Follow Me As I Follow Jesus

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You would just take a minute and take a deep breath in and release it.

In just a second, you're gonna sit down.

It's gonna feel so good.

I want your soul just to sit down in the love of God in this moment.

Be fully here.

Be present.

And take a minute to ask the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to speak to you.

God, would you speak to me?

If you would take a minute, pray for me.

And I could clearly articulate the love of God through Jesus and through his word.

Take a minute, pray for the person on your left and on your right.

That God would meet with them this morning.

Father, we want to raise our level of faith and expectation to the level of the full divine possibilities in front of us this morning.

We don't need another pep talk.

We don't need another guilt, fear, and condemnation.

Sulda, coulda, woulda.

Why aren't you doing more?

Oh, we need the tenderness of Jesus and the courage of the Holy Spirit to give us a case of the can't help it.

We can't help but to talk about what we've seen and what we've heard and what you're doing.

Would the word become flesh and dwell among us?

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

You guys can have a seat.

Well, good morning.

Thanks for being here.

Uh my name's Chris.

Uh in Nashville, Tennessee.

Actually, Franklin, but you're probably more familiar with Nashville.

Um, I have uh four kids, too many, beautiful wife.

Um, I come with their blessing, maybe some of their cursing, but mostly their blessing uh uh to be with you guys here uh to represent them.

I've been with your your church for a while, had the opportunity to lead a D Now youth retreat, a men's retreat.

And then most recently, some of you may recognize me as the dude in the attic uh during COVID who did a sermon and then corralled his kids to get in to help them land the plane.

Uh that's me.

You're welcome.

I'm back.

Um just by by way of uh information, um uh Neil and I go way back, probably about 20 years.

Um, we met as I was a college student, and I got to hear him come and speak at the university that I was at.

And um I had never heard anything like it.

Um, called to something deep within me that I didn't realize was there.

Um, and it made me want to know God the way that he did.

And then uh as the Lord would have it, I wound up you work in camp ministry with an organization called Student Life.

Did that for seven years, and we had a revolving door of itinerant speakers.

Every week we'd pack up, do it in different towns, city, college, or whatever.

And usually when we made our way out to Texas, Neil would show up and he was a little bit of an anomaly in youth speaker world.

Uh, there was a power and a love and a self-control um uh about him that we didn't see every week.

Um, and by the way, on staff behind our back, before he would get in, you're like, McClendon's showing up.

Everybody confess your sin.

He'll see right through you.

And it's just uh uh they talk about the prophets of old, like Samuel.

Like when they showed up, you're like, oh man, this can't be good.

Like if you're a sinful people, when someone walks through the door that you know has the holiness of God, you're like, uh, okay.

Hey, I already told the Lord I'm sorry about this, but just so you know.

Uh I was young, rebellious, hurt, wounded, tender, and trying to figure out what God had for me.

Um, and your pastor pastored me.

And he took an interest in me, and he sh and I'm glad he did.

Um, and he's passed what I didn't realize is as powerful of a preacher he is, he's 10 times the kind of pastor uh offstage, one of the most generous um individuals I've ever met, one of the most trustworthy in the kingdom of God, and someone who taught me to risk hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and acting on it.

Um, so that's just to honor him and honor this place, and then also tell you uh he's going on sabbatical uh because he deserves it.

Uh, sabbatical is a fancy word for saying he needs a break from all of you.

You're a lot of work.

Uh um hopefully I can say those kind of things.

Um I want you to pray for him while he's on sabbatical, and I want you to bless him.

Um, it's a bold biblical reminder that we rest and we work from our rest.

Um, and that we want to allow him the ability to fan into flame the gift God has given him and not just burn out the embers.

And so he's gonna go away and he's gonna be refreshed and restored and hear from God, and you're gonna bless him while he does that, and you're gonna shove money in his pocket.

Uh, actually, don't give him money, by the way, because he gives it to other people.

Find out what he really needs.

His wife will say this his biggest problem is he doesn't do things for himself.

So you figure out a way how to bless him strategically and intentionally while he's spending time away.

Amen.

Amen.

