Theological Status: FAITHFUL (Sound)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Formalist Parallels
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
🧐 Overview
Sermon Summary: Discovering true peace requires surrendering our plans to God's divine design, even when it disrupts our comfort. This sermon challenges us to move beyond self-made peace and embrace the transformative power of Christ's sovereignty.
Big Idea: We often mistake our own rational peace for God's peace — but true peace comes when we surrender our plans to His disruptive, divine design. [00:30:16 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: While the sermon effectively highlights the importance of trusting God's plan through personal testimonies and Christ-centered applications, it missed a crucial opportunity to ground the message in humanity's need for salvation due to sin. However, as the message was directed toward believers seeking spiritual growth, the core Gospel remains intact for its intended audience.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia — The sermon's focus on surrendering to God's sovereign design, while addressing believers in sanctification, maintains doctrinal integrity without compromise. Its emphasis on faithful biblical exposition aligns with the characteristics of the Philadelphia church.
🎨 The Visual Metaphor
The shattered ornament symbolizes our fragile, self-constructed peace — beautifully crafted yet easily broken by the world’s chaos. The illegible scribbles hint at human attempts to inscribe meaning where only God’s sovereign design holds true order, reminding us that peace is not found in control, but in surrender to His disruptive, divine plan.
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Matthew 1:18-25
- Usage Classification: Personal testimony-driven exhortation
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Moderate
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - Respectful and biblically grounded delivery with clear Christological focus
✝️ Christological Focus: Contextual Application
"Strong focus on Jesus as Savior 'from their sins' with application to Joseph's obedience"
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 6 | Referenced: 1 | Alluded: 1
Passages Read Aloud:
-
Matthew 1:18-21
[00:27:36 ▶️ 📄]
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he made up his mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, and he will save people from their sins."
-
Matthew 1:24-25
[00:43:12 ▶️ 📄]
"When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took Mary home as his wife. He had no union with her until she gave birth to her son. They gave him the name Jesus."
Key References: Isaiah 7:14
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,499 words
📌 Key Topics Addressed
-
Divine Peace vs. Human Peace
[00:31:12 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the peace Joseph felt in deciding to divorce Mary quietly (a humanly rational, emotionally comfortable choice) with the peace that came after the angel’s revelation (a divine, supernatural alignment with God’s will). -
Supernatural Conception of Christ
[00:28:15 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor affirms that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, as stated in Scripture, and emphasizes the radical, unbelievable nature of this truth that Mary and Joseph had to accept. -
Divine Revelation Through Dreams
[00:35:35 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor teaches that God speaks in dreams, circumstances, and unexpected moments, using Joseph’s dream as a model for how God interrupts human plans to reveal His purposes. -
Surrender to God’s Plan
[00:44:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The sermon emphasizes that true unity and peace come when individuals surrender their own reasoning and embrace God’s plan, even when it seems irrational or impossible.
🖼️ Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:32:17 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts how his three-year-old daughter, Selah, innocently said, 'The bad guy is going to ruin Christmas,' after seeing a news video of a mass shooting in Australia, prompting him to reflect on how the enemy tricks us into false peace. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:39:13 ▶️ 📄]
> He shares his and his wife’s journey through infertility, including four medical pronouncements that they could not have children, followed by a miraculous pregnancy after a road trip and a moment of surrender in the Badlands of Wyoming. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:45:20 ▶️ 📄]
> He describes his first youth revival at age 15 in Ravenna, Kentucky, where 260 teens showed up unexpectedly, causing him extreme anxiety—until he experienced supernatural peace while preaching, resulting in 73 altar responses.
🚀 Calls to Action (Application)
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:51:18 ▶️ 📄]
> Find the peace that only the Lord gives during the Christmas season, whether through prayer, quiet reflection, worship, or coming to the altar.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Sound & Commendable
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ✅ PASS | The sermon addresses believers regarding sanctification, emphasizing surrender to God's will without teaching moralism or secular frameworks, thus maintaining the integrity of the Gospel for its intended audience. |
| Soteriology | ✅ PASS | No errors observed in the teaching of salvation through Christ alone. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture was handled accurately without distortion or misapplication. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | Biblical passages were interpreted and applied correctly within their context. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | God's nature and attributes were presented faithfully without doctrinal error. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | No discussion of baptism or communion occurred in the sermon. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ FAIL | Engaged with biblical narrative but did not explicitly reference historic Christian confessions. |
⚙️ The Gospel Engine (Confessional Distinctives)
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, and he will save people from their sins." [00:28:15 ▶️ 📄]
✅ Commendations
Christological Focus | Clear Emphasis on Christ as Savior
Effectively connected Jesus' role as Savior from sin to Joseph's obedience, highlighting His redemptive work.
Scriptural Handling | Accurate Interpretation of Scripture
Correctly applied biblical narratives without misinterpretation, grounding the message in God's Word.
Pastoral Sensitivity | Relatable Personal Testimonies
Shared vulnerable personal stories that resonated with the congregation's struggles, fostering empathy and connection.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Gospel Omission (Lack of Teaching on Human Sinfulness and God's Wrath)
Root Cause: The omission of the Law's role in revealing human sinfulness, which is foundational to understanding the necessity of Christ's atonement.
"[OMISSION: No specific quote available]" [00:00:00 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the only solution to this problem, offering forgiveness and eternal life to those who trust in Him.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I usually try to start with this part.
[00:00:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Homie.
[00:01:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning The Bridge!
[00:01:46] Oh good okay some of you are awake today that's good it's really awesome let's get started this morning let's celebrate and let's worship together will you stand if you're capable and join me in song one two three four
[00:02:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled
[00:02:23] Joyful all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies With angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King
[00:02:51] Christ by highest heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord Laid in time, behold Him come Offspring of a virgin's womb
[00:03:08] Veiled in flesh the Godhead see Hail the Incarnate Deity Pleased as man with man to dwell Jesus our Emmanuel Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King
[00:03:36] Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of Righteousness Light and life to all He brings Risen with healing in His face
[00:03:52] While he lays his glory by Born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the new
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:04:25] You may be seated.
[00:04:26] Great job, kids.
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning.
[00:04:37] Alright, we're going to start off with a couple of announcements this morning.
[00:04:42] First, your prayer and praise cards.
[00:04:43] If you see those in the seat back in front of you or in your seat, again, if you're new with us, that's something you can just write some prayer requests down on or some praise reports and put them in the offering plate or give them to somebody at the back door when you leave.
[00:04:56] And every week our prayer team will get together and pray over those or rejoice with you in those praise reports.
[00:05:02] So if you want to fill one of those out today, please do.
[00:05:05] Next.
[00:05:07] Alright, our Christmas cards, I think we still have some lists of names out on the foyer table.
[00:05:14] Several of you must have taken those last week because there was literally a line of people putting Christmas cards in the card baskets out there and probably still are.
[00:05:22] So, again, if you want to do Christmas cards for people in the church and you don't know their address, again, the names and stuff, there's a list of those out on the foyer table.
[00:05:32] Next.
[00:05:33] Okay, today at 4.30, we are hosting a spaghetti dinner here at the church.
[00:05:40] This is a pink slip, that's not good.
[00:05:45] Right in the middle of announcements.
[00:05:49] Do I need to read that now?
[00:05:50] Okay, in announcements, got it.
[00:05:54] Let's start over.
[00:05:56] Today, December 14th at 4.30, we are hosting a spaghetti dinner here in the sanctuary to benefit our preschool.
[00:06:05] And at that event as well, we'll have kids from the church and kids from the preschool doing a combined song they've been working on.
[00:06:12] And so, again, if you would like to come to that tonight, hopefully you signed up ahead of time.
[00:06:17] If not...
[00:06:18] Come anyway.
[00:06:19] If you've got to wait a minute for spaghetti, that's what we've got to do.
[00:06:23] But that is tonight at 4.30.
[00:06:24] Hopefully we will see you there.
[00:06:28] December 23rd at 6 30 we are doing our Christmas Eve Eve service that'll be right here in the sanctuary I had one person last week say pastor 6 30 is pretty late but we want to also be available for people that get off work and have time to get here to the service so that will be at 6 30 on December 23rd it's one of my favorite services of the year so hopefully you'll come out and join us next
[00:06:56] All right, Winter Jam.
[00:06:57] I mentioned this last week.
[00:06:58] A couple people were interested.
[00:07:01] This is going to be January.
[00:07:02] Remember the date, Jeff?
[00:07:04] Remember it all?
[00:07:05] 25th.
[00:07:06] January 25th at Bojangles Arena down in Charlotte.
[00:07:10] Doors open at 4 p.m. Chris Tomlin is the headline artist this year.
[00:07:15] There's also some Christian hard rock.
[00:07:17] There's some Christian rap.
[00:07:17] There's worship.
[00:07:19] This is put on by a band called New Song.
[00:07:21] And the cost is a donation at the door.
[00:07:24] They're asking for a $15 donation.
