Radiant Church Exeter | 10-11-2026 | Sunday Worship Service LIVE

with the step into your holy of holies

today. I don't want to just run through

the motions

this morning. God,

give us all courage to step close to

you. Jesus,

we drop all the facades this morning and

we come as we are, Lord, this morning

because that's how you take us today.

as we are.

And your goodness is gonna get us over

the finish line today, God. Not our

goodness today.

Because I love you, Lord.

Oh, your mercy never fails me.

And all my days

I've been held in your hands. [singing]

From the moment that I wake up

until I lay my head,

I will sing

of the goodness

of God.

All my life,

all my life, you have been faithful.

All my life you [singing] have been so

so good

with every breath that I am [singing]

able

and I will sing

of the goodness

of God. I love your voice. I love your

voice.

You have led [singing]

me through the fire.

In the darkest night,

you are close [singing] like no other.

I've known you as a father.

I've known you as a friend

and I [singing] have lived in the

goodness

of God. All my life,

all my life, you have been faithful.

Oh my life, you have been [singing] so

so good

with every breath that I am able.

[music and singing]

And I will sing

of the goodness of God. Oh my life

you've been faithful. Sing it. All my

life you have been faithful.

All my life you have been so [singing]

so good.

with every breath that I am able [music]

and I will sing

of the goodness

of God.

Listen, our worship is about him. It's

not about us.

And God's praise isn't isn't conditional

on where we're at this morning. His

praise is a mandate. It happens one way

or the other. Let's make his praise high

this morning. He's worthy of praise

today. This is about you, God, and what

you've been doing in our lives. So, we

sing to you, God. Your goodness,

your goodness is running after. It's

running after me.

Your goodness is running after. It's

running after me. With my life laid

down, I surrender now. I give you

everything.

>> Your goodness is running after. It's

running after me.

>> Your goodness.

Sing it out. Your goodness is running

after. It's running after me. down.

Your [music] goodness is running after.

It's running after me. With my [singing]

life laid [music] down, I surrender now.

I give you everything. [music]

Your goodness is [singing] running

after. It's running after me. [music]

One more time. Your goodness.

Sing it. Your goodness is running after.

It's running after me. We believe your

goodness is running after. It's running

after me. With my life laid down, I

surrender now. I give you everything.

Yeah. Your goodness [music] is running

after. [singing]

It's running after me.

Oh my life you've been faithful. Sing

it. Oh my life you have been faithful.

[music]

Yeah. Oh my life you have been so so

good.

with every breath that I am able.

[music and singing]

And I will sing

of the goodness [singing]

of God.

Yes, I will sing of the goodness

[singing]

of God.

Yes, I will sing of the goodness

of God.

And we believe that when we gather and

we press in and we press into God,

[music] we move into him, he moves

closer. And uh oftentimes a passage will

be stirred [music] up. And so Roger uh

would like to share a passage with us

this morning.

This uh song [music] kind of prompted

this.

It's in Philippians 3

and Paul is talking to the Philippians

church and he says in verse 7,

"But whatever was to my profit,

I now consider [music] loss for the sake

of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a

loss compared to the surpassing

greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my

Lord. For whose sake I have lost all

things I consider them rubbish, that I

may gain Christ and be found in him. not

having a righteousness of my own that

comes from the law, but that which is

through faith in Christ, the

righteousness that comes from God and is

by faith. I want to know Christ and the

power of his resurrection and the

fellowship of sharing [music] in his

sufferings,

becoming like him in his death. And so

[music] somehow to attain to the

resurrection from the dead,

Paul was

an apostle

and he knew Jesus.

And I just [music] encourage us to be

drawn into Christ this morning.

If you're here,

thank you for [music] coming to share

with all the fellowship of the

believers.

His presence is here this [music]

morning. Enjoy his presence.

Open your hearts to him [music]

because it's about Jesus that draws us

in.

Cuz

there was no way [music]

until you made one.

Grace upon grace. [singing]

Hallelu.

Even though I don't deserve it, you did

it.

And even though [music and singing] I

couldn't earn it, you give it.

Sing who am I [singing] that you keep me

[music] on your mind. God, I'm just

grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you.

And all my life you've been right here

by my side. God, I'm just grateful for

you. God, I'm just grateful for

[singing and music] you. Holy and holy,

holy.

There's only one.

I give you [singing] glory

for all that you've done.

Even though I don't deserve it, you did

it.

And even though I couldn't earn it, you

give it.

Who am I? Who am I [singing and music]

that you keep me? Oh, you're my God, I'm

just [music] grateful for you. God, I'm

just grateful for you all my life. Sing

all my life. You've been right here by

my side. God, I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for who am I?

Singing out who

am I that you keep me on your mind. God,

I'm just grateful [music]

for you. God, I'm just grateful for you.

[singing]

All my life, all my life, you've been

right here by my side. God, I'm just

grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful

for you.

This is all about you, God.

This is all [music] about you, God. This

is your story, God.

Oo,

this is your story in my life. Your

faithfulness day after day. [music] God

sing I

I'm lifting both of my hands

cuz you gave me chance after chance

after chance. [music and singing] And I

I'm living all that I am cuz you gave me

chance [music] after [singing] chance

after chance. Singer,

[screaming]

I'm lifting both of my hands cuz you

gave me chance after chance after

chance.

And

[screaming]

I'm giving all that I am cuz you gave me

[music] chance after chance after

chance. Who am I? Who am [singing]

I that you keep me on your mind? God,

I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just

grateful for you all my life. All my

life you've been right here by my side.

God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm

just grateful for who am I singing who?

Come on, church.

Lift him up. God, I'm just

God. I'm just [music]

>> all my life. Sing it out.

>> Who am I that you keep me on your mind?

God, I'm just [music] grateful for you.

>> God, I'm just grateful for [singing]

you.

>> And all my life, you've been right here

by my side. [music and singing] God, I'm

just grateful for you.

>> God, I'm just grateful for you.

Oh,

let's practice just a moment of

lingering.

[singing] He is so good.

Stretch our gaze out longer upon you

[music] this morning, God.

He's been writing a story in your life.

Connect with it this morning that God

has been faithful all of your days.

And we were praying in pre-ervice.

He was even faithful.

When we were his enemy,

he was loving us.

And right now in these days, God, when I

am faithless, you are faithful, God,

you're writing a story in in our lives,

Jesus.

And it's built not on us, not on our

works, God, but on the finished work of

Jesus Christ.

So, we rest,

we settle in

to your faithfulness, God, today.

