THE WITNESS OF WORSHIP - Acts 16:25-34

All right. If you have a Bible or an

app, go ahead and grab it. We're going

to be in the Gospel of Matthew this

morning. I'm sorry. Matthew is what we

did in Sunday school. We're going to be

in the book of Acts this morning. The

book of Acts this morning. We're going

to continue in chapter 16. And so, we've

come back to our sermon series over the

book of Acts where we are learning and

looking at the history of the New

Testament church. And I've reminded us

about this often. There's no official

conclusion to the book of Acts. And

that's done on purpose so that you and I

would recognize that we are a

continuation of what God began then and

how God works then and how God moved and

miraculously called people into his

kingdom then through the church, through

his followers, through his believers.

God continues to do that today. You and

I are playing a role. We have a

responsibility. There is an expectation

over our life on how we are to be in

service to the kingdom of God. And so

the reason we've been looking at the New

Testament church, particularly its

history, is so that one, we would learn

how faithful God is. Two, we would

understand that even in the midst of

dire circumstances and trial and

suffering, what we see thematically in

this pattern throughout the New

Testament church and really throughout

the church life even today is that the

gospel cannot be hindered.

In Acts chapter 28, Paul's final words

Acts 28 · chapter mention

is that the gospel, the power of God

would continue to go forward and it

would continue to change lives and it

would continue to restore people. And

that gets very specific for us. Let let

that not be lost on us. When the gospel

talks about change lives, when the

gospel talks about being transformed and

having your life completely altered,

it's talking about your relationships.

It's talking about your work life. It's

talking about your perspective. It's

talking about your marriage. It's

talking about how you parent,

how you go about everything in life and

thought and word and deed.

that there is a power that rests in you,

that equips you, that works through you,

that is greater than any power that

rises up against you, that rises up

against the gospel, that rises up

against Christ and his kingdom. That

power, the Holy Spirit power that

indwells us, moves forward unhindered.

And so, we should not be a people who

live in fear, though fear is a reality

of the Christian walk. We should not be

a people who live anxiously or in worry

though that is a reality of the

Christian walk. So how do we navigate

those things? If we're called to live in

power, if we're called to operate and

minister in power, it means this that

despite the fear that in the midst of

worry and anxiousness and all the

troubles that we face in life

that those things don't become the

influence or the motivating factor in

our life but what influences us, guides

us and motivates us is Jesus Christ,

>> his truth and the gospel.

And so we get into Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

We're going to be looking at verses 25

through34. If you've been with us over

the last couple of weeks as we kicked

off this series once again, we learned

that there is a cost associated with our

obedience.

Being a Christian is not easy. It is not

for the weary. It is not for the faint

of soul. As a matter of fact, the

prophet Isaiah would say this way. He

would say that those who depend on the

Lord, that those who seek the Lord, that

those who turn to the Lord, that those

who take their walk with Jesus serious,

that we will run and not grow weary.

We will walk and not faint.

Do you know what that implies? That

implies that there will be seasons where

fainting becomes a risk.

Where being weary is a reality that we

face. But and this is always the case

with the believer, we can turn in hope

to Jesus Christ

that as we are filled with strength and

power, though the weary road is a

reality of my life, though there are

moments when I want to throw in the

towel and give up, I press on and I lean

in because Christ is right there with

me.

Last week we looked at the cost of

gospel obedience. Paul and Silas, they

find themselves in the Macedonian

region. Remember that remember they were

called by God to go to the area of

Macedonia. All the other doors that Paul

attempted to walk through had closed.

And he had a vision of a man calling him

to Macedonia. And this is powerful

because what we learn latter from Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16 is that the gospel is now

making its way into Europe. It's amazing

how circumstances God will use in order

to position you, his son and his

daughter, his minister for the kingdom

and for the gospel to advance his go the

gospel in his kingdom. And this is

exactly what happens with Paul and

Silas. They find themselves in

Macedonia. Lydia and her family are

saved. She's a very influential

individual, very wealthy individual. A

church gets planted. It begins to grow.

People's lives are being transformed.

And Paul and Silas continue the ministry

of the gospel. And what happened last

week? While they were on their way to

prayer, they meet a demon-possessed

girl.

Over the course of some conversations

that happened there, the scripture tells

us that Paul was deeply distressed. He

was broken for the situation of this

young girl.

