Theological Status: Theological Weakness
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis
❓ 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).
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This church'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 church'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
Sermon Summary: This sermon explores the well-known story of Jacob's ladder, encouraging listeners that God meets them in the ordinary and 'in-between' moments of life. While offering comfort, the analysis reveals a critical missed opportunity to connect this Old Testament vision to its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Big Idea: God shows up in the in-between places of life. [00:45:40 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon is a warm, engaging, and pastorally sensitive message built around Genesis 28. However, it suffers from a significant hermeneutical failure by treating the text as a moralistic example rather than a redemptive-historical type pointing to Christ. The complete absence of the explicit connection between Jacob's ladder and Jesus's statement in John 1:51 results in a sermon that is theologically anemic, offering therapeutic encouragement without the grounding of the gospel.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis — The sermon has a reputation for being alive (engaging style, biblical text, community focus) but is spiritually dead, offering moralistic lessons about God's presence without the life-giving power of the Christ-centered gospel.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Theologically Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon lacks a clear presentation of the gospel. The call to action is to 'wake up' and 'join' God, which, without the context of grace through faith, leans toward moralism and decisionism rather than a response to the finished work of Christ. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | The pastor affirms Scripture as 'God's living word' and actively encourages the congregation to engage with it through practices like Scripture writing. |
| Hermeneutic | ❌ FAIL | The sermon fails to interpret the Old Testament text Christologically. It completely misses the explicit fulfillment of Jacob's ladder in Jesus Christ (John 1:51), treating the story as a standalone moral lesson about God's presence instead of a pointer to the Mediator. |
| Theology Proper | ⚠️ WEAK | While God is presented as faithful and present, the dominant portrayal is that of a therapeutic enabler of human dreams and goals. His sovereign, holy, and just attributes are largely absent, reducing His role to that of a divine life coach. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | Neither Communion nor Baptism were observed in the provided transcript. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: Genesis 28:10-22 (Pretextual)
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 8 | Referenced: 0 | Alluded: 0
Passages Read Aloud:
-
Genesis 28:10-15
[00:38:19 ▶️ 📄]
"Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring. And your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
-
Genesis 28:16-17
[00:39:27 ▶️ 📄]
"Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, but I didn't know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
Christological Connection: None: The sermon failed to connect Jacob's vision to its explicit fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who identified Himself as the true ladder between heaven and earth in John 1:51.
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Introduction: New Year's Dreams [00:33:12 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor introduces the new year by discussing personal goals and dreams, framing the sermon around the idea of God helping to make those dreams a reality.
- Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:10-17 [00:38:19 ▶️ 📄] : The main biblical text for the sermon, Jacob's dream at Bethel, is read.
- Point 1: God Shows Up in the In-Between [00:41:28 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor explains Jacob's difficult situation and presents the main proposition: God appears in the ordinary, messy, and transitional places of life, not with judgment but with promise.
- Application: Waking Up to God's Presence [00:50:09 ▶️ 📄] : The congregation is called to 'wake up' to God's presence in their own lives, just as Jacob did, and to see that God is already at work.
- Conclusion & Prayer [00:51:23 ▶️ 📄] : The sermon concludes by reiterating that we, like Jacob, have God's promises for the future and should live as if His presence is true, followed by a closing prayer.
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Dreams as divine communication [00:42:42 ▶️ 📄] : Explaining the significance of dreams in biblical context.
- In-between places [00:45:49 ▶️ 📄] : Discussing how God meets people in transitional or uncertain moments.
- God's presence in ordinary and in-between places [00:45:40 ▶️ 📄] : The pastor discusses how God meets people in ordinary and transitional moments of life.
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Tone | Warm and Relatable Delivery
The speaker's tone is engaging, warm, and accessible, creating a welcoming atmosphere for the congregation.
Biblical Exposition | Accurate Portrayal of Jacob's Character
The sermon correctly identifies Jacob not as a hero to be emulated, but as a flawed 'pot stirrer' and 'conniving mama's boy' ([00:40:47 ▶️ 📄]), which rightly grounds God's promise in grace, not in Jacob's merit.
Discipleship | Encouragement of Scripture Engagement
The pastor is to be commended for encouraging the congregation to actively engage with the Bible through the practice of Scripture writing ([00:16:19 ▶️ 📄]), promoting personal study.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Missed Christological Fulfillment (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralistic Drift (Sardis): This error detaches the commands and stories of Scripture from the person and power of the Gospel. It preaches principles for living without grounding them in the finished work of Christ, resulting in a message that has the form of religion but denies its power.
"Friends, that's good news. That is really good news that God shows up in the in-between places. In his power, in his presence, he comes and he makes the ordinary place a place of promise." [00:45:40 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: The primary point of Jacob's vision is not God's generic presence, but the revelation of the specific means of that presence: a mediator. Jesus identifies Himself as the fulfillment of this vision in John 1:51, stating, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.' The ladder is Christ, the only bridge between a holy God and sinful humanity. To preach the story without this connection is to preach the shadow without the substance.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:03:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Thank you for watching!
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Where's the... Yeah.
[00:04:41] Good morning, Central.
[00:04:43] How are you?
[00:04:45] Welcome.
[00:04:46] Happy New Year.
[00:04:46] Come on in.
[00:04:47] Grab your coffee.
[00:04:49] And let's get started with worship.
[00:04:50] It is good to be in this place to worship God together.
[00:04:54] We have got a huge, wonderful thank you to say as we start our worship this morning.
[00:04:58] And Ann's going to share that with us.
[00:05:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I think most people know me but in 1996 we renovated the fellowship hall and I became the kitchen witch.
[00:05:12] And I have every Sunday walk through that kitchen before church and a lot of times after church.
[00:05:21] And last Sunday was the most awful experience that I have ever had in my life in that kitchen.
[00:05:28] Someone had left a jug of milk from November.
[00:05:34] It looked like they had just pushed it in there.
[00:05:38] Well, I want you to know that when I took the lid off, it vomited all over the sink.
[00:05:43] I mean it was, the smell, Jenny Rosenhover got off the elevator and came in to help us because she smelled it.
[00:05:52] So if you see our custodian, Eddie, you give him a big hug around the neck and thank him, thank him, thank him.
[00:05:59] Because it had dripped down, I have a few pictures, but it had dripped down and had run out on the floor.
[00:06:09] and so and we had junior cotillion here on Friday so it wasn't like we could just say oh it doesn't matter and then Mike Childers is here I almost Mike did you tell your wife about what she did last week okay I don't want to tell secrets Mike spent 18 hours in the kitchen last week
[00:06:30] Cleaning the mop and scrubbing the floor, the counters, the pots, the pans, places that even as the kitchen which I did not need to be cleaned.
[00:06:39] So if you go in that kitchen, do not leave anything dirty.
[00:06:46] Do not leave anything in my refrigerators.
[00:06:49] If there is a meal here,
[00:06:53] Take whatever it is home.
[00:06:54] Don't say, oh, well, we don't want it.
[00:06:57] If you don't want it, throw it away.
[00:06:59] Whatever goes in that refrigerator, I give it two weeks, but sometimes, like, I wasn't here last week, a week in between.
[00:07:07] That was not in the refrigerator three weeks ago.
[00:07:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay.
[00:07:13] So thanks, Mike.
[00:07:14] Thanks, Eddie.
[00:07:16] Thanks, everyone.
[00:07:20] And it is a new year and a brand new time to do things that are clean and wonderful and good.
[00:07:26] So thank you to those of you who are making that happen in our midst.
[00:07:31] Another good thing that you can do as soon as we conclude worship this afternoon
[00:07:36] is help take down Christmas decorations.
[00:07:39] So right after church, if everybody will hang around for five or ten minutes, we can get that accomplished.
[00:07:44] Thank you so much for being here.
[00:07:46] If it's your first time in worship with us, we are not going to take you to the kitchen today.
[00:07:50] It's all good.
[00:07:51] We are going to worship God right here in this place and be glad and grateful that we are here.
[00:07:57] So please fill out a Connect card, drop it...
