Sermon
When A Whole Church Prays Together - November 23, 2025
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Good morning, Resurrection Church.
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My name is Richard. I am the high school youth
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director here at Rez. I'm so excited that you're here
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with us this morning. So a couple weeks ago, it was
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volleyball season for my daughter and we had a game that
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night and we weren't sure if she was going to play.
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So I was like, hey, I got other stuff to do.
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I do I really need to go. And then the Holy Spirit
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reminded me how many times God shows up for me even though I
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don't, I'm not going to play in the game.
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How many times it's not about my performance or how good I
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perform, but that God is always showing up for me.
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So we went to the game and it was awesome.
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But I want to remind you and encourage you with this is no
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matter what you're doing, no matter in the chaos of your
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life, how well you're performing or not, that God is going to
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show up for you. And he shows up for you every
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day. And maybe you're new to this
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whole Christian thing and you're, you're barely getting to
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know who God is. I want to let you know that he
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loves you and he cares about every intricate part in your
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life because he's a loving father.
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So today is going to be a little different.
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We are going to have our prayer service.
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And I'm so excited that we get to pray together as a church
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family. We get to practice what Pastor
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Daniel's been teaching us for the past couple weeks, how to
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pray. So we're going to go through the
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acronym space, right? We're going to praise Scripture.
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We're going to praise, we're going to acknowledge, do
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acknowledgement. We're going to have a time of
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confession, and we're going to entreat to the Lord.
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We're going to plead to the Lord with requests.
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So as we get to pray today as a church body, there's going to be
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a segment when we have open mic, you're going to be able to come
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up and you're going to get to pray your you have your prayer
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requests also. So if you're able to, would you
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stand and worship with us today? This.
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Is my story. I'll testify.
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Blessings on blessings be poured on my life.
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Start remembering how good you should.
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Yes, thank you, God. Hi, my name is Pastor Steve and
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I serve as one of your elders here.
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And it's my privilege to start us out today and pray the
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Scriptures. And we're going to be talking a
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little bit right now about God's character, but I want you to
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assume a position of prayer, kind of like Lee leads this
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worship, just actively, Not just, you know, humbly.
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Yes, humbly, but not just quietly.
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This is a time where we're worshiping and talking to God
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through His Word. So join me as I lead us out.
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Father in Heaven, we so grateful and thankful for the fact that
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you have allowed us to the privilege of coming to to you in
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prayer and even using your word. It says that the Lord is
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gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and great and faithful
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love. The Lord is good to everyone.
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His compassion rests on all He has made, and you have made
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will, and all you have made will.
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Thank you Lord, the faithful will bless you.
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And Father, as we continue this time in prayer, we do bless you.
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We thank you so much for your compassion on us.
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The fact that you're slow to anger.
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Let us learn from that as we deal with our family, as we deal
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with our workmates, that we are slow to anger.
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That our brains process what's coming in so that we can
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respond. And love and compassion and
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goodness so that we might be able to build your church by one
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person at a time as we communicate that love that
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slowed us to anger, that greatness that you have given us
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in your name through your Word, through the preached word and
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the prayer word and the singing that we sing.
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Father, help us worship in all areas of our lives as we
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continue this time today in prayer, through worship, through
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song, through reading your Word and contemplating in our hearts
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our relationship with You. And all these things I pray in
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Jesus holy name, Amen. Well, good morning, everybody.
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My name is Pastor Dave. I'm the middle school director
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here at Resurrecting Church. In a moment, we are going to
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pray over our tithes and offerings.
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But before we do, I have a few things that you need to know for
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this week #1 if you have not yet and you desire to be baptized,
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December 7th is the week for you.
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People off, let's go. People often wonder.
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Come on, they wonder, does God have instructions for me?
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Does He give us steps in our lives?
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And absolutely, number 1, he says believe in Him, believe and
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entrust in Him with everything you do #2 immediately he says go
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be baptized, go get baptized. He doesn't say that because it
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seals your salvation. It doesn't solidify what he's
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doing. He tells us to.
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Because when God changes you, when He does something so
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amazing in your life, you have to tell other people about it.
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Amen. And the Bible gives us the most
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beautiful way to do that. And that is to follow and what
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we're commanded to do in the believers baptism, December 7th
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is that day, no matter how old you are, God calls us, go get
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baptized. Follow in His commands, do what
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He's asking, Show the people around, show the church, show
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your friends, show your family that you are sold out for God
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and you're doing what He asked you to do because you love Him
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so much, because he's changed you.
