The Future is Bright | Ps. Keith Pittman | 10th Anniversary

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at Celebration ORL or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.

You know, I think about the 10-year journey for Celebration Orlando specifically.

And I think of the legacy.

And that's a biblical principle that I've seen over and over in my life, being a part of different churches at different seasons and seeing how there are people that came before us that labored so faithfully, and people that came after, and people that will come after us, and we're all connected to the same beautiful story.

And so I didn't do this in the first service, but I do want to take a moment to honor everyone that has ever been a part of Celebration Orlando, from the team that that planted it with Pastor Josh and his family, um, to the varying teams that have served over the years, people that have gone on to other churches, people that have moved out of state, whether you were on staff at one point or not, it doesn't matter, but we all were part of this incredible kingdom work at some point, and we're all part of the body of Christ.

So I just want to honor everyone that has ever been a part of the celebration Orlando story.

So can we give it up to God for them and their faithfulness?

We are truly, truly thankful of what God is doing.

If you have your Bibles, I want to talk to us just for a couple of minutes and and and release us to go out and have some fun in the courtyard.

But but I do believe that God has a word for us this morning.

So if you have your Bibles, join me in Philippians chapter one.

And we're gonna read verses three through six.

Um, if you don't have your Bibles with you, that's okay.

We have the Bible um in the sky that's gonna pop up.

But if you do not have a Bible at all, um stop out in the courtyard and get one.

We would love to gift you with one.

Of course, we have digital resources that makes the Bible more convenient.

But if you do not have um a word that you can regularly engage, please um let us know.

We would love to gift you with um the Bible because we truly believe that the Bible has the ability to change our lives.

Can I get a good amen to that?

Paul writes this letter to the church of Philippi, a church that he planted, um, and he wrote it to encourage them.

And the context of it was that Paul um had been arrested for the gospel.

And and so when the church and Philippi hear about Paul being arrested, they're discouraged.

They're they're disappointed, they're in dismay, in fact, because Paul was their pastor, he was their spiritual leader.

So Paul, sitting in a prison cell, hears about what they're going through, and he writes them this incredible letter.

If you read this in its entirety, you will find that the theme of the book of Philippi is joy.

And it's a beautiful reminder that even in moments when we're confined, even in moments when it doesn't look like what we want it to look like, Paul takes on a posture of still having joy.

So while in a prison cell, he's encouraging others.

Starting here at verse number one, it says, or verse number three, excuse me, it says this I thank my God in all remembrance of you.

Always in every prayer of mine, for you all making my prayer with joy.

Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work, somebody say good work, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul was encouraging the community that even though I am no longer with you, God is and he's going to finish what he has started.

This verse is not only a reminder for us as a community celebration church, but I think it's also meant to be applicable to us as individual, that that what God has started in you, He is going to complete it.

So today I want to talk to us in a unique way that is a little bit retrospective and reflective for me personally, but I also think it's connected to our church, and I also think it's going to be connected to you as individuals.

And so if you're taking notes, and I hope that you do, um, I've entitled today's message The Future is Bright.

Let's pray and let's see what it is the Lord wants to speak to us today.

Lord, we thank you so much for your presence.

We thank you for allowing us to faithfully serve this community for 10 years.

I mean, we know that we couldn't do it in our own strength.

So today you are the guest of honor.

We honor you.

It's a celebration of you and what you've done through us.

So Lord, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you.

I pray that you give us open ears to hear you and open hearts to receive your word and be transformed by your truth.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

You know, this year was a year that I had intended um to be a little bit more dialed in as it relates to um the Olympics.

I feel like every year, whenever there's an Olympics, um, and I see all the movement and culture, I'm always kind of like on the fringes of it.

And I love sports, but for some reason it's just always been hard for me to find it, particularly with the different times and all that stuff.

But but this was a year that I had intended um to watch it.

So I set it up on our DVR.

I wanted to rewatch it, I wanted to make it a moment so I can kind of be on this journey with us as a country.

Um, needless to say, here we are several weeks removed, and I have still not watched it.

I'm just gonna go ahead and delete it and just look at Google for the results.

Um, but but one of the things that I did get an opportunity to watch is the four by four relay, specifically the last one with the women's.

It was it was so amazing.

And it made me think about my own years, back in my more nimble days when I was a middle schooler and I was on a track team.

