Chain Breaker

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Hey, Ms. Jesse, I'm on staff here at Christ Church, and I'll be the scripture reading, do the scripture reading for today.

It's from Acts chapter 16, verses 16 through 34.

Acts 16:16–34

And I know you just sat down, but let's rise for the scripture reading.

Thanks.

Acts 16, starting at verse 16.

Once, when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.

She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting,

These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.

She kept this up for many days.

Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit,

In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.

At that moment, the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

They brought them before the magistrates and said,

These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas,

and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison,

and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.

The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul shouted,

Don't harm yourself. We are all here.

The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

He then brought them out and said,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

They replied,

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds.

Then immediately, he and all his household were baptized.

The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them.

He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Thanks for that reading, Jesse.

Again, I'm going to introduce Christine to come up here.

There are a lot of things I could tell you about Christine, where she's from, what she does for Foster the Bay.

But the thing that stands out to me the most is just her love for Jesus and her love for her neighbors.

Oftentimes, in our meetings with Christine doing Foster the Bay type things, she'll have to stop herself and say,

I'm sorry, I just started to preach.

But everyone else in the meeting is like, no, just keep going, keep going.

So we're going to get some of that right now.

Will you welcome Christine up as she comes to bring God's word to us?

Peace.

Thank you, Pastor Andrew.

Well, good morning, Christ Church.

It's really good to be with you this morning.

I've actually been really looking forward to this since Pastor Andrew invited me to be here

and to actually have a privilege of weaving this study that we're continuing in through Acts

with this message really around Foster the Bay.

And like Pastor Andrew said, this is actually the last Foster the Bay vision cast that I'll ever be doing

because Foster the Bay is becoming Foster the City.

What's happened is that churches like you joining this coalition across the Bay area

has made such an impact across our community that we're seeing churches from other regions

wanting to engage and wanting to bring this into the other regions.

And so this Thursday, we're becoming Foster the City, and we're going to be launching in Southern California.

So we are now Foster the City, and we're the Bay area.

There were 155 churches, including Christ Church.

I have a special place in my heart for this church because this church is the birthplace of Project Peace.

And any church that has Micah 6-8 on your landing page is a church I want to be a part of,

that we would be people who act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

And Jen McKillips and I are allies together in this work across the Bay area

on behalf of some of the most vulnerable populations.

And so I'm really privileged to be here too.

And Shea Gilbert is another warrior, powerhouse warrior,

that has been a big instrument in bringing Foster the Bay to this church.

So I'm really glad to be here with you this morning.

Well, like I mentioned, we're going to be in Acts 16 this morning as we continue this journey.

Pastor Jonathan last week said that this is our summer reading.

Are you reading Acts on the beach this summer?

Good for you.

You guys are so spiritual.

But that's, he said that's the summer reading.

I really like that idea actually.

And the question that he posed is, what kind of church does God want us to be?

What kind of church does God want us to be?

And I would like to suggest that God is inviting us to be a church empowered and led by the Spirit,

joining him in his restorative work within our community.

Imagine what it would be like if every person sitting in this room would be literally led by the Spirit every morning.

That as we wake up and we begin our day, we listen for what the Spirit is saying to us

and how he wants us to move on behalf of the people in our sphere of influence.

Imagine the ripple effect of the power of Jesus through his Spirit in our community.

I believe that is what he pictures for the church.

Specifically this morning, we're going to see that when God is on the move through his people,

the chains of bondage and oppression are broken by the power of the Spirit of Jesus.

We see the disciples invited to be conduits.

And just like disciples, we are invited to be conduits of the power of God.

You see this in the theme verse of Acts, right?

In chapter 1, verse 8, it says,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And here we are at the ends of the earth.

The power, this power, this power of the Spirit shows up in a variety of incredible ways

because our God is very creative.

It's very surprising following the Spirit.

Have you experienced that?

Following the Spirit is a wild adventure.

He surprises us again and again.

And he does this all throughout the book of Acts.

When I was reading Acts for preparation this morning,

I just kept seeing how surprising he was in the way that he moved again and again.

And that's how he continues to move, in jaw-dropping ways.

I love what N.T. Wright suggests.

He says,

That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is all about.

And that is what we are about.

