Christian Courage | Joshua 1

All right, we got a killer worship set.

We got a bumper video. Y'all, We are a church plant on

the move. Let me tell you.

Hey, it is good to be with you guys today worshipping King

Jesus. If I don't know you, my name is

Brandon. I get to serve as the pastor

here. We're going to be in Joshua.

I'll help you get there in a second.

It's on like page 180, something in your Bible.

I definitely looked it up before I walked up here and I totally

forgot what page it was. So it's somewhere in there.

There's a table of contents. I'll meet you there in just a

moment. And yeah, we're here today.

It's February 1st of 2026 and here we are at Saint City.

We are going after a lost campus.

At ASU we are being a light and a broken city.

And while we do that as God's bride, the Church, guess what we

we face some things. We face opposition and weariness

and disappointment. Discouragement and attack are

everywhere when we're out on the mission of God and we find

ourselves longing and needing from God strength and

encouragement and hope. Today we're starting a new

series. And today's message, it's going

to put rocket, rocket fuel on your faith that this series in

the book of Joshua is to help you hold fast to cling to the

very promises of God. He's made promises for his

people that he intends to keep. And Joshua is a book for a

church like ours so we can discover the God who always

keeps his promises. You see, if it's a promise God

has made, it is a promise God will fulfill.

He doesn't make promises he does not keep.

In fact, the theme verse for the book of Joshua comes from Joshua

2145. It says this, not one word of

all the good promises that the Lord had made to the House of

Israel had failed. All came to pass.

Not even one promise has failed. The hope for this series as we

go through this the next few months together in the book of

Joshua is that you would believe and trust in God's words deeper

than you ever have before. Because that's what a young

church needs most. That's what you need most for

your walking with Christ in 2026.

It's an unwavering belief and conviction that God keeps his

promises. He doesn't miss.

But the problem is, his life wants to steal your belief and

kill your courage to follow Christ, our enemies of the world

and sin, the pride of life and the flesh.

It will come at your courage. It will attack the very

heartbeats of what it means to obey Jesus.

If you'd like to take notes, jot down this definition for

courage. It's the moral capacity to do

what you know is right. It's not just knowing what you

know is right, but to do what you know is right.

That is what takes courage. And Joshua, while on the mission

of God, had questions like you and I do like, what does it mean

to have Godly courage or Christian courage?

You see, it's not only what Joshua needed, the leader of the

people of Israel, it's what you and I need right here, right now

because God is offering and inviting you to the very thing

you need most to have courage himself.

We're going to discover that together in Joshua chapter 1.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

If you're there, say I'm there. All right, let's go.

Joshua chapter 1 says this. After the death of Moses the

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun

Moses, assistant Moses, my servant is dead.

Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan River, you and all

this people, into the land that I'm giving to them to the people

of Israel. Every place that the sole of

your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised

to Moses. From the wilderness.

And this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river

Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites of the great sea,

toward the going down to the sun, shall be your territory.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your

life. Just as I was with Moses, so I

will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake

you. We're going to stop right there.

I'm going to give you a big idea.

I'm going to give you the sermon in a sense.

We're going to work our way through chapter 1 together

today. But I first want you to get this

big idea down. The sermon in a sense is this,

that no promise gives you courage like God is with me.

If you're going to have Christian courage, if you're

going to do the things that God asks you to do, if you're going

to obey Him and trust Him in every arena of your life, no

promise will quite give you the courage to do so like the

reality that God is with you. And so we're going to look at

three places where we need courage today that we're going

to see in Joshua we're going to apply to our very own.

The 1st is this that I need courage when first I doubt that

God could use me. These first 5 verses help us see

that I need courage when I doubt that God could use me because

God is with me is the encouragement that we need to

believe that that God is with me.

You and I doubt God could use me.

Look back at verse one after the death of Moses the servant of

the Lord. Now you might be new to studying

the Bible. You might not know who Moses is

or where the heck we are in the story of the Bible.

Now the Bible was written the first five books by Moses,

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

He wrote the first five books and he comes on the scene into

book 2 called Exodus. 1st we have Abraham who were introduced

to in Genesis 12. He has a kid named Isaac, who

has a kid named Jacob. Then they have he has twelve

sons who become what we know as the people of Israel.

