Called to Hope | January 12, 2025

Well, I dunno if

you noticed outside.

Alright,

that's enough.

It is cold outside.

You guys notice

that like we are

in the midst of a

winter wonderland

here in Indiana.

And if you're like

me, you are wondering

when it's gonna

get over, right?

Like I'm good,

I'm good.

I've had just

enough snow.

Uh, like when that

first flake fell,

you know, probably

in December I was

probably good, but

I'm done shoveling,

salting, and uh,

it is not any fun.

Winter wonderland

makes me crazy.

In fact, we've had

calls this week

to bring back.

The Blake Ter White

Rock's official.

Yeah.

Official snow depth

gauge that we, it

created years ago

and, uh, tried to bury

Derrick in the snow.

It was pretty fun.

If you don't know

about that, I'm

sure that, uh, we

could reenact that

today after church.

Derrick would be

happy to do that,

I'm sure to do that.

But Winter Wonderland,

how many of you

guys really love a

winter wonderland

kind of vibe?

Like, just love it.

Right.

Okay.

Okay.

That's interesting.

So the four of you

are gonna join me

on the shoveling

team after church.

It's gonna be great.

I am not a huge fan

of which it's probably

because I got to spend

the coldest winter

in the history of

Minnesota, at least

on record back in

1996 where it hit 67

below zero and for an

entire week, the high

never got above the

negative teens and

at like zero degrees,

we were outside in

t-shirts going, this

is amazing, right?

67 below.

That's stupid cold.

Just stupid

cold, right?

I was talking to

the Lord, I was

like, man, Jesus.

I could, like, I

could flip burgers in

Florida for you and

make a difference if I

could just get out of

this state right now.

Please.

Winter is not my

favorite season.

In fact, it's the

coldest of all the

seasons and it's

the darkest of

all the seasons.

We have people who

talk a lot about,

you know, seasonal

depression, right?

And it has a

lot to do with.

Uh, less sunlight

and some good things

that come from God's

creation of sunlight.

And you get up in the

morning in the dark

and then you come

home in the dark and

then you sit in your

house in the dark.

Okay, fair enough.

Fair enough.

Stan at Tina don't

have any lights

at their house.

Guys just want

you to know.

That makes it a

little awkward but

romantic still.

That's good.

That's good.

Yeah.

A little candlelight

at staying at

Tina's house.

But winter is a season

that feels a little

dead sometimes it

feels pretty dormant,

pretty desolate.

You know, the earth

is kind of like

we're taking a break

for a while, right?

We're not gonna

grow stuff.

The animals tend to

find ways to hide out.

Some just sleep

the whole time.

Some of you have

thought to yourself,

if only God would make

me a bear, this would

be a great season.

Hibernation just

one long quarter

of a year.

Nap sounds

really appealing.

Winter is not always

the most encouraging

time and it's always

funny to me because

you know, that crazy

toothbrush was like

a January kickoff.

We had the big let's

go strapped all over

the back wall for like

six months and try to

do things in January

that are inspiring

and encouraging.

And part of that is

'cause we're kicking

off a new year and

there's all this

new whatever, but

most of us are like,

let's just bundle

up, call it good,

and let's talk in

March, maybe April.

Right?

I just wanna be left

alone and hibernate

and I get that.

Well I was looking in

Ephesians this week

and Ephesians chapter

one, verses 18 and 19,

there's uh, and I'll

probably go on, we'll

see, but at least

18 and 19, the first

part of that verse,

there's this really

neat kind of, uh.

I don't know,

encouragement that

Paul is praying over

the church in Ephesus

and Paul is sharing

this as a prayer for

the people who are

following Jesus in

the church, Ephesus.

But it's intended for

all of the churches

and not just the

churches of Paul's

day, but for you and

I that this would

be the prayer and

really the response

to the prayer of the

encouragement and hope

that Paul offers here

to the church and that

Jesus really offers

to his people and

Paul calls us to that.

So I wanna share with

you this little prayer

that Paul prays over

the church, and I've

been praying it over

you guys this week,

and it's something

that I want to kind of

keep doing in January

as a prayer for us

as his people that

we would step into

this and hopefully

in the midst of a

cold wintery day and

season, you might find

some encouragement in

God's word for you.

Ephesians one 18 says

this, I ask that the

eyes of your heart.

