Theological Status: Theologically 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).
🧐 Overview
Sermon Summary: This sermon explores the vital connection between God's free grace and our active participation in the church. It challenges the idea that grace leads to idleness, arguing instead that it empowers and motivates believers to serve, invest, and become working parts of the body of Christ.
Big Idea: Grace does not erase accountability; it empowers it. [00:44:27 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon is a faithful expository message from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. The pastor correctly balances the doctrines of grace and sanctification, arguing that grace is the foundation for, not the replacement of, personal accountability and service within the church. The homiletical structure is clear and the applications are practical and pastoral. The administration of the Lord's Supper was restricted to believers, though it lacked the explicit warning from 1 Corinthians 11, presenting a key area for liturgical strengthening.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia — The sermon presents sound doctrine with a warm, pastoral tone, faithfully encouraging believers to participate in the life of the church as a response to God's grace.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Biblically Sound
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ✅ PASS | The pastor clearly articulates that salvation is by unearned grace but rightly teaches that this grace transforms the believer, leading to active participation and good works as necessary fruit, not a means of earning favor. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | The sermon is founded upon the authority of Scripture, using an expository approach to a specific New Testament passage as the basis for all claims and applications. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | The pastor employs a sound grammatical-historical hermeneutic, correctly interpreting the text in its original context and applying its principles faithfully to the modern church. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | God is presented as both gracious and holy, whose standards for His people flow from His character. The presentation of God is biblically orthodox. |
| Sacramentology | ⚠️ WEAK | The Lord's Supper was administered with a proper restriction to believers. However, it lacked the explicit biblical warning from 1 Corinthians 11 regarding the dangers of partaking in an unworthy manner, a significant omission in pastoral care during the ordinance. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (Expository)
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 10 | Referenced: 0 | Alluded: 0
Passages Read Aloud:
-
2 Thessalonians 3:6
[00:30:19 ▶️ 📄]
"Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us."
-
2 Thessalonians 3:7-10
[00:30:33 ▶️ 📄]
"For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate."
-
2 Thessalonians 3:10-13
[00:31:05 ▶️ 📄]
"Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living brothers and sisters do not be weary in doing what is right this is the"
-
1 Corinthians 11:24
[00:56:13 ▶️ 📄]
"this is my body for you. take and eat this in remembrance of me"
-
1 Corinthians 11:25
[01:01:13 ▶️ 📄]
"this is my blood drink in remembrance of me"
Christological Connection: Thematic: The connection to Christ is thematic, based on the command to work being given 'in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ' and the corporate identity of believers as the Body of Christ, which is affirmed in communion.
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Introduction: The Paradox of Grace [00:40:56 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor introduces the theme by contrasting the free gift of grace ('come as you are') with God's transformative work ('doesn't leave you as you are').
- Point 1: The Problem of Idleness in Thessalonica [00:41:36 ▶️ 📄] : Drawing from 2 Thessalonians, the pastor explains the historical context of believers who stopped working and Paul's firm correction: 'unwilling to work shall not eat'.
- Point 2: Grace Empowers Accountability [00:44:27 ▶️ 📄] : The sermon's main proposition is stated: grace is not an excuse to sit back but an invitation to step up. Spiritual maturity is defined as faithfulness in ordinary things.
- Application: The Progression of Participation [00:46:19 ▶️ 📄] : Using an investment analogy and the progression from 'your church' to 'our church,' the pastor illustrates how deeper investment leads to deeper spiritual returns and a sense of family.
- Illustration: The Obituary of 'Someone Else' [00:51:45 ▶️ 📄] : A lengthy illustration is used to warn against the burnout of a few and the missed blessings of the many who rely on 'someone else' to do the work of the church.
- Conclusion and Transition to Communion [00:54:21 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor concludes the sermon by calling the congregation not to grow weary in doing good and connects the act of communion to corporate participation in the Body of Christ.
💧 Sacraments & Ordinances
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ❌ No (Open Table Risk)
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Grace and Accountability [00:44:27 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor discusses how grace does not erase accountability but rather empowers it.
- Spiritual Maturity [00:45:03 ▶️ 📄] : Paul's perspective on spiritual maturity involves faithfulness in ordinary tasks and being a working part of the church.
- Spiritual Maturity [00:45:03 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor discusses the importance of faithfulness in ordinary tasks for spiritual growth.
- Participation in Church Life [00:47:29 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor emphasizes the importance of active involvement in church activities for personal and communal growth.
✅ Commendations
Doctrine | Excellent Balance of Grace and Works
The sermon masterfully avoids the ditches of legalism and antinomianism. The statement at [00:45:48 ▶️ 📄], 'Grace draws us in, accountability sends us back out. Both belong,' provides a clear, memorable, and biblically sound framework for understanding the Christian life.
Homiletics | Faithful Expository Foundation
The entire sermon was built upon the foundation of 2 Thessalonians 3. Rather than using the text as a launchpad, the pastor continually returned to Paul's command and reasoning, allowing the Scripture to set the agenda for the message.
Application | Warm and Effective Pastoral Application
The progression described from attending 'their church' to belonging to 'our church' ([00:47:29 ▶️ 📄] - [00:49:40 ▶️ 📄]) is a powerful and relatable illustration of how participation builds ownership and a sense of family. This was a highlight of pastoral wisdom.
📝 Other Corrections & Notes
- it's believed that in any institution including the church 20% of the people do 80% of the work [00:50:53 ▶️ 📄] → Correction: This is a reference to the Pareto Principle, a sociological observation, not a biblical or formally proven statistic for every institution. While often true anecdotally, presenting it as a firm fact can be an overgeneralization. (Vilfredo Pareto's work on income distribution.)
🧠 Questions for Reflection
Use these questions for personal study or small group discussion:
- The pastor described church as a 'family' where everyone has a part to play. How does this compare to your previous experiences or ideas about church?
- The message centered on the idea that God's grace doesn't just forgive us, it changes us. What do you think about the connection between being accepted by God and being called to contribute and grow?
- Have you ever felt like you were on the outside of a community looking in? What would it mean to you to find a place where you could not only belong but also meaningfully participate?
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:02:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:02:20] It's my privilege to welcome you to First Baptist Church this morning as we're going to celebrate the Lord's Supper.
[00:02:29] As you can see, I'm so glad that you're here.
[00:02:32] Those of you that are tuning in from home, if you want to get the elements and join along with us, you're certainly invited to do so.