[00:07:26] All right, before we
[00:07:55] All right, next Sunday we're going to be doing a little bit of an abbreviated kids program, a Christmas program.
[00:08:07] So kids, next week, this isn't so much for you kids but for the parents, have your kids here at 9 o'clock next Sunday so they can run through the songs and stuff.
[00:08:17] So next Sunday morning, kids be here at 9 o'clock.
[00:08:21] And then our last announcement,
[00:08:23] Today is for Morning Glories.
[00:08:25] This coming Wednesday, there will be no lesson for Morning Glories.
[00:08:28] Instead, you're going to meet up here and go through the preschool rehearsal for their Christmas program.
[00:08:34] So if you've been a part of Morning Glories for a while, I think you guys do that every year.
[00:08:38] But if you're new, this Wednesday, instead of lesson, you'll meet up here and do the rehearsal.
[00:08:44] And I think there's some snacks and stuff as well that'll go along with that.
[00:08:48] All right.
[00:08:49] That being said, if our ushers want to come forward this morning,
[00:08:52] We'll take our morning tithes and offerings.
[00:08:54] Let's go ahead and pray together.
[00:08:58] God, thank you so much for this day and for this opportunity to be in your house.
[00:09:03] Just ask now that your presence be here in such a strong and a mighty way.
[00:09:09] We love you today.
[00:09:10] We thank you.
[00:09:12] It's your name I pray.
[00:09:13] Amen.
[00:09:21] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
1, 2, 3, 4
[00:09:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Blessed be your name In a land that is plentiful Where the streams of abundance flow Blessed be your name Blessed be your name Found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness
[00:10:11] Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your name
[00:10:33] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:10:37] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:10:42] Blessed be your name.
[00:10:45] When the sun is shining down on me.
[00:10:50] When the world's all as it should be.
[00:10:53] Blessed be your name.
[00:10:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
[00:11:22] Let the darkness close its in, Lord Still I will sing Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name You give and take away
[00:11:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name
[00:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name You give and take away You give and take away
[00:12:40] My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.
[00:12:47] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:12:55] Blessed be your name.
[00:12:59] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:01] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:13:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:11] Blessed be your name.
[00:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:19] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:13:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I've got to play with my box for a second here and get things set up for the next song.
[00:13:41] Thank you for your patience while I do that.
[00:13:44] Is everybody in a good place this morning?
[00:13:50] Is everybody ready to worship this morning?
[00:13:52] Is everybody ready to hear God's message today?
[00:13:58] This is a song that we've done here before.
[00:14:00] This is the Christmas version of this song.
[00:14:02] It's a little bit different, so pay close attention to the lyrics.
[00:14:05] And if you don't know the song, and you're, you know, it's okay.
[00:14:08] You can worship in this moment.
[00:14:10] You can just be here in presence.
[00:14:11] You can listen to the words, and you can understand the glory and the wonder of our God.
[00:14:15] One, two, three, four.
[00:14:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Elder than a manger, the Son of God arrived, the One who would be called Emmanuel.
[00:14:46] The promise was delivered unto a virgin bride, the One who would be called Emmanuel.
[00:14:55] Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all Your thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all
[00:15:26] and the angels cried Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever
[00:15:55] In the humble town of David A Savior born today The one who would be called Emmanuel Behold the host of heaven With holy, corporal name The one who would be called Emmanuel
[00:16:23] The Messiah, our God, is with us now And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high
[00:16:50] Holy, holy forever Hear your people sing Holy to the King of Kings Holy, you will always be
[00:17:17] Holy, holy forever Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all
[00:17:42] All Thrones and Dominions All Powers and Positions Your Name stands above them all Your Name is the Highest Your Name is the Greatest Your Name stands above them all
[00:18:09] All powers and dominions, all powers and positions, Your name stands above them all And the angels cry, Holy, all creation cries
[00:18:34] Holy You are lifted high Holy Holy forever Hear Your people sing Holy To the King of Kings Holy
[00:19:04] You will always be holy, holy forever You will always be holy, holy forever
[00:19:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You may be seated.
[00:19:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
As we go to the Lord in prayer today, we want to remember Tina Foskey who is in the hospital with
[00:19:57] Well, they're checking everything.
[00:19:59] There's been talk of possibly pneumonia, talk of infection, and so just pray for Tina and her family during this time.
[00:20:10] And then our family, praise the Lord, is over it now, but we caught whatever that bug was that you guys told us about.
[00:20:22] It caught us, and...
[00:20:25] God bless you all.
[00:20:46] but pray for all those that are sick and dealing with anything right now and then again for all those that during the Christmas season it just brings on a different kind of a feeling and emotion to them as well so why don't we pray together in this moment hey God we come to you now we lift up Tina Foskey to you and we ask that you be with her touch her body be with her doctors as they're trying to find out and discover what is happening
[00:21:16] God, we pray for those that are sick and battling any illness through this season.
[00:21:23] I just pray that you just give them assurance and peace.
[00:21:28] God, for those that just Christmas season brings on a mental toll, a mental weight that is sometimes something they can't even describe or put words to.
[00:21:41] So God, I just pray that you comfort them in this season.
[00:21:45] God, we love you today.
[00:21:46] We ask for your presence and your spirit to be with us.
[00:21:49] It's your name I pray.
[00:21:50] Amen.
[00:21:52] Alright, I'm going to ask our kids to come on up front this morning.
[00:22:06] I'm just waiting on somebody to say something, but they're unusually quiet this morning.
[00:22:10] It kind of scares me.
[00:22:13] And the hands are already in.
[00:22:14] It's like you guys know what we're going to do or something.
[00:22:17] I got to change it up.
[00:22:18] Let's put our feet in.
[00:22:22] I'm joking.
[00:22:24] All right, hands in.
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
All right, come on.
[00:22:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
On the count of three, let me turn this off because I never know.
[00:22:34] On the count of three, we're going to say peace.
[00:22:35] Okay?
[00:22:35] One, two, three, peace.
[00:22:44] They came sneaking up here.
[00:22:45] It kind of made me nervous.
[00:23:13] Again, this torch scares me too.
[00:23:19] Today, we light the candle of peace.
[00:23:22] As I was reading about peace this week, I read a quote that says, Peace doesn't mean there won't be fear.
[00:23:30] Peace is knowing you have the answer through the fear.
[00:23:33] I was like, man, that's good.
[00:23:35] So as we light the peace candle today, I just pray that if there is any kind of fear and anxiety in your life, that you find the answer to it through Jesus and know that He is your peace.
[00:23:49] Last Sunday, we talked about hope and the hope that comes with just really understanding who God is and fully entrusting your life with Him.
[00:24:00] So therefore, you can base your decisions around Him and that beautiful saying that Mary said where she says, I am your servant, so let it be as you say.
[00:24:10] I love that.
[00:24:12] And so today we're going to be talking about peace.
[00:24:15] And again, if you're following along, you do an Advent devotional, yes, we're running one week behind as just, again, we'll bring it all together at the Christmas Eve service.
[00:24:26] But today in talking about peace, I was looking it up this week, and anybody in here ever have writer's block?
[00:24:33] Or just that you're trying to make a note or a list and you just all of a sudden just can't do it anymore?
[00:24:38] Or you're looking for something so hard that...
[00:24:40] Everything blends in so you just kind of have to walk away and then you come back and it's just obvious it's right there.
[00:24:47] So in reading about peace this week and trying to come up with something to say eventually I just said okay I got to go do some, as most of us do these days, mindless scrolling on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, something like that.
[00:25:02] And I came across a TikTok video that had
[00:25:08] A guy, and he just walked into his living room, and when he got into the living room, he just stopped and stared at his Christmas tree.
[00:25:20] And it said, the caption came up and said, Most men at 3 a.m. during December.
[00:25:27] Any of you guys ever just got up in the middle of the night and went and stared at your Christmas tree?
[00:25:32] None?
[00:25:33] Okay, a couple?
[00:25:36] I think that happens, and there was nothing else to it, nothing beyond that caption.
[00:25:42] Except for I think sometimes when the world's asleep, sometimes us guys find peace in that.
[00:25:49] There's something about the Christmas tree light, I've talked about it before, it is peaceful.
[00:25:54] It's peaceful to throw on, if you don't have a fireplace in your living room, to throw on the Yule log Christmas on your TV.
[00:26:02] Turn off all the other lights except the Christmas tree.
[00:26:05] That's nice, especially if you have little kids once they go to sleep.
[00:26:08] That's really nice.
[00:26:09] I love Bluey, but no sounds of Bluey or Danny Go in the background.
[00:26:17] And so you just stare at this tree and it's this light and just for a little bit, there's peace.
[00:26:29] And it's kind of beautiful.
[00:26:33] Not that it's all a guy thing and maybe girls do it too.
[00:26:38] There's just something beautiful about that piece.
[00:26:42] So after we talked about hope last week and the angel coming to Mary and the crucial conversation they had, I was reading this week about Joseph and how he had to come to terms with what Mary was going to tell him.
