In a World of Sour Patch Kids, Be a Jolly Rancher - All-Church Picnic Service

Alrighty, I thought the song was

ending. Probably a good time to get started. I know

a few of you are still grabbing some more coffee, and that's

great. I'm gonna piggyback on what Brian already announced. In a couple of weeks,

we have wrap-up service. Today we're gonna cover the first

10 verses in Galatians 6. Next week we're gonna finish off Galatians,

and then the following week it will be the wrap-up.

And I'm telling you, some of the most powerful testimonies are given on wrap-up

Sundays where you get to share what God has been teaching you in and

through this sermon series in Galatians. So I would encourage you

to bless your pastor today. I'm talking about Pastor Kevin because he's over there so

he can't hear me. Pray about it,

consider it, decide to do it,

and text Kevin and let him know that you

want to share. We're asking for like 2 to 3 minutes,

just a quick verse, how God's been working in your heart, how things have changed.

And I know that that would be such a blessing to him so

that, uh, in a week and a half or a week and 3 quarters,

he's not desperately calling you guys and asking for people,

uh, to, to share. I know sometimes it's scary to

get up front and talk in front of people. But it's so worth it to,

to be able to share, uh, what God is doing in your heart,

because that's really what's important. We're here for community, and, and we're going to see

a little bit of that, um, you know, today as we go through this

service, uh, and these— this passage. Um, I love

this sermon, or this service, and then I love the couple around Christmas

where we come down here and we all get to hang out together

as one church that meets at 2 different campuses.

Because I know that even though it's only a 12-minute drive up to DuPont,

it seems like it's a lot further, you know, even though it's, it's not bad.

It's a pretty quick little jaunt down here. But yeah,

to be able to get together with you guys is really one of the highlights

for me and hopefully for our church body.

Today we find ourselves in chapter 6 of Galatians.

I want to invite you to turn with me if you have your Bible.

If you don't, you can use your phone, obviously. And I'm not

sure that we have a grab a Bible table here today. So if you don't

have a Bible and you desperately needed one, Lorraine can help you out. Oh,

I guess we have a few up front here on each side.

Perfect. A good opportunity, Lorraine, also before I get started to

let you know communion tables all 4 corners,

all 4 corners. So when we have communion, there's a couple in the back,

couple up front here. But if you need a Bible today because you didn't

bring yours along or you don't have one yet, come on up and grab one

of those. Uh, and we're going to start in Galatians chapter

Galatians 6:1

6, verse 1.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression,

you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted.

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing,

he deceives himself. But let each one

test his own work, and then his reason to boast will

be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

For each will have to bear his own load.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good

things with the one who teaches.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked,

for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

For the one who sows to his flesh will

from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows

to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season

we will reap if we do not give up. So then,

as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,

and especially to those who are in— of the household

of faith. Let's pray this morning. Father God, as we

come before you, we ask that you will move in our hearts and

in our minds, that Holy Spirit, we will hear from you,

that through this passage of scripture that our Our lives will be changed so

that we look more like the men and women that you've called us to be.

Help us as we look into your scriptures this morning to

put aside anything that might be weighing heavy on our hearts or,

or swirling through our minds. No matter what happened this morning or

what's going on in our lives right now, that we'll be able to set those

aside so that we can hear from you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. I got a little interaction.

I'm not sure that I'll get anything from you guys because it is hard when

you're asking from up front here. But what do you call a

smart duck?

A wisecracker. Did I hear that from somebody? I love it.

Well done. What do you call a cow with no calf?

Decaffeinated. Somebody saw the same webpage maybe

that I did. How about cattle with a sense of humor?

A laughingstock. Yes. How about a dog in a cornfield?

A corn dog. And today we

are going to be looking at a happy farmer. What would you call a happy

farmer? Anyone?

A Jolly Rancher. A Jolly Rancher.

That, that was mine at the end there, and it got the least here.

In a world of Sour Patch Kids—

this is the title today— in the world of Sour Patch Kids,

be a Jolly Rancher. I think that's what

we're gonna see here, that the Apostle Paul is gonna tell us that we should

be Jolly Ranchers, that we are sowing seeds to the Spirit.

And then we are reaping things of the Spirit.

So what does that look like? What should we be doing if we are walking

in the Spirit? If you were here last week, you know the last couple of

weeks we've been looking at chapter 5 where Paul is encouraging the Galatians to walk

in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

Now, if you were to ask 10 people here, maybe while you're enjoying your

burger, what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Uh, you'd get

a lot of different responses and none of them are necessarily wrong.

But if you ask 10 people, you'd probably get 10 different responses. Maybe from

our introspective friends, they might say better quiet times.

If you're walking in the Spirit, you'll have better quiet times. From our charismatic friends,

they might point towards experiences or powerful

encounters, signs and wonders. And again,

you could go on and on and on. All your different kinds of friends and

the way that they engage with God, it might look a little bit different in

the way that they are walking in the Spirit. And so

I thought instead of going through what our friends might say, why don't we look

at what the Apostle Paul says? The last couple weeks he's been telling

us to walk in the Spirit. Well, it would make sense

that Paul would then go into a section because

he's writing a letter here. I mean, telling you, I'm encouraging

you to walk in the Spirit, that he would go into a section that covers

that. And you know what? He did. So in chapter 6,

verses 1 to 10, we're gonna see 5 different things that I think

are responsibilities of the believer,

somebody that's placed their faith in Jesus Christ, that is sowing

to the Spirit, that is walking, being led by

the Spirit. These are, or should be, some of the results that

happen. And Paul's going to show us that, and he's going to tell us how

that can, how that can take place. And so we're going

to move forward in that and look at this exhortation of Christian living,

healthy relationships, community focus,

and most importantly, love. And as Paul

will say at the end, or what of what we just read there,

he said you need to be doing good to

everyone, but especially those who are in the household of faith.