We build our lives

upon the unmoving, unshaking rock of

Jesus Christ today.

You're the cornerstone, Jesus.

Build your church today [music] in this

place.

In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Tim

Well, we're about to say our

our Thanksgiving liturgy that we've been

doing for the last month, and it's been

so rich to kind of think about our

stewardship in in many dimensions.

[music] But this morning, the sense that

I have is just um his lavish love for

us. We have been given so much. The

sense of thankfulness that is in this

room, it's palpable. Like his presence

is the best thing in the universe.

It is what brings us life when we're

dead. It's what le gives us freedom and

healing when we're stuck.

And just to be in his presence is what

we're designed for, right?

So we prayed this morning before um

before service that every one of us that

the that the we would we'd lean into

reality. We would the scales on our eyes

would rem be removed so that we would

not think that God is far from us.

That we would come to our senses like

the prodigal son and not think that the

father is angry with us but he's he's

searching for us whether we know him or

not. He's longing for us to come to him

and receive our identity and everything

that we need to live as a son and a

daughter of his. So when we say this

liturgy, think of your whole life and

your stewardship

and how we give back to him and our

gifts and our talents and our resources

and our time. It's it's nothing when

we're aware of what we have been given

and what we are being given on a daily

basis.

So, will you read this with me?

>> In truth, I have nothing but you, O

Christ,

nothing that I might call my own

[snorts]

teaches.

All things I give not what is mine but

confess Lord that all I have is yours

with every

professing this timeless truth. Lord let

me love well in my giving even as you

father have loved me so well by giving

me all things in Christ.

that we plant these mortal seeds in

expectation of immortal harvest.

Bless now, oh Lord, this gift and its

benefits that I might be received as

evidence of your mercy and multip

Ushers,

if you could go ahead and pass the

baskets.

Hey, good morning church. My name is

Mary Menddees. I get to do the

announcements today. If you notice,

there is a QR code. If you go back,

there's a QR code. This is for the

church center app. And this is a great

way for you to know what's going on in

our church. Um, it's also the way that

we check in our kids. So, if you're new

here, feel like there's some new faces.

Um, you will need to download this app

and register your children and then

they'll get a sticker printed off and

that will be the way that you pick up

your kids too. Okay? So, it's for

security and it's also for you to

keeping um up to date with what's going

on in our church. So, scan the QR code,

download the app, and we'll get you

going. All right, two quick

announcements. Uh, tonight there's youth

group. So, if you are a high schooler,

you have had quite a busy weekend in

exit. It has been homecoming homecoming

dance and tonight we're just throwing in

youth group. So,

tonight youth group at the Pine Street

Building, okay? From 6:00 to 7:30. Come

invite your friends, you guys. This is a

great opportunity for people who don't

know Jesus to come and experience people

who love Jesus and have fun. So, please

come 6:00 to 7:30 at the Pine Street

Building. It will be a great time.

There'll be food and fun. So, come. And

then we have an alpha retreat for our

junior highs. So, they've been going

through an alpha course. This is sixth,

seventh, and eighth graders. They've

been going through an alpha course and

learning more about God and about Jesus

and about who he is in their lives. And

there will be a retreat to end this

course on Saturday, October 24th. It

will be at the Britain's house which

again you can find the location on the

church center app and it's from 8 to 4.

So please register your junior higher

for this event. It will be really really

impactful. Um they'll have awesome

opportunity to respond to what God's

doing in their hearts and to have fun

and to be fed. So register them 8 to 4

at the Britain's October 24th.

And with that, it is time to excuse the

kids, but listen, if you are in a

preschool, tots, you're going to meet

Miss Misty back at the back door over

here. So, if you have a tot preschooler,

you'll meet and you they're going

outside. Okay. If you are in

kindergarten through junior high, you're

going to go to the hub, which is the

room behind the donuts. Okay. So

you guys, everyone else who's not a

child, meet and greet and we'll get

started in a little bit.

All right. All right. Grab a seat.

My name is Travis Aland and I am Mary

Mendes's older brother. And

if you're

if you're uh wondering why they gave

this stranger a microphone, um it's

because I pastor Radiant Vicelia. And so

I get the joy of being uh with you uh

this morning. And it's really powerful

for me to

uh be led this morning in pondering

God's faithfulness over my life. And I

hope you guys took the opportunity that

Sean gave us to think about how faithful

God's been through the years. But my

first job in ministry was in this

sanctuary uh working for the exit church

of God. And I got uh hired to lead

worship. I had led worship only once uh

before.

And I told them that when they offered

me a job, I was like, I think you got

the wrong guy. I've only done this once.

Um, and so I can remember being a

19-year-old and leading uh right here

with um Crystal Guzman on my right and

Doobie uh on my left. And I I was tasked

with leading the Church of God's Youth

uh every Sunday morning at what they

called the Rock, I think is what it was

called. So pretty powerful for me to be

in this sanctuary pondering God's

faithfulness and all the chances

that I've received over the years. So I

planted Radiant Church 22 years ago

and I did that with a a group of friends

and and and my wife Tiffany who today's

our 24th wedding anniversary. So, yeah.

[applause]

And I I was a little worried that I was

going to remember how many years I've

been pastoring and not remember how many

years we've been married. It's getting

in the It's getting up there to where

I'm starting to lose track. You know,

I'm like 20 four

24. So when we planted the church, uh we

gathered an informal leadership team.

The church met in my home for the first

year. Uh my sister Mary would have been

there. Sean and uh Lindsay would have

been there uh as well.

And um as the church began to grow, I

started asking a question. And the

question was this. How should this

church be led? who makes decisions

around here because I think we were

changing and change requires leadership.

And the best way I can say it is that

when we first planted the church, it was

like we had an infant and it needed very

little. It needed care, of course. It

needed you to goooo and gaga over it and

there were some diapers.

But about three years into leading the

church, I started to feel like the

church was acting like a toddler. And I

was kind of thinking like, who's gonna

tell this kid he can't jump on the

couch? Who decides the direction of this

church? Again, it was very uh loose and

uh informal kind of leadership

structure.

And so I started asking the question as

at at 27 years old, how should a church

be led? And if you know anything about

church, you know that different churches

are led in different ways. So I started

studying the scriptures and it led to

about a year of research and a year of

conversation with other pastors. Um, but

I came to the conclusion and I'm even

more convinced after 22 years of leading

a church that the local church should be

le led by a team of elders. That that is

the best, most beautiful, most biblical

way to lead a local church. Now, I get

that that word elder is probably not one

that you use very often. Pastor is one

that we use often. What's interesting

about the English word pastor is that

only it only appears once in the New

Testament.