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December 7th, the following Sunday, December 14th, If you
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have a child now wives, I'm not talking about your husband's.
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If you have a child that you would like to be dedicated, here
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at the church, we have a child dedication service coming up.
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Child dedication services are so beautiful.
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It's an opportunity for you as the parent to commit what we
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know is the gift that God has given you.
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Commit that child to showing him and her what it's like to live a
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Christian life, to raise them in the way that God calls them to
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do in church. Church, this is a moment for us
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to commit our lives to these families, an opportunity for us
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to stand and pray with them and guide them and be there for them
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because we are not to do this alone.
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Amen. We are to do this together as a
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family and help each other raise each other and show them and
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help them guide them through the ways.
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So December 14th, both of these dates, both of these things have
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sign ups. We'd love for you to sign up.
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We'd love for you to go to our website and sign up for baptism,
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sign up for child dedications. We asked you to sign up so we
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know we can be prepared and, and, and hand you the, the stuff
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that we're going to do for dedication.
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And as we prepare to pray over our tithes and offerings.
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Last week, last week, we kicked off our Build 2026 campaign.
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We handed out pledge cards and we asked you to pray over these
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pledge cards. Pray about what God is calling
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you and how he asked you to respond to what He is doing here
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at Resurrection Church. In these services, 34
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salvations, 65 baptisms, 270 first time guests have shown up
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to Resurrection Church this year.
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The list of what God is doing in our church, it goes on virtually
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endless. So as we stare 2026 in the eyes,
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Resurrection Church is dedicated and moving with God and coming
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alongside him with all that He is already planning for us.
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Amen. This week, this week we ask you
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to take the next step. If you have not filled out that
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pledge card, consider doing it right now.
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If you have, if you filled it out, pray whether God is calling
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you to go even further. You can drop those pledge cards
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at any of your any of our offering boxes that they're all
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at the exit stations in the lobby.
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This is also how you can give to God's mission by dropping off
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your offerings in any of those offering boxes.
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Also, you can text give to the 888-976-7349.
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This is another way you can easily give to God's mission
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through Resurrection Church. Let me pray over these tithes
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and offerings and our 2026 pledge cards.
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Father God, we look at everything you're doing.
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We see it, God. We see you moving, we see your
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hand. We see people confessing that
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you are Lord, and we thank you God, We thank you that you are
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working. I ask that we step up, we step
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into your will, and we dedicate. We dedicate some of our money,
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our time, our ties, our offerings to you, God.
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We give to you because you command us to give joyfully.
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And God, I just see you do so many things.
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We thank you God in Jesus name, Amen.
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Let us continue our prayer service.
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We will now focus and recognize God's holiness.
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Isaiah 5715 says this. The high and lofty One who lives
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in eternity, the Holy One, says this.
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I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits
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are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of
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the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant
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hearts. Join as we pray, as we focus on
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God's holiness, let us pray. Father God, we gather here and
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take a moment to exalt you, to lift you up as the Holy One.
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We recognize how amazing you are, how massive, how completely
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set apart from all things bad. God, when I stand here and I
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think about it, it humbles me how holy you are.
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I'm in awe of you, God. Your words tell us that you are
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the high and lofty one who lives in eternity.
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You're the ultimate king sitting on the ultimate throne.
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It's hard to imagine, but your words tell us that your robes
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fill your temple with glory. We recognize that you are so
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holy that even powerful angels cover their eyes, cover the
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faces and Your holiness in reverence.
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This morning we echo their cries.
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Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. The whole earth is filled with
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your glory. We bow low before you, God, for
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you are Holy Father. Even even though you live in
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such a high and holy place, You are with us, God, You do not
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distance from us. You choose to live with those
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whose spirits are contrite and humble.
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Thank you for reaching out to us.
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Thank you for being the one who can restore our crushed spirits.
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Thank you for reviving us. We ask that you give us strength
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and the dedication to pursue Your Holiness to work at a life
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that you ask us to be holy. I pray every single person in
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this room makes the choice to be able to tell this to your face.
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Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is
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to come in Jesus name, Amen. Good morning.
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My name is Jeff Palmbach. I'm one of the elders here at
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Rez Church. This is a Elder Don Van Sickle
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up here with me, and we're going to lead the section on praise
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and Thanksgiving for what God has done in this church and what
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God has done through us. So if you'll join me as I pray
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through Scripture and as I pray through words, so let's go join
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together in prayer. Yours, Lord, is a greatness, and
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the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all
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that is in the heavens and earth is yours.
