Be Strong and Keep Watch | March 2, 2025

Alright, thanks guys.

No, uh, cheesy

sermon, intro, music

today, last week I

got in way too much

trouble with that

kissing sermon and

things got awkward.

I know.

But, uh, good to

see the anticipation

and excitement on

your faces today.

Yeah, what's

coming next?

Well, some good

stuff from God's

word, I hope.

Uh, hey, a little

clarification too.

Um, Josh talked to me

about this afterwards.

Our headset mic

broke a couple weeks

ago and we've been

fighting it, and then

we got another one

supposed to be here,

but then it's coming.

Maybe next week

we'll find out.

But evidently, I'm a

guy who talks with my

hands a lot and I had

my stuff like this.

I don't know, but

Josh pointed out

that I was flipping

off the congregation

a lot last week.

So I just want to

go on the record

as saying that

was definitely

unintentional and

if any of you guys

have big feelings

about that, please

know I love you.

And it wasn't a

subliminal message.

Um, now if you were

on your phone and

you looked up and

felt guilty, like

I was sending you

a message, maybe I

could live with that.

I don't know.

But not really.

Not really.

Oh man.

Good stuff.

So we were talking

a little bit about

some stuff kind of

nestled in Corinthians

and . As I've been

praying about this

week and looking at

some different things,

God has brought this

to my attention a

couple weeks ago and

I've been chewing on

wrestling with it.

And, uh, man, I'm

just kinda excited

to share this really

cool passage outta

First Corinthians

today and unpack it

together a little bit.

And I hope you find

it encouraging.

I think there's a call

to followers of Jesus.

Um, and, and you know

what's interesting?

We all have different

personalities, right?

Sometimes we read a

passage of scripture

and it's like just

this quiet, bubbly

brook, and there's

like a little

hummingbird and a

flower, and you're

like, Jesus, this

is my passage.

Ah, right?

And then others of

us are like, go punch

the devil in the face.

And we're like,

yes, my passage.

All right, we're good.

Right?

So this passage

this morning has a

little bit of a, a,

a guy bent to it.

But I gotta be honest

with you, I'm a

little, I'm a little

bent towards calling

guys to walk and lead

as men in the church

of Jesus Christ in

their homes and in

the world because.

God has a little

bent towards calling

men to lead in the

church of Jesus Christ

and in their homes

and in the world.

And so this morning,

I wanna share

something that Paul

says to the church in

Corinth that I think

is really powerful.

And he didn't just

say it to the church

in Corinth, he said

it to the church

all over Rome.

And he said it so

that we one day

would listen and hear

it, and it applies

whether you're a

man or a woman.

But we're gonna dive

into some really

cool stuff that God

calls us to here

this morning, and I

hope you find some

encouragement in this.

It's not a

complicated passage.

It makes a lot

of sense when you

read it and at

face value, you'll

probably be like,

I think I get it.

It makes sense.

First Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16:13

chapter 16, verse 13.

A lot of different

translations.

I'm pulling this

outta the ESV says

this, be watchful.

Stand firm

in the faith.

Act like men.

Be strong.

Be watchful.

Stand firm

in the faith.

Act like men

and be strong.

Now listen, I'm,

I don't consider

myself a professional

preacher, but I

would say that if you

were a preacher and

you read these four

phrases, you could

probably put together

what we might call in

the business a four

point sermon, right?

Pretty clear

, even an idiot.

Anyways, moving on.

So be watchful,

stand firm.

We're gonna

unpack this just

a little bit.

So let me talk to

you a little bit

about this idea

of being watchful,

because I've been

thinking about this

in some conversations

I've had recently

with some people.

And what this picture

really is here for

the church in Corinth,

this is kind of almost

a military angle that

Paul's working here.

He's talking to

people who understand

Roman occupation.

He, they understand

military engagement

and how things are,

you know, approached

from kind of a

military mindset.

Had several

conversations this

week, including this

morning, talking

with a guy about the

fact that we are in

a spiritual battle.

