Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: In the face of death and transition, how do we find genuine peace? This sermon explores Psalm 23 as a spiritual anchor, offering practical steps to meditate on Scripture during times of deep sorrow.
Pastoral Analysis: Pastor Smith delivers a compassionate message centered on Psalm 23, using personal anecdotes of hospice care to illustrate God's presence in suffering. The sermon provides practical applications for meditation and gratitude. However, the message relies heavily on psychological techniques and self-help principles for comfort, failing to explicitly connect this peace to the redemptive work of Christ and the Holy Spirit, resulting in a moralistic rather than Gospel-centered approach.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon exhibits a significant homiletical imbalance, leaning heavily toward psychological self-help and moralistic application rather than anchoring the congregation's hope in the finished work of Christ. While the theological content is not heretical, the failure to explicitly ground comfort in Gospel grace results in a compromised message that tolerates worldly coping mechanisms over divine sustenance.
Big Idea: In times of suffering and transition, believers can hold onto specific phrases from Scripture, such as Psalm 23, as anchors of hope and promises from a God who walks with them through death valley. [00:08:52 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Psalm 23
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Moderate
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - The tone is pastoral, empathetic, and respectful. No coarse language or inappropriate behavior was detected.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"The sermon focuses on imitating the faith of others and using Scripture for personal comfort, but fails to explicitly connect the comfort of Psalm 23 to the atoning work of Jesus Christ."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 0 | Referenced: 2 | Alluded: 0
📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud
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Psalm 23 (The Message)
[00:13:09 ▶️ 📄]
"God, my shepherd, I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows. You find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath, and you send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I am not afraid. When you walk by my side, your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head and my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life I'm back home and the house of God for the rest of my life"
Key References: Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 2,370 words
📌 View 7 Key Topics Addressed
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Pastoral Care and Dying
[00:05:32 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor discusses the rarity and privilege of walking with someone who is aware they are dying, contrasting it with the prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer's. -
Theology vs. Self-Help
[00:08:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor distinguishes between self-help resources like Mel Robbins and theology, arguing that while self-help is good, faith offers something deeper to hold onto in darkest times. -
Lectio Divina
[00:09:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor introduces an ancient method of reading scripture, explaining the process of reading Psalm 23 multiple times to find a resonant phrase for meditation. -
[Psalm 23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=KJV) and Hope
[00:11:26 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects the recent funeral of John Rayleigh to the 23rd Psalm, emphasizing its role as a source of hope and connection for people in difficult situations. -
Divine Presence and Comfort in Suffering
[00:30:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses a personal anecdote about a hospice patient to illustrate God's presence and the promise of seeing Him again, contrasting it with the feeling of being forsaken. -
Scriptural Interpretation ([Psalm 23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=KJV) and [Psalm 22](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+22&version=KJV))
[00:30:36 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects the imagery of Psalm 23 (God as shepherd) with the cry of forsakenness in Psalm 22, arguing that even in spaces of feeling forsaken, God remains a forever shepherd. -
Faith and Fearlessness
[00:31:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor concludes that holding onto God's promises allows believers to live without fear.
🖼️ View 3 Illustrations & Stories
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Sermon Illustration
[00:06:19 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a story about John Rayleigh, a church member who died of liver cancer. He describes John's deep immersion in the church, including tearing down 300 metal chairs in the sun, and their time together in hospice where John squeezed his hand and said, 'I will see you again,' referring to the afterlife. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:19:32 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a personal anecdote from seminary where he fell asleep during his first attempt at Lectio Divina, and a nun professor told him not to feel guilty, noting the beauty of resting in God's presence. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:30:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a moment in a hospice house where a patient held his hand tightly, looked him in the eye, and said, 'I will see you again,' which the pastor interpreted as a profound moment of divine connection and hope beyond death.
🚀 View 2 Calls to Action
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Pastoral Charge
[00:31:44 ▶️ 📄]
> Invitation to join in corporate prayer -
Pastoral Charge
[00:31:44 ▶️ 📄]
> Invitation to join in corporate prayer
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is compromised. The sermon relies on psychological meditation and self-help principles for comfort without explicitly grounding the message in Gospel grace or the Holy Spirit's regenerative work. The 'Safe Harbor' for Gospel clarity failed. |
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | While salvation is not explicitly denied, the application of the text is moralistic, focusing on human effort (meditation, identifying phrases) rather than reliance on Christ's finished work for comfort. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is treated with respect and used as the primary source of hope, though the application lacks theological depth. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | The exegesis of Psalm 23 is sound, focusing on God's presence and provision. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | God is portrayed as merciful and present, consistent with biblical revelation. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | No sacramental errors detected; sacraments were not the focus. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ FAIL | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the theological basis for comfort, relying on emotional and psychological resonance rather than doctrinal truth. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"And we hear Jesus say those same words on the cross." [00:31:23 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Homiletical Imbalance (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralism
"Sermon-wide structural omission (No specific quote available)" [00:00:00 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor instructs the congregation to 'listen for God's nudging thoughts' and 'meditate on its meaning' as the primary mechanism for receiving comfort, without explicitly grounding this peace in the finished work of Christ or the Holy Spirit's regenerative work.