But we get to colonize this place where we live with the life of heaven,

empowered by the Spirit in the name of Jesus,

doing the work that only he can do when we say,

Yes, yes, use me as that conduit.

We see this happening all through the book of Acts.

Glimpses of heaven on earth.

And you'll hear me kind of coming back to that.

What does heaven on earth look like?

Jesus invites his people.

Jesus invites you to bring a taste of his kingdom wherever you go.

Remember those Baskin and Robbins little pink spoons?

Did you ever have?

I love those.

And there was no limit.

You could have like ten.

I love that picture.

That we would be so much more than that.

But that our encounters with people in our community and in our world

would be like a taste of heaven.

Is that how people feel when you walk in the room?

Jesus wants to break every chain that binds you.

He wants to set you free.

And then he invites you to be a part of the beautiful,

redemptive work he's doing in this world.

And honestly, I believe that we experience increasing freedom through Jesus

when we join him in his work in the world.

Partnering with him in what he's doing is healing for us.

I really encourage you to check that out in Isaiah 58.

You will see how we can actually step into a whole level of healing ourselves

when we engage with the most marginalized and vulnerable in our communities.

Jesus invites us to be a church led by the voice of the Spirit.

You see that all through acts.

The Spirit told them to do this.

The Spirit said, don't go over there.

The Spirit empowered them to do this.

The Spirit set this person free.

The Spirit raised this person from the dead.

They were completely empowered by the Spirit.

And that is what we get the same Spirit.

We have the same Spirit living in us.

And we get to move in the power of the Spirit across this Bay Area.

How exciting is that?

That is the reason to get up out of bed this morning.

So we pick up the story of Paul as he and his companions

had been led by the Holy Spirit to Europe.

Here they are in Philippi, which is actually modern-day Greece.

And there were not very many Jews in this particular community.

And so there was no synagogue there.

And so what they would do is they would meet by the river.

Followers of God would meet by the river on the Sabbath.

They would discuss the Hebrew Scriptures there.

And this is where Paul would go to share Jesus.

The completion, the fullness of the Hebrew Scriptures.

So we see this in Acts 16, 13.

It says there when Paul meets Lydia.

On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the river

where we expected to find a place of prayer.

We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

So you see, this is kind of the place that they would show up

and share Jesus.

All right, so while they're kind of proclaiming Jesus through the city,

the slave girl shows up.

She's following Paul.

She's very likely possessed by what was known as a python spirit,

connected to the temple, the local temple of Delphi,

known for sorcery where people would worship gods

that would be able to predict the future.

Who does not want to know the future?

This is still super popular in our day and age, right?

Tell me what's going to happen.

I want to know the future.

Right?

And so these guys were making all kinds of money,

pimping this girl out,

selling her and her gift for their own financial gain.

And power.

You see, power and money always tied, right, with oppressors.

She was vulnerable and these men found her

and they took advantage of her for their own financial gain.

She was shadowing.

It's kind of interesting.

I heard kind of Jesse kind of like giggle

while he was reading that part where it's like Paul's annoyed.

Like what is going on here?

She was shadowing them and crying out behind them,

these men are servants of the most high God.

They're telling you the way to be saved.

She's actually speaking the truth, right?

She's speaking the truth.

The spirit inside of her, it knows that this is truth.

And so she's following.

And I wonder if she was drawn to them

because she knew that around them she could be set free.

I don't know.

Why was she drawn to them?

Why did she keep following them?

Why did she keep proclaiming this truth?

It's so interesting that this slave girl

is literally proclaiming deliverance through these men.

In verse 16, or excuse me, verse 18,

we see Paul annoyed and agitated.

I'm not sure why he didn't address it sooner.

Why did he wait a few days?

I don't know.

But it gets to the point where she is so disruptive

that he confronts her.

I think it's really important to remember,

when I was reading this, I thought to myself,

man, when we are around people that are enslaved

to any number of things, our fight is not with them.

Ephesians 6.12 says,

for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies,

but against evil rulers and authorities,

powers and principalities of the unseen world,

against mighty powers in this dark world,

and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

It's real easy to make enemies out of everyone,

but we need to remember who the real enemy is.

Here we see, again, as is evident throughout all of Acts,

the power in the name of Jesus.

The power in the name of Jesus.