The word elder appears almost 70 times.

And so I want to describe what we

believe to be uh an elder. And actually

on the back of the printouts you're

receiving, there's

a bit of a position paper that we've

written on what an elder is.

But I get it. You don't use that word

often. And then when you do use it, it's

odd. I always find it strange that some

20-year-old Mormon kid wants me to call

him elder in his white short sleeve

shirt. I'm like, I'm not sure I'm going

to do that. Like, this feels weird. I

can see your zits. And

so,

what is an elder?

The terms elders and overseers are

interchangeable

and they designate the primary spiritual

leaders of the church. The term elder

emphasizes maturity and overseer

emphasizes the leadership responsibility

and ideally the local church has a

plurality of elders.

Elders are equal in authority but not

equal in influence or gifting. Their

authority is to be expressed in loving

leadership and not lording over the

flock.

Elders are pastors who are responsible

for the whole flock, but they're not the

only ones who pastor because many in the

church possess a pastoral gift.

Elders have final responsibility before

God for prayer ministry, ministry of the

word, including teaching and guarding

the church's doctrine, the

administration of the church, and

shephering the flock. Elders must be

blameless in character, able to teach

scripture and answer those who

contradict it. An elder must be the

husband of one wife. If we understand

this that this qualification does not

exclude an unmarried person, someone

remarried after the death of a spouse,

nor necessarily one who has divorced and

remarried. In every instance, the ph the

phrase describes a reputation as a

faithful husband or a one wife kind of

man. Elders are public leaders and so

valid accusation of blame should only be

accepted by two or three witnesses and

result in a public rebuke like I'll I

would come back on that day.

In scripture elders were selected by the

original church planter or by other

elders with recognition from the

congregation for its leaders. Scripture

does not describe how elders should

organize themselves. So, this is

determined by church size, cultural

context, and specific needs of the body.

Again, all of that's written on the

paperwork you guys just received.

The big question around eldership is not

necessarily what is an elder because

that can kind of change from

congregation to congregation, but the

big question is who? Um,

many of you know this because you know

this at work is that you you can have a

bad system, but if you have good people

in a bad system, it's going to work. And

you can have a good system, but if you

have bad people in a good system, it's

not going to work. Who is a really

important question.

First Timothy 3 says this about who

should be an elder. Here's a trustworthy

saying. Whoever aspires to be an

overseer desires a noble task. Now the

overseer is to be above reproach,

faithful to his wife, temperate,

self-controlled, respectable,

hospitable, able to teach, not given to

drunkenness, not violent, but gentle,

not quarrelome, and not a lover of

money. He must manage his own family

well, and see that his children obey

him. and he must do so in a manner

worthy of full respect.

If anyone doesn't know how to manage his

own family, how can he take care of

God's church?

He must not be a recent convert or he

may become conceited and fall under the

same judgment as the devil. He must also

have a good reputation with outsiders so

that he will not fall into disgrace and

into the devil's trap. I think you've

probably noticed this as I read it, but

character is the overwhelming emphasis

in this passage.

And I also want you to notice a couple

other things. First, this list is not

exhaustive, meaning this is not

everything that a leader should be.

There are other passages that speak to

other traits that leaders need to

possess. So, this isn't meant to be a

closed book passage. We're supposed to

look other places in scripture for other

traits that a leader should possess. The

second thing is that these things are

traits, not legalistic laws.

So, this is this is this can be tough,

but it's like an elder needs to be able

to teach. It doesn't even say good at

teaching, just able. And so, you're

like, "Was that able?"

Yeah, maybe.

eager to serve. Well, how do you measure

that?

How eager? Because on some days I'm more

eager than others.

What about manage his family? Well, I

know some days I'm like, I'm managing my

family well. There's about three of

those a year, you know. So, according to

who?

And how do we measure that? And this is

where I've just found team to be so

helpful because sometimes like you I can

be dealing with a ton of accusation.

Like I can be living under condemnation

from the enemy. And it really helps me

to turn to my brothers and say this is

my life. Do you see anything going on

that would disqualify me from leading in

the church? Because I can tell you this,

the enem is in my ear trying to

disqualify me day and night. So it can

be hard to sort through what's you being

hard on you. what's the enemy accusing

you and what's real and needs to be

dealt with. That's some of the beauty of

being on team.

Thirdly, our pursuit of these qualif

qualifications is not about being a

leader. It's about being more like

Jesus.

>> So, we pursue this stuff not to be an

elder. We pursue this stuff to be

sanctified.

And then we just want people who are

pursuing Jesus to be leading in the

church. This is really important because

if you pursue this like a checkbox and

you just want to become sanctified in

order to become a leader when you're not

a leader, you let go of some of these

decisions you've made to follow hard

after Christ.

The overwhelming emphasis in this text

doesn't have a lot about leading the

church. Actually, 1 Timothy 3 has a lot

about leaders leading themselves.

like and if you lead you, then you'll be

able to lead people in the church.

Paul exhorts the Ephesians elders and he

says, "Keep watch over yourselves

and then all the flock." But it's

possible to keep watch over the flock

and lose sight of ourselves. And so he

says, "I want you to watch your

doctrine. I want you to watch your life,

not just other people's doctrine and

other people's lives."

I love this quote from DL Moody that

says, "I've had more trouble with DL

Moody than any other man alive."

[laughter]

So good.

I've had I

I'm the hardest person in my life to

deal with. I'm the hardest person in my

life to lead.

Jack Parr says, "Looking back, my life

seems to be one long obstacle course

with me as the chief obstacle.

So the first responsibility of a leader

is that they lead themselves that they

oversee and shepherd themselves and then

this qualifies them to lead others. But

here's the list. There are a number of

things with relation to self.

That a person be sober minded. That

would be mentally and emotionally stable

self-controlled that they have a

disciplined life. Not a drunkard without

addictions and not a lover of money.

Financially content and upright. Content

being probably the more difficult one.

Right. Relation to family. Husband of

one wife. A onewoman man. Submissive

children like a successful father and

manages family well. Provides for, leads

and organizes family and relation to

others. Respectable like worth following

and imitating. Hospitable, welcoming

strangers. Hospitable uh has to do with

welcoming others, not welcoming

brothers.

So, this is an open door to the

outsider, not just hosting church

potlucks for the insider.

Not violent

like eventempered,

gentle, that'd be kind and gracious and

loving. Not quarrelome and well thought

of by outsiders. that would be respected

by exit

and specifically non-Christians in exit.

What I think is crazy powerful about

this list is what's not said. So that's

quite a list.