And so there's a lot of direction that's been given in this section of

scripture. Over the past 13 years, it's been my privilege to be the pastor

up in DuPont at the DuPont campus. And I have

met so many people there because we have a lot of military there. So people

are coming and going just like down here in Lacey, but it seems like we're

constantly in PCS season. People are coming in, people are leaving.

When people leave, it's always hard. We love to pray over people.

Community groups do a great job of celebrating them, sending them out.

We encourage them to quickly find a new church home. Wherever they're going.

But one of the questions I like to ask people— I'm

a glutton for punishment here— that I like to ask people is, is why have

you come to the Graceworks? Why did you stay at

the Graceworks over maybe other churches in our communities, right?

Why do you— why are you here? What is it that keeps you here?

And I don't say this to get a response, I really am not,

but no one has ever said my preaching. I'm not joking,

and it's okay. No one has ever— but I can't tell you how many

people have said, we've stayed for the kids ministry,

we've stayed because of our community groups, we've stayed because

of our friendships that we have here at the church.

And relationships are so important,

and Paul knows that, and he's encouraged us in that throughout scripture.

Relationships. We are not meant to walk alone here. And so

as we remember the fruit of the Spirit, what Paul has just

encouraged us in chapter 5, verses 23 through 26,

let's remember where he started that section— love.

Love that we have for each other. And in light of that love, let's look

together at 5 areas that we can immediately live in the Spirit

in our lives every day.

So going back into the section that I just read through, start in

verse 1 there, and we're gonna see this concept, this idea of

gentle restoration. He's just talked to us about

gentleness in the fruit of the Spirit, but he says, brothers, if anyone is caught

in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in

a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch

on yourself lest you too be tempted.

The first thing we see is this exhortation to the Galatians to take

sin seriously. Now,

sin in your own life and in others' lives.

God takes sin seriously. I was reminded of the verse

in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5 and 6. It said— he's actually

Hebrews 12:5

quoting Proverbs 3. The author is there, but he

says, my son, do not regard lightly the discipline

of the Lord, no, nor be weary when he reproves

you. For the Lord disciplines the

one he loves and chastises every son whom

he receives. God reproves, he disciplines,

he restores those whom he loves.

He's been telling his readers to walk in the Spirit,

not in the flesh. Sow to the Spirit so that you will reap

things of the Spirit. And we need to take sin

seriously. How? Well, when we see sin,

we need to seek restoration. And I would say, let's start with ourselves.

If we see sin in our lives, we need to first go before

the Lord and and confess that sin.

Turn around, run away from it. And then whoever

we've offended, we need to go and apologize to them and ask

for their forgiveness and try to restore that relationship.

That's so important. And the Apostle Paul would definitely say that if he was here

with us this morning giving us, uh, a sermon on

this, on this passage. The second thing though is the restoration

of a brother or a sister. And Paul gets into some detail there.

He uses a word restore that means to

put back in order, to repair.

It's the same word that it would have been used for a doctor setting

a fractured bone. This is delicate,

skilled, gentle, caring. This is

an act of not just coming up in front of somebody and

confronting them brutally. I mean, how would you like it if you broke your

leg and you're laying there and you're in a ton of pain and the doctor

just comes in there and starts whipping your leg around? I'll get it back in

there at some point. Yeah, that looks good enough. Tape it up and get you

out of here. Now you want somebody that's gonna be gentle with that. And that's

what Paul says here when he uses that word restore.

So again, when we go before God and we confess our sin

and we go to others and we confess the way that we've sinned, We have

an opportunity to show gentleness even though we maybe are the ones that have done

something wrong. But then when we have to confront someone about sin,

you or I, because that's what Paul is talking about here,

the goal instead of gossiping, instead of making

a big deal of it, is restoration.

Them getting back in a right relationship with God, them getting back in

a right relationship with whoever they have sinned against.

Now all of us in our own lives should be looking to help brothers

and sisters in this area. Paul says,

you who are spiritual, right? Those of you who are mature.

And you might be sitting there today saying, well, I don't know that I'm spiritual

enough to do that. Like, I don't feel far enough in my

walk to do it. And I'm gonna be honest with you, if you're thinking that

today and you are a Christian, you're the exact person that should be

looking for opportunities to help people. We don't need,

uh, the, the spiritual police out there policing everything,

right? We need people who love first and look

for restoration and opportunities there. We need to be people that are

walking in the Spirit. A spiritual life

is, is one of the tenets that comes from walking with the Spirit

through this life. Living out the

fruit of the Spirit. Those are the, the people whose lives

are going to be able to work for the kingdom in this area.

Spirit of gentleness. When I was looking at that, one of the fruit of the

Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

and self-control. Remember, Paul didn't write this book with chapters

and verses. He was writing from his heart through the power

of the Holy Spirit's inspiration, and he's writing this out and he's saying,

you want to live in the Spirit? This is the way you need

to walk in the Spirit. There's humility in this,

knowing that it could easily be one of us who is going to need

the restoration. How should I go about helping my brother or my sister?

