Love Actually: God’s Design For Family | Mark Caldwell

Well, this morning, uh, we're talking

about I'm talking about, uh, uh, uh,

family and God's design for family.

It's a very, very broad area, isn't it?

Family. There all different types of

family, [music] you know, that we're in,

each one of us, and we've all got

different viewpoints uh, of what family

means. It can bring happy memories and

great experiences that perhaps we've had

or it can bring up perhaps some pain

from your childhood.

Family was never society's idea. It was

our father in heaven gods.

Yet the fall of man in genus Genesis

fractured God's ideal for family. But

through the redemptive blood of [music]

Jesus, God offers healing and wholeness

to our families.

Even if you're a parent or a young

child, we've got a lot of young men

here. I can see you guys.

Or a single person or a single mom or

dad or [music] a grandparent. Put your

hand up if you're a grandparent.

Yeah. Look at that. Gee, we looking

young, aren't we?

>> We're swinging. We're swinging.

And uh we tend to view family in the

eyes of our own perspective, don't we?

It's important to feel that you're not

failed or that you're not quite reaching

the mark as a participant in your family

environment. Whatever that looks like,

whatever shape it's in at the moment, if

we're completely honest with ourselves,

there are three things that are very

true for every person in this room, me

included. The first is that is that we

do not choose the family that were born

into. That's correct.

Every family has dysfunction somewhere.

We do some things well yet perhaps we

struggle with others. And the third is

we feel that we could do all things

better than the other person.

So let's start with me throwing open

your views [music] and just speak out a

word or a couple of words of what you

think family is.

Any ideas?

>> Unity. I love that. That's terrific.

What was that one?

connection. That's a really powerful

one, Christy. I love that one.

>> What was that?

>> Support. That's a really important one.

[music] Somebody said this morning, I

thought I heard sport, but

support absolutely is supreme over that

one. Was there one over here? No, it's

like an auction, isn't it?

>> Forgiveness. That's very powerful. I

speak about that this morning. It's at

the heart of a healthy [music] family.

Forgiveness. Thank you for that. Any

other ideas?

>> Safety very important in today's world

for family, isn't it? Really important

aspects.

So, let's just have a little

introspective look at a family. And I'm

going to ask Luke and Tanel to come up.

We all love Luke and Tanel. They're role

models for a young couple who have got a

family. and we're just going to get a

little bit of insight with these guys

about what family looks like in their

lives. So, thanks guys. You're looking

very sharp this morning.

>> Thank you.

>> Oh, I said I keep moving away from a

>> I don't dress myself if people always

wonder. Oh,

>> here's my trick to marriage. I've not

bought a piece of clothing in the last

10 years. So, I'm going good. I'm very

blessed.

>> That's good. My daughters, I've got two

daughters and uh they help me go

shopping to keep me looking reasonable.

So, uh,

>> there you go. There you go. Reuben is

the husband of one of those daughters.

There you go.

>> So, let's just start by you just give us

a picture of your current family and,

you know, the makeup of who's in [music]

your family.

>> Yeah. Married for 10 years. I said nine

years in the first service, so I'll

correct myself say 10 years. Married for

10 years and I met in church. And both

of us come from and privileged enough to

come from a legacy [music] of a

Christian household across grandparents

and parents. And so we've got two

beautiful kids that are absolutely our

life and you know we we drive a lot of

who we are through those two but

definitely not perfect but uh we try our

best and uh we love each other. So

>> So I'm guessing that you're the you're

the glue, you're the chief coordinator.

You pull it all together as most [music]

ladies do in marriages for arranging

gatherings and gettogethers. Is that

right?

>> Yes, it's correct. It's a full-time job.

I I say to Luke all the time, if I was

getting paid, I'd be like a millionaire

by now. Um, but it's the greatest

privilege. It is.