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Yours is a Kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as Head above
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all. Both riches and honor come from
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you, and you rule over all in your hand, Our power and might,
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in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
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And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
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Thank you Almighty God, that You would work in our lives and
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through our trials to build us into a people that are complete
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lacking nothing to love you and to love the people You place
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near us. Blessed be the name and God the
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Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
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with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He
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chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we
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should be holy and blameless before Him.
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Thank you Lord, for Your plans for us as your people, that You
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have a future and a hope for us, that Your love is
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unconditionally, wholeheartedly in continuously towards us,
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Lord, that we can know you, each one of us personally.
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Thank you Lord, for the love you have given us for the next
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generations, the children, the Sunday School program, the youth
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and the teens, and the servants and leaders that love these
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kids, the camps and the volunteers that have brought
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community and kids and their families into your Kingdom.
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Thank you, God, for the great news of your salvation, that we,
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you would use us to show your love and hope to the next
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generation. We love you, Lord, We praise
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your holy name. We thank you for being with us
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here as we reach out to you and praise your wonderful name.
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Amen. Thanks, Jeff.
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So years ago, in an elder room, I remember being together and
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somebody said, we need to pray about this.
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And one of the pastor said, has it come to this?
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And if you knew Pastor Ted, that's his sense of humor.
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Pretty dry, right? But some people often think that
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it's the last resort. This is what we do as a last
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resort. But the truth of it is it's the
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first thing we do. And I so much appreciate this
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series on prayer and the elders and pastors, deacons of this
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church are devoted to prayer and ministry of the Word.
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And we realize how important it is.
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It's often talked about, but if you have a an attention span of
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a gnat like I do, it can be difficult to pray.
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But we are training ourselves and working diligently at being
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in prayer and offering up to God what what is his?
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When I start out in Psalms 106, praise the Lord, give thanks to
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the Lord for he is good and his love endures forever.
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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we love you.
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We're in awe of you. We're so appreciative of how
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you're working the lives of your congregation.
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And as we answer the call to love you, love one another, make
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disciples of all nations, and bring glory to you.
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I love this church, this Church of yours and all that are part
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of it. Their love for you, the servant
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attitudes, the generosity of their gifts and their talents.
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May you bless them mightily. Colossians talks about whatever
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you do in Word or deed, do everything in the name of the
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Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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We thank you God for what you're doing in the lives of your
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people. It's amazing.
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We sit, we look at our community groups, discipleship programs,
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mentor groups, women's brunches, global missions, J Doe,
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everything that goes on there, local outreach.
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Amazing. And we realize, as we've heard
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recently, that our chief end is to glorify you and enjoy you
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forever. And from our community group,
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Philippians 4, it's kind of our go to do not be anxious about
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anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
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Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
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And it keeps it keeps popping up in our group text and we talk
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about it regularly at group how important it is to be anxious
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for nothing. 2nd Corinthians talks about for our sake he made
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him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the
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righteousness of God. You might not know it, but out
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in the office there, it's on a sign.
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It's it's an amazing and without Jesus, without the resurrection,
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nothing else really matters. Amazing passages.
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I'll end with Zephaniah. The Lord your God is in your
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midst, a mighty one who will save.
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He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by
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his love. He will exult over you with loud
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singing. Think about this church.
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We have this mighty Savior, powerful and capable of saving
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people. He's present, He's in our midst,
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He's with us, He's calming us, He's singing to us, and He wants
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to spend eternity with us. What an amazing, what an amazing
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passage. We love you Lord, We thank you
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for this day of prayer. We thank you for this time of
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worship. We pray these things in Jesus
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name and for his sake. Amen.
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Amen. Well, church, when we read the
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Bible and we look at what did, what did church service look
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like when it started in the very beginning as as disciples and
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and believers begin to come to Christ, man, what did, what did
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those church services look like? And what we find as early as
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Acts 2 when the first church met, is that as they gathered,
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they all had prayers of Thanksgiving and hymns and songs
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and an opportunity to participate when they gathered
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together to encourage one another.
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My friend Nathan talked to me about his experience in the
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Plymouth Brethren churches where they would come together and
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each of them would be able to stand and, and speak to the
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goodness of God and, and read verses and pray out loud.