And one of the things that I remember about being on the track team is this one time I was invited to be a part of this four by four relay.

And and it brought me back to this moment of when my coach didn't, one of our runners was sick, so he said, Keith, I just need you to get in and I just need you to run.

And I took that seriously.

Here I am, seventh grade Keith, just ready to run.

And I remember when my time came to run, I ran.

And people were screaming and yelling, and I was moving, but it turns out they were yelling at me because I didn't take the baton with me.

Completely left the baton behind.

I was made fun of, I went on to go to another school, and that's why I'm in mental health now.

Anyway, I realized that it doesn't matter how fast you are, it doesn't matter how much endurance you have, that if you cannot take the baton and run with it, it's possible to fumble it and not be successful.

When I when I look at the 4x4 relay, I recognize there were people that were strategically put in place, and one could have a fast start, but another one needed to have a speed, and this is strategy on how they can navigate through curves.

And then you had another one that had a good breakaway speed, and then you had the anchor that was the one that was going to bring them to the finish line.

And the beautiful thing is, once they crossed the finish line, they all got a medal.

They were all part of this incredible journey.

It wasn't about one person, it was about all of them together.

Interestingly enough, when I when I think about the church, when I think about the body of Christ, I can't help but think about how the baton has been passed from generation to generation.

If we were wind time and look in the Bible and Matthew 28, there's this moment where Jesus is telling his disciples to continue in the kingdom work.

It's what we refer to as the Great Commission.

He says, Hey, I want you to go out, baptizing all people in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to be obedient to everything that I have taught you to do.

This is Jesus passing the baton to his disciples.

The disciples go into uh the city of Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit comes there empowered, and then the early church is birthed.

And now we get a chance to read through the varying narratives of the baton being passed to different people at different points of time.

And I love looking at church history and even seeing how we got to where we are, and and one generation got it, and it ended up in one nation and to another nation, and then here we are today, standing together as a community, and it's hard to imagine this, but think about this.

We have literally received a baton that has been passed to us from generation to generation from Jesus.

The church is literally a continuation of God's idea, of Jesus' way of reaching people, and what we're doing is not gathering for the sake of just worshiping and listening to the messages that are meant for us, it is us embodying and passing the baton to those that are gonna come after us.

I can't imagine a more beautiful thing.

But the thing that I recognize about when you are in this race of faith, the fact of the matter is it is a marathon.

Because I think a lot of times we can find ourselves wanting to hurry up and get to the finish line.

I can't be the only one that's ever been in a space where I'm like, Lord, can we just hurry up and get to the ending?

Like, if we could just can we fast forward this part?

I think I think Netflix has kind of spoiled us because we can binge watch and we can even skip episodes we don't like.

I can just skip past this part.

I don't need to see the recap.

I've been watching this for the past seven hours.

Like we can skip past some things.

But sadly, life doesn't work that way.

Sometimes we gotta wait until the next week.

How many of us remember when we have to watch a show and to wait till next week when it came out?

That's enduring patience right there.

That's that's how it is in ministry, that's how it is in life.

That there are times that we just have to be patient and continue to walk it out and not know what the next episode or next season is going to look like.

Paul uses language that connects this journey that we're on as a marathon and not a sprint.

He reminds us over and over through varying passages of scripture that encourages us to be reminded of this.

He says, Listen, I want you to run your race with purpose.

I need you to make sure that you're training yourselves just like athletes, but recognize this: you're not running for a temporary prize, you're running for an eternal perspective.

1 Corinthians chapter 9.

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

That he tells us over and over again that, hey, when you're on this journey that is a marathon, it's gonna require some endurance.

It's gonna absolutely require some patience.

There's not gonna be a lot of quick victories.

You're gonna have to approach this knowing that I'm in this for the long haul.

It's gonna require some resilience from you.

And you're gonna have to have a long-term vision.

And watch this that your ambitions can change.

Some of the goals that you're trying to reach can change, but if you make Jesus the goal, you will always have something that will inspire you to keep moving forward.

It's a beautiful reminder of recognizing that we're in this marathon.

Even the book of Hebrews, and he tells us that we're supposed to run our race with all endurance, throwing off every distraction and fixing our eyes on Jesus.

He emphasizes this because it's possible that when you are running in your marathon and when you're running in your race, it's very easy for us to begin to look in other people's lanes.

