Keep Running the Race!! with Pastor Andrew Richardson

Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast.

My name's Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at MetaChurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

Well, what is going on, Metachurch?

Man, y'all looking good today?

I'm good.

I'm so excited to be here today.

Um, so just so you know a little bit more about me, so I'm not just this random dude up here.

Um, I have lived in San Antonio my whole life.

Who else has lived in San Antonio your whole life?

Yeah.

Congratulations, y'all.

It's such a cool thing.

Um, something else about me is I in May am graduating Bible college.

Can't wait.

Super excited for that.

Yeah, thank you.

And most importantly, just about six months ago, I recently got married.

I got married to my beautiful wife, Sky.

Uh yeah, thank you, yeah.

And I know the question everyone's asking.

You just you just want to know, do we have a puppy?

Yes, we do.

We have we have a puppy, and her name is Valentine.

Uh, she is the cutest puppy when she's not peeing in the house, but she's still really, really cute, and we love her so much.

Valentine, because we got our Valentine's Day, y'all know.

So cute.

Just a couple things, right?

Couple goals.

Um, but y'all, I am super excited to be here today, and it is really a blessing to be here at MetaCurch.

And I'm not just saying that because that's what the guest speaker is supposed to say.

I'm saying that because I truly, truly believe that what y'all are a part of, this move at MetaCurch is very significant and God is doing amazing, amazing things.

I try my best to keep up every week watching Pastor Clayton and the crazy things he does and the awesome things that God is doing here.

And I am just honored to be a part of this service today.

So let's go ahead and pray and then we will get started.

God, we just thank you.

We thank you for who you are.

We thank you that you love us, and God, we just come to you today asking to hear from you.

Because we know that you will want you are speaking, so I pray we can just hear what you have to say to each and every one of us.

We thank you, and we love you, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen, amen.

So, something else about me that you have to know is that I love basketball.

I love, love basketball.

I grew up playing basketball from AAU up to high school, like that was what I did, that was my thing.

And my dad would always ask me, he'd be like, Andrew, do you want to do baseball?

Do you want to do soccer?

Like he would try to get on me to do all these other sports, and I would look at him with the fire in my eye, and I'd be like, No, dad, like shaking him.

No, I'm kidding, I wouldn't do that.

But I'd be like, no, dad, like I am gonna make it to the NBA.

Like I'm gonna keep playing basketball.

I don't need any of those distractions.

And I'm here today, so I didn't make it to the NBA.

I'm not in the NBA playing for the Spurs, but I did make it on varsity for three years starting.

Yeah, that's kind of cool.

Um I was the varsity manager, but I but I was still I was still starting uh on the bench taking stats.

That was my thing.

Yeah, looking spiffy up there.

Um, yeah, so that's what I did.

Well, I remember my freshman year when I actually played basketball and didn't just manage.

I remember the last day of school.

It was the last day of school, and my coach got us all together, and I thought he was gonna give us this fiery speech, right?

Like, just have a great summer, all that stuff.

And I get there and he huddles us up, and y'all, he's he says the most heartbreaking thing that I've ever heard.

He said, on the first day of school, everyone has to run under a seven-minute mile.

Yeah, jaw dropped.

I know that was not, my heart just shattered.

I was like under a seven-minute mile.

I don't think you understand, I can't do that.

And he went on to deliver more bad news.

And he was just saying, if you don't get the seven-minute mile the very first day and the very first part of the athletic period, then the whole rest of the period, you had to stay on the track.

And then you would get another chance the next day.

And then if you didn't hit that seven-minute mile the start of the next day, you were on the track for the rest of the day, and you could not see a basketball, you could not shoot a basketball, you were just on the track, and it was so sad.

But luckily, my dad had run college track before.

He ran college track, he ran cross-country, so I knew who to go to.

I went to my dad right after that, and I was like, Dad, I have to run a seven-minute mile.

And y'all, I kid you not, it was like karate kid.

Like, dude was like Mr.

Miyagi, like he got like chopsticks out of nowhere, and I'm kidding.

But he was just ready to train me.

It was like he had been waiting for me to say those words, and he was like, Let's go to the track right now.

