Praising God in the Storm: Finding Freedom Through Worship

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Hola, mi nombre es Reagan.
[00:01:36] I just flew in from Guatemala and boy are my arms tired.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Well, we are glad you guys are back.
[00:01:43] My name is Adam and we are so thankful to worship together today.
[00:01:47] We are thankful for our team that just had the opportunity to serve with one of our partners in Guatemala for the week and glad you guys are back.
[00:01:55] So yeah, good to be back.
[00:01:56] Yeah.
[00:01:57] We want you to know that over the last few weeks, you've heard us talking about the Pathway Project.
[00:02:02] The Pathway Project is our vision and initiative over the next couple years as we seek to expand our facilities to make more room for people to worship here with us, but also to equip our people to grow in our discipleship, our love for the Lord, and also to send our people out.
[00:02:18] Just like we were able to send you guys, we want to send people short-term and long-term to serve.

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
and we know that is the pathway project is being talked about if you've got questions about that you want to know exactly what we're looking at you can go on our website and how do they find that on the website well there's a big green button on the website and where you can see all kinds of different questions that people have already asked and so there might be an answer to the question that you have already available to you and if not then you can reach out and let us know what that is and we'll be happy to get back with you about it
[00:02:47] That's right.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
There's going to be pictures, information, stories of some of our church members.
[00:02:51] We encourage you to look at that.
[00:02:53] We also encourage you to stop by, pick up one of these bracelets.
[00:02:55] We've got them.
[00:02:57] We've got two sides.
[00:02:58] Yours says Pathway.
[00:03:00] Mine says Peninsula.
[00:03:01] So you can grab one of these bracelets.
[00:03:02] And that's just a simple tool that you can use just to put a little reminder in your day just to pray for our church family and the direction that God's calling us to go.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
that's right other things coming up we've got our ladies fall flannel and fun night on friday october 24th that's right on friday that's right there we go and you got it down uh october 24th from 6 30 to 8 30. uh there's gonna be crafts games and snacks and uh of course because it's you know flannel fun night wear your flannel yeah uh represent so there's gonna be child care provided there

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
and if you'll just go on the website and register to let us know that you are coming so that we can have that available for you that's right and for all of our men too uh if you you don't get to be there friday but we would love to see you saturday morning at 8 a.m we actually have a men's prayer breakfast it'd be a great time just to kind of fellowship and spend time with the other men around the church that's gonna be that next morning saturday october 25th and so we'd love for you to join us for that just show up that morning have breakfast together pray for our church and get to spend time with the men here peninsula

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
That's right, we've got three in a row, so Friday, then Saturday, and Sunday, October 26th, we're having our big Trunk or Treat Fall Festival event from 5 to 7 p.m.
[00:04:18] This is for every age, especially if you've got young kids, they're going to love going from trunk to trunk, getting candy and seeing these giant themes.
[00:04:25] There's games, there's bounce houses, it's just a great time.
[00:04:29] So if you want to help us with that event, maybe you don't have any small kids, but you're like, how can I get involved?
[00:04:36] We would love for you to put a trunk together to go and be there to pass out candy to these kids.
[00:04:42] See the smiles on their faces.
[00:04:43] That's worth it.
[00:04:45] So if you'll bring candy on the 26th, you're out the store and you see a big bag of candy just sitting on the shelf asking you to buy it, please buy that ahead of time so that you can bring it to the church and we've got it ready for all the families to come and participate in that.
[00:05:01] That's right.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
That's a really fun night.
[00:05:03] I know our kids already got costumes.
[00:05:04] They're getting ready.
[00:05:05] Ashley's got a costume because I think they're small groups doing a trunk that has a theme to it.
[00:05:10] So it'll be a great night and we would love for you to join us.
[00:05:14] We also want you to know that as we go into kind of the end of the year,
[00:05:18] The over the last few years, we've had a time in November just to pray for our church, pray for one another, pray for the ministries and partners we have here.
[00:05:27] And that's going to be the week of November 3rd.
[00:05:30] So Monday, November 3rd through Thursday that week, the 6th, we're going to gather together here on campus from 6 to 7 a.m.
[00:05:38] So it'll be a little early in the morning, but we'd love for you to join us, best before work, before school.
[00:05:43] and pray with us at six to seven and then we have a special time that friday uh for our pathway project advanced commitment night that'll be friday evening at 6 30 we get to pray together uh worship together as we sing together but also that'll be an important opportunity where you have a chance to turn in a commitment card for the pathway project for the first time and so it's gonna be a great week uh as we go before the lord and to seek him for the direction and future of our church family
[00:06:12] that's right and if you're worried about breakfast on any of those days it is provided for you as we were praying together and coffee yeah after we pray you gotta wait till after we pray but then we'll have some breakfast that's right a great time together and again information about all these different events and how you can get involved is on our website peninsulabaptist.com you got the event wall as you walk into our worship center where you can find so many things as well again we just want to say thank you for being here with us and we look forward to a great opportunity to worship together today

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning, church.
[00:06:47] It's great to see you.
[00:06:47] Would y'all stand this morning in both rooms as we get started to remember the goodness of God and how awesome He is.
[00:06:55] I wanted to read out of Psalm 103 this morning as we get started.
[00:06:59] The words say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.
[00:07:04] Bless His holy name.
[00:07:07] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
[00:07:29] This morning as we worship, may God find us in his place, worshiping and blessing his holy name from our souls, giving our whole to him this morning.
[00:07:39] So let's sing and let's worship this morning.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Whose commands are the hosts of heaven?
[00:08:08] Who else can make every king bow down?
[00:08:14] Who else can whisper in darkness' tremors?

