EveryONE Matters - Lets Love the ONE (Blake Bergstrom)

How are we doing, One Church?

You guys doing all right?

Yeah.

It is great to see you.

Glad that you're here.

Love you.

And if you're new, uh, I'm so glad that you came.

And let's do something.

Every week I'm blown away by how many new people join us all around the United States and around the world that call this place home that are online partners.

And so if you guys would, would you guys get rowdy and let them know how much you love?

We love you where you are.

Thanks for joining us.

So this weekend, you guys blew me away.

I I I was just like so humbled by watching the way that you went out yesterday for a go love day.

And so I just want to thank you because I'm so proud of who you are.

There is hundreds of you that got up, you put your go love shirt on, rolled up your sleeves, and you served throughout this whole community, and it's all for one reason to love people.

And um the way that you did that, the way you served and worked and got dirty and gave your time, I mean, you helped people that you may never know.

And and it was beautiful because we're in this series right now, and we've been talking about loving everyone, every day, everywhere.

And so you guys did that yesterday.

And before I say more, I want you guys to watch this video.

Go ahead, stand up.

He hates this.

Luke's our missions pastor.

He put all that together, did a great job.

The whole team, get rowdy for the whole church to serve.

It's amazing.

He hated that.

He hated that.

And so I loved it because he hated it so much.

And so I was just so proud.

I gotta say, I love this church, and I love the way that you serve our community and serve God.

Um, let's remember something.

That I know we say 250 is a bunch of numbers, but every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.

And that's what this whole series has been about.

Everyone matters.

And so, this, if you're new, we've been talking about who we are, our unique DNA as a church and why we do what we do.

And I want to be clear that our heart, our mission is to passionately love God vertically and intentionally love God, love people horizontally.

And so the way we love God is by loving people.

You show me somebody that's loving people really well, I'll show you somebody that loves God really well.

It's the outpour of our heart.

And so our the way we do that is we know God, we grow deep, and we go love.

So we always say no, grow, go.

That's our heart.

And so today is our go love weekend.

And so my message is called Let's Love the One.

So turn to the person beside you and say, Let's love the one.

Come on.

So um, I I want to tell you that um before we go any further, we're gonna get to let's love the one, but I'd like to take a minute and have a little bit of a family talk.

And so I I'd like to give an update on our for the one initiative.

And some of you might not know what that is, you're new to the church, and this was something we talked about a year ago.

And so I I need to own something right up front, and that is that I I haven't done a great job of keeping everybody updated on what's happening, uh, and I apologize for that.

Um, we actually uh part of it's my history, because I I have a history of being a part of a whole bunch of church campaigns and giving campaigns, and I think I'm a little bit allergic to them.

Uh I just don't want to always beat the drum and make people feel like they need to, you know, give, give, give.

And so I I that's part of it.

But it's not all of it.

It's also because there's been some significant changes that greatly affected our plans for our new sanctuary.

And so many of you don't even know that we've been talking about a new sanctuary.

This is it.

We've been talking about this for a year and have the renderings and the plans, all that's done.

We even have the permits done.

They're well, they're gonna be done in the next couple weeks.

And so here's the significant changes that happened.

Uh, the short version is this the Solomon Foundation, they have new leadership.

And the new leadership came in and said regulations have changed in regards to our current lease.

And so, in order for us to build a new sanctuary, they want us to own the land that the sanctuary sits on.

And if you think about it, it kind of makes sense.

It was weird for us to have a mortgage on land that we don't own, that belongs to someone else.

And so they were coming from a hard spot, and I understand where they're coming from.

So, for those of you that are new and you have no idea who TSF, the Solomon Foundation is, they help fund churches mostly in the United States, but also around the world.

And I need to be very clear about them.

God used them to help save our church.

We were in a very hard place.

And we were about to go under, and God used them to come alongside of us and rescue us when we we were about to lose it all.

And so I I always say, if it weren't for the Solomon Foundation, we we owe a lot to them.

Not only did they purchase the land, but then they invested four million dollars into this property to help us develop all the kids and students' wings, and they've just been incredible to work with.

Um, but because we're now healthy, um, they would love to see us buy the property back.

Um, we don't have to, they're not pressuring us.

It's a 44-year lease.

And so we can sit on this lease for as long as we need.

Um, but the problem is we cannot afford to do both.

As much as I'd like to just say, let's buy the property and build the building.

I I need you to give you some numbers.

To buy the property and the land and all the buildings on it would be$15 million.

And so to buy the building and to build a new building is$12 million.