[00:02:42] It's getting to be that time of year when things are pretty busy, and so I'm going to highlight a few things that are going on this week you may take note of. Our youth are beginning their luminary sale today and that will go through
[00:02:59] November the 30th. They have tables here and in the narthex where you may purchase a luminary in memory or honor of someone that will be displayed and light the way for the love feast and also for the cantata on December 13th. Our first kids and youth will meet tonight
[00:03:18] at their normal times. Please check the calendar on the back of your bulletin to see if there's a small group that you might like to attend this week when they are meeting. Our Forever Young
[00:03:31] group is going to be go see Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas musical at the Barter Theater on Tuesday, November 18th at 9 a.m. Our decorating team, it's hard to believe that we're getting ready to say this, but the decorating team is going to decorate for Christmas on Monday,
[00:03:51] November 24th, and Tuesday, November the 25th. And that leads me to a very special service that will take place next week that I want to invite you to. Typically, it's been on Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving, but it's a time of counting blessings and saying thank you.
[00:04:11] What we're going to do is we're going to finish up worship next Sunday, and all who would like to, please go to the fellowship hall. We've got some wonderful cooks who are going to have soup,
[00:04:20] and we've got our grilled cheese team together again.
[00:04:23] We're going to have soup and grilled cheese and wonderful desserts for lunch.
[00:04:27] And after lunch is over, we will have a microphone there in the fellowship hall and whoever would like to may share publicly the things that you're grateful for.
[00:04:38] It's a wonderful service.
[00:04:39] There's no way to attend whether you speak or not and to attend that service and leave not feeling better than when you went in.
[00:04:46] And so I just hope that you'll make plans to be with us next Sunday after church.
[00:04:53] Just looking a little farther ahead to November the 30th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it's a fifth Sunday, which means we'll have our fifth Sunday fellowship in the Wayland Hall during the Sunday school hour.
[00:05:05] We'll have donuts and coffee.
[00:05:07] Please come, and if you have a friend that you'd like to bring to church, that's a great time to introduce them to people because it's so relaxed and informal and sugar enhanced.
[00:05:18] There are some folks that we need to remember in prayer. Joe Woody is going to be going back to have the stones removed from his other kidney on this Friday, so please remember Joe. Jim Sparks
[00:05:36] will be going for a PET scan on November the 26th. His doctor is hopeful that they may treat his condition with some shots that will be effective, and we're hoping the PET scan will bear that out. Of course, Jamie Martin, you got the one call. She is at the hospice house in
[00:05:53] Yadkinville. Please remember Jamie and Ed and then Brian and Hollis and that entire family.
[00:06:03] Also, Ed Martin's mother, Peggy, is currently going through chemotherapy. And so please remember Peggy and Garen and Ed at this time. I think the prognosis is fairly good, but when they did the surgery on her a couple weeks ago, they thought she had stage one. It turned out to be stage three
[00:06:23] once they got in there, but they do again think this is a treatable cancer, but please be in prayer for Peggy. Of course, the Richard Currant family, Richard's funeral will be here in the sanctuary at four o'clock this afternoon. I texted with Linda Trevette this morning. Roger has had to
[00:06:42] be taken to the emergency room in Charlotte because they're having trouble waking him up and his white blood cell count is extremely low. Continue to remember Vivian Collins.
[00:06:54] She's going to see her oncologist this week to find out what follow-up she needs to do after her surgery. David Reynolds is still recovering from his hip replacement. Remember him? Good news, Carl Elledge had a CT scan on Friday, and he is now cleared to drive again, which is very helpful
[00:07:13] since Sandra is recovering from shoulder surgery and cannot drive. But we pray for both of you.
[00:07:19] And then finally, Tammy Dearman-Newton had gallbladder surgery on Thursday, and she is recovering from that, please remember that family. Again, I thank you for being here this morning.
[00:07:33] I welcome you, and before I offer the invocation, I want to invite Donna Green to come up. We've been having people share about their small group experiences, and she's going to come and talk
[00:07:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:07:43] about one of our more active groups. Good morning. I'd like for everyone who has participated in the Trailblazers walking group to please stand up. Come on, don't be shy. We've got a really good group. We currently meet every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. at Cub Creek at the newly named John
[00:08:31] Henry Gross Track. That's the short track where the e-chargers are located. We usually walk somewhere between two and a half to three miles each time.
[00:08:43] However, we do have people stop whenever they feel like it, so you're free to stop at any point.
[00:08:51] Pastor Burt has been providing a weekly devotion to share amongst the small groups, and our group seems to really enjoy discussing the devotions, and they're always relevant.
[00:09:07] So please join us anytime.
[00:09:09] we'd love to have you. I said to the group last week, personally, these walks and the fellowship are good for all that ails you. So come join us. Before we pray, we need to just celebrate
[00:09:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:33] one more thing. Our Christmas bazaar, the women of the church worked on that for months and months, and I want to give you an updated final total. They raised $10,893.50. That's tremendous. And once we divvy it up, I will give you an accounting in the newsletter of where it all goes, but it's
[00:10:04] going to support several very worthy missions organizations in our community. So thank you for your support of that. Thank you to the women of the church. That was just an incredible undertaking. Thank you. Let's pray together. God of creation, God of time, God of grace,
[00:10:34] we come, Lord, and we place our spirits before you this morning. We come, Lord, in adoration.
[00:10:47] We come in awe. We come, God, with expectation. We also come with need. And it is my prayer at this point, God, that you help us all to open up and be authentic, as transparent, as vulnerable,
[00:11:16] as open as we possibly can be to the wonders of your love in this hour. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. The peace of Christ be with you. Thank you. This is a time when we
[00:11:43] say a special word of welcome to those of you who are our guests among us. We are so glad that you're here, and we want you to feel as much a part of us as if you'd always been here.
[00:11:54] So make yourselves comfortable. If you are inclined to do so, there is a visitor or guest card that's in the back of the pew in front of you. You may fill that out, give us a little
[00:12:06] information about yourself, and place it in the offering plate when it goes by later on in our service. Now, this person is not a guest, but is actually a member, but it's your first time meeting her in person, but John German's wife, Wilma Sue German, is here today. She's
[00:12:23] finally recovered enough from her surgery to be here, and she joined in absentia when John joined, so she's already a member of the church, but we're so glad that you're here in person,
[00:12:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:12:37] Wilma Sue. Thank you for being here. And now we're going to sing our praise. We have come
[00:12:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:55] into his house. Let's stand and worship together. Children, will you join me? How are you this
[00:16:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:16:42] morning. I'm so thankful that you are here. As you can see, I have something. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I don't know if I'm going to be able to. I have a case of Sprite and I don't
[00:16:59] know how in the world I'm going to get it from here into the children's building or even up to the youth room for first kids and youth tonight. How am I going to do that? You can help. You can,
[00:17:12] can't you? How could we do that? What would be an easy way for everybody to help? Cortland?
