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: A heartfelt exploration of how God calls the unequipped, using personal stories to encourage believers to trust in His equipping power.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon offers a warm, relatable message regarding divine calling and spiritual growth, utilizing personal anecdotes to encourage the congregation. However, the homiletical structure is compromised by a moralistic approach that emphasizes human effort without explicitly anchoring the exhortation in the Gospel of grace. Consequently, the message fails to present the core truth of salvation by Grace alone.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — This sermon exhibits homiletical compromise by prioritizing human effort and moralistic application over the finished work of Christ. While the omission of the explicit Gospel framework prevents it from being classified as sound, the errors are deemed Major rather than Critical, resulting in a Path B classification. The Pergamum archetype reflects a state of compromised boundaries where the message focuses on human duty and response without anchoring them in the sovereign grace of the Gospel.
Big Idea: God does not call the equipped; He equips the called, growing competence and gifts within us as we say 'yes' to His call, even when we feel unprepared. 00:37:47 ▶️ 📄
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Low
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - No coarse language or pejoratives were detected.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"The sermon focuses on human response and imitation of God's calling, rather than connecting the message to the redemptive work of Christ."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 3 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 0
📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud
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2 Corinthians 3:4-6
00:35:10 ▶️ 📄
"Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life."
Key References: Isaiah 61:1-2, Exodus 3 (Burning Bush), Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments)
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,609 words
📌 View 11 Key Topics Addressed
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Divine Calling and Competence
00:37:47 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor argues against the lie that God only calls the fully equipped, citing 2 Corinthians to assert that competence comes from God, not self. -
Personal Call Story
00:38:36 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor shares her personal journey from aspiring CPA to religious studies major, illustrating how God interrupted her plans and planted seeds for her future ministry. -
Growth and Ordination
00:40:49 ▶️ 📄
> Using the rainforest analogy, the pastor explains that growth happens slowly and quietly, recounting her hesitation and eventual acceptance of ordination through the nudging of others. -
Divine Equipping vs. Human Competence
00:45:33 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor argues that competence is a result of God's calling, not a prerequisite, citing biblical examples like Moses and the disciples. -
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Ministry
00:53:34 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor addresses the fear of being 'not enough' and encourages listeners to stop waiting for perfection before serving. -
The Nature of Spiritual Growth
00:55:07 ▶️ 📄
> Using the metaphor of a rainforest, the pastor explains that God grows courage, servants, and leaders over time. -
Divine Equipping
00:55:07 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor asserts that God actively grows courage, servants, leaders, and faith in believers. -
The Holy Spirit's Nudge
00:55:30 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor suggests that internal nudges may be the Holy Spirit calling individuals, countering the idea that they are random thoughts. -
Overcoming Fear of Inadequacy
00:56:44 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor addresses the common human reaction of hedging around tasks due to feeling unqualified, contrasting it with God's promise to equip. -
Personal Testimony of Growth
00:56:58 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor shares personal experience of being 'green' and unprepared, yet being equipped by God to do scary new things. -
Call to Action
00:57:25 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor invites the congregation to listen for the Holy Spirit's nudge and not be afraid to take the jump.
🖼️ View 7 Illustrations & Stories
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Sermon Illustration
00:39:10 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor recounts her junior year of college when she changed her major from business administration to religious studies because she felt God pulling her, despite having no idea what she would do with the degree or knowing any female pastors. -
Sermon Illustration
00:41:30 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor describes her first job as Director of Christian Education in Camden, SC, where she had no roadmap, mentor, or experience, and 'fumbled her way through' the role with the help of patient church members. -
Sermon Illustration
00:42:18 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor shares how Pastor Duke Eisen persistently encouraged her to pursue ordination, eventually giving her a book titled 'The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love' which helped her realize her calling. -
Sermon Illustration
00:42:18 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor recounts her own journey from feeling unqualified for ordination and her current role to trusting God's call, supported by the encouragement of mentors Duke Eisen and Andrea Smith. -
Sermon Illustration
00:47:21 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor shares the story of Christy, an introverted woman who became a creative and beloved Sunday school teacher through God's equipping. -
Sermon Illustration
00:50:25 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor describes Dewey Ward, a quiet man who discovered hidden gifts in teaching and set-building for VBS, illustrating how God unfolds gifts over time. -
Sermon Illustration
00:56:06 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor reflects on looking through pictures of Mr. Dewey, describing him as an incredible example of someone who said 'yes' to being tapped on the shoulder by God for something new, and notes his legacy lives on in the young people he taught.