>> There you go. So, I would describe you

guys as being in the sandwich zone. It's

a great term. It's about the fact that

[music] you've got young children who

are quite dependent on you. They're

looking for your lead, uh, living

dayto-day, but you've also got parents

that you love and you love doing life

with them. So, how do you put all that

together being in the sandwich [music]

generation?

Yeah, I think um I've I've removed the

pressure of myself when it comes to

balance because I actually just don't

think that that is realistic [music]

when it comes to family and especially

in our sandwich, you know, era. Uh but I

think for me it's more about seasons and

[music] there are seasons that we

navigate as a family and you know we

take stock first of our unit and going

what does the season require of of our

of our family and our kids and so I

think yeah in terms of balance it's it's

just taking stock every day and giving

each other grace too like when you're

really busy at work you know I know that

I can [music] I have to uh bring more to

the table so I release him. And the same

with my parents, you know, they're in

the business world and they're kind of

like head down right now [music] and I'm

releasing them and going like, you guys

go full on into that world and you know,

when you're able to come up for air and

breathe, like we will be here. And so,

yeah, I I wouldn't say it's balance. I

would say it's seasonal and looking at

what our family dynamic looks like in

each season. Yeah,

>> I love that. They were wise words,

weren't they?

So Luke, what are the Christian values

that really underpin your family?

>> I think as uh when we got married,

something that stands out to me and I

encourage everybody to go read it, but

Ephesians 5 really underpins who who I

am.

>> And you know, it starts by saying,

"Wives submit to your husbands as

[music] you know, you know, church

submits to Christ." When I look at that

line, I don't put the onus on my wife,

but I actually put the onus on myself.

And so I take first and full

responsibility of my family. I ask

myself a question. Am I worthy of being

submitted to? Am [music] I leading my

family? Am I loving my family in a

manner that drives us all forward and

ultimately into calling of God? And so

the onus is not on my wife. The onus is

me as a husband and as a leader. And so

it really [music] underpins who we are.

And so when Zanell and I got married,

there were sort of three legacies that

we continue to speak about. And

underpins everything that we're about.

We speak about a legacy or a spiritual

legacy which is a legacy in ensuring

that we don't just talk to our kids

about Christ but we prioritize [music]

the things of God in our house. The way

we open our Bible, the way we play

worship music, the way we prioritize

God's house. And so for us it's a legacy

we want to leave into our kids. The

other the second one we talk about a a

legacy of family. Prioritizing family

and making sure that the family unit is

a priority. It's a safe place that they

can always come back to. And then the

third one is a financial legacy. I've

spoken about this before and I always

talk about it. For us, legacy is not an

act of sympathy. It's a mission

missional act. [music]

So, we're not leaving these things in

and for our kids, for them out of

sympathy and going, well, you know, good

luck for the future. For us, we've made

a decision that our lives are for Christ

and our lives build the kingdom of God

in whatever manner that looks like. And

so, when we talk legacy, we talk about

ensuring that our kids take it to the

next level. I never want my kids to

shrink back. and want them [music] to,

you know, communicate God's word to more

people and own bigger businesses and

have bigger families and more

well-established families. So, legacy

for us is not about sympathy or allowing

[music] them to shy back. It's missional

and that's the way that we run our lives

and that's the way we [music] make

decisions when it comes to our family.

>> Aren't they good? Three foundations that

they've got. I love those values.

Particularly the first one, the

spiritual.

>> It's the first and it's the last at the

end of the day. You guys are right in

there. That's just fantastic. So I just

want to ask you Zanel, families have

their challenges and great moments from

time to time. Can you just tell us about

some of those or maybe an example of how

you work through those issues?

>> Yeah, I look I think no family is

[music] perfect. I think you know we all

have our challenges and uh you know a

few years ago we actually navigated is

in terms of like our sandwich [music]

family we navigated a really hard year

and I just remember in that season you

know I wanted to call it quits I was

like I'm done with this you know all the

drama you know [music] um but I just

remember the Holy Spirit so clearly

reminding me that he is for family and

that he created family and that he is

for restoration and not division.