[00:17:20] We can work together. You could. You could hold each side, or I could open the case, which I don't know that I'm going to do. We might hold each side, taking it over there.
[00:17:34] but we can open the case and you could also carry one or two, right? You could help me because I just don't know. I mean, even Mr. Brian had to bring it up here. You know, I couldn't, I didn't
[00:17:50] carry it up over here to the chair. So to carry it a long distance and where it needs to go, I don't know that I'm going to be able to do it by myself. You know, I want to tell you that Paul
[00:18:02] also taught the Thessalonians that that was something they needed to do. That instead of doing all the work on just one person, that we all help, that we all take turns doing the work.
[00:18:22] If we all take a little bit of the work, we can all get it done. We can get it done faster. We can get it done better. We can also, it takes off the burden from just one person or two people
[00:18:40] doing all of it. Isn't that wonderful? So if I gave each one of you a can of the Sprite, that would make this load or this weight of this case of Sprite a lot, a lot lighter, wouldn't it?
[00:18:57] So I want you to think about that. I want you to think about how, when you're at church, or how we can do things to lighten everybody's load, to do a little bit to help out. We have a lot of people
[00:19:12] here. We have our deacons. They're helping with communion today. It's not just on one person.
[00:19:18] We have our ushers that help, and greeters who help people come in and find a seat, or that they can they get about the bulletins? Everybody works together. And you know what? Not only, not only does it make it easier, but it makes a team. It makes us in it together.
[00:19:41] Isn't that wonderful? And we all do it for who? We do it for God in a joyful way.
[00:19:50] Will you pray with me?
[00:19:53] Dear God, we are so very thankful for each one of our members of this congregation.
[00:20:02] We're thankful for our deacons.
[00:20:03] We're thankful for our Sunday school teachers.
[00:20:05] We're thankful for our ushers and our greeters.
[00:20:08] And we're thankful for everyone that helps to take care of our church.
[00:20:12] Everyone that pitches in, that does something to lighten the load, but to make it so much better for your people.
[00:20:21] to take the burden away from just one or two. Lord, remind us daily that we are part of that, no matter how big or small. We can be a part of that help and to be a part of caring for our
[00:20:38] church, our church family, and our community. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:20:47] All right, guys, are you ready for children's church? Wait, you got to help me. You going to
[00:20:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:51] help me? Would you pray with me? All the many things that you give us, especially for your love,
[00:24:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:24:16] we give you thanks. Thank you for all that you provide for us. Thank you for all that you call us to do in serving you, including giving back of what you've given us. And we ask you to help
[00:24:38] us to reflect on how we need to be better stewards of your gifts. And we ask that you would bless all the gifts, however they are given, not only financially, but time and service and love and
[00:24:55] care, that you would bless them and that we would show and share your love so that others may know why we give back and why we feel blessed.
[00:25:13] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:25:15] Scripture today comes from one of Paul's letters.
[00:30:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:30:09] It comes from 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 6-13.
[00:30:15] Hear these words.
[00:30:19] Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us.
[00:30:33] For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us.
[00:30:37] We were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it.
[00:30:45] But with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you.
[00:30:52] This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.
[00:31:01] For even when we were with you, we gave you this command.
[00:31:05] Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
[00:31:09] For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
[00:31:17] now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living brothers and sisters do not be weary in doing what is right this is the
[00:31:33] word of God for us the people of God bow with me in prayer please Lord I thank you for this church
[00:31:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:31:59] I thank you for this body of Christ I thank you for the mission that you've given to us here on the corner of 5th and D Streets, to be the hands and feet of Christ to this community,
[00:32:14] to share the love and the hope and the grace of your gospel, both here and abroad.
[00:32:24] And I thank you, Lord, for the sense of urgency with which we accept that mission.
[00:32:34] We pray, God, for your guidance.
[00:32:38] We pray for your inspiration.
[00:32:41] We pray for your leadership, as well as the humility and wisdom to follow it.
[00:32:51] There are many, Lord, that we've mentioned who need your special attention, the care and comfort of your healing hands.
[00:33:03] We thank you, Lord, for the miracles of modern science that Aaron Walker now has a new liver.
[00:33:10] his body is accepting it and we pray lord that you would continue to heal his body and and keep him hopeful and invigorated throughout this lengthy process also his wife also his mother also his
[00:33:30] father who are traveling this journey with him we're thankful lord that matthew edwards is doing better, recovering from his malaria, and we give you praise for that, God, and we ask that you continue to walk with him, keep him healthy, and restore his strength. For so many others that we
[00:33:57] have mentioned who are facing cancer treatments, who are facing surgery, who are rehabilitating from surgery, we know, Lord, that you are the great physician, but I pray that each and every one would do their part. Doctors and nurses involved, Lord, would be compassionate, swift,
[00:34:24] and accurate in their diagnoses and their treatment. For those, Lord, who are grieving today, who have lost loved ones, we pray for your mercy. We pray, God, that you would help secure the foundations that have been shaken as each breath and each step is a move back towards normalcy.
[00:34:52] We do pray God for forgiveness For we have lived this past week As fallible human beings We confess Lord that we have fallen short But we give unabashed thanks for your grace And pledge Lord to never take it for granted
[00:35:19] Be with us as we worship And as we find tools and find strength And find invigoration for the week ahead
[00:35:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:29] it's in Jesus name that we pray amen anything about grace we all love to receive it
[00:40:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:40:56] unearned unconditional overflowing we say come as you are and we mean it and thanks heavens we do because who among us would ever be ready or acceptable if the standard were perfection but here's the question have you ever noticed that once you come as you are
[00:41:25] God doesn't leave you as you are. Grace has a way of rolling up its sleeves.
[00:41:36] It comes up alongside us and it says, now let's get to work. Paul must have known that tension when he wrote to the Thessalonians. The church there was young, energetic, and excited about Jesus return. They sang, they prayed, they encouraged one another, but somewhere along
[00:42:02] the way, some folks in the group stopped working. Most likely, in fairness to those who chose laziness, they decided, you know, if Jesus is coming back at any moment, there's not much point and tending the fields or baking bread. Or maybe they just expected the community to take care of
[00:42:29] them. After all, isn't that what Christians do? Paul writes here with both love and authority, we command you brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from every brother or sister who lives in idleness. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule,
[00:42:53] no one who is willing unwilling to work those who are unwilling to work shall not eat that sounds harsh not eating I mean I file that under cruel and unusual punishment until you realize that God
[00:43:14] is not talking I mean Paul's not talking about punishment he's talking about participation Paul doesn't want freeloaders what Paul wants is family and he's not talking about benevolence to those in need in the community he's not addressing their charity or mission work
[00:43:40] outside the church he's talking about the believers within the church that church family and in a family everyone helps prepare supper even those who cannot cook you can set out the plates or the silverware. You can put ice in the cups and glasses. You can pour the tea.