And I was like, take it easy, Dad.

Let me let me chill a little bit.

But he had this whole regimen, he had this whole thing that he wanted to do to get me under a seven-minute mile.

So we would train about three to five times of the week, and y'all, I did not like it.

I did not want to do it.

I hated running, I did not want to get up early, I did not want to run.

He would have to drag me every day, but slowly I started getting better.

I started improving, and I was getting there, and I was getting there, and I wasn't there yet, but I was slowly improving.

And something else that you have to know about the summer is it was the one summer that my parents were like, let's go to Disney World, right?

Like, and my summer to train, my summer to get into it, they were like, Let's go to Disney World.

And my dad was like, Don't worry, Andrew, we will train at Disney World.

And yes, that is a nightmare.

Like, dad, what am I supposed to do?

Like, hold hands and run with Mickey and race goofy?

Like, what am what am I supposed to do?

Like just run around while y'all are waiting in line, and it was not fun, but I did train there for a little bit, and it was not fun.

So slowly I was getting better, but I was also getting more exhausted.

I was getting more tired, and I didn't want to keep doing anymore.

There was about three weeks of summer left, and I was just not, I was done.

I was not having it, I didn't want to keep running.

And I remember our morning routine, my dad would come knock on my door, and he would be like, Andrew, it's time to go.

And I did the thing where I like pretended I couldn't hear him and put the pillow over my ear and was just like, no, I can't hear it.

Five more minutes, all that good stuff, because I did not want to keep running.

And he looked at me, and I'll never forget it, and he was like, Andrew, you have to keep running.

And that meta church is what I'm here to tell you all today, with the fire inside my bones, is that you have to keep running.

So I realized that you're not trying to make the freshman or varsity or JV basketball team.

And I'm pretty sure, as crazy as Pastor Clayton is, he doesn't make you have to run a seven-minute mile to like sit here, right?

Like, I don't think that that's the case.

So, what is this race?

Why do we have to keep running?

And we are all running in the most difficult race of all, and that is literally the race of our life.

And the reality is, a lot of us here are like I was laying on my bed, exhausted, with the pillow over my ear.

I don't want to get up, I don't want to keep moving, I can't do this anymore because I don't think I need a PowerPoint slide to let you know of all the tough things that have been happening these past couple years.

It has been rough.

Y'all, if you didn't know, we were in a pandemic, we were in a global pandemic, in case you didn't weren't aware of that.

Well, I'll let you know right here.

Um we that there's been relational struggles, there's been these situations, and uh divorce rates have been going up, and there's been racial injustice, and I could keep going and going and going for the rough things that have been going on these past couple years.

And so many more have left us all here, exhausted, done, not wanting to keep running.

And maybe you're here, and your anxiety and your depression has taken over, and Andrew, I can't keep running.

Or maybe you've lost your job and you feel so hopeless and you just can't keep running.

Or maybe your family situation, it feels so broken and you just can't keep running.

Or you're a young adult, right?

You're a young adult and all your friends have gotten off, got married, gotten jobs, and you are just still living with your parents and you don't know what is going on with your life, and you just can't keep going.

Or maybe you were once so passionate about God.

I mean, maybe you brought people to church with you, you knew the scriptures, you you did all these things, you listened to worship song, and maybe you just could barely get in here today, or barely tune on to watch a line, and you just can't keep running.

The reality is, if we're not feeling that right now, we have probably felt that before in our life.

So, meta church, please hear me.

You have to keep running.

So then the question is, how do we keep running?

So let's turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, and we're gonna look at three verses, and they will be on the screen, and I believe we'll get the answer to this question of how do we keep running this race?

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Here you go, verse one, Hebrews 12, verse 1.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us, let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won't grow weary and give up.

And if you're taking notes, or if you want to know and you have not gotten the title of my message yet, here it is.

Very clear.

Keep running the race with a bunch of exclamation points.

You can put five or however many you want, but keep running the race.

So before we really dig into these scriptures, I want to set up some background context really quick for what is going on here in the book of Hebrews.

And in case you're wondering, again, I know your question is probably like, who wrote the book of Hebrews?

I know some of y'all were waiting for that.