And we can find ourselves running a race that God didn't tell us to run.

We can even find ourselves setting ambitions on things that God never told us to have.

And next thing you know, we're keeping up and trying to sustain something that God never invited us into.

This journey is not easy.

This journey is not for the faint of heart, but it is one that we can be encouraged in knowing that we're not doing it alone.

The baton has been passed to us.

When I think about the legacy of Celebration Church overall, I'm reminded of the varying moments that has significant impact.

Twenty-seven years ago, a group of people moved to Jacksonville, Florida with a desire to create a place where people can come and worship no matter what your background was.

Ten years ago, a group of people from that collection of church came to celebration or came to Orlando with a desire to plan a church that was that was kingdom focused, to plan a church that was filled with joy, and that no matter what your background is, no matter what your struggle is, no matter what your sin is, that we all can worship together with the goal of having an encounter with the living God and allowing his word and his spirit to transform us.

That has always been the heart of our church and our community, but it's been a marathon.

And there are moments when we felt like we wish it was a sprint.

There were moments that we set goals and had ideas of things that we put timelines on, but I've recognized more and more over the years that it is part of a marathon.

So what I want to do over the next few moments is just kind of share a little bit of insight and things that I have personally observed God doing in our community.

And it's personal to me, but I think it's also impactful for all of us as individuals as well.

Here's the first thing that I have learned by looking at the activity of God over the past 10 years in our precious community.

God is faithful.

God is faithful.

I want to say that one more time until we get it into our spirits.

That God is faithful.

When I say God is faithful, what I'm ultimately communicating is that God is reliable, is that is that God is trustworthy, is that God is going to follow through on what he says he's going to do.

God is faithful.

That means that you can depend on what he says, you can give weight to his words.

The fact of the matter is, we have all hit moments where we've questioned the faithfulness of God.

I know that may not feel good to hear that or say that, but if we're honest with ourselves, if we're going to be our authentic selves, there have been moments where we've wondered where God was even in our most dark moments.

When I think about the moment when God had invited Megan and I five years ago to come and serve as the lead pastors of this community, this church had five years of history before us, and it was vibrant, it was fun, it was it was life-giving, and then God said, The baton is being passed to you, Keith.

I want you to go into it in the middle of and towards the end of 2020, or in 2019 rather, and I want you to dream big.

So we moved here in in 2019.

Left our DC area, and and here we are, full of ambition.

We had so many strategy meetings, and we're like, man, next year is gonna be 2020, the year of vision, the year of clarity God's gonna bring it to fruition.

We can see it.

You know what we didn't see?

A global pandemic.

So you can only imagine that after being placed as the lead pastors of a community that we're beginning to build relationships and build trust with, about four months into that process, the entire world shuts down and we're no longer able to gather.

And I thought to myself, God had led Megan and I here.

We we did our honeymoon here.

And when we did our honeymoon here, we're like, hey, we're called to move to Orlando.

And our family are like, what are you gonna do?

I don't know.

We're just trusting God.

They're like, that is reckless and stupid.

I'm like, just stop getting in the way of God.

But we waited.

It was 20 years in the making.

When Celebration Orlando was birthed, we thought it was our time then.

God said no.

Even five years into that, it was time for us to come.

God said no.

And then the moment came when God said, This is the moment that I'm leading you to now take ground in Celebration Orlando.

We wrote messages and sermon series, it was incredible.

And then about four months into it, the world shuts down and we don't even know if the church is going to go forward.

I'm like, God, you real funny, aren't you?

You have an amazing sense of humor.

And there were some moments that I would say those were very dark wilderness moments for us.

We'd sold our house, we had moved away from family, and we're doing what we felt God was calling us to do, and now we felt more isolated and alone than we ever had felt.

I suspect for some of us, we may feel like we're in the wilderness season right now.

We may feel like we tried to take a step of faith and do something that God was inviting us to do, and we're wondering, God, where are you in these moments?

But it's in these times that I reflect on the children of Israel because God was leading them out of Egypt.

But while they were in, I went while they were out of Egypt, they were in the wilderness.

They were no longer where they were used to be, but they weren't where they wanted to be at, and that's the wilderness season.

I just feel like I'm going in circles.

I feel like I'm not in bondage anymore, but I'm also not walking in complete freedom.

And I suspect for some of us, that sounds like our reality right now.