We need each other, and Paul says this is one of the areas that you

can expect to be used by God ministering to those

who are in sin. Gentle restoration.

Another area is to bear each other's

burdens. Paul continues on there in verse 2,

bear one another's burdens. The Greek word there is

baros, or wheelbarrow, and it's the idea—

or a burro even, like a donkey. It's a heavy load that

you can't carry on your own. You put in the wheelbarrow, right, and you lift,

and because it's got a wheel, It helps

you move it. It's the idea of this overwhelming weight that

you cannot carry on your own.

We all have these. We live in a fallen world.

But do we really help each other with them? Do we look

for opportunities to help each other with these heavy,

crushing burdens? This morning I woke up

to a Facebook post that I knew would be coming. A good friend of mine

from high school's wife passed away from cancer.

And we all know people who are sick, who have died recently maybe,

or, or maybe they're just starting sickness.

It happens to all of us. But when I

was getting ready to preach this sermon this morning, I happened to be closing

out because I'm one of those people that leaves all my tabs open on my

phone and I don't want anything to go off during the service. So I'm

in a habit of closing everything. My wife always gets so mad at me.

I think I had 147 tabs open this morning. And so

I'm closing all these things and one of them was Facebook and I got to

see this update and I thought to myself, how can I,

Mark, help carry my friend's burden over these

next few days, weeks, and months?

So for me, it hit kind of home in that way. But walking with someone

as they battle through a serious health issue or sitting

with a friend whose son or daughter has walked away from the Lord.

And you're willing to come alongside them and say, you don't have to go through

this alone, or helping tangibly a

friend who is in need. We desperately

need each other, and Paul knows this. When you walk with

your friend through the toughest times, bearing, getting underneath

that load, being used as a wheelbarrow, you are

fulfilling the law of Christ.

What a beautiful, beautiful way to talk about this.

John 13:34, if you're taking notes, you can write that down.

John 13:34

A new commandment, Jesus says, I give to you,

that you love one another just as I

have loved you. You are also to love one another.

Man, that works right in with Paul and the fruit of the Spirit, and,

and the first fruit that he mentions is love. And we are to be people

who love And so all 5 of the things we're going to look at today,

if they're not based in love, they're worth nothing,

right? And so how do we love each other? Well, we look to Jesus's example.

Just as I love you, he says in, in verse 34 there.

He took our sins on the cross. He died for you and I.

What we celebrated through baptism today, that idea

where we get to exchange our filth and our sin and our

unrighteousness For his holiness.

In this free exchange, there's nothing that we can do to earn it.

There's nothing that we can do to somehow be worthy of it.

We get it because he says so. He took

our sins when he himself was perfect and sinless.

And now we're called to help others bear really heavy loads,

those burdens that no one should have to share.

Or carry, I should say, on their own. And in that

bearing of the burden, Paul goes on to talk about not being conceited.

He's gonna— he knows he's encouraged us all to

live in love, but he knows the human heart.

We like to think a lot about ourselves. Even when we're

helping somebody out in one of the toughest times that they're ever gonna go through,

we're tempted to think a lot of ourselves.

It reminded me of a story that I heard, and I knew I had heard

it, and I wanted to share it this morning, but I wanted to confirm it

was real. So it was one of those tabs that was open on my phone

and on my computer this morning. Uh, I went and looked it up, but Muhammad

Ali was on a, an airplane. He was flying,

and one of the flight attendants had already said, hey, it's time to buckle up

seat belts, everybody get ready. And she's walking up and down the aisle,

and I don't know if you— I don't I notice people who have like their

earbuds in so they're not hearing anything, and then they have to like tap on

their shoulder and remind them to put their chair up or whatever. This is probably

before that, I'm assuming. Nothing is mentioned about earphones or anything.

But Muhammad Ali is on the airplane. They're saying, hey, everybody needs to put

your seatbelts on. And the flight attendant comes up to

Muhammad Ali and says, sir, I need you to put on your seatbelt.

And Muhammad Ali turns to the flight attendant and says, well, Superman don't

need no seatbelt. Well, the flight attendant

had a response. Calmly but forcefully answered,

Superman don't need no airplane.

Could you be a friend today tempted to say,

looking at your own life, thinking highly

of ourselves, man, I'm so glad that

I'm not going through this. They brought it on themselves.

Can you believe the way they live, the way they act? And now this is

on them, right? Could we live that way? Could we be so conceited that

we look to ourselves and say, at least I'm not going through this?

Thank God that I've never done what they've done to bring this upon themselves.

Paul knows our hearts, and Paul, with the power of the Holy Spirit,

knows our tendencies. There is no love

here without Jesus Christ. And that's why he says, for if everyone— anyone

thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

But let each one test his own work, he continues on there,

and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his

neighbor. For each one will have to bear his own

load. Don't compare, Paul's saying.

Comparison will keep you from loving one another.

I remember when the 4 kids were still at home, my 4 kids, and we

would cut, let's say, a pie and, and take them out and put them onto

plates. And then they started comparing the sizes, right?

Well, his is a little bigger, right? How come Cole

got the biggest slice tonight? There's this comparison game that we

love to play all the time, and we do that in our own lives.