Why It's Dangerous: This reduces the Gospel to a self-help tool, leading the congregation to rely on their own psychological efforts rather than divine grace for sustenance in suffering.
Biblical Correction: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Empathy | Compassionate Use of Personal Testimony
The pastor effectively uses personal stories of hospice care and seminary experiences to build rapport and illustrate the reality of suffering and hope. This creates a strong emotional connection with the congregation.
Practical Application | Actionable Spiritual Disciplines
The sermon provides clear, actionable steps for the congregation, such as identifying a specific phrase from Psalm 23 to meditate on. This gives the audience a tangible tool for their spiritual life.
Theological Focus | Scripture as Anchor
The pastor correctly identifies Scripture as the primary source of hope and comfort, commanding the congregation to prioritize theological anchors over self-help.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:01] We have a brand new sound system, the other one bit the dust, and our tech team has done an amazing job, especially over the snow weeks, coming in when there was no school, and hooking us up with a brand new sound system, so give them, they are all volunteers, and do so much to help, and so we're very grateful for them.
[00:00:23] Today is a special day. It is what we call here at West a no huddles day. Back when we launched 15 years ago, we saw this speaker. He's a pastor in Michigan called Harvey Carey. And he said that
[00:00:39] far too often, it's like the Super Bowl. People drive by this space and they see all these cars there and all the stuff's going on inside, but nothing ever goes on outside. As soon as it's
[00:00:52] over inside. Everybody disperses and it's over. And he likened church to the Super Bowl. Well, we're not like that. And he said, we need to break out of our holy huddles. And so we decided when we
[00:01:06] launched, we wanted to be called what is a no huddles kind of church. So once every couple of months on Sunday mornings, the band has a little break and we do something different. We do something
[00:01:18] that's going to make an impact on someone beyond ourselves. And today is one of those days.
[00:01:25] And we are going to be highlighting one of our missions. And in just over two weeks, like on Tuesday, two weeks from Tuesday, we leave for Uganda for Acres of Hope, a team of four others
[00:01:39] and myself will be going to see Pastor Jeffrey and seeing the kids and seeing all the things that have happened. We will be sending you a message from Uganda on that Sunday, so we're really excited to be able to do that. We're going to be worshiping with you simultaneously like
[00:01:55] you'll be here, we'll be there, so we're really excited to make that happen. And we're just excited to see the difference that you, Williamson's Chapel, a few other churches here in the United States, and lots of other people are making a difference across the world. God calls us,
[00:02:12] jesus said go into all the world we focus a lot here locally with like the back to school bash and other things the backpack mission but acres of hope is our global partner and so today after
[00:02:23] worship which is going to last about 30 minutes you get to go out in the commons area and we are going to have a chili cook-off so it's the best no huddles kind of day ever you get to eat and you
[00:02:37] get to make a difference so you get to vote on the best chili now i always encourage you to actually vote on the chili and not the personas they are competing pretty heavily somebody has on a chili
[00:02:52] t-shirt they are impressed with that somebody else thinks they're the best looking chili maker so vote for the actual chili don't vote for uh the the people vote for the best chili and every dollar
[00:03:08] you vote by tickets every dollar goes to acres of hope we will be taking that with us and giving it directly to pastor jeffrey so any monies you give towards that we have digital ways to give there's
[00:03:21] going to be a qr code out in the commons area you get tickets and you vote with your tickets and it's just going to be a fun day online folks we always value you equally but there's just no way
[00:03:33] we could figure out how to tie in a chili cook-off with you at home so hopefully the worship experience this morning leading up to the chili cook-off is going to be meaningful for you if you
[00:03:45] are newer to west we're really glad that you're here we got we are glad that you took some time out of the busyness of life there's lots of other things that you could be doing with your time so
[00:03:54] we're grateful that you chose to be here with us today if you don't get any of our west communications we have a vip station for you out front and we'd love for you to sign up for our
[00:04:06] communications so you can stay in touch with all the things that we do this wednesday is another exciting day in the life of the church it is ash wednesday and we are going to be having an ash
[00:04:19] Wednesday service with the imposition of ashes at 6 p.m. not here at the high school at the West office so 6 p.m. it's like a 30-45 minute service but it really starts off the season of Lent in a meaningful way and for the season of
[00:04:36] Lent we're going to be talking about the last words of Christ we're gonna have a small group that meets right after worship that you can go in and talk about the theme that was talked about today and in the worship service we're
[00:04:49] are really intentional this year with the season of Lent, and I hope you'll be a part of that. We're also going to have an online small group, so be watching for that, especially our online community.
