The Greatest Stories Ever Told

He is a star breathing God.

Do you believe that today?

Amen, amen.

It's a good day to be in the house of the Lord.

There are so many new faces here this morning.

If you are on staff here at Springhouse, would you stand for just a moment?

If you're on staff, stand, stand.

And if you guys in front will kind of turn around so they can see your face here.

These people are gonna be in the foyer this afternoon, right after the gathering.

Meet them.

If you are new here, we would love to meet you.

We'd love to know your name, get to know your story a little bit, and just invite you to

be a part of Springhouse.

Welcome this morning.

We're glad you're here.

You guys can be seated.

Guys, it is a new day, and it is a new year.

And I'm so glad that he is making all things what?

Brand new, right?

He's making all things new, and I am excited about what God is doing in 2025.

Real quick before we get going here in our new series, a couple of announcements to get

us all on the same page.

We do have a midweek gathering starting this Thursday night, and I pray that as part of

your new year thing that you have decided to create some capacity to be here with us

on midweek.

It is rich.

It is good.

Here are all the offerings for our kids and youth.

We have preschool.

We have elementary programming, middle school and high school youth.

And then young adults are gonna meet right after the gathering at 715.

We want you to be a part of that.

And then for the adults, Pastor Barbie is going to be doing a series called What Giants?

And so I want you to come and be a part of that.

I know it's gonna be rich.

I know that she's prepared for you guys.

So 6 o'clock Thursday, come and be with us.

And then next Sunday, next Sunday at 530, we're gonna have a chili cook-off.

And now I've been told that people have been signing up to say, "I'm coming to eat chili,"

but that's not what the sign-up is for.

The sign-up is to say, "I'm going to bring some chili," okay?

So we're taking names at the door.

If you've signed up, we expect you to have some in your hand.

That right, Pastor Justin?

Okay?

No.

But seriously, we need you to sign up to bring some chili, be in the cook-off, come

and eat with your family.

Kids ministry is gonna be available.

And the reason we're doing that is because immediately following at 630, we're gonna

have a family vision casting meeting.

If you're wondering what the Lord has in store for us for 2025, come that night.

We're gonna be sharing a lot.

There is a lot of information to convey.

We have some transitions happening, some new staff members, new ministries.

And I wanna share my heart about 2025 with you.

So please make a plan to come and be a part of that special gathering next Sunday.

Does that sound good?

Say yes.

All right, all right.

Guys, it is 2025.

The greatest stories ever told is where we're going this year.

We're gonna lean in to the Word.

How many have appreciated Pastor Justin's message last week about reading the Word?

And let me tell you something.

There are some of you in here.

There are undoubtedly some of you in here that it is now the fifth day of the month

and you have already stopped reading in the plan.

You said, "Well, I'm gonna toss in the towel."

Can I tell you today's a brand new day?

You can pick it up and start right where you are right now today.

And here's the thing.

Some of you said, "I didn't get a printout," as the excuse for you not reading the Word,

okay?

Here's the thing.

Thursday night, we got 100 more here.

So come and get your copy so you can follow along with us in the reading plan or get online,

okay?

The greatest story ever told, we're gonna go through some of this and it is going to

be amazing because our God is amazing and He's at the center of every story.

Would you stand with me this morning?

We're going to read two verses, probably familiar.

Today is an introductory message, okay?

It's an introductory message to the greatest stories ever told.

Let's read together.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.

The old has gone.

The new is here.

All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry

of reconciliation.

And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."

Father, I thank you that you illuminate the darkness.

And I thank you, Lord, that you have woven us, you have so graciously woven us into your

story.

I pray, Lord, today, Lord, as words come out of my mouth, I pray that they would pierce

our hearts for eternity.

Lord, that you're anointing your rest here, Father, and we'll give you all the glory for

what happens in this place.

We love you today.

And everybody said, "Amen."

You may be seated.

The greatest stories ever told.

The greatest stories ever told.

Today, I want to remind you of an incredible truth, and it is this.

You are a part of the greatest story ever told.

You are a part of the great...

Who, me?

Yes, you.