Because you got when you got a healthy pastor and one who preaches the word of God clearly, that's something that should be honored, taken care of, and respected.

The point, though, is he is here to equip the saints to do the ministry.

We have not wholesaled out our priesthood to one man or woman who can speak from a stage.

Case in point.

Uh, I have four kids.

What I didn't tell you is I don't like saying very often is I also have four animals.

I don't know what we're doing.

I've had two dogs and two cats.

Don't even ask about the cats.

I ran over the first one.

I came home after a weekend trip.

There was two more.

And I just okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Um, two dogs.

Uh, and I actually thought we were thinning out the herd because I don't like spending money on them.

Like we the cat we never took to the vet.

Um, the dog only goes like when its toenails get eight inches long and can no longer walk.

Audrey comes up, my beautiful wife, who I love and live in mutual submission to, as I lead her.

Uh, says, I think the kids need a dog for Christmas.

And I I don't think they do at all.

Uh, she utters the word cava-pooh, um, which is a breed.

Uh, and I really am embarrassed to say that out loud.

Um, I grew a beard just so I could say the word cava-pooh and still feel like a man.

The side note, uh uh we're starting a house church together and we're trying to figure out how the finances are gonna work on it.

Um, one, it's gonna work by faith because God's my provider.

Two, I may start breeding dogs as a side hustle because all you've got to do is breed anything with a poodle and you can charge at least a thousand dollars.

That that accurate assessment of the market.

I don't care what's happening with cryptocurrency.

I know dogs are making lots of money, okay?

I don't care who's in the White House, it's dogs.

Enough about that.

I promise.

Let me get the plow on the ground in a second.

All that to say, we get we get a puppy, um, and it's time to start training it.

And I forget that that's never fun.

And as tough as I talk, I fall in love head over heels with puppies every single time.

Uh I want that dog near me all the time.

I love it, I miss it.

I FaceTime my kids last night, and after I got through my kids, I'm like, where's Helga?

Daddy loves you.

Yes, even all that stuff.

So I can talk as tough as I want, but uh uh tender with those dogs.

Love them.

We're trying to uh train them and figure out, okay, got to make sure we have a well responsible dog.

We already know the older one is just beyond hope and you just put up with it.

Um but this one is a puppy, it's got energy, we got to figure out how to do it.

Pastor buddy of mine gets a dog around the same time, and we never compare ourselves to each other pastors.

We're way too secure in Christ to do those things.

And so now that he's got a dog, then it's like, oh, who whose dog has behaved better, right?

Um so I said, Hey, what are you doing for training?

And he goes, Hey man, to be honest with you, uh, I hired a dog trainer.

Uh, they call him the doggy llama behind his back.

And I'm like, okay, I don't have money for that, but you teach me everything that guy's teaching you.

He said, but he came over to the house, I was super excited.

Uh I had actually been working with our new dog, and I brought out some treats, and I just wanted to impress the dog trainer.

Hey, sit.

Our dog sat, I gave him a treat.

Hey, lay down.

Dog lays down, give him a treat.

I'm like, this is going really well.

I mean, this dog's only two months old.

Look at all the things I've taught it to do.

Stay, stays there, gives him a treat.

And he goes, uh, okay, now you can teach me whatever you want to, but I just want to let you know I've already been training my dog.

And he said the dog trainer looked at him and said, uh, no, your dog is not trained.

Your dog is doing tricks for treats.

It has not been trained to be obedient to the master for its pleasure.

You need me to connect that?

I hope we're not here this morning doing tricks for treats.

That if I show up to a religious service, somehow I get a treat from heaven.

I hope we're here.

Because this is a day to celebrate.

Every day we're being trained and equipped in righteousness to be obedient to our Father in heaven, who gives good gifts.

Let's not forget that.

But we love him not because of the gifts we get he gives us, but because of who he is.

And some of us, when things get tough and when they get tight and we feel like it's been unfair week, we have a hard time and we turn into spoiled little adolescent, toddler-like tempered tantrums that go, why aren't you giving me this?

That's not fair.

Oh, beloved, you're right.

It's not fair.