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy,
[00:08:57] The one and the only Cry now, sing holy Forever a holy God Come and worship the holy God
[00:09:27] Where the glory consumes like fire What other power can raise the dead?
[00:09:43] What other name remains undefiled?
[00:09:59] The only Christ in glory forever a holy God Come and worship the holy God Come and behold Him, the one and the only
[00:10:25] Christ the Lord is with thee.
[00:10:37] Christ the Lord is with thee.
[00:11:04] Who else can rescue me from my failure?
[00:11:19] Who else will offer His only Son?
[00:11:20] Who else invites me to call Him Father?
[00:11:38] The One, The Only, Christ, He called you Forever a holy God Come and worship the Holy God Come and behold Him The One, The Only,
[00:12:10] Seek only forever a holy God Come and worship the holy God Come and worship the holy God
[00:12:52] Come and behold Him, the one and the only.
[00:13:07] Cry now, sing holy, forever a holy God.
[00:13:10] Come and worship the holy God.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
In the darkness falls the war-grieving Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph And my God will never fail Oh, my God will never fail And I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
There's power in the mighty name of Jesus Everyone who ages He will be I'm not backing down from any giants I know how the story ends

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I love how this story ends I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord
[00:15:34] I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord
[00:16:12] You take what the enemy meant for you And you turn it for good You turn it for good You take what the enemy meant for you And you turn it for good You turn it for good
[00:16:38] You take what the enemy meant for evil And you turn it for good You turn it for good You take what the enemy meant for evil And you turn it for good You turn it for good I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory
[00:17:07] For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle
[00:17:36] I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory The battle begins
[00:18:27] All the saints and angels They bow before your throne All the elders cast their crowns before you
[00:18:56] You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all For from you are all things And to you are all things You deserve the glory

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
of God and Savior.
[00:20:25] You deserve the glory You deserve You deserve it all You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all Yes, You are my Jesus For from You are all things

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
You deserve the glory Oh Father God You are worthy of it all You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords And You deserve all the praise All the praise You deserve

[00:21:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[00:21:36] Day and night,
[00:21:43] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise!
[00:22:00] Lift your voice!
[00:22:00] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise!
[00:22:05] Come on!
[00:22:05] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise!
[00:22:06] Come on now!
[00:22:07] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise!

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Jesus, for from you are all things, and to you are all things, unison.

[00:23:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Jesus, you are worthy of it all.
[00:23:30] You're worth our praise.
[00:23:32] You're worthy of our love.
[00:23:35] Lord, you are worthy of our life.
[00:23:38] And because you gave your life, Lord, we can give ours back to you.
[00:23:42] And Jesus, we praise you and we thank you for all that you're doing here in this place today.
[00:23:48] As we continue in worship through your word, I pray that you speak through Daniel, God, into the hearts of the people in this room.
[00:23:55] Lord, we praise you and we thank you for it's in Jesus' name.
[00:23:59] Amen.
[00:23:59] You may be seated.