And I remember going, you know what,

that's so true. Like the enemy wants

division in our family. And I just

refused. And I was like, nope.

Restoration, restoration. And so it was

believing that through any challenge

that God wants family. And our family

motto is just a practical one like give

each other the benefit of the doubt,

[music] right? Uh don't always assume

the worst in someone. And so we look at

it through that lens of like I know that

you know you love me and so I love you

obviously. Um but I think we believe the

best in each other [music] and we

approach any challenge in that sense.

And lastly I just think so much [music]

grace. So much grace and forgiveness as

I think someone said earlier as well.

But yeah the Lord he wants family and so

we will fight for it no matter the

challenge that we face.

>> I love that. And um let me ask one final

question to you Luke and spiritual

headship is very important. The Bible

teaches about that. [music] How do you

take on your responsibilities as a

spiritual head into your family?

Yeah, it's it's massive and I think

every every father and husband will feel

the the weight of being the spiritual

head and it's an area I take seriously

and contend for daily. It's space that

we contend for. [music] And I, you know,

I go as far as I'll walk through my

house. I anoint every door. I pray over

my kids. It's something that I take

seriously. Bible says that every gift,

every child's a gift from God. And so,

it's my responsibility to steward that

gift just like Od [music]

steward any other gift that he gives me.

And so, we contend in the spirit for our

kids. We we are in the word. We are

praying over them every morning. The

kids walk out the door. I've got a

chair. Spend minutes [music] just in

that chair just praying and reading

Bible verses over them and just really

containing them practically. [music]

We've always said we want people to be

able to walk into our house and feel the

spirit of God there. And so things like

that don't don't just happen and far

[music] be it from us to pretend like

it's all perfect. We get it right all

the time. Believe me, far from it.

Please, this this is not that. If you

know us, we're just raw, authentic, but

we're trying to follow God. And so as as

a spiritual head, I can't expect of my

kids and my wife to step into [music] a

place that I've never been before. And

so I don't want to be be pulled by my

wife or pulled my kids. I want to be

leading the journey so that they know

dad's there waiting for them. And so for

me, it's something that I want to

contend in. [music] I want to wrestle

and um I I put them in front of God

ultimately. So

>> Oh, Luke Janelle, thank you for your

honesty. Thank you for the inward look

at their family. Let's give them a big

clap and thank them for that.

And um can we just thank the worship

team um [music] for what you've what you

do. We've got Gabe, we've got Reuben,

we've got Andrew, we've got Lizzy.

These guys get here early of a morning

and they steward, they practice and it's

the heart that they bring. Sure, they

play instruments, but it's the heart of

the worship of God that brings us all to

have that wonderful, wonderful

communion, isn't it?

So, I want to talk about God's design

for family.

And uh apart from the family that we

were born into, many of us may regard

family with those that we are love. Or

it may be those that we're close to. We

weren't born into them. This church, for

example, has relationships

all throughout each other. Some of you

bond together very well in spiritual

harmony. Robert and I have been in this

church now for three and a half years,

and this is our spiritual home.

>> It's not a room, it's people.

And I love that verse in scripture that

talks about iron sharpens iron as one

person to another. And the strength of

that verses, particularly the latter

part, as one person to another, you've

got that strong bond. You guys have a

bond with each other as you're growing

up early. It's wonderful. There are many

people here who have got those bonds.

Bring Jesus into everything that you do.

It's part of being in a family.

So family isn't just a practical social

arrangement. It's built to reflect the

very character of God.

The world's view, both the makeup of a

family now and the values that it lives

by may look very different to the

Bible's teaching of how God designed the

family.

This morning, I just want to look at

some Bible teachings with the time I've

got left on God's design for family.

The shape of human families built on the

love of the father God, Jesus, the son,

and the holy spirit echoes a circle of

honor where everyone flourishes, not a

chain of command where people are

squashed.