Israel goes about their life. They land in Egypt and they

endure 400 years of slavery. And then we meet their

deliverer, Moses and Exodus. Now Exodus, Numbers,

Deuteronomy, guess what? It's Moses leading God's people

out of Egypt into a desert, wandering for 40 years.

And you see that phrase that describes Moses after the death

of Moses, the servant of the Lord.

Moses is the only person in all of Genesis through this point in

the Bible who's described like that.

It's highlighting his special relationship with God.

It's saying, hey, this is Moses. He was special, and Joshua knows

it because Joshua was his assistant for 40 years.

Joshua's actually very aware that Moses is awesome.

In fact, Moses is the best leader Joshua's ever known.

Joshua had been born into Egyptian slavery.

He knew what it was like. He knew it was like to have a

leader that was against him, that was opposed to him, that

wanted to enslave him. And now he's been following this

man Moses, for 40 years through the desert, and he has lost the

greatest leader he has ever known, and he's stepping into

the role of being his successor. We learn about Joshua right

there, that he is the son of nun.

That doesn't mean he doesn't have a dad.

That means his dad had a bad name.

OK, Joshua, the son of nun. We don't know who his mom is,

but Moses, my servant is dead. Joshua, out of the grief of

losing his leader, is now jumping into the leader of the

people of Israel, and God gives him some commandments.

Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all the people, into the

land that I am giving to you, to the people of Israel.

Every place that your soul of your foot will tread upon I have

given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

God is reinforcing to Joshua that just as he promised to

Moses, he is now promising to him.

The promises didn't evaporate. They didn't disintegrate.

They are still true. They will still come to pass.

And Joshua has seen God at work in the life of Moses.

In Exodus 17, he learned how to fight under the Lord's command,

and he saw victory in God's plans.

In Exodus 17, he also saw Moses interact with God, how to

remember, how to recite and memorialize God's faithfulness

to him. In Exodus 24, he sees Moses at

Mount Sinai and Joshua waits for Moses as he watches Moses meet

with God and he sees the consuming fire on the top of the

mountain. In Exodus 32, he sees the

Israelites receive the law and love their idols more and build

a golden calf. In Exodus 33, he learns what it

looks like to serve and minister with Moses, a man who walks with

God, listens to God, talks to God face to face as one speaks

with a friend. He saw what ministry looked like

under Moses. He saw what leadership looked

like under Moses. And now here he is being asked

to be the leader by God of the Israelite people.

He's without, the one who led them through 40 years in the

desert without his friend, without his mentor.

And his absence is certainly felt.

He's gone. I don't know if you've ever

experienced what it's like to have the absence of someone's

presence before. That, you know, is really

helpful. Not so long ago, I was back in

Chicago, and I got the opportunity to go to Chicago

Bulls game. And my friend's dad worked for

the Chicago Bulls in the 90s. Of all the jobs in all the

world, to be working at a certain time and place, working

for the Chicago Bulls in the 90s had to be a pretty good gig, OK.

And so he was there when the Bulls were amazing at

basketball. And what happened is a lot of

his friends were still in the office and working for the

organization. So when we get to the Bulls game

with Greg, Bulls games with Greg are pretty legit because Greg

knows everybody who works there. So what happens is when you go

to the Bulls game with Greg, you not only get to go to the arena,

you get to park in the VIP parking.

Didn't know that existed. I learned it existed because of

Greg. Not only that, I got not only

the Nosebleed seats at the United Center, I got to have

floor seats at the United Center.

Not only did I get to have floor seats, I got to go on the floor

and take a picture. I didn't know that I that like

somebody's leadership, their presence could mean so much.

But then I went to a Bulls game without Greg one time.

Not the same experience. I was sitting, I don't even know

what row of the 300 level. I couldn't even see the guys

anymore. I mean, they're 6 foot 10

giants, right? But I can't see them even from

that far away. So I'm watching them on the TV.

I'm like, why did I drive to the city?

Why am I watching this? And I could have just watched it

on TV at my house. You see, the power of presidents

can be really encouraging. It can be really strengthening

because when you're with somebody who belongs where

they're supposed to belong, you have the courage to go where you

couldn't go before. And often times when God

appoints us into a role into responsibility in ministry,

guess what? We start asking God questions

like this. Did God really call me?

Or am I just here because I was the only one with a pulse?

We get deeper in insecurity and we'll ask questions like, can

God really use someone like me with my past, my doubts, my

insecurities? Could God really use me?

