The Prayer of Surrender

Morning, everyone. Morning, morning. That's it. Are we here? Are we live? Morning.

It's good to see you. I'm James, again, just like Alex, part of this gathering here.

We're doing something different. Actually, I feel obliged to at least give an intro,

because I think each week there's probably different people who are coming for the first time.

This is not what we normally do, but it's something that we're trying to do.

Actually, I'm going to take this off.

With the sole reason of, I have this fear, and these intros are getting shorter and shorter,

so if you're here every week, then don't worry, it'll get less painful.

My fear is that we run through the motions.

You come to church on a Sunday morning, and you do church.

You sing a few songs, you listen to someone do a TED Talk, and then you sing one more song,

and then you go for lunch, and then that's it.

And so I have this fear that, one, the church ends up, the service ends up like a memorial service.

We're just here to talk about a guy, remember a guy who used to live, who was a good guy, and that's it.

And we all kind of just say hello and then goodbye.

I'm also afraid that we turn our church service into like a birthday party,

where we celebrate, we hold this party for someone,

but then the birthday boy, we leave in the corner, and we completely ignore him.

I don't know why you're here.

Part of it is to meet friends and to hear someone speak,

but the main thing is to meet Jesus and to hear him speak.

And then it makes me think, what on earth are we doing if we want to meet Jesus and want to hear from him,

and yet we don't spend any time or enough time praying?

I think the church globally is going through this pandemic, epidemic of prayerlessness.

Have you been in a service where actually you've barely prayed?

I have.

And so for us, we're like, you know what, let's just stop.

We're still small enough just to be able to say, hey, let's stop.

Let's keep reminding ourselves, like with the statements, like with just what we're doing here,

let's just keep reminding ourselves why we're here.

Isn't that the most important thing?

That you don't want to just hear from me, you want to hear from Jesus.

You want to walk away from here and go, man, I heard from God, and I spent time with him,

and I spent time with his people.

And so we're changing things up.

We're not going to sing songs at the beginning just to kind of shock ourselves out of the system.

If anything, this is a little bit more like the early church, how it began.

It was only 500 years ago when a guy called Zwingli, a theologian from Switzerland,

put the pulpit into the middle of the service and said, this is the most important thing.

And so you have the long sermon and you have everything else stressed around the side.

Like in reality, when they first gathered, it was just to pray.

And then they would open up the word and they would, back then it would have been the Old Testament

and they would have just read through it.

And then someone would have taught a little bit on it.

And then they would have just worshipped and prayed.

So we're going to try and do that for these next few weeks.

And I hope that, yes, it may make you feel uncomfortable,

but the goal is, can we get to a place where actually, man, I want to pray.

I want to get to know these people.

I want to get to know God.

And so that's kind of the heart behind it.

Last week, and hopefully through these next few weeks,

teach us some different tools about how to pray that may help you when you go home.

And last week we talked about the simple prayer.

Pete Gregg talked about how you just pray what you've got.

C.S. Lewis says, don't pray, don't lay before the throne what ought to be in you,

just lay before the throne what is in you.

And if it's anger, if it's frustration, if it's fear, if it's anxiety,

just pray those things.

That's okay.

You can be like a child to God and just tell him, I want this.

I need this.

I'm so tired of this.

I'm so angry about this.

I'm so worried about this.

And you just come to him and you just go, God, this is where I'm at.

No pretense, no pretending.

This is what I'm worried about and I want to give it to you.

And I trust that you care about me.

And so that was a simple prayer where you just pray what you've got.

And I taught us a different kind of different things to help us.

Because why?

Because prayer is hard.

Prayer is hard.

Whether you pray on your own, whether you pray in a group, it's often very hard.

So we're trying to just equip each other with some tools.

St. Teresa was the one who said, everyone's a beginner when it comes to prayer.

Even if you've prayed for years, you can still go back to this childlike prayer and say, God, I'm angry.

That's okay.

And so that's what we're going to try and do.