[00:24:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Good morning church.
[00:24:42] Love singing that song with you guys because it is a beautiful song but it also ties in to the message that we're talking about today.
[00:24:52] We're talking about the song that happens in the night.
[00:24:55] The songs of freedom in the darkest hours of our lives and that's where we're going today.
[00:24:59] I told you last week when we were going through Acts that I was going to stop it at the cliffhanger and it was to be continued.
[00:25:06] Well today we get that to be continued part.
[00:25:08] And I'm looking forward to going into that.
[00:25:11] Before we do, I want to mention to you that we are in the kind of the ramping up time of our church going into the Pathway Project.
[00:25:19] Looking to the pathway project that is all-encompassing expansion of building, expansion of programs, expansion of sending and we're working on that today but if you want more information about it and you've not received one of these amazing brochures about it that gives you the details just raise your hand the ushers are coming forward now just to make sure you have this in your hand to make sure you get that to read through it not during the sermon
[00:25:45] But read through it sometime today and kind of catch up with what's going on there.
[00:25:51] We're coming out and actually finishing Acts chapter 16 today.
[00:25:55] And as I was going through this particular text, I was reminded of an account of something that happened in my life many years ago.
[00:26:03] Now if you've been here at Peninsula for a long time, you've heard this story before, but hopefully you'll be okay with me telling it again.
[00:26:10] But quite a few years ago when my older two daughters were very young,
[00:26:15] Kimberly and I took them to a convention for the Southern Baptists in New Orleans.
[00:26:22] And while we were there, we were talking to some pastor friends of mine, and they said, hey, you should try this neat little restaurant that's out on the water.
[00:26:30] It's good food, the ambiance is really fun, and it's reasonably priced.
[00:26:35] You should go try it out.
[00:26:35] And I said, hey, let's do it.
[00:26:37] So my wife, Kimberly, and my two daughters at the time didn't have Kylie.
[00:26:43] We went to this restaurant and we got a seat right in the window right next to the water.
[00:26:48] It was amazing.
[00:26:49] It was just like they had explained and so we ordered and when the order came I had just gotten a very simple they said you got to try their amazing burger so I got their burger and fries.
[00:27:00] Just a straightforward meal.
[00:27:03] We're just having a good time laughing and talking with one another.
[00:27:06] And how many of you in here if you order fries you need what?
[00:27:11] Ketchup.
[00:27:13] So I asked for ketchup and they brought me a bottle similar to this one.
[00:27:16] Actually, it looked exactly like that one.
[00:27:19] This is not the bottle, but this is what it looked like.
[00:27:23] And so we're just sitting there talking and everything.good morn
[00:27:25] And how many of you have had ketchup in a bottle like this one?
[00:27:28] Raise your hand if you've had ketchup in a bottle.
[00:27:30] You know if it sits for a while, what happens?
[00:27:33] The water rises to the top.
[00:27:35] So what do you do if the water rises to the top?
[00:27:38] You shake it.
[00:27:40] You shake that bottle.
[00:27:41] So we're just sitting there talking and I pick up the bottle.
[00:27:44] I notice it has water at the top and I'm going to give it a good shake.
[00:27:48] And I did this number right here, this kind of shake.
[00:27:50] You want to have a good shake, right?
[00:27:53] And as I went back like this and was coming this way, the bottle cap exploded off of the bottle.
[00:28:01] I mean like it sounded like a shotgun went off in this restaurant.
[00:28:06] The restaurant went from very loud to silent.
[00:28:10] and so but I didn't really know completely what was going on because it happened so fast that as I was coming across this way the cap came off the bottle the explosion happened and I was still in motion and so I had ketchup cover my face from my right ear all the way to my left temple just just everything went dark and I was like sitting there like this I hear nothing in the restaurant I hear nothing coming from my family
[00:28:41] and I'm reaching and touching my burger and fries looking for the napkin
[00:28:45] It was a cloth napkin, too, and I destroyed that cloth napkin, by the way.
[00:28:49] And so I'm looking for this cloth napkin, and I'm kind of just pulling the ketchup back, and finally, when the burning subsides from my eyes, because, by the way, ketchup in the eyes burns.
[00:29:01] I didn't know if you knew that.
[00:29:01] Anybody?
[00:29:02] Okay.
[00:29:03] But anyway, it burns, and as I'm pulling it away and everything, I am starting to sense this laughter coming up.
[00:29:10] Then when I lock eyes with my wife,
[00:29:13] She is crying.
[00:29:14] She is laughing so hard.
[00:29:17] She is doubled over just and tears are coming down her face and my girls you know they're like just just a whole laughter and everything and so I just joined in the laughter too because I realized what had happened at that point and then I'm coming over and so by this time two or three waitresses the managers over there and kind of trying to help with stuff and we're looking around I get to looking
[00:29:38] And we're sitting next to the window.
[00:29:41] So from this part of the window all the way to right about here was just ketchup.
[00:29:47] With one hole in the middle where my head was.
[00:29:52] I'm like, oh my goodness.
[00:29:54] And so anyway, we get to looking around.
[00:29:56] There's ketchup on this lady's nice dress pants.
[00:30:00] There's ketchup on this table over here.
[00:30:02] It just went everywhere.
[00:30:04] And to this day we never found the lid.
[00:30:07] The whole entire restaurant was looking for the lid.
[00:30:09] We have no idea where the lid went.
[00:30:10] Maybe it totally just obliterated.
[00:30:12] I'm not sure.
[00:30:13] But it went away.
[00:30:14] And so we had that moment.
[00:30:15] So when all the chaos settled and the chatter started coming back into the restaurant, the waitress who was waiting on us came back over and she said,
[00:30:27] I got to tell you something.
[00:30:28] She said, something very similar to this happened last week.
[00:30:32] And I was like, really?
[00:30:38] Kind of like that.
[00:30:39] She said, but that customer did not respond the way you did.
[00:30:45] In fact, that customer was nasty.
[00:30:50] And people in the restaurant were asking that customer to leave.
[00:30:55] But you guys, on the other hand,
[00:30:58] You laughed about the whole thing.
[00:31:01] You just took it as funny and never demanded the first thing.
[00:31:08] And I just said, well, and before I could say anything, my wife said, it is because of our relationship with Christ, period.
[00:31:18] And it turned into an opportunity to share the gospel.
[00:31:21] Now I tell you that not because I'm going to try to compare what Paul and Silas went through in prison to a ketchup, a face full of ketchup.
[00:31:30] I know that there are many other things in this life that are way more desperate than a face full of ketchup.
[00:31:36] The reason I tell you that is we didn't decide to allow the joy of Christ to show in us at the instant of it happen.
[00:31:45] We had made that decision in our lives before that night.
[00:31:49] We had been walking in the joy of the Lord before the incident happened which allowed us in our heart of worship to look at it completely differently.
[00:31:59] I had maybe the right to bark orders, to say that I want years free of food, I want this, I want that, you're going to pay for dry cleaning.
[00:32:09] I had maybe the opportunity to stand up and do that, but what caused me to laugh?
[00:32:14] Well, a lot because when I locked eyes with my wife, she was laughing.
[00:32:19] You need to ask her point of view of the story too.
[00:32:22] It's actually quite funny from her perspective too.
[00:32:26] But it was because the joy of the Lord was there.
[00:32:30] This is not saying that, oh well Daniel has this great personality and he looks at life differently than everybody else.
[00:32:36] I am telling you that it was the joy of Christ in my life that didn't make me come unglued at that moment.
[00:32:46] It's nothing in me.
[00:32:47] It was my walk with the Lord.
[00:32:50] I wish I could say that every instance in my life has been like that.
[00:32:54] But that was one instance where it came in.
[00:32:56] And we will see this in Paul and Silas' life in just a moment in the text.
[00:33:01] But remember what Paul says in Galatians 2, 20.
[00:33:05] It says, I have been crucified with Christ.
[00:33:08] It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
[00:33:13] And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
[00:33:21] Paul is saying that it's not me that's causing this, that it's Christ.
[00:33:26] And I want to encourage you, church,
[00:33:28] I want to encourage everyone listening to me today, we can all have that same joy in our lives in the midst of storms.
[00:33:37] This is not unique to Paul and Silas.
[00:33:41] The same Christ that saved Paul is the same Christ that saves us, the same Spirit that leads
[00:33:49] Paul to be able to sing in a prison cell that we're going to see in just a moment is the same Spirit that walks with us if we will allow the Spirit to do that same work of ministry in our hearts.
[00:34:02] We've got to change the narrative of what the world is seeing going on in the Christian people's lives.
[00:34:09] and the way we do it we will see in the text today because here's what I hope you will ultimately grab out of what we talk about today even in our most challenging circumstances we can choose to praise God which not only liberates us catch that not only liberates us but can also lead others to experience his grace