But love, love stronger than fair.

And I learned a long time ago I don't want fair.

I want mercy.

And I want to be a part of God's justice.

And that's only possible through the life, the death, the resurrection, and the return of Jesus Christ.

And when he comes back, and when we stand before the great white throne of judgment, he's gonna ask us a question.

When he left, he gave us one message, and that is no one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

He's the way, the truth, and the life.

Right?

And he gave us one mission, just one mission, right?

Just one thing when he left.

What did he ask us to do?

To go to make disciples, to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

When you stand before Jesus and He asks you, Did you make disciples?

How will you answer?

It's the only thing Jesus is counting.

And it's the only thing Jesus is counting on.

It's his friends and followers to make friends and followers of Jesus.

Now, disciples determine sometimes we say it so many times in church, you go nose blind to it, right?

What do we mean when we say disciples?

We mean apprentices of Jesus, people who job shadow Jesus, people who we are going out with eyes to see and ears to hear.

How can I spiritually and intentionally invite those who believe and yet to believe into a spiritual relationship where I basically say, Hey, will you follow me as I follow Jesus?

And we have great examples of this.

This by this way, this is how we got the Bible.

This is why you and I are here.

It's because a bunch of dudes and some women that followed Jesus actually took them seriously on the commission to make disciples that make disciples.

And the question is, is it gonna end with us?

Are we gonna sell for religious goods and services and do tricks for treats?

Or are we gonna declare the works of God from one generation to the next and actually be able to stand before Jesus one day?

And when he says, Did you make a disciple?

you're gonna hear movement behind you.

One by one.

She discipled me.

She did.

And then you're just gonna watch the multiplying effects that after that person was discipled, and then this person was discipled, and this person was discipled because you were obedient to the message of Jesus.

And so no new content this morning.

Just a great gospel reminder.

Uh Samuel Johnson said it this way.

We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed.

My buddy Duke says it this way.

Chris, it's not just the content you teach, it's more about what you emphasize.

So we want to continue to emphasize God's word, your ability to hear it and obey it through disciple making.

If you have your copies of God's word, turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

And I'll read aloud for us.

As you're turning there, let me pray over us.

Holy Spirit, would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear?

Jesus, would you go before us in this text and make a way?

And together we say, speak, Lord.

Your servants are listening.

Amen.

Second Timothy, and we'll be in chapter one, and I'll read verses one through seven.

Paul, an apostle of Christ, Jesus, by the will of God, according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child.

I don't know why, I just love that phrase.

Is there someone who you've discipled that you can say, that's my beloved child?

Creating an extended spiritual family of blood and non-blood relatives?

That someone, as you're going to walk out further, that you pray for morning and night, and that when you see them, you're filled with joy.

To Timothy, my beloved child, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord, I thank God whom I serve as did my ancestors with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.

Who are the people that when you wake up in the middle of the night, you pray for?

First of all, if you're waking up in the middle of the night, maybe just ask God, who do you need on my heart?

Who do I need to pray for right now?

Some of your sweetest times of prayer will come in a third watch of the night.

You're welcome.

Three o'clock in the morning, two o'clock, the Lord wakes you up, can't go to sleep.

Oh maybe I need to be interceding for someone.

Who are those people that you need me to pray for?

As I remember your tears, I long to see you that I might be filled with joy.

There's such deep joy and lasting fruit in the nature of discipleship.

I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you as well.

For this reason I remind you, fan into flame the gift of God, which was in you through the laying on of hands.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but power, love, and self-control.

I'll say the word of the Lord if you'll say thanks be to God.

The word of the Lord.

So from what we can tell, Paul's probably on death row, writing letters to his disciples, to his fellow church planners and small group leaders, and Timothy's in Ephesus.

And he's encouraging him.

And he's saying, Hey, I know you're many tears, but I want to be filled with joy and I want to see you.

And I know how oftentimes you can get really, really scared in the context that you're in.

So just remember this: God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

I don't know about you, but I need to hear that every day.

But the call to discipleship with, at least in my life, forces me to encounter some of my greatest fears on a daily basis.