[00:05:00] That's going to be on Tuesday nights throughout Lent at 6 p.m. So today is going to be very different, so I want you to settle back. It's going to be the one time you get permission to go to sleep
[00:05:11] in church if it works out for you. Online folks, I want you to just take a few moments, ground yourself, get comfortable wherever you're worshiping, and in just a few minutes, we're going to begin. So over the last several weeks, I've had the privilege of walking alongside a
[00:05:32] West person, a West, we don't use the word member, but a Westie, through the process of dying. And And I've been in ministry for 30 years, I've done a lot of funerals, but over the past
[00:05:47] 15 years, it has been rare that I've had the opportunity, and I do call it a privilege, to walk along someone who is aware that they are dying far too often in our society now.
[00:06:02] We have this just rampant dementia and Alzheimer's, so a lot of times when I'm walking with a family and their loved one through the the stages of death they the person is not aware so yesterday
[00:06:19] we gathered together to celebrate the life of john rayleigh he's been a part of west since west began i shared yesterday that back when we well we still do it when the graduations occur here at lake
[00:06:34] norman in june we helped tear down and it was the first sunday that they were visiting their sister and sister-in-law here and they were getting ready to buy a house or build a house here
[00:06:46] and they came and showed up and tore down 300 very hot metal chairs because they were blistering in the noonday sun in early june and after that he was always fully immersed in west at christmas he became sick with covet and then they found out right after that he had liver
[00:07:06] cancer and he died a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated his life yesterday when someone is in hospice care i am very intentional about pastoral care visits and i had rare opportunities to spend
[00:07:20] really quality time with john and talk about what it means to be moving from this realm to the eternal one as i would end my visits with john we would pray together and i found myself like
[00:07:35] you know in seminary they don't teach you what to say there's no class how to walk someone through dying they they don't even really teach you like how to lead a celebration of life service there's
[00:07:47] a class on worship and they cram it all together so a lot of this is trial and error but honestly that and officiating weddings. They're two of the rarest privileges that pastors have. As I had the
[00:08:04] opportunity to spend time with John, something kept resonating with me and weighing heavy on me for you. You know, we do a lot of fun message series. We try to couch them in fun so that then
[00:08:18] we get to the meaning. We do a lot of self-help, and self-help is great. But there's a difference at the end of the day between self-help and theology at the end of the day we need something
[00:08:32] in those darkest of times to hold on to and mel robbins and let them and those things they're good they're great but faith takes it one step further i wrote about this a few weeks ago in the e-news
[00:08:49] and I shared with you that this was just weighing heavy on me.
[00:08:52] I want, as your pastor, to give you something to hold on to.
[00:08:59] And so over the next year, we're going to be very intentional about our message series and what the themes are.
[00:09:05] We'll intermix them with, you know, self-help and some psychological principles that help us get through life.
[00:09:12] We'll do a series on mental health and those types of things.
[00:09:16] but it's really important to me that you get something to hold on to and there's one place that we find that and that's in our scripture and so today it's a no huddles day we do things
[00:09:34] typically differently today and I thought it would be an appropriate day to do something that's called Lectio Divina. It's an ancient way of reading scripture. So what's going to happen is I've got one passage that I'm going to read to you. Perhaps you're familiar with it, perhaps not. I'm going to
[00:09:57] read it three or four different times. The first two times I'm going to read it back to back and then after those two times we have some quiet music that I want you to listen to and I'll give
[00:10:10] you instructions, further instructions in just a second. But today, after this message, this meditation, I want you to have something to hold on to. I found that as I was with John and we would pray together, phrases, certain phrases from this passage at different visits would always
[00:10:35] pop up. I'm not going to tell you what my phrases are or were because I want you to find your own.
[00:10:43] And then, when you find yourself in a difficult life situation, it doesn't have to be death and the active stages of dying.