[00:08:00] All right, let's stand.
[00:08:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
We worship the God who is We worship the God who evermore will be He opened the prison doors He parted the raging sea My God, He holds the victory There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord
[00:09:05] In this joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place
[00:09:30] We sing to the God who saves We sing to the God who always makes a way Cause He hung up on that cross And He rose up from that grave My God is still rolling stones away There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord today
[00:10:02] We shout out your praise.
[00:10:10] We shout out your praise.
[00:10:23] There's joy in the house of the Lord, not rotten milk.
[00:10:32] Sometimes.
[00:10:33] We were the beggars, now we're royalty We were the prisoners, now we're running free We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord sing praise We were the beggars
[00:10:59] Now we're royalty We were the prisoners Now we're running free We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord sing praise There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord today And we won't be quiet
[00:11:29] We shout out your praise There's joy in the house of the Lord Our God is sorely in this place We won't be quiet We shout out your praise We shout out your praise Some good singing.
[00:11:59] I know we like that one.
[00:12:00] We've only done this one once before, so try to follow along best you can.
[00:12:04] It's pretty easy to sing with, though.
[00:12:10] Thank you, Jesus, for finding me.
[00:12:15] Like a good shepherd, your mercy leads back to your arms, where I'm meant to be.
[00:12:27] So I thank you Jesus for finding me Thank you Jesus for saving me You took my place on that cursed tree Died for sinners but rose as a king
[00:12:54] So I thank you Jesus for saving me Oh it's only because of all you've done That I can be called a friend of God Oh beautiful Savior what else can I do But lift up my voice and say
[00:13:32] We thank you Jesus for loving me.
[00:13:34] Shame lost its hold when you set me free.
[00:13:41] Every female has to bow at your feet.
[00:13:45] I thank you Jesus for loving me.
[00:13:51] Oh, it's only because of all you've done
[00:13:57] I can become a friend of God, O beautiful Savior What else can I do but lift up my voice and say
[00:14:18] I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise
[00:14:47] Lying to the gate of the Lord with thanksgiving Lying to the court of the Lord with praise Oh, it's only with one of all we've done That I can be called a friend of God Oh, beautiful Savior, what else can I do But lift up my voice
[00:15:27] All right, have a seat.
[00:15:28] That's good singing.
[00:15:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Be seated, yeah.
[00:15:31] And children, if we have children, kindergarten through fifth grade, now is the time for you to head to children's worship.
[00:15:37] Miss Melissa will meet you over here at this door.
[00:15:40] Come on and join them downstairs if you would like to do that.
[00:15:46] Oh, sorry.
[00:15:48] Come on, guys.
[00:15:49] There you go.
[00:15:51] And as we pray together this morning, I felt we just finished, if you're new among us, we just finished reading through the Bible together last year.
[00:16:01] And I want to keep that staying in the scripture going in a different kind of way this year.
[00:16:10] So we want to experiment with some things.
[00:16:12] If you find this bright yellow piece of paper on the end of the pew, pass them on down so people can see them.
[00:16:19] If you've never practiced scripture writing, it's really a good way to take a verse or two and just dig into it.
[00:16:29] Something about writing it down in longhand
[00:16:33] Which most of us don't do much of anymore.
[00:16:35] Most of the time we spend our time like this, right?
[00:16:38] Typing.
[00:16:39] But something about writing it out in longhand allows words and phrases to jump out and for you to slow down your mind enough to hear God's voice.
[00:16:50] So I invite you to take this with you and let that kind of be something that you try out.
[00:16:57] Give it a go and see what happens.
[00:17:01] Maybe buy a little cheap journal to write in so that you have it all in one place.
[00:17:05] Or if you're like me, a lot of times the most important things I write down end up on a napkin in a restaurant.
[00:17:12] So there's nothing wrong with that either.
[00:17:14] So whichever way works for you, I would just invite you into this kind of prayer practice over the next month or two and just see how God shows up.
[00:17:25] How can we be in prayer together this morning?
[00:17:28] What are the things you want to lift up?
[00:17:30] Situations you want to highlight?
[00:17:33] People you want to pray for?
[00:17:36] Anybody in particular?
[00:17:37] Yeah.
[00:17:41] Absolutely.
[00:17:43] Absolutely.
[00:17:50] Marie's son passed, so we need to remember their whole family for sure.
[00:17:56] Others?
[00:17:57] Yeah.
[00:18:01] Suzanne's niece.
[00:18:02] What's her first name?
[00:18:03] Jessica.
[00:18:04] Yeah.
[00:18:05] Michael.
[00:18:07] And Kathy Sigmund.
[00:18:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Absolutely.
[00:18:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, so Cotillion is starting to meet here.
[00:18:29] That starts this week, right?
[00:18:30] Or just started?
[00:18:32] So I would ask that we would pray for a blessing on every family that gathers in this place through that program.
[00:18:39] That's just one way that we can serve.
[00:18:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah?
[00:18:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Yeah.
[00:18:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Kids going back to school, safe semester, safe travels, good classes, great professors, all the things.
[00:19:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yes.
[00:19:16] Yeah.
[00:19:16] This friend of ours, her daughter was accidentally gunned down at her for Christmas while she was in Pennsylvania and she's still not stable.
[00:19:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Jordan Absolutely Wow, so we'll pray for Jordan who if you didn't hear all the details through the Christmas break was shot
[00:19:53] and is pregnant and is not in her home state and trying to get back so prayers for healing and safe travel all around would you open up your hands open up your hearts and let's pray together gracious and holy God we are so grateful for this new day to worship and praise to live as your children
[00:20:20] To remind ourselves that you are God and you hold us and you call us and you empower us and we're thankful for who you are in our lives.
[00:20:33] We pray for every request that was lifted up here out loud.
[00:20:37] We pray for those that we hold deep in our hearts that we may not even have words for, oh God.
[00:20:44] We bring those to you and ask for healing and mercy and presence.
[00:20:51] and Power and Strength and whatever is needed in every situation.
[00:20:57] God, most of the time, we don't even know what to ask.
[00:21:02] And we're so grateful that we serve a God who numbers the hairs on our head and knows our needs before we ask them.
[00:21:09] So intercede for us, we pray.
[00:21:13] When we feel lost or broken or far away, bring us back and bring us close to you again.
[00:21:21] God, we pray for our world.
[00:21:23] We pray for our country.
[00:21:25] We pray for peace.
[00:21:29] We pray for good sense.
[00:21:31] We pray for hope for a future.
[00:21:36] And we just ask for you to intervene and to be present and draw us together in unity.
[00:21:45] By your power, stop all the fighting and divisions and craziness.
[00:21:53] Just bring us peace in your name and help us to remember that that's the only place we're going to really find it is in you.
[00:22:04] Lord, hold us close.
[00:22:07] Forgive us when we go astray.
[00:22:10] Draw us back to you.
[00:22:12] Help us to turn around and live life in your footsteps and show us that that is a place of grace and hope and joy.
[00:22:25] That is our deepest desire, oh God, is to follow you.
[00:22:29] So help us do it more faithfully every single day.
[00:22:34] Hear the prayers of our hearts for we offer them all in the mighty and holy name of Jesus who taught his followers to pray.
[00:22:42] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:22:47] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:22:52] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[00:23:01] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[00:23:06] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:23:11] Amen.
[00:23:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I can hear his mighty power and his grace.
[00:23:58] I can hear the rush of angels' wings.
[00:23:59] I see glory on each face.
[00:24:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The list of His children the Lord said it would be.
[00:24:33] It doesn't take very many.
[00:24:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
It can be just two or three.
[00:24:37] And I feel that same sweet spirit that I felt of times before.
[00:24:42] I'm sure He I can take
[00:24:56] The hands of the Lord is in this place.
[00:25:19] I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
[00:25:20] I can hear the crash of angels' wings.
[00:25:21] I see glory on each face.
[00:25:24] There's a holy hush around us As God's glory fills this place I've touched the limb of His arm
[00:26:02] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I know without a doubt that I've been with the Lord.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Surely the presence of the Lord is in them.