So I just want you to think for a second right now, what's the biggest fear that you got going on in your life right now?

If you want me to take the teeth off of it, it's called a worry.

But once it transfers into unbelief, that's when we have a stronghold of fear.

Are you like me that when something happens with your finances or your kids or in a close relationship, you go, and all of a sudden your mind just spins out this worst case scenario?

And then this, and then then this, and then then this, and then then this.

And all of a sudden, my my kid has just asked to see a counselor, and I'm going, how am I gonna pay for their funeral?

Like you realize it to get two and a half seconds, you've gone down this horrific road of nightmarish things where the Lord is not present in any of it.

And all of your greatest fears are coming true.

And I realize I'm making an agreement with fear and unbelief in that moment.

And I have to sometimes have to openly rebuke it and go, no, no, in the name of Jesus.

The light has shined in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.

I believe that you've given us a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control and self-control to discipline my thoughts.

Because a mind ruled by the flesh is death, but a mind ruled by the spirit is life and peace.

And I gotta keep repeating that over and over and over again.

Because I believe I can be transformed by the renewing of my mind, thinking a different way, learning new muscle memory and patterns, knowing that God is transforming us from one degree of glory to the next.

The problem is it's not just for me, it's for us.

That the second I roil down and reduce my Christianity, my relationship with Jesus, all for my own comfort and convenience, and I refuse to step out into the radical reorientation of making disciples that make disciples, of refusing to say, once I get here, once I learn this, once I have this amount of money in my bank, once I get this much time back in my pocket, then I'll intentionally choose to invite people in my life to disciple.

When I say that time will never come, and I'm choosing to do it here and now because there's only one message, it's Jesus, and only one mission to make disciples that make disciples, and I will not stand before the throne of God and say thanks for the great commission.

Oops, sorry, it became the great omission.

Paul is saying to Timothy, and he said it here seven other times in seven different of his letters, follow me as I follow Jesus.

That's discipleship.

Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

You're gonna see some things that you should imitate, imitate those.

You're definitely gonna see some things you shouldn't.

Don't imitate those.

Follow me as I follow Jesus.

How does that sound to say?

Good?

Isn't it a little bit awkward?

Doesn't it sound a little bit cocky, a little bit pious, a little bit holier than now?

You're like, that's fine for you, preacher boy, and your skinny jeans and your red shoelaces.

It's not how we roll down here in Texas, okay?

I ain't making disciples that make disciples.

That's what I paid a pastor for, okay?

That tithing to aka tipping, it better be good.

No.

Uh actually, our job is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.

So if you're not making disciples, we have categorically failed as our calling.

Follow me as I follow Jesus.

Say that out loud, by the way.

Follow me as I follow Jesus.

Have you ever said that to another human being?

Do you want to?

Are you called to?

Well, let's figure out how to do it.

And here's what it elicits in your heart, right?

You got this experience, like, follow me as I follow Jesus.

Oh my gosh, as soon as you follow me, you're gonna realize I'm not Jesus.

You're gonna see stuff in my life, like, oh my gosh, that's not good.

It feels like, man, I got well, just give me some time.

I gotta be able to deadlift the Ten Commandments.

I gotta be able to pray and heal COVID in a single bound, right?

I should be reading the New Testament in Greek and praying in Hebrew.

Some people think it's tongues, it's just actually Hebrew, okay?

Man, power, love, and self-control.

It's just not, I'm just not seeing a lot of it in my life.

What if it's waiting for you actually on mission field?

What if there's only a certain power of Jesus that you can access when you actually go with him on mission?

What if you'll realize, oh my gosh, I never realized I had the gift to be able to do this, but it was called out because I was discipling someone and it was needed.

And then you're gonna realize you're gonna go back in your spiritual heritage and realize, oh my gosh, this has been woven in my story.

Because a lot of us are so busy and broken, we're just living our lives, we're not interpreting our stories through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That God has his fingerprints all over you, and he's given you a unique gift, unique calling, and unique works for you to step in, which he created in advance for you to do, and that only you can do in your family, in your school, in this town, in your situation, with your limits and your liabilities.