Couldn't be.

No, for real.

You are a part of the greatest story ever told.

This is not just a story about creation, heroes of the faith, or far-off events.

It's a story that includes you, and it includes me.

The Bible tells us that God is the author of life, and his story is one of redemption,

reconciliation, and restoration.

From creation to the cross, God has been speaking light into darkness.

Isn't that an amazing thing?

To be able to speak light into dark situations.

Bringing order to chaos, and reconciling the world to himself.

And here's the good news.

He has written you into the story.

Not as a bystander, but as an active participant.

As an active participant.

It all begins with an understanding that you were uniquely created and designed with a

purpose by the God who breathed stars.

This is what the word says in the book of Psalms, "You created, God, my inmost being.

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When was the last time you praised the Lord God Almighty just because you are?

Just because you be?

Just because you're here?

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You know what that means?

You were not a mistake.

How many people walk around in this life thinking, "I was a mistake.

I was not planned to be here.

My life is insignificant.

I'm a mistake."

Can I tell you that is a lie from the pit of hell.

That is a lie from the enemy.

You are not a mistake.

You are a significant part of God's story.

And you are included in this story.

This evolving, wonderful story written by the Lord.

The Bible opens with God creating the heavens and the earth.

And if you read the plan this week, you would know that.

His first act is to speak light into darkness.

A moment that sets the stage for everything else to come.

But His story didn't stop there.

We were lost in sin.

God sent His son Jesus to bring light into the darkness of our hearts and make us new

creations.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has gone, hallelujah, and the new has come.

The new has come.

Your story is a part of God's masterpiece.

The same God who brought light into the world at creation has brought His light into your

life, making you a new creation in Christ.

Because of Jesus, you are a new creation.

You are a new creation.

The old has gone, the new has come.

But sometimes there is this thought that I don't have a story or my story doesn't matter,

especially when we fall into the trap of comparing our lives to other people's lives and our

testimonies to other people's testimonies.

And we say, I don't have an exotic testimony, so mine must not be significant.

Can I tell you that the people who have exotic testimonies, if they really are transformed

by Jesus Christ, those who have exotic testimonies would never wish you to have traveled there

down the roads that they've traveled.

They would never want you to go through the pain and the turmoil that they have, and many

of them have dark shadows, and I'm gonna talk about this in a little while, dark shadows

in their past that still need to be addressed.

For those of you who have walked with the Lord and have been faithful and have not slipped

down the slides of the world and gravitated to what the enemy has asked of you, you have

a great testimony in the fact that God redeemed you.

And let me tell you, everyone's on the same playing field because the Bible tells us that

everyone, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, which means that the

wages of our sin is death.

And guys, let me tell you the good news, the most miraculous thing that's happened in your

life is you once were dead and now you're alive.

That is your testimony.

That is your story.

And no one gets out of that deal.

Nobody gets to skip because the board tells us our righteousness is like filthy rags.

I have people that say I've been Christian all my life, been in church, been raised,

I've been in church, I've been a Christian all my life.

There has to come a point, believers, friends, unbelievers, there has to come a point when

you acknowledge I am a sinner.

I do not deserve the grace of God, but yet he gave it to me through his perfect life,

lived here on earth, put on a cross, died, and he raised three days later.

And those who will believe on him, those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And I invite you this morning, and I'm asking the Holy Spirit, that some of you are saying,

hey, I'm here, I'm a once in a while church attender, or I've wore the shirt, or maybe

I'm plugged in, and I've just been a Christian all my life.

Let me tell you something, there needs to be a time, a moment in time where you confess

with your mouth and that you believe in your heart and then you will be saved.

That's what the word of God tells us.

That's what the word of God says.

Because of Jesus, you are a new creation.

You have a testimony, you have a story.

But here's the thing, yours is an important story, but it's not the only story.

Yours is an important story in the larger picture, but yours is not the only story.

You see, here's what we have a tendency to do, and I'm talking to those who've been even

walking in the faith for a long time, we have a tendency to give our life to the Lord.

To say, Lord, I want you to save me.

I want you to save my soul.