Um, so we don't clearly know who wrote the book of Hebrews.

Some say it's Paul, some some just say other people.

So if you hear me, I'm gonna be referring to the author to the person who wrote the book just as the author of the book.

So we don't know.

So calm down if you're like, who is it?

Uh so the reason why the author wrote this letter was to keep the readers from abandoning their faith in Christ.

And a key word, if you were to read the whole book of Hebrews, a key word found through that letter is better.

So the believers who were thinking about giving up on their spiritual journey, like they were done.

They did not want to keep going, they were going to turn around and leave this life of following Jesus.

And the author of Hebrews is like holding up one of those signs.

Y'all know those signs that people do the cool tricks and flick behind their back and look so cool with that swag right with the sign.

Like he's holding up a sign and he's saying, keep running the race.

Jesus is better.

And so we're in chapter 12, and right before chapter 12 is 11.

Good math.

It was not a trick question.

So in chapter 11, he introduces the hall of faith.

And the hall of faith is an important context because we're kind of coming right after that in chapter 12, and it kind of leans on what was taught before.

And actually, if you have been here for a while, last year, Pastor Clayton taught a series called Heroic where he walked through just real life examples of people uh and how we can get practical advice and encourage for people that had kept going and were heroes and to live that life and to keep running the race.

And it was through those heroic heroes that we can become encouraged to keep running the race.

So, what is this race?

What is this race that I keep mentioning?

And it's actually not my words, it's not I wish it was this baller illustration I thought of by my own, but it is seen throughout all of scripture.

And this word ray race in ancient Greek is agonia.

I know it's a fancy word.

Agonia.

And agonia is used throughout a lot of other letters written in the New Testament as well.

And agonia, this picture that it paints, is not an easy stroll.

It's not just something that's just walking around conflict-free, no struggle.

But what it does is it lets us know that there is a lot of conflict and there is a struggle.

And the believers or the people that were reading this letter understood that.

Just like we all understand that there is a lot of things going on today.

They understood the struggles that were going on in that time period.

And honestly, y'all, they were being persecuted, they were being killed, they were being harmed in ways that we honestly can't understand.

Like the original audience who received this letter was acknowledging that the path ahead is not easy, but it will always be worth it.

I'm gonna say that again.

The path ahead is not always going to be easy, but it will always be worth it.

So this idea of a race is meant to symbolize and act as a symbol to encourage and challenge believers to persevere in the faith, to keep running this race.

So now we understand.

We have some background context, we're ready to go.

I have three critical observations that we will get from this text to help us keep running the race.

All right, so we're gonna go back to Hebrews 12, verse 1, and we read this.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.

Y'all, I love this and I find it so fascinating because the author sets up two things: hindrance and sin.

And what this tells us is that they are two different issues, but they are two different things that have the same purpose, and that is to trap, to ensnare, to surround, to entangle, to harm.

These two words are different with the same purpose.

So, first, let's look at sin.

A lot of you here, you're probably like, oh, sin.

I know, I understand it.

Sin in Greek is hamartia, hamartia, and that means a failure.

If there's a mark right here and you're trying to hit it, it completely misses it, right?

Completely misses it.

Unlike me playing basketball, I always hit it.

No, I'm kidding.

I had to throw that in there.

But that is what sin is it is to miss the mark, and I think we always are aware of that, we understand it, we we hear about it a lot in church.

So I really want to focus on hindrance.

So, what does hindrance mean?

And in the Greek hindrance is oncos.

Oncos means a bulk or an encumbrance.

And as we're walking through this illustration of a race, think of hindrance as a weight.

Think of it as a literal weight.

And there's something extremely significant here.

So, what I want to do to illustrate it is pick up some actual weights.

Here we go.

So these are 15 pounds.

Uh, not too difficult for me.

I could probably curl them just a lot of times.

Um, but the reality is, if I was to keep going, I could probably keep going.

I could probably keep preaching, but honestly, my arms are getting a little tired right now.

Uh I kind of want to put the weight down.

And the truth is, this is a visual of a lot of us right here.

Of a lot of us sitting in this room, a lot of us that are maybe quite honestly holding back tears from things that have got us this whole week.