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We have a really cool church here in town called the River in
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the Way where they meet in homes and everyone gets to participate
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in those services. And so I think one of the
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laments of being a pastor and an elder is to feel like at times
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we're here entertaining you. It is your relationship with the
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Lord. We're not a substitute for that.
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You get to participate. Hebrews would say the veil
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between US and God was torn so that you and I could have
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personal access to God. And so we're here on
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Thanksgiving week, and we're in this segment thanking God.
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And I guarantee you, you won't have to think very hard to find
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some things in your life that you can thank God for.
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Amen. Amen.
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So here's what we do. We've got microphones here on
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either side. You're going to come up and
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you're just going to thank the Lord.
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It's your opportunity. This is called congregational
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prayer, to come up and to say a prayer of Thanksgiving to your
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Father. And so you move as the Lord
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leads. You will take a few minutes, and
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then we'll move on to the next segment of prayer.
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Go ahead. Heavenly Father, we come before
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you in the name of Jesus Christ and we just ask you to please be
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with us. Look over the church, look over
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the elders. We pray for them that they have
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wisdom, that they have the care that they know to go out to the
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communities. And we were given the Great
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Commission of making creating disciples.
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And we just ask you to put it in a heart, heart in our hearts to
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go out and do that. We just like like Elder Don said
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that without Jesus, nothing else matters, you know, and I ask you
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just to please in our hearts, bring us back to the basics and
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know from Alpha to Omega, it's all about Jesus in our hearts.
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Please rotten us to love kindness.
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We just ask you to be with us and we thank you for the
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blessings in our lives, the ones that have already come to pass
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and the ones that will surely come to pass in the future.
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We just thank you, Lord. We ask you to please be with us.
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Look over us and our families and our times of need.
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And we just thank you so much in Jesus name, Amen.
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Father, I am so thankful for your word.
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I'm a thankful that it's alive and well in my life.
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And just recently, as I was crying out to you, Father I,
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your word came. To my mind, seek my face.
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And it seems like when we seek your face that all other things
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pale away. And I am so grateful.
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Thank you so much. Father, I am thankful that you
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are the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the
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Father except through the Son. I'm thankful for that You put up
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with me all those years of rebellion and having my own way
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and that you brought me through that and let me live long enough
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to kind of get my attention. And just I thank you for a
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church that emphasizes prayer. And I just pray for our elders
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and our pastors and for the congregation that we may always
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pay attention to you also. Thank you that I'm able to get
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up in the morning and we give you praise and glory and honor
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in Jesus name, Amen. When our life is full of
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blessings, when we have our hands full of relationships with
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children, with work, it seems like we should just be
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overwhelmed by the generosity of God.
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But so often when we have our hands full of children and work
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and relationships, we find that instead our anxieties multiply
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our our fear of losing what we have multiplies.
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And so the things that we've prayed for and, and asked for
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and hoped for, the things that by every right, we should be on
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our knees thanking and praising God for become burdens.
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Not because of not because it was a trick or a lie.
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Like God convinced us to like go get married or go have kids.
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And then that was really a trap. But just because life is hard,
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life is difficult, it's hard to predict what the future holds.
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And so the truth of all of these blessings is that they really
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are the generosity and the riches of God, but only in
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surrender to God, only with open hands, recognizing that what he
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gave he can take away. And what He's given to us isn't
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ours to hold on to with closed fists, but to, to share, to both
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receive and to give to others. And so God, I, I thank you that
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it's only in surrender that I'm free.
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It's only when I release the blessings of family, of
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children, of of work and responsibilities, that I can
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find freedom in those things. I thank You that we can find
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relief from our anxieties and freedom from pain and suffering,
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not by running away from our problems, God, but by daily,
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again and again, laying all that You've given us, every
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responsibility at your feet, and trusting that Your will, not
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ours, Your power and not ours, Your strength and not ours, is
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sufficient to meet all of our needs, to provide for us until
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the end, and to build Your Kingdom here on earth.
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Thank You that You are enough, even when we are weak, even when
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we are small. Amen.
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Lord, I thank you for your perfect mercy and your perfect
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grace, and I also thank you so much for your faithfulness.
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And I thank you for the change in my life, in my heart that you
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have made over this past year. Lord, I thank you so much for
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the pastors, the elders, the the friends I have in the
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discipleship group, Simon. And I just feel like my life
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keeps getting better and better whenever I just immerse myself
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and you, Lord, And so I thank you for that.