[00:10:55] It could be dealing with difficult people, finding yourself being bullied, a work challenge, a relationship that's gone sour, a doctor's visit that did not go the way that you want it to financial challenges or just inner struggles period this passage has anchors of hope and
[00:11:26] promises that we can hold on to it's the 23rd Psalm interestingly enough yesterday John Ray Lee was a Mason which is an interesting and fascinating organization and one that I have grown to respect tremendously they talk about
[00:11:50] one deity and it was it was a beautiful part of the service the we read the 23rd Psalm together and I'm not exaggerating I had picked out today's theme months ago we were actually going to do it last sunday where we just focused on the 23rd psalm so it's
[00:12:11] just ironic timing that we shared it yesterday at a celebration of life service and now here we are again today but yesterday people from all over as i would read this passage i saw their mouths
[00:12:32] moving at certain parts and it just reminded me how important scripture is and how it means something different to everybody and so this morning i want you to find your connection place with these words now we read often from the interpretation called the message here at west
[00:12:57] so the version of the 23rd psalm that you're going to hear today is a little different than perhaps if you grew up with this, what you would have heard back then. In just a second,
[00:13:09] I'm going to read it, and I just want you to listen to the whole thing, and then I'm going to read it again and give you just a few more instructions. God, my shepherd, I don't need a
[00:13:29] thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows. You find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath, and you send me in the right direction. Even when the way
[00:13:47] goes through Death Valley, I am not afraid. When you walk by my side, your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive
[00:14:07] my drooping head and my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life I'm back home and the house of God for the rest of my life so now I'm going to read it again and I want you to listen and I
[00:14:30] want you to see which phrase just resonates with you like what is one phrase in this passage that jumps out at you and speaks to you and I want you to just hold on to that phrase as I read and then immediately following my
[00:14:50] reading there's going to be just a few moments of quiet music and I want you to think about what that phrase means to you in your life right now what are you dealing with that makes this phrase resonate god my shepherd i don't need a thing you have
[00:15:14] bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and you send me in the right direction even when the way goes through death
[00:15:33] valley i am not afraid when you walk at my side your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head
[00:15:54] my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life i'm back home in the house of god for the rest of my life meditate on those words so this time i want you to take your phrase and i want you to hear the words again and i want you to
[00:19:12] be thinking about your phrase this time in relation to the other phrases that are in the passage i'll give you my example only because i want you to like be able to apply this and
[00:19:25] And it took years for me doing this in seminary and with other retreats and stuff to get the feel of Lectio Divina.
[00:19:32] The first time I did it in seminary, I fell asleep.
[00:19:35] I felt guilty, and the professor of that class was a nun.
[00:19:40] And she's like, don't feel guilty.
[00:19:42] How beautiful it is to rest in the presence of God.
[00:19:47] So like my phrase is, you revive my drooping head.
[00:19:53] I've shared with you before I struggle with pace I don't know how to like have balance sometimes and so sometimes I get tired and honestly I've never picked up on that passage until today sharing it with you you revived my drooping head so
[00:20:12] this time as I read it to you I'll be looking at how these other phrases in this passage relate to that and then what might god be saying to you today through your phrase so as soon as i read this passage and you hear it in relation to the rest
[00:20:38] i want during the next section of music you to just listen to what god might be nudging you to think don't expect some big boisterous voice to come through just where does your mind go where do your thoughts go god is in our thoughts god is in our very breath that
[00:21:02] we breathe hear these words with that intention god my shepherd i do not need a thing you have bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and you send me in the right direction even
[00:21:28] when the way goes through Death Valley I am not afraid when you walk at my side your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head my cup brims with blessing
[00:21:50] your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life i'm back home in the house of god for the rest of my life the last time that we read it i want you to hear the words in a space
[00:25:19] of gratitude like god's presence has carried you and whatever phrase that spoke and speaks to you this morning god's been in it all along so i want you to think about as you hear these words one
[00:25:39] last time where god has been in it for me like where god has carried me when i felt like i didn't have energy to go anymore where god has breathed new life into me and i give thanks for that
[00:26:00] so think about your phrase and hear these words for the last time and during the music just think about all the ways that you can be grateful gratitude changes everything god my shepherd i don't need a thing you have bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to
[00:26:25] drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction even when the way goes through death valley i am not afraid when you walk by my side
[00:26:43] your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life
[00:27:13] So, a couple of weeks ago on the Saturday before the first ice storm came, I was visiting with John and, I mean, he was in hospice.
[00:29:55] We didn't know how much more time he had.
[00:30:00] And so, as I closed in prayer and we held hands together, at the end I said, I'll see you soon hoping that there would indeed be another time that i could see him and he held my hand like
[00:30:16] he grabbed it and held more tightly than he had been and gave it a big squeeze and looked me squarely in the eye and said i will see you again i knew he wasn't talking about there
[00:30:36] in the hospice house. And in those moments, I thought, how lucky we are as humanity to know that there's something bigger than we are that holds us all together. And that just like the David writes, God, you're my shepherd and you walk with me through death valley. You protect me from
[00:31:06] my enemies, and my cup runneth over. One of the most beautiful things about this passage is the passage before it. The psalmist David cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And we hear
[00:31:23] Jesus say those same words on the cross. We all get to those spaces feeling forsaken, yet God offers us a promise of being a forever shepherd. Hold on to your phrase today. Hold on to it in the days
[00:31:44] ahead and know that there are so many promises that we have from such a big God. We don't have to ever be afraid. Will you pray with me? Gracious God, we are so grateful for your love for how
[00:32:01] you're always there, how despite even in the darkest of places, the scariest of places, you show up, you hold all things together with this divine love and peace that we can't even begin to fathom or understand. God, as we get ready to enter into the season of Lent, the days where
[00:32:24] we're so intentional about exploring our faith, be ever present in our minds, be with us in our thoughts so that we will draw even closer to you. We ask this morning for your special blessings
[00:32:44] on Jeffrey, Pastor Jeffrey, and all those at Acres of Hope. What a beautiful thing it has been to be able to watch them go from just owning some land and now being one of the most reputable or the
[00:32:59] most reputable school in nebby god you're all over it and we are so lucky that we are just a small part of it thank you for all the folks that cook chili today thank you for this church and the way
[00:33:15] they continue to seek to give themselves away thank you for being such an amazing god in christ's name amen so you're probably sick of hearing me tell this story but you're just going to get
[00:33:30] sicker one more time when we went to acres of hope it was around this time of year it was either 15 or 16 years ago for the very first time we met this man named jeffrey and there was just some
[00:33:42] land and a lot of blueprints and he said would you pray over my land and as we or consecrate the land i didn't even know what that meant but i just assumed it meant pray and as we were standing
[00:33:57] there in our little circle of like 17 people there were so many children just running around and and there's one little set of boys that we will never forget they had on shorts but the only thing that they had with their shorts was a waistband the rest were just
[00:34:20] tattered and it was as if they had on no clothes at all their stomachs were distended with hunger It was bad.