Paul is calling on the authority of Jesus

over this demonic spirit,

and the spirit obeys Paul

and comes out of this precious slave girl in an instant.

I remember learning about the power of the name of Jesus

when I was a little girl,

and I would have bad dreams in the middle of the night,

and I would bolt to my mama's bedroom,

and she'd snuggle up with me for a little bit,

and then she'd walk me back to my room,

and she'd say,

Christy, whenever you're afraid,

just say the name of Jesus out loud,

and his presence will be with you,

and darkness will flee.

The enemy hates the name of Jesus,

so just say the name of Jesus.

That provided me great comfort as a little girl

to speak the name of Jesus when I was scared.

There is power, and there is power,

in the name of Jesus.

Because when we call on his name,

we're calling on his character,

his works, his reputation,

his resurrection power.

We're calling on everything that he is.

We're saying we need you to come

and invade this space with your power

and your love and your life

and your hope and your restoration.

And this girl, her chains,

are gone.

These chains that bind her,

the demonic spirit,

heaven has touched earth,

and when heaven invades earth,

chains fall off,

and people are set free.

And the powers that be,

the ones who benefit from people

being oppressed and enslaved,

well, they get very angry.

They get very, very angry.

And when we step into the stories

of the most vulnerable,

you will find yourself up against oppressors

that maybe you never experienced before.

When you begin to identify yourself

with the most marginalized.

In verse 19 through 21,

you see this.

Evidently, the people of Philippi

are fine with Paul and Silas

until they start messing with their money,

right?

And the power that came with that money.

And so,

these guys falsely accuse Paul and Silas.

They tell them,

you know,

in 19 through 21,

you can see those false lies

that they tell against them.

They want to make them suffer

for messing with their business venture.

Because like I said,

when the gospel spreads,

we see the dismantling

of the power of oppressors.

The gospel,

when the true gospel spreads,

the power of oppressors

is dismantled

by the power of the spirit

through the name of Jesus.

And as spirit-filled followers of Jesus,

we are invited to be part

of the restoration stories

that God wants to write.

Not because we're so great,

because just like Pastor Andrew said,

we have been rescued,

and therefore we point others

to the rescuer.

We have been set free,

and so we point to the one

who sets us free.

We have been given bread,

and so we share bread.

This is not about us

being some kind of hero.

This is about us sharing

what God has been given to us

and we can extend it

to anyone in our sphere of influence

who has open hands.

I wanted to take a moment

just to consider

who are some of the most

oppressed people

within our community.

I would suggest that

kids who find themselves

in foster care

are among the most vulnerable.

In the lives of these children,

we see the convergence

of the chains

of layers of brokenness,

systemic brokenness,

societal, familial,

and individual.

All this brokenness

converged in the life

of a child

entering in foster care

through no fault of their own.

The slave girl

being used here in Acts

while the first century

feels like,

oh,

this is so far away from us,

it's not really that far away.

as there are girls

enslaved within our community

being sold

and pimped out.

The reality is

60% of the kids

rescued from a human trafficking

ring a few years back.

They were kids

who spent time

in foster care.

Traffickers look for ways

to insert themselves

into environments

with vulnerable children

and manipulate them,

promising them love

and belonging.

Love and belonging

is the most basic human need.

And so when you can go

to places

where people don't have it

and give them

that false sense

of belonging and love,

I've seen this firsthand

when a 17-year-old

in our home

was propositioned

at a work program

for foster youth

by a 15-year-old kid

in the same program.

He approached her

and he said,

you and I can make

a lot of money together.

Let's work together.

She said,

no thanks.

And when I picked her up

and she told me

what had happened,

she added,

I might have said yes

a year ago.

Because she was

in a safe and loving home,

not a perfect home,

but because she was

in a safe and loving home

with food and internet access

and she was able

to go to the high school

that she really wanted

to go to,

she saw another path

for herself.

But you've got oppressors

sending in 15-year-old kids.

She said,

he was really cool about it.

He was really cool about it.

Of course he was.

This is darkness

disguised as light.

It's darkness disguised

as love and belonging.

The vulnerability

of kids who age out

of foster care

is so incredibly intense.

My brothers and sisters,

the outcomes for these kids

who are never welcomed

into safe and loving home,

they're heartbreaking.

Half of these kids

who age out

will develop

a substance abuse problem.