I'd even so go far as to say this some of you have sacred wounds.

In which the enemy intended for evil, but God's turned to good, and so you're able to speak with power and authority in certain areas where you have experienced firsthand burning it all to the ground.

And you realize that the Lord is going to speak through you resurrection power, and you're going to find healing as other people heal when they walk through the same kind of woundedness you did.

And you're going to realize, oh my, what was that me?

Yeah, that's power.

That's love.

And that's self-control.

Because you're not ruled by your appetites, your ambition, or your desires.

You're ruled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And when self-awareness leads to self-sacrifice, which leads to self-control.

Actually, I said that wrong.

Self-awareness should lead to self-control, which then leads to self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

Too many of us are just camped in and tell me more about me.

I'd love to hear about me.

I can get wrapped up in this.

Ooh, another tool that tells me about my personality and all this other fun stuff.

Yes, great.

Great tools for self-awareness.

Self-awareness is meant to lead to self-control, not an excuse.

Oops, sorry, that's just who I am.

Uh uh-oh.

That maybe be who you are, but that's not who Christ says you are.

Self-awareness leads to self-control, which leads to self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

The only thing Jesus is counting, and the only thing Jesus is counting on, is the fact that his friends and followers are making friends and followers.

That this week that you will be prompted by the Holy Spirit to say, follow me as I follow Jesus.

It doesn't have to be that creepy, by the way, it can sound like this.

Can we get a cup of coffee?

Hey, can I hear your story?

Hey, I I was reminded this Sunday in church to be intentionally investing in other people, and I just wondered if you wanted to join me with that, where we have a consistent time around God's word and we speak into each other's life and ask each other difficult questions.

Hey, I've noticed you and I've seen some of the things that you're walking through.

I've walked through those and I see you on a trajectory that I was on, and I just wondered if, hey, we could start meeting and start talking about some of the things that I see in your life.

Maybe that's a little bit less less creepy.

Or if the Holy Spirit leaves, walk up.

Hey, follow me as I follow Jesus.

I feel like the Lord's intentionally calling me to come alongside of you and to learn some of the things I've learned, and I'll probably learn from you as well.

But I realize that I've just been attending religious services and doing a lot of good things for God, but I haven't been making disciples with God.

And I'm not trying to win the approval of Jesus.

I already have that, but because I have it, I have power, love, and self-control.

And I know you don't think you know enough.

I know you think there's people more qualified.

But God is calling each one of you to expand the kingdom to personal discipleship and relationship.

Everybody okay?

I'm reminded of your sincere faith.

Sincere here uh means literally uh without wax.

It comes from the Latin sin without, sear is wax, and I think it's pointing to two two objects that Paul could have in mind here.

One is when a chiseler and a sculptor is cutting out a sculpture, if they make a mistake, they stick wax over top of it so that your eye can't pick it up.

Or if there's a pot or a vessel to carry water in, you you want it to hold water, right?

If it is without wax, which means someone has gone back and plugged a hole in it so that it doesn't leak, it's called a sincere vessel.

He's saying your faith is without wax.

Aren't you glad that God uses cracked cups to pour water?

And you want to know what's gonna be fun?

Is when you start discipling and you go to pour out that water, and by the time it hits the other person, the Lord's transformed it into wine.

It's one of the greatest prayers I got for preaching from a guy named uh Greg Mott.

Um everyone asks you on your team, Hey, you ready to preach?

You ready to preach?

Yeah.

And he said, Well, it's just water.

But I'm praying the Lord will turn it into wine.

I know your life just feels like water.

You put it in the hands of Jesus, he'll turn it into wine.

And it'll be new wine.

For people who are dying of thirst to hear about the glory and the goodness of God translated through your language and your relationships.

That faith, sincere faith, first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I'm sure dwells in you.

I just want to remind you that you have a spiritual heritage.

That if you take a look through the relationships that have influenced you most, your family of origin, your friends, where you've come from, usually you'll be able to find places where God inserts good.

I'm a third-generation Bible teacher, so that's kind of cool.

Okay, awesome.