What's really wild to me is what's not

on this list because there's a number of

things that we equate with spiritual

maturity that are not on this list. Like

gifting.

Gifting is not on this list. And we

often think if someone's really gifted,

they must be really spiritually mature.

And then we're always really

disappointed when we find out that's not

true. Or what about personality? There's

nothing like on here that says the

Lord's servant must be an extrovert.

And you know, if you're here and an

introvert that you feel like

misunderstood often. And there's nothing

that says like, you know, the pastor

must be the life of the party. That's

not in here. How about this? This is

wild. There's no no mention of

theological training.

And when I meet someone with letters

behind their name, I go, "Wow, they must

be really spiritually immature." Maybe,

maybe not. Or how about this one?

There's no reference to power. When I

see power, when I see someone cast out

demons, when I see someone heal the

sick, when I see someone operate in

power, I think, they must be spiritually

mature. There's no mention of power in

this passage. How about this one? We

love this one. Zeal, passion. People

follow passion. They really do. But

there's no mention of zeal or passion in

here. And when I see someone who's super

zealous, I'm like, dude, they're

probably super spiritual. They must be

really mature. Not necessarily. Now, by

the way, I'm for all these things. Sign

me up for the power. Sign me up for the

zeal. Sign me up for the theological

training. Sign me up for gifting. It's

super helpful to do stuff that you're

gifted in. This is not uh these these

things can go together. We can have

character and have these other things.

But I just find this list to be

altogether shocking because it doesn't

possess many of the things that we're

looking for.

So what do the elders do in our context?

Well, they pray.

We give ourselves to prayer. It's the

pattern in all the churches that we

gather together on Wednesday mornings

and we pray. We pray over the church

because ultimately it's not our church.

And so we ask God what he's doing and

ask God how we could serve what he's

doing. The other thing the elders do is

embody the vision and values. So your

church is in trouble if the vision and

values are on the wall but they're not

in the people.

>> That's a problem. So it doesn't matter

what you put on the brochure. Um if the

people of the church and the leaders

specifically don't embody and live that

vision, it's not going to affect exit. I

don't care how much you paid to print

it.

The third thing they do is they guard,

they guide and they govern uh the

church. And that typically happens uh on

a once a month longer Sunday gathering

for most of the churches.

How should elders be selected?

Well, there's about four parties

involved with elder selection in the

scriptures.

The first is God.

God picks elders.

Paul reminds the church in my letters

that it was the Holy Spirit that made

them overseers

and all pastors teachers have been given

by Christ himself.

The other party involved in installing

elders is apostles. On their first

apostolic trip, the apostles Paul and

Barnabas appointed elders in every

church. The Jerusalem apostles did the

same in their region of churches. And

then Paul commisss Titus with that same

authority and says, 'When you go to

churches, install elders. That'll be

really helpful for them.

And then the other piece is other

elders. Timothy probably became an elder

when the company of elders laid hands on

him in 1 Timothy 4. And common sense

would tell us that fellow elders would

have a part in appointing elders because

a huge piece of being on a team is

chemistry on that team. So here's the

five C's that we're normally looking for

when we look for elders. We're looking

for someone who has a sense of call

like this isn't something they've

decided they want to do, but this is

something that God's called them to and

they know that. Then we're looking for

character

that they have the character traits

listed. Then we're looking for a sense

of chemistry like they connect well with

others. Then we're also looking to build

a sense of competency in them. And then

lastly is capacity which might be the

biggest issue is you got to have time.

And time is

hard to come by. Can I get an amen?

>> Amen.

So, we've got an elder track that we do

with all the churches. So, people from

Vicelia, Talleria, and Exiter would hop

into that. And after 18 months of

kicking this around, we want to set Matt

Plumber, Noah Sar, and Ralph Garcia in

front of you guys and say we believe

that these men should lead the way. Now,

when I say that these men should lead,

that doesn't mean that they're the only

ones that lead. In fact, they're tasked

with making sure other people are

released in their giftings. So, please

don't see some kind of two-layered

system where there are elders and

parishioners. That's not it. We actually

feel like in empowering them, it's going

to release the rest of the body to be

equipped for uh ministry. And I just

want to say a few things uh about these

men to you. Is that all right?

This is this is just supposed to be a

glorified announcement that I'm making

right now. [snorts]

But uh my first meeting uh with Matt

Flmer was without Celeste. Actually, the

two of them came to one of our member

meetings. They wanted to know more about

Radiant uh Vicelia. And that was how

long ago, guys?

2017

>> 2017.

So, we get to the end of the member

meetings and Captain PhD comes to me and

he's got questions, but his questions

aren't like your questions. [laughter]

And he was like, "Well, I heard you say

this. What do you mean by that?" And I'm

like, "Geez." I was like, "This is going

to take a lunch." So Matt and I went to

lunch together because uh well

he knows more than I do about the Bible.

So he's peppering me with questions and

I'm asking him questions and at the end

of that uh he told me, "You know what I

want to do? Um, I want to make the

states money and I want to help kids

with their worldview at a junior

college. And then I want to use the

gifts that God's given me to serve a

local church, a church that can't afford

me. I want the state to pay me to serve

the church.

And I thought, I've got a place for this

guy. I like this guy.

And it's been an unbelievable privilege

to lead with you guys.

really [clears throat] thankful for your

obedience

and your heart for the church and your

heart for exit which won't die even when

you move from exit. So, that's saying

something.

I've loved recently, um, Matt's always

been a bit of a thinker. Um, but more

recently, I've watched him lead in the

things of the spirit. Instead of being

quiet and a thinker, he's getting loud

and demonstrative,

which is exciting to be around, to watch

him lead in those ways. He's often

praying louder uh than I do. Um, but I

commend them to you. um after years of

relationship. Um I think that you guys

are very privileged to have Matt

Celeste.

Uh Noah

is a shepherd in this city

and the most pastoral place I've ever

been is his office

and I commend he and Jacqueline to you.

They came and carved this out even when

it wasn't radiant exit and I wasn't

willing to go. So, the story is null was

like, "I want to plant a church. It's

2020." And I tell him, "You're on your

own, man. I I don't want to plant a

church right now. It seems like poor

timing." But Noah and Jacqueline came.

And every time I would come, Jacqueline

was doing something new or playing some

new instrument. And I would ask I would

ask null, "Who's leading worship?" And

he's like, "Jacine?" And I was like,

"Really? Like, she leads worship?" She's

like, "She does now." So

I just their their heart for exit and

their heart for people calls them past

their comfort zones and uh commend them

to you. And Ralph and Lucy, I you guys

[laughter]

I I just don't know if you know this,

but you just you hit the jackpot with

these two. Like it's shocking to me. I

I'll watch him do a funeral and I'll

think, you've only been at this for a

year. I'll watch him preach and think,

you've only been preaching for a year?