And in the name of Jesus, he casts the

demon out. Now, you would think there

would be celebration for the miracle

that just happened. A life has been set

free. A life has been transformed. The

power of God is on display. But is there

celebration? No. There's anger. As a

matter of fact, this demon-possessed

girl was a slave to some men who used

the demon that possessed her to tell the

fortunes of others. Now, just by way of

reminder, the devil and his demons do

not have the power to tell the future.

Often times, we give more credit to the

devil than is due. Make no mistake, God

is far greater. God is far more

powerful. And you have his spirit in

you.

And so what happens?

The masters of this girl, they get

upset. So they take Paul and Silas and

they drag them before the chief

magistrates. And rather than being

honest, well, they set this woman free

from her demon. And so now we can't make

a profit. Our pockets are empty. Our

coffers aren't full. Rather than being

honest about their greed, they simply

drag Paul and Silas and say, "They're

Jews. They don't do things the Roman

way.

they must be punished. And so what

happens? They're beaten. They're

whipped. And they're thrown into prison.

And that's where we ended the message

last week.

What do we do when our obedience to the

gospel costs us something? And I left

you with this last week. Obedience to

the gospel is costly. But there's a

greater cost. The greater cost is your

rebellion against the gospel. That's the

greater cost is your rebellion against

the holiness of Christ. So what do we do

when walking in obedience costs us

something? When it continues to become

difficult.

Can I kind of fast forward here for just

a moment? We don't throw in the towel,

but we press into Jesus. We continue to

pursue the Lord. We continue to lean on

him. And this is where Acts 16 in our

passage speaks. So, Acts chapter 16,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 25, we'll read all

the way to verse 34.

Remember, Paul and Silas are in prison.

They've been beaten.

They've been mocked. They are injured.

They have gaping wounds that are

festering and have not been doctorred.

And yet what do we find? Verse 25

about midnight. Pause button.

Every word in scripture is there for a

reason.

God doesn't choose random words.

Remember from Genesis to Revelation and

everything in between. This is Holy

Spirit inspired truth.

And Luke, who is taking us on a history

through the New Testament church,

inspired by the spirit, is choosing his

words wisely. Now, why does he say about

midnight? Is that so that we would just

know what time it was? Well, yes, but

there's something else happening here.

Is the sun out at midnight?

No. Darkness

pervades the land at midnight.

And I've often heard it put this way.

Nothing good happens after midnight. You

ever heard that before?

Continues about midnight. Paul and Silas

were praying and singing hymns to who?

To God.

There's purpose behind their worship.

There's purpose behind their singing.

There's purpose behind what they're

doing. It's all in an effort to glorify

God. Rowan, how can they glorify God?

They've been beaten. They've been

mocked. They've been ridiculed. They

have wounds that need to be doctorred.

They're in the darkest of night. And

yet, they're rejoicing.

This is what we call deep abiding faith.

When we say things like our affections

for Jesus, our passion for Jesus, a

desire for Jesus, when you read about us

abiding in Christ and how he is divine

and we are the branches and because he

is divine, we draw our sustenance from

him. When we read in the New Testament

about the disciples of Jesus rejoicing

in their suffering, this is a picture of

that.

Why are they rejoicing?

Because when you have faith in Jesus

Christ and you trust in the Lord and

you've experienced how the power that

rests in you is greater than any power

that comes against you. That no

circumstance, no environment, no power

that attempts to strike you down will be

far greater than the gospel. And so what

is their response in pain? What is their

response in suffering? It is worship.

And that's what we're going to unpack

this morning is there is a witness in

your worship.

Whether you know it or not, whether you

believe it or not, there are eyes on

you. Any parent understands that

your children are watching you.

We don't give children enough credit,

but they soak up everything like a

sponge. They see. They know. When things

are not going well, they recognize how

you're responding.

What does your witness look like in

difficult

moments? Now, now watch this. Verse 25.

They're praying and they're singing.

There's purpose behind it because it's

not random words.

There's worship

that is influencing this. And what

happens? It says the prisoners were

listening

to them.

They weren't singing to the audience,

but out of their worship, an audience

arose. Do you see the difference? Out of

your worship to God, you will have

influence in other people's lives,

whether you know it or not. Which goes

back to what Jesus shared with us in the

sermon on the mount in the Gospel of

Matthew. Let your light shine before

others.

Let your good deeds go forward.

So that when people see that and

recognize that, what does Jesus tell us?