And I told you that actually different people have different things to pray, ways to pray.

John Mark Homer was the one who every morning wakes up and faces east and just prays east because that's where the Bible says that's where Jesus is going to return.

And so it's kind of his way to remind himself, Jesus is returning.

I want to focus on him.

I want to be ready for him.

So we're going to teach different ones.

And I'm going to teach us one today that I found particularly interesting.

It will require a little bit of movement.

So what I'm going to ask you to do, actually, before I ask you to stand, because at the moment you stand, none of you will see me.

So this is what we're going to do.

Now, it's called the body prayer that I've been doing every day.

And actually, I only recently learned this.

And so I'll do it in front of all of you first, just to kind of embarrass myself a little bit.

It's called the body prayer.

And there's four parts that I'm going to talk you through.

I do this every morning because actually when I wake up in the morning, I'm super groggy.

My mind is all over the place.

And something about prayer is that you've got to do it like if you're really going to connect and pray to God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, your body is a part of that.

You know, typically, actually, the most common prayer style body posture wise in the Bible is lying prostrate on the floor.

Okay, so that's the most common one.

So you won't see this, but I'll just do it.

That's the prayer.

The second most common style is this.

Every time you see someone pray in the Bible, they're doing either lying on the floor completely prostrate or they are standing with their hands up.

The kind of prayer that we do these days, you cannot find one example in the Bible.

Isn't that interesting?

And yet here we do.

I'm convicted that when we pray, our bodies are very important.

If you watch friends talk, I had a lunch with Aidan and Alex and Ken just in the summer and we had lunch and man, that group is loud.

And they're talking and their arms are waving and it's just, they're just so impassioned about roast goose and all those kinds of things that you pray with your body.

So this is the body prayer.

So the first part is this and you feel free to do it at home.

I really enjoy doing it myself every morning.

And the first one is this.

Okay, so the guy who taught me, he was like, hey, touch your toes.

And I was like, I've never been able to touch my toes, even when I was 10 years old.

But anyway, you do this.

And then you shake, you just basically shake.

And what you do is when you're praying this prayer, you're basically just shaking off any, anything that's not of God.

Any bad vibes, any fears, any anxieties, any pride, anything that you know that shouldn't be in your heart and shouldn't be in your body.

You're just shaking it off.

Just shake, shake, shake it off.

Okay, so that's the, that's the first prayer.

Okay.

Okay.

And after that, you then stand up and then you lift up your hands to do the very common posture of prayer in the Bible, which is you lift it up and you go, actually, I've shaken off all the things that aren't of you.

And now I just focus on you.

God, you are worthy to be praised.

Hallowed be your name.

What's that?

It means you're different.

God, you are so different.

You're so big.

I don't even dare imagine knowing who you truly are.

And then after that, you do this.

And it is the kind of a hugging yourself prayer.

And this is the one where you just receive whatever God has given you, the warm embrace of what God has given you.

Actually, may I operate from today, knowing that I am loved, knowing that I'm safe, knowing that he is near and he's close to me.

And after that, you open up your hands like this and you offer a prayer to God and say, whatever I've just received from you, I now give back to you.

Use it for your glory.

Just take it back.

Use it.

Use me.

And freely I receive and now freely I give.

So those are the four parts.

Is that okay?

Right.

Can I invite you to stand?

We're going to quickly do the body prayer together.

So you might have to kind of make a little bit more space for you, for yourself.

Now, you can do this for however long you want.

My back won't let me do it for too long.

And we'll do it short.

But actually, I encourage you, if you're looking for ways to start your day, this is a great one.

Okay?

So let's start by just kind of reaching towards your toes and shaking off.

Shake it off.

And I will lead us in a prayer now.

God, we come to you with any fatigue we have, any cynicism we have, any fears, any worries, any pride, any insecurity.

There are so many things that trouble us in this day.

And so we shake it all off.

Holy Spirit, we give it to you.

Release it all to you.

And then we stand up, reach out.

Try not to hit the person next to you.