[00:27:01] And I really wish that the Bible gave us a little bit more into that.
[00:27:08] I really do.
[00:27:09] There are some stories in the Bible that I absolutely love what it says and it gives great detail.
[00:27:14] And there are some that I'm like, why did you skim over that?
[00:27:18] This conversation had to go on for a while.
[00:27:21] This conversation doesn't even really give us any indication of reaction or anything.
[00:27:28] It just kind of was.
[00:27:31] For this, we've got to go back to Matthew chapter 1.
[00:27:36] We'll start at verse 18.
[00:27:37] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
[00:27:40] His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:48] Verse 19.
[00:27:49] Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he made up his mind to divorce her quietly.
[00:28:00] Verse 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[00:28:15] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, and he will save people from their sins.
[00:28:25] That's kind of what we get.
[00:28:31] Not that that's bad, not that I'm disappointed, but I would like a little more.
[00:28:34] Because, let's be honest, we're all human here.
[00:28:39] That conversation had to be wild, right?
[00:28:43] Can we just be honest?
[00:28:45] And I'm just guessing, from the human side of things, that Mary probably brought hope to the conversation because of what she said to the angel.
[00:28:54] I am your servant, may it be as you say.
[00:28:59] Great.
[00:29:01] Coming to Joseph.
[00:29:02] Hey, so I'm pregnant.
[00:29:09] Sherman, do you ever preach and you see something in the crowd and your mind goes to this picture?
[00:29:16] As I said, I'm pregnant, I saw you drinking this cup and I imagine that was Joseph and he just spit it out.
[00:29:27] And I tried, I really tried to just make it my own thought, but I couldn't hold it anymore because that would have been, that's what I wanted to read.
[00:29:36] I needed to see this human element of this conversation.
[00:29:42] Something that Mary has agreed to with an angel that she admittedly was frightened by at first, now has to go tell the man that she's pledged to be married to that she's pregnant and it's not his.
[00:29:58] I would spit out a drink too!
[00:30:00] Thankfully you didn't, but it would have been perfect.
[00:30:08] Here's the crazy part.
[00:30:09] Here's what I'm led to believe through the order of Scripture.
[00:30:16] That Mary had this conversation before an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream.
[00:30:23] That's why I want more of the conversation.
[00:30:25] Because it said after Joseph decided, because he's a righteous man, to do it quietly, he'd made up his mind that he was going to divorce her, which means that the angel hadn't come to him yet.
[00:30:35] So what was this conversation like?
[00:30:42] All of our imaginations can go many places.
[00:30:47] But Joseph had made up his mind.
[00:30:50] I'm going to divorce her.
[00:30:52] This is crazy.
[00:30:55] I'm a good guy.
[00:30:56] She's apparently a good girl.
[00:30:59] I'll just do it quietly while I feel like it never happened.
[00:31:04] Can I tell you?
[00:31:04] I believe Joseph had peace with that decision.
[00:31:12] Wait a second.
[00:31:13] Have we ever had peace with a decision that wasn't what was from the Lord?
[00:31:19] We shouldn't, but I think we can trick ourselves into it.
[00:31:24] I want to pause there with the story.
[00:31:27] Anybody read what happened or see videos of what happened in Australia this morning?
[00:31:32] It was terrible, right?
[00:31:34] Selah had come and crawled in our bed this morning.
[00:31:39] I'm doing the morning doom scrolling and there was a video that popped up of, if you guys don't know, there was a shooter that opened fire on a beach this morning in Australia.
[00:31:48] Two shooters, yeah.
[00:31:49] Somebody was recording it from their apartment balcony across the street and you can't see anybody getting shot but you see the two shooters taking cover on the
[00:31:59] Like a walkway.
[00:32:00] And so this video pops up on my screen and I can't stop watching the train wreck, right?
[00:32:06] I'm sort of, what if somebody, the cop's going to get there?
[00:32:08] You hear sirens way before you see any intervention happening.
[00:32:13] And out of nowhere, Selah says, I didn't know she was watching.
[00:32:17] She had her little stuffed cat and she was like talking to herself.
[00:32:20] And she leaned over and said, Daddy, the bad guy is going to ruin Christmas.
[00:32:27] Oh, man.
[00:32:31] She said, why'd he do that?
[00:32:34] I said, what's he doing?
[00:32:35] She goes, he has a gun.
[00:32:37] He's going to ruin Christmas.
[00:32:39] That broke my heart.
[00:32:43] First off, I didn't know she knew the word ruin.
[00:32:49] But her little three-year-old brain saw this happening and just, it's a bad guy, he's going to ruin Christmas.
[00:33:00] So I said, if we ever had peace with a decision that's not from the Lord, I think that our brain can be tricked into it because the scripture we read four weeks ago about how our enemy roams around ready to devour us.
[00:33:12] I think that he can devour us by tricking our mind into things that want to ruin what God has for us.
[00:33:21] So Mary came to Joseph and said, hey, I'm pregnant.
[00:33:25] An angel came to me in a dream.
[00:33:27] And I agreed to it because, you know, I love the Lord.
[00:33:30] That relationship comes first.
[00:33:33] Joseph spit his drink out and said, what are you talking about?
[00:33:39] That's crazy.
[00:33:41] Mary, I just, I know what I saw.
[00:33:44] Don't talk to me right now.
[00:33:48] I'm guessing that's what he said because it says he's a righteous man.
[00:33:51] He was gonna do it quietly.
[00:33:52] So he probably needed that 3 a.m. Christmas tree light talk with himself.
[00:33:59] And it said, he decided, because he's a righteous man, that he's not going to do it publicly, that he's going to do it quietly.
[00:34:07] Which meant, he decided.
[00:34:10] And he, at one point, had peace with something that was not from the Lord.
[00:34:17] Have we ever been there?
[00:34:19] Probably.
[00:34:21] And reading that this week, my mind just kind of just, it all wrapped together this morning when Selah said the bad man's trying to ruin Christmas.
[00:34:29] about how we sometimes allow the enemy into our life to dictate a false sense of peace with something that's not of the Lord.
[00:34:46] But then in verse 20,
[00:34:54] But after he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[00:35:07] She will give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus, and he will save people from their sins.
[00:35:20] At just the right time, so many times in my life has the Lord showed up disguised as a person, a voice, a commercial, an ad, a dream.
[00:35:35] At just the right time.
[00:35:43] When I was gonna throw my life off its holy rails,
[00:35:48] It's something I had complete peace with.
[00:35:52] Complete peace means I talked myself into it.
[00:35:56] Can I be real with you?
[00:35:57] When we give ourselves complete peace about something that's not from the Lord, it's not that we've come to peace that we are totally fine with the decision.
[00:36:05] It means we're at peace and are totally fine with the consequences.
[00:36:13] At just the right time, so many times in my life, has the Lord showed up and spoken a truth in my life that has reminded me that the consequences that were coming with my peace didn't need to be there if I stayed the course in His plan, no matter how crazy that sounded.
[00:36:41] Verse 22.
[00:36:42] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet.
[00:36:50] What was that?
[00:36:52] Isaiah 6, verse 14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
[00:37:00] The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.
[00:37:11] There will be peace.
[00:37:15] Joseph had to, just like Mary, come to terms with this crazy idea that a virgin is going to give birth to a baby that is of God and is going to save the world.
[00:37:32] If I say it like that, it sounds crazy.
[00:37:37] And they had to agree to the crazy.
[00:37:42] And thank goodness they did.
[00:37:45] Right?
[00:37:49] And I am so thankful for the peace and reassurance that God gives us in the midst of chaos.
[00:38:00] If Joseph is like most of us men, it says that the angel appeared to him in the dream after he'd considered this divorce.
[00:38:09] That probably means that he fell asleep very late at night.
[00:38:15] was restless, tossed and turned, sweating.
[00:38:19] The piece of the Christmas tree still didn't do it.
[00:38:23] The cookie left over on the table didn't taste right.
[00:38:29] He was wrestling with all this stuff and finally just came to the conclusion that he's gonna do it quietly and he came to peace with the consequences.
[00:38:41] And the Lord showed up and said, wait a second.
[00:38:45] This is from me.
[00:38:48] This is from me.
[00:38:53] And I've shared this with you guys before in a couple different ways.
[00:38:56] I have been there and I've shared this story and I'm so glad that God gave me this story because it really helps me understand more and more the story of Jesus and what his parents had to go through in this early days.
[00:39:13] Marissa and I were told, no kids, right?
[00:39:17] No kids.
[00:39:18] It's not going to happen.
[00:39:21] I showed up for the second time.
[00:39:23] It was going to be our last try.
[00:39:26] I was going to give a sample at the office.
[00:39:29] I showed up in the parking lot, was about to walk up the stairs, and I get a phone call from Marissa that said, you don't have to go in.
[00:39:37] I've got eight positive pregnancy tests sitting on the counter now.
[00:39:42] Well, awesome.
[00:39:46] That was after we were told by four different doctors at four different hospitals through Canton, Akron, Cleveland, and where was the other one?