That there is a war

that rages right

up here between our

ears, that the enemy's

constantly throwing

lies and deception,

and we're called

to take captive.

Every thought, right?

Every imagination,

every lofty idea

that sets itself up

against the knowledge

of God we're to

demolish strongholds

and arguments

that the enemy

would throw at us.

And sometimes we just

don't live in this

reality that we're in

a spiritual battle.

We think things look

safe, things look

comfortable, and our

struggle is sort of

doing a little better

as a human being.

And that's not

the case, man.

We are in a spiritual

war against the

forces of evil and

darkness that exist.

And sometimes I

think other places

where it looks a

little more raw and

a little bit more

in your face, people

are a little bit

more well watchful.

And where we

live, we get kinda

lulled to sleep.

But man, make, make

no mistake, Satan

is not taking a

break from America.

He's not taking

a break from

Hamilton County.

He's at work

here trying to

do some serious

destruction, and we

have to be people

who pay attention.

And in the military,

we would say it

like this, and

some translations

use this phrase,

be on your guard.

And if you were a

soldier who was on

guard, you would be

doing this One very

simple principle,

you would be paying

attention, right?

We don't see this a

lot in the military,

in our country.

I don't know, maybe it

happens more than we

realize, but in Rome,

if you fell asleep

while you were on

guard and you weren't

paying attention,

you were executed.

I haven't seen that

a lot in the US

military, but the

reality is, is the

people who were

responsible to be

watchful and on

guard were paying

attention because

while their own life

mattered, right?

But really the

motivation behind

paying attention

and being on guard

wasn't just to protect

yourself, it was to

protect everybody

else around you.

One of the things Paul

calls the church to

do is to pay attention

and be watchful to

what's going on around

you, what's happening,

so that you can be

a protection for

other people so that

you're helping other

people not get into

a position where the

enemy has access and

destruction going on

in, in their life.

And I was thinking

about this for us

as, uh, we look at

this, make America

healthy again and all

the different things

happening culturally,

there's a lot, you

know, going on.

And I was thinking

about just this

phrase, paying

attention to what you

consume, you know,

as, as Americans

were consumers.

And I don't know

if you're like me,

I don't always pay

a lot of attention

to what I consume.

I'm a pretty good

consumer of pizza.

I don't read a lot of

the pizza ingredients.

Um, you might be

somebody who's like

one of those box

readers, right, who

slow down the progress

and the cereal aisle.

'cause you wanna

see exactly what

ingredients are in it.

Good for you.

Great job.

You might be like

my wife who, uh,

Hey Ganda, here's

the situation.

Jamie's helping

next door today.

So GA's in the

sweet spot.

So if you guys get

Ganda to roll the

eyes and do the,

what are you talking

about knucklehead,

that'll keep me

on task, right?

So as much as that,

much as that works,

we don't pay a lot

of attention to what

we consume sometimes

and maybe we're

starting to to to

pay attention more.

I don't know, maybe

you get a little

older, you realize

what's at stake

and you begin to

pay a little more

attention, right?

I was actually

thinking there's

probably a whole

sermon in just this

simple idea of paying

attention to what

you consume because

consuming is just

really what you maybe

put in your, and I

would just do these

right here, man, head,

heart, and hands.

And I wanna

challenge you to

think about this for

just two seconds.

This isn't the

four point sermon.

This is a tiny

little three point

sermon mixed into

the four point sermon

for bonus points.

No worries.

But.

What you put into

your head, what you

put into your heart

and what you put into

your hands, you're

consuming that stuff.

Had some interesting

conversations this

week with people about

the music they're

listening to and the

stuff that they're

just not even really

paying attention to.

Man, my dad used

to make me, man, I

remember driving in

the car to school and

we would, you know,

'cause dad wasn't in

there, we'd flip it

over to the current

hip hop station

or pop, whatever's

going on, right.

And we'd catch the

cool new song that

everybody liked and

then inevitably dad

would get in the

car and it's still

on the radio and we

forgot to change it.