[00:34:34] and Salvation.
[00:34:35] So let's look at Acts 16 verses 24 through 40.
[00:34:39] Now remember Paul and Silas as they were going around and ministering in Philippi there was a demon-possessed woman that was following them and out of care, frustration, it says, Paul turned and cast the demon out.
[00:34:54] Those who were making money from this woman who was a fortune teller
[00:34:58] We suddenly realize they lost their money so they incited a riot around Paul and Silas and they had them arrested and they get thrown in jail.
[00:35:06] We're going to read one of the verses we read last week to bring us into this week.
[00:35:10] We're going to start at verse 24.
[00:35:12] Having received this order, this order to throw them in jail,
[00:35:17] He put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
[00:35:21] About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them and suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
[00:35:36] And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened.
[00:35:41] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
[00:35:52] But Paul cried with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.
[00:35:58] And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
[00:36:04] Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
[00:36:10] And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
[00:36:17] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
[00:36:22] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
[00:36:30] Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
[00:36:41] But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, Let those men go.
[00:36:46] And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, The magistrates have sent to let you go.
[00:36:51] Therefore come out now and go in peace.
[00:36:55] But Paul said to them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison.
[00:37:07] And do they now throw us out secretly?
[00:37:09] No, let them come themselves and take us out.
[00:37:14] The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens.
[00:37:20] So they came and apologized to them, and they took them out and asked them to leave the city.
[00:37:26] So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia.
[00:37:30] And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
[00:37:36] Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
[00:37:37] Father, we thank you for your word and I pray that as we allow your spirit to unfold it before our hearts that we would be open to the words that are spoken today.
[00:37:45] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:37:47] Amen.
[00:37:50] So in the darkness, a song rings out.
[00:37:54] Let me recap.
[00:37:55] Paul and Silas have every reason to be silent, but instead they're singing.
[00:38:00] They were stripped, they were beaten, they were shackled, they were within a Roman prison in Philippi.
[00:38:06] But instead of being quiet, instead of bringing complaint, they chose worship.
[00:38:15] Their voices rose through the night, echoing through the stone walls, and heaven listened.
[00:38:22] Then, without warning, the earth shook, doors opened, and the chains fell loose.
[00:38:27] And what happened next was far more than a jailbreak, it was a spiritual awakening.
[00:38:33] And this passage reminds us that generosity isn't about what we give, it's about what we release, faith.
[00:38:41] Grace and hope, especially when life is at its deepest despair.
[00:38:50] When our hearts overflow with praise in the dark, God can and most of the time will turn prison cells into platforms for the gospel.
[00:39:03] So let's look at this as verses 25 through 28.
[00:39:05] Praise produces power.
[00:39:08] It says in verse 25, About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
[00:39:16] And I know I've already said it, but I kind of want to reiterate where they were in this.
[00:39:20] They had been beaten unjustly, thrown into the inner prison.
[00:39:25] It was probably dark, probably where the worst offenders would have been taken.
[00:39:31] Their feet were fastened in stocks, and yet their response was not resentment.
[00:39:39] It was reverence.
[00:39:42] True worship doesn't depend on our situation.
[00:39:52] It reveals our spiritual posture.
[00:39:57] Their praise wasn't a denial of pain.
[00:40:01] Their praise wasn't a denial of struggle or difficulty.
[00:40:05] It was a declaration of trust that they had in God.
[00:40:09] As Job once said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.
[00:40:13] Their songs became sermons in the dark.
[00:40:18] Paul and Silas modeled generosity by offering worship instead of complaint.
[00:40:23] Their worship was not private.
[00:40:25] You see in this text that it says the prisoners were listening and the Greek word there that was used where they were listening, it means they were listening attentively.
[00:40:35] They were actually, that word implies fascination.
[00:40:41] They were fascinated with not only that they were singing but what they were singing.
[00:40:47] They were engaged in this.
[00:40:50] And these criminals that probably at least one of them was facing the death penalty.
[00:40:56] The reason we know this is because if a jailer lets a prisoner get loose, they face the same punishment as what the prisoner faced.
[00:41:06] So he drew his sword to kill himself.
[00:41:08] So likely, even though it doesn't say it, likely one of those prisoners in there faced the death penalty.
[00:41:16] These hardened criminals, you might call them, leaned in to hear the grace that was sung in real time.
[00:41:25] This was not a story they were hearing.
[00:41:26] They were living it with them.
[00:41:29] And praise became proclamation.
[00:41:32] That's where we're going with this.
[00:41:34] Hold on.
[00:41:35] We're going somewhere with this.
[00:41:36] Then came the earthquake.
[00:41:38] Not just geological, but theological.
[00:41:40] The shaking symbolizes the breaking of chains but also not only the physical breaking of chains but the spiritual breaking of chains within the hearts.
[00:41:50] Worship has a way of realigning heaven and earth and when God's people sing in the dark, His presence will shake the foundations of the situations that we're going through.
[00:42:02] Why is it, church, that many times praise and worship is the last place we go when we're struggling?
[00:42:10] We need to go there first.
[00:42:12] Listen, praise may not change our situation, but it will change us.
[00:42:22] And when it changes us, it opens the door for God to move.
[00:42:30] The power of praise didn't just set Paul and Silas free.
[00:42:34] It set the stage for someone else's salvation.
[00:42:37] Because here's a real truth.
[00:42:39] Paul and Silas realized they were not the prisoners that night.
[00:42:44] It was actually the jailer who was the prisoner that night.
[00:42:51] So we look at verses 29 through 34.
[00:42:53] We see that generosity sparks salvation.
[00:42:57] Look at verse 30.
[00:42:59] He brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
[00:43:02] And the jailer awoke to a chaos.
[00:43:07] There was an earthquake.
[00:43:09] It said it shook the foundations of the prison.
[00:43:14] And that's, you could say, well, wasn't that a coincidence?
[00:43:17] I can kind of go along with someone saying, it was just one of those coincidence things happening, you know, an earthquake happened and the doors kind of flung open, you know, walls are going to move, doors are going to fling open.
[00:43:29] You can explain that away.
[00:43:30] How do you explain the shackles on their ankles being released from an earthquake?
[00:43:35] They were released.
[00:43:36] They could have ran.
[00:43:38] They could have moved away from that.
[00:43:40] What kind of man stays in his cell when freedom of an open door and unshackled legs are presented to him?
[00:43:49] What kind of man stays?
[00:43:51] I'll tell you.
[00:43:52] A man that understands he's already free.
[00:43:57] Don't miss this.
[00:44:00] Paul and Silas knew they were already free even being imprisoned and shackled.
[00:44:09] Do we realize that church?
[00:44:11] Do we realize and walk in that freedom?
[00:44:14] Or do we allow circumstances and situations to dictate our day?
[00:44:22] Paul and Silas, their act of staying was an act of grace.
[00:44:26] They valued the jailer's soul more than their escape.
[00:44:31] That's gospel generosity.
[00:44:34] Caring more about someone else's eternity and their destiny than your own comfort.
[00:44:43] Their words stopped a suicide and their compassion opened a heart and their endurance became evangelism to someone else watching.
[00:44:52] The jailer's trembling question, what must I do to be saved, that you see here, is answered with probably the gospel in its purest form.
[00:45:00] Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
[00:45:07] Faith in Christ brings immediate transformation and the jailer
[00:45:11] Moments earlier ready to die now tends to wounds.
[00:45:15] He sets a meal.
[00:45:16] He rejoices with his family.
[00:45:18] The chains on Paul's ankles were traded for shackles of sin being broken in the jailer's home.
[00:45:27] More than likely, even though we don't know 100% sure, more than likely the jailer's home was just above the prison.
[00:45:34] It says that he brought them up out of the prison and then he fed them.
[00:45:40] The word of rejoice that you see in the jailer there, the original word, it means exuberance, overflowing joy.
[00:45:50] They weren't just kind of happy because they had a piece of cake.
[00:45:54] They were overflowing with joy.
[00:45:56] This family didn't just find religion.
[00:45:58] They found freedom.
[00:46:04] Sometimes the greatest witness we can give is not escaping our trials.
[00:46:11] But remaining in them with grace.
[00:46:17] Our endurance can be the hinge on which someone else's salvation swings.