Let's look at this first verse. It's

very powerful to start talking about

family. It's Joshua 24:15.

Joshua 24:15

As for me and my house, we will serve

the Lord.

Friends, have this as a mission

statement

for your family. Have it edged in your

very forehead. Have it etched into your

very heart and being

not trying to be perfect or having it

all together, but sitting God right in

the center to bring grace and holiness

to every life situation.

I've got a word here and some scriptures

for mothers and fathers. Hand up if

you're a mother or a father here. Look

at all those hands. That's wonderful.

This is a word from you, not from me.

I'm just a ambassador for the word. It's

from God. It's from his word. This is

also for single parents, too. If you're

a single parent, this is very much for

you as well. So, these following verses

provide great guidance and instruction.

The first one is Ephesians 6:4.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children to

anger by the way you treat them. Rather,

bring them up with the discipline

instruction that comes from the Lord.

So this verse emphasizes two key

responsibilities for parents and

particularly for fathers.

The first part of the verse, do not

provoke your children to anger.

This warns against harshness,

overcriticism,

perhaps favoritism or inconsistent rules

that can lead to frustration and

discouragement for everyone in the

family. Provoking children can alienate

them. It can push them away. It can make

guidance ineffective and potentially

leading them towards being in the wrong

place for a season or two.

The second part of the verse is equally

important. Rather bring them up with the

discipline and instruction that comes

from the Lord.

You see, discipline instruction, it's

not a punishment or a correction that

stands alone, but a structured and

compassionate approach that teaches

responsibility, self-control, and

respect.

Loving instruction involves imparting

values, faith, and principles aligned

with God's teachings, helping children

develop spiritually, psychologically,

morally, mentally, and emotionally.

For parents, remember this is very

important. But the language that you

use, even for your children when they're

old, uh, 30, 35, 40,

the language that you use is very

important.

The words that you speak, the phrases

that you put together, and importantly,

how you use it with love, comparison,

connectivity. Look them in the face when

you speak with love. Have that

connection.

The goal of godly parenting is never

control,

>> but loving a family as Christ loves and

adores the church. Always paint pointing

them to one person. That's Jesus. That's

your role. Point them to Jesus lovingly.

There's a great verse in Proverbs 226.

Direct your children onto the right path

and when they are older they will not

leave it. Let's unpack this verse. It's

very powerful. This verse emphasizes the

important of intentionally guiding and

teaching children early in life so that

the values and principles instilled in

them instilled in them endure right into

adulthood.

It's a deliberate process of

instruction,

modeling, correction rather than passive

or occasional guidance.

It's a deliberate process. It involves

shaping a child's character,

moral understanding, spiritual

foundation from a young age, ensuring

that the lessons take deep root in their

lives.

There may be some parents here who may

be in a good season in your

relationships with your children. Thank

the Lord for your hand in that blessing.

Enjoy that season.

There may be some that you're in a

different season where the relationships

may be a bit strained.

Perhaps it feels the connection you have

is not as healthy as it could be. I want

to encourage you.

Be patient,

wise, and trust in the Lord. Don't look

to the left. Don't look to the right.

Look to the Lord.

You see, God's word is unswerving and

fully dependable.

Place your faith in the latter part of

this verse, and when they are older,

they will not leave it. That's not a

maybe. It's not a if, it's a but. It's

God's promise. when they are older, they

will not leave it as long as you sow.

The scripture is a promise given us by

the heavenly father. God's word is

unchangeable. You see, he's very

character is is that he's trustworthy.

What a trait, unswerving, full

trustworthiness.

There are so many resources available

for parents in raising children. Even as

you're an older parent like Robin and I,

we still need that counsel. including

your relationships with them through

your life journey.

Kurong is a great place to start to help

you. Perhaps if you're in midlife as

parents, seek out some spiritual

mentors, people who are strong in the

faith, have been through the experience

of working through family based on God's

instructions, seek them out for a

season. Let them speak into your lives.