[00:34:34] But Jeffrey had a vision and a commitment.
[00:34:37] And then, so we went, and then Williamson's Chapel, we were getting ready to launch West.
[00:34:43] It was actually our first preview service on that Easter, and the pastor at Williamson's Chapel, Rob Fuquay, told the very large congregation, instead of buying a new boat or a beach house or a mountain house this spring break,
[00:34:59] why don't you build pod houses in Uganda?
[00:35:03] And by the end of the week, we had like $75,000.
[00:35:07] And Rob said, go figure this out.
[00:35:10] And it was one of the best things I've ever been able to do in ministry aside from the bash.
[00:35:18] And then like really cool, amazing people like Jim Gray went several years later and Jeffrey's getting ready to build this great big schoolhouse, like a legit two or three story building.
[00:35:33] I'm like, there's no way.
[00:35:35] Jeffrey, we don't have any more, like we're not a rich church.
[00:35:40] And then God just nudges really cool people like Jim Gray to start leading this initiative and then new west people like the Armstrongs get on the board of directors.
[00:35:49] And there's like multiple multi-story buildings now.
[00:35:54] I can't wait to see it.
[00:35:56] I can't wait to share it with you.
[00:35:59] I tell you all that to say that your chili eating today, it matters.
[00:36:05] Buy some tickets.
[00:36:07] I don't beat you over the head about money, but every dollar today goes to make children that don't have the resources that we have here make their dreams come true.
[00:36:22] So let's go.
[00:36:24] Let's have some chili.
[00:36:27] And if you have any questions about Acres of Hope, Jim, he's this really tall man.
[00:36:32] You'll see him in the Commons area.
[00:36:34] Ask him.
[00:36:36] Thanks for being here today.
[00:36:37] Let's go eat some chili.
[00:36:39] Vote for the best chili, not the best looking cook.
[00:36:42] Go in peace.
[00:00:01] We have a brand new sound system, the other one bit the dust, and our tech team has done an amazing job, especially over the snow weeks, coming in when there was no school, and hooking us up with a brand new sound system, so give them, they are all volunteers, and do so much to help, and so we're very grateful for them.
[00:00:23] Today is a special day. It is what we call here at West a no huddles day. Back when we launched 15 years ago, we saw this speaker. He's a pastor in Michigan called Harvey Carey. And he said that
[00:00:39] far too often, it's like the Super Bowl. People drive by this space and they see all these cars there and all the stuff's going on inside, but nothing ever goes on outside. As soon as it's
[00:00:52] over inside. Everybody disperses and it's over. And he likened church to the Super Bowl. Well, we're not like that. And he said, we need to break out of our holy huddles. And so we decided when we
[00:01:06] launched, we wanted to be called what is a no huddles kind of church. So once every couple of months on Sunday mornings, the band has a little break and we do something different. We do something
[00:01:18] that's going to make an impact on someone beyond ourselves. And today is one of those days.