So together, we're talking about 27 million.

I mean, that's just that's astronomical.

And so, what I've been saying during this whole process is is God, um, you know, what's your will?

Show us.

And I I just keep saying this to our elders is just because you can doesn't mean that you should.

And so we're not in a hurry and we're not making this decision fast.

Because we could just sit on this lease, sock money away, and if if and when God gives us enough money to buy the property, we'll pay for it, right?

And then and then finance the building.

Or, you know, we'll just process all of that.

So I need you to hear my heart.

The last thing that we want to do is put our church uh slave to the lender, completely buried in debt.

And so all years the information's been coming, and we're like, oh, well, that changes.

We've been doing our due diligence to figure out, and it was it was changing all the way up until I left on my sabbatical about like what the actual price would be and what you know.

So we've been wrestling with God and with each other as elders, we're just like praying.

So that's why I haven't known what to say, and so I I haven't said anything, and I'll do better.

We'll update our for the one page and we'll let you guys be in for we'll send out emails.

So please forgive me for not doing a great job.

I I just want you to hear that we kept praying, like maybe this will change.

God, God, do something.

We've been praying for miracles, and so I just want to invite you into that.

Um, because here's where we're at as as elders and staff.

We've made the decision to pause.

And I have peace to pause.

We're gonna pause and we're gonna pray and we're gonna wait on God.

And so I hope you hear me, and you know me well enough, that our vision has not changed.

Like, we still believe that God is calling us to make room for one more.

And this church is still exploding in growth.

And at this rate, we will run out of room.

And so, thank you, 1130, for coming to this service.

Uh, the last service was packed, and the parking was packed, and there's no more room.

And so I I I love that, but at the same time, we're going, okay, God, if you want us to keep the lease, then then we're gonna have to, you know, go to another Saturday night, maybe two Saturday nights, or Thursday night.

And so we're weighing all the option, but here's what you need to know.

I refuse to jeopardize the financial health of this church by purchasing something we can't afford.

I won't do it.

And so I just want to thank you for trusting us.

Um you've sacrificed, you've you've given so generously.

Like the plan and the goal was let's let's try to raise$2.7 million.

And we accidentally raised$5.2 million.

And so, all glory to God, right?

Like, like I I'm still like just going, man, God, you you have been so good.

And by the way, if you have given two for the one and you feel like things have changed and you don't agree with these plans and you would like your money back, that is perfectly fine.

We'd be glad to do that.

And so if that's the case and you want that, just call us or have a conversation, email, whatever.

We're we're glad to help with that.

Um, but I would also say maybe you've never heard of this, and you're like, but this is my church, and whatever the future is for the one I'm in, and you're like, I want to be a part of for the one initiative.

If that's the case, in your seat back, there's a card there, and you could grab that and you could join join the party.

And so um I just want to thank you for trusting us.

So um our staff and elders, the last thing we want to do is is try to hide things, right?

We don't want to, we we want to be more transparent, not less, and have open hands to let you guys know what whatever you'd like to know.

And so that that that's really where we're at.

But I I'm asking you that you would help pray for us to listen to wisdom and and lead with integrity as we trust God to show us what he wants.

And maybe, maybe that's to pay off the land and the property so we could build a new sanctuary.

Or or maybe that's to keep the lease and add more services.

Either way, we have to choose our heart, right?

Because both of those will be difficult and challenging.

And so I I here here's the thing that I'm just the most excited about is that I just praise God that our problem is that we have to make room for more people.

That's our problem.

And so I need you to hear that we when we set out for the For the One initiative, it was never about a building.

It has always been about people.

And there's always room for one more, right?

And I'm that's not gonna change.

And so that's that's my heart in saying to all of us today, let's love the one.

All right?

And so before I dive into the message, can I just say a quick prayer?

Um, Father God, show us your will, not ours.

Any pride, arrogance, vanity, selfishness, vain conceit, any way that our own human wisdom has gotten in the way of what what your will is, then we ask for your grace and mercy.

We feel like we've been obedient to you, that you, your Holy Spirit has guided us to get here.

And so we just need you to show us, Lord.

Just just be very clear to us and and allow us to have wisdom as we pray and think about this over the next several months.

All right, in the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

So let's love the one.

First John, if you want to know how to love people, it says, This is how we know what love is.

You guys want to know that?

It starts with Jesus.

It says, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

And if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with action and in truth.

If you want to know what love looks like, just look at Jesus.

Jesus didn't simply talk about it.