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I thank you that your burden of love is just so your your burden
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is light, Lord, It's because you always show us love and and I
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thank you so much for having the long legs that you do and you
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chase us down in our sin whenever we need correction,
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Lord. And I just thank you for for the
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life that I have here on earth until I'm with you, Lord, I just
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want to be a light to other people.
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And I just want to spread your word.
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And I'm just incredibly grateful for this church and how the
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church is growing and serving in the church.
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And I've learned most, Lord, that, you know, it's not about
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what position that you serve in in church.
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It's it's where your heart's AT. And I just thank you for being
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in my life because without church and the activities, I
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have no idea where I would be right now, Lord.
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So I just thank you for your perfect mercy, your perfect
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grace and your faithfulness, especially whenever my family,
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we, we would say, OK, we're going to put our trust in you,
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Lord. And you know, maybe we're going
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to choose to up our our tithing and you still show us how
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faithful you are to provide. And Lord, I just thank you for
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all of the blessings. In your name we pray.
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Amen. Our heavenly Father, dear and
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precious Lord, I come before you this day.
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Father God, with praise and adoration in my heart, I lift up
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praise into your holy place for setting my feet back upon the
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rock. Father, you've given me power
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over the darkness that has plagued me, plagued me, plagued
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me my my whole life, and I claim that victory over my addiction.
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I lift up my marriage to Shan unto you Father God and I pray
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for the 91st time that you would get charged over your angels to
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watch this in all of our ways lest we dash or put against a
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stone. God, I'm thankful for your
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provision and your power where I am weak.
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I lift the resurrection church to you Father God.
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I just pronounce a blessing financially that they would be
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able to reach out to community in a mighty way, Lord.
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I lift up all those who are hurting, who are lost here Lord,
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and I just pray completion and strength through your name in.
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The name of beauty. Christ, I pray all these things.
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Amen. Dear Heavenly Father God, I'm
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just so grateful for the people of Resurrection Church, the
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people that you've placed in my life.
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When I've needed people, they've surrounded me with their love
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and their care. They've lifted me up, and then
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you've given me the opportunity to lift others up when they
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needed me. God, I just thank you for the
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servant heart that you've given the people here.
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And I pray that you will continue to bless this church,
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that you will continue to put upon our hearts the people of
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our community, of our state, of our nation, and around the world
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who need us. God, they need us to step up.
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They need you. And I just pray that you would
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continue to work through us and that you would continue our
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mission here with love and compassion and care.
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I ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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Lord, where do I begin? Let's start with thank you for
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saving us. We wouldn't have been here
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without you, without your providing, without your love,
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without your guidance. I thank you for saving my family
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from the depths of hell, from saving my family from these
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earthly demises. I thank you for a home that we
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can call our own. And I'm thankful that I was able
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to stay here and see it. I'm thank you.
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I'm thankful for a lot of things, Lord, and you already
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know what they are, but I just want to speak them out to you
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again. Thank you.
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In your heavenly name I pray, Amen.
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Lord, there's so much that I could come to you with
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Thanksgiving for right now. Lord, I could tell you I'm so
-
grateful for a marriage that's thriving when I've tried to blow
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it so often. I can tell you how grateful I am
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just for your provision and, and the lack of my unfaithfulness.
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And Lord, I could tell you how grateful I am for this, this
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church. But, but Lord, above all else, I
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am grateful that you have paid the price that that I could not
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pay. I'm grateful for your son.
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I'm grateful for salvation. And, and Lord, this morning, I
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pray for your church. Lord, I, I don't pray for the
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world. We do not pray for the world.
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Your son did not pray for the world.
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He prayed for his own. And so, Father, this morning I
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pray for your church and I am so grateful that the building of
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the church does not rest with us.
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It rests with you. You said I.
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I will build my church. Lord, you are doing that work.
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And so Father I, I pray for our leaders that you would give them
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even more hunger for your word, even more hunger for depth.
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It take them deeper than they ever thought they could go Lord,
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make your word go forward and just continue to keep us.
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Lord, you are the one who keep us.
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You are the one who sustains us. It is not up to us.
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You do the work, all you have ever called us to do.
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You is be faithful. So Father, that is my prayer
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this morning is that you make us a people of your word.
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Take us even deeper and Lord, help us continue to remain
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faithful to to the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures and
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help us remain focused on building up your people,
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building up the church and making disciples.
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Help us keep focused on that and help us not to get distracted by
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the world, by programs, but help us stay focused on the good news
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that you have delivered once and all to the Saints.