Half will be unemployed

by the time they're 24.

A third will deal

with homelessness.

You look around

and you wonder

who that's suffering

in our community

was a former foster youth

that we just couldn't

find a place for.

Three percent,

only three percent

of kids who age

out of foster care

without ever being welcomed

into a loving,

safe home,

only three percent

will graduate from college.

But this is where

we're invited to stay,

not on my watch,

not on my watch,

not in my city,

not if I have anything

to do with it.

We can make a difference

by welcoming these kids

into our homes

when they are most vulnerable

and seeking to prevent

these outcomes.

Let's go upstream.

Let's go upstream.

I believe that in this room

there are people

that God is inviting

into the lives

of kids in foster care.

It's been said

that when you have

biological children,

you get to co-create with God.

And when you step

into the life of a child

in foster care,

you have the privilege

of co-redeeming with God.

What story does he want to write

in the life of that child,

that teenager?

And this,

I just want to tell you,

this is not just for a small,

oh, well,

I'm not a young family.

I'm an empty nester.

Perfect!

Empty nesters are perfect.

I'm single.

I've always wanted to be married

and I've always wanted

to have kids,

but I've got to wait

until my man comes.

No, you don't!

It's so easy

to talk ourselves out

of doing hard things.

And all I want to do

is invite you

to ask God

what he is asking of you.

So picking it up

in verse 22,

Paul and Silas

are severely beaten

and then immediately

thrown into jail.

According to the commentator

J.B. Polhill,

the author of Acts

points out

that their feet

are placed in stalks

because often such stalks

were used as instruments

of torture.

They had a number

of holes for the legs

which allowed

for severe stretching

of the torso

and thus created

excruciating pain.

This is the context

of them singing these hymns.

Ironically,

they are jailed

for setting

this slave girl free.

When you move

in the power of the Spirit,

when you move

in the power of Jesus,

it doesn't mean

that all is going

to be hunky-dory

and beautiful

in your life

because you are

stepping straight

into the middle

of brokenness

and pain

and chaos

and into an empire

that is anti-God.

And so you are

going to expect

to get some pushback

when you step

into these stories.

God will be closer

than ever

because as we see

in Matthew 28,

he identifies

with the most marginalized.

He says,

when you do it

for the least,

you are doing it

for me.

So we see,

we experience

his presence there

more than ever

but it is hard.

And here they are

in this state,

in these stalks,

bloodied from being

tortured

and it says,

at midnight,

Paul and Silas

were praying

and singing hymns

to God

and the other prisoners

were listening to them.

This verse alone

is so powerful to me.

I don't know

if they were singing

because they're like,

it's okay,

it's all good,

let's sing

in the middle

of the storm

or if they were singing

as a defiant gesture

of worship

in the middle

of the hard.

Here they are

and I see the prisoners

at the edge

of their seats

and it's like,

what is happening

with these guys?

They're a complete

bloody,

tortured mess

and here they are singing

and I wonder

what they were singing.

We have probably

what they were singing

in our psalms

because that was

their song book

and these were Jewish boys

that had been raised up

as Jewish boys.

I wonder if they were singing,

the Lord is my shepherd,

I will lack nothing.

Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil

because you're with me.

Surely your goodness

and mercy will follow me

all the days of my life

or bless the Lord

oh my soul,

all my inmost being,

bless his holy name.

What were they singing?

Where can I go

from your presence?

Where can I flee

from your spirit?

Even if I go to the depths

you are still with me.

Their faith and joy

in the midst of suffering

is a beautiful picture

of how heaven invades earth

when the people of God

experience his presence

even in the most

horrific moments.

and I know that there

are people in this room

who can testify

to the reality

of the nearness of God

when things are very,

very dark.

I know sometimes

he's felt far too.

Sometimes he's felt very far.

Paul and Silas

seem to have the sense

that their lives

were in the hands of God.

They may have had

these physical constraints

but their spirits were free

and they seem to be

at peace as we read further.

I just want to remind you

this morning

that God is with you.

God is with you.

God is for you.

No matter what

you're walking through

he is there.

He is wanting to give you

what you need

sustaining you

and guiding you

and loving you

and offering his healing

to you.

I love how Pastor Tyler Staten

of Bridgetown's Church

suggests that this story

shows quote

the power of worship

when it's a choice

not a feeling.