[00:26:24] I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
[00:26:36] I can hear His voice.
[00:26:37] I see the glory of each place Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place Surely the presence
[00:27:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.
[00:27:17] Thank you, choir.
[00:27:20] As you come and you bring your offerings this morning, I want you to consider something.
[00:27:27] You should also have one of these cards near you.
[00:27:30] If you don't, there are some on the table as you go out.
[00:27:34] I told you last week that I feel like that our word as a congregation, as a community of faith for this year is invitation.
[00:27:42] And that means a lot of things.
[00:27:44] It doesn't just mean us inviting other people to church.
[00:27:48] It means us inviting the Holy Spirit to guide our lives day by day.
[00:27:53] It means keeping a spirit of invitation as we welcome new people into our congregation.
[00:28:01] It means all kinds of things.
[00:28:03] So I want you to consider that invitation is part of witness.
[00:28:08] It's part of the way you offer your gifts to God.
[00:28:12] We got good stuff going on here in the name of Jesus, right?
[00:28:17] Amen?
[00:28:19] Don't you want the whole world to be part of that?
[00:28:22] I mean, at least Morrisville, right?
[00:28:23] We want Morrisville to be part of that!
[00:28:27] So, this invitation of asking someone else to be part of what's happening as part of this community of faith, that's a way of offering who you are in the name of Jesus into the world.
[00:28:42] So as you bring your monetary gifts and give online at the QR code or drop your offerings in the box, I want you to spend this offering time holding this invitation in your hand as well and thinking about how your chance to invite somebody into this beautiful community of faith is a way of offering your witness in the name of Christ.
[00:29:08] And it is a good and holy thing that we all get to be part of.
[00:29:12] So keep those two things in mind as you bring your gifts.
[00:29:17] And as you come, would you remember your baptism?
[00:29:21] Because in the liturgical world, today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday.
[00:29:29] It's the day when Jesus was baptized.
[00:29:32] And our baptisms are an incredible invitation into brand new life with Christ.
[00:29:37] So come, remember your baptism, bring your offerings, and recognize that your witness is also an offering.
[00:29:45] Thanks be to God.
[00:29:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Father of kindness, you have poured out grace.
[00:30:05] You brought me out of darkness and filled me with peace.
[00:30:13] Give her mercy, O my help, in the time of need.
[00:30:21] Lord, I can't help but sing.
[00:30:28] Faithful you are Faithful forever you will be Faithful you are All your promises are yes and amen All your promises are yes and amen
[00:30:59] Beautiful Savior, You have brought me near You pulled me from the ashes You have broken every curse Blessed Redeemer, You have set this captive free Lord, I can't help but sing
[00:31:26] Faithful you are Faithful forever you will be Faithful you are And all your promises are yes and amen All your promises are yes and amen
[00:32:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I tell y'all, I hope you recognize how blessed you are to have the musicians leading your worship that you have.
[00:32:26] Because it is every pastor's dream to get teed up to preach, and they do it beautifully, week after week after week.
[00:32:40] And I'm so grateful.
[00:32:41] Thank you.
[00:32:44] Would you pray with me?
[00:32:47] Gracious and holy God, we come to your word open, listening, honest, and hopeful.
[00:33:01] Speak, Lord, for your people are gathered and we are listening.
[00:33:09] Amen.
[00:33:12] So last week we got our star words.
[00:33:14] If you weren't here last week, the star words are here in the plate.
[00:33:19] You've got to come get you one so that you'll have one for 2026.
[00:33:22] And if you don't know what I'm talking about, each year on the very first Sunday of the year we choose a random word on a star from a bowl.
[00:33:33] And we put that in front of us kind of as a, how might God be speaking to me through this particular word?
[00:33:44] And my word for the year is focus.
[00:33:50] So I don't know what that means.
[00:33:54] Maybe y'all do.
[00:33:56] Maybe you should tell me.
[00:33:59] But all through this year, I'm going to be looking to see how is God calling me to focus my time, my attention, my joy, all of those things.
[00:34:11] So some of you told me last week that you got words you didn't like.
[00:34:15] Well, I can't help you with that.
[00:34:19] That's between you and Jesus.
[00:34:22] But the only rules are don't peek and no givesies-backsies.
[00:34:26] If you don't like it, you've got to hang on to it and see if there's something in it for you throughout the year.
[00:34:35] And this week of 2026, it still feels pretty new.
[00:34:39] I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm still thinking about New Year's goals and New Year's dreams.
[00:34:47] It's about this year being more of what we hope for and less of what we'd like to leave behind.
[00:34:55] So before we reach that magic 17-day mark into January, which statistically is the time that we all give up our New Year's resolutions, let's dream a little.
[00:35:08] Let's dream a little.
[00:35:10] Remembering that dreams by definition have few, if any, limits.
[00:35:15] So I want you to consider this for a second, okay?
[00:35:18] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:26] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:32] And then the second question is, what's something you dream about for our church for this year?
[00:35:40] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:42] And what's something you dream about for our church this year?
[00:35:47] You got those things rattling around in your brain?
[00:35:51] Anybody willing to share one right quick?
[00:35:55] Something you dream about for this year?
[00:36:01] Oh!
[00:36:01] He said he'd like to be thin, but he'd like for our church to be fat.
[00:36:05] I love that.
[00:36:07] I love that.
[00:36:07] I can get on that boat all day long.
[00:36:11] Anybody else?
[00:36:15] I have a dream to begin to learn Spanish this year because my oldest son and his wife are a bilingual household.
[00:36:25] She is a native Spanish speaker and they communicate in Spanish at home a lot.
[00:36:31] They are going to speak Spanish to my granddaughter, Navy, so that Navy will also learn Spanish.
[00:36:39] So by the time Navy can talk, I need to know some Spanish so I can know what that child's saying.
[00:36:48] So that's one of mine.
[00:36:49] Anybody else have a dream for us?
[00:36:55] Oh, yes.
[00:36:57] For the money to be solid.
[00:36:59] Yeah.
[00:37:01] At home, at church, all around.
[00:37:05] So these dreams that we have, we all got them.
[00:37:09] Do you really believe that God can help make any of those dreams a reality?
[00:37:16] Not in a hocus pocus, genie in a bottle kind of way, but when we look into the 350 some odd days that are left in 2026, do you believe that God can plant a dream in your heart and will be with you and work with you to bring it to pass?
[00:37:36] Or is that just something we talk about?
[00:37:39] I want to believe that, don't you?
[00:37:41] I want to.
[00:37:45] But if you're like me, maybe you have a little bit of skeptical in you.
[00:37:51] So let me help us remember a story about a fellow who met God in a dream.
[00:37:58] And he woke up with a promise of a great future.
[00:38:03] We find this part of his story in the 28th chapter of the book of Genesis and his name is Jacob.
[00:38:11] Jacob is in a tough spot right now.
[00:38:17] Let's hear his story.
[00:38:19] Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
[00:38:22] He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night because the sun had set.
[00:38:28] Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
[00:38:34] And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
[00:38:46] And the Lord stood beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac.
[00:38:54] The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring.
[00:39:00] And your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your offspring.
[00:39:14] Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
[00:39:27] Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, but I didn't know it.
[00:39:37] And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place!
[00:39:41] This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
[00:39:48] This is God's living word for all God's people.
[00:39:53] Thanks be to God.
[00:39:57] He's Abraham's grandson.
[00:39:59] You remember Abraham, right?
[00:40:01] The one God called and said, I'm going to make a great nation out of you.
[00:40:04] I'm going to set you apart to be my people.
[00:40:07] And Abraham left his land and followed God.
[00:40:11] Jacob is Abraham's grandson.
[00:40:15] So Jacob's got some good genes going for him, for sure.
[00:40:20] But Jacob, where we meet him in today's story, he's not doing so hot.
[00:40:26] Family drama is running wild.
[00:40:28] Does anybody know anything about that?
[00:40:31] Oh, no, y'all all perfect.
[00:40:33] Come on.