[00:44:09] Now, everybody working can get a little tricky, as we just read and as we know, in a church that's built on grace. Reason being, we like forgiveness, not firmness.
[00:44:27] we like affirmation not instruction Paul reminds us here though that grace does not erase accountability it empowers it grace is not an excuse to sit back it's an invitation to step up somewhere we got the idea that spiritual maturity is just about knowing bible verses and avoiding
[00:45:03] bad habits. But Paul says spiritual maturity looks a lot like faithfulness in ordinary things.
[00:45:13] Showing up, working hard, doing your part. And isn't it true of the healthiest churches that you know? They're full of people who don't just attend, they invest. People who understand that being part of the body of Christ means being a working part. Hands that serve, feet that go,
[00:45:39] voices that encourage, hearts that pray. There's a rhythm in the life of faith.
[00:45:48] Grace draws us in, accountability sends us back out. Both belong. Without grace, we'd never get in the door. Without accountability, we'd never grow once we were inside, nor achieve our God-given purpose. We've all heard the saying, you get out of it what you put into it. I mean, this is a very
[00:46:19] easy principle to understand when it comes to money. If I invest in a company or a mutual fund or a CD, the money I make depends directly on the amount of money I'm willing to invest.
[00:46:35] Now, being an English major, we're going to keep to numbers that are very simple and round.
[00:46:41] But if a certain investment returns a profit of 10%, if I've invested a dollar, I'm going to take home a dime. But if I've invested $100, I'm going to pocket $10. But if I really, really believed in
[00:46:58] the company and its mission and then its leaders and I went all in and I invested a million dollars my portfolio just grew by a hundred thousand dollars. The same is true with spiritual growth
[00:47:12] though maybe not so nicely and neatly and cut and dried. I mean think back to when we start attending church maybe we came with somebody else whether it was a spouse or a friend or family
[00:47:29] member, whomever, we thought about it as going to their church. I'm going to go to your church.
[00:47:42] But then after we go for a while, and we meet some of the people, and we get the hang of the order of worship, and we drop the pronoun, and we just say, yeah, I'm going to go to church this
[00:47:55] Sunday. But if we continue going, and we perhaps join a Sunday school class or a small group, maybe we begin to support the church financially with ties or offerings perhaps even officially join the church by walking down front and agree to serve on the finance committee or sing in the
[00:48:22] choir well then it becomes my church but if we hang in there and if we buy into the mission of the church. If we think about and pray about and hope for the success of the church
[00:48:44] through the will of God, and if we're a part of the church coming together to survive a pandemic or to support hurricane victims in the mountains for heaven's sake, or to participate in mission work and to pray and to walk through the dark days of grief and loss and joy with others
[00:49:10] as they too support us through the death of loved ones or the sending of children off to college or attending your children and grandchildren's baptisms and weddings.
[00:49:23] And we participate in God leading the church to give an incredible offering to care for house and each Sunday we look around and what we see is family and we feel the presence of God
[00:49:40] now it's become our church mine everyone else's and God's all together and we've arrived And I can just tell you, no one gets more out of Sunday school than the ones who teach the lesson.
[00:50:20] Grace opens the door, but it's participation that deepens the relationships.
[00:50:27] Those who give the most of time, effort, prayer, and heart are the ones who receive the most.
[00:50:36] and it's not because God loves them more but because they've stepped up and are close enough to feel the warmth of God's love at work okay I'm getting to communion it's believed that in any institution including the church 20% of the people do 80% of the work and what's so sad about
[00:51:09] that statistic to me is that 80% of church members if they're right are missing out on the fullness of joy and grace that they could experience by fully investing in what God's doing at their
[00:51:24] churches, in its missions and in its work, by leaving it to someone else. Which leads me, this is, it may be a little bit trite, but it makes a point. You may have heard it before. It's an
[00:51:45] obituary. Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, someone else. Someone else's passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.
[00:52:03] Someone else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years someone else did far more than a normal person's share of the work. Whenever there was a job to do or a class to teach
[00:52:15] or a visit to make there was one name on everyone's list. Get someone else to do it. Whenever there was a mission trip to go on, a children's trip to chaperone, a work day at the church, a youth
[00:52:31] supper to provide, it was assumed that someone else would step up. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. Someone else can lead that group. It was common knowledge that someone else was among the most cheerful givers in
[00:52:52] the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed someone else would make up the difference. Someone else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman. With the truth known, everybody expected too much of someone else. But now someone else is gone.
[00:53:17] We wonder what we're going to do. Someone else left a wonderful example to follow, but who's going to follow it who's going to do the things that someone else did whenever you're asked to be involved to participate to help to lead just remember
[00:53:41] we can't depend on someone else anymore but see for me it's not about getting somebody to feel the place. Don't let somebody else steal all the fun and laughter, all the joy and sense of purpose,
[00:54:02] all the spiritual growth and maturity and transformation that can be and is intended to be yours. So Paul says to the Thessalonians and to us, don't grow weary in doing what is right.
[00:54:21] because in a church full of grace as well as grit no one sits idle but no one stands alone amen two words of introduction to the Lord's table this is indeed the Lord's table it's not my table
[00:54:54] it's not our church's table and so if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are welcome to participate. You will also find on the bread trays that there are little pieces that are
[00:55:06] in a Ziploc, and those are gluten-free if you need that. If you don't need it, you can just leave it alone, but that's what that's for. You know, and the other thing I'll just say about this
[00:55:20] to point out is that communion, partaking of communion, is a corporate act. We don't do it alone. And when we do it together, what we're saying is, I'm part of the body. I participate.
[00:55:39] I'm going to do my fair share. And so it was on the night that he was betrayed that Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it, and he said, this is my body for you.