There we go.

Can you imagine the upper room in Acts 1?

This is probably how they prayed.

Look around.

Isn't that crazy?

It's just people going,

God,

you alone are holy.

You alone are worthy.

There is none like you.

You are God in heaven.

And here we are on earth.

Let our words be few.

You are so much bigger than we realize.

And we are so much smaller.

So we lift our prayers up to you.

And then we embrace ourselves and hug ourselves.

Give yourself a really big hug.

Lord, there are so many of us who are in need of intimacy.

We yearn for love.

We struggle with loneliness.

And yet here you are all wrapping your arms around us.

Can you allow us to feel your warm embrace today?

Whatever we think,

whatever we say,

whatever we do,

comes from a place of knowing that we are loved by you.

But just like a parent with a child,

just

you hug us,

you wrap your arms around us.

Never let us forget.

We are loved.

We are your children.

Your grace just covers us.

Even when we don't feel it.

And finally,

we open up our hands

and we offer it to you.

That love that we've just received from you.

We seek to pass on to those who need it.

Those gifts you've given us.

We seek to use them for your glory.

Our cups, they overflow.

May they overflow.

For those of us who feel empty,

Lord, would you fill us up

so that we can then pour out to others?

We know this day isn't about us.

We know it's about you

being lifted high,

being glorified.

And so we serve you.

We look to you.

We worship you.

And we give everything that we have to you.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Please take a seat.

So I hope that's helpful.

I hope that's a

that'll be a fun way for you to try.

If you're thinking,

okay, I've got to stop my prayer.

And you could do all of those actions

within 10 seconds.

It'll probably really hurt you.

But

it's just a good way

just to

start your day.

And I hope that helps you.

The other thing I taught

us last week,

again,

it's not because

I created it,

but it's called Lectio Divina.

Lectio Divina is just a way

to pray through scripture.

And we're actually going to do that again today.

Does anyone remember

how many parts there is

to Lectio Divina?

Anyone remember?

Me?

Four.

Yes.

Four.

Of course,

they're described in Latin,

but in English,

the first one will be read.

So you simply read it.

When you open up the scripture,

let's say you've just done

the body prayer in the morning

and you're like,

okay,

I want to start the day

with some scripture.

So I'll pick a passage

and we've been going through

the songs of ascent,

which are just simple prayers

that Jesus would have prayed,

that all the Jewish people

heading to worship

would have prayed these prayers.

and you take a simple passage,

doesn't have to be too long,

and then you do these four steps.

And the first stage

is simply you read it.

Okay?

And Lectio Divina

simply means divine reading.

So you're reading it

and then asking God,

show me something.

Tell me something.

I want to hear from you.

I don't just want to read

and tick it off.

I want to hear from you.

If the word of God

is living and active,

this is what I want to hear from.

So what you do is

first you read it

and then afterwards

you read it again

for the second time,

but this time you reflect on it.

And as you read those words,

you're like,

oh, what does that actually mean?

Oh, that's interesting.

And you just reflect.

You can let your mind

wander a little bit

if you need to.

And then you read it

for a third time

and this time you respond.

You're like,

oh God, man.

Yeah, I'm reflecting on that

and that means something to me.

You're telling me something here.

I need to do something.

I need to act on this.

And then the fourth one

is you rest in it.

You read it again

because it's not all about doing.

It's not all about instructions

and obeying.

It's about then just resting in him

going, oh God,

I receive this

and I'm just going to rest

in this passage,

this word.

Okay, so we're going to do that today

and we're going to do it

on another Psalm.

It's Psalm 127.

Afterwards,

I actually asked

two of our dear members

of this family,

one Hank and Cara,

who actually have been doing this

this week already

and just reflecting

and they're going to come up

and share with us

what their experience was like

as they went through this passage.

Is that okay?

So we're going to try it.

This is Lectio Divina.

If you need more information

about this,

if you're like,

oh, that's a cool way.

I'd like to,

I'd be interested in that.