[00:40:34] We all know something about family drama, don't we?
[00:40:37] Jacob is the pot stirrer.
[00:40:39] Does anybody know the pot stirrer in your family?
[00:40:41] Okay, now we're talking.
[00:40:45] He's the pot stirrer in his family drama.
[00:40:47] He is a conniving mama's boy in the worst sense of the word.
[00:40:52] And he's tricked his dad Isaac and stole his twin brother Esau's birthright and blessing.
[00:40:59] Esau is furious, of course, and he is out to settle the score with his brother.
[00:41:05] So Jacob runs and he gets out of Dodge.
[00:41:10] It's not Jacob's brightest moment, really.
[00:41:13] He's pretty vulnerable and he's traveling.
[00:41:17] He lays down to rest.
[00:41:20] And God shows up in a dream when Jacob is really on the struggle bus.
[00:41:28] And God comes to Jacob in this dream not with judgment, but with a promise.
[00:41:37] Now, let's put a little pin in Jacob's story for just a second and step over to the side and we're going to talk about dreams, okay?
[00:41:45] Dreams.
[00:41:45] Dreams that we have when we're sleeping.
[00:41:47] How are those kind of dreams different from New Year's resolution kind of dreams?
[00:41:57] Well, they can be weird.
[00:41:57] Yes.
[00:42:00] Yes.
[00:42:00] They can be weird.
[00:42:03] New Year's resolution kind of dreams, we tend to act on them.
[00:42:07] We have some control over them, right?
[00:42:10] But when we're asleep, they're weird.
[00:42:12] We don't have control over those dreams.
[00:42:14] So what does that lead us to think about the dreams we have when we're sleeping?
[00:42:20] Meh, just a dream, right?
[00:42:23] Meh, just a dream.
[00:42:24] Oh, that's nothing.
[00:42:25] That's just a dream.
[00:42:26] Or, phew, thank God that was a dream.
[00:42:30] We tend to dismiss dreams we have when we're asleep as no big deal.
[00:42:37] But dreams in the Bible were very different than that.
[00:42:42] Dreams in the Bible don't reveal things about the dreamer like we think today.
[00:42:47] We think our dreams tell us if we're stressed or we're anxious or we have some kind of subconscious fear or we ate too much ice cream too late last night or whatever.
[00:42:56] But in the Bible, dreams reveal God.
[00:43:01] They are outward forms of divine communication.
[00:43:05] It's like getting God for real on FaceTime.
[00:43:11] Dreams in the Bible are ways people have actual encounters with God.
[00:43:17] Ways that God reveals God's self to people.
[00:43:20] Now, of course, not all dreams are definedly inspired, but people did see dreams as a real way of God speaking and God showing up.
[00:43:30] So they wouldn't have been something that, like now we would say, oh, it's just a dream.
[00:43:34] They wouldn't have dismissed it like that.
[00:43:37] It was real.
[00:43:40] So perhaps we might consider that dreams are a way that God still shows up.
[00:43:48] That's something to ponder for sure.
[00:43:52] But now let's go back to Jacob.
[00:43:56] Jacob is en route from Beersheba to Haran.
[00:44:00] And he stops to camp for the night and he pulls up the nearest stone to use for a pillow.
[00:44:06] And that makes me hurt just a little bit, just to think about it.
[00:44:08] And God comes to him in a dream.
[00:44:15] And there's a stairway touching the earth and reaching to heaven.
[00:44:19] And there are angels coming and going on it.
[00:44:22] And that little detail helps us to know that the earthly world and the heavenly world are connected.
[00:44:30] They're interacting.
[00:44:31] And angels we often see as God's messengers in Scripture, but these angels don't have any messengers.
[00:44:37] They don't speak.
[00:44:38] God himself is standing there.
[00:44:42] Talking to Jacob.
[00:44:43] God makes Jacob many, many promises.
[00:44:47] He promises for land, for descendants, for blessings, for homecoming back to the land, and for God's presence to never leave him.
[00:44:58] That is quite a bowl full of promises, isn't it?
[00:45:01] And Jacob wakes up and he is awestruck.
[00:45:07] Surely the Lord is in this place.
[00:45:12] He even calls this place in the middle of nowhere the gate of heaven.
[00:45:18] Where he laid down to sleep, there wasn't anything special about it.
[00:45:22] The scripture just says it was a certain place.
[00:45:24] It's kind of, you know, the Motel 6 between two cities.
[00:45:29] I don't know.
[00:45:29] It was an in-between place on the journey.
[00:45:33] Nothing special.
[00:45:35] And God shows up in a powerful way right there.
[00:45:40] Friends, that's good news.
[00:45:43] That is really good news that God shows up in the in-between places.
[00:45:49] In his power, in his presence, he comes and he makes the ordinary place a place of promise.
[00:45:59] The ordinary stone that Jacob slobbered on when he slept the night before becomes a sacred symbol of a face-to-face encounter with God.
[00:46:10] He pours oil on it.
[00:46:13] He calls it Bethel, which means House of God.
[00:46:18] The very House of God is wherever God meets us at any given moment.
[00:46:29] Here's some more good news.
[00:46:33] The House of God is wherever God meets us at any given moment.
[00:46:39] Even in the in-between, especially
[00:46:42] In the in-between places.
[00:46:47] So do you ever feel like you're in an in-between place on life's journey?
[00:46:54] Do you identify with Jacob?
[00:46:58] Maybe you're running from something you've done.
[00:47:00] Something you know that has hurt people you love.
[00:47:06] And you find yourself in-between.
[00:47:10] Not sure how
[00:47:12] To make it right.
[00:47:14] Maybe one of those dreams you thought about at the beginning of our conversation just a few minutes ago.
[00:47:20] Maybe it has you living in the in-between.
[00:47:29] Maybe life circumstances, just daily life, has you in the in-between.
[00:47:35] Maybe you're in between jobs or maybe you are going back to college.
[00:47:40] And you're in between college and a real adulting job and all of that.
[00:47:46] Maybe you're caring for family members and you feel this in-betweenness.
[00:47:51] And maybe your life is just plain old ordinary right now.
[00:47:55] Ain't nothing special happening.
[00:47:58] Well, we learn from Jacob's story that God shows up in all those places.
[00:48:05] In the in-between, in the ordinary, meeting us where we are.
[00:48:11] and meeting us there not with a wagging finger but with a bowl full of promises.
[00:48:20] Promises for the future.
[00:48:23] The scripture says that Jacob experiences all because God has come near.
[00:48:31] And God keeps God's promises to Jacob without any conditions.
[00:48:37] Jacob reminds us that God was and still is willing and able to come close to us, to stay in communication with us because we are his children.
[00:48:52] He comes close to us, stays with us, even in the in-between, desolate, lonely times.
[00:48:59] Surely God was here and I didn't know it, Jacob says.
[00:49:06] This dream is about Jacob waking up to a God who is already there.
[00:49:11] From here on, Jacob's journeys are filled with this new sense of vocation and purpose because now he holds God's promises.
[00:49:32] God offers the same promise to us, you see.
[00:49:37] Maybe not for land or descendants like the stars or those things, but God still promises to meet us in ordinary places to fulfill his good purposes through us and to never leave us.
[00:50:01] I want to sit with this question for just a minute.
[00:50:03] Maybe you want to write it down.
[00:50:05] Now's a good time to use that napkin.
[00:50:09] How do we need to wake up to God today?
[00:50:15] How do we need to wake up to God today?
[00:50:23] Where is God present in your life, in our church, in all these ordinary places?
[00:50:32] And maybe we don't even know it.
[00:50:39] How do we need to wake up to God this morning?
[00:50:47] Take that with you as you go.
[00:50:49] Marinate on it throughout this week and continue to ask, Lord, help me wake up.
[00:50:59] Help me to see that surely you are
[00:51:02] In this place, in this place, in my life, in this church's life, in our witness in this world, in ways that we don't yet even know that you are at work, help us to see it and to join you in it.
[00:51:23] Keep in mind that Jacob still doesn't have any answers.