Now, I want to talk to children and

teenagers. Got all you guys. All you

guys. I've got you. Hey, people at the

back waving. Hello.

Um, Sanji, if you're not a teenager, I

just wanted to let you know that you've

missed by one year.

We've all been children, and perhaps we

still are in some respects. But here's

some scriptures for you.

Colossians 3:20 says, "Children, obey

Colossians 3:20

your parents in everything, for this

pleases the Lord."

This verse applies to all of us.

The verse encourage encourages obedience

to parents, which is a fundamental

aspect of family life

and Christian living. It emphasizes that

obedience to parents is pleasing to the

Lord and essential for the well-being of

the family.

Do you want to please the Lord? Often

we're busy pleasing ourselves.

We put ourselves first and perhaps some

little things, perhaps in the big

things. Perhaps we're serving somebody

else, which can be a good thing, but

it's all about pleasing Jesus first.

that pleases him.

The verse is a reminder of the

importance of honoring and obeying

parents as part of the broader Christian

responsibility to serve Christ and to

live in accordance with his teachings.

And the scripture emphasizes that

children or older adults.

Obedience to your parents is not only a

family duty, but it's also an act that

honors and pleases God.

Listen to the latter part of this verse.

for it pleases the Lord.

There's dual impact here of godly

obedience

and alignment of blessing from the Lord.

A very important biblical instruction

that we get right from the Old Testament

right through to the New Testament.

God's obedience and God's blessing, the

two of these actions work hand in hand

together.

Another scripture that's very insightful

is Ephesians 6:es 2 and 3.

If you honor your mother and father,

things will go well for you and you'll

have a long life on earth.

Let's unpack this verse. This verse

emphasizes respect and obedience to

parents as your moral duty as it also

links to a promise of well-being and

longevity.

Like the previous verse, it inclusive

for all of us from when you're a young

child, a young adult to when you're an

older person and you've still got

parents.

Honor your elderly parents in their

senior years and care and respect them

as they deserve.

Yet, very important point for us all.

Hearing this may cause some of you to

feel an intense flood of emotion

as honoring an abusive parent sounds

ridiculous.

Impossible actually.

How does one do this? Honoring God and

honoring parents.

Honoring is not about endorsing their

mistakes

nor removing necessary boundaries that

are needed.

It's choosing to surrender bitterness,

refusing to slander them or hold on to

their past failures over their heads.

You can honor the position God gave them

while still walking in the wisdom,

health, and protective boundaries of God

requires of you today.

As parents, we do the best we can, don't

we? We try hard. It may be what we

learned from our own parents. You bring

in together as a husband and wife what

you think may be the best portion for

how we bring up our children.

If there is abuse inside your family,

this is not God's design for you.

>> Friends, seek help.

Seek it immediately.

Reach out to our senior pastors

and or Kathleen who heads up pastoral

care.

They will guide you to get the help that

you need.

>> Run to it. We're a church. We love you.

We're a family. Reach out. Walk with

courage. Walk in trust. We're there to

help you to walk that path.

Now, a word for parents and

grandparents. So, who are the

grandparents again?

G. We're a good-looking bunch, aren't

we?

>> Still throwing the punches, mate. That's

good. We're soaring like eagles.

>> Soaring like eagles. We're mature,

warriors in the faith. We've been

through life. We've looked to Jesus for

every turn. We've praised him for the

victories. We've got our hands and knees

to pray for his deliverance in the

valleys. We saw like eagles. Jesus is

right in our lives as we look down to

our family and the blessing of those

generations. Go grandparents.

Let's have a look at this verse.

Proverbs 17:6. Grandchildren are the

Proverbs 17:6

crowning glory of the aged. Parents are

the pride of their children.

This verse shows how mutual honor,

pride, and joy that flows between the

generations.