And Paul says, if you're so busy comparing the loads you're

not going to help one another. Now, if you have your Bible

open, you'll see there that these last few verses and,

and, uh, the, the first one, there's this question that kind of could arise

if you're processing through this together. If we had it up on screen, it'd be

a little bit easier to see. But Paul talks about bearing burdens and

carrying things, and that nobody should have to do it on the, on their own,

right? And that was baros. Remember we talked about that, like a wheelbarrow,

the word we get wheelbarrow from. The, the word that we get burro from,

a donkey, right, to carry big heavy loads. The,

the second part where he says you got to bear your own load, right,

you got to carry some on your own, it's a different word. It's actually forteon,

and that's a load that you are meant to carry. I was thinking this

week when I was reading through this passage about Noah, my oldest

son. He would go camping and his dogs, they, they got packs for themselves

So they would carry in their own food, they would carry in their own water.

They were meant to carry that load for themselves.

And there are some things that we are meant to carry,

and God doesn't want us to be proud that we're doing that.

He wants us to do it because we should do it. And these

burdens that nobody else can bear for you are like obedience.

It's hard to obey God's Word sometimes,

but you get to do it. Nobody else can do that

for you, right? And so Paul's saying there are things that you need

to do on your own that you need to carry. Evangelism.

What if Katie and Thomas had said, no, this is Mark's responsibility to talk

to the non-believers in DuPont? I'm being serious

when I say, would Mickey and Lindsay be here today celebrating with us?

Now God is faithful and he would have used somebody else, but they got to

be used by God. It's incredible.

So evangelism, obedience, fulfilling the roles that you've

been given— those— that word is forteon, that bear up.

You can do it. You're meant to do it. So what Paul's saying is take

healthy pride in the work that God has called you to do without comparing it

to others. Why? Because you need to be ready to bear up under their heavy

loads. And fulfill the law of Christ. And what is the law of Christ

again? Love. Okay,

love. That's what the motivation has got to be.

I, I think when Pastor Kevin preached this sermon back in 2013—

it might have been when he did in 2010— yeah, he, he had a,

uh, a title of like, You Got My Back,

and it was stick figures, and, and the one stick figure was holding the

spine, the back of the other guy. But it was that idea of, we— I've

got your back, I'm going to help you through this, because we are meant

to help others with the unbearable burdens of life.

And I think if we're all honest, we've all gone through some unbearable things.

Let's continue on here. The, the kind of the cusp here in 6,

this is turning into kind of 3 quick things to finish this out. The,

the third thing we see here after gentle restoration and humble burden-bearing,

we see generous sharing.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things

with the one who teaches. Now it's easy to hear pay the preacher,

and I think that's in there, and I think that all the commentaries I read

this week, that's a part of it. But let's not miss what Paul is saying

here. He's actually talking to the preacher too. And he's actually hitting the

preacher pretty hard. He says, teach the word.

Teach the word. Let the one who is taught the word—

we have been called as pastors to preach the word of God,

not fluff. We strive as a church to be a place where God's

word is preached every Sunday. You shouldn't

find feel-good messages here. Now, hear what I'm saying and not what

I'm not saying. You might feel good about what you hear,

what is preached, if you're walking in the Spirit,

if we're preaching the Word. But biblical teaching should

be convicting to you and I. As I'm working through the week, I need to

have conviction on my own life. As I present it on Sunday morning humbly to

you, I'm praying that the Holy Spirit works through his Word, not the words

that I'm saying, but his Word, and changes you to look more like Jesus.

So that if you die this week or in a month or

a year or 20 or 30 years, that God will say, well done,

my good and faithful servant. You heard the word.

Not you heard Pastor Kevin, not you heard Pastor Mark, not you heard Pastor Dave

or Pastor Brian, but you heard the word of God and you allowed it to

penetrate deep and change who you were.

Now at the end of this thought in verse 6, is the care for

the teacher, compensation for the pastor, whatever you want to say.

And I want you to know that your offerings go towards that

when you give. The pastor's salaries, other employees of

the church, their compensation. But it goes for missions

work and the building and rent up in DuPont,

service outreach, caring for what God has provided.

But this is a huge verse that the implications

aren't just about me getting paid or somebody else getting paid.

But it's about taking the Word of God seriously.

Gentle restoration, humble burden-bearing, generous sharing,

including of the Word of God. And then we go into personal holiness.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows,

that he will also reap. For the one who sows of his own flesh

will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows of

the Spirit will reap from the Spirit

eternal life. Sowing and reaping,

not in relation to money this time here, but it's in relationship

to personal holiness. If you sow

in the flesh, what does Paul say you will reap?

Corruption. The old adage is

true: sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act,

reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Every little thing you do when you're sowing, whether to

your flesh or to your spirit, there will be a crop that'll come from

it. John Stott says this, and I appreciated

this quote, so I'm going to read it to you. Every time we allow our

mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance,

entertain an impure fantasy,

wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh.

Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious

influence we know we can't resist,

every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying,

every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take

a risk that strains our self-control,

We are sowing, sowing, sowing,

sowing to the flesh.

We need to take it serious. What we do with our time, what we do

with our actions, what we do with our mind. We need to

be vigilant. I've had people ask me, I don't feel like I'm growing in my

faith. I don't feel like I'm becoming more and more holy.

You talk about looking more like Jesus and less like yourself.

And one of the questions I usually get to as I'm asking them questions,

what have you been doing with the years since you've come to faith

in Jesus Christ? The months, the days, the hours, the seconds. What are you doing

with what you've been given? You've been given a

gift of time. Where are you sowing to? If you sow to

the flesh every day, why are you surprised that you're not growing in personal

holiness? If you sow to the Spirit, You'll reap of

the Spirit, that holiness, that eternal life that

Paul's talking about there at the end of verse 8. The more we look like

Jesus, the more his holiness grows in us,

the more we experience the abundant life.