[00:39:55] Marietta, Ohio, that it's not going to happen for us.
[00:40:01] And that was stressful.
[00:40:02] That was chaotic.
[00:40:04] And we both came to the peace of it's just not going to happen.
[00:40:06] Let's look at other options.
[00:40:10] And then it did.
[00:40:14] We took a trip.
[00:40:16] Before this story I just told you, we took a drive across the country.
[00:40:22] We'd never done it.
[00:40:23] We've never been out west, not in a car anyway.
[00:40:27] And there was a certain stop.
[00:40:29] If anybody's ever been and drove out that way, the Badlands, it's awesome.
[00:40:34] It was after that.
[00:40:36] It was somewhere in Wyoming.
[00:40:38] There was this highway, there was two lanes, there was like this military vehicle museum graveyard on the left, and just up the road about half a mile was a sign that said Ram Crossing.
[00:40:53] Never seen that before, that's cool.
[00:40:55] We didn't see any rams.
[00:40:57] But then there was this pullover, and we got out, and this was just this vast, beautiful desert?
[00:41:06] I didn't think I could say that.
[00:41:09] But it was, and it was kind of a breathtaking thing.
[00:41:13] They're holding hands, and I just said, man, if God can make this beautiful, then our story can be beautiful too.
[00:41:20] And it was just kind of like this idea that, wait a second, we took too much control of it.
[00:41:25] Let's let God do it.
[00:41:27] Four weeks later was that phone call.
[00:41:32] God's timing.
[00:41:35] We found peace through the chaos.
[00:41:39] And if you were to think hard enough in your life, I bet you have stories similar to that where God showed up through the chaos, and my goodness, the miracle on the other side.
[00:41:54] Joseph had made up his mind that this just wasn't gonna go on.
[00:42:00] Mary, I'm sorry, that story's crazy.
[00:42:05] I know you love your Lord, but that's weird.
[00:42:10] If I can just speak honestly as a man, these are probably the things that he'd planned to say to her.
[00:42:16] And he's already known that her question is, but if we get divorced, you know the implications of that.
[00:42:21] I know, I'm gonna do it quietly.
[00:42:22] We're just gonna act like we don't know each other now.
[00:42:26] It's just gonna be that way.
[00:42:28] I'm sure he talked to himself until he fell asleep that night.
[00:42:35] And then the Lord.
[00:42:41] I don't know that I can ever pick out a certain time in my life that it was 100% the Lord that woke me up in a dream.
[00:42:51] But there have been times where I woke up and my spirit must have felt the voice of the Lord or something because I knew that what I had decided was wrong.
[00:43:03] And I bet that's what Joseph felt like when he woke up that morning.
[00:43:07] Alright God.
[00:43:10] Let's do this.
[00:43:12] Verse 24.
[00:43:13] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took Mary home as his wife.
[00:43:24] He had no union with her until she gave birth to her son.
[00:43:29] They gave him the name Jesus.
[00:43:32] Joseph woke right up and said, all right, I'm going to do it.
[00:43:39] I'm going to do it.
[00:43:43] This basically describes men and women perfectly.
[00:43:46] Mary had a conversation with the angel.
[00:43:50] It didn't say anything about Joseph having a conversation with the angel.
[00:43:52] He just stood up and decided.
[00:43:57] He woke up, got to his feet, and said, all right, there we go.
[00:44:03] He went and found Mary and said, all right, you're going to be my wife.
[00:44:07] I don't know.
[00:44:07] Again, this is where I want more.
[00:44:09] Like, I need a book.
[00:44:10] I need a story of what these conversations were like.
[00:44:13] Was there a warm embrace?
[00:44:15] Did they pray together?
[00:44:16] Was it just like a jumping high five?
[00:44:18] Like, I don't know.
[00:44:18] What happened?
[00:44:20] I want to know.
[00:44:21] So, the angel of the Lord came to them both.
[00:44:27] They both listened.
[00:44:29] They are now just in unison with the Spirit saying, this is going to happen.
[00:44:37] and they agreed to it and while I don't know what they said I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt there was an overwhelming peace in that moment there was an overwhelming peace because they were both following the steps and the path that the Lord had laid out for them and the peace that they had in their own understanding had been taken over by the Lord's understanding
[00:45:05] And if you've ever had that moment in your life, it is phenomenal.
[00:45:12] It's phenomenal.
[00:45:15] Last story I'll give that it's the only piece I can really render.
[00:45:20] There was a joy and a happiness when Marissa called for that day, but the first time I remember feeling that peace that I'm describing now, I told you guys before, I started preaching when I was 14 years old.
[00:45:31] And when I was 15, I got a call to do my first youth revival.
[00:45:36] It was in a town called Ravenna, Kentucky.
[00:45:39] It's an urban Kentucky.
[00:45:40] Ravenna is just like a tiny little part of it.
[00:45:43] And so I got called and they said, hey, we're going to do this youth revival.
[00:45:46] And I'm thinking, I know the Ravenna youth group.
[00:45:48] This is going to be fun.
[00:45:49] There's like 20 kids.
[00:45:50] It's going to be great.
[00:45:53] My parents drove me down there because I didn't have my license yet.
[00:45:56] And I go in.
[00:45:58] There's 260 teens that show up to this event.
[00:46:02] And I look at the people that called me and I was like, you kidding me?
[00:46:06] That's worth more than 25 bucks and pizza.
[00:46:08] Like what?
[00:46:10] What's happened?
[00:46:10] They said, I didn't know this was going to be that many.
[00:46:13] Some kids got a hold of their friends at school and said they were doing this lock-in at church and they all just decided to show up.
[00:46:19] I'm not kidding.
[00:46:21] I've never had a near change my pants experience like that.
[00:46:25] I sat in that front row.
[00:46:27] My heartbeat was so fast it was basically the drums.
[00:46:32] So fast and hard.
[00:46:33] I was so nervous.
[00:46:37] I couldn't feel my hands.
[00:46:40] It's probably the closest to a heart attack I've ever been.
[00:46:42] I'd never preached in front of a crowd like this before.
[00:46:47] A hundred max, and that was when I gave announcements on a Sunday morning at my home church.
[00:46:53] And so I know because I'm holding the sheet of paper of what the last song's going to be before I stand up to preach.
[00:46:59] And they're almost through that last song, and I just pray.
[00:47:02] I'm like, alright, well, I'm talking about prayer tonight, so I might as well do it myself.
[00:47:07] It's good if pastors do that.
[00:47:09] So, I just prayed.
[00:47:11] God, I need you to calm my heart right now, because if I get up there, I'm going to speak in tongues, not willingly.
[00:47:18] Because I don't know what I'm going to say, I can't even think a thought.
[00:47:24] I don't remember what exactly my prayer was, except for calm my heart.
[00:47:27] I remember saying that.
[00:47:29] I can't explain that except for the Lord.
[00:47:49] It was two steps up to the platform and then two steps on to where the preacher preached.
[00:47:54] It was the old school sanctuary set up.
[00:47:55] And I took those two steps, walked on those next two steps, and I was at the podium.
[00:48:01] And I didn't even white knuckle grip the edges of that wooden podium.
[00:48:07] I walked around.
[00:48:08] I even had a handheld microphone.
[00:48:10] And for pastors or any public speakers in here, handhelds are the worst, especially if you get nervous at all because you shake.
[00:48:17] I had a handheld and walked the stage like I've done it for years.
[00:48:23] That night 73 people came to the altar.
[00:48:28] It's hard to count sometimes in youth services because you don't know who came first and who came to pray with people but I do know they told me it was 73 and that was awesome.
[00:48:35] And I remember going and sitting right back in that same chair afterwards and the moment I sat back down I got so nervous again.
[00:48:44] But I tell you that story to tell you that the peace that I found up there had to be that same peace that Mary and Joseph had to encounter together before he even opened his mouth the next morning when they saw each other.
[00:48:57] I bet when they got in each other's presence there was a peace there because they both had said yes to the Lord and it was a peace that neither one of them had to say a word to each other about, but they just knew it.
[00:49:08] How do I know Mary knew that?
[00:49:09] Because when she told the angel,
[00:49:12] I am your servant so may it be as you say I believe that she understood what that peace looked like and so when Joseph walked in before he had to say a word I imagine that with the peace they both felt she embraced him and they both just knew and Joseph took her to be his wife and they found peace and a unity together that only the Lord can bring
[00:49:42] That's the peace that I want us to find this season.
[00:49:46] Whether that's waking up at 3 a.m. and staring at your Christmas tree, or you're one of those weirdos that finds peace in shopping at Target during Christmas in Mooresville.
[00:50:01] Find the peace that the Lord offers.
[00:50:06] Is it going out for an evening walk even when it's cold?
[00:50:09] Is it that first cup of coffee in the morning with your devotional?
[00:50:13] Is it just waking up knowing that you said last night, God, whatever it is tomorrow, bring it, because I've got you.