Just Google it,

Lectio Divina.

Actually, there's an app.

There's multiple apps

that lead you through it.

So feel free to have a look at those.

But what we're going to do is

I'm going to read through Psalm 127.

Because we're doing it four times,

I won't ask us to stand.

But I hope you share that thought with me

that the Word of God

is something to be revered.

This is a big deal.

This isn't just reading tweets

or Instagram posts.

This is the Word of God

that has lasted thousands of years

that is still here today.

That speaks to us today.

And we're asking the Holy Spirit

to speak to us in it.

Okay?

So why don't we spend a moment now

just to calm our hearts.

I'm actually going to sit down

because I'm not the center of this.

But...

Whatever we've come in here with today,

we calm our hearts

and we seek only you.

The words of this psalm,

a song attributed to Solomon,

will be on the screen.

But you can also feel free

just to close your eyes

and listen to it.

It's a short one.

It's five verses,

just in case you're worried.

And we're going to do the first one

where we're just simply going to read it.

Holy Spirit,

as we open up your Word,

speak to us.

Calm our hearts.

Steady our thoughts.

So that we can hear from you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Psalm 127.

Psalm 127.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil,

for he gives to his beloved sheep.

Behold,

children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

This is the word of the Lord.

I'm going to read it for a second time now

and this time reflect on the words.

What's the author trying to say?

What's God trying to show you?

A Song of Solomon.

Psalm 127.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil,

for he gives to his beloved sheep.

Behold,

children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

.

a third time.

This time, ask yourself, how can I respond to this?

What about my life is he trying to address?

A song of Solomon, Psalm 127.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labour in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil,

for he gives to his beloved sheep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb a reward,

like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

So we've read

We've reflected

We've sought to respond

And so finally we just rest

As we read it one last time

Just rest

In these words

These words that transcend time

Heaven and earth shall pass away

But the word of the Lord remains

And just rest in

The security we get from reading this

And learning from this

A song of Solomon

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house

Those who build it

Labour in vain

Unless the Lord watches over the city

The watchman stays awake in vain

It is in vain that you rise up early

And go late to rest

Eating the bread of anxious toil

For he gives to his beloved sheep

Behold

Children are a heritage from the Lord

The fruit of the womb

A reward

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

Are the children of one's youth

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver

With them

He shall not be put to shame

When he speaks

With his enemies

In the gate

This

Is the word of the Lord

So

That's 10 minutes

12 minutes

I've found that it's just a

Good way to start your day

Just to be like

Oh gosh

Hey Freddie

This is the most important thing

These are words of truth

That I can impact

Into

How I go about my day

So

I actually asked

Two friends

To reflect on this passage

This last week

Just to kind of

See what they received

I don't know what was going through your mind

Maybe the first time

You were just like all over the place

It was just

What's happening here?

What are we doing?

And then the second time

You're like

Oh okay

I'm stilling a little bit

Oh what does that even mean?

And the third time

You're like

Oh

Oh that's for me

And so just

To go through that

I've got two friends

I'm going to invite

I want to invite ladies first

So Cara

If you're around

I'm just going to

Bring her up here

And as she was praying

Through this

Trusting that the Lord

Has something for her as well

Alex and Cara

Our dear friends

Alex is in the back

Carrying Ari

I think right now

They were with us

From the very beginning

From KFCI

And then

When we started

The family gathering

And they're just

Actually long long long

Long time friends

Of senior pastor

Peter Lam

From Kongfuk Churchside

So that's

I really wanted to

Bring Cara up

And she's going to

Share with us

How she thought

About this passage

And I don't know

Maybe

Did you read it

In English or Chinese?