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Amen. Lord, you are holy, holy, holy,
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and I thank you for that. I thank you.
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Without you, without what you did to your Son, I wouldn't be
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standing here today. Family that you've given me
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coming to this church, Lord, I am grateful and thankful for as
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they encourage one another, The things I've seen here, Lord,
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I've never seen in any other churches.
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And I just thank you for that time and thank you.
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For guiding me here, in your mighty name I pray.
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Amen. Dear Lord our Father, I just
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want to thank you for saving me from the darkest steps of
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myself. And not.
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Ending my life and being able to be here and see my son grow and.
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Lord, I pray. That you can put a blanket of
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love around my son and my wife. That they know that my wife can
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come to you, Lord, and I could be here at church with my wife
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and my boy. But thank you for giving me the
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strength to become the man I am today.
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If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here.
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And thank you to the Rez for being a family to me, a family
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that I really didn't have much of growing up.
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So thank you very much, Lord, Thank you.
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Lord God, you are so good. You're so good.
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You're so faithful. You're so holy, Lord, I thank
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you that you draw near to the broken hearted.
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I thank you that you provide peace beyond our understanding.
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I thank you that you heal deep wounds.
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God, only you can do that. Lord Jesus, I thank you that
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even through the church's troubles the last several
-
months, God, that you are still working.
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You are doing a work. You are changing hearts.
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You are changing minds. You are renewing people's minds.
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You are giving hearts of flesh to replace the hardest stone.
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You are giving salvations freely.
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You are leading people to be baptized.
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God, you are doing such a work. You're raising up group leaders.
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You're raising up mentors, you're raising up people in
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ministry, you're raising up people to disciple others, Lord,
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and you're softening others hearts to be discipled.
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You are doing such a work, God. You are convicting people to lay
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down their sin and they are obeying you.
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God, you are doing such a work through this community and I'm
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so grateful to be a part of it. I'm so grateful to witness your
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faithfulness to draw a sin and to sanctify us.
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God, you are so faithful. This place doesn't have to be
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perfect because you are. You are perfect Lord, and you
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are going to use it no matter what.
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I thank you for that power, God, that is going to carry us
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through. You are doing such a work
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through this church, Lord Jesus, you've given this community such
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a special heart of service and just loving on one another.
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Lord, there's nothing like it anywhere else that I've seen.
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I'm so grateful that you brought me and my family here, Lord
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Jesus, you are doing such an incredible work, Lord God, I'm
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so excited to see what else you're going to do through this
-
incredible place. Thank you, Lord.
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Germany, father, I just want to thank you for this church and
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all the people that are in this church.
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Our small group stared at me, father, and men that are in my
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men's group. Thank you for being there for
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us, Germany Father, even though we deserve it.
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Thank the Heavenly Father. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise.
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The. Jesus, Hallelujah, Thank you the
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heavenly Father. We praise and worship you, the
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heavenly Father. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
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Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus, God, I.
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Thank you for godly community, for the women that you encourage
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it, encourage to be vulnerable and to speak truth with love and
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kindness. I'm so grateful for my family,
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for my children that challenge me to be healthier and grow
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every single day. I'm so thankful for the ability
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to break generational chains, even though it's so hard.
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I'm so grateful for your sanctification process, for your
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relationship, for your companionship through so much
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grief and hardship and challenges in life.
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It's so easy just to want everything to be easy.
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But the hard moments are what grow us, and I'm learning to be
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grateful. Not positively toxic, but
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grateful even for pain, for obedience, and for your love
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that just keeps pushing me every single day in Jesus name, Amen.
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Oh Father God, I'm so grateful that you chase us down even when
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we're far away from you and you never give up.
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Lord, thank you for bringing us to this church So.
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Just grateful and thankful in Jesus name I pray.
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God, I almost forgot to thank you for financial peace that the
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churches having members go through on Wednesday and
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Thursday nights. Lord, you know, you take
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something with the church's struggles, as JC said the past
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couple of months and how you're going to take something and just
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completely make it beautiful. The lives that are being
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transformed on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Lord, through
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this program, just the just the amount of time that my husband
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and I actually now spend talking about finances without yelling
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or rolling our eyes at each other.
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We're almost showing each other the app like we would YouTube
-
videos. So I just thank you that in
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spite of the church having some financial difficulties in the
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past, Lord, how many lives are going to come out changed
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because of that, that are going to come out better from it?
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So I thank you so much for that, Lord.