He didn't just tell us how to love, he showed up, he came here, he entered into our mess, and he touched the lepers, he fed hungry people, he welcomed the little children, he sat at the tables with sinners and he defended people that others condemned, and he washed dirty feet, and ultimately he stretched out his arms and died on an old wooden cross, and he gave us his life for us because he loves us.

So he didn't just talk about love, he showed us how to love in action and in truth.

Can I get an amen?

And so that's what I saw in you yesterday.

It was beautiful.

You you preached a brilliant sermon.

Our church became the hands and feet of Jesus in action and in truth, and you loved your neighbor in a big way.

People may never come to our building.

I remember walk in the doors of a church, but you know what?

They may not know what we believe or understand or why we worship the way we do, but yesterday, people experienced followers of Jesus showing up and saying, Look, we're here because you matter.

And sometimes, before people really want to hear what we know or believe, they need to see how deeply we love.

It's it's the old statement.

People don't care how much you know.

Have you heard this?

Until they know how much you care.

And it's so obvious that you guys are filled with the Holy Ghost and you care deeply.

And so Jesus said this in John 13.

He said, A new command I give you.

And then he said three words, and he says these three words three times in two verses.

He says, Will you guys say these three words with me?

Love one another.

And as I have loved you, so you must say it.

Love one another.

And by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you come on, love one another.

Three times.

And I need you to hear it's not a suggestion, it's a commandment.

He's saying you must love one another.

So he tells us that the distinguishing characteristic of his followers should be love.

And that challenges me because I think sometimes the church has become much better at telling the world what they're against instead of what they're for.

They stand in judgment and criticism and hatred instead of being known for how much they're filled with grace and mercy and love and truth.

And so I want to be a people in a community that knows that we're for them.

That if we ever died in this church went away that the community would mourn because we have how much we love them.

Like I want to be a people that our school teachers, they know that we're for them.

A single mom that's exhausted knows that we're for him.

The kid who needs someone to believe in him, he knows that we're for them.

And the person that's battling addiction, they know we're for them.

The marriage that's struggling and barely hanging on, they know we're for them.

And the lonely and the hurting and the forgotten, they all know that we are for them.

Why?

Because Jesus is for people.

Every kind of human.

No matter their past, no matter their background, no matter what they believe, where they're from, or what side of the aisle they stand on and who they vote for, if they are human, Jesus loves them and he commanded us to do the same.

Right?

Come on.

And so I can't wait to preach this.

I think one of the clearest pictures of that is found in Luke 10, verse 25.

Luke 10:25

I can't, oh man, I'm fired.

Anybody fired up?

I'm fired up.

So here's what it says in verse 25.

It says, On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.

He says, Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

And then, so typical of a Jew, he answers a question with a question.

And he says, Well, what's written in the law?

And how do you read it?

He's like, Well, what does the law say?

Give me your interpretation.

He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

You've answered correctly, and Jesus replied, Do this and you will live.

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, Well, who's my neighbor?

Bro.

And in reply, Jesus said, Great, incredible story.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and when he was attacked by robbers, they stripped him of his clothes, because he was naked, they beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down to the same road.

And when he saw the man, what did he do?

He passed by on the other side.

So to a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, what'd he do?

He passed by on the other side.

But, here we go.

A Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and then he put the man on his own donkey.

He brought him to an inn and took care of him.

And the next day he took out two deneri and gave it to the innkeeper.

And he says, Look after him.

And when I return, I'll reimburse you for any extra expenses that you may have.

And then he asked this question Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?

The expert of the law replied the one who had mercy on him.

Jesus told him, Go and do likewise.

And so I think it's fascinating that you have to understand the history of Israel and the background a little bit.

At first, you think that Jesus is making the two religious guys look good.

It's like there's this guy, he's beat up, he's naked, he's on the side of the road, he's bleeding out.

But no worries.

Guess who came?

There was a priest.

Yeah, just in time.

God's providence.

He's gonna intervene.

He's on the road at the same time, right?

But what did he do?

Nothing.

It's worthless.

Walks around him.

Okay, not the priest.

Guess what?

There is this priest, alright?

The priest, and this guy, he sees him at the same time, he's gonna help him, and nope, he did nothing.

And so both of those guys went around him and avoided him, right?

But Jesus, it's clear, he's going after the religious leaders.

When you're going, who's the villain, who's the hero?

And for Jesus to pick the Samaritan as the hero would have been like, what, bro?

You gotta be kidding me.

I need you to understand how much hatred there was between the Jews and the Samaritans.