May be enlightened so

that you may know the

hope of his calling,

the riches of his

glorious inheritance

in the saints and the

surpassing greatness

of his power to us who

believe when you're

feeling dark, when

you're feeling gloomy,

when you're feeling

a little despairing.

This is a great

section of scripture

to just sit and

marinate in the

hope of his calling,

the riches of his

glorious inheritance,

surpassing greatness

of his power.

Some pretty

epic stuff.

So let's unpack

this just a little

bit together.

I ask that the eyes

of your heart may

be enlightened.

I love this

phrase, eyes of

your heart, right?

Like physiologically.

Let me ask you,

scholars and

scientists out there,

where are the eyes of

your heart located?

It's one of my

favorite Hardy's

commercials.

The chicken.

Do you remember that

when the chickens

pureeing on the

stage and they're

showing all this

and they're talking

about great deals

and they just say.

Where are the nuggets

on this Chicken?

Chickens don't have

nuggets, right?

It's kind of that

whole vibe, right?

Can I tell you that

hearts don't have

eyeballs, right?

So this is a weird

picture in the

language here,

that Paul uses the

eyes of your heart.

Now he's not

talking about your

physical eyes.

And I think that's

really important.

'cause he doesn't

say, I hope you

can see, right?

Because here's the

thing, sometimes.

Our physical

circumstances and

the life around

us, man, sometimes

it's deceptive.

Sometimes the things

that we see are the

things that actually

discourage us and

redirect us away from

the truth and the

hope that's in Christ.

Do we put our eyes

sometimes on our

circumstances?

Instead of our savior.

And in so doing,

we live hopeless

and discouraged and

despairing and afraid

and weary, and fill

in the blank with

a ton of negative

terms and phrases

and concepts, right?

Because apart from

keeping our eyes fixed

on Jesus, this world

around us is filled

with a whole lotta

dark stuff, negative

stuff, discouraging

stuff, right?

And the physical

eyes sometimes might

deceive you if all

you're looking at is

your circumstances.

Because we serve a

God who's so much

bigger than our

circumstances, and

oftentimes even uses

the circumstances to

make us, to break us,

to change us, and to

mold us more into who

he wants us to be.

And sometimes we

see those things

and we run from him.

So I love this

picture that Paul

uses here of the

eyes of your heart.

Because I think

that's a different

place than just

the physical eyes.

Paul's really talking

here in the language

about the perception

of your heart, what

your heart perceives,

and I also think it's

cool that we kind of

focus on heart just a

little bit because is

it possible given the

world we live in, the

situations you face,

the circumstances

of your life that

you might look at

with your physical

eyes, is it possible

that at times your

heart can become a

little calloused?

It can become a little

numb, can become

a little hardened

towards things, and

the perceptions of

your heart might be

consumed with a whole

lot of things that

aren't really what

God wants your heart

to be focused on.

Maybe sometimes

we're visually on

the outside looking

the part, it's gonna

rhyme, but on the

inside we got an

issue with our heart.

Sorry about that.

Um, we're looking

on the outside,

all put together.

But Jesus knows the

heart, right and

out of the heart.

Come what we're really

about, what we really

love, what we really

care about, what we're

really sold out to.

And this isn't

just about looking

the part man.

This is about our

hearts being engaged

and our hearts

being perceptive.

In the language here,

it has this idea

of our mind, our

understanding that

our spirit, everything

about us, would be

perceiving this truth.

Right?

In the Greek word

here, this, uh,

oh, let's talk

enlightened.

Sorry, I'll jump

ahead to this one.

Enlightened has

this cool image of

illumination, right?

That our heart's eye,

if you will, would

perceive illumination,

light, that it would

be lit up so that we

can see the truth.

In the midst of what's

going on around us.

And what's cool

in this Greek word

here is light is not

just sort of this

random thing, light

in the midday, it's

in contrast is how

this word gets used.

So it's specifically

light in the midst of

darkness, which is a

really cool picture

that our hearts

would be illuminated

in the midst.

Of the darkness,

right in the midst

of a dark season.

Maybe.

Maybe it's not just,

uh, weather related.

Maybe it's a metaphor

of a hard season

in your life or a

difficult circumstance

or situation.

You're facing

hardships of

all kinds.

There's darkness that

surrounds us, right?

We live in a fallen

world where there's

sin and destruction

and decay, and it's

not how it's gonna

be at the big finale.