They'll pat you on the back. No. They'll

say, "What a good person you are." No.

They'll give honor and glory to our

father who is in heaven. your worship,

how you worship, when you worship, where

you worship, it bears witness and is a

testament to who our God is. Let's

continue. Verse 26.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake

that the foundations of the jail were

shaken

and immediately

all the doors were opened and everyone's

chains came loose. It might be very easy

to write off the doors opening as just a

circumstantial result of the earthquake,

but there's a miracle taking place here.

Chains are loosed.

They're being broken.

Those enslaved are experiencing liberty

at the hand of God.

When the jailer woke up and saw the

doors of the prison standing open, he

drew his sword and was going to kill

himself since he thought the prisoners

had escaped.

If you were in charge of a prison,

your life was required of you if things

didn't go well in that prison.

Specifically, if the prisoners escaped,

it would be life for life. The jailer

knew this. The jailer feared this. And

so, as the earthquake woke him up, as he

assumed that the prisoners had escaped,

he thought, "Well, I might as well end

it now. because the Roman officials will

end it for me. But watch what happens in

verse 28. Paul called out in a loud

voice, don't harm yourself

because we're all here. I think this is

so beautiful

because Paul and Silas could have

escaped.

No one would have blamed them for

walking out. Clearly, this is a miracle

from God. But do you remember chapters

earlier, what did they receive? a call,

a vision from the Lord. There was

purpose on why God brought them there.

And Paul and Silas are so in tune with

who God is, how he's working, how he's

moving that they recognize even in their

circumstance, they're in a position to

be used by God,

which is a great moment for us to stop

and have some spiritual reflection.

Where you are may not be ideal.

Whatever season you're in, whatever

trouble you're facing, whatever trial

you are enduring, it may not be ideal,

but God is so sovereign and God is so

merciful and God is so gracious to his

children that even in a difficult

circumstance, God will use your position

there to bring honor and glory to his

name. Let that not be lost on us.

So often we are too focused on our

comfort and our desires and how we would

have things go, how we would have

planned things out, that we leave little

to no room for acknowledging the spirit

at work in our life. But Paul shows us

that though we can be in circumstances

that are not ideal, we can understand

that maybe we've been positioned there

to be used by God. That is certainly

true of what we read in our passage. And

so PAUL SAYS, "DON'T HARM YOURSELF.

We're all here." The jailer called for

the lights. He rushed in and he fell

down trembling before Paul and Silas.

There's a recognition there

that God's at work.

Ren, how can you assume that? Well,

watch what happens here in verse 30. He

escorted them out. Paul and Silas and he

said, "Sers,

what must I do to be saved?

I recognize God's at work.

I recognize that I'm far from God.

I recognize that you are men that

worship in the midst of pain and

suffering. And while you could have

escaped, you did not. What must I do to

be saved?" David verse 31. Believe in

the Lord Jesus.

Have you placed your faith in the Lord

Jesus?

Maybe you come here this morning bearing

weight,

bearing burdens, bearing the troubles of

life. And and and and you you're

desperate for a way out. You're

desperate for rest. You're desperate for

some relief. You're desperate for rescue

and salvation.

And maybe your question is the same as

the jailer. What must I do to be saved?

Can I just quote to you what Paul tells

the jailer? Believe in the Lord Jesus.

Place your hope, your faith, and your

trust in him. Repent of your sin. Turn

to him.

He will resurrect you out of death and

darkness. and he will welcome you into

his kingdom forever. Believe in the Lord

Jesus and you will be saved. And now I

love what Paul includes here.

You and your household.

Now historically there has been

Christian debate on exactly what Paul

means here.

Is he promising that if mom and dad come

to faith that their children will

eventually come to faith? Is he saying

if mom and dad come to faith then that

automatically means their children are

in

the Greek language I think phrases it

more specifically.

Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will

be saved

and if your household believes in the

Lord Jesus they will be saved. He

continues in verse 32. And they spoke

the word of the Lord to him along with

everyone in his house. He took them the

same hour of the night and washed their

wounds.

That's what God's people do for each

other. They care for each other. They

wash each other's wounds.

Some of you are wounded. There's a

church here who wants to wash your

wounds.

There are people here who have probably

endured the same wounds you have.

We want to be a people who come

alongside one another in suffering and

pain and trial

to pursue the Lord together. This is why

brotherhood and sisterhood is so

important.