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Heavenly Father, in Psalm 51 it says, let me hear joy and
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gladness. Let the bones that you have
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broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and
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blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O
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God, and renew a right spirit within me.
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Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy
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Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your
-
salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
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Heavenly Father, I just. I thank you and praise you for
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allowing us to be your church. I just thank you and praise you
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for. All the wonderful blessings that
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you've given us, all the tremendous things that you're
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doing within our church and within my family.
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Lord, it's so easy to just look at the path that you've put in
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front of us and and treat it like an escalator.
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We just get on and stand there and oh, God's going to move me,
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but I know that's not the way it's supposed to be.
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Heavenly Father, the path that you put in front of us, we have
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to walk. We have to do the effort.
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We have to do the work, Heavenly Father.
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So I just ask that that you allow us to rejoice in your
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work, rejoice in the the tasks that you've put before us, and
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help us to to be faithful servants of Jesus.
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In your name we pray. Amen.
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One more on each side. Father, I just want to thank you
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for your faithfulness. A year ago today, my family was
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broken and you restored us. You gave me Psalm 40, which says
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I waited patiently for the Lord to help me.
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And he turned to me and he. Heard my cry, he.
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Lifted me out of the mud and the mire.
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He said my feet on a solid rock. He has given me a new song to
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sing, a hymn of praise to my God.
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Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
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They will put their trust in the Lord.
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Father, thank you. Thank you that today my family
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is whole. Thank you that you are restoring
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God. God, I could not have pictured
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this day. I couldn't have pictured me
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standing here thanking you. But you are faithful, and I know
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that you have plans for so many families to be restored.
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We just praise you and we thank you and remember that you are
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the faithful God. We love you.
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Lord. I just want to echo what so many
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have said this morning about your faithfulness.
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So often when I am in the middle of challenging circumstances,
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it's easy to turn and shake my fist at you and say, how could
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you do this to me? God, where are you?
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And so I thank you for the times in my past that I can look back
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on and recognize your faithfulness and know that you
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are unchanging and therefore you are going to be in the
-
challenging circumstance that I am in right now.
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So I thank you for that. Lord, I thank you for your
-
testimony in my life that I can use that to preach to myself
-
about your unending faithfulness.
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Thank you for your goodness to us.
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Thank you for your Son and his sacrifice.
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In the name of Jesus, Amen. Morning Resurrection Church.
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It's so beautiful to hear the thankfulness from everybody.
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Now we're going to move into our segment of giving, asking God
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for our request, requesting things from our heavenly Father.
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We are going to ask for provision in Philippians 419 it
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says, and my God will supply every need of yours according to
-
his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
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But we also want wisdom amongst all that provision that that God
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will give us. Well, it says, if any of you
-
lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all
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without reproach, and it will be given to him.
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Father, we just come boldly before you right now as your
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sons and daughters joint heirs with Jesus.
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Father, Lord, that you promised, Father, that we would receive
-
power, but through the Holy Spirit, Lord, He would come upon
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us and that we would be your witnesses in our local
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community, our Jerusalem, Lord, our Judea, Lord, those people
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who are transplanted among us and Samaria into the ends of the
-
earth. Father, Lord, Father, I just
-
praise You that we are here right now with the power of Your
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Holy Spirit. And we just entreat You, Lord,
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to give us that power, to be able to reach into the hearts
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and minds of our loved ones. Those people that we know,
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Father, that need to come to know you, Father, Lord, that you
-
would send laborers for the harvest.
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Those laborers for the harvest, Father, would have the power of
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your Holy Spirit, Lord, and they would speak Your words of truth.
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And those words of truth, Father, which we know do not
-
come back void, Father, would find the good fertile soil and
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transform their hearts, transform their minds, Father,
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and germinate and grow. 3060 and a hundredfold, Lord, and that
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you would multiply, Father, this congregation, this church, our
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community, our neighborhoods, Father and Lord, that we would
-
be able to reach out, Lord, with your, be your hands and your
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feet, Lord, be your, your love, be the very motive of your love,
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Father, to reach these folks in all the power and the glory of
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your name, we pray Jesus. Of all the things we're asking
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God for as we entreat Him, the one that is for me, preeminent
-
is that men and women would be saved.
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We've been praying as pastors in this town, as elders in this
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church for revival in Bakersfield, in Kern County.
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And I'm going to just pray, pray some scripture, and we're going
-
to lift up our hearts and our voices to God and cry out to him
-
that he would come and save people in this city.