Trust me, it's gonna

be awesome, right?

That's what he

promises us.

But we have

to navigate

some darkness.

And Paul's prayer

for his people.

My prayer for us as

a church is that the

eyes of our heart,

our understanding,

our mind, our spirit

would perceive through

the light that God

gives and be able

to see the truth

that he has for us.

I love this image

of light and

dark contrast.

I dunno if you're

a big fan of, um,

the Gospel of John

Joel's been teaching

it in his class and,

uh, always defaults

to that 'cause

it's Well, awesome.

And uh, there's

an awesome picture

in the first.

A chapter of John

where the scripture

says, the light shines

in the darkness and

the darkness has

not overcome it.

You know why?

It hasn't overcome it?

'cause it cannot.

'cause.

It cannot.

It's more powerful.

The light of God's

truth and his love.

It's more powerful

than the darkness

around us, and no

matter where your

heart finds itself.

Man, God wants to

shine the light of

truth and life and

hope into that space

to illuminate and

remind you who he is,

who you are in him

as his child, right?

And that you

might know.

And the actual Greek

word in enlightened

is really cool.

It's, uh, it's,

uh, fotizo, which

I love this.

It means.

Make to see, it's

almost this word

here, like I'm not

paying attention.

No, you're gonna be

made to see, look

at the light, right?

Like, like it's

not that the Holy

Spirit grabs your

face and brings you

to the sunshine,

but it's kind of

that image of may.

In Paul's most deepest

love for his friends,

may the Holy Spirit

grab you by the collar

and spin you around

and stare you into

the light so that

you can see right?

Be illuminated.

Stop looking at

the darkness.

Stop looking at the

stuff around you.

Get your gaze

fixed on the truth,

on the light.

So he says, the

eyes of your heart

that they may

be enlightened.

Why?

To what purpose?

So that you may know.

So that you may

know, and man, I

love this word.

No, this is a really

deep, powerful word.

This is not just

knowledge right now.

If we were watching

some kind of like TV

station show, whatever

your Hulu bingeing,

what you're gonna

hear about 27 sexual

innuendos in the

time I started this.

So I might as

well talk about

sex for a minute.

This word no is the

biblical word for

Adam, knew his wife.

And they had a baby.

So you can connect

the dots of knowledge

there, right?

We're not just talking

about, I know about

this is a deep,

intimate, connected

relationship word.

No.

See, Paul's prayer

is not that you

would know about

God, that you'd have

some information

about God, but

that you would have

this deep, intimate

connection with the

truth of who he is.

That there's

relationship

intertwined in every

aspect and area of

your life and your

heart, that you

would know, that you

would know at a deep,

intimate angle, this

truth that God has

for you, that you may

know that the eyes

of your heart would

be illuminated to see

and know these truths.

Let's jump into the

first one that the

eyes of your heart

may be enlightened,

so that you may

know the hope of

his calling, the

hope of his calling.

I love this picture.

I love this picture

as we stand on

kind of the opening

couple weeks frozen

in the tundra

of the new year.

I mean, God has

called you to hope.

Man, don't miss that.

So many times we

believe God has

called us to duty and

responsibility and

misery and checking

boxes and all God has

called you to hope.

See, the truth

is, hope is only

found in him.

It's a lie of the

enemy that there

is hope outside

of a relationship

with Christ.

Everything outside

of our eternal

relationship with

Christ is temporary.

Everything right?

Go back just a second.

'cause you might

be thinking, no,

man, if I could

just get the right

stuff, I would feel

like hope and joy.

Go back to Christmas.

It wasn't

that long ago.

Remember your

favorite present?

How about last

Christmas?

The Christmas

before that?

It's hard to even

remember this last

Christmas, what we

did or didn't get.

And you might've got

a super awesome, you

know what's coming up?

Super Bowl, right?

You know what's

on sale everywhere

right now?

Televisions.

You know why?

'cause the one you

got, it's basically

trash, right?

Because there's

a newer one and

a better one.

No, Stan, I'm

just joking.

Just so you know.

Stan's like Tina.

See we gotta get

that new, okay?

No, you don't even

have lights at your

house, guys, so

you're not getting

the big screen tv.

Don't even, don't

even try that, right?

Our world continues

to sell us more stuff.

Our hearts get more

attached to the stuff.

And what we realize

in very short order

is the stuff that we

have, it just starts

to fade and rot.