[00:50:22] Whatever that piece is this season, find it, embrace it, live in it, and it can be transformative in your life.
[00:50:33] I'm going to invite our worship team to come on up, and as they play this last song today,
[00:50:40] I do encourage you to sing along.
[00:50:42] I mostly want you to talk to the Lord about a piece.
[00:50:48] Similar to how I did before that youth revival service.
[00:50:51] Because no matter what, every single person in here came in with something that rattles you.
[00:50:58] This time of year, whether it be money,
[00:51:01] Whether it be loss of a loved one, whether it be relationships, whether it be health issues, there's something that rattles you that for whatever reason you don't necessarily have peace about.
[00:51:13] So as they sing this final song, I'm just going to encourage you
[00:51:18] To find the peace that only the Lord gives.
[00:51:22] If that means you find it when you're standing up, do that.
[00:51:24] If that means you have to sit down and pray to the Lord that way, then do it.
[00:51:28] It means you want to come to the altar and just say, Hey God, for this season, let's make it small.
[00:51:36] Start this season.
[00:51:37] Start this day.
[00:51:38] Find that peace from the Lord.
[00:51:40] If that's you today, then come find it.
[00:51:44] Regardless how it is, ask the Lord for that peace today.
[00:51:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
One, two, three, four.
[00:52:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I love you Lord, for your mercy never fails me.
[00:52:15] All my days have been held in your hands From the moment that I wake up till I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:52:45] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God I love your voice
[00:53:11] You have led me through the fire In darkest nights You are close like
[00:53:22] I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend I have lived in the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:53:45] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God Your goodness is running after, is running after me
[00:54:13] 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 is running after, it's running after me
[00:54:40] 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 All my life you have been faithful
[00:55:09] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:55:36] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able
[00:55:48] I will sing of the goodness of God I will sing of the goodness of God I will sing of the goodness of God
[00:56:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I pray that as you leave today and go throughout the rest of the day the Lord gives us, and more this week if we're given it, that you find that peace from the Lord that only He can give.
[00:56:39] Let me pray for you now.
[00:56:41] Hey God, we thank you again for this day.
[00:56:43] We thank you for the gift of your Son.
[00:56:46] We thank you for the peace that comes with following your will, your plan, your purpose.
[00:56:52] The peace that goes beyond understanding.
[00:56:55] Peace that sometimes you can't describe, you just know.
[00:57:01] God, may we leave this place with your peace today.
[00:57:04] It's your name I pray.
[00:57:05] Everyone said?
[00:57:07] Amen.
[00:57:07] You're dismissed.
[00:57:08] If anybody would like to stay and help set up for that dinner, abled backs and bodies are needed.
[00:57:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Thank you.
I usually try to start with this part.
[00:00:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Homie.
[00:01:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning The Bridge!
[00:01:46] Oh good okay some of you are awake today that's good it's really awesome let's get started this morning let's celebrate and let's worship together will you stand if you're capable and join me in song one two three four
[00:02:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled
[00:02:23] Joyful all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies With angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King
[00:02:51] Christ by highest heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord Laid in time, behold Him come Offspring of a virgin's womb
[00:03:08] Veiled in flesh the Godhead see Hail the Incarnate Deity Pleased as man with man to dwell Jesus our Emmanuel Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King
[00:03:36] Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of Righteousness Light and life to all He brings Risen with healing in His face
[00:03:52] While he lays his glory by Born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the new
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:04:25] You may be seated.
[00:04:26] Great job, kids.
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning.
[00:04:37] Alright, we're going to start off with a couple of announcements this morning.
[00:04:42] First, your prayer and praise cards.
[00:04:43] If you see those in the seat back in front of you or in your seat, again, if you're new with us, that's something you can just write some prayer requests down on or some praise reports and put them in the offering plate or give them to somebody at the back door when you leave.
[00:04:56] And every week our prayer team will get together and pray over those or rejoice with you in those praise reports.
[00:05:02] So if you want to fill one of those out today, please do.
[00:05:05] Next.
[00:05:07] Alright, our Christmas cards, I think we still have some lists of names out on the foyer table.
[00:05:14] Several of you must have taken those last week because there was literally a line of people putting Christmas cards in the card baskets out there and probably still are.
[00:05:22] So, again, if you want to do Christmas cards for people in the church and you don't know their address, again, the names and stuff, there's a list of those out on the foyer table.
[00:05:32] Next.
[00:05:33] Okay, today at 4.30, we are hosting a spaghetti dinner here at the church.
[00:05:40] This is a pink slip, that's not good.
[00:05:45] Right in the middle of announcements.
[00:05:49] Do I need to read that now?
[00:05:50] Okay, in announcements, got it.
[00:05:54] Let's start over.
[00:05:56] Today, December 14th at 4.30, we are hosting a spaghetti dinner here in the sanctuary to benefit our preschool.
[00:06:05] And at that event as well, we'll have kids from the church and kids from the preschool doing a combined song they've been working on.
[00:06:12] And so, again, if you would like to come to that tonight, hopefully you signed up ahead of time.
[00:06:17] If not...
[00:06:18] Come anyway.
[00:06:19] If you've got to wait a minute for spaghetti, that's what we've got to do.
[00:06:23] But that is tonight at 4.30.
[00:06:24] Hopefully we will see you there.
[00:06:28] December 23rd at 6 30 we are doing our Christmas Eve Eve service that'll be right here in the sanctuary I had one person last week say pastor 6 30 is pretty late but we want to also be available for people that get off work and have time to get here to the service so that will be at 6 30 on December 23rd it's one of my favorite services of the year so hopefully you'll come out and join us next
[00:06:56] All right, Winter Jam.
[00:06:57] I mentioned this last week.
[00:06:58] A couple people were interested.
[00:07:01] This is going to be January.
[00:07:02] Remember the date, Jeff?
[00:07:04] Remember it all?
[00:07:05] 25th.
[00:07:06] January 25th at Bojangles Arena down in Charlotte.
[00:07:10] Doors open at 4 p.m. Chris Tomlin is the headline artist this year.
[00:07:15] There's also some Christian hard rock.
[00:07:17] There's some Christian rap.
[00:07:17] There's worship.
[00:07:19] This is put on by a band called New Song.
[00:07:21] And the cost is a donation at the door.
[00:07:24] They're asking for a $15 donation.
[00:07:26] All right, before we
[00:07:55] All right, next Sunday we're going to be doing a little bit of an abbreviated kids program, a Christmas program.
[00:08:07] So kids, next week, this isn't so much for you kids but for the parents, have your kids here at 9 o'clock next Sunday so they can run through the songs and stuff.
[00:08:17] So next Sunday morning, kids be here at 9 o'clock.
[00:08:21] And then our last announcement,
[00:08:23] Today is for Morning Glories.
[00:08:25] This coming Wednesday, there will be no lesson for Morning Glories.
[00:08:28] Instead, you're going to meet up here and go through the preschool rehearsal for their Christmas program.
[00:08:34] So if you've been a part of Morning Glories for a while, I think you guys do that every year.
[00:08:38] But if you're new, this Wednesday, instead of lesson, you'll meet up here and do the rehearsal.
[00:08:44] And I think there's some snacks and stuff as well that'll go along with that.
[00:08:48] All right.
[00:08:49] That being said, if our ushers want to come forward this morning,
[00:08:52] We'll take our morning tithes and offerings.
[00:08:54] Let's go ahead and pray together.
[00:08:58] God, thank you so much for this day and for this opportunity to be in your house.
[00:09:03] Just ask now that your presence be here in such a strong and a mighty way.
[00:09:09] We love you today.
[00:09:10] We thank you.
[00:09:12] It's your name I pray.
[00:09:13] Amen.
[00:09:21] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
1, 2, 3, 4
[00:09:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Blessed be your name In a land that is plentiful Where the streams of abundance flow Blessed be your name Blessed be your name Found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness
[00:10:11] Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your name
[00:10:33] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:10:37] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:10:42] Blessed be your name.
[00:10:45] When the sun is shining down on me.
[00:10:50] When the world's all as it should be.
[00:10:53] Blessed be your name.
[00:10:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
[00:11:22] Let the darkness close its in, Lord Still I will sing Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be your glorious name You give and take away
[00:11:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name
[00:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name You give and take away You give and take away
[00:12:40] My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.
[00:12:47] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:12:55] Blessed be your name.
[00:12:59] Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:01] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:13:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:11] Blessed be your name.
[00:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
[00:13:19] Blessed be your glorious name.
[00:13:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I've got to play with my box for a second here and get things set up for the next song.
[00:13:41] Thank you for your patience while I do that.
[00:13:44] Is everybody in a good place this morning?
[00:13:50] Is everybody ready to worship this morning?
[00:13:52] Is everybody ready to hear God's message today?
[00:13:58] This is a song that we've done here before.
[00:14:00] This is the Christmas version of this song.
[00:14:02] It's a little bit different, so pay close attention to the lyrics.
[00:14:05] And if you don't know the song, and you're, you know, it's okay.