That that God, I'm I'm no longer where I used to be, and I'm thankful for it, but I'm not where I want to be, and God, I'm wondering where you are.

But but I feel like if I can use our church as an indicator, even in those unknown seasons, God has been faithful.

That that even in those moments when we had to shut down shop and we had no digital presence at all, that we were able to rally together as a staff and launch our online community, and God has been faithful.

That even in moments where we were concerned about whether we're gonna have enough provisions in order for us to survive, that people would still faithfully give because God is faithful.

What I recognize in looking at our life and mirroring it with the children of Israel, that even while they were in the wilderness, God was faithful.

He was faithfully providing the manna for them where they were having provision, they didn't know how they got it.

He was faithful.

He was faithful when they went into their first battle and they never had fought before, but somehow they came out victorious because they knew how to keep their hands lifted up and worship, because God is faithful.

Well I want you to understand that as long as you have a praise, you have victory because God is faithful.

I've seen it in my own life that I didn't have the resources, I didn't have the strategy, and I didn't have the strength, but I still had my worship, and God would faithfully meet me there every single time because God is faithful.

God is faithful, and is he been faithful to me?

He's been faithful to us, he has absolutely been faithful to you.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

Hebrews 10:23

For he who is promised is faithful, he's reliable.

You can depend on him.

The Bible literally says that his word does not come back to him void.

Let me put it in context.

And so, for some of us older saints that may, I just turned 49, so I'm talking to our older people.

But remember back in the day when people would write a check?

Does anybody remember?

Um I know we have a diverse shirt.

Anybody remember checks?

Okay, so checks are something that people write and they put money on it.

You take it to the bank and you're supposed to be able to cash it.

What can often happen is if somebody writes a check to you and they don't have the money in their account to cover it, the check bounces.

Just spalding.

Don't go through.

Don't go through.

You get fees, they get fees, and now our relationship is broken.

But but God's word says this I watch over my word to ensure that it accomplishes what I set it out to do.

That if I gave you a promise, you could take it to the bank.

That that if I spoke it over your life, it's gonna come to fruition.

You may have to wait in line before you can get to the teller to deposit into your account, but don't give up your space because I'm good at my word.

So I'm trying to encourage somebody right now that maybe you are wondering while you're in your wilderness, but God is faithful.

Don't give up your seat, don't move from your spot.

God will accomplish what he said he's gonna do in your life, but you gotta be faithful.

God is absolutely faithful.

Here's here's a second thing that I have noticed in our church is that God is for us.

God is for us.

And here's the thing: I I hear that phrase, and some of us may be hearing that phrase, and we're like, okay, yeah, I get it, but I knew it took me 10 years into my walk with God to understand that God was truly for us.

Because I always felt that that God is for us if, maybe if I perform properly, if I do the right things, if if I if I pray enough, if I fast enough, if I do enough, then God is for us.

But but the Bible that I read shows us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died on the cross for us to indicate that God is for us.

The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 8, verse 31, what then are we to say about these things?

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, then who can be against us?

Who or what can be against us?

I've recognized over the years of our church there have been moments when we've been trying to move forward and it seemed like no one was for us.

See, when the world is shut down and we stopped gathering, our our last service, when we were all together back when we had two locations, meeting at Howard and Edgewater, our our collective attendance for that particular weekend was around 800 people.

And then the world shut down, and the schools wouldn't let us come in to worship.

And so now we're worshiping digitally for about six to eight months.

And then we said, hey, it's time for us to get back out there and to begin to serve our community in person.

And no one would allow us to come in and gather.

The world was still scared, we didn't know what the pandemic meant, and so we began to look around, and one after another, people said, No, you can't meet here.

No, you can't meet here, no, you can't meet here.

And we began to wonder, it seems like everyone is against us.

But how many of us know that just because the world is against you doesn't mean that God still doesn't have something for you?

All it took was one person to say, Yes, you can gather here.

But our first gathering, people had to register, we had to go up elevators.

For those that remember those days, you had to walk down, you had to walk down these steps, you had to put your life on the line to come to church.

And we went from 800 people to 75.

But God is for us.

We faithfully worshiped together at the balcony and we served God there and we and we worshiped there.

We had no kids' ministry.

That if your kids acted up, we just said, take them in a closet in the back.

We don't know what else to tell you to do.

It was literally like a book of acts movement.