[00:56:13] take and eat this in remembrance of me remembrance of me lord as we pause to give thanks for your body that was broken for us we remember that your body was the body of a servant we pray god that we
[01:01:01] would be imitators of your work your grace and your love in christ's name amen and also on that
[01:01:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:01:13] same night he took the cup and poured it and said this is my blood drink in remembrance of me drink in remembrance of me now after sharing in the Lord's
[01:05:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:05:53] Supper together we open the heart the doors of our church to any who would like to officially join this church family we're gonna stand together and sing him number 282 living for Jesus and if you would like to become a member of
[01:06:07] this church, either by professing your faith in Jesus for the first time, seeking baptism, or by transferring your membership on profession of faith from another church to this one, we would
[01:06:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:06:17] be happy to receive you at this time. Let's stand together and sing. Thank you. Please be seated for
[01:07:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:07:37] just a moment as we go into church conference. And while Patrick's making his way up, I just want to say thank you to our sacraments committee, to Marie Waddell and Annette Battle for preparing
[01:07:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:07:49] our Lord's Supper today. Thank you, Bert. If you don't know me, I'm Patrick Smith. I'm the chair of our finance committee. And before I call the church in the conference, I'd like to say something, hopefully, that Jamie Martin and Ed and Brian are watching today, and we're praying
[01:08:08] for you. We love you. So now I'm going to call the church at the conference. I'd like to thank various committees and teams for their input in preparing the 2026 ministry support plan or as we call it the budget the finance committee approved the budget on september 30th
[01:08:28] and before i go any further i just want to recognize the folks that are on the finance committee jim waddell michael green adina green jim murphy bob taylor missy mayberry and myself we're the voting members, and Pastor Burt and Deacon Chair Bill Bumgarner, our financial accountant
[01:08:49] Sarah Howell, and our church treasurer David Reynolds. And I'd like to say something about the two people who do almost all the work is our treasurer David Reynolds and our financial accountant Sarah Howell. They do all the number work, they do all the report writing, and they
[01:09:06] provide us with awesome spreadsheets that we can manage the church business. Thank you to them.
[01:09:11] The deacons approved the budget on October 19th. The budget was mailed to the church members on October 21st. We had question and answer sessions before and after church on November 2nd. Since it was approved by the deacons, we'd
[01:09:27] like to submit the 2026 ministry support plan without discussion to the congregation for your support and approval. All in favor of the 2026 church budget, please raise your hand. All who pose. Thank you so much, and before I end, I would just
[01:09:48] thank you all to the congregation. We have received the largest amount of receipts in the church history, and that's at the same time as supporting our campaign, our capital campaign, to make improvements to the church. Everyone is blessed. You have blessed the church, and God
[01:10:06] is happy with us. So thank you so much. Our youth will be selling luminaries as you exit.
[01:10:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:10:29] One other thing I'll say, I mentioned this last week, but we've got new hearing devices, new hearing aids, Aura, that are out in the North Ex. And I'm hoping that William can maybe come down. If you have questions, if you would like some assistance in hearing, they're related to
[01:10:48] Bluetooth. And so he can help you with that if you want to go check that out after the service today. And don't forget about next week. We'll have lunch together. We'll count our blessings together. It's going to be a great Sunday. I hope that you'll be here and bring a friend or
[01:11:04] neighbor with you. But now as we leave this place, may we all live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, forgive freely, pray daily, and leave the rest to God.
[00:02:20] It's my privilege to welcome you to First Baptist Church this morning as we're going to celebrate the Lord's Supper.
[00:02:29] As you can see, I'm so glad that you're here.
[00:02:32] Those of you that are tuning in from home, if you want to get the elements and join along with us, you're certainly invited to do so.
[00:02:42] It's getting to be that time of year when things are pretty busy, and so I'm going to highlight a few things that are going on this week you may take note of. Our youth are beginning their luminary sale today and that will go through
[00:02:59] November the 30th. They have tables here and in the narthex where you may purchase a luminary in memory or honor of someone that will be displayed and light the way for the love feast and also for the cantata on December 13th. Our first kids and youth will meet tonight
[00:03:18] at their normal times. Please check the calendar on the back of your bulletin to see if there's a small group that you might like to attend this week when they are meeting. Our Forever Young
[00:03:31] group is going to be go see Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas musical at the Barter Theater on Tuesday, November 18th at 9 a.m. Our decorating team, it's hard to believe that we're getting ready to say this, but the decorating team is going to decorate for Christmas on Monday,
[00:03:51] November 24th, and Tuesday, November the 25th. And that leads me to a very special service that will take place next week that I want to invite you to. Typically, it's been on Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving, but it's a time of counting blessings and saying thank you.
[00:04:11] What we're going to do is we're going to finish up worship next Sunday, and all who would like to, please go to the fellowship hall. We've got some wonderful cooks who are going to have soup,
[00:04:20] and we've got our grilled cheese team together again.
[00:04:23] We're going to have soup and grilled cheese and wonderful desserts for lunch.
[00:04:27] And after lunch is over, we will have a microphone there in the fellowship hall and whoever would like to may share publicly the things that you're grateful for.
[00:04:38] It's a wonderful service.
[00:04:39] There's no way to attend whether you speak or not and to attend that service and leave not feeling better than when you went in.
[00:04:46] And so I just hope that you'll make plans to be with us next Sunday after church.
[00:04:53] Just looking a little farther ahead to November the 30th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it's a fifth Sunday, which means we'll have our fifth Sunday fellowship in the Wayland Hall during the Sunday school hour.
[00:05:05] We'll have donuts and coffee.
[00:05:07] Please come, and if you have a friend that you'd like to bring to church, that's a great time to introduce them to people because it's so relaxed and informal and sugar enhanced.
[00:05:18] There are some folks that we need to remember in prayer. Joe Woody is going to be going back to have the stones removed from his other kidney on this Friday, so please remember Joe. Jim Sparks
[00:05:36] will be going for a PET scan on November the 26th. His doctor is hopeful that they may treat his condition with some shots that will be effective, and we're hoping the PET scan will bear that out. Of course, Jamie Martin, you got the one call. She is at the hospice house in
[00:05:53] Yadkinville. Please remember Jamie and Ed and then Brian and Hollis and that entire family.
[00:06:03] Also, Ed Martin's mother, Peggy, is currently going through chemotherapy. And so please remember Peggy and Garen and Ed at this time. I think the prognosis is fairly good, but when they did the surgery on her a couple weeks ago, they thought she had stage one. It turned out to be stage three
[00:06:23] once they got in there, but they do again think this is a treatable cancer, but please be in prayer for Peggy. Of course, the Richard Currant family, Richard's funeral will be here in the sanctuary at four o'clock this afternoon. I texted with Linda Trevette this morning. Roger has had to
[00:06:42] be taken to the emergency room in Charlotte because they're having trouble waking him up and his white blood cell count is extremely low. Continue to remember Vivian Collins.