And then he is like,

what you listening to?

And we were like,

I don't know what

Christy was listening

to, but I, I, I'm

going to find out Dad.

I'm disappointed

in her.

But my dad had this

thing about music

and he said this, if

you can sit down with

me and explain to me

why the lyrics that

you're listening to

are good for you and

they point you to the

principles that Jesus

wants us to follow,

I'm great with that.

I was like, well

dad, it sounds

really cool, right?

I did this with some

teens a few years ago.

They love

screamo music.

And I was like, Hey,

that's not music.

You're just.

I mean, you can

get in trouble

with your parents.

They'll scream at

you every, why don't

you enjoy that?

Right?

But so we, we

listened to this song.

I mean, I painfully

listened to the

whole song, and

they're like,

isn't that awesome?

And I was like, no,

it's horrible, but

I see why you would

think it's awesome.

I guess, what

are they saying?

And the guys said,

well, I mean, I, I

think it's like a

good, I think it's

kind of like a good

message about, you

know, whatever.

Right?

So we printed off the

lyrics and I had them

just read the lyrics

to me out loud and

you know, verse, you

know, sentence three.

They were like, I

don't think I should

read this to a Pastor

I was like, I don't

think you should read

this to yourself, bro.

Right?

So we did the

only thing we

knew how to do.

I tried to help

these young men and

I said, here's what

we're gonna do, man.

We pulled off a

version of the

song that was just

instrumental, which

Screamo instrumental

is tricky, right?

So we got the

instrumental track,

we laid it down, and

then we went online

and I was like, you

want some screaming?

You want some

screaming?

Let's do this.

We went to YouTube

and we found seven

videos of these

African-American

women preachers who

were 70 year olds.

Older screaming at

the congregation,

we overlaid it

to their music.

And then I played

that for them.

I was like, now

you got some

Jesus screamo.

What do you think?

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They weren't

impressed either.

I thought it

was brilliant.

Um, but they

didn't listen to

a lot of screamo

around me anymore.

So, but here's the

thing, what you listen

to, man, garbage in,

garbage out, right?

The stuff that goes

into your head,

you're absorbing it.

The principles, the

messaging, you're just

soaking it in and it

does not return void.

It does not just sort

of bouncing your ear

and back out like,

well, like the tune.

I like the stuff.

Listen, we gotta

pay attention to the

messaging that we're

consuming and getting

into our heads and

into our hearts,

and we carry around

these phones all

day long, endlessly.

And we're

consuming content

just constantly.

And most of the

time we're not

discerning, we're

not filtering, we're

not paying attention.

We're just . Soaking

it all in, man.

And our hearts, our

spirits are like a

sponge sometimes.

And we're just

soaking in the

world's messaging and

what's going on in

the world around us.

And then you watch it,

man, the stuff that

you've listened to

starts to accidentally

slip outta your mouth

in a conversation

and in a moment.

And I'm not saying

you can't listen to

some music that's

not all about Jesus,

but maybe there's

something to this idea

of being watchful of

what we are consuming

and putting in.

We need to be watching

for the enemy.

Where's he?

Where he is at

work for sure.

We need to be standing

our guard, right?

But some of that

being on guard is not

opening the side door

for the enemy and

inviting him to sit

in with us while we

watch the front gate

to see if he's coming.

Right?

And that sounds like

old man fuddy duddy.

And I'm super

sorry, right?

There's some really

great Christian

music out there.

There's some really

great secular

music out there.

There's kind of fun.

But.

Man, you gotta be

discerning and you

gotta pay attention.

And if you can't

defend what you're

putting in and if you

can't stand before

Jesus and say, Lord,

this is cool for me to

absorb this, I would

challenge you that,

uh, maybe you're being

a little disobedient

to what he calls us

to as his people.

And if you can,

that's great.

It doesn't mean

I'm gonna like,

it still probably

sounds terrible,

but so also in this

idea of watchful

is this word watch.

And I just wrapped

up basketball season

with uh, Jed, which

is a ton of fun.