Remember that those

jail cells flew open

when Paul and Silas

were singing in a prison

at midnight

when it was hard.

Not when the band

was playing their favorite song

and there was caffeine

coursing through their veins.

Worship is powerful.

It's a powerful way

to push back the darkness

and live into the truth

and I've had that experience

where all

I'm just feeling discouraged

and defeated

and like just hopeless

and I choose

to step into worship

whether through

it's a gratitude practice

or through music

and you

it's not like

it fixes everything

but there's

some of that darkness

lifts

because we remember

that God is with us

in it.

I wonder what was going

through the jailer's mind

as he listened to their songs

and saw their unbroken spirits.

When heaven invades earth

when Jesus' followers

move in the power

of the spirit

suffering is transformed.

There's supernatural joy

right in the middle of pain

and it's this defiant joy.

Gratitude is the pathway

of joy

in the midst of pain

and then the earthquake

and the chains come loose.

I read that living in Philippi

was similar to living

on the San Andreas Fault

that there was earthquakes

that would happen

frequently there

but this one was a biggie.

The jailer knew

that he was responsible

and we saw this earlier in Acts

that when Peter escaped

all the jailers were killed

and so this guy knows

he's responsible

these prisoners are going to go

he's just going to

he's going to off himself

right there

but Paul knew this

and so he cried out

we're still here!

We're not going anywhere!

Paul knew

that he was already free.

No chains could bind him

and he was more concerned

about this jailer's life

and soul

than he was

about his own

physical freedom

and I want to say that again.

He was more concerned

about this jailer's life

and soul

than he was

about his own

physical freedom.

Paul knew

that the person

who was really in chains

was the jailer.

As Paul points out

the miracle served

not to deliver them

but to deliver the jailer.

When heaven invades earth

the people of God

are more concerned

for the souls of others

the lives of others

than they are

for their own comfort

and safety.

This I believe

is one of the greatest

challenges

of the American church

our incredible addiction

to our own safety

and security

and comfort.

This is the invitation

into foster care.

It's this willingness

to get uncomfortable

for the sake

of a vulnerable child.

James 1.27

is such a common verse

used in this context.

It says

pure and genuine religion

in the sight of God the Father

means caring for orphans

and widows

in their distress

and refusing

to let the world

corrupt you.

This passage is saying

what we see

throughout all the scriptures

Old and New Testaments

that the most pure expression

of a true relationship

with God

is how we're engaging

with the most vulnerable

in our communities.

How we're speaking up

for those who can't speak

for themselves.

What we're doing

on behalf of the powerless

the voiceless

the marginalized

and I know that among

the most vulnerable

and powerless

are beloved children

removed from their families

because of abuse

or neglect.

Do you remember

how Jesus felt

about children?

Remember when the disciples

were like

we don't have time for them

and Jesus is like

indignant it says.

He was indignant.

Let the children come to me.

This is what the kingdom is like.

Can you imagine

how Jesus would feel

about the vulnerable children

entering in foster care?

how he must be saying

my people

you are my body.

You are the answer

to the cries

of these children.

Just like

in Exodus 2

I'm going off.

In Exodus 2

when Moses

when the people

of Israel

are chained

in slavery

in Egypt

and they're crying out

for their deliverance.

and it says

their cries

went up

and God heard

their groaning.

What does God do

in the very next chapter?

Does he come down?

No.

He invites Moses.

He shows up

in a burning bush

after this guy

was 40 years

shepherding

thinking his time

was over.

By the way

he thought his time

was over.

No that's for other people.

That's for the younger people.

No no no no no.

God said

I have heard

the cries of my people

and I am sending you.

You are the answer

to the cries

of the people

in your community.

They're saying

God where are you?

And then God taps on you

and sends you.

The second half

of this passage

it says

refusing to let

the world corrupt us.

How does the world

corrupt us?

Perhaps more than anything

the world's most

enticing invitation

is to seek

my own comfort

in every way

to care for myself.

This is my pleasure

my satisfaction

my

it's my happiness

it's my children

it's my house

it's my country

it's my money

mine mine mine mine

like the seagulls

in Finding Nemo

but in the kingdom

of God

we belong to each other

someone else's problem

is our problem.

The way of Jesus

invites us to lose

our life

that we might

find it

and he is with us

every step

of the way.