[00:06:54] She's going to see her oncologist this week to find out what follow-up she needs to do after her surgery. David Reynolds is still recovering from his hip replacement. Remember him? Good news, Carl Elledge had a CT scan on Friday, and he is now cleared to drive again, which is very helpful
[00:07:13] since Sandra is recovering from shoulder surgery and cannot drive. But we pray for both of you.
[00:07:19] And then finally, Tammy Dearman-Newton had gallbladder surgery on Thursday, and she is recovering from that, please remember that family. Again, I thank you for being here this morning.
[00:07:33] I welcome you, and before I offer the invocation, I want to invite Donna Green to come up. We've been having people share about their small group experiences, and she's going to come and talk
[00:07:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:07:43] about one of our more active groups. Good morning. I'd like for everyone who has participated in the Trailblazers walking group to please stand up. Come on, don't be shy. We've got a really good group. We currently meet every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. at Cub Creek at the newly named John
[00:08:31] Henry Gross Track. That's the short track where the e-chargers are located. We usually walk somewhere between two and a half to three miles each time.
[00:08:43] However, we do have people stop whenever they feel like it, so you're free to stop at any point.
[00:08:51] Pastor Burt has been providing a weekly devotion to share amongst the small groups, and our group seems to really enjoy discussing the devotions, and they're always relevant.
[00:09:07] So please join us anytime.
[00:09:09] we'd love to have you. I said to the group last week, personally, these walks and the fellowship are good for all that ails you. So come join us. Before we pray, we need to just celebrate
[00:09:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:33] one more thing. Our Christmas bazaar, the women of the church worked on that for months and months, and I want to give you an updated final total. They raised $10,893.50. That's tremendous. And once we divvy it up, I will give you an accounting in the newsletter of where it all goes, but it's
[00:10:04] going to support several very worthy missions organizations in our community. So thank you for your support of that. Thank you to the women of the church. That was just an incredible undertaking. Thank you. Let's pray together. God of creation, God of time, God of grace,
[00:10:34] we come, Lord, and we place our spirits before you this morning. We come, Lord, in adoration.
[00:10:47] We come in awe. We come, God, with expectation. We also come with need. And it is my prayer at this point, God, that you help us all to open up and be authentic, as transparent, as vulnerable,
[00:11:16] as open as we possibly can be to the wonders of your love in this hour. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. The peace of Christ be with you. Thank you. This is a time when we
[00:11:43] say a special word of welcome to those of you who are our guests among us. We are so glad that you're here, and we want you to feel as much a part of us as if you'd always been here.
[00:11:54] So make yourselves comfortable. If you are inclined to do so, there is a visitor or guest card that's in the back of the pew in front of you. You may fill that out, give us a little
[00:12:06] information about yourself, and place it in the offering plate when it goes by later on in our service. Now, this person is not a guest, but is actually a member, but it's your first time meeting her in person, but John German's wife, Wilma Sue German, is here today. She's
[00:12:23] finally recovered enough from her surgery to be here, and she joined in absentia when John joined, so she's already a member of the church, but we're so glad that you're here in person,
[00:12:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:12:37] Wilma Sue. Thank you for being here. And now we're going to sing our praise. We have come
[00:12:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:55] into his house. Let's stand and worship together. Children, will you join me? How are you this
[00:16:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:16:42] morning. I'm so thankful that you are here. As you can see, I have something. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I don't know if I'm going to be able to. I have a case of Sprite and I don't
[00:16:59] know how in the world I'm going to get it from here into the children's building or even up to the youth room for first kids and youth tonight. How am I going to do that? You can help. You can,
[00:17:12] can't you? How could we do that? What would be an easy way for everybody to help? Cortland?
[00:17:20] We can work together. You could. You could hold each side, or I could open the case, which I don't know that I'm going to do. We might hold each side, taking it over there.
[00:17:34] but we can open the case and you could also carry one or two, right? You could help me because I just don't know. I mean, even Mr. Brian had to bring it up here. You know, I couldn't, I didn't
[00:17:50] carry it up over here to the chair. So to carry it a long distance and where it needs to go, I don't know that I'm going to be able to do it by myself. You know, I want to tell you that Paul
[00:18:02] also taught the Thessalonians that that was something they needed to do. That instead of doing all the work on just one person, that we all help, that we all take turns doing the work.
[00:18:22] If we all take a little bit of the work, we can all get it done. We can get it done faster. We can get it done better. We can also, it takes off the burden from just one person or two people
[00:18:40] doing all of it. Isn't that wonderful? So if I gave each one of you a can of the Sprite, that would make this load or this weight of this case of Sprite a lot, a lot lighter, wouldn't it?
[00:18:57] So I want you to think about that. I want you to think about how, when you're at church, or how we can do things to lighten everybody's load, to do a little bit to help out. We have a lot of people
[00:19:12] here. We have our deacons. They're helping with communion today. It's not just on one person.
[00:19:18] We have our ushers that help, and greeters who help people come in and find a seat, or that they can they get about the bulletins? Everybody works together. And you know what? Not only, not only does it make it easier, but it makes a team. It makes us in it together.
[00:19:41] Isn't that wonderful? And we all do it for who? We do it for God in a joyful way.
[00:19:50] Will you pray with me?
[00:19:53] Dear God, we are so very thankful for each one of our members of this congregation.
[00:20:02] We're thankful for our deacons.
[00:20:03] We're thankful for our Sunday school teachers.
[00:20:05] We're thankful for our ushers and our greeters.
[00:20:08] And we're thankful for everyone that helps to take care of our church.
[00:20:12] Everyone that pitches in, that does something to lighten the load, but to make it so much better for your people.
[00:20:21] to take the burden away from just one or two. Lord, remind us daily that we are part of that, no matter how big or small. We can be a part of that help and to be a part of caring for our
[00:20:38] church, our church family, and our community. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:20:47] All right, guys, are you ready for children's church? Wait, you got to help me. You going to
[00:20:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:51] help me? Would you pray with me? All the many things that you give us, especially for your love,
[00:24:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:24:16] we give you thanks. Thank you for all that you provide for us. Thank you for all that you call us to do in serving you, including giving back of what you've given us. And we ask you to help
[00:24:38] us to reflect on how we need to be better stewards of your gifts. And we ask that you would bless all the gifts, however they are given, not only financially, but time and service and love and
[00:24:55] care, that you would bless them and that we would show and share your love so that others may know why we give back and why we feel blessed.
[00:25:13] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:25:15] Scripture today comes from one of Paul's letters.