[00:46:26] And then as dawn breaks, a new day brings not only freedom but justice because generosity always aligns with truth.
[00:46:36] Look at what happens here in verses 35 through 40, and then in verse 37 specifically, justice through generosity.
[00:46:42] It says, But Paul said to them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned men who are Roman citizens.
[00:46:49] And do they now throw us out secretly?
[00:46:52] No, let them come themselves and take us out.
[00:46:56] When the magistrates got up the next morning, they said, Hey, let those guys go.
[00:47:00] And Paul said, I'm not having it that way.
[00:47:03] I do not believe that it was pride in Paul's heart.
[00:47:08] Remember that this church in Philippi had just started.
[00:47:12] It was a young church.
[00:47:13] It was very susceptible to what the community was going to think of them.
[00:47:19] I truly believe Paul said, no, you're going to do this publicly so that the rest of the community can see that the people who believe in Christ are safe.
[00:47:29] It was an integrity thing of truth.
[00:47:33] The magistrates, realizing their error, they came trembling to apologize, and they escorted Paul and Silas out.
[00:47:39] The same men who beat them now begged them to depart peacefully.
[00:47:44] And God was vindicated, His servants without a sword being drawn.
[00:47:50] He has vindicated Paul and Silas.
[00:47:53] Then before leaving, Paul and Silas returned to Lydia's house, the birthplace of the Philippian church.
[00:48:00] So you get this whole kind of context of what's happening in chapter 16.
[00:48:05] If you go back and read it all in one setting, you can see the narrative and where God is bringing it and what's happening there.
[00:48:12] So you see that there's no record of Paul seeking revenge, only restoration.
[00:48:21] Generosity extends even to those who wrong us.
[00:48:27] Justice in the kingdom
[00:48:31] is never vindictive.
[00:48:37] Justice in the kingdom is never vindictive.
[00:48:43] It's redemptive.
[00:48:45] Jesus even prayed for, while He was in His own place of suffering, Father, forgive them.
[00:48:52] So this passage points to Christ.
[00:48:55] Like Christ, they are falsely accused and beaten and imprisoned.
[00:48:58] Like Christ, they sing through pain declaring God's goodness and injustice that's happening around them.
[00:49:06] Like Christ, their suffering leads to someone else's salvation.
[00:49:11] So this is a retelling even.
[00:49:13] You see this over and over again in the book of Acts.
[00:49:16] Christ is the ultimate sacrifice and he sets the example.
[00:49:20] And then you see Paul and Silas, and you see Paul and Barnabas, you see Timothy later.
[00:49:25] You see all of this happening being a reflection of who Christ is.
[00:49:31] Christ-likeness.
[00:49:36] That's who we're to be.
[00:49:39] We're to reflect a Christ-likeness to a lost world.
[00:49:46] Not completely free from pain, not completely free from suffering, not completely free from hardships, but when those things happen, understanding that we have the grace and the love and the mercy of Christ in our heart, and we have the capacity through Him to choose to worship or complain.
[00:50:09] So let's look at the concepts here.
[00:50:12] How do we bring application to our everyday life out of this text?
[00:50:18] Living generously, so to speak, in the dark.
[00:50:24] It's like this.
[00:50:25] A.
[00:50:26] When circumstances confine you, let worship define you.
[00:50:36] In other words, don't let worship be the last place you go.
[00:50:39] Let worship be something that's a part of your life all the time.
[00:50:42] Here's an idea.
[00:50:44] Let's change the radio station.
[00:50:48] It would be worth it to you, if you don't have a Spotify account, to get a Spotify account and spend this week, start looking for worship songs on Spotify and find your favorite worship songs and create a playlist and play that all the time.
[00:51:08] Worship goes ahead.
[00:51:09] Worship goes before.
[00:51:11] Praise reminds our hearts who is actually in control.
[00:51:18] The biblical account of Israel winning a war by singing worship songs is found in 2 Chronicles 20 when King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were faced with an immense invading army.
[00:51:32] And Jehoshaphat had worshipers
[00:51:35] and Singers lead the army, and this is what they were singing, give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.
[00:51:42] And as they began to sing, to sing, as they began to sang, well there were some southern Jewish people in there I'm sure.
[00:51:53] As they began to sing, the Lord calls the enemy armies to turn on each other.
[00:52:00] And when they approached the armies, they found the armies lying on the ground dead before them.
[00:52:05] They never had to raise a sword to fight the battle because God fought the battle before them because they chose to praise first.
[00:52:15] So when circumstances confine us, let's let worship define us.
[00:52:21] Let's be a people of worship in any and all circumstances.
[00:52:26] When others wrong you, let grace surprise them.
[00:52:32] Let's just say them.
[00:52:34] But that's okay.
[00:52:36] Them doesn't rhyme with it either.
[00:52:37] The first one rhymed really nice, didn't it?
[00:52:39] This one doesn't rhyme.
[00:52:41] When others wrong you, let grace surprise them.
[00:52:46] We're in a vindictive society.
[00:52:51] You did me wrong, I'm going to one-up you.
[00:52:54] I'm going to do you even wronger.
[00:52:57] We feel like that if we kind of show grace to someone that suddenly we become a doormat to that person.
[00:53:05] That's not what Scripture's teaching at all.
[00:53:08] Scripture's teaching just let the Spirit fight your battles.
[00:53:11] Show grace to that person.
[00:53:13] Paul's compassion toward the jailer shows that generosity can rewrite another person's story.
[00:53:22] We think that we should always fight fire with fire, but grace tells a total different story about what we are to do.
[00:53:29] Grace stops the wrongdoing in its tracks.
[00:53:39] See, when you seek justice, let humility guide you.
[00:53:46] Integrity, not pride, gives your witness credibility.
[00:53:52] Generosity is not a product of prosperity, it's the overflow of His presence in our lives.
[00:53:59] When Christ fills our hearts, freedom isn't just something we receive, it's something we release.
[00:54:07] When I got a face full of ketchup, I wasn't laughing because I thought, wow, they really pranked me good.
[00:54:15] I was laughing because the Spirit within me allowed me to see the humor that was in it.
[00:54:24] We don't always tend to do that when negative things happen to us.
[00:54:27] When we seek justice, we've got to let humility guide us.
[00:54:33] Imagine that night in the jail with Paul and Silas, the flicker of a torch, the echo of chains, and then two voices lifting up hymns in the midst of pain.
[00:54:45] The earthquake.
[00:54:47] A conversation and then a new church is strengthened in Philippi.
[00:54:50] Paul and Silas show that songs of freedom are not sung because life is easy, but because God is worthy.
[00:55:01] When the people of God choose praise over panic, generosity over grievance, and faith over fear, heaven moves and the world notices.
[00:55:16] So sing in your midnight hour because somewhere someone is listening and your song might open up the prison doors of their heart.
[00:55:40] Key takeaway, when generosity flows from a heart anchored
[00:55:46] In Christ, even the darkest hour can become a stage for God's greatest work of grace.
[00:55:58] I found an artist's rendering that kind of went with the software that I use to do studying and it was an interesting take on me and it hit me.
[00:56:07] It hit me differently because I suddenly realized what Acts 16 was about.
[00:56:13] There are a lot of things that happen in Acts chapter 16.
[00:56:16] But then at the very end of Acts 16 you see that Paul and Silas, probably Luke with them, they go back to Lydia's house where the church plant was and they visit with them and they talk with them.
[00:56:28] And the artist's rendering is showing not only Lydia and Paul and Silas, but could possibly be the jailer and a few members of his family.
[00:56:40] Lydia and family.
[00:56:42] This is where it's leading.
[00:56:44] Do you see where grace and joy and praise took it?
[00:56:49] It took it back to this moment.
[00:56:53] We tend to narrow our focus so tight on our little bubble of struggle
[00:57:00] That we forget that there is a greater story of kindness and grace and mercy and forgiveness and salvation for lostness that the world needs to see and hear.
[00:57:15] And instead of narrowing our focus down to the problem that we're having, let's perhaps envision this.
[00:57:23] This is where it's going.
[00:57:26] This fellowship that we have with Christ in the center of who we are.
[00:57:36] Being willing to step out at a call, a moment's call of Christ on our heart.
[00:57:42] Being willing to step out to leave the comfortable, to leave the known, to step out into the unknown.
[00:57:50] This is what we're calling the church to think about and pray about through the Pathway Project.
[00:57:58] Maybe you are beginning to see the picture that is not just about expanding the building.
[00:58:04] It's about the total ministry of what God has called Peninsula to.
[00:58:09] To expand not only facilities but our hearts.
[00:58:13] To equip not only the functionality of what we are but to equip ourselves to be disciples who can actually go and make disciples and then to send.
[00:58:23] To send those that are going out.
[00:58:27] Mashes our vision statement well to live biblical truth, build solid homes, and to impact our community and world for Christ.
[00:58:36] And today we have the opportunity of seeing someone who was willing to step out of the comfortable to hear a call and to move forward to where God is going to take her.
[00:58:49] Take just a moment to watch this video.

