it gives us something to talk about.

And he looked at me and he said, Yeah, I'll probably do that.

Yeah, because his whole life he's been around really gracious people.

Now, if you're not listening carefully, you're not hearing me right now.

You're like, Oh, you're making fun of graciousness.

No, I'm not at all.

I just, Jesus didn't die if you'd be a bland person of no consequence.

Who's safe and smooth?

Hey, brother, good to see you in God's house.

Man, bless you.

Bless you.

If your life is just small talk and prayer requests, people don't trust you.

But if your speech, like the Bible says, is always gracious and when necessary, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Look at me, more people will come to you because they know you're gonna love them enough to tell them the truth.

Think of it like this people need to know that you have verbal responsibility and verbal agency.

I have verbal responsibility.

I my speech is always gracious, but also I have verbal agency.

When I need to, I can season it with salt so you get the point.

This is what this is how you participate in another person's sanctification.

Does that statement make sense?

This is how you participate in some.

This is it, but sanctification is a big church word.

It means becoming more and more like Christ.

And becoming more and more like Christ, look at me, means you become less and less like yourself.

Because Jesus did not die for you to be the same person you've always been.

You should have people around you who could hear you and they speak into your life.

Like this sounds crazy.

I'm gonna say this and I'll be done.

All right.

Uh uh, look at me.

You should have people in your life that not all the time, but pretty consistently, you walk away a little bit stirred up emotionally after talking to them.

And and what you pick the emotion confusion, anger, frustration, but enough about my marriage, eh?

No, my wife is like somebody this morning said, you know, she said, I'm trying to diagnose who you are.

I said, My wife says I'm the most highly functioning bipolar she knows.

Doesn't bother me at all.

We had a great conversation yesterday where her emotions got stirred up.

And I thought about it, and about two hours later, my emotions got stirred up, and I thought, I hope she comes back in here.

I got some things I want to say.

Keep honking, I'm reloading.

No, look at me.

If you're always gracious, you're easy to listen to, easy to forget, and you're not gonna be trusted by people to deep places of life.

You're a good company, man, but you're not a very good friend.

You'll have some titles after your name, but people won't seek you out.

Why?

Because they know themselves.

They know themselves.

And so we kick off this be different series heading to the new year.

I'm just saying a couple of things.

Talk differently, walk differently, think differently, and you will pray differently.

Does that make sense?

Let's pray together.

If you're our guest, just relax.

We like to teach the Bible, then we give you some soul space to think about it.

One of the ways we like to stir your gray matter is with what we call mental worship.

Some questions come up on the screen behind me.

Those of me, we'll discuss those in our community group next time they meet.

You can take a picture with your phone, or you can just pick one out and go, I want to think about that one.

Either way, it's fine.

Let's just take a moment and think about what God's saying to us this morning before we just before we close out our service.

Lord, that's our prayer.

We want to be men and women and students whose speech is always gracious, but it's also seasoned with salt because we don't fear man.

We don't crave acceptance.

We're not trying to build a network of relational community by half-truths and outright lies.

We're willing to give people the opportunity to accept or reject the most authentic version of ourselves.

Because that's the person Christ died for.

The authentic, integrated me.

So Holy Spirit brood over us as we wind down this year and start another one.

Point out the things that are old, ill-fitting.

It's like a high school letterman jacket, it doesn't fit anymore, and no one cares about those things.

So let us stop caring about them.

Move into maturity, grow up in some ways in some areas.

We want to be different, not to be novel or get more followers on social media.

Who cares about that fake world?

We want to be different.

Because we want to pray differently and think differently, walk differently and talk differently, making the most of every opportunity we have.

The outcomes are up to you, God.

The opportunity is our responsibility.

Show us how to steward that well, and we will.

Pray this in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

If you're our guest today, let me say thanks for being here.

You're always welcome.

Uh I said it earlier, but if you have any questions about anything you saw or heard today, some of our pastors will be available down front.

If you're our guest today, all we ask of you, if you just text the word welcome to that number on the screen behind me, that gives us a record of your visit.

Uh, and we just want to help you take the next step in your spiritual journey, okay?

No pressure, no guilt, no manipulation, just an opportunity, okay?

Uh, we always have things going on in the life of our church.

We make you aware of those by way of our video announcements every week.

So check out the screen behind me to see what's coming up.

Here's what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

We are thrilled to announce mission trips to Romania from June 27th to July 4th and to France from October 6th to 13th in 2025.

We would love for you to be a part of these incredible missional opportunities.

If you are interested, join us for our missions informational meeting on January 12th at 5 p.m.

in the Fellowship Hall.

Additionally, feel free to ask Julie Foster about her experience in Romania or Brett Ferguson's about his trip to France.

Spring midweeks are returning.

Our women-only Bible study begins on January 14th, and the sessions for everyone, from preschool-aged kids to adults, start on January 15th.

Here's some course-offering titles.

Kids with a mission.

This is for preschool-aged kids.

Spark experimental learning.

This is for kids in kinder through third grade.

Bible parables for the fourth through sixth grade students.

Decode.

Understanding what gets misunderstood for 7th through 12th grade.

Engaging the word.

For women only on Tuesdays.

For all adults, habits of grace in a hurried world.

Parenting in the Christian home, principles and practices.

Being human.

Eight ways human boundaries reflect God's Good Design and the Apostles' Creed.

What Christians believe, teach, and confess.

To find out more information about these classes or to register, look at the Midweeks page on our website.

For students in the 4th through 6th grade, join us as we travel to Piney Woods Camp to get away from the busyness of life and take intentional time to spend with God and each other while having fun playing games and building community.

This weekend trip will be from January 17th through the 18th.

Finally, calling all adults 60 and over.

Join us on January 23rd at 10:30 a.m.

for a delicious lunch and meaningful connections.

At Grand Parkway, we celebrate your wisdom and experience because you're still in the game and making an impact.

So come and bring your friends for a day full of fun, fellowship, and inspiration.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at Grandparkway.org.

If you have any questions about the sermon, email them to Blake at Grandparkway.org.

Also, if you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing, so if you would stand to your feet.

Hold your hands out.

Because sanctification is an ongoing process.

You never arrive and you're never done.

That's good news.

That means you can always make progress.

Don't quit on yourself.

The Bible says that you began a good work in you will continue it to the day of Christ Jesus.

So you're not done.

Because he's not done.

Depart now and live in this reality in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.