[00:30:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:30:09] It comes from 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 6-13.
[00:30:15] Hear these words.
[00:30:19] Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us.
[00:30:33] For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us.
[00:30:37] We were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it.
[00:30:45] But with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you.
[00:30:52] This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.
[00:31:01] For even when we were with you, we gave you this command.
[00:31:05] Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
[00:31:09] For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
[00:31:17] now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living brothers and sisters do not be weary in doing what is right this is the
[00:31:33] word of God for us the people of God bow with me in prayer please Lord I thank you for this church
[00:31:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:31:59] I thank you for this body of Christ I thank you for the mission that you've given to us here on the corner of 5th and D Streets, to be the hands and feet of Christ to this community,
[00:32:14] to share the love and the hope and the grace of your gospel, both here and abroad.
[00:32:24] And I thank you, Lord, for the sense of urgency with which we accept that mission.
[00:32:34] We pray, God, for your guidance.
[00:32:38] We pray for your inspiration.
[00:32:41] We pray for your leadership, as well as the humility and wisdom to follow it.
[00:32:51] There are many, Lord, that we've mentioned who need your special attention, the care and comfort of your healing hands.
[00:33:03] We thank you, Lord, for the miracles of modern science that Aaron Walker now has a new liver.
[00:33:10] his body is accepting it and we pray lord that you would continue to heal his body and and keep him hopeful and invigorated throughout this lengthy process also his wife also his mother also his
[00:33:30] father who are traveling this journey with him we're thankful lord that matthew edwards is doing better, recovering from his malaria, and we give you praise for that, God, and we ask that you continue to walk with him, keep him healthy, and restore his strength. For so many others that we
[00:33:57] have mentioned who are facing cancer treatments, who are facing surgery, who are rehabilitating from surgery, we know, Lord, that you are the great physician, but I pray that each and every one would do their part. Doctors and nurses involved, Lord, would be compassionate, swift,
[00:34:24] and accurate in their diagnoses and their treatment. For those, Lord, who are grieving today, who have lost loved ones, we pray for your mercy. We pray, God, that you would help secure the foundations that have been shaken as each breath and each step is a move back towards normalcy.
[00:34:52] We do pray God for forgiveness For we have lived this past week As fallible human beings We confess Lord that we have fallen short But we give unabashed thanks for your grace And pledge Lord to never take it for granted
[00:35:19] Be with us as we worship And as we find tools and find strength And find invigoration for the week ahead
[00:35:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:29] it's in Jesus name that we pray amen anything about grace we all love to receive it
[00:40:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:40:56] unearned unconditional overflowing we say come as you are and we mean it and thanks heavens we do because who among us would ever be ready or acceptable if the standard were perfection but here's the question have you ever noticed that once you come as you are
[00:41:25] God doesn't leave you as you are. Grace has a way of rolling up its sleeves.
[00:41:36] It comes up alongside us and it says, now let's get to work. Paul must have known that tension when he wrote to the Thessalonians. The church there was young, energetic, and excited about Jesus return. They sang, they prayed, they encouraged one another, but somewhere along
[00:42:02] the way, some folks in the group stopped working. Most likely, in fairness to those who chose laziness, they decided, you know, if Jesus is coming back at any moment, there's not much point and tending the fields or baking bread. Or maybe they just expected the community to take care of
[00:42:29] them. After all, isn't that what Christians do? Paul writes here with both love and authority, we command you brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from every brother or sister who lives in idleness. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule,
[00:42:53] no one who is willing unwilling to work those who are unwilling to work shall not eat that sounds harsh not eating I mean I file that under cruel and unusual punishment until you realize that God
[00:43:14] is not talking I mean Paul's not talking about punishment he's talking about participation Paul doesn't want freeloaders what Paul wants is family and he's not talking about benevolence to those in need in the community he's not addressing their charity or mission work
[00:43:40] outside the church he's talking about the believers within the church that church family and in a family everyone helps prepare supper even those who cannot cook you can set out the plates or the silverware. You can put ice in the cups and glasses. You can pour the tea.
[00:44:09] Now, everybody working can get a little tricky, as we just read and as we know, in a church that's built on grace. Reason being, we like forgiveness, not firmness.
[00:44:27] we like affirmation not instruction Paul reminds us here though that grace does not erase accountability it empowers it grace is not an excuse to sit back it's an invitation to step up somewhere we got the idea that spiritual maturity is just about knowing bible verses and avoiding
[00:45:03] bad habits. But Paul says spiritual maturity looks a lot like faithfulness in ordinary things.
[00:45:13] Showing up, working hard, doing your part. And isn't it true of the healthiest churches that you know? They're full of people who don't just attend, they invest. People who understand that being part of the body of Christ means being a working part. Hands that serve, feet that go,
[00:45:39] voices that encourage, hearts that pray. There's a rhythm in the life of faith.
[00:45:48] Grace draws us in, accountability sends us back out. Both belong. Without grace, we'd never get in the door. Without accountability, we'd never grow once we were inside, nor achieve our God-given purpose. We've all heard the saying, you get out of it what you put into it. I mean, this is a very
[00:46:19] easy principle to understand when it comes to money. If I invest in a company or a mutual fund or a CD, the money I make depends directly on the amount of money I'm willing to invest.
[00:46:35] Now, being an English major, we're going to keep to numbers that are very simple and round.
[00:46:41] But if a certain investment returns a profit of 10%, if I've invested a dollar, I'm going to take home a dime. But if I've invested $100, I'm going to pocket $10. But if I really, really believed in
[00:46:58] the company and its mission and then its leaders and I went all in and I invested a million dollars my portfolio just grew by a hundred thousand dollars. The same is true with spiritual growth
[00:47:12] though maybe not so nicely and neatly and cut and dried. I mean think back to when we start attending church maybe we came with somebody else whether it was a spouse or a friend or family
[00:47:29] member, whomever, we thought about it as going to their church. I'm going to go to your church.
[00:47:42] But then after we go for a while, and we meet some of the people, and we get the hang of the order of worship, and we drop the pronoun, and we just say, yeah, I'm going to go to church this
[00:47:55] Sunday. But if we continue going, and we perhaps join a Sunday school class or a small group, maybe we begin to support the church financially with ties or offerings perhaps even officially join the church by walking down front and agree to serve on the finance committee or sing in the
[00:48:22] choir well then it becomes my church but if we hang in there and if we buy into the mission of the church. If we think about and pray about and hope for the success of the church
[00:48:44] through the will of God, and if we're a part of the church coming together to survive a pandemic or to support hurricane victims in the mountains for heaven's sake, or to participate in mission work and to pray and to walk through the dark days of grief and loss and joy with others
[00:49:10] as they too support us through the death of loved ones or the sending of children off to college or attending your children and grandchildren's baptisms and weddings.