They could not stand the Samaritan.

They thought of them like a half-breed, like they were dogs.

And the reason why, when the Israelites were taken into exile and they were in Babylon, the people that were left behind in Samaria, they slept with and uh with the foreigners that were there.

And so, because of that, the Jews thought, you have ruined this land, and you're a worthless people.

Now, mestizos, you're you're you're half-breed, you're not worthy.

And they thought of them like dogs.

And so when they would travel and they were going to Jerusalem, their yearly trek that they would do when for Passover.

They would come like, say, like from Capernaum or up north the Sea of Galilee, or even coming down from Jericho to Jerusalem.

They they would never go anywhere near Samaria.

They would walk around it.

In fact, they'd go so far out of their way that they'd go on the other side of the Jordan because they thought the land was dirty, because the Samaritans were there.

And so I love.

That the good guy in this story is the Samaritan.

And I love that when we think of the good Samaritans, we think of like, you know, somebody that's standing out, and the people that are doing, you know, the good, you know, asking for change.

What is that?

I forgot the name of it.

Right.

That.

And so I'm a Christian.

Get off me.

And so I just love that they made up Samaria to be the place where you go, oh, so it was this Samaritan that was the good guy.

What did he do?

He didn't walk around the problem.

He walked directly towards the problem.

And it cost him personally.

Not just his schedule and his time, but like his day was shot.

He had plans.

All of that.

Forget about it.

And not only that, what did he do?

He pulled out his wallet and he said, Tell me the doctor bill.

Tell me how much it is, right?

I know you don't got insurance.

And so I'm going to take care of this and pay for it myself.

Church, did you know that loving people is always inconvenient?

I wish that when people had a crisis, they would first consult my assistant to talk to my calendar and see if I can work it in.

I wish that was, but it never works that way.

I wish that before you choose to die, and you got me to do your funeral.

Can you talk to my assistant and we'll work out a calendar?

I'll tell you a good week to do it.

Right?

That's not how life works.

When you have a friend in need, I promise you, they're gonna call you when you're the busiest.

It's usually late at night, and they need to talk.

Right?

Marriage is on the rocks.

Maybe it's a car accident or a hospital visit.

Or your neighbor is in need, a tree fell.

It always requires our schedules and our time and our planning to be interruptible.

So here's my question.

This week, this month, this year.

Are you interruptible?

Have you been interrupted to do something for the kingdom of God?

Do you have enough margin in your life to drop whatever you're doing and serve those that are in need?

Because when I study the life of Jesus, that is exactly what we find.

Jesus lived a life of constant interruption, but but he never like made people feel like they were a bother or such an inconvenience, right?

Like when you when you are asked to do something, do you ever respond with, uh see, Jesus, when he was going somewhere, he always had places to go, people to see, right?

But remember Jairus?

He comes in the middle of his whole entourage, he's like, hey, my daughter's dying.

I need your help right now.

Or maybe Bartimus, who's sitting at the gate and he's screaming out the name of Jesus, and he's on the side of the road.

What did Jesus do?

He stopped.

Jesus always had somewhere to go, but he also always somehow was completely present in the moment.

And he was he was present enough to see the person that was right in front of him.

See, see, people were never an interruption to Jesus' mission because people were his mission.

That's why he left heaven and came to earth was for us.

Because he wanted us to know just how much he loves us.

And I gotta full confession, this is hard for me.

I am a man with the plan.

I'm a mover and a shaker.

And I like to get stuff.

I'm a performance junkie.

And I like to brag about how busy I am.

Give me a project, give me a list, give me a mountain to climb.

Like, let's go.

Right?

Like this summer, there's a reason I'm called Bam Bam, by the way.

My father was always like, son, if you'll slow down, you'll speed up.

And I was like, no, you get fast.

Faster.

And I was slow.

And so I was a roofer, and I was a fast roofer.

I could roof 10 squares in a day.

I want you guys to go like this and go, what?

Yeah, I know.

That is fast.

Two people feeding me shingles.

I was a fast roofer.

I can't brag about being a good preacher, but I could brag about how good of a roofer I was.

I thought that would be a lot funnier than it was in landing.

Anyway.

So I I'm always in a hurry.

In fact, this summer, we had, you know, I was the planner and I was the one with what we're gonna do every day.

And I I we were with a good couple friends of ours, our counselor, Dr.

Westnelly Beavis.

They're amazing.

And so I told them the night before, this is a plan, we're gonna get on this train, we're gonna go find this gondola, we're gonna the top of the mountain, and top of the mountain, there's this restaurant.