I want to come out of this pit of darkness.

And now I'm saved, hallelujah.

Praise Jesus, I'm saved, and I am now in the spotlight.

Because no longer are my prayers about eternity, my prayers are, Lord, I need you to bless

me with this house.

I need you to bless me with this job.

I need you to open this door of opportunity.

I need you to heal this sickness.

I need you to do this, this, and this.

All of the case of building how you can have a better life here on earth.

And here's the thing, our prayers have become me-centric instead of him-centric.

Our prayers have become, have evolved to a place where the savior of the world, the God

who breathes stars, the one who pulled you out of death and put you into life, here we

are instead of acknowledging him, we're saying, God, I want to have this big, great, beautiful

life here on earth.

Guys, when did we stop caring about the lost?

When did we stop losing our tears for the things that break God's heart?

We are passing people traveling by all the time.

And let me tell you, those of us who have stories in our life of people in our life,

our testimony, it touches other people's lives.

It ripples into other people's lives.

Just because God has forgiven and forgotten your sin doesn't mean that the natural consequences

of the choices you make don't still exist.

He is a faithful and just God.

He is a faithful and just God.

But let me tell you something, there is a story that is continuing to unfold, and it

has nothing to do with how big, bad, and rich you can become.

It has everything to do with how he can be glorified.

The Lord tells us when we lift the name of Jesus, he will draw all men to himself.

Does your story magnify Jesus Christ?

Does your story exude the heart of Christ in your coming and your going?

Or is it all about you in the spotlight?

Yours is an important story, but it's not the only story.

It's Christmastime, just got out of Christmastime.

We screen movies, and we watched the Lord of the Rings just recently, the first one.

I'm just aching to watch the next one because you get into them and you're just in.

Anybody like the Lord of the Rings?

You've watched the Lord of the Rings?

I know Kaylin Burkett loves it.

She just watched it for the first time.

I'm calling her out.

Where is she?

Right over here.

Yeah, did you like it?

You have to say you like it whenever I'm putting Frodo on the screen, right?

Here's the thing.

He's a significant part of the story, but the story doesn't happen without other people.

His mission to destroy the ring was essential, but he could not do it alone.

Sam carried him when he was too weak.

Aragorn fought battles.

Frodo couldn't.

Gandalf provided wisdom and guidance.

Each character's story was critical to the success of the mission.

Similarly, your story is one thread in a tapestry of God's greater plan.

The Lord tells us that for just as each of us has one body with many members, and these

members do not have the same function, so in Christ, though many, we though many, form

one body.

Do you recognize and understand post-salvation, God has a plan and a purpose for you to serve

his kingdom, for the story to evolve?

God is not about bench sitters.

He's about active participants.

He's not about spectators.

He's about you getting into the game.

He did the work.

He did the hard work on the cross, and then he says on top of that, I'm going to, we were

reading in Genesis 1, I posted this in the guy's thing, and I hadn't caught this before,

but you know the first thing God does?

He creates everything in Genesis, creates it all, just all of the things, creates man

and woman, and it says the very first thing he does, here's everything, and then it says,

then he chooses to bless them.

What kind of God do we serve?

I died on the cross.

I rose again, and now I want to bless you.

I want to equip you.

I want to provide everything for you.

I want to continue to run after you.

What more do we want from this God?

That we would not attach ourselves to his story, to him, and live lives that would honor,

honor him.

Our stories are connected.

Some of you know this man right here.

This is Pastor Wayne Berry.

Today marks 30 years that Pastor Wayne stepped foot into this house, 30 years.

Incredible man of God, incredible worship leader, psalmist, songwriter.

He has fingerprints on many of the people's hearts in this house, but I venture to say

that there are a majority of you in here who, while you may have seen him, and you may have

seen him kind of wander on the stage every now and then, he likes to kind of just wander

up here.

Though some of you have seen him, few of you probably really know him.

Let me tell you why that is.

30 years in this house, I would say Wayne is a pillar of the story and the legacy and

the heritage that is Springhouse and what God has done here.

Few of you actually know him right now.

It's because his mantra of his life is this, "I must decrease so he can increase."