Joshua didn't choose to lead. God chose Joshua to lead.

And if you're being called into the work of the Lord, if God is

calling you to be a small group leader or a team leader or a

servant on campus, wherever God would call you, guess what?

You can walk in the confidence that God himself is behind that

and He is with you wherever you go.

And I think there's three vulnerability points where we

feel this tension, where we feel this rub against us.

That man, I am not the person God would have in mind. 3

insecurities that God speaks to directly in Joshua that I think

we can relate to as well. Look back at verse 3.

It says this every place that the sole of your foot will tread

upon verse 5, no man shall be able to stand before you all the

days of your life, just as I was with Moses.

That's a position, so I'll be with you.

So the three vulnerabilities are this a place, people in a

position, 3 vulnerabilities, a people, a place in a position.

The place Joshua was called to was a territory marked by

darkness. The people he was called to

stand against were hostile towards God and the position he

was given felt beyond his capability.

That sound familiar to anybody at Saint City?

I know it sounds familiar to me. How am I going to go plant a

church? How's God going to use me?

I'm just a nobody from Crystal Lake, IL.

What's he going to do with a guy like me in Tempe, AZ?

God has a promise for you, St. City.

A promise that will fill your spine with steel, that will give

you courage in your spirit. It's this that God is with you

and the places He's called you to, the people He's called you

to, and the position He has given you that you can walk in

courage, you can walk in confidence.

Why? Because God is with you.

You are the exact person He had in mind for the job that in your

cubicle, guess what? God doesn't have somebody better

in mind. He has you in mind.

You're an everyday missionary right there, college students.

You might think of yourself as a weak evangelist on a campus that

needs Jesus. Guess what?

God has nobody better in mind than you in the classroom that

you're in, in the dorm that you live in.

Moms. God has the you there with those

young ones, raising them, loving them, disciple in them.

Why? He is with you and he is walking

with you and you are the person He has chosen for the work.

Walk in courage, do the next right thing, obeying God because

you can trust and have confidence and belief that He is

with you even when you doubt that God could use you.

I hope you are seeing the wonderful reality that the

organizing question of your life is not Are you ready for the

work, but rather this is God with you.

It's not whether or not you're ready, it's whether or not God

is with you. You might have heard it say this

way. God does not equip the call or

call the equipped. He equips the called.

It's like that. Just say yes.

That's what courage is, saying yes and putting your guests on

the table. To God, you can use me no matter

who I am or where I've been. God, you can use me if you are

with me. We need courage when we doubt

that God has picked the right person and we doubt that He

could use me. We also need to hear #2 I need

courage when I call others to obey Him, when I call others to

obey Him. We're going to look back at the

text now. Verse 6 says this.

You've probably heard this verse before.

Be strong and courageous, for you shall 'cause this people to

inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do

according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.

Do not turn from the law to the right hand or to the left, that

you may have good success. Wherever you go, this book of

the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall

meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do

according to all that is written in it, for then you will make

your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your

God is with you wherever you go. OK, we'll stop right there for a

second. Joshua's turn to lead now.

God has called him. He's asked him to step into the

shoes of Moses. Here he is.

He's about to lead, and God gives him some marching orders.

But first he gives him some encouragement.

He says be strong and courageous.

Joshua you can lead this people now to give you a glimpse at

what Joshua the scope of Joshua's leadership.

He's being asked to lead about a million people little over for

reference that's like the size of San Diego or Dallas get why

God's telling him to be strong and courageous.

What's amazing is if you were back in Deuteronomy, if you were

studying this, the the last words of Moses to Joshua, the

very last things he says to Joshua is these words be strong

and courageous. Joshua, almost as if to say God

was like, hey, I saw what Moses said to you and Moses's words

for you are my words to you. They're no different.

Moses's message is my message for you, Joshua.

His words were my words. For you to have courage to call

people, to obey God's voice, we must trust God's voice for

ourselves. God's voice is the only way for

you to have true Christian courage because it's the only

way for you to do, know and do what is right.

He is actually a compass for us to guide us into the ways of

what is right. Did you not see what it said in

the text that this book of the Law will help you?

He repeats it three times. Why?

Because God's words are the words you need to have true

Christian courage. You have to trust God's voice.