And uh, man, I kind

of miss coaching.

And then after a

while, I don't miss

coaching at all,

but love basketball.

And I was thinking

about this idea

of watchful

with basketball.

And one of the things

we always talk about

in coaching and in

games, and if you've

ever sat in the stands

and you've watched

high school or junior

high basketball,

there's a phrase

about watching that's

really important.

And it's this

very simple

phrase, eyes up.

Right.

Holy cow.

The blood pressure

of watching a dude

streak wide open

to the basket while

somebody's dribbling

and staring at

their shoe laces is

maddening, right?

The opportunities

that get missed on

a basketball court,

because we don't

have our eyes up.

The danger that we

don't avoid on a

basketball court

because we don't have

our eyes up, man, I

learned more about

following Jesus on a

basketball court than

I did in a Sunday

school classroom.

That's probably

not totally true,

but I feel like it

applied and made

more sense to me.

Preacher be like,

well, pay attention.

Fix your eyes

on Jesus.

I'm like, I

don't know man.

Look for the open man.

Stay away from

the defender.

The defender's,

the devil.

The open man

is your fellow

follower, Jesus.

Oh, ding, that

makes sense.

I get it right.

Like some of the

metaphors and the

pictures that are

super clear on

the basketball

court, translate

to the scriptures.

You gotta have your

eyes up where you miss

everything and you put

yourself in positions

where you're gonna

go and walk right

into double teams in

trouble and messes.

We have to learn to

do that spiritually.

It's no different.

God calls us to

keep our eyes up

and be watchful.

I have a son who's

getting ready to do

the whole driving

thing, which I don't

wanna talk about that

right now, but, um,

a lot of increased

prayer lifetime.

Right?

But I remember the

first time, one of

the first times I

was driving with my

dad, man, and we were

just rocking between

those lines back and

forth, back and forth

until my dad was

gonna throw up on me.

And he is like, dude,

where are you looking?

And I was like, I'm

staring over the hood

to make sure I keep it

in the, in the lines.

He is like, lift

your eyes up man.

Look at the horizon.

'cause now things

are gonna not only

smooth out, but you

can see obstacles

coming and dangerous

things coming.

And I was like, ah,

now for him, that was

probably self-serving

'cause he didn't wanna

throw up anymore.

But also it taught me

a ton about getting

my eyes up in driving.

Be watchful.

Pay attention

as followers of

Jesus Christ.

Eyes up.

Watch what we're

putting in our

heads, our heart,

our hands in matters.

Stand firm

in the faith.

Stand firm

in the faith.

If you don't think

standing firm is

a really important

thing to Paul, you've

never read Ephesians

where he says, stand,

and now that you've

done everything

to stand, I say,

stand, stand firm.

Then with a belt

of truth, he says,

stand like my mom was

like, Andrew, Andrew.

Andrew, Andrew,

Andrew, and he's

like, stand, stand,

stand, stand, stand.

Right.

He wants us to

be people who

stand firm, right?

Biblically, this

picture is to hold

your ground in a

military sense.

It makes sense.

It also makes sense

in a basketball

sense, right?

I dunno if you've

ever seen anybody play

basketball who doesn't

know how to box out

and hold their ground

on the defense, trying

to get a rebound on

the offense, trying

to get a rebound.

It gets shoved

everywhere, right?

Offensive position.

You gotta hold your

ground in basketball.

It makes a

lot of sense.

If we throw back

the idea of the car,

oh wait, this is

a motorcycle, Jed,

this is all you'll

ever get, buddy.

A tiny moped, so don't

even think about it.

Right?

I had a buddy who

used to teach, um,

motorcycle classes

and I finally got this

question answered.

'cause I gotta be

honest, if you don't,

if you don't ride,

you don't understand.

But motorcycles

are always like

way out there in

that first lane off

the yellow, right?

They're always

like right there.

And I'm always

riding behind 'em.

I'm like, dude, you

got like so much space

you could just kind

of hang out in this

sweet spot over here.