This restaurant is actually, you know, in movie.

I want to be in that restaurant.

I already looked at the menu, I knew I was gonna eat and freak and fired up to be the top of this mountain.

And so we get on the train, we get to the place, we get in the line for the gondola, it's a gigantic line, and you can see the gondola, and it's like every you know, 30 minutes it goes up, right?

And so we're like, it's getting close, we gotta get these tickets, get on the gondola.

We're going through the line, waiting forever.

It's like, man, come on, what's taking so long?

Waiting and waiting, waiting.

Finally get to the ticket counter.

The guy tells us it's$300 a person.

And I was like, What?

So you're telling me it's$600 for my wife and I to go to the top of the mountain and sit at that restaurant.

Yes, sir.

And I'm like, well, I'm across the world doing it.

I'm here, I'm in line.

If I get out of line, I'm gonna give you a good thumb.

I'm I know what I'm eating up there.

Right?

Well, the guy I'm with, Wes, he's like, um, we we need to step out of line and talk about this with our wives.

I'm like, what are you talking about?

The people behind Mrs.

Gondley's right there, we gotta get on what I'm eating.

And he's like, let's step aside and process our wives, and then if we need to get back in line, we will.

And so I'm looking at the guy and I'm feeling the pressure of the people behind me.

I'm like, sir, we'll come back in a little bit.

So we step aside, we talk to our wives.

How do you think that went?

I didn't need to top of that mountain.

I'll tell you that.

My wife was like, let's just find a nice walk.

We don't want to walk around.

See a waterfall or something?

Okay.

So that's what we did.

But I have to tell you, I feel like that's exactly where we're at as a church.

I feel like we got some information, it's more expensive than we thought, and we need to step aside for a second and process.

Just wait.

We're gonna push pause.

And I I feel like I'm not good at that.

And if there's anything that the Lord was showing me on sabbatical, it was the Lord saying, slow your roll, Bertram.

Just slow down.

If he's teaching me anything, it's that we can move so quick through life that we completely miss the people that God puts directly under our nose.

And sometimes the most Christ-like thing that we can do isn't accomplish one more thing.

Sometimes it's stopping long enough to get to know one more person.

It's looking someone in the eyes and asking them a question.

How are you?

You you don't look good.

Can I pray for you?

And then doing this thing, it's crazy.

You actually listen and then and then feel their pain and their suffering and minister to them.

Sometimes it's listening to somebody's story or noticing the person that everybody else walks around.

Can I tell you something?

I'm gonna step on all of our toes.

You cannot intentionally love people if you're too busy to even notice them.

And so I heard a long time ago someone say this and it stuck with me.

They told me that the acronym for busy is being under Satan's yoke.

That stuck with me.

Like, oh because in America, man, we're we're a slave to our calendars.

We're like stuck on our task for the day.

We have a plan, right?

And we're on our way somewhere.

But I also think that we're we're slave to busy.

And it's like a it's like a badge of honor.

Yesterday I had a conversation like, hey, how was your summer?

Man, it was busy.

We're so busy.

And it's like it's like we want to prove like how you know how important we are by how busy we are.

And I so I've stopped saying busy.

And people ask me, uh, how are you doing?

I always say, I'm so full.

And the Lord just, the Lord just, man, he's giving trusting me with so much responsibility, it's so full, it's all so good.

Because here's the deal, I read that account, the way Jesus explained that, I just don't want to be the priest or the Levite.

And I'm embarrassed of how much we actually are the priest or the Levite.

We we see the need, but we're too busy.

We see the brokenness and the hurting, but we're late and we gotta get somewhere.

We think, uh, you know what, some someone else will do that.

We see the overwhelmed parent and and the elderly patient, you know, the neighbor that's exhausted, the co-worker that's obviously had a terrible day, or the waitress that's pulling her hair out, and and we don't stop, we just keep moving.

And sometimes we even walk on the other side of the road to avoid them completely.

And maybe the prayer that we need to start praying is, Jesus, Lord, slow me down enough today to see the one that you put right in front of me.

Here's what I'm learning.

When we pray for an opportunity to serve and love God's people, guess what?

Those opportunities will never come at an opportune time.

They usually look like an interruption.

It's someone saying, Hey, you know what, bro?

I I could really use an ear.

You got a few minutes to talk.

And you know it is not gonna be a few minutes, it's gonna be hours.

And maybe it's your neighbor that's in the driveway, across the street, and he calls out to you, and you like, yeah, and run to your house to close the garage door.