Jesus wants us to experience the abundant life.

Does personal holiness, what Paul talks about here, 4th in this

kind of list. It's not a list, but what he's talking about here, coming out

of walking with the Spirit, here are some things that you can do. Does number

4 affect all the others? 1, 2, 3, and 5?

You bet.

We need to be holy. We need to look more like Jesus so when we're

in restoration with someone else or with ourselves, we can see what God sees.

We need to, we need to be in step with the Spirit when we're bearing

others' burdens. We need to understand God's

heart when we think about how we spend our time and our money and

what we prioritize. And lastly,

it'll be practicing goodness, and that's where we're going next. But if you want to

be a Jolly Rancher, you need to sow your seeds wisely,

right? We're talking about the sowing and the reaping. If you want to be an

asset to the family of faith, Sow towards

personal holiness. The last thing

we're gonna look at is this practical goodness. Paul really gives us

an encouragement in verse 9, and then he instructs us

in verse 10. In light of all of this,

everything that I've said, all the encouragement that I've said, how I've told you you

need to live in the Spirit, that you need to walk in the Spirit,

that you need to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit,

I need you to keep doing good,

even when it's especially hard. Maybe you're

suffering from exhaustion or discouragement, gossip or bickering,

all those things that could go on that can just beat us down.

Maybe you've experienced false teachers in

your life, whether through friendship

or even someone potentially in our church.

That, that weight that keeps coming on us. And sometimes we feel

like, I've done all I can. It's so hard to be good.

I want to quit. Paul says, no, keep on keeping on.

And why? Because the harvest will come,

right? The farmer plants and, and then he works the

field and he waters and Why?

Because he knows the harvest will come. And we

as believers need to live a life where we know the harvest is coming.

And that's what Paul is telling us here in verse 10. Work,

work, work. Christ's followers should be marked by

practical goodness. We should do good

to all of those around us. Paul says

that he wants us to, to live a life full of grace and

mercy and generosity. And love,

because that's what our Savior did. And he ends

it by saying, especially to the household of faith.

And this could be— if you look at this in light of what we studied

today, what we looked at— this could be in the restoration of the brother,

bearing burdens, supporting the work of the

Lord through your church, including your pastors, but also the rest of the

staff and everything else that the church is doing. This could be helping

around the yard of an elderly friend here from the church,

giving a ride to someone who needs transportation. Maybe it's tutoring,

maybe it's training, babysitting a young couple's kids

so that they can go out on a date night. I could go on and

on and on, but here at TGW, we want to, we want to encourage

you to live a life of practicing goodness,

especially to the household of faith. So many

people I talk to, when I, when I talk about opportunities that might arise in

the church, they tell me about everything they're doing to all their neighbors and their

coworkers. And I love that. I do. And I think we all need to be

encouraged by that and do more. But man, we got to take care of our

church too. And that's why community groups are so important.

And this is where this kind of life is cultivated. And so if you're sitting

out there and you're like, ah, he's talking about community groups again, Yeah, I am,

because community is why you should be— that

are a big part of why you should be coming to the church. Look at

everything we just talked about today. That's living in community.

If you sneak in the back door alone, sit and listen to Pastor Kevin's

incredible preaching, sneak back out the door, get in your car and drive home— I'm

not saying you won't learn something, but you won't experience

it. Walk in the Spirit. Stay in

step with the Spirit. Live in community.

Paul puts it all together for us here in chapter 6. May our hearts,

yours and mine, be firmly motivated to becoming

Spirit-filled and led.

We should be Spirit-filled and led people marked by these

attributes and more: gentle restoration, humble burden-bearing,

generous sharing, personal holiness,

and practical goodness. Let's pray. Father,

help us today. Help us to become the people that you've called us to

be, your people led by your Spirit,

to look more like your Son each day. Help us

in our sowing that we can truly be jolly ranchers

sowing to the Spirit so that we can reap when it comes time to reap.

We're going to reap the things of God in our lives.

We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. During the

next few songs, we're gonna have an opportunity to worship through communion.

I told you where the 4 table elements are,

and when you get there, we just ask that you take the piece of bread

and dip it into the juice and step away. That way a lot of people

can get there. But we don't ask that you just throw it in your mouth.

Take some time to reflect. Reflection is so important. Think about

the cross. Think about maybe what God's tugging on your heart because of

his word today. Paul sent this

notice to the church in Corinth. I'll read this quick while they're finishing getting

set up here about remembering the sacrifice,

Jesus, through the remembering of the cross. It said this: For I received

from the Lord what I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus

on the night that he was betrayed took bread, and when

he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is

for you. Do this in remembrance of

me. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper,

saying, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Do this

as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you

eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death

until he comes. The change that can happen in your and

my life is because of what Jesus did on the cross.

And by practicing communion, partaking in communion, it doesn't

save you. It doesn't make you in better standing with God, but it gives you

a moment to reflect on the cross and the

heavy price that was paid for your sin.

So stand with me if you're able, and let's continue in

worship together.

He who was before there was light

walked across the pages of time.

He who made every living thing.

Behold him,

he who heard humanity's cry,

left his throne to wake as a child.

He became like the least of us.

Behold him,

Jesus, Son of God,

Messiah. Messiah, the Lamb,

the roaring Lion.