No Rusty, right?

Why not?

I was looking for a

short answer, but yes.

Thank you.

So mostly, mostly

protection, right?

And safety.

You gotta stay in a

higher visibility spot

and out of the crud

and the junk, right?

For sure.

It's kinda like the

eyes up thing, right?

You hold your position

in the lane, you

hold your ground,

and if you don't do

that as a motorcycle

rider, man, you're

gonna get knocked all

over the place and

potentially wipe out.

God's principles for

us are pretty simple.

When we look at the

world around us,

people understand

what it means to

hold firm and hold

your ground in

basketball, in driving

and spiritually,

man, we've got

to hold ground.

Scripture says, let

us only let us live

up to what we've

already attained

this picture of.

Do not go backwards,

but hold firm

to what's been

established.

And we do that

through the power

of the Holy Spirit.

We do that through

the armor of God

and all kinds of

different connections

to his resource

and his strength.

But we are called

to be people who do

not go backwards.

We may not always

be able to, to press

forward and strive

forward, but we

don't go backwards.

We hold the ground.

We stand firm

in the faith.

I think as a young

man, this resonated

with me growing up

out west more than

anything else in this

idea of standing firm.

The Cheyenne

dog Soldier.

It's a painting,

but the Cheyenne

dog soldier was the

most fierce Indian

warrior on the planes.

And they, I mean, they

had all kinds of, you

know, intimidation

tactics and whatnot.

But one of the

things they did

that was amazing,

they had a sash.

They, they, uh, had

attached to them

called a dog rope.

And in battle, they

would stake the

dog rope to the

ground and they

would not retreat.

They would hold

their ground and

they would fight

or die, win or die,

right there attached

to that stake.

There was no place

for them to retreat,

no place for them

to go backwards.

They stood their

ground, they held

their ground.

And as a cool picture,

as a guy, it resonates

with me a ton as a

man who doesn't quit,

who doesn't give up,

who doesn't rip out

the stake and turn and

run when it's hard.

God calls us to be

people who stand firm.

Who hold our ground

and constantly the

devil challenges

us to, to give

ground, to let go.

Does it really matter?

Cast doubt, fear,

worries, anxieties

endlessly.

But God calls us to

be people who hold our

ground and stand firm.

And I love that this

phrase is followed

up with this one

act like men.

Now ladies, I just

wanna say this does

not mean you're exempt

from the call here.

It's why some

translations have

changed this to be

be courageous or be

brave, which is not

a bad idea, except

that and Dr. May in

the Greek, this phrase

literally means to

act like a man and

man, we live in this

culture where manhood

is sort of kicked

to the curb where

masculinity is toxic.

Where.

God designed men,

and he called men

to bravery and

not cowardice.

He called men to

stand and to fight

and to be courageous.

That does not

mean an absence

of fear, right?

Sometimes there's

fear, there's worry,

there's anxiety, but

it means no retreat

and no giving up,

and no throwing our

hands up and saying

it's somebody else's

responsibility.

Guys, God has called

men to lead in their

families spiritually.

It disgusts me to

see how much the

American church has

become the women

being the spiritual

nurturers and the guys

being the providers.

That is biblical

bull crap.

I think that's

the official term.

Sorry, but it's

just a lie.

It's not even

true at all.

God calls men to

teach their children

about the Lord when

they get up, when

they go to sleep,

when they're walking,

when they're making

dinner, when they're

mowing the lawn.

Modern translation.

But the reality

is, is all day long

we're supposed to

see the opportunities

and seize the

opportunities to

lead our children

in discipleship,

following Jesus,

being apprentices of

the King of Kings.

Man, that's a

call to manhood.

That's not

biblically a woman's

responsibility.

It's not.

She needs to nurture

and care and come

under the direction

of her husband in

the, in those areas.

Sure.

But man, guys, we

answer to the Lord

for what we do with

the call to lead and

disciple our families.

That's straight

scripture.

And we live in a

culture where men

and women are equal.

They can do the

same things, I mean.