Store it for yourself

as treasures.

Where on heaven,

not on earth.

Where moth and rust

destroy thieves.

Break in and steal

where your son opens

your truck door

into a boulder.

Stuff happens

and things

deteriorate, right?

They don't

last forever.

They wear out and they

rot and they fade.

Stuff doesn't offer

real hope at all.

It's a mirage.

It's temporary.

It's a lie of

the enemy money.

It's great, right?

You store it up, you

store it up, you store

it up as security

and safety and hope.

And then inflation

comes and then health

stuff happens and

then all of a sudden

everything that you

stored and saved

and treasured and

savored in the heart

of your hearts and

it meant everything

to you, just sort of

falls through your

fingers like sand.

'cause it doesn't

satisfy, there's

no security,

there's no hope.

Right?

Relationships.

Now those

right, those.

You fall in

love with that.

Perfect someone,

Olivia, this would

make for a very

awkward moment.

I'm not gonna

bring it up.

Jamie already did.

So you fall in

love with someone.

You never know where

it's gonna lead,

and there's this

romantic infatuation

and joy, and hope

and excitement and

all of this stuff.

And then you get

married like Zach

and Kate who got

it all figured out.

Caitlyn, sorry.

Sorry.

It's easy,

it's coasting,

it's perfect.

There's no arguments

over where the trash

can goes or who left

the toothpaste open.

None of that

stuff, right?

It's just fun

and perfect.

And you know

what happens in

life sometimes

relationships start

to fall apart.

People hurt

each other.

People fail.

People make messes,

and you sit in the

mess of all of your

hope, being in the

relationship with

another human being

and realize, man.

Now, do we find some

great joy there?

You know why?

There's a little,

little bit of

real kind of value

in that space?

'cause they're

the only thing on

this planet that's

eternal, right?

And connecting to

other people in

relationship does have

a measure of value

and hope tied to it.

But guys, at the

end of the day, if

you don't have a

relationship with

Christ, if your

hope is not tied to

him, people will let

you down and then

you're gonna be left

trying to make sense.

Everything your hope

was built on starts

a crumble, right?

He is the

source of hope.

And you know a great

lie of the enemy is

that God wants to

take away your hope

and joy and future.

I.

Right that, that he

wants to take you

away from all the

fun stuff, the good

stuff, the exciting

stuff, and pull you

over to this corner

where you gotta like

wear a robe, beat

your head with a stone

tablet, not have any

fun the rest of your

life, or experience

any joy or meaning

that you have to check

all these boxes of

misery and denial.

But man, the lie

of the enemy is

that those things

lead you anywhere

but to destruction.

What we miss all the

time is, I mean, it's

a stupid illustration

I guess, but it's

almost like being

on the Titanic.

And Jesus has one

route that gets us to

a lifeboat and we're

like, no, no, no.

I wanna stay here

and have fun with my

friends and goof off

and do this and that.

And Jesus is

like, no, no, no.

Come with me.

Come with me.

This is the way that

leads to, to life and,

and real hope is here.

And we're like, nah,

nah, you're just

trying to make me

do all this stuff.

'cause you don't want

me to have any fun.

Right.

How sad, what a lie

of the enemy that

the savior of all

the world came to

rescue us and show

us a pathway through

a minefield of a

fallen world filled

with destruction.

And we've believed

the lie that he just

doesn't want us to

have any fun, and he

just wants to make

our life miserable,

and he just wants to

give us a bunch of

rules and regulations

and duties to follow.

It's not who

he is at all.

He loves you and he's

laid out a narrow way

that leads to life.

And invited you to

follow and walk in it.

And he says,

sadly, few do.

So few find it,

few walk it.

But man, that's

real hope.

He's offered to us

and it's available a

hope that eternally

checks out.

Right?

We may have some

temporary insurance

man, but we have

eternal fire insurance

that one day when

the whole world

is destroyed and

consumed in fire.

Those who are in

Christ are saved from

the wrath of God,

saved from the coming,

destruction, and

experience real hope,

joy, and purpose.

And guys, let me

just say this to you.

God's not interested

just in the eternal

hope He wants

to offer you.

He wants you to

experience real hope.

Jesus came to bring

abundant life, but

we gotta define

it the way Jesus

would, right?

Partying and drinking

and sexual immorality

and debauchery.

Those were not

terms Jesus sold his

disciples on, right?