[00:51:30] He doesn't have any map.
[00:51:31] or Blueprint for what is to come.
[00:51:35] Keep in mind that he still has his sins against his family to work through.
[00:51:43] Keep in mind that he still doesn't know what is ahead, but for whatever is ahead, he has God's promises to carry him into an amazing future.
[00:51:59] We are the same.
[00:52:01] We don't know what's ahead.
[00:52:06] But we have God's promises, a bowl full of them, to carry us into this amazing, great future.
[00:52:15] Not because of who we are, but because of what God promises to do through our lives.
[00:52:23] Our ordinary, everyday, in-between, unfantastic lives.
[00:52:31] God is with us, promising a great future.
[00:52:37] Surely God is here.
[00:52:43] Surely God is here.
[00:52:46] May we all claim that and live like it's true.
[00:52:55] Live like it's true.
[00:52:59] Surely God is here every day of 2026.
[00:53:06] Lord, give us the grace to wake up and be awe-inspired by what you are already doing.
[00:53:18] Give us the grace and the purpose to join you in that work.
[00:53:25] Surely God is here.
[00:53:28] Thanks be to God.
[00:53:30] Amen.
[00:53:32] Let us pray.
[00:53:43] Lord, come to us in a way that we can't miss.
[00:53:51] Whether it's a dream, whether it's a sign, whether it's a conversation, whether it's a word on a star,
[00:53:59] Whether it's a prayer of a friend.
[00:54:04] Come to us.
[00:54:07] Wake us up.
[00:54:10] Show us the bowl full of promises that you have before us and give us the energy and the grace and the mercy to claim them.
[00:54:23] We want that, oh God.
[00:54:24] Sometimes we don't know how, so we ask that you would show us.
[00:54:29] Show us the way.
[00:54:32] Draw us close to you and remind us that you have already drawn near to us.
[00:54:38] We pray in Jesus' precious and holy name.
[00:54:42] All God's people said, Amen.
[00:54:45] Would you stand and let's sing as we go.
[00:55:02] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
We are climbing, take us further We are climbing, take us further We are climbing, take us further Soldiers of the cross
[00:55:33] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:55:59] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:56:01] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:56:04] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:15] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
[00:56:44] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:49] May the Lord bless you and keep you.
[00:56:51] May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[00:56:55] May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you His peace, now and forevermore.
[00:57:01] Amen.
[00:57:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Have a great week.
[00:57:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.
Thank you for watching!
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Where's the... Yeah.
[00:04:41] Good morning, Central.
[00:04:43] How are you?
[00:04:45] Welcome.
[00:04:46] Happy New Year.
[00:04:46] Come on in.
[00:04:47] Grab your coffee.
[00:04:49] And let's get started with worship.
[00:04:50] It is good to be in this place to worship God together.
[00:04:54] We have got a huge, wonderful thank you to say as we start our worship this morning.
[00:04:58] And Ann's going to share that with us.
[00:05:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I think most people know me but in 1996 we renovated the fellowship hall and I became the kitchen witch.
[00:05:12] And I have every Sunday walk through that kitchen before church and a lot of times after church.
[00:05:21] And last Sunday was the most awful experience that I have ever had in my life in that kitchen.
[00:05:28] Someone had left a jug of milk from November.
[00:05:34] It looked like they had just pushed it in there.
[00:05:38] Well, I want you to know that when I took the lid off, it vomited all over the sink.
[00:05:43] I mean it was, the smell, Jenny Rosenhover got off the elevator and came in to help us because she smelled it.
[00:05:52] So if you see our custodian, Eddie, you give him a big hug around the neck and thank him, thank him, thank him.
[00:05:59] Because it had dripped down, I have a few pictures, but it had dripped down and had run out on the floor.
[00:06:09] and so and we had junior cotillion here on Friday so it wasn't like we could just say oh it doesn't matter and then Mike Childers is here I almost Mike did you tell your wife about what she did last week okay I don't want to tell secrets Mike spent 18 hours in the kitchen last week
[00:06:30] Cleaning the mop and scrubbing the floor, the counters, the pots, the pans, places that even as the kitchen which I did not need to be cleaned.
[00:06:39] So if you go in that kitchen, do not leave anything dirty.
[00:06:46] Do not leave anything in my refrigerators.
[00:06:49] If there is a meal here,
[00:06:53] Take whatever it is home.
[00:06:54] Don't say, oh, well, we don't want it.
[00:06:57] If you don't want it, throw it away.
[00:06:59] Whatever goes in that refrigerator, I give it two weeks, but sometimes, like, I wasn't here last week, a week in between.
[00:07:07] That was not in the refrigerator three weeks ago.
[00:07:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay.
[00:07:13] So thanks, Mike.
[00:07:14] Thanks, Eddie.
[00:07:16] Thanks, everyone.
[00:07:20] And it is a new year and a brand new time to do things that are clean and wonderful and good.
[00:07:26] So thank you to those of you who are making that happen in our midst.
[00:07:31] Another good thing that you can do as soon as we conclude worship this afternoon
[00:07:36] is help take down Christmas decorations.
[00:07:39] So right after church, if everybody will hang around for five or ten minutes, we can get that accomplished.
[00:07:44] Thank you so much for being here.
[00:07:46] If it's your first time in worship with us, we are not going to take you to the kitchen today.
[00:07:50] It's all good.
[00:07:51] We are going to worship God right here in this place and be glad and grateful that we are here.
[00:07:57] So please fill out a Connect card, drop it...
[00:08:00] All right, let's stand.
[00:08:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
We worship the God who is We worship the God who evermore will be He opened the prison doors He parted the raging sea My God, He holds the victory There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord
[00:09:05] In this joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place
[00:09:30] We sing to the God who saves We sing to the God who always makes a way Cause He hung up on that cross And He rose up from that grave My God is still rolling stones away There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord today
[00:10:02] We shout out your praise.
[00:10:10] We shout out your praise.
[00:10:23] There's joy in the house of the Lord, not rotten milk.
[00:10:32] Sometimes.
[00:10:33] We were the beggars, now we're royalty We were the prisoners, now we're running free We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord sing praise We were the beggars
[00:10:59] Now we're royalty We were the prisoners Now we're running free We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by His grace Let the house of the Lord sing praise There's joy in the house of the Lord There's joy in the house of the Lord today And we won't be quiet
[00:11:29] We shout out your praise There's joy in the house of the Lord Our God is sorely in this place We won't be quiet We shout out your praise We shout out your praise Some good singing.
[00:11:59] I know we like that one.
[00:12:00] We've only done this one once before, so try to follow along best you can.
[00:12:04] It's pretty easy to sing with, though.
[00:12:10] Thank you, Jesus, for finding me.
[00:12:15] Like a good shepherd, your mercy leads back to your arms, where I'm meant to be.
[00:12:27] So I thank you Jesus for finding me Thank you Jesus for saving me You took my place on that cursed tree Died for sinners but rose as a king
[00:12:54] So I thank you Jesus for saving me Oh it's only because of all you've done That I can be called a friend of God Oh beautiful Savior what else can I do But lift up my voice and say
[00:13:32] We thank you Jesus for loving me.
[00:13:34] Shame lost its hold when you set me free.
[00:13:41] Every female has to bow at your feet.
[00:13:45] I thank you Jesus for loving me.
[00:13:51] Oh, it's only because of all you've done
[00:13:57] I can become a friend of God, O beautiful Savior What else can I do but lift up my voice and say
[00:14:18] I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise I enter the gates of the Lord with praise
[00:14:47] Lying to the gate of the Lord with thanksgiving Lying to the court of the Lord with praise Oh, it's only with one of all we've done That I can be called a friend of God Oh, beautiful Savior, what else can I do But lift up my voice
[00:15:27] All right, have a seat.
[00:15:28] That's good singing.
[00:15:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Be seated, yeah.
[00:15:31] And children, if we have children, kindergarten through fifth grade, now is the time for you to head to children's worship.
[00:15:37] Miss Melissa will meet you over here at this door.