[00:58:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hi, I'm Jennifer Warren and I am in the midst of applying to be a journeyman with an IMB.
[00:58:58] So last September I went on a mission trip with our church to Paris and before and during that trip I kind of felt God telling me to just keep my eyes open, to keep looking and listening for how he was working because he was pulling me to something else to make a change in my life.
[00:59:14] and so while I was there I had several nudges whether it be talking with the missionaries and hearing their testimonies while I was on the mission field
[00:59:23] Being a part of what they were doing in Paris and nudges from our church community that was there with me so shout out to Miss Janet Domeni who sat down and told me her testimony of how she became a missionary so I came back from that and was looking and seeking that confirmation of what God was doing and where he was calling me and just began praying like I sat down in prayer with God and I asked my closest friends and family to pray with me about where he was leading me and I
[00:59:51] It didn't even take two weeks before God made that next step of showing me, yes, this is what I want you to do.
[00:59:57] And I had a close friend who was talking with a professor who used to be an IMB missionary, and she just offhandedly asked, like, do you know of anywhere in the mission field who might need someone with a background in the arts?
[01:00:11] which if you don't know me by the way I work in fashion design and have a degree in fine arts so she asked him this and he said as a matter of fact my son is a missionary with imb in belgium and their whole outreach is centered around a community art center so they use the arts to reach people for god and so they got me in contact with him he told me they had one journey girl who already was in the midst of talking with them and applying to go there the following fall
[01:00:39] and if I was interested in being the second one because they like to send them out in pairs then I could talk to the other missionaries on the team.
[01:00:46] So before I made the call to this missionary couple I went out to eat for lunch with a Brown family and my sister and they just started telling me about this missionary couple that they had met in Paris on the trip before mine and
[01:00:59] This missionary couple that they met was from Belgium.
[01:01:01] They had a son who came back to North Carolina for college.
[01:01:05] They had a daughter still on the mission field.
[01:01:07] And you can see where this is going.
[01:01:09] But I went home, hopped on the call, and we started talking about my mission trip to Paris.
[01:01:13] They mentioned that they had been there a couple weeks before me.
[01:01:17] And long story short, they had served alongside our church the month prior in Paris.
[01:01:23] And so these were just a few of the wild coincidences that can't be called coincidences.
[01:01:29] Those were God's divine appointments to get me to where I'm going and to intertwine our church with this mission field in Belgium.
[01:01:38] It's so encouraging to have this church family that backs me up, that supports me, that encourages me, that helps me to grow and that allows me to go where God sends because they have my back and they support me in this way.
[01:01:52] The thing that I think gets overlooked sometimes is prayer like you can never underestimate the power of prayer and how much prayer like really does impact and change and grow and so the one thing I request of our church family as I continue through this process and when I go internationally is to just please keep continuing to pray for our teams pray for God's will to be done wherever we go wherever we're sent and continue to pray that the gospel will go forward