We have been looking like we can still walk around, we can still operate, we can still talk, we can still tweet on social media and make it look like everything is okay, but there is a weight that you are holding.

You have been walking through life, hunched over with a limp, because this weight has been attached to you.

And God is telling us here today to lay aside the weight.

Because this race we are in is already hard enough.

Why do we need to be adding to this resistance?

We need to stop adding to this.

And you know, this the the important thing from this is I can I can probably give the rest of the sermon like this.

I can probably keep going, I probably keep preaching, but the truth is, what would it look like after?

Would I be able to maybe shake your hand?

Would I be able to maybe pray over some of you here, or go home and make dinner for my wife, which I totally do every day.

Oh no, I'm kidding.

I wish.

Um, would what would it look like after?

You know, it's not stopping me from what I am doing now, but is holding me back from where I am going in this life.

And I know and I don't know what this weight is that you might be holding.

I don't know.

Maybe it's been something you've been holding for 20, 30, 40 years.

I don't know what it is, but y'all, this race is already hard enough.

And this weight that you are holding is a hindrance to the purpose that God has placed inside each and every one of you.

So right now, in this moment, God is saying, take off the weights, throw them aside, take off the weights.

And the writer of Hebrew is making a distinction between weights and sin, which means that these weights that you are carrying and that were taking off are not necessarily morally wrong.

So maybe it's not causing you to disobey Jesus or just be this horrible Christian, but it is keeping you from fully following after him, from fully running this race.

So take off the weight.

My second observation, we're gonna look in the last half of Hebrews 12, verse 1, where we read this.

Hebrews 12:1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

You see, I believe one big reason that believers tend to fall away from the race is because of a wrong understanding of what the race is.

See, the author says that this ray race is set before us.

That means it is prepared before us before we even show up.

And y'all, this is gonna be some tough news to swallow, but the reality is we live in a culture that is all about us.

It's all about me.

I mean, go on social media.

I mean, just honestly go outside.

That is the culture we live in, and the world is telling you it's all about you.

And the reality is we all desire that.

We all desire to be the star of the show, we all desire that that main character life.

But listen, if you are a believer, the starting line of this race is to acknowledge that it is not our own.

This race was set before us and prepared for us.

All right, so track with me.

Pretend you're actually at the start of a race.

You're at a visual start of the race, and you can look up, and maybe there's like thousands of people, the hall of faith, the thousands of believers.

I know it's intimidating, but they're there and they're cheering you on, and you're about to start this race, and there's a great preacher named Charles Spurgeon who explains the race like this.

He says, This Jesus stands with us at the starting point and earnestly says to us, not run, but let us run.

I love that picture and I love that statement because when we really grasp that God has laid out this race for us, it means and we can begin to understand that it was not meant for us to do on our own.

We can lay aside the weight that we have carried and have Jesus carry it for us.

And if I was to translate this verse in the Andrew paraphrase version, the APV is what I call it, then I would say something like this it's not about you, bro.

It's not about you.

So let's run this race that God has set before us, that God has given us, because there is a purpose, a unique purpose inside every single one of us that God has laid before you that is bigger than you.

And had a friend once.

Typical 16-year-old reckless driver.

I mean, this dude would just hit curbs on purpose, like he would just like have his music blaring.

I don't think he understood the purpose of a stop sign.

I think he just thought that that meant go faster.

Um, he just was a typical reckless driver.

And I remember one day he picked me up at my house and I was ready to go.

The music was not as loud, it was lowered, and he started pulling out of the driveway, and he actually looked in his blind spot, and I was like, You never do that, man.

Like, what is going on here?

Why are you driving like that?

And then we kept going and he stopped at the stop sign.

Three seconds.

Some of y'all don't do that, it's okay.

Um, but he did that, and then he kept going, and he didn't go above 45.

And I was like, there's something going on here.

So I did what I think a lot of us do when we're in the car with someone who is driving a little too slow, but we don't want to be mean, right?

We kind of do that thing where we're like, what's the speed limit's 45?

Like, what?

I didn't even know that.

And then you hope that they catch on, and they hope they're like, oh, really?

I was going 30.