There may be a spiritual legacy that I can live into.

That's not predetermined because of my father's expectations.

I don't think he had any expectations other than I would clean my room one day.

But I as I as I grow and realize, oh, there's a there's a spiritual legacy there.

And I want to honor my grandfather and my father.

I want to do it in different ways.

That's true to who I am.

But wow, that's pretty cool.

I also have to look in my family of origin and my family tree and realize there's there's spiritual heritage there for evil as well.

There's strongholds, places where we partnered with fear.

Uh the men in my family struggle with self-control, uh, infidelity, um, and overeating.

And Pete Scazario said it this way: I know Jesus is in heart, in your heart, but your grandfather's in your bones.

And so that means that I have things that I'm certain things that I'm prone to, right?

But I've been purchased for the righteousness of Christ.

So that there's a spirit of power, love, and self-control that acknowledges those things, but then steps forth in the power and the goodness and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and says, Thus far and no farther, my children will have a different legacy.

They will have one where we are saying, This has maybe described us, but it will no longer define us.

And I don't know about you, but some of you are sitting underneath the weight of generational sin and things spoken over you of guilt and shame, and you think there's no other options, and you're just doomed to be who your mother was, or doomed to be who your cousin was, or you're defining yourself by that thing that happened to you when you were seven that you had no control over.

And the power of the Holy Spirit wants to come in here this morning and say, I'm not giving you a spirit of fear that you can live in slavery to those things and the expectations of others.

I've given you a spirit of power, of love, and self-control to live into a new legacy and start a new extended spiritual family.

Because at some point, church, the goal is no longer growth, it's reproduction.

I don't want to be in my 40s and with my wife going, I can go boy, you can just keep growing.

I mean, I wish it was seven feet tall.

No, at this age and stage of my life, my goal is reproduction to make sure there are children, spiritual and biological, so that they can live into a legacy and expand the kingdom of God.

Here's the funny part is certain kinds of growth only come when you reproduce.

And if you're wondering why there's no power in your life, maybe it's because there's no mission in your life.

So what would it look like this week for you to step into that?

What would it look like for you not to walk out of here and go, gosh, can't wait till Neil preaches again, because that guy sure blew it?

And you can go, yeah, discipleship, that's fine.

Yeah, I've heard that before.

Yeah, tell me which class to sign up for.

All good things, all things we need.

But what does it look like for you actually to walk out of here and go, Holy Spirit, this week, if I'm not intentionally investing in discipling someone who maybe one day I can call my beloved child in the Lord, would you speak to me about who that might be?

And would you give me the power to have a conversation about it?

I think some of us need to wake up and repent that slowly but slowly life's gotten so busy and we've had every excuse in the world, and it has been difficult for a lot of us, and difficult more difficult for most of us.

And we still yet to find our bearings.

But the mission never comes at a time when it's comfortable or convenient.

I would say to you that in fact Jesus usually comes at the worst time.

When he calls Peter, Peter's almost bankrupt, he's tired, he's frustrated, he's been fishing all day, and that's when Jesus says, Hey, come follow me.

Miraculous provision, just so that you can drop it, leave it, and follow me.

To do what?

Become fishers of men.

And as you guys like to say, God doesn't fish with a spear, he fishes with a net.

You think you can go back out and let your nets down again?

I know it's been a long night.

I know it's been frustrating.

I know you've tried before and it hasn't worked.

Will you go back out into the deep waters and drop them again?

And see if the Lord won't provide.

See if the Lord won't expand his family specifically in and through you.

Amen.

So we like to preach the word of God clearly and then give your soul some space to respond.

So there's gonna be some questions up on the screen that serve as a prompt.

If you need them, great.

If the Lord's already speaking to you, make sure you partner with that, write it down, and be obedient to it.

You can take a picture of this with your phone if you want to.

These are a great conversation starter as we leave from this place.

But we've gotten to this moment so that you can hear the word of God and respond in obedience.

So the question is what is God saying to me?

And what do I need to do about it?

Because we want to walk out here and make sure we're not the kind of people who build our foundation on the sand, but build it on Jesus' word in our obedience.