Like, what is going on here? Um, their

heart to pastor people and care and

their ability to communicate the gospel

clearly, their heart for the outsider

and the insider is just really clear.

And uh, this is a good day. I'm not I'm

not installing elders because this

toddler is in trouble. The future's

bright for this church. Um, and these

are solid men and solid families that

the Lord's called to this church. And I

can see evidence in that and who who's

being drawn uh to this place. These are

guys uh worth following.

They have a huge huge heart for the

church and they have a huge heart for

this uh city and they would be the first

to tell you that that list of character

qualifications is terrifying. I mean

it's very intimidating. Um but they want

to step to it because they believe the

bride of Christ deserves leaders who

look like this. So what I'm going to ask

you to do is you should have received

like playing cards. Um, you should have

gotten a Matt Plumber playing card, a

Noah Sar playing card, and a Ralph

Garcia playing card. If you didn't,

raise your hand and we'll put one in

your uh hand. Aunt Pat needs one.

What do we still have any left or do we

run out?

>> Okay. Yeah. Nice. Ry's got you. Keep

your hand up.

Ralph's going to come and he's going to

do part two of the

um glorified announcement Sunday.

[snorts]

Um but it gives you time to write down.

Now, one of the things you can check is

like, man, this is my first time here

and I have to vote. [laughter]

Like, what are you talking about? I

don't even know these guys. So, you can

just say, I trust you. Um I don't know

these people at all, but you started

crying. It sounds like you're real into

them. So, [laughter]

Good good luck. Um

yeah, but you you know um and I would

just encourage you if you have any

questions or concerns, you can write

those down and I'll be the one following

up with you. So if you're like, well, I

have questions about Ralph. Ralph's not

going to be the one to phone you. So

[laughter]

that might give you peace of mind.

You're like, geez, I don't know if I

want to say that. So anyway, the idea is

this. We're not voting here, but there

should be a corporate echo. Like, it

should be true. In fact, some I hope

that most of you are like, I thought

those guys already were elders. Why are

we even doing this? I hope that's the

response of this church. If this is the

first time you've ever thought about

these people in this way, we've done

something wrong. But if you're here

going like, "Duh, like that's it." um

that that's probably the way we want to

go because we want people to do

eldinging long before we call them an

elder if that makes sense. So you can

write down any questions and I'll I'll

collect those uh collect those today.

But again, this is just if we're going

to say that someone needs to be well

thought of by outsiders, then we need to

ask outsiders what they think. So this

is an opportunity for you guys to say it

sounds good to us and to the Holy

Spirit. So I'm going to pray and hand

the mic off to Ralph. Jesus, thank you

like you've really blessed this house.

I thank you for these these men and

these precious people,

this army that you're raising up in the

city of Exit.

Thank you for your faithfulness to us.

Thank you for your grace which makes us

who we are. It's not by our own effort

or because we tried harder than the

rest. Lord, your grace found us and we

are messed up.

And you've given us purpose.

You've cleansed us. You've given us

chance after chance after chance.

Thank you for your deep commitment,

Jesus, to your bride.

It's way beyond ours.

Thank you that you will have a radiant

church without spot, without blemish.

You will succeed in that. And we want to

be a part of helping you get this bride

ready. Amen. Amen.

>> Thank you, Travis. Thank you so much for

being here this morning. Um,

thank you for that intro to my sermon.

Uh, I'm just kidding. No, I'm not gonna

do that. Not gonna do that to you guys.

Um, yeah, I I I love that. Um, what

Travis talked about uh so it's such an

ancient thing, right? We're reading

about how this was done thousands of

years ago and we're seeing that still

play out in the church today. I think

just speaks to the triedand-rue nature

of God's church that he's still moving.

He's still speaking and we're still

believing him for how he's going to move

and lead ultimately his bride. And so,

actually, some of what Travis talked

about uh segus into where we're at in

First Corinthians. If you're just

joining us today, uh we are making our

way through the book of First

Corinthians together as a constellation

of churches. Uh as Travis mentioned,

he's over at Radiant Vicelia. There's a

radiant and we're here in Exit and we're

going together. We believe that the book

of first Corinthians is super relevant

to us today. We you've heard us joke

before it could be easily called first

Californians. There's so much uh

relevancy in this book and where we find

ourselves even in our own state. And so

we're just going to briefly I'm I'm more

of just going to tee up where we're

going in chapter 5. So we're just going

to touch it today. We'll tackle it next

week. Uh but I think that there are some

things that bleed over from what Travis

talked about. uh where Paul finds

himself in chapter 5. Chapters one

through four has kind of been the leadup

to where he's going and what he's going

to address. And part of what Paul is on

his way to Corenth to do is to lovingly

correct and and administrate some

discipline in the church. And so

chapters five and six have to do with

discipline. And the topic of discipline

can seem like a bummer of a topic for a

sermon. Um but I think you know it's

because of our nature and our

relationship with discipline. I think uh

we tend to shy away from discipline,

right? We want to say what we want to

say. We want to eat what we want to eat.

We we want to go where we want to go and

we kind there's something in us that

kind of just rebelss against discipline.

But just like everything else, the Bible

tends to flip everything on its head.

And the Bible actually makes this

connection between discipline and love.

It's actually directly connected. In

fact, Hebrews 12, uh, I'll put it up on

the screen for you. Actually makes this

connection for us directly. Um, it says

here, "And have you completely forgotten

this word of encouragement that

addresses you as a father addresses his

son?" It says, "My son, do not make

light of the Lord's discipline and do

not lose heart when he rebukes you

because the Lord disciplines the one he

loves and he chasens everyone he accepts

as his son or daughter." And so here we

see this connection between discipline

and love. And Paul has established quite

a few things, but there's one thing

that's super evident when you read the

book of First Corinthians or any of his

books is that he loves the church. He

loves the church. He's like, "Man, I've

poured myself out. Like my back has

scars. My wrists have had chains for the

gospel and ultimately my love for his

bride. There's nothing I wouldn't do."

And so if if I'm coming to to correct or

to discipline, it's in that same vein.

It's in that same vein of love. And and

we only have to think about our own

lives briefly to recognize the truth in

this. You imagine running our households

with absolutely no discipline. Like

anything went and maybe you had a friend

like that when you're growing up. I did.