It is the courage that you need to do the very next verb God is

asking you to do. It is found in His very words

preserved for us so we can know God know what to do and know

what is right from wrong. So then Joshua starts giving his

commands verse 10 and Joshua commanded the officers of the

people pass through the midst of the camp and command the people

listen all the things Joshua tells them to do.

First prepare your provisions for within three days you are to

2nd Passover the Jordan to go in and do what?

Take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you

to possess cool little like Bible nerd.

Note the ink, the grammar of that is saying this.

You've already got it, just go walk in and it's yours.

And to the Reubenites, the Gadites in the half tribe of

Manasseh, Joshua said this command, remember, because we're

so quick to forget the Lord the word that the Moses, the servant

of the Lord commanded you, saying the Lord your God is

providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.

Underline that verse. That's going to be a big verse

for the story of Joshua over the whole book.

Canaan, the promised land represents the rest that God was

always longing to give to Israel, the people.

Verse 14, your wives, your little ones in your livestock

shall next remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the

Jordan. But all the men of valor, all

the men of courage, all the men of bravery among you, shall

Passover armed before your brothers, and shall help them.

Brace yourself. War is coming in Joshua, A holy

war. We're going to talk about that

later on in the series. But Joshua's telling them, hey,

men, strap up. We're going to war.

Ladies, little ones, hang back last first.

Then you shall return to the land of your possession and

shall possess it, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord,

gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.

That's all Christian courage really is.

It's just walking one step at a time by faith.

And you know what faith is. It's just your next step of

obedience. Just simplify it like that.

It's just taking the next step of obedience with God.

It's hearing His word and acting upon it, trusting that there is

a good result on the other side. And what we do is we just take

the verbs God gives us in the Bible and we do them.

That's all we're called to do. But not only are we called to do

it, we're also called to call others to obey God.

That's why we exist to proclaim the name of Jesus, to teach the

people to obey all that God commanded, it says in the Great

Commission. And calling others to obey can

be messy. It can be a battle at times,

right? I kind of picture it like this,

like maybe you think of calling others to obey more like the

judge in AUFC fight. You're observing the battle.

You're seeing the bruising and the absolute bloodshed that's

coming out of orifices you need to know existed on people's

faces, right? You're like, Oh my gosh, that is

so much blood. Some of you ladies right now are

cringing at the idea of that much blood.

And sorry, it can get graphic at AUC fight.

But the judge, what they'll do is they'll watch that fight.

They'll watch the the the competitors compete and battle

against one another. And what they do is they give a

scorecard. They're judging based on

performance. And calling others to obey is

not like that. You know what's more like the

guy in the corner cheering on the guy in the ring, It's the

guy who's in the corner going, don't tap out, don't give up.

Hey, you got this. Hey, put your arms up.

Hey, don't tap out now. Hey, don't give up.

Hey, go now. Go harder.

Press forward. Don't you see that's our role

here, Christian to Christian. Guess what?

We can encourage one another. We can put courage in not to

leave the fight, but to keep battling sin, keep going and

doing the next thing God said giving us courage.

That's what encouragement is. It's putting courage into others

and saying you can do this, keep going, do not let up, do not

grow weary and doing good, but keep living for God.

That's what calling others to obey is like.

It's just calling them to obey again and again and again and

giving them the courage to do so.

To those of you who have the gift of encouragement, thanks be

to God for you helping us keep going in the fight and the

mission of God, making disciples until Jesus comes back.

And making disciples is such a gift to operate in this world,

proclaiming the gospel, the good news that Jesus Christ has come

and died for the world. Like don't you see?

We have the best news to pro others.

The news that should never expire, shouldn't have a shelf

life. We have the news that Jesus died

in your place on a cross, that your sin put Jesus on a cross.

You should have died. God being just God being

wrathful and being a good judge, guess what he should have done?

He should pay. You should pay for your sin.

You should be the one. Your righteousness is not enough

to get you into heaven. Your sin is a real problem, an

eternal one. But thanks be to God that Jesus

Christ in your place went to a cross to pay with his blood, to

pay with his life to pay for your sins.

We call others to obey because we have the one who's worth

obeying. It's Jesus who rose again three

days later, who to never die again.

He's right now at the right hand of the Father, ruling and

reigning as a good king. And he's calling you to obey, to

proclaim his name. So what's it going to take to

obey Him? It's going to take courage.