It's just so dumb.

I mean, women are

better than men.

That's obvious.

But we don't do

the same things

and we're not built

the same, and we

don't even bring

the same things to

the equation, right?

God desperately

wants a mom and a

dad to influence the

kid in a way that

gives a full rounded

picture of God's

glory and goodness

and his love, right?

Both, both aspects.

Maybe you protect

and maybe you push

a little bit, right?

Like whatever that

looks like in the

tensions between

the two of you.

But God designed

family so that we

would experience

God's love and

manhood is under

attack culturally.

And listen, if you

think toxic manhood

is like chauvinistic

dictatorship,

you have no idea

what manhood is.

Manhood and marriage

and leadership

and headship in

marriage is saying,

I love you so much.

I'm gonna follow

Jesus' example, and

I'm gonna die to

myself to serve you.

If you think

that's like toxic,

uh, ladies, I'd

challenge you to

get in one of those

relationships and see

how it really works.

It's kind of a

cool deal, right?

And a wife who

honors her husband

and submits to her

husband and respect,

it's a beautiful

picture based on God's

design for what men

are supposed to be.

But listen, guys,

we've, we've just sent

in and caved into this

idea of being brave

and courageous and

to stand and to lead.

And that is

so contrary

to God's word.

Your kids need

to see it.

Your wife needs

to see it.

Your fiances

need to see it.

Your girlfriends

need to see it.

Girls who think

they might wanna

be your girlfriends

need to see it.

Everybody needs

to see it.

Be a man who leads,

act like men.

And I love that phrase

in the scripture.

It's understood

what men do.

They're brave,

they're courageous,

and they lead.

And we've come along

and tried to dumb

it down with a few

adjectives, man.

Right here in

the scriptures.

Hmm.

Watch be on guard.

Pay attention.

Stand firm and

lead like a man.

Live like a man.

Impact your

families and the

world around you.

Like a man.

That's the call

of God to men.

And he ends with

this phrase.

Be strong in this

passage right here.

Be strong.

This word literally

is tied to this

idea of mighty.

And I want, I

hope you can find

some encouragement

in this idea.

Check this out.

The word mighty.

Here's kinda a working

definition of mighty.

Does anybody remember

Mighty Mouse?

Yes.

Yeah.

Right, right.

Well, there's

a reason.

Mighty Mouse

was a thing.

Check out what this

definition means.

Mighty possessing

great and

impressive power

or strength, right?

We get that mighty

possessing great

and impressive

power or strength,

but it's not the

complete definition.

Especially on

account of size.

The implication

here is that might

surprises you because

it comes in a smaller

package than you might

expect, and I find

great encouragement

in this promise that

God calls us to be

strong because the

truth is in our own

strength, man, we

don't have a lot going

on sometimes and in

our own strength,

we might look pretty

small to the world

around us, but we're

not operating in

our own strength.

Right?

Be strong, Ephesians

says in the Lord

and in the power

of his might.

Paul speaks to this

idea of when I'm

weak, I'm actually.

Crazy strong.

Why?

Because it's no

longer about my

strength and my

ability and my pride

and what I can do.

It's about full

surrender to the

power of God at work

in me, letting him

bring the strength,

bring the resource,

move the mountains.

And all I'm doing

is just trying to be

obedient and keep in

step with what he's

calling me to do.

Being brave,

being courageous,

stepping, trusting,

and watching his

power show up in me.

I'm called to be

strong, but it's not

about being strong

in Andy weight.

It's about being

strong in his

power, in his might.

And guys all the time

try to get strong, to

try to impress, try

to get strong, to try

to accomplish, try to

maneuver and position

instead of first and

foremost, and always

plugging directly into

the Lord and saying,

father, it's your

strength, not mine.

What do you want me

to do and how do you

want me to, to walk

and step and lift?

Because what I'm gonna

do is I'm gonna take

a step and maybe I

don't possess much.

'cause I'm, I'm small

in stature and to

the world's eyes and

to this circumstance

and situation.