I must decrease so he can increase.

I so believe that when Wayne Berry sees his savior, there is a reward on top of a reward

on top of a reward for this man's faithfulness to the kingdom.

And when he gets this reward, he's going to lay it back down at Jesus' feet.

It's going to be an incredible moment because he lived a faithful life that said, "God,

you increase.

I'm going to decrease."

Dedric Bonhoeffer said this, "Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question

their disbelief in God."

Let me ask you something.

When unbelievers see you, I'm talking about unbelievers at the grocery store that you

don't know, when they see your life and how you react and how you respond and what you're

wearing on your face and what you're saying and who you're hanging with and what your

life represents, are they questioning their disbelief in a God who is sovereign and real

and wonderful because you exude Christ Jesus?

The fruit of the Spirit is evident, love, peace, joy, patience, self-control, self-control,

self-control.

Some of you lost your salvation on your last Facebook post.

I'm like, "I thought they were being Spirit-led."

This is not a Spirit-led post right here.

Do non-believers question their disbelief because of the way you order your life, because

of the way you live your life?

Your testimony is powerful because it reflects God's work in your life.

But it's important to remember that your story is just one chapter in a much larger narrative.

Just as creation wasn't complete with one element, God's kingdom isn't complete with

just one person.

May I suggest to you today that there are no hidden figures in God's story.

There are no hidden figures in God's story.

I talked a few moments ago about people with exotic testimonies.

You may be sitting here thinking, "I've got a pretty exotic testimony.

God supernaturally did something in your life and pulled you out."

Let me tell you something.

It's a wonderful thing when God reaches into our lives and changes the trajectory of our

journey.

It's a wonderful thing when He pulls us out of death and puts us on a course to life.

But may I ask you something, especially those who have those exotic testimonies?

When is the last time that you prayed for the people who are affected by your BC actions?

When was the last, when I say BC, I mean before Christ, when was the last time?

See, here's the thing.

We get saved and all of a sudden we act as if we just got these silhouettes in the background.

We got these silhouettes of people in the background that were affected because here's

the thing.

I slept with her.

I had a one-night stand.

I did this.

I drugged it up with this person.

I committed a crime with this person.

I ran this person off the road.

I gossiped about this person.

I put this person down.

I disrespected this authority figure in my life.

This was before I came to new Christ.

But guess what?

He rescued me and now I'm free.

And now I just march forward in the Lord.

But I've got silhouettes in my past.

People that also have stories.

You're not the only one who has a story.

And the destructive behavior of your past affected other people's stories.

And for some of them, they don't know the Lord today because of some of the things that

perhaps we did.

Now this is not to shame anybody in the room.

The word says, "There is therefore no condemnation in Christ Jesus."

But let me tell you something.

The victory is that he has covered your sin with his blood and he has forgotten it from

the east to the west.

But he has not forgotten about these people.

There is a broken world that you're attached to.

And so this is why guys, I am not confident enough as a leader to get on Facebook or a

billboard and say, "Come look at me.

Come watch me preach.

Come do all that."

I can't do that because guys, I don't want to even scratch the surface of taking any

fame away from Jesus Christ.

I can't put myself there because here's the thing, I'm the most selfish person in the

room.

If I had my flesh choice, it would be this all day long.

Kevin O'Dea.

What do you want to do today, Kevin O'Dea?

What do you want to do?

God, why don't you just come down into my life and I'll tell you what I need you to

do for me.

As opposed to, "God, you saved my life.

What can I do for you, Lord?

What do you need me to do?"

And he says, "Kevin, I've given you every tool you need to reconcile yourself to the

people of your past that you have affected, that you've spoken to, that you've disrespected."

I'm reminded of a story, I've told this before, where I was right out of high school and my

buddy Isaac and I, we went to a place called The Foundry.

We would worship until one or two in the morning.

It was the craziest thing and it was wonderful.

We were there and I'm in the middle of worship on one of these sessions and I'm just there

right soaking in worship and this big dude comes up behind me and bear hugs me from the

back.

We are just there for five minutes just swaying like this.