[00:01:25] And we are going to be highlighting one of our missions. And in just over two weeks, like on Tuesday, two weeks from Tuesday, we leave for Uganda for Acres of Hope, a team of four others
[00:01:39] and myself will be going to see Pastor Jeffrey and seeing the kids and seeing all the things that have happened. We will be sending you a message from Uganda on that Sunday, so we're really excited to be able to do that. We're going to be worshiping with you simultaneously like
[00:01:55] you'll be here, we'll be there, so we're really excited to make that happen. And we're just excited to see the difference that you, Williamson's Chapel, a few other churches here in the United States, and lots of other people are making a difference across the world. God calls us,
[00:02:12] jesus said go into all the world we focus a lot here locally with like the back to school bash and other things the backpack mission but acres of hope is our global partner and so today after
[00:02:23] worship which is going to last about 30 minutes you get to go out in the commons area and we are going to have a chili cook-off so it's the best no huddles kind of day ever you get to eat and you
[00:02:37] get to make a difference so you get to vote on the best chili now i always encourage you to actually vote on the chili and not the personas they are competing pretty heavily somebody has on a chili
[00:02:52] t-shirt they are impressed with that somebody else thinks they're the best looking chili maker so vote for the actual chili don't vote for uh the the people vote for the best chili and every dollar
[00:03:08] you vote by tickets every dollar goes to acres of hope we will be taking that with us and giving it directly to pastor jeffrey so any monies you give towards that we have digital ways to give there's
[00:03:21] going to be a qr code out in the commons area you get tickets and you vote with your tickets and it's just going to be a fun day online folks we always value you equally but there's just no way
[00:03:33] we could figure out how to tie in a chili cook-off with you at home so hopefully the worship experience this morning leading up to the chili cook-off is going to be meaningful for you if you
[00:03:45] are newer to west we're really glad that you're here we got we are glad that you took some time out of the busyness of life there's lots of other things that you could be doing with your time so
[00:03:54] we're grateful that you chose to be here with us today if you don't get any of our west communications we have a vip station for you out front and we'd love for you to sign up for our
[00:04:06] communications so you can stay in touch with all the things that we do this wednesday is another exciting day in the life of the church it is ash wednesday and we are going to be having an ash
[00:04:19] Wednesday service with the imposition of ashes at 6 p.m. not here at the high school at the West office so 6 p.m. it's like a 30-45 minute service but it really starts off the season of Lent in a meaningful way and for the season of
[00:04:36] Lent we're going to be talking about the last words of Christ we're gonna have a small group that meets right after worship that you can go in and talk about the theme that was talked about today and in the worship service we're
[00:04:49] are really intentional this year with the season of Lent, and I hope you'll be a part of that. We're also going to have an online small group, so be watching for that, especially our online community.
[00:05:00] That's going to be on Tuesday nights throughout Lent at 6 p.m. So today is going to be very different, so I want you to settle back. It's going to be the one time you get permission to go to sleep
[00:05:11] in church if it works out for you. Online folks, I want you to just take a few moments, ground yourself, get comfortable wherever you're worshiping, and in just a few minutes, we're going to begin. So over the last several weeks, I've had the privilege of walking alongside a
[00:05:32] West person, a West, we don't use the word member, but a Westie, through the process of dying. And And I've been in ministry for 30 years, I've done a lot of funerals, but over the past
[00:05:47] 15 years, it has been rare that I've had the opportunity, and I do call it a privilege, to walk along someone who is aware that they are dying far too often in our society now.
[00:06:02] We have this just rampant dementia and Alzheimer's, so a lot of times when I'm walking with a family and their loved one through the the stages of death they the person is not aware so yesterday
[00:06:19] we gathered together to celebrate the life of john rayleigh he's been a part of west since west began i shared yesterday that back when we well we still do it when the graduations occur here at lake
[00:06:34] norman in june we helped tear down and it was the first sunday that they were visiting their sister and sister-in-law here and they were getting ready to buy a house or build a house here
[00:06:46] and they came and showed up and tore down 300 very hot metal chairs because they were blistering in the noonday sun in early june and after that he was always fully immersed in west at christmas he became sick with covet and then they found out right after that he had liver
[00:07:06] cancer and he died a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated his life yesterday when someone is in hospice care i am very intentional about pastoral care visits and i had rare opportunities to spend
[00:07:20] really quality time with john and talk about what it means to be moving from this realm to the eternal one as i would end my visits with john we would pray together and i found myself like
[00:07:35] you know in seminary they don't teach you what to say there's no class how to walk someone through dying they they don't even really teach you like how to lead a celebration of life service there's
[00:07:47] a class on worship and they cram it all together so a lot of this is trial and error but honestly that and officiating weddings. They're two of the rarest privileges that pastors have. As I had the
[00:08:04] opportunity to spend time with John, something kept resonating with me and weighing heavy on me for you. You know, we do a lot of fun message series. We try to couch them in fun so that then
[00:08:18] we get to the meaning. We do a lot of self-help, and self-help is great. But there's a difference at the end of the day between self-help and theology at the end of the day we need something
[00:08:32] in those darkest of times to hold on to and mel robbins and let them and those things they're good they're great but faith takes it one step further i wrote about this a few weeks ago in the e-news
[00:08:49] and I shared with you that this was just weighing heavy on me.
[00:08:52] I want, as your pastor, to give you something to hold on to.
[00:08:59] And so over the next year, we're going to be very intentional about our message series and what the themes are.
[00:09:05] We'll intermix them with, you know, self-help and some psychological principles that help us get through life.
[00:09:12] We'll do a series on mental health and those types of things.