It's going to take courage and calling others to obey.

It's going to take a heart in love with God's ways.

It's going to take a mind shaped by God's will and a mouth full

of God's words. That's what Christian courage

takes. Heart's in love with his ways, a

mind shaped by his will, and a mouthful of his words.

So what ways of God do you love? What knowledge of God has shaped

your mind? What words of God have

transformed you? Start there.

Encourage this week. Share those with others around

you. Just find things about God that

you love, that you adore, that have changed you and start

sharing them. That would be an act of

Christian courage this week. So when you're insecure about

the quality of your speech or quality of how well you can

defend theology, take heart. God is with you.

Be strong and courageous. When you feel inadequate and

listening for the deeper longings of someone's heart, be

strong and courageous. God is with you if you worry

about all the things you've seen in life.

Be strong and courageous. God is with you if you doubt you

actually have the skill to help others.

Be strong and courageous. God is with you.

Or if you sense that you're not the right person for the job,

like Joshua, be strong and very courageous.

God handpicked you for where He has you.

We need courage. We call others to obey in our

groups, on our teams, in our homes.

Let's be courageous people. Finally, I need courage when I

experienced ministry success, when I experienced ministry

success, God is with you there too.

Last three verses. And when they answered Joshua,

the people of Israel, they said, All that you have commanded us

we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.

Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you

only. May the Lord your God be with

you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your

commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him

shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.

What's happened? Joshua's officially taken the

mantle. The student has become the

master. There's been a transition.

And people have been influenced by Joshua.

They've been moved. They're like, hey, Joshua, just

tell us what to do. Just tell us where to go.

And if anyone disobeys or doesn't follow your orders,

guess what? It's the kill.

Like we're going to kill them. That's brutal.

OK. Graphic.

OK. What they're what are they're

saying is, hey, Joshua, you're in charge.

We're listening to you. We'll do whatever you say.

The baton has officially been passed.

And this generation, this generation watched all their

parents die from disobeying God. Imagine that they couldn't see

the promised land because of disobedience.

They saw the reality that if you choose to sin, you choose to

suffer. They experienced it first hand.

And they're like, hey, Joshua, we're going to follow you, our

appointed leader. We get the consequences of

disobeying God. But they mentioned Moses again

there. And I don't think it's a dig at

Joshua. I think it's actually helpful

for us because I think the Spirit of God preserved this

very thing for us to take note of who Moses was as a man.

Because now Joshua's experiencing is about to

experience the highlights of having ministry success.

And that's one of the hardest places to have courage because

you need to be humble in the face of it.

When God lifts you up, how do you get down low?

I think that's why the Spirit preserved Moses name for us

right there, Because look at what it's the Bible describes

Moses as Numbers 12 three. You can jot that reference down

the side notes of your Bible. Numbers 12 three says this.

Now, the man Moses was very humble, more than all people who

are on the face of the earth. Even if you don't call yourself

a Christian, you've probably heard of Moses.

It's not that his name is unknown, but what you might not

have known about Moses, He was considered one of the most

humble men to ever live at this time, the most humble man to

ever walk the face of the earth. When God is with you in

ministry, guess what? Good things happen, You bear

fruit, and the temptation is to go look at all the awesome

things I'm doing to take credit for what God has done.

Look at all the people in my small group.

Look at how awesome our church is, and look how great it is

that I've invited all my friends.

And I want you to take encourage and that God is using you.

But I don't want you to take credit for how God is using you.

You are not Ron Burgundy. Hey everyone, come see how good

I look. That is bad spirituality.

That is bad Christian living. That is not what God calls you

to. God calls his people to be a

humble people, to decrease when God brings the increase.

And it will take courage to humble yourself, to constantly

put others above yourself, to spotlight others.

And that is the paradox of following Jesus is that as you

humble yourself, God will give you the strength that as you go

down, God lifts you up, that when you are weak, Jesus is

strong in you. I was talking to a Christian

counselor recently who asked one of the most courageous questions

I've ever heard. He asked this of his best

friend. He asked the question, how do

you receive me? Like when I walk into a room,

How is it that you receive my personality, my presence, me And

his friend, being a good friend said this.

You're A1 upper every story, every idea.

You have to do better than that and you always have to have the

bigger thought. Now he was sharing his story,

but it was like the spirit of the God punctured my heart right

in that moment in my I can do the same.