It was like, man, this kid had no

bedtime, no curfew, no nothing, you

know? And it's like, man, I want to live

that kid's life, you know. But then you

see, man, the trouble he starts getting

into, you know, and just it it doesn't

end well. It just doesn't end well, you

know. When there's no bedtime,

everyone's sleep suffers. You know, when

there's no restrictions on what you say

in the house, feelings get hurt. If no

one's responsible for doing the dishes,

you're like eating your cereal with a

spatula. It's like, oh, you know, pass

that beaker of water, all the cups are

dirty. It's like there it there's a

result to that, right? And a lot of

times it's like the the the no

boundaries and the and the what we

describe as freedom uh and no

discipline. It ends up costing other

people and not necessarily us. Other

people suffer when there's no discipline

in the house. And so we we see this this

heart of of Paul saying, "Man, I love

you. There's some things that are going

really wrong, but I need to come and I

need to have a talk with you." you. And

he he ends chapter 4 with this line that

you've probably heard. I know I heard it

many times in my household. It was,

"Wait till your dad gets home.

[laughter]

Wait till your dad gets home." That's

when, you know, it's like, "All right,

cross the line." Mom's like, "I'm not

even going to deal with you. Just wait

till your dad gets home." And uh Paul

kind of uh ends chapter 4. He's like,

"I'm on my way to see you, God willing."

And uh I can either bring the rod of

discipline or I can come in a spirit of

love and kindness. And if you have the

Spanish translation Bible, it says, "I

can either come with my chla or I can

come with some aalita hot chocolate."

It's up to you. Nino ninñas. [laughter]

And if you were raised in Hispanic home,

you know about the chla. You know about

the sandal. A mother could be cooking,

remove that thing, and throw it behind

her back and hit like one of the five

kids that needs to get hit with it,

right? It's amazing. It's it's it's I'm

like, man, did they do they get trained?

I used to like peek in the backyard

sometimes like is there like a a a range

out there where they practice, you know,

because I think it was like boomerang.

It would like dodge other kids and hit

the one kid that needed. It's like

anyways, digressing just a little bit.

But the point is Paul is like, "Hey man,

I I I can come with discipline or I can

come in love and kindness." And and it's

interesting that he phrases that way

like there's an option. And the option

is this. He's actually saying, "I

shouldn't have to be coming all this way

to actually address these things."

What's happening is the churches shine

away. They're they're they're they're

sherking away from their responsibility

to actually be in one another's lives in

a way that sharpens, that calls each

other accountable, that calls each other

higher. He's like, "You guys actually

have the handles for this stuff. Like, I

shouldn't have to be coming all this way

to administer justice. the the church is

refusing to confront some open egregious

unrepentanted sin in the church and it

leads to a couple scandals that break

out in the church and Paul's like it's

gotten to such a level that I'm going to

have to come address this but it got me

thinking about a couple things. It got

me thinking about community in and of

itself. Paul's like, "Man, within the

community of believers, you guys should

be able to handle some of these things."

And it it it got me thinking about my

experiences with community and how

powerful community can really be. My

first experience with community was

right after high school. I've shared

this before. I enlisted in the United

States Army and it was I didn't realize

that I was really applying to be

accepted into a community. And there was

going to be a vetting process. They

weren't just going to let anybody into

this community. You were going to have

to go through a process. And that

process required discipline. It required

shaping and it required forming. And

there were times where uh I wanted to

stop. I wanted to quit. I was like, man,

I made a really bad choice. I'm only 17.

Maybe there's a loophole. You know, I'm

just a kid. I didn't know what I was

doing. You know, but you know what kept

me there actually was the power of

community. I didn't have the language

for it, but was like, man, I don't want

to leave these guys. I don't want to

leave these guys, man. We've we've gone

through something. We're going through

something together. We're going

somewhere together. And in that was a

bond and a community that I didn't want

to be outside of. I was like, man, I'm

going to go through this thing. I'm

going to go through this hard thing. And

it was community that kept us together.

And one of the lessons that I learned

very quickly that would pay dividends

throughout my life. And we're actually

going to see this in the text is that I

learned very quickly that my actions

affected other people

and and it could directly impact someone

in a pretty grave way. And so to to to

make this lesson uh written in stone in

our minds, the drill instructors or

drill sergeants, they they knew this

that there was a method to their

madness. So they do these things called

integrity checks. So they give you

instructions. They'll tell you what to

do and then they'll check to see if you

actually did it. And so one of the

things was going on this uh rucksack

march and they gave you the packing

list. Hey, you put all these things in

your rucks sack. Sounds pretty simple,

right? And so we're going out the door

and they're doing an integrity check.

And what the integrity check was is one

of the drill sergeants would hit the

bottom of your ruck to make sure it had

some weight in it. It shouldn't move

very much. There was guy about three or

four ahead of me hit that ruck sack.

That thing went flying up in the air,

snatched him out of line. He had two

pillows stuck stuck in his rug sack.

It's like, "Okay, we want to cheat. Bad

day for you guys. Everyone get out onto

the grinder." So, it's it's like the the

cement that we um line up on. So, empty

out your bags in front of your uh wall

lockers on the third floor. So, you go

up, empty your contents, you come back

down, they have the packing list. Okay,

we're going to go one by one. We're

going to make sure everyone has

everything in their bag. So, run up to

the third floor and grab one sock.

Okay? You run up and you grab the one

sock. Okay? Now, go get the other one.

And we did that until the rock sack was

full. But here's the thing. Everyone

participated except the offender.

He got to sit and watch in the shade.

That guy was begging to go. No, please

let me go. Let me go. But he we were

being taught a lesson. what you do, how

you act in community affects other

people. It affects other people. And

that's what Paul is kind of saying here.

He's like, man, you've this this sexual

scandal that that even the pagans don't

approve of. They won't even tolerate the

type of things that are going on in

God's church. You have tolerated these

things and it's affecting other people.

And he and he quotes Jesus when he says,

"A little bit of yeast is going to work

through the whole batch of dough." And

this shouldn't be and this word

tolerating I think man what a relevant

word for us today in the spirit of

tolerance

right the Jesus said at one point in the

future like people are going to call

what's good evil and what's evil good

and tolerance can sound like a good word

and it is a good word but but our

culture wants to shift it in such a way

to say that you must tolerate everything

If you don't tolerate everything and

everyone's variation of truth, then

you're intolerant

and that's actually evil. And so they

flipped this whole thing. And guys, this

is such a temptation for the church. It

was in Corenth and it is today in

California.