[00:09:16] but it's really important to me that you get something to hold on to and there's one place that we find that and that's in our scripture and so today it's a no huddles day we do things
[00:09:34] typically differently today and I thought it would be an appropriate day to do something that's called Lectio Divina. It's an ancient way of reading scripture. So what's going to happen is I've got one passage that I'm going to read to you. Perhaps you're familiar with it, perhaps not. I'm going to
[00:09:57] read it three or four different times. The first two times I'm going to read it back to back and then after those two times we have some quiet music that I want you to listen to and I'll give
[00:10:10] you instructions, further instructions in just a second. But today, after this message, this meditation, I want you to have something to hold on to. I found that as I was with John and we would pray together, phrases, certain phrases from this passage at different visits would always
[00:10:35] pop up. I'm not going to tell you what my phrases are or were because I want you to find your own.
[00:10:43] And then, when you find yourself in a difficult life situation, it doesn't have to be death and the active stages of dying.
[00:10:55] It could be dealing with difficult people, finding yourself being bullied, a work challenge, a relationship that's gone sour, a doctor's visit that did not go the way that you want it to financial challenges or just inner struggles period this passage has anchors of hope and
[00:11:26] promises that we can hold on to it's the 23rd Psalm interestingly enough yesterday John Ray Lee was a Mason which is an interesting and fascinating organization and one that I have grown to respect tremendously they talk about
[00:11:50] one deity and it was it was a beautiful part of the service the we read the 23rd Psalm together and I'm not exaggerating I had picked out today's theme months ago we were actually going to do it last sunday where we just focused on the 23rd psalm so it's
[00:12:11] just ironic timing that we shared it yesterday at a celebration of life service and now here we are again today but yesterday people from all over as i would read this passage i saw their mouths
[00:12:32] moving at certain parts and it just reminded me how important scripture is and how it means something different to everybody and so this morning i want you to find your connection place with these words now we read often from the interpretation called the message here at west
[00:12:57] so the version of the 23rd psalm that you're going to hear today is a little different than perhaps if you grew up with this, what you would have heard back then. In just a second,
[00:13:09] I'm going to read it, and I just want you to listen to the whole thing, and then I'm going to read it again and give you just a few more instructions. God, my shepherd, I don't need a
[00:13:29] thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows. You find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath, and you send me in the right direction. Even when the way
[00:13:47] goes through Death Valley, I am not afraid. When you walk by my side, your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive
[00:14:07] my drooping head and my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life I'm back home and the house of God for the rest of my life so now I'm going to read it again and I want you to listen and I
[00:14:30] want you to see which phrase just resonates with you like what is one phrase in this passage that jumps out at you and speaks to you and I want you to just hold on to that phrase as I read and then immediately following my
[00:14:50] reading there's going to be just a few moments of quiet music and I want you to think about what that phrase means to you in your life right now what are you dealing with that makes this phrase resonate god my shepherd i don't need a thing you have
[00:15:14] bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and you send me in the right direction even when the way goes through death
[00:15:33] valley i am not afraid when you walk at my side your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head
[00:15:54] my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life i'm back home in the house of god for the rest of my life meditate on those words so this time i want you to take your phrase and i want you to hear the words again and i want you to
[00:19:12] be thinking about your phrase this time in relation to the other phrases that are in the passage i'll give you my example only because i want you to like be able to apply this and
[00:19:25] And it took years for me doing this in seminary and with other retreats and stuff to get the feel of Lectio Divina.
[00:19:32] The first time I did it in seminary, I fell asleep.
[00:19:35] I felt guilty, and the professor of that class was a nun.
[00:19:40] And she's like, don't feel guilty.
[00:19:42] How beautiful it is to rest in the presence of God.
[00:19:47] So like my phrase is, you revive my drooping head.
[00:19:53] I've shared with you before I struggle with pace I don't know how to like have balance sometimes and so sometimes I get tired and honestly I've never picked up on that passage until today sharing it with you you revived my drooping head so
[00:20:12] this time as I read it to you I'll be looking at how these other phrases in this passage relate to that and then what might god be saying to you today through your phrase so as soon as i read this passage and you hear it in relation to the rest
[00:20:38] i want during the next section of music you to just listen to what god might be nudging you to think don't expect some big boisterous voice to come through just where does your mind go where do your thoughts go god is in our thoughts god is in our very breath that
[00:21:02] we breathe hear these words with that intention god my shepherd i do not need a thing you have bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and you send me in the right direction even
[00:21:28] when the way goes through Death Valley I am not afraid when you walk at my side your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head my cup brims with blessing
[00:21:50] your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life i'm back home in the house of god for the rest of my life the last time that we read it i want you to hear the words in a space
[00:25:19] of gratitude like god's presence has carried you and whatever phrase that spoke and speaks to you this morning god's been in it all along so i want you to think about as you hear these words one
[00:25:39] last time where god has been in it for me like where god has carried me when i felt like i didn't have energy to go anymore where god has breathed new life into me and i give thanks for that
[00:26:00] so think about your phrase and hear these words for the last time and during the music just think about all the ways that you can be grateful gratitude changes everything god my shepherd i don't need a thing you have bedded me down in lush meadows you find me quiet pools to
[00:26:25] drink from true to your word you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction even when the way goes through death valley i am not afraid when you walk by my side
[00:26:43] your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure you serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies you revive my drooping head my cup brims with blessing your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life
[00:27:13] So, a couple of weeks ago on the Saturday before the first ice storm came, I was visiting with John and, I mean, he was in hospice.