Right away, he and all his family were

baptized. Verse 34. He brought them into

his house, set a meal before them, and

rejoiced because he had come to believe

in God with his entire household.

What a miracle. And all God's people

said,

>> "Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

Spirit, would you stir our hearts this

morning?"

This is a powerful passage.

It shows us what happens when in the

midst of our obedience we endure

suffering. What do we do in that

suffering? The passage shows us gives us

a pattern for it. We worship.

This is why thematically throughout the

scripture we learn things and we see

things that worship isn't just a moment

in the life of a believer. Worship is

the life of the believer. And so often

what we have done is we've fallen into

the trap by categorizing worship. For

example, and many of us might be guilty

of this. We come into a church service

on Sunday morning and we think this is

what worship is. This is part of

worship, but it's not all that worship

is.

Singing songs is a part of worship, but

it's not all that worship is. Opening up

the word and growing in it together is a

part of worship, but it's not all that

worship is. And if we fall into the trap

of categorizing worship, then we miss

out on the worshipful life we're called

to live.

And Paul will say it this way in Romans

Romans 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

that we are to live our lives as a

living and breathing sacrifice before

God. That means crucifying the flesh.

That means putting to death the desires

of the flesh. That means saying no to

the things that I want and saying yes to

the things that God expects of my life.

And you know what that takes? This

should not fall on us. As if we don't

know. It takes discipline. It takes

intentionality. We've talked about this

before. That's why the scripture says,

"Work out your salvation with fear and

trembling." That's why we're reminded

that we are the workmanship of God

created in Christ Jesus for good works.

And again, not that the works save us,

but the works are a result of our

salvation. And so, if there's no good

works in your life, one has to take

spiritual inventory and ask the

question, is my faith genuine?

Because the brother of Jesus, James,

would say, "If you claim to have faith,

but don't have works and your faith's

not real."

Now, ultimately, it's between you and

God.

God knows your heart. God knows your

motives. God knows your desires.

But does the faith you claim

is it stirred so much in your life is it

such an active and vibrant part of your

life that the natural overflow and

result of your faith

is good works.

This is what we see in a life of

worship.

It's not just categorized

in simple moments in our life, though it

can be, but it's so much more than that.

And the worship that is and should be

your life is a witness to a world in

need.

That's the big idea this morning.

Your life of worship

is a powerful witness to a watching

world.

Your life of worship at the office,

the sales meeting,

at the lunch, when you're out for coffee

with friends,

on vacation,

on the cruise ship,

at the river,

on Friday nights.

Your life of worship is a witness to a

watching

world.

So here's what I want to do as we do

every Sunday. Let's go back to our

passage. Let's draw out some tools, some

handles, things that we can apply to our

life as we look at this particular

moment of worship in the lives of Paul

and Silas.

What can we learn? What can we glean?

And what can we grow from when it comes

to understanding that the worship that

should be my entire life, not just

pockets and moments of my life, but my

entire life, parenting, marriage,

finances, health, friends, your entire

life.

How can it continue to be a powerful

witness? If you're taking notes, here's

the first thing we want to look at.

Worship is tested in the pain.

No one has a pain-free life.

There are seasons and there are moments.

And praise God for them

when life is exactly the way we hoped it

would be.

When it feels great and it feels good

and we hope that this season would last

forever. But you know just as well as I

do in a broken world filled with sinful

people, those seasons eventually come to

an end. Do you know what we call those

good seasons? We call them taste and see

where we get to taste and see what the

eternal kingdom of God will be like,

an endless season

where, for lack of a better phrase,

because the English language doesn't

really capture the beauty and glory of

heaven, things will be going good and

great and amazing.

But what we discover, and you know this,

worship is easy when things are going

well.

But when it's difficult, that's where

worship is tested. That's where devotion

is tested. That's where we get to really

press in and discover the power and the

beauty of God's grace and mercy. Right

here, verse 25, what do we read?

About midnight,

Paul and Silas were praying and singing

hymns, and the prisoners were listening

to them. That is powerful.

And what I think what makes this all the

more powerful is looking at verses 23

and 24. We looked at them last week, but

let me just read them to you.

After they had severely flogged them,

they whooped them. They scorged them.

Open wounds on their back. They threw

them in jail, ordering the jailer to

guard them carefully. Receiving such an

order, he put them in the inner prison

maximum security and secured their feet

in the stocks. This is not an ideal

circumstance.