I'm kind of small, but

I'm mighty because of

the real power that

I have access to.

And that's gonna

show up in this

circumstance, in

this situation.

That's an awesome

picture of what it

means to be strong.

And I love that we

have this bookend

of be and be.

These are not

situational.

These are

ongoing action,

a state of being.

Well, when do we

stop being watchful?

I mean, we're supposed

to just like be

watchful for a second.

Are we just supposed

to watch Now?

It doesn't say

watch, right?

It doesn't say watch.

It says be watchful.

Ongoing action.

We don't step out

and pretend like

there's no battle.

We don't decide it's

no longer of interest

to us or worth the

fight to fight for

our families and for

our marriages, and for

the people around us.

We don't withdraw.

We don't walk away.

We stay staked, right

where we're positioned

and where God's

planted us to fight.

And we stay in an

active, ongoing state

of being strong,

of being watchful,

right, of standing

firm and acting

courageous even if

inside we're quaking.

And let me encourage

you with this little

motivation that Paul

tags in on verse

14, he kind of wraps

this thought up

with this phrase,

let all that you

do be done in love,

if your motivation

to be strong is to

intimidate others

or to accomplish

your own success or.

Your own ambitions.

If your motivation

to stand firm or be

courageous is to look

in the mirror and

feel hyped and good

about who you are.

All of your motivation

is messed up.

Love is what

drives this action.

So one of the reasons

America's been a,

a feared fighting

force since World

War I and World War

ii, and in those eras

of Americans getting

involved, they fought

for each other and

they fought for the

love of country.

And in that space,

man, there's a

reservoir and there's

a resource to keep

people standing

and fighting and

not quitting.

I mean, mercenaries

get hired, right?

And when it gets bad

enough, they bail.

But when you're

fighting for your

families and you're

fighting for your

friends and the

people that you love,

when do you quit?

When do you give up?

When do you walk out?

When do you untake and

walk away and say, I

don't care anymore.

Right?

Love is what

drives our action.

Love is the only way

to be courageous when

all you want to do

is quit and give up.

Love is the only

way to stand when

you just wanna

lay down and cry.

But the love of God

is more powerful than

any circumstance and

any situation we face,

and we have access to

that for every single

thing in our life.

And when we get

connected to that

man, there is nothing

that the enemy can

do to overrun us.

Nothing.

Lord, thank you

for your word,

for your truth.

Thank you for your

call to be people who

are paying attention,

who have their eyes

up, and who are

watching, who are

paying attention to

what they consume,

and paying attention

to what the enemy's

doing around them

for themselves.

Also for their family,

for their friends,

for their community.

God forgive us for

how often we look

to our own ways and

our own devices.

And just doing our own

selfish stuff helps

us to be on guard.

And Lord, you know,

the ground that we've

taken from the enemy

in our life, you know,

the progress maybe

we've made in some

areas, or you know,

some of the struggles.

God, I pray you'd

give us the, the

determination to drive

a stake in the ground

and not give up any

more ground to the

enemy, but to stand

and fight and to see

your deliverance,

and to see you come

alongside us and move

that stake a little

deeper into enemy

territory as we take

new and fresh ground.

Lord, you know, we

live in a culture that

tells us acting like

a man is toxic and

stupid and prideful.

And I suppose if we're

doing it for selfish

ambition and tyranny.

Then maybe it is.

But God, acting

like a man means

something about

courage and bravery

and determination

and strength.

And God, I pray for

the men in our church

that they would find

a fresh sense of

determination to be

the men they need

to be, to lead in

their own life, in

the lives of their

families, and in the

life of our church.

And Lord, that

those ripple effects

would go far beyond.

And thank you, Lord,

that in our weakness

though we are small,

in stature, we

are mighty because

of your strength.

And Lord, I pray that

love would really be

the motivation when

we want to give up

and we want to quit

and we just decide.

It's just too hard

that we would look

at the faces of the

people that we love.

The people around us

who are lost that you

love, and that there

would be a renewed

sense of determination

through love, to

continue to fight, to

continue to press on.