Um, but he kind of caught on and realized that I understood that something was different with how he was driving, and he was just like, Andrew, I know that I'm driving different, but I can't drive this car the same because it's my dad's car.

Because the car he was in, what he was driving, was not his own car.

He recognized that it wasn't his car and he acknowledged whose it was.

And because of that, it changed how he drove, it changed how he acted, he turned his music down, how he operated was different because he recognized that this car was not his own.

And this race that God has given us is something bigger and something greater than we can ever begin to understand.

And if we have that perspective that this race that was set before us isn't just our race, it's something bigger and better, then we can have the perspective to keep running the race.

So if you want to keep running the race, take off the weights and change your perspective.

Change your perspective.

So so far, we have taken off the weights and then we've acknowledged that this race isn't ours.

However, there's One more critical piece to help us keep running the race.

Here it is in Hebrews 12, verses 2 through 3.

Hebrews 12:2–3

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, least you become weary and discouraged, and your soul, man, that is some good stuff.

But here the author is telling us that Jesus is actually the great author.

Jesus is the great author who endured the cross for all who have sinned.

If you're wondering who is the all who have sinned, it's me, it's you, it's all of us, it's every single person.

We are the all that have sinned.

But Jesus is the author.

And this doesn't just mean what we think it's mean, right?

It doesn't just mean he's the author of a book.

What it means is that he is the person, the guy, the originator, the pioneer, the founder of the movement that we know as Christianity.

The reason we're here, the reason I am up here screaming and so excited is because Jesus is the one who started this movement.

It's because of Jesus.

And not only is he the author, but he is the great finisher.

The one who, in his own person, raised faith to his perfection and set before us the highest example of faith.

And the author here is commanding us to focus on Jesus.

And if you know it or not, what you focus on changes a lot about you.

It changes how you act, it changes what you say, it changes how you move, it changes everything.

And our focus can pull us away from the race.

So I don't know how many of you like races.

Anyone like 5K's or 10Ks or anything?

Wow, okay.

So we have some crazy people.

Yeah, some people cheering for that.

Wow.

Um, for me, I don't understand why you need to go further than a 5K.

I think a 5K is enough.

I think that that's good.

A 10K, let's calm down there, right?

I don't even want to talk about a marathon.

But one thing I love a couple things about running a 5K or running a race in general, and I like the mile markers.

Yeah, the mile markers for a couple reasons.

One reason is there's usually water, right?

There's usually water, and I don't know about y'all, but isn't it feel so baller when you're just running a race and you got some water and they just let you throw it on the ground?

And I'm just like, yeah, take that.

I'm not picking up that trash and I'm running like so slow.

Oh, that's just it makes me feel so good.

So some of y'all like that too.

It's just how it is.

But another thing I like about that is the mile markers tell us how much more we have left.

Because I'm probably panting and just like, I'm done.

And then the person who's cheering and is a little too happy is like only one mile left.

And it gives me hope and it helps me to keep going because I'm able to focus on a finish.

I'm able to have a hope and a purpose that I can actually keep running the race because it ends, there is a finish, right?

But metachurch, let me do you better than just having a finish, is we have a finisher.

We just don't have a finish line.

We have Jesus, the ultimate finisher, our Savior, Jesus.

So when life gets tough, and I know that you don't want to keep going, we can focus on Him and allow us to keep running the race.

So we started by asking, how?

How do I keep running in a world full of pain and division, a life that's so overwhelming and problems that keep cycling up into our lives?

How do I keep running?

Take off the weights, change your perspective, and focus on the finisher.

What weight are you carrying that is hindering your progress?

Are you consumed with what the world thinks about you?

Take off the weight.

Are you obsessed with finding your finding a future spouse or what your future is gonna look like?

Take off the weight.

Do you assume that your life will not be as good until you can get the next promotion or the next car or the next whatever the next best thing is?

Take off the weight.

And change your perspective.

Because your life is not your own.

This is God's race that we are just running in.

And if you can change your perspective, it will allow you to trust Jesus just enough to give him the weight of what is hindering you.

I'm gonna say that again.

If you can change your perspective, it will allow you to trust Jesus just enough to give him the weight of what is hindering you.