And then we saw God continue to show, and then it began to build our faith, and we began to recognize wait a minute, we know that there may be some people that are against us, but God is for us.

And we began to say it's time for us to expand our territory.

Where can we go?

And we would go to one person, they said no.

We go to another person, they say no.

And the pastor Nate said, What about the Orlando Museum of the Art?

We're like, Well, maybe there's a church already meeting there.

He said, It doesn't hurt to ask.

I'm like, Well, go ahead and ask.

And he wouldn't ask, they said, We would love to have you because God was forced.

They have been waiting for us.

What I want you to understand is that maybe for you, you have felt like every door that you have ever knocked on did not open to you.

Maybe right now you feel like you're surrounded and there doesn't seem to be any progress.

But I want to encourage you through our story, but I want to encourage you through the Bible because 2 Kings chapter 6 tells about a moment where there was a man who was serving the prophet Elijah, and he wakes up and he looks around and he sees that they are surrounded by the enemy's camp.

2 Kings 6 · chapter mention

And maybe for some of us, when we look around, we feel like we're surrounded by nothing but things that want to suppress us, by nothing but things that want to harm us, things that want to shut us down.

And so he goes to the prophet and says, What are we supposed to do?

We are fully surrounded.

There is no freedom, there is no hope, there is no access for us to get out of this situation alive.

And the prophet says, Lord, will you open his eyes so that he can see what I can see?

Because those who are with us are greater than those who are against us.

I'm trying to talk to somebody right now because maybe you have inventory of every obstacle in your life.

But allow me to take the posture of Elisha and say, Lord, open their eyes up and allow them to see that you are for them.

And those that are with them is greater than those that are against them.

God is for you.

And if God is for you, nothing can stand against you.

No one can stand against you.

You don't need that job for you to have value.

You have value in the kingdom.

You don't need that person that in order to validate you, you have validation in the kingdom of God.

Don't you allow something finite as man to determine your eternal perspective.

God is for you.

When it says that God is for us, it means that he is fighting on your side.

That you're not alone.

Even in those moments where it seems like you're isolated, but God is with you.

The Bible tells us greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.

And no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.

It will form.

It may even have impact, but it will not accomplish in destroying you because God is forced.

Here's the third and final thing I want to share with us.

God is not done.

God is not done.

I suspect for some people they they may feel like their best days are behind them.

Particularly for people that have been in marriages.

And as much as I believe in marriage, and as much as I believe in relationships, I've seen people who have who have trusted and they worked really hard and it didn't work out.

And then sadly, on the other side of that, because we see a God who restores, we see a God who redeems, they may feel that my best days are behind me.

We have people who have experienced loss.

They've been believing God for their job or their breakthrough and it didn't work out, and now they're on the other side with this grief, and they may be thinking, My desk, my best days are behind me.

Let's not get it twisted.

I believe in a God who redeems.

I believe in a God who heals.

I believe in a God who helps us to move forward, but I also believe in a God who's able to restore.

He is not done with you yet.

Your best days are not behind you.

When Paul was writing this letter to the church of Philippi, he was encouraging them, saying, Listen, I know that I'm in prison right now, and I don't even know if I'm going to get out, but I want you to be encouraged that God is not done with you yet.

If God started it in you, guess what?

He's going to finish it.

And in my word for all of us right now, when I look at our church and I think about the journey we've been on, and I look at all that God has done through our community, I am filled with so much fire and faith because I know that our best days are ahead of us.

The future is bright, that our best is not in the rearview mirror, but it's also absolutely through the windshield.

And we're going to fix our eyes on Jesus and pursue everything that He has for us.

And as we're doing this as a community collectively, I believe that we need to invite this personally.

God has more.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20.

Ephesians 3:20

Now unto him who is able to do far more abundantly than we can ask or think according to the power that works within us.

Listen to me, church.

There's some power that's working on the inside of you.

And God has so much more for you.

And so, what does that mean for us collectively as a community?

That means that we have seen the faithfulness of God over the past 10 years, where we've seen marriages and children and restoration and people who had addictions get whole and people who are still on their journey.

And so I believe what we have seen God do, we're going to continue to see more of it.

And I believe that all our role is to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.

So what I truly believe for us as a church collectively that we're going to be a community that's going to cultivate more prayer.

Because I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have seen how prayer has the ability of changing things.