🚀 View 3 Calls to Action
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Pastoral Charge
00:21:11 ▶️ 📄
> Reflect on personal divine calling during the worship service. -
Pastoral Charge
00:54:33 ▶️ 📄
> The congregation is commanded to stop delaying their response to God's call and to say 'yes' immediately, regardless of their current level of readiness or competence. -
Pastoral Charge
00:57:40 ▶️ 📄
> Attend Vacation Bible School every night starting tomorrow.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Framework | ❌ FAIL | The sermon fails to explicitly articulate the core Gospel message of salvation by Grace alone through faith in Christ’s finished work. Instead, it relies on a moralistic framework that emphasizes human effort and response, thereby obscuring the sufficiency of Christ's atonement. |
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon presents a synergistic view of salvation, implying that human response and effort are necessary for God's equipping, rather than emphasizing monergistic grace. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | The sermon references Scripture appropriately, though the application is skewed by the moralistic framework. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The hermeneutic is compromised by the moralistic application, which prioritizes human effort over the transformative power of the Gospel. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The sermon affirms God's sovereignty in calling, though the application is flawed. |
| Sacramentology | ✅ PASS | No sacramental errors were detected. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon lacks depth in theological exposition, relying heavily on personal anecdotes and moralistic application. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework ⚠️ Incomplete / Compromised
What is the Gospel Framework? This section audits whether the sermon proclaims the essential foundation of the Gospel: Christ's substitutionary sacrifice, humanity's spiritual need, and salvation by sovereign grace alone.
How this is evaluated:
How this is evaluated:
- Essential Gospel Pillars: The framework is verified intact when the sermon substantively preaches Christ's atonement, declares human inability (articulated through either Total Depravity or the Law's condemnation), and guards salvation by grace alone against works-righteousness.
- Historic Confessional Depth: Deeper theological distinctives (such as the Active Obedience of Christ) enrich theological depth when expounded, but their absence in a focused topical or expository message is not an error and does not compromise the Gospel Framework.
🏛️ Essential Gospel Pillars
❌ The Cross & Atonement (Penal Substitution): Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Human Inability & Need: Not observed (neither human inability nor divine judgment was contextually proclaimed).
❌ Sola Gratia (Salvation by Grace Alone): Compromised
Soteriological errors detected regarding salvation by grace alone.
📜 Historic Confessional Depth
⚪ Active Obedience of Christ: Not explicitly expounded in this sermon.
Assessed under Confessional Depth diagnostic (SHALLOW). Its absence does not compromise the Gospel Framework.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Assumed Gospel (Thematic/Moralistic)
Root Cause: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
The Belief/Behavior: The sermon presents a synergistic view of salvation, where human response and effort are necessary for God's equipping, rather than emphasizing monergistic grace.
Why It's Dangerous: This phrasing is dangerous to the congregation's spiritual health because it shifts the ground of salvation from Christ's finished work to human performance, leading to spiritual exhaustion and despair when human effort inevitably fails.
Biblical Correction: Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Encouragement | Relatable Personal Stories
The use of personal anecdotes, such as the pastor's own journey and the stories of Christy and Dewey Ward, provides relatable examples that encourage the congregation to trust in God's equipping.
Theological Insight | God's Sovereignty in Calling
The sermon correctly affirms that God calls the unequipped, challenging the cultural lie that divine calling requires prior competence.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:09:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:40] Let's have a fun Sunday. This is the kickoff to our Vacation Bible School week, so if you're a first-time visitor, this is not what our sanctuary usually looks like. If you are a first-time visitor, we're so happy to have you here, and we invite you, as you leave the sanctuary today, to go say hi to Nancy and Harry here, who will be manning our welcome booth outside.