The reality is

our Bay Area communities

are in crisis

there are more children

entering foster care

right here in Alameda County

than there are families

to welcome them.

Do you know that

50% of the kids

who enter

are sent out

of county

they're displaced

from their communities

because there's not

enough homes

here for them.

Kids from 0

to 21.

Can you imagine

being a teenager

in Oakland

removed from your home

and you're moved

to Merced?

You lose your high school

your community

your friends

your extended family

the smells

of your neighborhood

on top of losing

your biological family

as broken as it is

it's still your family

the displacement

of these kids

is tragic

and as followers

of Jesus

the invitation

to love our neighbor

is on the top

of the list

and we're sending

our most vulnerable

neighbors away

saying

we just can't do it

this is not my problem

I can't do it

Foster the Bay

is simply a coalition

of churches

including Christ Church

that are committed

to ending this crisis

we want to see

a waiting list

of families

instead of a waiting

list of children

if every church

just a fraction

of churches

raised up one

foster family

and wrapped that

family with the

support of four

support friends

who took the journey

with them

in the context

of the community

we'd have more

than enough families

to meet the needs

of these kids

entering care

we need a waiting

list not just

for the 0 to 2

we need a waiting

list for the 15

year old

for the 13

and 11 year old

siblings

can you imagine

being taken

from your parents

and your sibling

is placed

in a different

home than you

are

so that's the

invitation

into the

restoration story

that God wants

to write

in your life

and the lives

of kids in foster

care

there's two ways

you can get involved

one

we need foster

parents

if you have

a nudge

at all

if you have

a nudge

at all

around these

kids

just take

the next

step

this is a

time in their

life where

they need

someone

who will

say we're

still here

we're not

going anywhere

and I realize

that this is a

big ask

to consider

opening your

home up

to a kid

in foster

care

but if not

the resurrection

people

then who

if not us

then who

stepping into

these stories

will be filled

with unspeakable

joy and

heart-wrenching

pain

you're stepping

straight into

chaos and

brokenness

it's complicated

and it's hard

and it's

beautiful

and it will

change you

in ways you

can't imagine

let me tell

you I used

to think life

was you

did this

and this

and then you

get this

until I

stepped into

foster care

and the

messiness

of what it

means to be

human

and how

different it

is to be

born into

the family

I was born

into

the family

of the

child that

we took

when he

was three

and his

mom had

been trafficked

at 16

from a bus

stop

by a

Romeo pimp

pretending to

be her

boyfriend

within two

months of

meeting her

she was out

on international

bull

he brought

her up

from LA

why

why is that

her path

why do I

get to be

born into

a family

who from

the day

I'm born

the day

I'm conceived

I'm celebrated

and loved

and everything

is paid

for

and you

can do

anything

what I

have been

given

wow

I am

responsible

to share

what I

have been

given

as many

of us

in this

room

are

whatever

we have

we give

the second

role you

could step

into is

that of

a support

friend

who come

around

those foster

families

offering them

tangible

spiritual

emotional

support

because

foster

parenting

is

challenging

50 to

60%

of folks

quit

after the

first year

but we've

seen this

radically

change

when you

have

support

the

support

of your

church

community

committed

to you

not saying

hey let me

know if you

need something

that's amazing

I can never

do that

call me

no

that is not

a support

friend

a support

friend is

someone who

actually

commits

to

showing

up for

you

on a

consistent

long term

regular

basis

support

friends

can be

there for

devoted

prayer and

encouragement

on hard

days

they can be

there to

bring a

meal

to provide

child care

to help

you fix

up your

home

to get

licensed

to maybe

do fix

it and

repairs

to

help

with yard

work

to pay

for your

house

to be

clean

knowing

that you

have this

village

around you

when you're

walking through

such a hard

story can

make all the

difference

we've seen

90% of our

families sustain

beyond a year

and foster the

bay because of

the support

friend structure

around these

families

that's powerful

we're all

called show up

for vulnerable

children within

our community

in some way

the question

is how

so I'd like

to just invite

you to simply

take the next

step

we have

a table

and our

fantastic

advocates

Sharon and