[00:15:40] Come on and join them downstairs if you would like to do that.
[00:15:46] Oh, sorry.
[00:15:48] Come on, guys.
[00:15:49] There you go.
[00:15:51] And as we pray together this morning, I felt we just finished, if you're new among us, we just finished reading through the Bible together last year.
[00:16:01] And I want to keep that staying in the scripture going in a different kind of way this year.
[00:16:10] So we want to experiment with some things.
[00:16:12] If you find this bright yellow piece of paper on the end of the pew, pass them on down so people can see them.
[00:16:19] If you've never practiced scripture writing, it's really a good way to take a verse or two and just dig into it.
[00:16:29] Something about writing it down in longhand
[00:16:33] Which most of us don't do much of anymore.
[00:16:35] Most of the time we spend our time like this, right?
[00:16:38] Typing.
[00:16:39] But something about writing it out in longhand allows words and phrases to jump out and for you to slow down your mind enough to hear God's voice.
[00:16:50] So I invite you to take this with you and let that kind of be something that you try out.
[00:16:57] Give it a go and see what happens.
[00:17:01] Maybe buy a little cheap journal to write in so that you have it all in one place.
[00:17:05] Or if you're like me, a lot of times the most important things I write down end up on a napkin in a restaurant.
[00:17:12] So there's nothing wrong with that either.
[00:17:14] So whichever way works for you, I would just invite you into this kind of prayer practice over the next month or two and just see how God shows up.
[00:17:25] How can we be in prayer together this morning?
[00:17:28] What are the things you want to lift up?
[00:17:30] Situations you want to highlight?
[00:17:33] People you want to pray for?
[00:17:36] Anybody in particular?
[00:17:37] Yeah.
[00:17:41] Absolutely.
[00:17:43] Absolutely.
[00:17:50] Marie's son passed, so we need to remember their whole family for sure.
[00:17:56] Others?
[00:17:57] Yeah.
[00:18:01] Suzanne's niece.
[00:18:02] What's her first name?
[00:18:03] Jessica.
[00:18:04] Yeah.
[00:18:05] Michael.
[00:18:07] And Kathy Sigmund.
[00:18:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Absolutely.
[00:18:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, so Cotillion is starting to meet here.
[00:18:29] That starts this week, right?
[00:18:30] Or just started?
[00:18:32] So I would ask that we would pray for a blessing on every family that gathers in this place through that program.
[00:18:39] That's just one way that we can serve.
[00:18:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah?
[00:18:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Yeah.
[00:18:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Kids going back to school, safe semester, safe travels, good classes, great professors, all the things.
[00:19:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yes.
[00:19:16] Yeah.
[00:19:16] This friend of ours, her daughter was accidentally gunned down at her for Christmas while she was in Pennsylvania and she's still not stable.
[00:19:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Jordan Absolutely Wow, so we'll pray for Jordan who if you didn't hear all the details through the Christmas break was shot
[00:19:53] and is pregnant and is not in her home state and trying to get back so prayers for healing and safe travel all around would you open up your hands open up your hearts and let's pray together gracious and holy God we are so grateful for this new day to worship and praise to live as your children
[00:20:20] To remind ourselves that you are God and you hold us and you call us and you empower us and we're thankful for who you are in our lives.
[00:20:33] We pray for every request that was lifted up here out loud.
[00:20:37] We pray for those that we hold deep in our hearts that we may not even have words for, oh God.
[00:20:44] We bring those to you and ask for healing and mercy and presence.
[00:20:51] and Power and Strength and whatever is needed in every situation.
[00:20:57] God, most of the time, we don't even know what to ask.
[00:21:02] And we're so grateful that we serve a God who numbers the hairs on our head and knows our needs before we ask them.
[00:21:09] So intercede for us, we pray.
[00:21:13] When we feel lost or broken or far away, bring us back and bring us close to you again.
[00:21:21] God, we pray for our world.
[00:21:23] We pray for our country.
[00:21:25] We pray for peace.
[00:21:29] We pray for good sense.
[00:21:31] We pray for hope for a future.
[00:21:36] And we just ask for you to intervene and to be present and draw us together in unity.
[00:21:45] By your power, stop all the fighting and divisions and craziness.
[00:21:53] Just bring us peace in your name and help us to remember that that's the only place we're going to really find it is in you.
[00:22:04] Lord, hold us close.
[00:22:07] Forgive us when we go astray.
[00:22:10] Draw us back to you.
[00:22:12] Help us to turn around and live life in your footsteps and show us that that is a place of grace and hope and joy.
[00:22:25] That is our deepest desire, oh God, is to follow you.
[00:22:29] So help us do it more faithfully every single day.
[00:22:34] Hear the prayers of our hearts for we offer them all in the mighty and holy name of Jesus who taught his followers to pray.
[00:22:42] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:22:47] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:22:52] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[00:23:01] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[00:23:06] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:23:11] Amen.
[00:23:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I can hear his mighty power and his grace.
[00:23:58] I can hear the rush of angels' wings.
[00:23:59] I see glory on each face.
[00:24:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The list of His children the Lord said it would be.
[00:24:33] It doesn't take very many.
[00:24:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
It can be just two or three.
[00:24:37] And I feel that same sweet spirit that I felt of times before.
[00:24:42] I'm sure He I can take
[00:24:56] The hands of the Lord is in this place.
[00:25:19] I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
[00:25:20] I can hear the crash of angels' wings.
[00:25:21] I see glory on each face.
[00:25:24] There's a holy hush around us As God's glory fills this place I've touched the limb of His arm
[00:26:02] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I know without a doubt that I've been with the Lord.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Surely the presence of the Lord is in them.
[00:26:24] I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
[00:26:36] I can hear His voice.
[00:26:37] I see the glory of each place Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place Surely the presence
[00:27:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.
[00:27:17] Thank you, choir.
[00:27:20] As you come and you bring your offerings this morning, I want you to consider something.
[00:27:27] You should also have one of these cards near you.
[00:27:30] If you don't, there are some on the table as you go out.
[00:27:34] I told you last week that I feel like that our word as a congregation, as a community of faith for this year is invitation.
[00:27:42] And that means a lot of things.
[00:27:44] It doesn't just mean us inviting other people to church.
[00:27:48] It means us inviting the Holy Spirit to guide our lives day by day.
[00:27:53] It means keeping a spirit of invitation as we welcome new people into our congregation.
[00:28:01] It means all kinds of things.
[00:28:03] So I want you to consider that invitation is part of witness.
[00:28:08] It's part of the way you offer your gifts to God.
[00:28:12] We got good stuff going on here in the name of Jesus, right?
[00:28:17] Amen?
[00:28:19] Don't you want the whole world to be part of that?
[00:28:22] I mean, at least Morrisville, right?
[00:28:23] We want Morrisville to be part of that!
[00:28:27] So, this invitation of asking someone else to be part of what's happening as part of this community of faith, that's a way of offering who you are in the name of Jesus into the world.
[00:28:42] So as you bring your monetary gifts and give online at the QR code or drop your offerings in the box, I want you to spend this offering time holding this invitation in your hand as well and thinking about how your chance to invite somebody into this beautiful community of faith is a way of offering your witness in the name of Christ.
[00:29:08] And it is a good and holy thing that we all get to be part of.
[00:29:12] So keep those two things in mind as you bring your gifts.
[00:29:17] And as you come, would you remember your baptism?
[00:29:21] Because in the liturgical world, today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday.
[00:29:29] It's the day when Jesus was baptized.
[00:29:32] And our baptisms are an incredible invitation into brand new life with Christ.
[00:29:37] So come, remember your baptism, bring your offerings, and recognize that your witness is also an offering.
[00:29:45] Thanks be to God.
[00:29:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Father of kindness, you have poured out grace.
[00:30:05] You brought me out of darkness and filled me with peace.
[00:30:13] Give her mercy, O my help, in the time of need.
[00:30:21] Lord, I can't help but sing.