[00:14:08] You can worship in this moment.
[00:14:10] You can just be here in presence.
[00:14:11] You can listen to the words, and you can understand the glory and the wonder of our God.
[00:14:15] One, two, three, four.
[00:14:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Elder than a manger, the Son of God arrived, the One who would be called Emmanuel.
[00:14:46] The promise was delivered unto a virgin bride, the One who would be called Emmanuel.
[00:14:55] Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all Your thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all
[00:15:26] and the angels cried Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever
[00:15:55] In the humble town of David A Savior born today The one who would be called Emmanuel Behold the host of heaven With holy, corporal name The one who would be called Emmanuel
[00:16:23] The Messiah, our God, is with us now And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high
[00:16:50] Holy, holy forever Hear your people sing Holy to the King of Kings Holy, you will always be
[00:17:17] Holy, holy forever Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all
[00:17:42] All Thrones and Dominions All Powers and Positions Your Name stands above them all Your Name is the Highest Your Name is the Greatest Your Name stands above them all
[00:18:09] All powers and dominions, all powers and positions, Your name stands above them all And the angels cry, Holy, all creation cries
[00:18:34] Holy You are lifted high Holy Holy forever Hear Your people sing Holy To the King of Kings Holy
[00:19:04] You will always be holy, holy forever You will always be holy, holy forever
[00:19:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You may be seated.
[00:19:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
As we go to the Lord in prayer today, we want to remember Tina Foskey who is in the hospital with
[00:19:57] Well, they're checking everything.
[00:19:59] There's been talk of possibly pneumonia, talk of infection, and so just pray for Tina and her family during this time.
[00:20:10] And then our family, praise the Lord, is over it now, but we caught whatever that bug was that you guys told us about.
[00:20:22] It caught us, and...
[00:20:25] God bless you all.
[00:20:46] but pray for all those that are sick and dealing with anything right now and then again for all those that during the Christmas season it just brings on a different kind of a feeling and emotion to them as well so why don't we pray together in this moment hey God we come to you now we lift up Tina Foskey to you and we ask that you be with her touch her body be with her doctors as they're trying to find out and discover what is happening
[00:21:16] God, we pray for those that are sick and battling any illness through this season.
[00:21:23] I just pray that you just give them assurance and peace.
[00:21:28] God, for those that just Christmas season brings on a mental toll, a mental weight that is sometimes something they can't even describe or put words to.
[00:21:41] So God, I just pray that you comfort them in this season.
[00:21:45] God, we love you today.
[00:21:46] We ask for your presence and your spirit to be with us.
[00:21:49] It's your name I pray.
[00:21:50] Amen.
[00:21:52] Alright, I'm going to ask our kids to come on up front this morning.
[00:22:06] I'm just waiting on somebody to say something, but they're unusually quiet this morning.
[00:22:10] It kind of scares me.
[00:22:13] And the hands are already in.
[00:22:14] It's like you guys know what we're going to do or something.
[00:22:17] I got to change it up.
[00:22:18] Let's put our feet in.
[00:22:22] I'm joking.
[00:22:24] All right, hands in.
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
All right, come on.
[00:22:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
On the count of three, let me turn this off because I never know.
[00:22:34] On the count of three, we're going to say peace.
[00:22:35] Okay?
[00:22:35] One, two, three, peace.
[00:22:44] They came sneaking up here.
[00:22:45] It kind of made me nervous.
[00:23:13] Again, this torch scares me too.
[00:23:19] Today, we light the candle of peace.
[00:23:22] As I was reading about peace this week, I read a quote that says, Peace doesn't mean there won't be fear.
[00:23:30] Peace is knowing you have the answer through the fear.
[00:23:33] I was like, man, that's good.
[00:23:35] So as we light the peace candle today, I just pray that if there is any kind of fear and anxiety in your life, that you find the answer to it through Jesus and know that He is your peace.
[00:23:49] Last Sunday, we talked about hope and the hope that comes with just really understanding who God is and fully entrusting your life with Him.
[00:24:00] So therefore, you can base your decisions around Him and that beautiful saying that Mary said where she says, I am your servant, so let it be as you say.
[00:24:10] I love that.
[00:24:12] And so today we're going to be talking about peace.
[00:24:15] And again, if you're following along, you do an Advent devotional, yes, we're running one week behind as just, again, we'll bring it all together at the Christmas Eve service.
[00:24:26] But today in talking about peace, I was looking it up this week, and anybody in here ever have writer's block?
[00:24:33] Or just that you're trying to make a note or a list and you just all of a sudden just can't do it anymore?
[00:24:38] Or you're looking for something so hard that...
[00:24:40] Everything blends in so you just kind of have to walk away and then you come back and it's just obvious it's right there.
[00:24:47] So in reading about peace this week and trying to come up with something to say eventually I just said okay I got to go do some, as most of us do these days, mindless scrolling on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, something like that.
[00:25:02] And I came across a TikTok video that had
[00:25:08] A guy, and he just walked into his living room, and when he got into the living room, he just stopped and stared at his Christmas tree.
[00:25:20] And it said, the caption came up and said, Most men at 3 a.m. during December.
[00:25:27] Any of you guys ever just got up in the middle of the night and went and stared at your Christmas tree?
[00:25:32] None?
[00:25:33] Okay, a couple?
[00:25:36] I think that happens, and there was nothing else to it, nothing beyond that caption.
[00:25:42] Except for I think sometimes when the world's asleep, sometimes us guys find peace in that.
[00:25:49] There's something about the Christmas tree light, I've talked about it before, it is peaceful.
[00:25:54] It's peaceful to throw on, if you don't have a fireplace in your living room, to throw on the Yule log Christmas on your TV.
[00:26:02] Turn off all the other lights except the Christmas tree.
[00:26:05] That's nice, especially if you have little kids once they go to sleep.
[00:26:08] That's really nice.
[00:26:09] I love Bluey, but no sounds of Bluey or Danny Go in the background.
[00:26:17] And so you just stare at this tree and it's this light and just for a little bit, there's peace.
[00:26:29] And it's kind of beautiful.
[00:26:33] Not that it's all a guy thing and maybe girls do it too.
[00:26:38] There's just something beautiful about that piece.
[00:26:42] So after we talked about hope last week and the angel coming to Mary and the crucial conversation they had, I was reading this week about Joseph and how he had to come to terms with what Mary was going to tell him.
[00:27:01] And I really wish that the Bible gave us a little bit more into that.
[00:27:08] I really do.
[00:27:09] There are some stories in the Bible that I absolutely love what it says and it gives great detail.
[00:27:14] And there are some that I'm like, why did you skim over that?
[00:27:18] This conversation had to go on for a while.
[00:27:21] This conversation doesn't even really give us any indication of reaction or anything.
[00:27:28] It just kind of was.
[00:27:31] For this, we've got to go back to Matthew chapter 1.
[00:27:36] We'll start at verse 18.
[00:27:37] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
[00:27:40] His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:48] Verse 19.
[00:27:49] Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he made up his mind to divorce her quietly.
[00:28:00] Verse 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[00:28:15] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, and he will save people from their sins.
[00:28:25] That's kind of what we get.
[00:28:31] Not that that's bad, not that I'm disappointed, but I would like a little more.
[00:28:34] Because, let's be honest, we're all human here.
[00:28:39] That conversation had to be wild, right?
[00:28:43] Can we just be honest?
[00:28:45] And I'm just guessing, from the human side of things, that Mary probably brought hope to the conversation because of what she said to the angel.
[00:28:54] I am your servant, may it be as you say.
[00:28:59] Great.
[00:29:01] Coming to Joseph.
[00:29:02] Hey, so I'm pregnant.
[00:29:09] Sherman, do you ever preach and you see something in the crowd and your mind goes to this picture?
[00:29:16] As I said, I'm pregnant, I saw you drinking this cup and I imagine that was Joseph and he just spit it out.
[00:29:27] And I tried, I really tried to just make it my own thought, but I couldn't hold it anymore because that would have been, that's what I wanted to read.
[00:29:36] I needed to see this human element of this conversation.
[00:29:42] Something that Mary has agreed to with an angel that she admittedly was frightened by at first, now has to go tell the man that she's pledged to be married to that she's pregnant and it's not his.
[00:29:58] I would spit out a drink too!
[00:30:00] Thankfully you didn't, but it would have been perfect.
[00:30:08] Here's the crazy part.
[00:30:09] Here's what I'm led to believe through the order of Scripture.
[00:30:16] That Mary had this conversation before an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream.
[00:30:23] That's why I want more of the conversation.
[00:30:25] Because it said after Joseph decided, because he's a righteous man, to do it quietly, he'd made up his mind that he was going to divorce her, which means that the angel hadn't come to him yet.
[00:30:35] So what was this conversation like?
[00:30:42] All of our imaginations can go many places.
[00:30:47] But Joseph had made up his mind.
[00:30:50] I'm going to divorce her.
[00:30:52] This is crazy.
[00:30:55] I'm a good guy.