That prayer will not be our last reaction, but it's going to be our first response.

That we're going to be a community that knows how to call on the name of the Lord.

And as Paul says, pray without ceasing.

We're going to have more worship where we understand the importance of engaging the presence of God and how that intimate encounter has the ability of changing everything.

That worship is not something that we do on a Sunday, but it's a lifestyle that we live that has the ability to transform everything.

So we're going to continue to be a community where there's more worship.

There's going to be more community where we continue to stay connected to one another, where we're going to foster this idea of having authentic relationships that are being transformed through accountability and relationships and encouragement.

We're going to be a community of more service because Jesus said he didn't come to be served, but he came to serve and to live his life as a ransom for many.

So if Jesus can serve, then so shall we.

So we're going to continue to serve because we know there are people out there that desperately have needs that have to be met.

We believe that God is calling us to have more outreach because listen to me, guys, Jesus is coming back.

And we have enough responsibility to go out and to declare the goodness of God to every single person that He has given us influence with and letting them know that Jesus is coming back just for them and that they are loved and that they're of value.

So we want to reach out to more people with everything that God has given us, more generosity, because we believe that God is calling us to have a kingdom impact by utilizing the resources that He's given us on earth.

We want to be people that can steward the grace of God successfully through generosity and making a difference in the lives of others.

We believe that God is calling us to have more discipleship, not a program, but a lifestyle of transformation and mentorship that allows us to truly embody what it means to be an apprentice of Christ.

We believe our church is going to be one of more diversity because our church looks like and will continue to look like heaven.

Because the Bible tells me in the book of Revelation that around the throne room, that there's every nation, every tribe, and every tongue.

And so we're going to be intentional with making sure that our church looks like heaven because on earth, as it is in heaven, to align our earth to look like heaven so that we can have the outpouring that God has for us, more innovation.

We're going to be creative with reaching people that have not stepped into the doors of our church, but yet God is calling to come home.

And we ultimately believe that God is calling us to be a community of more freedom, freedom from pain, freedom from anxiety, freedom from oppression, freedom from brokenness, freedom from fear, freedom from everything that the enemy is trying to bound us to.

That as followers of Christ, who the Son is set free, is free indeed.

And it's time for us to walk in our God-given freedom because God has given us victory, God has given us authority, He has given us anointing, He has given us freedom, and we're gonna have more and more and more.

We want everything that God has for us and will not accept anything less.

This is our time of more, more and more.

Celebration, the the name is derived from the parable of the lost son.

And if you are familiar with it, it was a story where this man asked for his resources, went off into the world, and lived life on his own terms.

And then the scripture tells us that there's a moment when he came to himself and he recognized that I would much rather be a servant in my father's house than to be a slave in the world.

And so as he's on this journey of coming back to his father's house, his father sees him off in the distance, he runs to him, he meets him where he is, he embraces him, even though he has the stench of the world all over him.

He crowns him before he cleans him, he brings him into the house, and they have a celebratory party for the fact that he came home.

His father met him with love.

And so celebration's name is derived from no matter how you find yourself here, God meets you where you are.

He gives you value, he invites you into the house, and then his love will begin to nourish you, nurture you, and then direct you into what your life needs to look like.

That is who we are, and it's just gonna be more of that.

Continuing to meet people where they are, inviting them into God's house, graciously embracing them with God's love, regardless of what the aroma of their sin looks like, and allow the Holy Spirit and the truth of God's word to bring transformation into their lives.

Can we get a good amen for that?

Lord, we thank you so much for your faithfulness, and we thank you, God, for this incredible kingdom work that you've allowed us to be a part of over the past 10 years.

And whether our journey starts today, or whether we've been a part of the church for three months, three years, or for 10 years, we recognize that all of these stories are interconnected.

And we count it as an honor that you would invite us to be a part of carrying on the baton that you pass to the disciples by simply declaring your truth, inviting people into your love and embodying a grace that allows the kingdom of God to be more attractive than instead of the kingdom of darkness that's in the world.

So, Lord, I pray over our precious community that as we celebrate these 10 years, a milestone in this community that you are not done with us yet.

But I pray that we can look at this as individuals, that Lord, you are faithful, that you are for us, and that you're not done with us yet.

Collectively, but as individuals as well.

Our best days are ahead of us.

The future is indeed bright.

In Jesus' name.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.