I'm sure people experience me at my worst, my prideful, selfish

self. And when ministry success comes,

it will be a temptation to look at all the good you're doing and

to look at yourself instead of God.

To think, man, I've got it figured out instead of wow,

isn't he good? You see, everyone wants to be

humble. Nobody wants to be humiliated.

And God has had to humiliate me more times than I can count

because I'm a man of deep and great pride.

But I am so thankful for Jesus and His grace, which is in a

slow motion miracle, taking me to the glory of being less and

less selfish and prideful every single week.

But St. City, I believe God has his hand

on us, that God is going to be with us.

And for us to be the church that God is calling us to be, we have

to be a humble people. We can't be looking at ourselves

and looking at our brand and looking at our name and going,

wow, aren't we great? No, no, no, the whole point of

Saint City is like, look at God, isn't he great?

That's who we are as God's people.

That's the good life he's calling us into.

And so I've begun a practice in my life that I would encourage

you to have as well, that every time you get a positive or

negative feedback, I want to give you these 5 words.

These 6 words. It is a very small thing.

It is a very small thing. I didn't come up with those

words. They're actually Bible words and

it comes from First Corinthians 4.

It says this in verse 3. But with me, it is a very small

thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.

In fact, I do not even judge myself.

How is it that you can live with humility in a in a world where

God lifts you up? You shrink the opinions of

people, you shrink your perception of yourself, and you

magnify God at work in you. It is a very small thing.

You fight your pride by shrinking their feedback.

Good job, good job, small group leader.

It's a very small thing. Hey, can we fix that in your

life? It's a very small thing.

People who are humble cannot stop saying it is a very small

thing to be used by the God of the galaxies.

It is a very small thing. So when you experience ministry

success, you'll need the courage to humble yourself.

Now the Old Testament is the gospel in picture in the New

Testament is often the gospel in principle.

And Jesus echoes these words to Joshua.

Maybe you're like, hey, this is for Joshua, this isn't for me.

Matthew 28, I think, is intentionally A hyperlink for us

for this passage, the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives

what's called the Great Commission, and it says these

words. He says these words to his 11

disciples because Judas had already failed him.

Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and earth

has been given to me. Go therefore make disciples of

all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and

Holy Spirit. If you are a disciple of Jesus,

have been baptized, shameless plug, go say yes to Jesus.

Have the courage to stand up in faith and say I am his and he is

mine. But also here's the encourage

that you can have that that's worth doing here to teach them

to deserve all that I've commanded you.

And behold, these are Jesus's words for you, just like they

were for Joshua. I am with you always to the end

of the age. You're not Joshua, you're not

one of the 11 apostles, but you are one of Jesus disciples,

which means that verse holds true for you.

He is with you always. And if it's a promise God has

made to you, it is a promise he will fulfill.

God is with you, Say it to yourself.

God is with you. Now let's say it all out loud.

God is with me. Say it again.

Say it like you're afraid. Say it like you need to hear it.

Say it like it's an act of worship.

God is with me. God is with you.

Don't you ever forget it. Let's pray.

Lord, thank you. Thank you that your goodness and

mercy are with us all the days of our life.

I pray God that we would be a people who believe that you are

with us wherever we go, that we would be strong and courageous

because of it, that we would feel the fire in our bones.

God, wherever we go, whatever we do, Why?

Because you're with us. Whatever meeting we walk into,

whatever classroom we find ourselves in, whatever hard

conversation we're in, whatever family you've appointed us to,

God, you are with us there. There's not a better son or

daughter to be in that family. There's not a better friend for

them. There's not a better Co worker.

God, you have everyday people there, ordinary people there,

who are there to courageously take their next step by offering

up a better way, the way of Jesus to all who listen.

Would that be the rallying point to Saint City?

Would it be our hearts cry that God, we are fearless and full of

faith and full of courage? Why?

Because we believe and trust that God is with us.

He's with us in our ears when we listen.

He's with us in our mouths when we speak.

He's with us, with us in our feet where we stand and live and

serve people. Oh God, will we be a people of

Christian courage, a people of great faith who take your word

and act upon it, trusting and believing that you promise a

good result. O God, will we be strong and

courageous, knowing and believing that you are with us.

Thank you God, for who you are. Jesus name, Amen.

Let's stand and sing.