And if we don't go back to the

scriptures, if we don't stand on the

word of God, if we don't have the heart

of Paul here, Paul is like tolerance

whatever culture mildly interesting. I

know one thing. Christ crucified.

I know that one thing. And we touched on

that last week. That is the driving

motive. He's like, I don't know what

your truth is. I know what the truth is.

And I'm not going to affirm or coddle or

tolerate your view if it opposes the

word of God. I just won't do it. I'm

going to I'm going to I'm going to

separate my love or I'm going to hate

the sin and not the sinner. He's very

clear on that. He's going to say, "Hey,

this doesn't mean that we don't um love

anyone in the world, that we don't uh go

into like we would have to leave this

world." He says, "If we're going to

really like just eradicate ourselves

from sin, that's not what he's saying.

What he's saying inside the church, the

bride of Christ should reflect his

glory." And when there's unrepentant

sin, unchallenged sin by brothers and

sisters,

it weakens our testimony.

It weakens our testimony. And it

ultimately is not loving or kind to one

another.

It's not loving or kind to tolerate sin

in the church.

It's it's not easy to do. It's easier to

go, I don't want to deal with that

person. I'll let someone else deal with

it. I'm just going to overlook this

thing. I don't want to have that

conversation. I'm going to pass that

buck to someone else. Maybe one of the

leaders will handle it. And that's what

happens here in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

It has been passed on and passed on and

unchallenged and unchallenged and has

festered and grown to a stain on the

church of God. And so

Paul here is on his way

and he's and he's believing that his

trip that he's going to be able to come

and remind the church

of the truth. He's going to be able to

call back to mind, hey, this is the rock

on which we stand. This is how we go

together.

And we do have the handles for this.

We have uh we have the word of God to

help us in this area. And I want to

point our attention here to exactly

where this comes from because I'm not

saying that we should come up with our

own wisdom, that we should give our own

advice. We don't have to make something

up. We actually have the word of God to

guide us. And what's interesting about

the Bible is it actually makes a claim

about itself, which is really cool. It's

in 2 Timothy 3:16.

2 Timothy 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16, you can write it down in

2 Timothy 3:16

your notes. I'll read it to you here. It

says, "All scripture is God breathed

and is useful for teaching, rebuking,

correcting, and training in

righteousness, so that the servant of

God may be thoroughly equipped for every

good work."

I'm so grateful this morning for the

word of God

that it does all of these things. We

don't have to come up with this on our

own. It will correct us. It will rebuke

us. It will train us. It will transform

our hearts if we press into it and we

allow it to do what it was intended to

do.

And so

I am excited about tackling chapters

five and six because I realize the

strength and the importance and the

fruit that comes from what Paul's

getting ready to talk about. And so I

just wanted to to to start start your

mind thinking and wrapping around this.

And I would ask you to do a little bit

of homework before we meet next week is

to read chapters five and six. Read it

ahead of time. Read it a couple times.

Maybe choose another translation. If you

want to go a little step further, start

journaling maybe some thoughts about it.

Because guys, this is so crucial. Moving

forward, c we we've just celebrated, you

know, one year of being together and all

that God is doing. moving forward is

going to require us to stay together, to

go together,

to love one another, to be our brothers

and sisters keeper. And a part of that

Paul's going to give us the handles for

as we go into five and six.

And so I just want to close. I think it

was actually mentioned earlier this

morning is that if you feel like you've

kind of missed the mark in this or maybe

you've been outside of a spiritual

community and you're just kind of

waiting your way in or maybe you you

were and you left. As I was reading

through these passages, I was reminded

of the parable of the prodigal son.

And there's this point where, you know,

he he wants his inheritance upfront and

he takes it and he squanders it. So he

was in community. He was in in his f

within the confines and the protection

of his family. And then he's outside of

that. And and here's what's interesting

is like the church that in in Corinth

and and what Paul's addressing was like

the the only church in the area. There

wasn't like churches on every corner

where you could go church hop. So being

outside of the church meant you were

within the realm in in in the dominion

of Satan.

>> It was dark out there. Like you could

get spiritually hurt and killed. There

were there were thieves ready to take

what was yours. And so when the prodigal

son is outside the the covering of his

family and in the safety of that, man,

he he is he he gets his butt kicked out

there. He really does. At some point,

he's he's eating cow patties, right? And

he's like, "Man, even my father's

servants eat better than he's hit rock

bottom, so they speak so to speak. He's

hit rock bottom. And when he comes back,

he's coming back." And the Bible says

that that the father saw him from a

distance

and that he already had preparations for

the son.

He had a ring. He had a robe. He had

sandals for his feet. He had a fattened

calf ready to celebrate. So I just want

to say as we start talking about

community, like wherever you find

yourselves on that spectrum, you feel

like, man, I was there and I left. I've

never really been apart or I'm in it. I

just don't know where I'm at, man. I I

just want to I just want to speak over

you. The truth of God is that he is

calling you into community with fellow

believers, fellow brothers and sisters

in Christ. And he has preparations for

you. No matter where you're at in that

journey, no matter where you're at in

that context, there is preparation for

you in his family. And we're excited to

go together with you guys. There is a

real power in going together. Community

comes with two things. Reward and

responsibility.

There's a reward in in community. That's

being together. That's, hey, I'll pray

with you. I'll walk that mile with you.

Or I'll just sit with you in this.

That's the reward. The responsibility is

to one another.

The responsibility is that man, I need

to take accountability for my life so

that my yeast doesn't work into the

dough. And we put that before the cross

and he shapes that. and he transforms

that.

And so, one of the things that we do

together as a family is we take

communion together.

And we've prepared a table for you guys.

We're going to wind down our time

together this morning. And like I said,

we'll we'll deep dive chapters five and

six next week. But I just wanted to

start kicking some things around in your

mind. Worship team, prayer team, you can

you can join me

as we approach the table this morning.

I feel like and and I've mentioned this

a little bit before, but I I feel like

one of the things that I want to grow in

um as I lead our gatherings here is just

approaching the table with reverence

and just just a holy awe of what we're

about to do represents.

Like there's no the thing about the

military is that the community was kind

of the reward at the end of the day.

like you got to wear the uniform, you

got to fly the flag on your soul on on

your shoulder. But being a part of

community was the reward and that can be

idolized.

But the thing about the kingdom of God

is that Christ is our reward. [music]

He is actually the reward is to be with

him. To have right relationship with him

is the reward. The community is the

byproduct of that. So we don't want to

divorce the two. We can't say I want all

the benefits of community. I want

covering. I want fellowship. I want

prayer. But I I'm not in obedience to

God. I'm not walking in obedience to the

father. There's no reverence. There's no

holy awe and wonder of what God's doing.