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By the most recent estimate, only about 8% of this county is
-
saved. 92% of Kern County does not know Christ as King.
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Let's pray. Blessed be you, our God and
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Father, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because you have blessed
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us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
-
heavenly places, even as You chose us in Him before the
-
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless
-
before Him in love. You predestined us for adoption
-
to yourself as sons through Christ Jesus, according to the
-
purpose of Your will, to the praise of your glorious grace
-
with which you have blessed us in the Beloved.
-
In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the
-
forgivenesses of our trespasses, according to the riches of Your
-
grace which You have lavished upon us in all wisdom and
-
insight, making known to us the mystery of Your will, according
-
to Your purpose, which you set forth in Christ as a plan for
-
the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in
-
heaven, and things on earth. In Him and in Christ we have
-
obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
-
the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel
-
of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ,
-
might be to the praise of His glory in Him also.
-
When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
-
salvation and believed in Him were sealed with the promised
-
Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance
-
until we acquire possession of it.
-
To the praise of Your glory, Father, thousands and thousands
-
of years ago you prophesied in the book of Joel that someday
-
you would pour out your Spirit and save men and women who were
-
lost in sin and hopeless without you.
-
You said, And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will
-
pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters
-
shall prophecy, Your old men shall dream dreams, and your
-
young men shall see visions. And even on the male and female
-
servants in those days I will pour out my spirit, and I will
-
show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and
-
columns of smoke. And the sun shall be turned to
-
darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day
-
of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that
-
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
-
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those
-
who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors
-
shall be those whom the Lord calls the Father.
-
When you sent Peter out to the crowds of Pentecost, as the Holy
-
Spirit came down for the first time to dwell amongst people, He
-
read these very words to that crowd, and he preached your
-
gospel. But because of your Son Jesus
-
Christ, because of His life, because of His death, because of
-
His resurrection, all men could be saved.
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So, Father, we cry out for the people in this room who do not
-
know you. We cry out for the people who
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are watching. We cry out for the people so
-
lost in sin that they're not here and they don't know you and
-
they don't know church. So they don't know faith.
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They don't know how to hope. They don't know encouragement,
-
they don't know life. We cry out for our brothers, for
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our sister churches all around town who are preaching the same
-
gospel. We cry out Father, we cry.
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We entreat you to pour out your spirit on this city and this
-
county God, to cut and Pierce men to the heart, to convict us
-
of our sin, to show us what hope looks like.
-
We cry out, We cry out in Jesus name, Amen.
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If you do not know Christ is King today, I want to invite you
-
to take a step forward, to put your faith in Christ, to change
-
not just your future, but your eternal future forever.
-
So this is what we're going to do.
-
There are many requests in this church.
-
I know we pray for them. There's some that we know of.
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There's probably many we don't. Our prayer team is going to come
-
up here. We want to pray with you and for
-
you and over you. We want to pray for your
-
request, the ones we already know about.
-
We want to pray for the request that you haven't told anybody
-
about. We want to pray for your
-
confession of sin. We want to pray for your hope
-
and your dream. We want to pray that God would
-
bind up your wounds. We want to pray for your future.
-
We want to pray for you. And if you're ready to take a
-
next step to put your faith in Christ for the first time ever,
-
we want to pray for you. We want to walk with you.
-
We want to get you signed up for baptism.
-
We even heat the water before we nunk you.
-
So our prayer team's coming up. You move as the Lord leads.
-
Please stand with me. We're going to sing a song as we
-
close. We're going to just take a time
-
where everyone can be prayed for.
-
You don't even have to do it in the microphone.
-
You move as the Lord leads you. We love you, Church.
-
more that could ever come close. Nothing can come there.
-
You're our living cool. You're praising it.
-
aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of
-
your goodness. Let us become more aware of your
-
presence. Let us experience the glory of
-
You are will. Come here, come fly this place
-
and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our
-
hearts long for to be overcome. Church, it was a good day.
-
As you leave into a Thanksgiving week and into a world that most
-
of which is far from God, let me pray this blessing over you.
-
The Lord spoke this to Moses. Saying this, You shall say to
-
them, The Lord bless you and keep you.
-
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
-
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
-
So they put my name upon the people of Israel and I will
-
bless them. Go church and be a light in a
-
dark place and know that you carry in you the God, the
-
Creator, the Architect of all things of heaven and earth.
-
We love you and we'll see you next week.