[00:30:28] Faithful you are Faithful forever you will be Faithful you are All your promises are yes and amen All your promises are yes and amen
[00:30:59] Beautiful Savior, You have brought me near You pulled me from the ashes You have broken every curse Blessed Redeemer, You have set this captive free Lord, I can't help but sing
[00:31:26] Faithful you are Faithful forever you will be Faithful you are And all your promises are yes and amen All your promises are yes and amen
[00:32:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I tell y'all, I hope you recognize how blessed you are to have the musicians leading your worship that you have.
[00:32:26] Because it is every pastor's dream to get teed up to preach, and they do it beautifully, week after week after week.
[00:32:40] And I'm so grateful.
[00:32:41] Thank you.
[00:32:44] Would you pray with me?
[00:32:47] Gracious and holy God, we come to your word open, listening, honest, and hopeful.
[00:33:01] Speak, Lord, for your people are gathered and we are listening.
[00:33:09] Amen.
[00:33:12] So last week we got our star words.
[00:33:14] If you weren't here last week, the star words are here in the plate.
[00:33:19] You've got to come get you one so that you'll have one for 2026.
[00:33:22] And if you don't know what I'm talking about, each year on the very first Sunday of the year we choose a random word on a star from a bowl.
[00:33:33] And we put that in front of us kind of as a, how might God be speaking to me through this particular word?
[00:33:44] And my word for the year is focus.
[00:33:50] So I don't know what that means.
[00:33:54] Maybe y'all do.
[00:33:56] Maybe you should tell me.
[00:33:59] But all through this year, I'm going to be looking to see how is God calling me to focus my time, my attention, my joy, all of those things.
[00:34:11] So some of you told me last week that you got words you didn't like.
[00:34:15] Well, I can't help you with that.
[00:34:19] That's between you and Jesus.
[00:34:22] But the only rules are don't peek and no givesies-backsies.
[00:34:26] If you don't like it, you've got to hang on to it and see if there's something in it for you throughout the year.
[00:34:35] And this week of 2026, it still feels pretty new.
[00:34:39] I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm still thinking about New Year's goals and New Year's dreams.
[00:34:47] It's about this year being more of what we hope for and less of what we'd like to leave behind.
[00:34:55] So before we reach that magic 17-day mark into January, which statistically is the time that we all give up our New Year's resolutions, let's dream a little.
[00:35:08] Let's dream a little.
[00:35:10] Remembering that dreams by definition have few, if any, limits.
[00:35:15] So I want you to consider this for a second, okay?
[00:35:18] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:26] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:32] And then the second question is, what's something you dream about for our church for this year?
[00:35:40] What's something you dream about doing or becoming this year?
[00:35:42] And what's something you dream about for our church this year?
[00:35:47] You got those things rattling around in your brain?
[00:35:51] Anybody willing to share one right quick?
[00:35:55] Something you dream about for this year?
[00:36:01] Oh!
[00:36:01] He said he'd like to be thin, but he'd like for our church to be fat.
[00:36:05] I love that.
[00:36:07] I love that.
[00:36:07] I can get on that boat all day long.
[00:36:11] Anybody else?
[00:36:15] I have a dream to begin to learn Spanish this year because my oldest son and his wife are a bilingual household.
[00:36:25] She is a native Spanish speaker and they communicate in Spanish at home a lot.
[00:36:31] They are going to speak Spanish to my granddaughter, Navy, so that Navy will also learn Spanish.
[00:36:39] So by the time Navy can talk, I need to know some Spanish so I can know what that child's saying.
[00:36:48] So that's one of mine.
[00:36:49] Anybody else have a dream for us?
[00:36:55] Oh, yes.
[00:36:57] For the money to be solid.
[00:36:59] Yeah.
[00:37:01] At home, at church, all around.
[00:37:05] So these dreams that we have, we all got them.
[00:37:09] Do you really believe that God can help make any of those dreams a reality?
[00:37:16] Not in a hocus pocus, genie in a bottle kind of way, but when we look into the 350 some odd days that are left in 2026, do you believe that God can plant a dream in your heart and will be with you and work with you to bring it to pass?
[00:37:36] Or is that just something we talk about?
[00:37:39] I want to believe that, don't you?
[00:37:41] I want to.
[00:37:45] But if you're like me, maybe you have a little bit of skeptical in you.
[00:37:51] So let me help us remember a story about a fellow who met God in a dream.
[00:37:58] And he woke up with a promise of a great future.
[00:38:03] We find this part of his story in the 28th chapter of the book of Genesis and his name is Jacob.
[00:38:11] Jacob is in a tough spot right now.
[00:38:17] Let's hear his story.
[00:38:19] Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
[00:38:22] He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night because the sun had set.
[00:38:28] Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
[00:38:34] And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
[00:38:46] And the Lord stood beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac.
[00:38:54] The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring.
[00:39:00] And your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your offspring.
[00:39:14] Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
[00:39:27] Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, but I didn't know it.
[00:39:37] And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place!
[00:39:41] This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
[00:39:48] This is God's living word for all God's people.
[00:39:53] Thanks be to God.
[00:39:57] He's Abraham's grandson.
[00:39:59] You remember Abraham, right?
[00:40:01] The one God called and said, I'm going to make a great nation out of you.
[00:40:04] I'm going to set you apart to be my people.
[00:40:07] And Abraham left his land and followed God.
[00:40:11] Jacob is Abraham's grandson.
[00:40:15] So Jacob's got some good genes going for him, for sure.
[00:40:20] But Jacob, where we meet him in today's story, he's not doing so hot.
[00:40:26] Family drama is running wild.
[00:40:28] Does anybody know anything about that?
[00:40:31] Oh, no, y'all all perfect.
[00:40:33] Come on.
[00:40:34] We all know something about family drama, don't we?
[00:40:37] Jacob is the pot stirrer.
[00:40:39] Does anybody know the pot stirrer in your family?
[00:40:41] Okay, now we're talking.
[00:40:45] He's the pot stirrer in his family drama.
[00:40:47] He is a conniving mama's boy in the worst sense of the word.
[00:40:52] And he's tricked his dad Isaac and stole his twin brother Esau's birthright and blessing.
[00:40:59] Esau is furious, of course, and he is out to settle the score with his brother.
[00:41:05] So Jacob runs and he gets out of Dodge.
[00:41:10] It's not Jacob's brightest moment, really.
[00:41:13] He's pretty vulnerable and he's traveling.
[00:41:17] He lays down to rest.
[00:41:20] And God shows up in a dream when Jacob is really on the struggle bus.
[00:41:28] And God comes to Jacob in this dream not with judgment, but with a promise.
[00:41:37] Now, let's put a little pin in Jacob's story for just a second and step over to the side and we're going to talk about dreams, okay?
[00:41:45] Dreams.
[00:41:45] Dreams that we have when we're sleeping.
[00:41:47] How are those kind of dreams different from New Year's resolution kind of dreams?
[00:41:57] Well, they can be weird.
[00:41:57] Yes.
[00:42:00] Yes.
[00:42:00] They can be weird.
[00:42:03] New Year's resolution kind of dreams, we tend to act on them.
[00:42:07] We have some control over them, right?
[00:42:10] But when we're asleep, they're weird.
[00:42:12] We don't have control over those dreams.
[00:42:14] So what does that lead us to think about the dreams we have when we're sleeping?
[00:42:20] Meh, just a dream, right?
[00:42:23] Meh, just a dream.
[00:42:24] Oh, that's nothing.
[00:42:25] That's just a dream.
[00:42:26] Or, phew, thank God that was a dream.
[00:42:30] We tend to dismiss dreams we have when we're asleep as no big deal.
[00:42:37] But dreams in the Bible were very different than that.
[00:42:42] Dreams in the Bible don't reveal things about the dreamer like we think today.
[00:42:47] We think our dreams tell us if we're stressed or we're anxious or we have some kind of subconscious fear or we ate too much ice cream too late last night or whatever.
[00:42:56] But in the Bible, dreams reveal God.
[00:43:01] They are outward forms of divine communication.
[00:43:05] It's like getting God for real on FaceTime.