Oh, be still

and behold him.

Sinners and saints, healed the blind,

the lost, and the lame.

Even now he is in our midst.

Behold him,

he who chose the criminal's end,

paid with blood to settle our debts,

buried death as he rose to life.

Behold Jesus,

Son of God,

Messiah, the Lamb, the roaring

Lion. Oh, be still

and behold him,

Jesus, Alpha and

Omega, our God, the risen

Savior. Oh, be Be

still and behold him.

Holy, holy, holy is

the Lord God Almighty.

Worthy, worthy, worthy Worthy

to receive all praise.

Holy, holy,

holy is the Lord God Almighty.

Worthy, worthy, worthy to

receive all praise.

Holy, holy,

holy is the Lord God Almighty.

Worthy, worthy, worthy to

receive all praise.

Holy, holy, holy is the

Lord God Almighty.

Worthy, worthy, worthy to

receive all praise.

Jesus, our Lord.

The Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Lamb

of God in life.

All be still and behold

him, Jesus,

Alpha and Omega,

our God, the risen Savior.

All be still and behold him.

And he

don't need—

and he don't need—

A thousand generations falling

down in worship, sing the song

of ages to the Lamb.

And all who've gone before us and all who

will believe, sing the song of

ages to the Lamb.

Your name is the highest. Your name

is the greatest. Your name stands

above them all.

All thrones and dominions,

all powers and positions,

your name stands above them

all. And the angels cry,

holy!

All creation cries,

holy!

You are lifted high,

holy,

holy forever.

If you've been forgiven, if you've

been redeemed, sing the song

forever to the Lamb.

If you walk in freedom and

if you bear his name, sing the song

forever to the Lamb.

We'll sing this song forever

and amen. And the angels cry

holy, all creation

cries holy.

You are lifted high,

holy,

holy forever.

Do your people sing

holy to the

King of Kings?

Holy,

you will always be holy,

holy forever.

Your name is the highest.

Your name is the greatest.

Your name stands above

them all.

All thrones and dominions, all powers

and positions. Your name stands

above them all.

Your name is the highest. Your name is

the greatest. Your name stands

above them all.

All thrones and dominions, all powers

and positions, your name stands

above them all.

The angels cry holy,

all creation cries holy.

Holy, you are lifted high.

Holy,

holy forever.

Your people sing holy

to the King of Kings.

Holy, you will always be.

Holy,

holy forever.

You will always be holy,

holy forever.

Y'all sound real good, but maybe you're hungry.

Don't leave yet. We've got one more worship song we're going to worship through together,

but I wanted to give you some instructions on the picnic side of things.

We're going to be walking right back here on the left side of our youth

building, and you can go in the door over there. We've got lots of great

food set up in the youth building, so you walk right through, fill your plate

there, and then if you come out on the right there's gonna be some drinks

and things and slushies, and on the left there'll be some condiments.

Inside the church, right through the door, you're gonna find desserts.

If some of you walk to the dessert table first, I will not judge you.

It is okay. If you have a need for

a vegan option, you can go right over to the smoker. I think Kevin's

got a couple vegan options for you. But if you're in the mood to eat

some protein, we have some burgers, but the star of the show

is gonna be some smoked pulled pork that Kevin has prepared.

So yeah, those of you that woohooed, you know what I'm talking about.

Those of you that don't, you get to have some today and next year you

can woohoo. All right. Did I mention we'll let our seniors

go first through the line? Let's do that. Let's let our seniors go first through

the line. No senior in high school, that doesn't count because we're summertime.

We don't have seniors in school right now. But that's picnic

instructions. There's going to be some cornhole and some games happening in the family center

over there. Some stuff for the kids to do. And then lastly,

we do have offering every Sunday, and we've got 4 tables. The communion tables

have a black basket on there, and if you want to give this morning,

if you'd like to, that's where you can do that. If you're a guest,

please don't feel any obligation. That's not what we're about here. But if you believe

in what we're doing and want to contribute towards it, we ask that you do

that in the 4 corners to this last song. Sound good? Did I miss anything?

Our God and firm foundation,

our rock, the only solid ground.

The nations rise and fall,

kingdoms once strong now shaken. We trust

forever in your name, the name of

Jesus.

We trust in the name of Jesus.

You are the only King forever.

Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the

only King forever,

forevermore. You over darkness,

you are the only King forever. Almighty God, we lift

you higher. You are the only King forevermore.

Forevermore, you're victorious.

Unmatched. Here we go. Unmatched in all your wisdom,

in love and justice you will reign,

and every knee will bow.

We bring our expectations,

our hope is anchored in your name,

the name of Jesus.

We trust in the name of

Jesus. You are the only

thing so wonderful, the God that lifts you

higher. You are the only King

forever, forevermore.

You are victorious. You are the only King forever.

Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only

King forever, forevermore. You are

victorious.

banner high. We lift the name

of Jesus from age to age to age.

Your kingdom has no end. We lift

our banner high. We lift the name

of Jesus from age to age to age.

Your kingdom has no end.

You are the only King forever.

Almighty God, we lift you higher.

You are the only King forever,

forevermore. You are victorious. You are the only King forever.

Almighty God, we lift you higher.

You are the only King forever,

forevermore. You are victorious.

Amen. Let's get some food.

Of me when it's all said and done? Will I stand for my beliefs

or will I turn around and run? Well, let the whole world hear me

say, I'm unashamed of

the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth

that changed my life. For the name above all

names, I'm unashamed, and I

will live my faith out loud. Take a stand and stand

my ground for the one who took my shame.