It illustrates how each generation

contributes to the legacy and the joy of

the next generation.

The first part of this verse,

grandchildren are the crown glory of the

aged. I've talked before, aged, whilst

that's term. We're still soaring like

eagles.

The imagery of a crown symbolizes honor,

dignity, and reward. This is the

spiritual crown. Honor, dignity, and

reward. Portraying grandchildren as a

visible blessing and source of

fulfillment for us grandparents. True.

Getting nods from all the grandparents.

That's beautiful. The second part of

this verse is for parents.

Parents are the pride of their children.

And it states that children bring glory

to their parents also.

Similarly, the glory of children

reflects the pride, identity and

admiration that children derive from

their parents

and grandparents guidance and godly

example.

And I want to finish on a scripture

which speaks of forgiveness. Perhaps the

worship team can come up now. Look at

that. Perfect timing. spiritual

discernment right there.

I want to finish on this scripture which

speaks of forgiveness. Somebody pointed

that out as a feature of family. Very,

very important attribute.

The family we were born into or perhaps

it's that adopted family that we've got.

It's all relative for us as to who is in

that family in our lives. Let's look at

this scripture. It's terrific.

Colossians 3

and 14.

Make allowance for each other's faults

and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you

must forgive others.

Above all, clothe yourselves in love,

which brings us all together in perfect

harmony.

The Apostle Paul, the writer of this

scripture, emphasizes in this scripture

that forgiveness is essential for

maintaining healthy relationships.

Believers are called to forgive others

just as Christ forgave them.

Highlighting that forgiveness is not

optional, but it's a reflection of God's

grace.

Let go of the grudges

and personal grievances that may exist

in your family.

Remembering that God's forgiveness

towards us sets the standard for how we

should treat others.

Don't b with the forgiveness. Don't

procrastinate on it.

God loves obedience.

He loves immediate obedience in

particular.

So if you need to have some forgiveness

in your family, do it.

Just do it and allow God's blessing to

flow over that.

And finally, I want to read a scripture

for all of us. Ephesians 4:3.

Ephesians 4:3

Make every effort to keep yourselves

united in the spirit, binding yourselves

together with peace. What a great verse

to finish on for family.

It's part of Paul's teaching on the call

for believers and in family to live in

humility,

gentleness, patience, and love. And the

verse emphasizes three things. First,

unity.

Christians are urged to preserve

spiritual unity.

Spiritual heads, men, do your bit. Wives

who are full of wisdom. That Proverbs

wife do your bit. Work together.

Grandparents work together.

If you're a single parent, [music] turn

to Jesus. He loves you so much to work

through all of it. If you're a young

adult or a child, look to Jesus to give

you all those attributes that you need

to contribute to family as he's created

it to be. The second is peace. Peace

acts as the bond that holds this unity

together. It's a godly peace. It's not a

human peace. It transcends all

understanding.

And thirdly, effort.

Maintaining unity requires intentional

action and diligence. That's [music] our

your responsibility.

We've got to put effort into putting in

place the attributes that God has given

us to have a healthy family.

I've touched only on a few areas of

God's wonderful design for family this

morning. A time we've had. We could talk

a lot more, couldn't we? There are so

many parts of family.

Let me encourage you to look to his

teaching in God's word. Be hungry for

the word. Read it every day. It's not a

religion. It's a relationship. Just like

we breathe, we need to breathe in the

word of God. Let it breathe into your

very souls. Read it every day.

Let me encourage all all of us not to

talk the walk, but to walk the talk.

I just want to pray for all of us

because we're all part of family. Could

we all just stand? Can we do that

together?

There will maybe be some people part of

family now that have got special need.

It might be a little need, might be a

medium need, it might be a crisis,

doesn't matter. But just raise your hand

if you're in a position that you've got

some need in your family.

Yep. Be honest with these areas. God

loves the honest heart. I'm putting my

hand up at the moment for my family.