[00:43:11] Dreams in the Bible are ways people have actual encounters with God.
[00:43:17] Ways that God reveals God's self to people.
[00:43:20] Now, of course, not all dreams are definedly inspired, but people did see dreams as a real way of God speaking and God showing up.
[00:43:30] So they wouldn't have been something that, like now we would say, oh, it's just a dream.
[00:43:34] They wouldn't have dismissed it like that.
[00:43:37] It was real.
[00:43:40] So perhaps we might consider that dreams are a way that God still shows up.
[00:43:48] That's something to ponder for sure.
[00:43:52] But now let's go back to Jacob.
[00:43:56] Jacob is en route from Beersheba to Haran.
[00:44:00] And he stops to camp for the night and he pulls up the nearest stone to use for a pillow.
[00:44:06] And that makes me hurt just a little bit, just to think about it.
[00:44:08] And God comes to him in a dream.
[00:44:15] And there's a stairway touching the earth and reaching to heaven.
[00:44:19] And there are angels coming and going on it.
[00:44:22] And that little detail helps us to know that the earthly world and the heavenly world are connected.
[00:44:30] They're interacting.
[00:44:31] And angels we often see as God's messengers in Scripture, but these angels don't have any messengers.
[00:44:37] They don't speak.
[00:44:38] God himself is standing there.
[00:44:42] Talking to Jacob.
[00:44:43] God makes Jacob many, many promises.
[00:44:47] He promises for land, for descendants, for blessings, for homecoming back to the land, and for God's presence to never leave him.
[00:44:58] That is quite a bowl full of promises, isn't it?
[00:45:01] And Jacob wakes up and he is awestruck.
[00:45:07] Surely the Lord is in this place.
[00:45:12] He even calls this place in the middle of nowhere the gate of heaven.
[00:45:18] Where he laid down to sleep, there wasn't anything special about it.
[00:45:22] The scripture just says it was a certain place.
[00:45:24] It's kind of, you know, the Motel 6 between two cities.
[00:45:29] I don't know.
[00:45:29] It was an in-between place on the journey.
[00:45:33] Nothing special.
[00:45:35] And God shows up in a powerful way right there.
[00:45:40] Friends, that's good news.
[00:45:43] That is really good news that God shows up in the in-between places.
[00:45:49] In his power, in his presence, he comes and he makes the ordinary place a place of promise.
[00:45:59] The ordinary stone that Jacob slobbered on when he slept the night before becomes a sacred symbol of a face-to-face encounter with God.
[00:46:10] He pours oil on it.
[00:46:13] He calls it Bethel, which means House of God.
[00:46:18] The very House of God is wherever God meets us at any given moment.
[00:46:29] Here's some more good news.
[00:46:33] The House of God is wherever God meets us at any given moment.
[00:46:39] Even in the in-between, especially
[00:46:42] In the in-between places.
[00:46:47] So do you ever feel like you're in an in-between place on life's journey?
[00:46:54] Do you identify with Jacob?
[00:46:58] Maybe you're running from something you've done.
[00:47:00] Something you know that has hurt people you love.
[00:47:06] And you find yourself in-between.
[00:47:10] Not sure how
[00:47:12] To make it right.
[00:47:14] Maybe one of those dreams you thought about at the beginning of our conversation just a few minutes ago.
[00:47:20] Maybe it has you living in the in-between.
[00:47:29] Maybe life circumstances, just daily life, has you in the in-between.
[00:47:35] Maybe you're in between jobs or maybe you are going back to college.
[00:47:40] And you're in between college and a real adulting job and all of that.
[00:47:46] Maybe you're caring for family members and you feel this in-betweenness.
[00:47:51] And maybe your life is just plain old ordinary right now.
[00:47:55] Ain't nothing special happening.
[00:47:58] Well, we learn from Jacob's story that God shows up in all those places.
[00:48:05] In the in-between, in the ordinary, meeting us where we are.
[00:48:11] and meeting us there not with a wagging finger but with a bowl full of promises.
[00:48:20] Promises for the future.
[00:48:23] The scripture says that Jacob experiences all because God has come near.
[00:48:31] And God keeps God's promises to Jacob without any conditions.
[00:48:37] Jacob reminds us that God was and still is willing and able to come close to us, to stay in communication with us because we are his children.
[00:48:52] He comes close to us, stays with us, even in the in-between, desolate, lonely times.
[00:48:59] Surely God was here and I didn't know it, Jacob says.
[00:49:06] This dream is about Jacob waking up to a God who is already there.
[00:49:11] From here on, Jacob's journeys are filled with this new sense of vocation and purpose because now he holds God's promises.
[00:49:32] God offers the same promise to us, you see.
[00:49:37] Maybe not for land or descendants like the stars or those things, but God still promises to meet us in ordinary places to fulfill his good purposes through us and to never leave us.
[00:50:01] I want to sit with this question for just a minute.
[00:50:03] Maybe you want to write it down.
[00:50:05] Now's a good time to use that napkin.
[00:50:09] How do we need to wake up to God today?
[00:50:15] How do we need to wake up to God today?
[00:50:23] Where is God present in your life, in our church, in all these ordinary places?
[00:50:32] And maybe we don't even know it.
[00:50:39] How do we need to wake up to God this morning?
[00:50:47] Take that with you as you go.
[00:50:49] Marinate on it throughout this week and continue to ask, Lord, help me wake up.
[00:50:59] Help me to see that surely you are
[00:51:02] In this place, in this place, in my life, in this church's life, in our witness in this world, in ways that we don't yet even know that you are at work, help us to see it and to join you in it.
[00:51:23] Keep in mind that Jacob still doesn't have any answers.
[00:51:30] He doesn't have any map.
[00:51:31] or Blueprint for what is to come.
[00:51:35] Keep in mind that he still has his sins against his family to work through.
[00:51:43] Keep in mind that he still doesn't know what is ahead, but for whatever is ahead, he has God's promises to carry him into an amazing future.
[00:51:59] We are the same.
[00:52:01] We don't know what's ahead.
[00:52:06] But we have God's promises, a bowl full of them, to carry us into this amazing, great future.
[00:52:15] Not because of who we are, but because of what God promises to do through our lives.
[00:52:23] Our ordinary, everyday, in-between, unfantastic lives.
[00:52:31] God is with us, promising a great future.
[00:52:37] Surely God is here.
[00:52:43] Surely God is here.
[00:52:46] May we all claim that and live like it's true.
[00:52:55] Live like it's true.
[00:52:59] Surely God is here every day of 2026.
[00:53:06] Lord, give us the grace to wake up and be awe-inspired by what you are already doing.
[00:53:18] Give us the grace and the purpose to join you in that work.
[00:53:25] Surely God is here.
[00:53:28] Thanks be to God.
[00:53:30] Amen.
[00:53:32] Let us pray.
[00:53:43] Lord, come to us in a way that we can't miss.
[00:53:51] Whether it's a dream, whether it's a sign, whether it's a conversation, whether it's a word on a star,
[00:53:59] Whether it's a prayer of a friend.
[00:54:04] Come to us.
[00:54:07] Wake us up.
[00:54:10] Show us the bowl full of promises that you have before us and give us the energy and the grace and the mercy to claim them.
[00:54:23] We want that, oh God.
[00:54:24] Sometimes we don't know how, so we ask that you would show us.
[00:54:29] Show us the way.
[00:54:32] Draw us close to you and remind us that you have already drawn near to us.
[00:54:38] We pray in Jesus' precious and holy name.
[00:54:42] All God's people said, Amen.
[00:54:45] Would you stand and let's sing as we go.
[00:55:02] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
We are climbing, take us further We are climbing, take us further We are climbing, take us further Soldiers of the cross
[00:55:33] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:55:59] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:56:01] Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
[00:56:04] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:15] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
[00:56:44] If you love Him, why not serve Him?
[00:56:49] May the Lord bless you and keep you.
[00:56:51] May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[00:56:55] May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you His peace, now and forevermore.
[00:57:01] Amen.
[00:57:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Have a great week.
[00:57:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.