[00:49:23] And we participate in God leading the church to give an incredible offering to care for house and each Sunday we look around and what we see is family and we feel the presence of God
[00:49:40] now it's become our church mine everyone else's and God's all together and we've arrived And I can just tell you, no one gets more out of Sunday school than the ones who teach the lesson.
[00:50:20] Grace opens the door, but it's participation that deepens the relationships.
[00:50:27] Those who give the most of time, effort, prayer, and heart are the ones who receive the most.
[00:50:36] and it's not because God loves them more but because they've stepped up and are close enough to feel the warmth of God's love at work okay I'm getting to communion it's believed that in any institution including the church 20% of the people do 80% of the work and what's so sad about
[00:51:09] that statistic to me is that 80% of church members if they're right are missing out on the fullness of joy and grace that they could experience by fully investing in what God's doing at their
[00:51:24] churches, in its missions and in its work, by leaving it to someone else. Which leads me, this is, it may be a little bit trite, but it makes a point. You may have heard it before. It's an
[00:51:45] obituary. Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, someone else. Someone else's passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.
[00:52:03] Someone else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years someone else did far more than a normal person's share of the work. Whenever there was a job to do or a class to teach
[00:52:15] or a visit to make there was one name on everyone's list. Get someone else to do it. Whenever there was a mission trip to go on, a children's trip to chaperone, a work day at the church, a youth
[00:52:31] supper to provide, it was assumed that someone else would step up. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. Someone else can lead that group. It was common knowledge that someone else was among the most cheerful givers in
[00:52:52] the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed someone else would make up the difference. Someone else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman. With the truth known, everybody expected too much of someone else. But now someone else is gone.
[00:53:17] We wonder what we're going to do. Someone else left a wonderful example to follow, but who's going to follow it who's going to do the things that someone else did whenever you're asked to be involved to participate to help to lead just remember
[00:53:41] we can't depend on someone else anymore but see for me it's not about getting somebody to feel the place. Don't let somebody else steal all the fun and laughter, all the joy and sense of purpose,
[00:54:02] all the spiritual growth and maturity and transformation that can be and is intended to be yours. So Paul says to the Thessalonians and to us, don't grow weary in doing what is right.
[00:54:21] because in a church full of grace as well as grit no one sits idle but no one stands alone amen two words of introduction to the Lord's table this is indeed the Lord's table it's not my table
[00:54:54] it's not our church's table and so if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are welcome to participate. You will also find on the bread trays that there are little pieces that are
[00:55:06] in a Ziploc, and those are gluten-free if you need that. If you don't need it, you can just leave it alone, but that's what that's for. You know, and the other thing I'll just say about this
[00:55:20] to point out is that communion, partaking of communion, is a corporate act. We don't do it alone. And when we do it together, what we're saying is, I'm part of the body. I participate.
[00:55:39] I'm going to do my fair share. And so it was on the night that he was betrayed that Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it, and he said, this is my body for you.
[00:56:13] take and eat this in remembrance of me remembrance of me lord as we pause to give thanks for your body that was broken for us we remember that your body was the body of a servant we pray god that we
[01:01:01] would be imitators of your work your grace and your love in christ's name amen and also on that
[01:01:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:01:13] same night he took the cup and poured it and said this is my blood drink in remembrance of me drink in remembrance of me now after sharing in the Lord's
[01:05:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:05:53] Supper together we open the heart the doors of our church to any who would like to officially join this church family we're gonna stand together and sing him number 282 living for Jesus and if you would like to become a member of
[01:06:07] this church, either by professing your faith in Jesus for the first time, seeking baptism, or by transferring your membership on profession of faith from another church to this one, we would
[01:06:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:06:17] be happy to receive you at this time. Let's stand together and sing. Thank you. Please be seated for
[01:07:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:07:37] just a moment as we go into church conference. And while Patrick's making his way up, I just want to say thank you to our sacraments committee, to Marie Waddell and Annette Battle for preparing
[01:07:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:07:49] our Lord's Supper today. Thank you, Bert. If you don't know me, I'm Patrick Smith. I'm the chair of our finance committee. And before I call the church in the conference, I'd like to say something, hopefully, that Jamie Martin and Ed and Brian are watching today, and we're praying
[01:08:08] for you. We love you. So now I'm going to call the church at the conference. I'd like to thank various committees and teams for their input in preparing the 2026 ministry support plan or as we call it the budget the finance committee approved the budget on september 30th
[01:08:28] and before i go any further i just want to recognize the folks that are on the finance committee jim waddell michael green adina green jim murphy bob taylor missy mayberry and myself we're the voting members, and Pastor Burt and Deacon Chair Bill Bumgarner, our financial accountant
[01:08:49] Sarah Howell, and our church treasurer David Reynolds. And I'd like to say something about the two people who do almost all the work is our treasurer David Reynolds and our financial accountant Sarah Howell. They do all the number work, they do all the report writing, and they
[01:09:06] provide us with awesome spreadsheets that we can manage the church business. Thank you to them.
[01:09:11] The deacons approved the budget on October 19th. The budget was mailed to the church members on October 21st. We had question and answer sessions before and after church on November 2nd. Since it was approved by the deacons, we'd
[01:09:27] like to submit the 2026 ministry support plan without discussion to the congregation for your support and approval. All in favor of the 2026 church budget, please raise your hand. All who pose. Thank you so much, and before I end, I would just
[01:09:48] thank you all to the congregation. We have received the largest amount of receipts in the church history, and that's at the same time as supporting our campaign, our capital campaign, to make improvements to the church. Everyone is blessed. You have blessed the church, and God
[01:10:06] is happy with us. So thank you so much. Our youth will be selling luminaries as you exit.
[01:10:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:10:29] One other thing I'll say, I mentioned this last week, but we've got new hearing devices, new hearing aids, Aura, that are out in the North Ex. And I'm hoping that William can maybe come down. If you have questions, if you would like some assistance in hearing, they're related to
[01:10:48] Bluetooth. And so he can help you with that if you want to go check that out after the service today. And don't forget about next week. We'll have lunch together. We'll count our blessings together. It's going to be a great Sunday. I hope that you'll be here and bring a friend or
[01:11:04] neighbor with you. But now as we leave this place, may we all live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, forgive freely, pray daily, and leave the rest to God.