I said, "Man, this is odd, but we're just going to sway in worship.

Just focus on the Lord."

As the song is over, he takes me and he turns me around and I see his face and it is pasted

with tears.

It's just tears and snot.

He looks at me and he says, "You're Kevin O'Dea."

You know what I said?

"I am."

He said, "You don't remember me probably, but you and I were in high school together

and I want you to know I hurt you in high school in ways that you don't even know."

He said, "I bad-mouthed you.

I couldn't stand the things that you did.

I talked bad about you.

I manipulated situations that would intentionally hurt you, but I've given my life to Christ

Jesus and I need you to forgive me."

I said, "You've lost your mind and kicked him."

No, I said, "Listen, of course I would forgive you because I've been forgiven.

I don't even remember what it was that you did, but know that it didn't affect me because

Christ Jesus gives me validity and confirms my identity in him.

I don't have to worry about what you did in the past, but let me tell you something.

Be liberated and set free, brother."

My friend Arwen Jones was in Florida and I went on a spring break trip.

She was with a bunch of friends and I went down to meet them and they were on this train

and they were going around the area.

This train was a tour train and you have to pay to get on this train, right?

So I'm there and I see Arwen and the train is about to pull off and she's just yelling,

"Come on, just jump on, come on, get over here."

I'm thinking, "I've got to pay for a ticket."

So I just run and I just jump over the thing and get on the train.

So we're there, we're hanging out, we're at a stop.

There's like 13 or 14 stops and they're doing the whole thing and the spill of the tour.

And all of a sudden, at one of the stops, the train guy gets off, the tour guy gets

off the thing and he starts to go through and punch tickets.

Well, I don't have a ticket.

I've been invited to be on the train, but I don't have a ticket.

And so I'm getting concerned, I'm getting worried and I'm looking and I'm just kind

of going, "Arwen, this guy's getting kind of close.

I don't know what to do.

I'm not supposed to be on this train.

I hopped the fence.

I'm not supposed to be here."

And as I'm trying to tell her this, I look and she has made a beeline for the bathroom.

She has jumped off the train to leave me high and dry to contend with my consequence for

being on the train.

(congregation laughing)

Sometimes we invite people into situations they shouldn't be in and then we jet the minute

the going gets tough and leave them there with the consequences and the rubble.

And some of us have testimonies with people in our lives that we have affected and because

we don't, we don't like, guys, this is uncomfortable.

We don't want to think about this back here.

We don't like to think that we would have played a part in scarring somebody's life.

That one night didn't really mean anything.

It was just a quick fling or whatever.

Well guess what?

It could have changed her trajectory for her entire life and she was just a, okay.

And there's a multitude of different things.

When is the last time you asked the Lord to break your heart for the people that you messed

with, that you were a part of?

When was the last time you asked the Lord to break your heart for them?

It's easy to forget about it when they're silhouettes, when they're figures.

But can I tell you something?

As much as you affected people in your past who are silhouettes, you can impact and affect

people for the kingdom of God through your story, through your redemptive story.

And here's the thing, when we humble ourselves enough to confer enough dignity to the people

that we have impacted in a negative way, then all of a sudden there's some faces and some

names that begin to pop up.

You see, it's easy to forget about people when we don't know who they are because they're

just shadows of the past.

But boy, it's much different when we see their face, when we see their name, when we understand

that behind these smiles are stories, some of them extremely tragic.

Some of them have stories that God, where God moved in a miraculous way.

These people have stories and guess what?

They're connected to their stories and they're connected to yours.

And it gets real when the face pops up.

And we start to say, "God, I am so much smaller than I thought I was.

I'm so much smaller.

I'm so less significant than I made myself out to be."

We have to get to a place where our life exudes.

I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation

to everyone who believes, everyone who believes.

Are you humble enough, especially those of us who have platforms and are in front of

people, are we humble enough to say, "I messed up.

Forgive me.

Your story is important.

Your story is a significant part of His kingdom."

And here's the thing.

When we do that, what happens is when we get small, He gets very big.

He gets very big.

Worship team, you can come out here.