So, let's just pray together.

Eyes closed, heads bowed.

We come before you, Lord, with grateful

hearts,

thanking you for the gift of family,

Lord. Bite us together with chords of

love that cannot be broken.

Help us to listen with compassion, speak

with kindness, and forgive with grace.

Remove any division, misunderstanding,

or hurt that may linger among us, and

replace it with peace, patience, and

mutual respect.

May our home be a place where your

presence dwells. It flourishes.

The Holy Spirit, the fruits of the Holy

Spirit, where joy is shared, where we

support one another through every season

of life.

Guide us in to walk in harmony, united

in purpose, and anchored in your truth.

Let your love be the foundation of our

relationship so together we may reflect

your light to the world. And for those

who have raised their hands, and I

believe there are some people who

didn't raise their hand, but their

hearts are just pumping a little bit

harder.

Thank you, Lord, that we can come to you

in all truth, in all need, and that you

respond to our word. May your Holy

Spirit move in the situations where

people have lift their hands

that hearts may be softened, the right

circumstances would prevail. We come

against you Satan in the name of Jesus

and we cast you out of the situation in

families. You have no place. The victory

has already been won by you Jesus Holy

Spirit the great counselor move into the

situations where people have raised

their hands and for all of us

that your goodness and your creation and

purpose for family may show itself for

the rest of the days of our life. We

pray it in Jesus name. Amen. we say and

can you keep just standing I just think

I've been talking about family

some aspects of it as I said I could be

here a while talking about lots of

aspects

but at the end of the day

Jesus wants us to be part of his family

that's a capital H I s

there's a very powerful word in the

Bible James 4:8 where it says says,

James 4:8

"Draw near to me and I will draw near

[music] to you." It's a promise. And

when he draws near to us, it's a very,

very close intimate relationship that he

wants with us.

He wants to walk with us. He wants to be

part of your every breath, every minute,

every hour, every day, every week, every

decade in everything that you do. His

love is unconditional. It's hard to get

your head around it, but [music] that's

how much he loves us. And he wants to

have that relationship. And for those

who have that relationship, there is an

amazing gift that he provides. We don't

talk about this as much as perhaps we

should in church. And it's called

eternal life.

We live for him

>> forever

in the great house that he's prepared

for us. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and

the whole hosts of heaven.

What a great great promise that is.

There may be people who here who haven't

got that relationship with Jesus

would would like to just put their hand

up today. That's all I'm going to ask

you to do. And I'm just going to pray

over you

and people will follow you up and do the

journey with you. We're part of your

spiritual family when you raise your

hand. It may be that you've slipped a

little bit in life. That's okay. things

happen. And if you've slipped, Jesus

wants to just reach out to you with his

beautiful, loving hand and pick you up.

So, if you want that relationship with

Jesus, perhaps you've slipped a little

bit. I'm just going to count to three

and all you need to do is just raise

your hand and put it back down and I'll

say a prayer and we'll all pray together

over it.

So, one, if you love Jesus, two, there's

something stirring in your spirit

[music] and your heart's thumping a

little bit heavier than it normal does.

And number three, you just raise your

hand to signify that you want that

relationship with him. So, number three,

just raise your hand if you want that

relationship with him or something

restored.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman.

He reaches very gently out to us.

He doesn't push, doesn't force. He just

calls us into relationship with him.

So, let's just pray together, shall we?

Lord Jesus, we thank you that

for those of us who

want to have that relationship with you,

you may not have raised your hand. In

your heart you have acknowledged Jesus.

We pray for you that

and just repeat after me. Thank you

father that you walk with me. Thank you

that you love me with all your heart

lord. Thank you that you forgive our

sin. You restore us to be walking with

you all the days of our life. And we

pray it in Jesus mighty name. And we all

said

>> amen.

>> Amen. Well, may God just bless your

families, [applause]

walk the talk in Jesus mighty name.