[00:30:56] She's apparently a good girl.
[00:30:59] I'll just do it quietly while I feel like it never happened.
[00:31:04] Can I tell you?
[00:31:04] I believe Joseph had peace with that decision.
[00:31:12] Wait a second.
[00:31:13] Have we ever had peace with a decision that wasn't what was from the Lord?
[00:31:19] We shouldn't, but I think we can trick ourselves into it.
[00:31:24] I want to pause there with the story.
[00:31:27] Anybody read what happened or see videos of what happened in Australia this morning?
[00:31:32] It was terrible, right?
[00:31:34] Selah had come and crawled in our bed this morning.
[00:31:39] I'm doing the morning doom scrolling and there was a video that popped up of, if you guys don't know, there was a shooter that opened fire on a beach this morning in Australia.
[00:31:48] Two shooters, yeah.
[00:31:49] Somebody was recording it from their apartment balcony across the street and you can't see anybody getting shot but you see the two shooters taking cover on the
[00:31:59] Like a walkway.
[00:32:00] And so this video pops up on my screen and I can't stop watching the train wreck, right?
[00:32:06] I'm sort of, what if somebody, the cop's going to get there?
[00:32:08] You hear sirens way before you see any intervention happening.
[00:32:13] And out of nowhere, Selah says, I didn't know she was watching.
[00:32:17] She had her little stuffed cat and she was like talking to herself.
[00:32:20] And she leaned over and said, Daddy, the bad guy is going to ruin Christmas.
[00:32:27] Oh, man.
[00:32:31] She said, why'd he do that?
[00:32:34] I said, what's he doing?
[00:32:35] She goes, he has a gun.
[00:32:37] He's going to ruin Christmas.
[00:32:39] That broke my heart.
[00:32:43] First off, I didn't know she knew the word ruin.
[00:32:49] But her little three-year-old brain saw this happening and just, it's a bad guy, he's going to ruin Christmas.
[00:33:00] So I said, if we ever had peace with a decision that's not from the Lord, I think that our brain can be tricked into it because the scripture we read four weeks ago about how our enemy roams around ready to devour us.
[00:33:12] I think that he can devour us by tricking our mind into things that want to ruin what God has for us.
[00:33:21] So Mary came to Joseph and said, hey, I'm pregnant.
[00:33:25] An angel came to me in a dream.
[00:33:27] And I agreed to it because, you know, I love the Lord.
[00:33:30] That relationship comes first.
[00:33:33] Joseph spit his drink out and said, what are you talking about?
[00:33:39] That's crazy.
[00:33:41] Mary, I just, I know what I saw.
[00:33:44] Don't talk to me right now.
[00:33:48] I'm guessing that's what he said because it says he's a righteous man.
[00:33:51] He was gonna do it quietly.
[00:33:52] So he probably needed that 3 a.m. Christmas tree light talk with himself.
[00:33:59] And it said, he decided, because he's a righteous man, that he's not going to do it publicly, that he's going to do it quietly.
[00:34:07] Which meant, he decided.
[00:34:10] And he, at one point, had peace with something that was not from the Lord.
[00:34:17] Have we ever been there?
[00:34:19] Probably.
[00:34:21] And reading that this week, my mind just kind of just, it all wrapped together this morning when Selah said the bad man's trying to ruin Christmas.
[00:34:29] about how we sometimes allow the enemy into our life to dictate a false sense of peace with something that's not of the Lord.
[00:34:46] But then in verse 20,
[00:34:54] But after he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[00:35:07] She will give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus, and he will save people from their sins.
[00:35:20] At just the right time, so many times in my life has the Lord showed up disguised as a person, a voice, a commercial, an ad, a dream.
[00:35:35] At just the right time.
[00:35:43] When I was gonna throw my life off its holy rails,
[00:35:48] It's something I had complete peace with.
[00:35:52] Complete peace means I talked myself into it.
[00:35:56] Can I be real with you?
[00:35:57] When we give ourselves complete peace about something that's not from the Lord, it's not that we've come to peace that we are totally fine with the decision.
[00:36:05] It means we're at peace and are totally fine with the consequences.
[00:36:13] At just the right time, so many times in my life, has the Lord showed up and spoken a truth in my life that has reminded me that the consequences that were coming with my peace didn't need to be there if I stayed the course in His plan, no matter how crazy that sounded.
[00:36:41] Verse 22.
[00:36:42] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet.
[00:36:50] What was that?
[00:36:52] Isaiah 6, verse 14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
[00:37:00] The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.
[00:37:11] There will be peace.
[00:37:15] Joseph had to, just like Mary, come to terms with this crazy idea that a virgin is going to give birth to a baby that is of God and is going to save the world.
[00:37:32] If I say it like that, it sounds crazy.
[00:37:37] And they had to agree to the crazy.
[00:37:42] And thank goodness they did.
[00:37:45] Right?
[00:37:49] And I am so thankful for the peace and reassurance that God gives us in the midst of chaos.
[00:38:00] If Joseph is like most of us men, it says that the angel appeared to him in the dream after he'd considered this divorce.
[00:38:09] That probably means that he fell asleep very late at night.
[00:38:15] was restless, tossed and turned, sweating.
[00:38:19] The piece of the Christmas tree still didn't do it.
[00:38:23] The cookie left over on the table didn't taste right.
[00:38:29] He was wrestling with all this stuff and finally just came to the conclusion that he's gonna do it quietly and he came to peace with the consequences.
[00:38:41] And the Lord showed up and said, wait a second.
[00:38:45] This is from me.
[00:38:48] This is from me.
[00:38:53] And I've shared this with you guys before in a couple different ways.
[00:38:56] I have been there and I've shared this story and I'm so glad that God gave me this story because it really helps me understand more and more the story of Jesus and what his parents had to go through in this early days.
[00:39:13] Marissa and I were told, no kids, right?
[00:39:17] No kids.
[00:39:18] It's not going to happen.
[00:39:21] I showed up for the second time.
[00:39:23] It was going to be our last try.
[00:39:26] I was going to give a sample at the office.
[00:39:29] I showed up in the parking lot, was about to walk up the stairs, and I get a phone call from Marissa that said, you don't have to go in.
[00:39:37] I've got eight positive pregnancy tests sitting on the counter now.
[00:39:42] Well, awesome.
[00:39:46] That was after we were told by four different doctors at four different hospitals through Canton, Akron, Cleveland, and where was the other one?
[00:39:55] Marietta, Ohio, that it's not going to happen for us.
[00:40:01] And that was stressful.
[00:40:02] That was chaotic.
[00:40:04] And we both came to the peace of it's just not going to happen.
[00:40:06] Let's look at other options.
[00:40:10] And then it did.
[00:40:14] We took a trip.
[00:40:16] Before this story I just told you, we took a drive across the country.
[00:40:22] We'd never done it.
[00:40:23] We've never been out west, not in a car anyway.
[00:40:27] And there was a certain stop.
[00:40:29] If anybody's ever been and drove out that way, the Badlands, it's awesome.
[00:40:34] It was after that.
[00:40:36] It was somewhere in Wyoming.
[00:40:38] There was this highway, there was two lanes, there was like this military vehicle museum graveyard on the left, and just up the road about half a mile was a sign that said Ram Crossing.
[00:40:53] Never seen that before, that's cool.
[00:40:55] We didn't see any rams.
[00:40:57] But then there was this pullover, and we got out, and this was just this vast, beautiful desert?
[00:41:06] I didn't think I could say that.
[00:41:09] But it was, and it was kind of a breathtaking thing.
[00:41:13] They're holding hands, and I just said, man, if God can make this beautiful, then our story can be beautiful too.
[00:41:20] And it was just kind of like this idea that, wait a second, we took too much control of it.
[00:41:25] Let's let God do it.
[00:41:27] Four weeks later was that phone call.
[00:41:32] God's timing.
[00:41:35] We found peace through the chaos.
[00:41:39] And if you were to think hard enough in your life, I bet you have stories similar to that where God showed up through the chaos, and my goodness, the miracle on the other side.
[00:41:54] Joseph had made up his mind that this just wasn't gonna go on.
[00:42:00] Mary, I'm sorry, that story's crazy.
[00:42:05] I know you love your Lord, but that's weird.
[00:42:10] If I can just speak honestly as a man, these are probably the things that he'd planned to say to her.
[00:42:16] And he's already known that her question is, but if we get divorced, you know the implications of that.
[00:42:21] I know, I'm gonna do it quietly.
[00:42:22] We're just gonna act like we don't know each other now.
[00:42:26] It's just gonna be that way.
[00:42:28] I'm sure he talked to himself until he fell asleep that night.
[00:42:35] And then the Lord.
[00:42:41] I don't know that I can ever pick out a certain time in my life that it was 100% the Lord that woke me up in a dream.
[00:42:51] But there have been times where I woke up and my spirit must have felt the voice of the Lord or something because I knew that what I had decided was wrong.
[00:43:03] And I bet that's what Joseph felt like when he woke up that morning.