We're going through the greatest stories ever told and here's what's gonna happen.

This is so glorious.

There's coming a day, the Bible tells us.

There's coming a day where you won't have to hear me tell somebody else's story.

You're gonna be with them.

You're gonna be sitting at the table and can you imagine Moses sitting across from you

saying, "This is what it was like when that bush didn't burn up."

What is it gonna be like when we're sitting across the table from David and he's got the

sling and he's telling, he's like, "Man, in that one, I had five stones.

Man, that one just went right to Goliath."

What is it gonna be like when you're sharing elbow room with Daniel and he's saying, "Man,

that lion's face was right here."

It's gonna be a glorious day because we're gonna hear the stories of God's provision

and His mighty work, but here's the kicker.

Are you ready for this?

This is what gets me.

It's true on the other side of the coin because David, who took down Goliath, John, he's gonna

look at you and say, "Tell me what God did in your life."

Moses is gonna look at you, Hannah, and say, "What was the redemptive story, Robert, in

your life?

I can't wait to hear your perspective of what God did and how He moved."

Hannah's gonna look at you, Tina, and say, "Tell me about your kids.

Tell me all about how the Lord blessed you because we're all a part of this story.

We're not disconnected from these people and they're not connected from you.

You're not connected from these and they are not disconnected from you.

We are part of the greatest story ever told."

Friends, what are you doing with your story?

Does it exemplify Christ or does it lift you up because every story, and I've asked every

teacher this series, and I knew I didn't have to say this because it's too easy to do, every

message is gonna point back to Christ because every story points to Him.

Every story points to Him.

And so, if I were to sum up the entire year that we're about to go in, the entire story,

if I were to say, "Here is the summation of the greatest story ever told," it would be

this, "Let there be light."

Let there be light because we serve a God who is out to eradicate the darkness.

And isn't it glorious that the very first thing we hear our God say, see our God say,

is the whole point of everything?

Let there be light.

Guys, are there dark figures in your past that you need to address?

Maybe there's sin patterns that you need to address that are still affecting you and affecting

other people.

I'm gonna share this next Sunday night, but one of the things I'm praying for this house

is that we would have tears for the lost.

Your genuine heartbreak for those who need to have the experience you've had in meeting

your Savior.

But guess who He's gonna choose to use?

Those who knew Him.

Those who know Him.

You are conduits of light in dark places.

What are you doing with your story?

Would you stand with me?

For those who are gonna minister this morning, would you come forward?

Let me tell you something Katie just sang about a star breathing God.

Don't tell me that a star, don't tell me that we serve a star breathing God and He can't

meet the rent that you've been praying for.

Don't tell me we serve a star breathing God and He can't touch you in the place, in the

area of your need.

Don't tell me that we sing about this star breathing God and He can't do for you what

your heart's desire and what your heart's longing for.

This day could be a day of reckoning and change in your life like none other if you allow

the Holy Spirit to move in your life.

But in addition to that, I believe as I'm convicted about this message myself about

figures that I've got to go back and say, "Lord, break my heart."

There are probably people you thought about and maybe you know their name.

I feel even more so for the ones that we forgot their names.

Maybe today is not about you coming once again to say, "Lord, bless me, do something for

me."

Maybe today is about you coming up and saying, "Lord, I need you to do something for them.

I've forgotten about what I did.

I forgot because you say I'm so thankful Lord that you saved me, but Lord, I don't know

where this person and this person and this person is now Lord, but I know you've forgiven

me.

Have you forgiven them God?

Have they seen you?

Would you put me in their path?

Would you put me in their path?

Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours."

Guys, I believe it's the single reason why he has not split the skies because he's still

waiting on that one.

He's still, and I'm so glad because if I was the one, I would want the chance to run home

to my dad, to my father, to my God.

Let's not lose hope.

Let's not grow weary in doing good.

Let's continue to be the light that Christ gives us for others.

And guys, could we be a church that is humble enough to say, "I need prayer.

I need to meet this Holy Spirit in this moment because I've got some people in my life I

need to be praying for."

You come today and agree with these people.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.

Let's worship.