I'm unashamed.

I don't answer to the crowd, I answer

to a King. So the louder they shout,

oh, the louder I sing.

Yeah, 'cause what's gonna be said of me when it's all said and done?

And done, will I stand for my beliefs or will I turn around and run?

Let the whole world hear me say, I'm unashamed

of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth that

changed my life for the name above all names.

I'm unashamed and I

will live my faith out loud, take a stand I stand

my ground for the one who took my

shame. I'm unashamed.

At the name of Jesus, every knee will

bow and every tongue confess.

So let it start right now before you

come back, Lord, before the rocks cry out.

I will lift my praise. Let it start

right now. I'm unashamed

of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth

that changed my life. For the name above

all names, I'm unashamed, yeah,

and I will live my faith out loud. I'll take a

stand and stand my ground for the one who

took my shame. I'm unashamed.

I'm unashamed. Oh, I'm unashamed.

I want the world to hear me say I'm unashamed.

I'm unashamed. Oh, I'm unashamed.

Ashamed before the one who took my shame.

I'm unashamed,

Lord. I will stand for you. I'll tell the

whole world about you.

I'm unashamed.

Broken my heart

in 2,000 pieces.

I've been trying to do

this on my own. But sometimes you gotta

break your heart to find your soul.

But sometimes you gotta lose your will to

give God control.

I need you like sunlight's needed for a shadow.

Need you like a heartbeat beating out of my bones.

But I, I need I

need you like a sick man needs a physician. I need you

like a helping man on a mission.

But I, I need more.

I need more.

I've been trying to rest deep inside

of my chest. I can't feel my soul

disconnected from you in the solitude that

I built with my phone.

Come break down my walls, I need you like

Some light's needed for a shadow. Need you like a heartbeat beating

out in my bones. But I,

I need you more. I need

you like a sick man needs a physician. Need you like a

hellbent man on a mission. But I,

I need you more.

I need you more.

I need you more.

Sometimes you gotta break your heart

to find your soul.

Sometimes you gotta look

Your will to give God control. Whoa, I need you like sunlight needs

a foreshadow. Need you like a heartbeat beating

down in my bones. But I need

more. I need you like

a sick man needs a physician. Need you like a help

band. I'm on a mission, but I need

you more. Oh, I need

you more.

Oh, I need you more.

Standing in your ruins feels a lot like

the end. So used to losing,

you're afraid to try again

right now. All you see are ashes where there

was a flame. Truth is that you're

not forgotten, 'cause grace knows your name.

God's not done with you, even with your

broken heart and your wounds and your scars.

God's not done with you, even when you're lost and

it's hard and you're falling apart. God's not done

with you. It's not over, it's only

begun. So don't hide, don't run,

'cause God's not done with

you.

There's a light you don't notice until you stand

And in the dark, and there's

a strength that's growing inside your shattered

heart. Whoa, God's not done with

you, even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars.

God's not done with you, even when you're lost and it's

hard and you're falling apart. God's not done with you.

It's not over, it's only begun.

So don't hide, don't run,

'cause God's not done with you.

You, he's not done

with you.

You, he's got a This

is part of it. He's gonna finish what he started.

He's got a plan. This is part of it.

He's gonna finish what he started.

He's not done.

God's not done writing your story.

No, he's not done. God's not

done with you. God's not done with you.

God's not done with you. Even when

you're lost and it's hard and you're falling

apart, God's not done with you. It's not over,

it's only begun. So don't

hide, don't run, 'cause God's not done

with you,

you, you, you,

you,

you,

you, you. No, he's not done.

God's not done with you.

How I long to breathe the

air of heaven where

pain is gone. And mercy fills

the streets, to look upon

the one who bled to save me and walk

with him for all eternity.

There will be a day when all

will bow before him. There will

be a day when death will be no

more, standing face to face

with he who died and rose again.

Holy,

holy is the Lord, and every We

prayed in desperation.

The songs of faith we sang through

doubt and fear. In the end,

we'll see that it was

worth it when he returns

to wipe away our tears.

Oh, there will be a day when

all will bow before him.

There will be a day when death

will be no more. Standing face

to face with he who died and rose

again. Holy, holy,

holy. Holy is the

Lord. And on

that day, we join the resurrection

and stand beside the heroes

of the faith. Oh,

with one voice, a thousand generations

Sing worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

Forever he shall reign.

So let it be today,

we shall be in heaven with

angels in the saints, we raise a mighty

roar. Glory to our

God who gave us life beyond the

grave. Holy, holy is

the Lord. So let it be today,

we shout the hymn of heaven with angels

In this state, we raise a mighty roar.

Glory to our God who

gave us life beyond the

grave. Holy, holy is the

Lord. Holy, holy is the

Lord.

Holy, holy is

the Lord.

You're the resurrection that we've

waited for. You bury

the night. Came with

the morning. You're the King of Heaven,

the praise is yours. The longer

the quiet, the louder the

chorus. Oh, oh.

We will sing a new song. His death

is dead and gone with the winner.

We will sing a new song. Let hallelujahs

flow like a river. We're coming back

to life, reaching toward the light.

Your love is like springtime.

You're the living water,

God, we thirst for you.

The dry and the barren will flower

and bloom. You're the sun that's

shining, you restore The

deeper he calls, oh, the deeper we'll

go. We will sing a new song.

Death is dead and gone with the winner.