Let's listen together.

Lord, thank you for your word today.

We pray that it would bear fruit, that the gospel would go out and bear fruit because of what we've heard.

We pray that you would make us a prepared people, fit us for heaven, to live with you there because of the power that's come.

Through not just hearing the gospel, but actually speaking the gospel.

May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you.

We pray this.

And all God's people said, Amen.

Amen.

Thank you so much for your presence with us today.

Uh, there's a few things I want to make you aware of.

We're gonna watch an announcement video, and then uh I would invite Chris come and close us with a blessing.

Uh first, we have a study that starts this week for our women.

Uh, the deadline to register is today.

Uh, so avail yourselves to that.

You can just go to our website, grandparkway.org/slash events, and take care of that.

Ladies, that'll meet here on our campus.

You will not want to miss it.

Uh second, if you are new, we would love to know that you're here.

There's going to be some pastors down in the front of the stage.

Uh, Chris will always also be here.

Uh if if he said something today that stirred something in you, or you've got any questions, anything, our pastors will be down here uh just to meet with you, pray with you.

We'd love to know you're here.

Uh today's the day you worship through giving.

We've got boxes by the doors for your tithes and offerings.

And then finally, we want to make you aware of something going on in the life of our church.

So turn your attention to the screens.

That our uh students can be taken out of the environment that they're in every day.

That's a very busy environment.

We want them to focus on on uh one or two things for a period of time.

I love going to student camp because it lets me hang out with my friends um and meet new friends.

Um, but also because every time I go, I feel like God reveals something to me that I didn't know before, and it just helps me grow in my faith with Him.

You know, you don't have to be a strong believer to go to camp.

Either way, you learn something new that you didn't know before.

And even if you don't, you know, have a lot of good friends at the beginning, when you get there and spend a whole week with the same people, you're bound to make some new friends and some fun memories, and just learning more about God around other people who desire to know God just like you.

I enjoy being around um kids uh and seeing them grow, seeing uh what makes them tick, uh seeing them um uh get a deeper relationship with Christ and and uh helping them um work through some things that that they have to maybe see someone who's had a little experience in life.

I love playing games, I love, you know, playing Dodge Bob and just talking with people, but also who is small groups too, you know, just hanging out with girls your age and just like having an honest talk about, you know, hey, this is what's going on in my life and this is where God's leading me to, and just being open and honest with each other.

I mean, I grew up in church, but I never really, you know, decided, you know, this is something I wanna pursue until probably this summer after.

And I just felt the Holy Spirit speak into me, you know, just saying just throughout the year, you know, like I hardly really thought about God, you know.

I showed up to church on Sundays, you know, tell my friends and then I kinda just leave it there and just leave.

Um but when I got to camp, you know, it just kinda made me realize how much, you know, I needed God and how much God loved me.

And so, you know, that's when I just realized I'm what am I doing?

Like, I just need it was just a like a lifelong moment, you know, just knowing that I've been in the dark for so long.

And now, like, I want to make the decision to know God and live my life out for Christ.

What do you say to others to encourage them to you're missing out.

It's a lot of fun.

If if you don't you don't go and and uh really see um what's going on with the next generation, yeah, you're just missing out because the picture that you get when you watch TV or you just see at a glance kids around you in whatever location you are, um you miss getting to see the promise of the next generation.

And we need more adults that are just willing to play basketball um all the time or just willing to just talk to us and just being open and honest with us.

Um because it makes us feel like you know we're important and you want to hang out with us and you want to build a relationship with us.

To sign up for student camp, head to grandparkway.org slash events.

Would you stand up with me if you're comfortable?

Would you put your hands out in a posture of receiving?

I'd love to speak a prayer blessing over you.

May you remember that you don't have to be a perfect example, but may you realize you absolutely must be a living example.

You're leaving a legacy either way, might as well pick the right one.

May you fan into flame this week, the sincere faith that's been formed through you and in you by people who chose to make disciples.

And may you this week reject, rebuke, and regurgitate faithless fear in all forms, and understand that the Spirit has given us power and self-control.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

You are dismissed.