Lord, we love you

and we're so thankful

that you loved

us and that you

fought for us.

And Lord, help us to

use that as a little

bit of a reminder

to engage well

where you've got us.

Thank you Lord.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Whew.

Some heavy stuff man.

Hey uh, Caleb.

What's up man?

You on spring break?

No.

Are you on

spring break?

You don't get

spring break.

Caleb, come on up here

Josiah, come on up

here Mr. Spring break.

'cause uh.

Speaking of watching,

I want you to watch

what's coming up and

these guys thought

they were on break

and they could just

chill out, but I'm

gonna put 'em to work

this morning telling

you about what's

coming up at White

Rock as we wrap up

the morning service.

So you guys got, uh,

these mics right here

and if you guys

don't wanna do it,

I'm gonna be like,

just be courageous.

Act like men.

Two mics.

Alright, go ahead

Caleb, since

you got the mic.

What's happening

tonight buddy?

Youth group?

Uh, six 6:00

PM Hang on.

You better do

that again.

Austin didn't

want you to talk.

He wanted to be

courageous back there.

Youth group 6:00

PM All right,

you hear me?

Uh, college age

group as wait, wait,

wait, wait, wait.

See that guy

right there?

He's courageous and

he's gonna come for

you and you have to

stand your ground.

If you don't sell

that youth group.

Slide a little harder.

Caleb.

Let's go.

Youth group at

6:00 PM Woo.

All right.

There you go.

There you go.

Uh, college age

group at 6:00 PM Woo.

Yeah.

And then first

beater, small groups.

There's some

small groups

going on as well.

Yeah.

Yes.

Nice.

Tuesday at

six 30 there's

financial peace.

And also Saturday

at 9:00 AM Yeah.

Very nice.

Very nice parents.

Night out.

Date night.

Okay.

That was

authentic ladies.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, Saturday,

March 8th.

Just I think

everybody's at Tom

and Shannon's, right?

I don't know.

I have no idea, man.

My kids kind of take

care of themselves,

so I don't know what's

going on, but, okay.

You still sign up

next door, right?

And then dropping

kids off here.

Does that sound

right to anybody?

Yeah.

Oh, it's next door.

It's next door.

Is the drop off.

And, and the

sign up is next

door too, right?

People can sign up?

Yes.

Perfect.

All right.

What they said, what's

going on this week,

men, uh, men's group

this week, first

and third Wednesday

at 7:00 PM Yeah, so

we're on the odd days

'cause we're odd guys.

Totally legit.

Uh, games in the

Dark with the Rock

Solid Youth Man.

Yeah.

March 14th,

six 30 to 10.

I feel like this needs

a little explanation.

We're just gonna

shut the lights

off for a couple

hours and the teens

emerge after that.

The rocks.

Rocks in the dark.

That's dangerous.

Hey, uh, ladies,

take a hike, right?

What do we got here?

I hope you all have

a wonderful time.

Um, March 15th

at 9:00 AM See

Tara for details.

Tara's raising your

hand over there.

If you're interested,

getting more

information about

this amazing walk.

Should be like

11 or 12 degrees.

Something really fun

like that, right?

Uh, the following

week, we got

Mighty Moms Group.

Uh, March 22nd at 6:00

PM Snacks and Canvas.

Renee's over there.

Hey, Renee,

where's this at?

Do we know here?

All right, so, woo.

But you got RSVP,

otherwise no

snacks for you.

Man, it's rough.

Hey, you can check out

a bunch of upcoming

events We have

Easter season, like

around the corner.

There's a ton of

stuff in April.

A ton of stuff in May.

Things are going

nuts on the calendar

so we don't have

time for it all

this morning 'cause

these guys are on

spring break and they

wouldn't gimme much.

But uh, check

out the website.

There's a ton of

stuff going on.

We don't want

you to miss that.

And, uh, last but not

least, love you guys.

Be strong in the Lord

and his mighty power.

Have a great

week in him.