We will sing a new song. Let hallelujahs

flow like a river. We're coming back

to life. Reaching towards the light,

your love is like springtime.

Come tend

the soil, come tend the soil

of my soul. Like a garden,

and like a garden I will grow.

I will grow.

Come tend the soil, come tend

the soil of my soul. And like a

garden, and like a garden,

I will grow.

I will grow.

I will grow.

I will grow.

We will sing a new song. Death is dead and

gone with the winner. We will sing a

new song. The power to lead is

full like a river.

We're coming back to life, reaching towards the

light. Your love is like springtime,

like springtime.

Been walking through a city I cannot see,

through the depths of the valley where the sun can't reach.

I've been high, I've been low, I've been looking

for the river that You could fill my soul. Been walking through a city

I cannot— Fill my

cup, Lord, run it over.

Give me love, give me joy, give me peace.

Fill my cup, Lord, run it over.

I am your child. Out in

need,

but I need

you. Never come walking over

lives standing in my way.

They can say what they want, I don't want what they say.

I was born far from home, but I've been thriving

in the wonder of the great unknown, 'cause I'm drinking from a well from

another place.

Fill my cup, Lord, run it over.

Give it love, give me joy, give me peace.

Fill my cup, Lord,

Run it over. I am

your child in need, Lord. I need

you. Fill my cup,

fill my cup, fill my

cup, fill my cup,

fill my house up with hope.

Fill my Hands up with purpose, fill my wounds up

with healing. Lord, I need you. Fill my cup,

fill my days up with meaning.

Fill my future with vision, goodness,

grace, and provision. Lord, I need you.

And when I get to that city I cannot see,

I'll know that even this valley was a goal Golden stream.

Fill my cup, Lord, run it

over. Give me love, give me

joy, give me peace. Fill my

cup, Lord,

run it over. I am a child

in need, Lord, I need you. Fill my

cup, fill my house of battle.

Fill my plans of new purpose. Fill my

wounds of good healing. Lord, I need you. Fill my

cup, fill my days of good reading.

Fill my future with vision, goodness, grace,

and provision. Lord, I need you. Fill my cup.

Christ is my firm foundation,

the rock on which I stand

when everything around me is shaken.

I've never been more glad that

I put my faith in Jesus,

'cause He's never let me down.

He's faithful through generations,

so why would He fail now?

He won't.

He won't.

I've still got joy in chaos.

I've got peace that makes no sense.

So I won't be going under.

I'm not held by my own

Straight, 'cause I built my life on Jesus.

He's never let me down.

He's faithful in every season,

so why would he fail

now? He won't.

He won't,

he won't fail.

He won't fail.

He won't,

no, no, no, no. He won't,

he won't fail.

He won't fail.

Christ is my firm foundation,

the rock on which I stand when

everything around me is shaken.

I've never been more I'm

so glad that I put my faith

in Jesus.

'Cause he's never let me down. He's faithful

through generations.

So why would he fail now?

He won't.

He won't, he won't

fail. He won't

fail.

Rain came and wind blew,

but my house was built on you.

I'm safe with you.

I'm gonna make it through.

Rain came and wind blew,

but my house was built on you.

I'm safe with you.

I'm gonna make it through.

Oh, rain Came and went blue,

but my house was built on

you, and I'm safe

with you.

I'm gonna make it through.

Yeah, I'm gonna make it through,

'cause I'm standing strong on Yeah,

I'm gonna make it through.

'Cause my house is built on you.

Christ is my firm foundation,

the rock on which I stand when

everything around me is shaken.

I've never been more glad that

I put my faith in Jesus.

'Cause he's never let me down.

He's faithful through generations.

So why would he fail now?

He won't!

Yes, he won't. Never,

never, never, never, never.

He won't fail.

He won't fail.

He won't.

He won't.

He won't fail.

He won't fail.

No, he won't.

Someone must have been praying for me,

'cause I'm doing better than I ought to be.

Sometimes I open my eyes

and I can't believe it. Someone must have been,

someone must have been praying for me.

West Coast kid in a Chevy S10, everything I own in

the back of the bed. Why'd I dream about a Nashville skyline?

Naive enough to think that it's my town. Singing about pipe dreams,

hanging on by a heartstring. 100 doors kept

on closing for the one door you You blew open.

Yeah, someone must have been praying for me,

'cause I'm doing better than I ought to

be. Sometimes I open my eyes,

I can't believe it.

Someone must have been, someone must

have been praying for me.

This has got to be

as good as it gets because it feels like fiction. Little footsteps

running through the kitchen, lonely nights burning on the highway,

turning a couple bikes in the driveway, living their pipe

dream. I'm doing better than I ought to be. Of all the lives that

I could have lived in, when I see this one I've been given, I think

Someone must have been praying for me,

'cause I'm doing better than I ought to

be. Sometimes I open my eyes,

I can't believe it. Someone must have

been, someone must have been praying.

Somebody must have been, somebody must

have been, somebody must have been.

When I see you in the

morning, somebody must

have been praying for me. Someone must

have been praying for me. It's when I hold

my daughter, I hear heaven speak.

Sometimes I open my eyes,

I can't believe Yeah, yeah, someone must

have been, someone must have been praying for

me. I thank God

they were praying for me.

Hands up!

Goodbye yesterday, I'm living in the light of a

new day. I won't waste another minute in my Praise

the Lord, I've been born again.

Goodbye yesterday, I'm living in the

light of a new day.