Come on.

That's real.

I know all y'all jokers.

Listen, we've got to learn to be present.

Like in the spirit, led by God, not always thinking about the next thing that's on our agenda or busy schedule.

Please hear me.

What if the interruption is the assignment from heaven?

What if the person standing right in front of you is the one that God wants you to minister to?

That's usually the way it works.

It's like, why isn't Blake?

That's Blake's job.

He's the clergy, pastor guy on the stage.

No, no.

You know who God uses?

Ordinary heroes.

And you are that.

God's people doing God's work.

That's the church.

Because I need to tell you something.

You are the church.

The Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of you.

And maybe the only church anybody will ever see is you.

So you're up.

God's calling us to go love a world that's desperate for Him.

So hear me.

At the end of our lives, when our work is done, you know, when you get to heaven, there's no more work.

The work's here.

When we're standing before God, and He's looking at us and He asks us one question Hey, you know that?

That Luke 10 account of the Good Samaritan?

I'm curious.

Did you ever go and do likewise?

Did you ever get around to that?

At some point, all of us called by God to go and do.

Like Jesus.

And so I want us to be the ones who show mercy.

We're a church that's serious about the love of God.

Like what happened if tomorrow thousands of you went out of this building on mission, not just on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday.

And you said, I'm going to work tomorrow, I'm going to have a conversation.

I'm going to school tomorrow.

I'm going to talk in my neighborhood, and I'm going to ask one simple question, Jesus, who can I love today?

And so here's my question for you.

Who's your one?

It could be that the Holy Spirit right now is prompting you, tapping you on the shoulder and saying, you know.

Maybe it's a family member, maybe it's an old friend, it could be a neighbor or a coworker.

Who is the Holy Spirit asking you to go and find the one?

What could God do through a church that's filled up with people that wake up and they're determined to say, Here am I, send me God.

Whoever, everyone, every day, everywhere.

And here's where I want this to land right now.

Some of you are already listening to the Spirit tell you who it is, and you need to respond by saying, I'm going to show them the love of Jesus.

You probably don't need me to tell you anymore because the Lord's already told you.

And maybe that person is hurting, maybe they're lonely, maybe they're far from God, and they could be what we call EGR people.

Extra grace required.

They're difficult to love.

Maybe they would never walk through the doors of a church, but God's already placed you in their world to bring the church to them.

So don't wait.

Maybe the Spirit's bringing them to your mind right now, and he's saying to you, stop walking around them on the road.

I need you to serve them, move toward them, maybe even bandage them up and pay for their doctor bills.

So on your way out, I want to challenge you.

Prayerfully write down on the three letters that are outside underneath the tent.

It's an O and an N and an E.

And write down that name, and every one of those names will be laid hands on and prayed over every name out loud by our staff and elders.

Because I believe that God is always still for the one.

And so, church, let's let's be present.

Let's show up.

Let's embrace interruptions because people might need us to love everyone, every day, everywhere, on mission.

Because I believe that every face you see matters to God.

He left heaven and died on the cross for every human you've ever met.

So when God puts a person in front of you, stop long enough to see them, to love them, to move towards them, and remember that maybe God is giving you an assignment to love the one.

Holy Spirit, we repent of the times that we blow that.

We're so busy and fast and in a hurry, stressed out.

You put somebody right under our nose in our path, and yet we just don't even see them.

God, forgive us.

We repent.

Today, Lord, would you let us be sent out of here as missionaries?

A priesthood of all believers, called by you to go and love the world.

I pray, Father, that you would interrupt everyone in this room.

And that they'd be so in the spirit that they'd put the phone down or they'd slam the laptop or they'd quit the meeting and they'd step into the need.

That they'd see the despair of humanity and they'd recognize it's our job, it's the church's job to help love those that are broken and wounded and hurt and suffering and in pain.

Lord, thank you for that responsibility.

Thank you for giving us a few moments with our lives that we get to actually help heal the wounded, give hope to the weary.

Jesus, we praise you for showing us how to do that.

You are the perfect example of loving the marginalized and those that are forgotten.

Thank you, Jesus.

We also want to thank you for the cross.

Because of the cross, we now have eternal life and a place with you in heaven forever.

And so, in the meantime, Lord, we just want to be on mission for you, doing the Lord's work.

So, God send us out with a fire in our bones to help the world see how great you are, how wonderful you are, what grace really feels like.

So, Lord Jesus, we praise you and we love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

It's in your holy name we pray.

Amen.

I love you one church.