To keep running, to focus on the finisher.

We today are able to run this race because of Jesus, the ultimate finisher, who came to a messed-up world, who came as 100% God and 100% man and died on the cross, who endured trials and temptations and was hung on the cross with the crown of thords and blood coming down his forehead.

And Jesus, who didn't just stay there and when he was put in a tomb three days later rose and defeated death, that is the Jesus who offers the gift of salvation to all here as a free gift because he loves us.

Because he loves us.

And one thing that I love about MetaChurch is that it exists for everyone.

Everyone is welcome.

It is said all the time that you can belong here before you believe.

So if you've been a believer forever, or if you just got dragged here by someone because you thought they were pretty, or whatever it is, you belong here.

And you were created on purpose for a purpose.

You're not an accident.

You didn't just happen to be on this earth, but God has a unique purpose created for each and every one of you.

And if you are here today and you've never believed in Jesus, and you've never actually kind of started that race, He is offering you a journey that your soul longs for.

No matter who you are, no matter what you've gone through, we all have this desire inside of us that longs for something greater, to leave this rat race of the world that always makes us feeling like we have to do one thing better.

And Jesus is asking us to run alongside him, to run alongside our Savior.

So the first day of school started, sophomore year, and y'all, I was I was done.

I was making progress, but I did not like running.

I did not like it, but I thought I was good.

I thought that I had done enough training and I was ready.

Here we go.

We lined up at the starting line.

My coach blew the whistle and we started going.

We started running, and y'all, it was in my first lap where I was like, I can be in the Olympics.

I was like, I know, like I felt the wind going.

I felt so confident and good.

And I was just like, I think my brain thought I was lapping people, but they were lapping me.

And I was like, Yeah, like I was just so confident for getting this time.

And here we go.

It was the last lap.

I kicked it up and I ran even faster, and I got to the finish line.

And y'all, I remember my coach was like, Richardson, eight minutes, 45 seconds.

Like it was, like y'all, it wasn't even close.

Like, like there was no way I could have got it.

I had put in everything I could do, and it was at that moment, it was like like my heart shattered.

I was not gonna be the next starting power forward for the San Antonio Spurs.

I was not, the manager position was looking really good at that point.

Like, I was sure that's what was gonna happen for me.

And I did all that I could do.

I trained even at Disney World.

Like, what else could I have done?

I just couldn't meet the standard.

And I know you're like, Andrew, what the heck?

You're like, you just started this whole thing.

I thought you were gonna end it and encourage, and I thought you were gonna have finished and made it in time, but please hear me, y'all.

The race that God has set before you, Jesus has already won.

There's not enough striving, there's not enough doing, there's not enough acting right that you can do to actually win the race.

Because that standard, like I had a seven-minute mile standard that I could not meet.

We have a sin debt that Jesus already paid for, and he is just asking you to believe and to run alongside him.

So you can take off the weight that you carry around this world because Jesus is willing to take that weight on.

With Jesus, he will change your perspective.

Soon, instead of living for your own temporary power, you will live for the eternal glory of God.

So, meta church, I'm challenging you today.

No matter the disappointments, no matter the circumstances, no matter the judgment, no matter the hurt, no matter the pain, keep running this race.

And I know it's not a sprint, it's a marathon, it's not easy.

So take off the weights, change your perspective, and focus on the finisher.

And just as my dad told me when I was ready to give up and I was exhausted, you have to keep running.

Let's pray.

God, we just we thank you.

We thank you for your grace and your love and your mercy.

And when we mess up and when we feel like we can't hit that standard, God, you are offering your gift of salvation for us here.

God, I pray that you can continue to move in our hearts, continue to move in our lives, and allow us to truly understand that this race is bigger than us, and God, to keep us running.

And I pray, God, that right now in this moment, if there is anyone that walked in here with a weight that they will not leave with the power of your Holy Spirit to take and to drop the weight right now in this moment.

God, that they will not leave the stores, that they will not stand up until that weight is dropped.

And God, we thank you for who you are, for your love, for your grace, and we give all glory to you.

And in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast.

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If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv.

There you can learn how to take next steps.

You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit, and you can also give financially to help push this movement forward.

Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.