You read it in both

Okay that's cool

So anyway

I'm just going to

Give it over to you

Just to share

What you received

It's here if you need it

Thank you James

For asking to share

I'm not usually

Asked to be

Speaking in a public

Place so

Bear with me

This week

I've been

Meditating and

Reflecting on this

Passage

I actually

Took James'

Advice

I did it in

English and

Chinese

And he

Encouraged me

To memorise

This as well

So I did

And it's actually

Very helpful

Because once

You actually

Internalise it

It just comes

In even more

So here

A couple

Quick personal

Thoughts that I

Have

First thing

Is

In reflection

When I'm reading

I just feel

A lot of comfort

I have a lot of

Peace reading

This passage

Because

Knowing that

God is in

Control

Of it all

And I think

That this is

Very important

To me

Like growing up

I know that

God is there

And that

He is in

Control of

Everything

It just brings

Me a lot of

Peace

And he

Talks about

How God

Is actually

Partnering

With the

People

Unless

God is

Building

Unless

The Lord

Builds the

House

Those who

Labor

Those who

Build it

Labor in

Fain

And unless

God watches

Over the

City

The watchman

Stays awake

In faint

And not

Only

Is he

In control

He is

Actually

Asking me

To partner

With him

And knowing

That God

Is partnering

With us

Gives me

A lot

Of comfort

And he

Provides

As well

Later on

In the passage

He talks

About children

And I

Just feel

So so

Loved

By the

Lord

When I

Was resting

In the

Word

In his

Presence

I can

Feel that

He

Is so

Loving

And

After all

I'm just

A sinner

You know

I for sure

Every day

I'm just

I'm undeserving

Of all

These but

Time after

Time

Lord is

Still

Pursuing

After me

And he's

Loving

Me

To like

No end

This gives

Me a lot

Of comfort

And then

The second

Thing is

The word

Unless

Unless

Means

It's like

Conditional

Like unless

God is

There

In reflection

I feel like

If God

Is not

In the

Things that

We do

Like it's

Meaningless

The passage

Talks about

Everything is

In vain

If he's

Not there

Like whatever

You do

Is a waste

Of time

And it

Just gives

Me like

It reminds

Me it's a

Good reminder

That whatever

I do

Like cannot

Leave God

Out of it

Like he

Just has to

Be there

And then

Later on

The passage

Talk about

Children

I grew

Up in

Church

This passage

Is actually

Very familiar

To me

I read

About it

Many many

Times

But I

Think I

Did not

Understand

It deeper

Until I

Have my

Own

So my

Daughter

Is one

Year old

Now

She's

Actually

Turning

13 months

End of

The week

Sometimes

Well when

I read

The passage

Children

Like they

Are like

Arrows

In the

Hand of a

Warrior

Some days

I feel like

This passage

Read

They are

Like grenades

In the

Hand of a

Warrior

My child

Is so

Wildcat

But then

She is a

Heritage

She is a

Gift

From the

Lord

Which prompts

Me to

Think like

What kind

Of legacy

I can leave

Behind for my

Child

Like what

Gift can I

Give to her

Now that I've

Received such

A great gift

From God

Very early

On in

Our

Journey of

Expecting

That my

Daughter is

Born

Alex and

I just

Recognize that

She is

Our child

That is

Entrusted to

Us by

The Lord

But after

All she

Is God's

Child

She is

God's

Daughter

So am

I

I'm

God's

Daughter

I think

The best

Thing that

We can

Do as

Parents

Is to

Point

Her

To God

So that

She can

Have a

Personal

Relationship

With God

I think

That is

Like the

Biggest

Legacy

If we're

Talking about

Heritage

It's like

The biggest

Legacy that

I can give

To her

Other than

Well we

Don't have

A lot of

Fortune

We

We just

Don't have

Anything

But I

Think

Like a

Reflection

My prayer

For her

Is that