[01:02:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
We're really thankful to see in that video just a glimpse of a story that we've gotten to watch over the last year or so with Jennifer.
[01:02:35] And last summer, I had the privilege of being on actually both of those two teams that were serving in Paris and getting to meet the team leaders that she'll serve with, but also getting to see her serve.
[01:02:45] And not long after, she said, hey, I want to talk a little bit.
[01:02:48] And said, I feel like the Lord's leading to go serve overseas and with the IMB.
[01:02:53] And this is what we're looking at.
[01:02:54] and immediately thought just that is 100% what you should be doing.
[01:03:00] Just getting to see that, but also at the same time thinking, hey, when we talk about sending our people away, we didn't mean you, you know, so we want you to stay.
[01:03:07] But we are thankful for Jennifer and the community that she's built around here.
[01:03:12] And just so you know, over the next couple of months, she's going to go serve, be in Virginia with the International Mission Board doing their training for the next couple of months and then planning to have another time that we'll get to pray for her again
[01:03:24] As she leaves the beginning of the year to go to Belgium.
[01:03:28] So just be, we'll kind of leave this in a few moments, but over the next few months just be praying for Jennifer as she goes and serves and is trained and prepared.
[01:03:37] And as I was thinking about having time to pray for her, before she comes up, I want to read this from Psalm 96.
[01:03:43] The psalmist says,
[01:03:47] Sing to the Lord all the earth.
[01:03:49] Sing to the Lord.
[01:03:50] Bless his name.
[01:03:51] Tell of his salvation from day to day.
[01:03:54] Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all.
[01:03:59] The people's that is our hope that the nations would sing of the goodness of God and that is because some of us are prepared and called and sent out to take that message with them that we could declare the glory the goodness of God amongst all peoples and all nations and we are thankful
[01:04:17] For the role that Jennifer is going to play in that.
[01:04:19] So I want to ask you to come up here.
[01:04:20] I want to ask some of her family and then also some of the young professionals group.
[01:04:25] I think it's going to come join us as well.
[01:04:27] They were mentioned in the video.
[01:04:30] You guys actually can come all the way up here.
[01:04:32] I think, yeah.
[01:04:33] You got to come all the way up in front.
[01:04:34] There we go.
[01:04:35] But a community of believers is so important for us to encourage us and
[01:04:40] This is a community that has helped shape and confirm his calling of Jennifer over the last few months and the years before that as she was ready.
[01:04:47] And we are thankful for them and know that our church family, we look forward to getting to see how we can support you, serve alongside of you, and be a part of the work that God's calling you to.
[01:05:00] Alright, if you guys want to come around, I want to lead us, I want to encourage you to pray as well for Jennifer over the next few minutes, her family, and we are thankful to get to be a part of seeing what God is doing in you.
[01:05:11] So let's pray.
[01:05:12] God, we just come before you first and foremost, again, just thankful for your goodness and your salvation that you have provided for us through the person and the work of Christ.
[01:05:26] As we've just been going through the book of Acts, just being reminded of just the people from different backgrounds, different places, the way you bring people to faith.
[01:05:35] God, you have been at work in all of our lives.
[01:05:38] God, you've been at work in Jennifer's life.
[01:05:40] God, we are thankful for just her trust in Christ, first and foremost, for her love for you, her devotion to you.
[01:05:47] But God, we're also thankful as we see in the book of Acts, God, as people come to faith, you give them a task to be a witness to what they have seen and heard in their life.
[01:05:57] God, that they want to share the experiences with you.
[01:06:00] They want to declare your goodness.
[01:06:03] God, we do pray for her over these next couple of months as she is trained and prepared.
[01:06:22] God, just pray for
[01:06:24] Just energy, strength, excitement as she's going through this training, God, and as she is just prepared to go.
[01:06:32] God, we just pray that she would continue to have a confidence in you and her calling.
[01:06:38] God, maybe when days are long and things are hard or frustrating that she's doing to get ready, God, she would have just a
[01:06:46] Just a confidence in the call that you've placed on her life.
[01:06:51] God, we pray for this community around her as well, for her family, for mom and dad, her sister, for this community of believers that you've given her over these last couple years here at Peninsula, that they would be able to continue to encourage her, would be able to go and serve alongside of her.
[01:07:07] God, that you would continue to send us out, that we would be able to partner and just be a part of the work that Jennifer's doing.
[01:07:13] God, in all things that you do, God, we just pray that you would use each of us to just declare the goodness of God.
[01:07:22] God, that you would use us to share with others that they would be able to see and hear in our lives and our words and the things that we share with them the hope that we have in Christ.
[01:07:30] And God, whether
[01:07:31] We are going into our school tomorrow morning.
[01:07:36] God, over the next few months, God, whether we're going to a different part of the world, God, you'll allow us to see people come to know, love, and worship you.
[01:07:45] God, we're thankful for that privilege.
[01:07:46] We pray to that end knowing that you have given us a promise that all nations one day will worship before you.
[01:07:52] and we get to be a part of that work.
[01:07:54] God, so we continue to pray for Jennifer, prepare her, help her, send her.
[01:07:58] Would she have just a full confidence in you as she goes?
[01:08:01] And we pray these things in Jesus' good name.
[01:08:04] Amen.
[01:08:06] Thank you guys.
[01:08:12] As they go, I want to ask all of us to stand together and we are going to be sent out by reading together from Psalm 42.
[01:08:20] And just being reminded again of God's goodness and his love to us.
[01:08:26] So we're going to read together from Psalm 42 verse 8 where the psalmist says, By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
[01:08:41] We have a confidence that by day, by night, the steadfast, never changing, always confident love of God is with us.
[01:08:50] And that is our hope, that is our confidence, and that is the message that we take with us as we go.
[01:08:55] Have a great week.