[00:43:07] Alright God.
[00:43:10] Let's do this.
[00:43:12] Verse 24.
[00:43:13] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took Mary home as his wife.
[00:43:24] He had no union with her until she gave birth to her son.
[00:43:29] They gave him the name Jesus.
[00:43:32] Joseph woke right up and said, all right, I'm going to do it.
[00:43:39] I'm going to do it.
[00:43:43] This basically describes men and women perfectly.
[00:43:46] Mary had a conversation with the angel.
[00:43:50] It didn't say anything about Joseph having a conversation with the angel.
[00:43:52] He just stood up and decided.
[00:43:57] He woke up, got to his feet, and said, all right, there we go.
[00:44:03] He went and found Mary and said, all right, you're going to be my wife.
[00:44:07] I don't know.
[00:44:07] Again, this is where I want more.
[00:44:09] Like, I need a book.
[00:44:10] I need a story of what these conversations were like.
[00:44:13] Was there a warm embrace?
[00:44:15] Did they pray together?
[00:44:16] Was it just like a jumping high five?
[00:44:18] Like, I don't know.
[00:44:18] What happened?
[00:44:20] I want to know.
[00:44:21] So, the angel of the Lord came to them both.
[00:44:27] They both listened.
[00:44:29] They are now just in unison with the Spirit saying, this is going to happen.
[00:44:37] and they agreed to it and while I don't know what they said I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt there was an overwhelming peace in that moment there was an overwhelming peace because they were both following the steps and the path that the Lord had laid out for them and the peace that they had in their own understanding had been taken over by the Lord's understanding
[00:45:05] And if you've ever had that moment in your life, it is phenomenal.
[00:45:12] It's phenomenal.
[00:45:15] Last story I'll give that it's the only piece I can really render.
[00:45:20] There was a joy and a happiness when Marissa called for that day, but the first time I remember feeling that peace that I'm describing now, I told you guys before, I started preaching when I was 14 years old.
[00:45:31] And when I was 15, I got a call to do my first youth revival.
[00:45:36] It was in a town called Ravenna, Kentucky.
[00:45:39] It's an urban Kentucky.
[00:45:40] Ravenna is just like a tiny little part of it.
[00:45:43] And so I got called and they said, hey, we're going to do this youth revival.
[00:45:46] And I'm thinking, I know the Ravenna youth group.
[00:45:48] This is going to be fun.
[00:45:49] There's like 20 kids.
[00:45:50] It's going to be great.
[00:45:53] My parents drove me down there because I didn't have my license yet.
[00:45:56] And I go in.
[00:45:58] There's 260 teens that show up to this event.
[00:46:02] And I look at the people that called me and I was like, you kidding me?
[00:46:06] That's worth more than 25 bucks and pizza.
[00:46:08] Like what?
[00:46:10] What's happened?
[00:46:10] They said, I didn't know this was going to be that many.
[00:46:13] Some kids got a hold of their friends at school and said they were doing this lock-in at church and they all just decided to show up.
[00:46:19] I'm not kidding.
[00:46:21] I've never had a near change my pants experience like that.
[00:46:25] I sat in that front row.
[00:46:27] My heartbeat was so fast it was basically the drums.
[00:46:32] So fast and hard.
[00:46:33] I was so nervous.
[00:46:37] I couldn't feel my hands.
[00:46:40] It's probably the closest to a heart attack I've ever been.
[00:46:42] I'd never preached in front of a crowd like this before.
[00:46:47] A hundred max, and that was when I gave announcements on a Sunday morning at my home church.
[00:46:53] And so I know because I'm holding the sheet of paper of what the last song's going to be before I stand up to preach.
[00:46:59] And they're almost through that last song, and I just pray.
[00:47:02] I'm like, alright, well, I'm talking about prayer tonight, so I might as well do it myself.
[00:47:07] It's good if pastors do that.
[00:47:09] So, I just prayed.
[00:47:11] God, I need you to calm my heart right now, because if I get up there, I'm going to speak in tongues, not willingly.
[00:47:18] Because I don't know what I'm going to say, I can't even think a thought.
[00:47:24] I don't remember what exactly my prayer was, except for calm my heart.
[00:47:27] I remember saying that.
[00:47:29] I can't explain that except for the Lord.
[00:47:49] It was two steps up to the platform and then two steps on to where the preacher preached.
[00:47:54] It was the old school sanctuary set up.
[00:47:55] And I took those two steps, walked on those next two steps, and I was at the podium.
[00:48:01] And I didn't even white knuckle grip the edges of that wooden podium.
[00:48:07] I walked around.
[00:48:08] I even had a handheld microphone.
[00:48:10] And for pastors or any public speakers in here, handhelds are the worst, especially if you get nervous at all because you shake.
[00:48:17] I had a handheld and walked the stage like I've done it for years.
[00:48:23] That night 73 people came to the altar.
[00:48:28] It's hard to count sometimes in youth services because you don't know who came first and who came to pray with people but I do know they told me it was 73 and that was awesome.
[00:48:35] And I remember going and sitting right back in that same chair afterwards and the moment I sat back down I got so nervous again.
[00:48:44] But I tell you that story to tell you that the peace that I found up there had to be that same peace that Mary and Joseph had to encounter together before he even opened his mouth the next morning when they saw each other.
[00:48:57] I bet when they got in each other's presence there was a peace there because they both had said yes to the Lord and it was a peace that neither one of them had to say a word to each other about, but they just knew it.
[00:49:08] How do I know Mary knew that?
[00:49:09] Because when she told the angel,
[00:49:12] I am your servant so may it be as you say I believe that she understood what that peace looked like and so when Joseph walked in before he had to say a word I imagine that with the peace they both felt she embraced him and they both just knew and Joseph took her to be his wife and they found peace and a unity together that only the Lord can bring
[00:49:42] That's the peace that I want us to find this season.
[00:49:46] Whether that's waking up at 3 a.m. and staring at your Christmas tree, or you're one of those weirdos that finds peace in shopping at Target during Christmas in Mooresville.
[00:50:01] Find the peace that the Lord offers.
[00:50:06] Is it going out for an evening walk even when it's cold?
[00:50:09] Is it that first cup of coffee in the morning with your devotional?
[00:50:13] Is it just waking up knowing that you said last night, God, whatever it is tomorrow, bring it, because I've got you.
[00:50:22] Whatever that piece is this season, find it, embrace it, live in it, and it can be transformative in your life.
[00:50:33] I'm going to invite our worship team to come on up, and as they play this last song today,
[00:50:40] I do encourage you to sing along.
[00:50:42] I mostly want you to talk to the Lord about a piece.
[00:50:48] Similar to how I did before that youth revival service.
[00:50:51] Because no matter what, every single person in here came in with something that rattles you.
[00:50:58] This time of year, whether it be money,
[00:51:01] Whether it be loss of a loved one, whether it be relationships, whether it be health issues, there's something that rattles you that for whatever reason you don't necessarily have peace about.
[00:51:13] So as they sing this final song, I'm just going to encourage you
[00:51:18] To find the peace that only the Lord gives.
[00:51:22] If that means you find it when you're standing up, do that.
[00:51:24] If that means you have to sit down and pray to the Lord that way, then do it.
[00:51:28] It means you want to come to the altar and just say, Hey God, for this season, let's make it small.
[00:51:36] Start this season.
[00:51:37] Start this day.
[00:51:38] Find that peace from the Lord.
[00:51:40] If that's you today, then come find it.
[00:51:44] Regardless how it is, ask the Lord for that peace today.
[00:51:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
One, two, three, four.
[00:52:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I love you Lord, for your mercy never fails me.
[00:52:15] All my days have been held in your hands From the moment that I wake up till I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:52:45] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God I love your voice
[00:53:11] You have led me through the fire In darkest nights You are close like
[00:53:22] I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend I have lived in the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:53:45] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God Your goodness is running after, is running after me
[00:54:13] 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 is running after, it's running after me
[00:54:40] 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 All my life you have been faithful
[00:55:09] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God All my life you have been faithful
[00:55:36] All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able
[00:55:48] I will sing of the goodness of God I will sing of the goodness of God I will sing of the goodness of God
[00:56:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I pray that as you leave today and go throughout the rest of the day the Lord gives us, and more this week if we're given it, that you find that peace from the Lord that only He can give.
[00:56:39] Let me pray for you now.
[00:56:41] Hey God, we thank you again for this day.
[00:56:43] We thank you for the gift of your Son.
[00:56:46] We thank you for the peace that comes with following your will, your plan, your purpose.
[00:56:52] The peace that goes beyond understanding.
[00:56:55] Peace that sometimes you can't describe, you just know.
[00:57:01] God, may we leave this place with your peace today.
[00:57:04] It's your name I pray.
[00:57:05] Everyone said?
[00:57:07] Amen.
[00:57:07] You're dismissed.
[00:57:08] If anybody would like to stay and help set up for that dinner, abled backs and bodies are needed.
[00:57:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Thank you.