[00:29:55] We didn't know how much more time he had.
[00:30:00] And so, as I closed in prayer and we held hands together, at the end I said, I'll see you soon hoping that there would indeed be another time that i could see him and he held my hand like
[00:30:16] he grabbed it and held more tightly than he had been and gave it a big squeeze and looked me squarely in the eye and said i will see you again i knew he wasn't talking about there
[00:30:36] in the hospice house. And in those moments, I thought, how lucky we are as humanity to know that there's something bigger than we are that holds us all together. And that just like the David writes, God, you're my shepherd and you walk with me through death valley. You protect me from
[00:31:06] my enemies, and my cup runneth over. One of the most beautiful things about this passage is the passage before it. The psalmist David cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And we hear
[00:31:23] Jesus say those same words on the cross. We all get to those spaces feeling forsaken, yet God offers us a promise of being a forever shepherd. Hold on to your phrase today. Hold on to it in the days
[00:31:44] ahead and know that there are so many promises that we have from such a big God. We don't have to ever be afraid. Will you pray with me? Gracious God, we are so grateful for your love for how
[00:32:01] you're always there, how despite even in the darkest of places, the scariest of places, you show up, you hold all things together with this divine love and peace that we can't even begin to fathom or understand. God, as we get ready to enter into the season of Lent, the days where
[00:32:24] we're so intentional about exploring our faith, be ever present in our minds, be with us in our thoughts so that we will draw even closer to you. We ask this morning for your special blessings
[00:32:44] on Jeffrey, Pastor Jeffrey, and all those at Acres of Hope. What a beautiful thing it has been to be able to watch them go from just owning some land and now being one of the most reputable or the
[00:32:59] most reputable school in nebby god you're all over it and we are so lucky that we are just a small part of it thank you for all the folks that cook chili today thank you for this church and the way
[00:33:15] they continue to seek to give themselves away thank you for being such an amazing god in christ's name amen so you're probably sick of hearing me tell this story but you're just going to get
[00:33:30] sicker one more time when we went to acres of hope it was around this time of year it was either 15 or 16 years ago for the very first time we met this man named jeffrey and there was just some
[00:33:42] land and a lot of blueprints and he said would you pray over my land and as we or consecrate the land i didn't even know what that meant but i just assumed it meant pray and as we were standing
[00:33:57] there in our little circle of like 17 people there were so many children just running around and and there's one little set of boys that we will never forget they had on shorts but the only thing that they had with their shorts was a waistband the rest were just
[00:34:20] tattered and it was as if they had on no clothes at all their stomachs were distended with hunger It was bad.
[00:34:34] But Jeffrey had a vision and a commitment.
[00:34:37] And then, so we went, and then Williamson's Chapel, we were getting ready to launch West.
[00:34:43] It was actually our first preview service on that Easter, and the pastor at Williamson's Chapel, Rob Fuquay, told the very large congregation, instead of buying a new boat or a beach house or a mountain house this spring break,
[00:34:59] why don't you build pod houses in Uganda?
[00:35:03] And by the end of the week, we had like $75,000.
[00:35:07] And Rob said, go figure this out.
[00:35:10] And it was one of the best things I've ever been able to do in ministry aside from the bash.
[00:35:18] And then like really cool, amazing people like Jim Gray went several years later and Jeffrey's getting ready to build this great big schoolhouse, like a legit two or three story building.
[00:35:33] I'm like, there's no way.
[00:35:35] Jeffrey, we don't have any more, like we're not a rich church.
[00:35:40] And then God just nudges really cool people like Jim Gray to start leading this initiative and then new west people like the Armstrongs get on the board of directors.
[00:35:49] And there's like multiple multi-story buildings now.
[00:35:54] I can't wait to see it.
[00:35:56] I can't wait to share it with you.
[00:35:59] I tell you all that to say that your chili eating today, it matters.
[00:36:05] Buy some tickets.
[00:36:07] I don't beat you over the head about money, but every dollar today goes to make children that don't have the resources that we have here make their dreams come true.
[00:36:22] So let's go.
[00:36:24] Let's have some chili.
[00:36:27] And if you have any questions about Acres of Hope, Jim, he's this really tall man.
[00:36:32] You'll see him in the Commons area.
[00:36:34] Ask him.
[00:36:36] Thanks for being here today.
[00:36:37] Let's go eat some chili.
[00:36:39] Vote for the best chili, not the best looking cook.
[00:36:42] Go in peace.