That's not what

he's about.

That's not

abundant life.

That's self-indulgent,

sinful life that

leads to destruction.

But he offers us in

this life vision and

hope and purpose and

meaning, and when

we're connected to

him, we find it.

So I've been doing

a thing the last

few weeks, actually

a couple months I

heard this, and as

you know, I'm pretty

big in neuroscience

obviously, because I

know neuroscience is

the science of neuros.

Hello?

Geez.

Alright, so I may

or may not be a

brain scientist.

Um, but I did have

a CAT scan one time

from a concussion,

have a brain.

I've got the picture.

So I find myself

at least connected

to this idea just

a little bit.

I heard some stuff

that was really

cool and I did some

research and the

cool thing about

neuroscience is it's

so cutting edge and

it's so fresh and

new that you may

disagree with it, but

that's okay because

the in info is still

coming in and we can

just kind of talk

as conceptually.

This is what we're

kind of thinking.

There is some really

interesting stuff.

That I ran across a

couple weeks ago about

the A-M-C-C-A-M-C-C,

not run D-M-C-A-M-C-C,

the anterior mid

cingulate cortex.

Please raise your

hand if this is a term

you've heard before.

Angie, I'm

looking at you.

If you teach

science, come on.

Okay, good.

Good.

Okay.

So I'm not gonna

ask anybody to come

up and define it.

'cause basically you

could come up here

and say something

and we'd all be like.

Oh yeah, yeah, I

agree for sure.

And have no idea

if it's true.

Right.

Wait, Calvin,

do you know?

No, I'm just kidding.

That's right.

Anterior mid

cingulate cortex.

Now as I understand

it, and again, this is

just something I ran

across and I thought,

this is fascinating

to think about how

our God designed us

for purpose, for hope,

for meaning, and maybe

a way that it shows

up physiologically

in our brain.

Check this out

somewhere in here,

this general region

is this mid right

And I don't mean it's

mid guys, like it's

not that cool, right?

This is the mid area,

middle area, anterior,

mid cingulate cortex.

And this particular

area of our brain

is associated with

potentially regulates,

but other pieces

may come into play.

Uh, our will to live

our will to live.

So check this out.

When you do things

that are just kind

of selfishly what

you want to do when

you're just doing

stuff for you, just

doing what you want,

whenever you want,

however you want,

this part of our brain

actually shrinks.

It gets smaller.

This area of our

brain that regulates

our will to live.

The more we do

stuff that's just

self-indulgent,

that's just about us.

That's all about our

own, maybe sinful

nature, doing our own

thing, the less will

to live We experience.

And listen, if you've

gotten yourself

caught in a cycle of

sin, you've gotten

yourself caught in

messes sometimes, and

the enemy just pulls

you deeper and down

into darker spaces,

back alleys, and

in stinking black

holes of struggle

and temptation.

You know what that

feels like To feel

less and less hope,

less and less like

there's any reason

to press on or go

on, and you just

feel like giving

up and quitting.

There's a

physiological thing

happening in our

brain that God,

the epic creator

designed that's in

direct correlation

to those acts and

behaviors that are

contrary to somehow.

He's called us

to live now.

It also is kind

of cool, is.

When you do things you

don't want to do, and

I don't mean like I

don't wanna sin, but I

sinned and I'm talking

about that when you

do things that you

should do that maybe

you don't want to

do that are hard and

they stretch you and

you don't really like

exercise or helping

someone in need or

making a difference

in somebody's life

or self-denial, and

you do some of these

things that God's

called his people to

do, this part of your

brain begins to grow

and increase in size.

And your will to

live increases.

It's this crazy

phenomenon where

you hate exercise,

you don't wanna

do exercise.

Exercise is the

devil, and then you

do some exercise and

you're like, huh,

I kind of feel a

little more alive.

Right.

Same thing happens

when you're like,

oh, the nursery,

oh, Sunday's cool.

Oh, the teenagers

and I hang out with

them and I engage in

them and I'm tired

and I don't want to

go, and I have so

many other things

I'd rather do, but

then I invest and I

engage and I come back

feeling more alive.

It's not just

some feeling, it's

physiologically

happening in

our brain, the

way God made us.

'cause he created

us for this desire.

To do, well, maybe

it's not desire,

but this result that

when we do the things

he's called us to do,

we feel more alive

and more hopeful.