She will

Learn

Grow to

Understand

The Lord

Know

His heart

And love

People around

Her well

So yeah

I think

That's like

The biggest

Legacy

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

So much

Thank you

Thank you

So much

Actually it's

Incredible

Even just

Having

Being able to

Hear other

People hear

From God

As well

And it's

Just different

She picked

Out things

That I

Never noticed

Either

And that's

The beauty

Of what

We're doing

Here

We all

Have access

To him

To hear

From him

To commune

With him

So the

Second person

I'm going

To bring

Up

Is Hank

Now

Hank

Can I

Invite you

Up

We can

Give Hank

A round

Of applause

As well

Unless the

Lord builds

The house

Those who

Build it

Build it

In vain

Unless the

Lord used

Hank

We actually

All wouldn't

Be here

Okay

Because Hank

Here is

The chairman

Of the deacons

Board of

The wider

Church

Gong

Ful

Tong

He looks

Like a

Very serious

Man

But I

Assure you

This guy

This man

Is God

Fearing

And just

Has the

Softest

Heart

Honestly

And actually

There's often

This thing

About okay

What are your

Church leaders

Doing

What are they

Like

Are they

Like CEOs

In a boardroom

And they

Have their

Meetings

In the

Dark

No

This

Actually

Himself

Tony

And

Agnes

I've

Just watched

Them just

Be such

Faithful

People

Who pray

There's one

Time

I

Try not

To embarrass

Him

We're

In a

Smaller

Prayer

Meeting

And

Hank

Got down

On his

Knees

To pray

And I

Saw from

Across the

Room

I was like

That's

Someone

That I

Want to

Follow

Someone

Who just

Is willing

To do

That

I was

Mildly

Worried

He

Wouldn't

Be able

To get

Back up

But he

Did

To

But it

Was

That

Show

Of

Humility

That

Just

Inspires

Me

To keep

Serving

With a

Brother

Like him

So he

Also has

Been

Reflecting

On the

Same

Passage

And he's

Now just

Going to

Bless us

With what

He

Received

Thank you

Very much

For inviting

Me

I

Happen

To have

Recently

Built

A house

And I

Happen

To have

A lot

Of kids

But I'm

Not going

To talk

About my

Personal

Life

About my

House

Or my

Kids

I'll

Spend

The next

Few minutes

Just talk

About

The thing

That

Mostly

Occupers

My

Time

And my

Life

I'm

Very much

Retired

And most

Of the

Time I

Spend

I spend

Serving

In the

Church

This

Church

Is my

Church

It's our

Church

But at

The same

Time

It's

Really

God's

Church

It's

Not

Really

Mine

I'm

Just

Helping

To take

Care

Of

I

Think

This

First

Part

Of

The message

Of

Psalm

127

Is

Very

Clear

This

Is

God's

Church

The

Privileged

To have

A small

Part

In it

And

God

Allow

Me

To

Spend

Some

Time

Helping

To

Shape

Some

Of

The

Strategy

Of

The

Church

The

Things

That

We

Need

To

Do

God

So

The

Fact

That

It's

God's

Church

Also

Gives

A lot

Of

Comfort

That

I

Don't

Need

To

Worry

About

Messing

Up

Okay

By the

Way

Everywhere

You

Go

You

Always

Face

Criticism

Even

In

A

Church

So

Many

Of

The

Things

That

We

Do

We

Get

Criticized

But

It's

God's

Church

As

Long

As

We

Truly

Believe

We

Following

His

Will

I

Think

There's

One

Fellow

In

North

America

Called

Larry

Osborne

He

Wrote

A

Book

About

Sticky

Church

Very

Good

Book

By

The

Way

He

Talk

About

In

Many

Settings

Including

A

Church

You

Always

Have

Squeaky

Wills

They

Will

Always

Make

Noises

Doesn't

Matter

How

Much

You

Fix

It

It

Will

Always

Make

Noises

That

Bother

You

Don't

Be

Bothered

By

It

Okay

This

Is

God's

Church

Do

The

Best

You

Can

To

Help

Be

Grateful

To

Be

Part

Of

It

I'm

Very

Grateful

I'm

Part

Of

This

I'm

Very

Grateful

I've

Been

Able

To

Help

Not

Just

In

Building

!