But in the dark of prison, in the dead

of night, in the pain of the moment,

they worshiped.

They turned to God. This is why

the believer, the son and daughter of

God, have a hope that the world will

never understand.

That Paul tells us elsewhere in the New

Testament, a peace that surpasses human

understanding.

Why? Because we can be in the midst of

these moments and still worship

and still honor God and still glorify

God. Think about the pain of your life.

How did you respond?

How are you responding?

I pray that it's

worship.

Now, I I I don't want to diminish the

reality of suffering

because often times one of the last

things we want to do in the midst of

suffering is worship.

That's part of the human path. That's

part of the human journey. If you

remember this past summer as well as

summers before when we've walked through

the book of Psalms, we've looked at

several psalms that are known as psalms

of lament.

And these lamenting or lamentful psalms

are prayers and acts of worship offered

up before God that are not what we would

see or say is the ideal moment of

worship.

but as worship offered up to God in the

midst of pain that says, "I'm angry. I'm

bitter. I don't feel like it, but I

trust that you're good.

Help me to get there.

Help me to pursue you because life's not

going well.

It is painful and it hurts, God, and I'm

angry at you,

but I want to worship you."

And when we recognize the power of

worship and the pain, there is a

sweetness,

there is a peace and a part of God when

we've said this so often that we

experience that we will never experience

outside of pain and suffering in our

life. And here's what I believe. I

believe Paul and Silas's story is all

the more powerful because of moments

like this.

Later, we'll continue to read about the

miraculous things that they did in the

name of Jesus and how it all pointed to

the goodness and the glory of God. And

praise God for those moments, but good

moments are made all the more sweeter

when we taste the sweetness of Jesus in

our pain and suffering.

Wounded and chained and sitting in the

inner prison, they sang and they

worship.

You know, someone is watching how you're

walking through pain and suffering right

now,

and they're recognizing how you're

navigating it, how you're dealing with

it, who you're turning to, where you're

turning to.

Dads,

in a moment of pain and suffering and

difficult seasons for our family, your

sons and daughters are watching how you,

a man of God, the shepherd and pastor of

your home, are going to navigate that

season.

And your actions, your words, your

prayer life will either show your kids

Jesus is still worth it

or that you're just playing with God and

claiming a faith that isn't really real.

Someone is watching how you walk through

this. Your children are watching. Your

co-workers are watching. Your friends

are watching. Your church family is

watching. And when we worship in the

pain, it screams to a world in need.

Jesus is worth it. Here's the second

thing I want us to look at.

Worship trusts God

before it knows the outcome. And we

talked a little bit about this in terms

of obedience last week. Obedience

continues even when we don't know the

outcome. This is true for worship.

Paul and Silas

didn't know what the outcome would be.

They knew God was in control.

They knew that God had called them to

Macedonia for a purpose. for a reason.

But you and I don't need to have every

detail, every step, every order of

business in order to worship. And if we

do, if we're the type of person that

needs to know everything in order for

worship to go forth from our life, then

we're being influenced by other things

rather than being influenced by God.

We're turning to the mystery and the

unknown and the tension as our God

rather than God.

And what the devil desires is to put you

off path in any way that he can. What

his demons desire is to rob you of

trust, rob you of purpose, rob you of

joy, but a life of worship continues to

press on even though we don't know the

outcome. And again, we talked about this

last week. In the big picture of your

walk with Jesus, if you have placed your

hope, faith, and trust in him, and he's

resurrected you out of death and sin and

given you eternal life, we know the

outcome.

One day,

we will be gathered together

with everyone who has called upon the

name of the Lord, past, present, and

future. our loved ones who have gone

before us, the saints who have gone

before us, and we will turn and worship

the Lord together.

We will live in his kingdom forever, the

new heavens and the new earth. And

everything wrong with this world, every

limit, every hindrance, every piece of

darkness and sin and evil and chaos is

done away with.

Now, we know

that that's what happens.

But you don't know what's happening

tomorrow. You don't know what's

happening next week. You don't know

three years from now, four years from

now, 5 years from now, if you'll be in

the same job, if your health won't take

a turn for the worst. We don't know

those things, but that should not hinder

our worship.

We should continue to pursue

and press

on.

We can become so focused

on escaping

our prison

that we miss the person standing beside

us who needs Jesus. Isn't this what we

see here? Go back with me to verse 26.