In fact, it sort of

reminds me of giving

over to oblivion the

junk that lies behind

and pressing on and

stretching toward

what lies ahead.

Right?

Shameless plug,

stretch 2025.

Just throwing

it out there.

But what we're

really dealing with

here is God's hope

regulator that he put

in our own brains.

How crazy cool

is our God.

That he made a way

for us, even when

we don't want to,

but, and we begin

to, and our physical

body even meets us

there because of his

awesome creation.

Sometimes it's all

we want to do to

just cuddle up in

our blanket and let

the world go to hell

and say, who cares?

And this season of the

year, we especially

find ourselves

wanting to live there.

Man, when you stretch

and when you reach,

and when you deny

yourself, you take

up his cross and

you follow him,

you become alive in a

way that you weren't

and in a way that

the devil wants to

tell you is not true.

Right?

Man, if you give up,

if you surrender, if

you deny yourself,

you're missing out.

You're losing.

Jesus says, guys,

you're winning.

You're winning.

This is the way.

Follow me in it.

Self-denial.

Servant of all.

What if when Jesus

said, the greatest

among you'll be

your servant?

He was also kind of

tipping the hat to the

idea that maybe he who

serves the most, has

the most hope and the

most joy, and is the

most alive, not just

in eternity, but right

here in this place.

The hope of

his calling.

God has called

you to hope.

He's called you outta

darkness and delight.

He's called you out of

selfish indulgence and

sinfulness into joy

and purpose and hope.

As Paul said, I

ask and I pray

that the eyes of

your heart might be

enlightened to know.

At a crazy, deep,

intimate, hardcore,

fully entwined,

a hundred percent

engaged level, what

it looks like to

experience the hope

of his calling in

your life, and as

you stretch into

2025 and into this

new year, don't let

the enemy feed you a

line that you gotta

kind of do your own

thing and that God's

plans for you are

sorta mid at best.

You know, his plans

are incredible.

His offering of

joining him in

hope and vision and

purpose is incredible.

He's got you placed

in a family, he's

got you placed in a

school, in a business,

in a community, in

a neighborhood, in

a random street,

on a random time,

on a random day

for purpose.

And we're consumed

with our selfishness

and we miss life.

Joy and hope that's

right there for us.

And all it takes is

one step and one act.

And my, my prayer

for us as we go into

2025 is the daily.

We'll say,

Lord, here I am.

Use me in the

moments when we're

just driving in our

car that will be

engaged with him.

The moments in

the grocery store.

We're engaged.

Maybe just Amazon now,

but wherever you're at

around people, right?

There was say,

Lord, here I am.

How do you wanna use

me in this moment?

Because I don't wanna

talk to anybody and I

don't wanna love and

I don't wanna reach,

and I don't wanna

care and I don't wanna

serve, but my will to

live dies a little bit

every time I do that.

Instead, I want

to be alive.

How can I serve?

How can I stretch?

How can I experience

what you have for me?

And there's a few

other things in there

that we're not gonna

get to right now.

The riches of his

glorious inheritance

in the saints.

Just know this guys.

He has unlimited

resource to accomplish

the vision and the

hope that he puts

in your heart.

And the surpassing

greatness of

his power,

unlimited power.

So he has all the

resources, all

the provision and

all the power to

see us through to

a place where we

experience the hope

of his calling.

So this year, as

you get ready to

head into the frozen

tundra today that

none of us want to

go out into, instead

of laying dormant,

instead of giving

into the darkness,

it's my prayer that

the light of the Lord

will illuminate the

eyes of your heart,

that you'll be able to

know the hope of his

calling and his power

and his strength,

his provision.

It's mercy in his

presence in all of it.

Lord, thank you

for your incredible

word for the truth.

Lord, we live in

a world that very

much loses sight

and draws us and

calls us into all

kinds of distracted,

dark places.

And Father, I pray

for us here today that

you would shine crazy

bright in our hearts.

Illuminate the truth

that we might know,

the hope of your

calling in our life.

I pray you'd speak

that to each person

here, that today they

would have a sense

of, huh, I think

this is something God

wants me to do, and

that you would give

'em the courage and

the power through

your Holy Spirit

to step into that

place and to become

more alive because

of that action.

Thank you that we

are fearfully and

wonderfully made.

And we serve a

God who is beyond

comprehension in

his love and his

mercy for us.

Thank you Jesus.

Amen.