KFCI

Helping

To

Recruit

John

Snell

Grove

And

John

Help

Recruit

James

And

James

Spott

And

All

These

Young

Leaders

That

We

Have

So

Be

Grateful

For

It

Because

It's

God's

Church

The

Second

Part

It's

To

Me

It's

All

About

Building

Up

The

Next

Generations

I'm

Very

Grateful

That

While

Nominally

To

The

Board

Tony

And

I

Are

Still

Very

Much

Involved

In

Leading

This

Group

But

We

Didn't

Have

To

Do

Much

Of

Anything

It's

Joseph

It's

Alex

It's

Aaron

It's

Obviously

James

Doing

All

The

Leading

Okay

I

Am

Truly

Seeing

God's

Work

In

This

In

Bringing

Up

Our

Next

Generation

Leaders

That

Tony

And

I

Will

Be

Facing

Out

Pretty

Soon

But

This

Is

The

Whole

Point

About

This

Church

We

Want

To

Do

It

In

A

Family

Setting

Bring

Up

The

Next

Generation

And

You

Guys

Will

Carry

On

And

Build

This

Church

Up

Thank

You

Very

Much

Thank

You

Hank

Just

It's

Good

Just

To

Hear

For

All

Of

Us

To

Hear

A

Little

Bit

Of

The

Heart

For

The

Church

Leadership

And

Just

Maybe

To

Add

On

One

Thing

There

Is

No

Joe

Without

Alex

There

Is

No

Alex

Without

Kara

There

Is

No

Aaron

Without

Rebecca

And

There

Definitely

Is

No

James

Without

Christina

Okay

So

This

Is

A

Whole

This

Is

A

Whole

Team

And

A

Whole

Family

Together

Just

Wanting

To

Just

Seek

The

Lord

In

All

Of

This

And

Recently

I

Introduced

A

Few

Friends

To

A

Mentor

Of

Mine

And

I

Told

Her

Hey

This

Is

My

Friend

And

He's

In

Charge

Of

This

Ministry

And

This

Is

My

Other

Friend

And

She's

In

Charge

Of

This

And

My

Mentor

Just

Said

Oh

James

You

Have

People

In

Charge

Of

Things

Do

You

Implying

That

You

Don't

You're

Not

In

Charge

Or

Anything

God's

In

Charge

And

God's

In

Charge

And

That's

Okay

We're

Just

Here

To

Follow

Instructions

So

Thank

You

Cara

Thank

You

Hank

And

What

I'm

Going to

Do

Now

Is

In

A

Bit

I'm

Invite

Paul

To

Lead

Us

In

A

Time

Of

Worship

And

Prayer

But

Before

Then

I

Want

Share

A

Unless

The

Lord

Builds

The

House

Those

Who

Build

It

Labor

In

Vain

And

Then

It

Talks

About

Security

Unless

The

Lord

Watches

Over

The

City

Those

Who

Are

Watching

Over

It

They're

Staying

Awake

In

Vain

It

Is

In

Vain

That

You

Rise

Up

Early

And

Go

Late

To

Rest

And

You're

Eating

The

Bread

Of

Anxious

Toil

And

Then

He

Talks

About

Children

What

The

Psalmist

Is

Security

And

We

Need

Family

Right

Those

Are

Things

When

You

Think

How

Good

Is

Your

Life

Right

Now

You're

Thinking

About

This

Do

I

Have

A

House

Do

I

Have

A

Place

To

Stay

Or

Can

I

Pay

Rent

That's

The

Big

Thing

Right

And

The

Second

Thing

Is

Do I

Feel

Safe

Those

Of

Of

Who

Have

Grown

In

The

West

And

We've

Gone

Recently

That's

All

Of

Us

That's

All

We're

Doing

And

Of

Course

We're

Also

Looking

For

Family

This

Psalm

Tells

You

Something

Which

Is

Interesting

Which

Is

Hey

God's

The

One

Who

Gives

You

All

These

Things

And

The

First

Question

I

Had

Was

This

What

Building

Projects

Do

I

Have

In

My

Life

James

What

Are

The

Projects

That

You've

Got

Going

In

Your