Suddenly, there was such a violent

earthquake that the foundations of the

jail were shaken. And immediately, all

the doors were opened and everyone's

chains came loose. When the jailer woke

up and saw the doors of the prison

standing open, he drew his sword and was

going to kill himself since he thought

the prisoners had escaped. But Paul

called out in a loud voice, "Don't harm

yourself. We are all here.

Don't be so consumed with getting out

that you miss what God is doing right

now.

We don't have to know the outcome for us

to worship God. Here's the last thing to

look at.

Worship like everything else in our life

and our life should be a life of

worship. Worship becomes a witness that

points to Jesus.

This is what this passage takes us on

this journey, their worship. And we're

not just talking about the singing.

We're talking about their life, a life

of obedience. We uh learned about that

and read about that last week. Their

worship is a witness. Your worship is a

witness that points to Jesus. We'll

close with verse 29 to 34.

What did the jailer do? He called for

the lights. He rushed in. He fell down

trembling before Paul and Silas. He

escorted them out and said, "Sers, what

must I do to be saved?" Everything that

they had experienced led to this.

Everything that you've experienced in

life, God has a plan and purpose for it.

And the more we pursue the Lord,

let's talk things practically, spiritual

disciplines. The more we are

exercising a life of prayer, the more

we're diving into the word, the more

we're serving in ministry through the

local church, the more we're gathering

with the people of God, we're

cultivating a deeper faith,

we're cultivating the power and the

intentionality and discipline to cling

to the vine as the branches who then

will what? Bear good fruits.

What does fruit do? Fruit produces seed.

What does seed do? It grows.

What is your fruit producing, Dad? What

is your fruit producing? Mom,

is your worship pointing people to

Jesus? Because the jailer recognized

this in Paul and Silas. They respond,

"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will

be saved, you and your household."

And they spoke the word of the Lord to

him along with everyone in his house. He

took them that same hour of the night

and washed their wounds right away. And

all his family were baptized. He brought

them into his house, set a meal before

them, and rejoiced. Rejoice because he

had come to believe in God. He and his

household. What's powerful about this?

It's that God moves and works. But did

you notice the book ends of our passage?

Pain and suffering

ends with what?

Rejoicing.

Salvation, the gospel, grace, mercy,

holiness, righteousness, all of it is

magnified here because of obedience and

faithfulness and worship as our witness

in the midst of the hurt.

Sometimes you have no idea

that one simple act of obedience

can be the catalyst for life change both

in your life and the people that your

worship witnesses to.

The question I want to challenge you

with is to ask yourself this. Where do I

need to be obedient?

Where do I need to repent from?

Where do I need to change? Where do I

need to step out in faith?

You will rarely see the full picture

until you step out in faith and into

obedience.

Now, let me just close with the obvious

here. I know I said that often, but I'm

really closing this time.

The prison walls were shaken.

But there is a truth that will be

unshakable and is unshakable. And that's

the truth of the gospel.

There is a truth that set people free.

There's a truth that transforms lives.

And that's a truth that has a name. And

his name is Jesus.

If you don't know Christ as your Lord

and your Savior,

will you believe on the Lord Jesus,

would you repent of your sins? And would

you turn to him

in full faith and full hope and full

trust? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you

for your word. We thank you that in you

and through you there is life change.

And we pray,

Holy Spirit, that as you continue to

stir people this morning,

that you would call people to greater

faith and obedience in you.

God, I thank you

that pain and suffering doesn't have the

last word,

but you do.

May that truth transform us today. It's

in your name that we pray. The King of

Kings and the Lord of Lords and all

God's people said, "Amen." Hey, would

you stand to your feet with me? Let's

sing together. Let this be our prayer

unto the Lord. Not just words on a

screen, but a prayer from the heart.

This is our worship.

We're going to have a time of response.

Our altar is going to be open. I invite

you if the Holy Spirit's working in you

and you just need to have a quiet time

with the Lord, you certainly can do that

where you are.

Or you can come forward and just have

some intentional time. I think there's

there's something unique that God does

when we step outside of the comforts

of our circle of our shell and step into

what God is calling us to do. I'll be

available. I'd love to pray with you. If

you have a need, if you have a blessing

you want to thank God for, I'll be

available. If today's the day that you

are believing in the Lord Jesus for the

salvation of your soul, I'd love to

celebrate that with you as well. Our

altar is open. I invite you to come and

respond. I love you, church.