[01:31:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Hola, mi nombre es Reagan.
[01:31:36] I just flew in from Guatemala and boy are my arms tired.

[01:31:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Well, we are glad you guys are back.
[01:31:43] My name is Adam and we are so thankful to worship together today.
[01:31:47] We are thankful for our team that just had the opportunity to serve with one of our partners in Guatemala for the week and glad you guys are back.
[01:31:55] So yeah, good to be back.
[01:31:57] Well, we want you to know that over the last few weeks, you've heard us talking about the Pathway Project.
[01:32:02] The Pathway Project is our vision and initiative over the next couple years as we seek to expand our facilities to make more room for people to worship here with us, but also to equip our people to grow in our discipleship, our love for the Lord, and also to send our people out.
[01:32:18] Just like we were able to send you guys, we want to send people short-term and long-term to serve.

[01:32:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
and we know that is the pathway project is being talked about if you've got questions about that you want to know exactly what we're looking at you can go on our website and how do they find that on the website well there's a big green button on the website and where you can see all kinds of different questions that people have already asked and so there might be an answer to the question that you have already available to you and if not then you can reach out and let us know what that is and we'll be happy to get back with you about it
[01:32:47] That's right.

[01:32:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
There's going to be pictures, information, stories of some of our church members.
[01:32:51] We encourage you to look at that.
[01:32:53] We also encourage you to stop by, pick up one of these bracelets.
[01:32:55] We've got them, you know, we've got two sides.
[01:32:58] Yours says Pathway.
[01:33:00] Mine says Peninsula, so you can grab one of these bracelets.
[01:33:02] And that's just a simple tool that you can use just to put a little reminder in your day just to pray for our church family and the direction that God's calling us to go.

[01:33:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
that's right other things coming up we've got our ladies fall flannel and fun night on friday october 24th that's right on friday that's right there we go you got it down uh october 24th from 6 30 to 8 30. uh there's gonna be crafts games and snacks and uh of course because it's you know flannel fun night wear your flannel yeah represent so there's gonna be child care provided there

[01:33:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
and if you'll just go on the website and register to let us know that you are coming so that we can have that available for you that's right and for all of our men too uh if you you don't get to be there friday but we would love to see you saturday morning at 8 a.m we actually have a men's prayer breakfast it'd be a great time just to kind of fellowship and spend time with the other men around the church that's gonna be that next morning saturday october 25th and so we'd love for you to join us for that just show up that morning have breakfast together pray for our church and get to spend time with the men here peninsula

[01:34:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
That's right, we've got three in a row, so Friday, then Saturday, and Sunday, October 26th, we're having our big Trunk or Treat Fall Festival event from 5 to 7 p.m.
[01:34:18] This is for every age, especially if you've got young kids, they're going to love going from trunk to trunk, getting candy and seeing these dark themes.
[01:34:25] There's games, there's bounce houses, it's just a great time.
[01:34:29] So if you want to help us with that event, maybe you don't have any small kids, but you're like, how can I get involved?
[01:34:36] We would love for you to put a trunk together to go and be there and pass out candy to these kids.
[01:34:42] See the smiles on their faces.
[01:34:43] That's worth it.
[01:34:45] So if you'll bring candy on the 26th, you're out the store and you see a big bag of candy just sitting on the shelf asking you to buy it, please buy that ahead of time so that you can bring it to the church and we've got it ready for all the families to come and participate in that.
[01:35:01] That's right.

[01:35:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
That's a really fun night.
[01:35:03] I know our kids already got costumes.
[01:35:04] They're getting ready.
[01:35:05] I just got a costume because I think they're small groups doing a trunk that has a theme to it.
[01:35:10] So it'll be a great night and we would love for you to join us.
[01:35:14] We also want you to know that as we go into kind of the end of the year,
[01:35:18] The over the last few years, we've had a time in November just to pray for our church, pray for one another, pray for the ministries and partners we have here.
[01:35:27] And that's going to be the week of November 3rd.
[01:35:30] So Monday, November 3rd through Thursday that week, the 6th, we're going to gather together here on campus from 6 to 7 a.m.
[01:35:38] So it'll be a little early in the morning, but we'd love for you to join us, but that's before work, before school.
[01:35:43] and pray with us at six to seven and then we have a special time that friday uh for our pathway project advanced commitment night that'll be friday evening at 6 30 we get to pray together uh worship together as we sing together but also that'll be an important opportunity where you have a chance to turn in a commitment card for the pathway project for the first time and so it's gonna be a great week uh as we go before the lord and to seek him for the direction and future of our church family

[01:36:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
That's right, and if you're worried about breakfast on any of those days, it is provided for you as we're praying together, and coffee.
[01:36:18] Yeah, after we pray.

[01:36:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
You gotta wait till after we pray, but then we'll have some breakfast.
[01:36:23] That's right.
[01:36:23] Great time together, and again, information about all these different events and how you can get involved is on our website, peninsulabaptist.com.
[01:36:31] You got the event wall as you walk into our worship center, where you can find so many things as well.
[01:36:36] But again, we just want to say thank you for being here with us, and we look forward to a great opportunity to worship together today.