Shay will be

at the table

and there's

a card in

the back

over here

in this

community area

and you can

fill that out

and we're

going to have

a meeting

here at

regeneration

in Oakland

on July

31st

if you feel

at all

moved

by what

you've heard

today

at all

wanting to

hear a little

bit more

just take

the next

step

I'm not

going to

drop a

child in

foster care

off with

you

tomorrow

this is the

thing

when God

invites us

into doing

hard things

we just jump

to ten

steps

we think

oh but I

can't do

this tomorrow

well you don't

have to do

this tomorrow

you just take

the next step

and then wait

for God to show

you the next

step and then

you take the

next step

and this is how

it is with

anything in life

that God's

speaking to you

about this

morning

whether it's

foster care

or something

else he's

inviting you

into

you just

take the

next step

don't worry

about step

ten

he'll worry

about that

when you

get there

just do it

right now

so Paul's

phrase

we're still

here

kind of

summing it

up here

every child

is someone

fighting for

them

much like

that story

that Jesus

tells the

prodigal son

who's waiting

this father

is waiting

at the door

for his son

to return

I'm still

here

right

that's that

posture

I'm not

going anywhere

I will wait

and I will

be here

always

back to the

last few

verses of the

text today

the story

ends with

the jailer

asking

what must

I do

to be

saved

the faith

of these

men was

so compelling

the fact

that they

stayed

instead of

leaving

their joy

and their

suffering

their compassion

for him

when they

could have

left

this is all

just stunning

and it

captivates him

and he wants

what they

have

and so

they invite

him to

believe in

Jesus

and be

saved

the miracle

for the

jailer

was that

these

prisoners

stayed put

and this

leads to

immediate

transformation

in his

own life

he didn't

care

about their

wounds

until now

and now

he dresses

them

and feeds

them

cares for

them

and what's

so beautiful

is not

just the

jailer

is set

free

but his

whole

family

is swept

up into

the wonder

of Jesus

his whole

household

and they

all believe

and are

baptized

Jesus

love

embodied

in you

his people

changes

everything

because when you

live like this

people are like

what do you

what are you

doing

and why

people get

to know

and see

Jesus

reflected in

you

and I

believe that

when we

are filled

by the

spirit

that there

are times

when we

walk

into spaces

and there

is a light

and there

is a hope

and there

is a power

that we

hold and

carry with

us

that people

see

and that

draws them

to Jesus

and then let

him do the

heavy lifting

we don't have

to convince

anyone of

anything

we live

our lives

embodied in

the love

of Jesus

and trust

him to do

the work

that he

wants to

do

what does

Jesus

want

to do

in your

life

how is

he drawing

himself

to

how are

you being

drawn to

him

and invited

to leave

what's safe

and comfortable

to follow

the powerful

spirit

wherever he

leads

Jesus

he is the

chain breaker

he sets

people free

and then we

get to be

conduits of

this chain

breaking

freedom

that he

wants to

bring into

the lives

of the people

in our

community

as you

consider what

it looks

like to

move in

the power

of the

spirit

wherever he

leads

I just

want to

remind you

of this

poem

of St.

Teresa

of Avila

I'm going

to close

with this

Christ has

no body

but yours

no hands

no feet

on earth

but yours

yours are

the eyes

with which

he looks

compassion

on this

world

yours are

the feet

with which

he walks

to do

good

yours are

the hands

with which

he blesses

all the

world

yours are

the hands

yours are

the feet

yours are

the eyes

you are

his body

Christ

has no

body now

but yours

so Jesus

we give you

our bodies

right now

we give you

our hands

our feet

our hearts

and our eyes

love

I pray

that everyone

in this

room

that is

moved

by compassion

I pray

that their

compassion

would be

embodied

in actions

in the

world

I pray

that as

we

spend time

studying your

Bible

that it

would be

metabolized

into our

world

in the way

that we

live

and move

I pray

that for

anyone in

this room

who's

feeling

that they

are in

chains

that are

binding

them in

some way

I pray

that in

Jesus name

in the

powerful name

of Jesus

that you

would set

them free

and I

pray that

as we

walk in

freedom

as you

continue to

keep setting

us free

that we

would extend

what you

have given

us to

others

Lord

we give

ourselves

to you

and I

pray that

anything

that you're

saying

in this

room

I pray

that every

answer

to you

would be

yes

yes

yes

yes

in Jesus

name

I pray

amen