We can't divorce the two.

The cross must be first.

It must be the first thing. So when we

approach the communion table, as much as

we love community, as much as there is

reward in community, let us remember the

first thing which is the cross of

Christ, him crucified, that he would

take our place, that he would take my

place,

a substitution for the wrath and the

judgment that I deserved.

And then once that was complete, he

gifts us with the gift and the reward of

community which is his church.

As we approach the bread broken

that represents [music] his body broken

for us, may we call that to mind aresh

and say, Lord, you are the first thing.

You are the first reward in my life is

you.

As we take up the juice that represents

his blood poured out for us, we remember

[music] that he willingly laid down his

life. It wasn't taken from him.

And he didn't he didn't just walt up to

the cross

and he he got on his knees and on his

face in the garden [music] and he pled

with God, "Is there another way?

Is there another way?"

And God said, [music] "No, there's not."

He said, "Then your will be done, not

mine." And he went to that cross

willingly. He could have called down

10,000 angels.

But the joy set before him was seeing us

freed to seeing [music] death and sin

placed under his feet. That was the joy

and he persevered for it. So may we

approach this table, brothers and

sisters, with a reverence for who that

is and and what he is in our life. And

if and if that is not your relationship

with him yet, and I don't say this to

shame you or to count you out,

but I I would say to not approach the

table [music] yet

says if we do that, if we don't soberly

examine, we we bring judgment on

ourselves.

And so we want to approach again in

reverence and awe. And if that's not

where you're at today, man, we would

love to come alongside you and walk you

to that table.

Yeah, this room is filled with people

who would love to come alongside you

today. Come and get prayer. Come and

have a conversation with me. We'd love

to do that. Let me pray for you. God,

[music] we thank you for this morning.

We thank you that this is not our idea.

That we didn't conjure this up so we

don't have to maintain it. We don't have

to keep it [music] running. Holy Spirit,

you are the one who empowers your

church. You are the one who inhabits the

praise of your people.

So we pray this morning, God, that the

praise from our lips that these

declarations of truth have made their

way before your throne. And we thank

you, Jesus, for going to the cross.

We thank you for your sacrifice that has

set us free. We thank you for the

discipline

that comes through community that is

love for one another.

Would you lead us in that way? Would you

lead us

to the cross over and over again

as the word has gone out about

installing elders and leading forward?

Yeah, I just I agree with Travis. would

we not see that as a separation but as a

unifying [music]

word and a covering that we would go

together.

Yeah. Lord, we thank you for this

morning. I bless every heart under the

sound of my voice that we would be

called more [music] and more into your

likeness today. God, we want to be just

a little more like you.

We love you, God. We bless you with the

affections of our heart in Jesus mighty

and precious name.

Amen.

>> I'm lifting both of my hands

cuz you gave me chance after chance

after chance.

And I

I'm giving all [singing and music] that

I am

cuz you gave me chance after chance

after chance.

And I

I'm lifting both of my hands

cuz you gave me chance [music] after

chance

after chance.

And

I'll give you all [singing] that I am.

Cuz you gave me chance after chance

[music]

after chance.

And

I'm lifting both of [music] my hands

cuz you gave me chance after chance

after chance.

I'm giving all that I am cuz you gave me

chance after chance after chance. Who am

I? [singing]

Who am I that you keep me?

[music and singing] Oh, you're my God.

I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you.

And all my life you've been right here

by my side. God, I'm just grateful for

you.

God, I'm just grateful for you. Who am

I? Sing, [singing] who am I that you

keep me on your mind, God? I'm just

grateful [music and singing] for you,

God. I'm just grateful for you all my

life. Oh my life. You've

[music and singing] been right here by

my side. God, I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm [music] just grateful for you.

Lifting [singing] both. Tonight

I

I'm lifting both of my hands

cuz you gave [music] me chance after

chance after chance. Yeah. [singing]

And I'm [singing] giving all that I am

cuz you gave me chance [music] after

chance. Oh,

and

I've lifted both of [music] my hands

cuz you gave me chance after [singing]

chance after chance.

I'm giving all that I am cuz you gave me

chance [music and singing] after chance

after chance. Who am I? Who am I that

you keep me on? You're my

[music and singing] God, I'm just

grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you. All my

life and all [singing] my life, you've

been right here by my side. God, I'm

just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful. Who am I? Sing

it out. [singing] Who am I that you keep

me [music] on your mind? God, I'm just

grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you.

[singing] All my life and all my life,

you've been right here by my side. God,

I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for [singing]

you. God, I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you.

God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm

just grateful for you, [singing]

[music]

Jesus. This morning

we remind ourselves today that

everything that's happening in our lives

and everything that's happening in this

church is built on you and you alone,

Jesus. It's not built on elders. It's

not built on good worship teams. It's

not built on good programs. It's built

on the rock,

>> Jesus Christ. And it's fueled by the

finished work of your cross today. Thank

you, God, for keeping our eyes engaged

on you and you alone. God doesn't

dismiss the giftings that you've put in

this church. And we thank you that there

are gifts from the front to the back in

this church. Everybody in this room

filled with the Holy Spirit, you have a

place here.

>> You have gifts that God has deposited in

you. And Lord, we call them out of each

other as community today. And we hold

each other accountable not only to the

things Lord that we're not doing but to

the things that we should be walking in.

The giftings of God in our lives are a

gift. And we keep an eye on each other

in this church. And we're going to say,

"Hey, I see this in you." Sorry, I feel

like I'm just prophesying a little bit

here that there is there are gifts that

are need to be awakened in the hearts.

>> And for those in the in the quote

unquote back of the church, there are

giftings that God has put in you. and we

call them forth. Yeah.

>> In the name of Jesus Christ and we say,

"Holy Spirit, breathe on and bring alive

the giftings in this church from the

front to the back. Don't count yourself

out. You have giftings in Christ." So,

Holy Spirit, awaken those things in us

this morning. And again, it all comes

back to the one who it was began by, and

that's you, Jesus. When you finished the

work on the cross, we love you. You are

the alpha and the omega, the beginning

and the end. And we love you this

morning in Jesus name. Ralph, you got

something?

>> Amen. Yeah. Bless you as you go. Thank

you for being with us. Uh the papers if

you have if you want to hand those off,

Tiffany and Travis will be in the back

there where he has a basket in his hand.

You can drop those off right there. But

bless you guys as you go. We love you.

We'll see you next time.

>> Thanks you guys.