[00:10:10] you for being here and any information you might want to know, you can find out more about our church. For those of you that are online, we're so happy that you're with us this morning celebrating
[00:10:23] this exciting jungle day. We also have a barcode here that you can scan on your phone
[00:10:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:10:30] if you want to know more. For just a moment, my name is Carrie Wright. I am the worship leader
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:59] here and so glad that you are in this space ready to worship in our jungle of worship time this morning. I want to share with you a little bit about our series that we have been, we started
[00:18:12] last week and we're moving through. If I say, did you get the call? You're going to think, what call is she talking about? In our house, if I said that to Clay, it would mean, did the school
[00:18:24] call you? Are you supposed to go pick up somebody? Oh, wait, did I forget to get somebody from somewhere? Or is school canceled? That happens a lot for us. So the call, we're talking about a
[00:18:36] call from God. And now you're thinking, I don't know about that. How does the call from God come to you? So all throughout scripture, we see the different people in the stories who hear from God
[00:18:50] in many different ways. Sometimes in a still, small voice. Sometimes in a big occurrence.
[00:18:57] Sometimes they run into Jesus in just the most unusual places. Jesus himself sees and hears the call when he is baptized. That is the beginning for us, too, as Christians. When Jesus is baptized by John, the Spirit descends upon him and says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then
[00:19:21] he has the chance to tell his entire community what he is called to do. He says, as he reads from an Old Testament scroll, the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim
[00:19:35] good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. So what is your
[00:19:50] calling? What is God calling you to do? You may be wondering, maybe I'm supposed to change jobs, or maybe I need to do this. Maybe I need to marry this person, or maybe I need to go to this school.
[00:20:04] But I'm suggesting that as God continues to call us, you'll see through our pastors and preaching that God often calls in ways that are not particular to vocation. Sometimes it is.
[00:20:18] And you'll see, we share our calling each week, each of your pastors will, but all Christians, all of us are called by God to lead and to guide and to move in different ways. So what is your
[00:20:35] calling. All throughout scripture, we'll find different characters, different people in the Bible who discover their calling in ways they never imagined. And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it fits right into the way God has gifted you. Sometimes it's so far from what you imagine,
[00:20:55] but God gives you the ability to do it. So today, be reflecting on what your calling is as we continue to worship. We sang the joy. We're singing bless God. One of our callings collectively is to
[00:21:11] give praise and honor to the God who has redeemed us. And today is National Six-Seven Day and the girls back here would like you to know that. Everybody in here that is over 20 years old
[00:21:24] or not a teacher has no idea what you're talking about. Ask a young person. That'll come around at the end of the service when I tell you about something you can do with young people. Let's
[00:21:32] Stand and participate together.
[00:21:34] Bless God.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:35] To him who plays their hope and confidence in Jesus.
[00:22:04] He won't forsake.
[00:22:08] Bless those who seek his face.
[00:22:11] Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus.
[00:22:17] They won't be shaken.
[00:22:21] Come on and pray.
[00:23:00] They'll see.
[00:23:01] With ourselves and with God, we are all seeking something.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:39] Some of us long for a place to belong.
[00:26:42] Others seek to know who we are made to be.
[00:26:46] Some of us are hungry for connection, hungry for justice, or hungry for a glimpse of the divine.
[00:26:53] No matter what it is your soul longs for, there is good news to be found here.
[00:27:00] Friends, this is Christ's table.
[00:27:02] We are the guests.
[00:27:04] He is the host.
[00:27:05] there is a seat here with your name on it thanks be to god for a love like that the act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs but also an opportunity to receive
[00:27:21] god's mercy and share in that abundant grace confident of god's love for us let us offer our prayers first in silence gracious and loving God open our hearts so that we are able to admit to
[00:27:57] you the fullness of our lives that which is beautiful and good and that which is hurtful and hateful we confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do we love with condition
[00:28:11] we judge and condemn we cast the first stone and keep the logs in our own eyes we do not turn to you as the source of our healing forgive us we pray forgive our sin and empower us
[00:28:28] to be imitators of Christ in love and service amen friends in Christ know this the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting and I remind you of this surpassing grace. In Jesus Christ we
[00:28:47] are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen. As we move to our moment for our call for the offering I just want to thank you for your presence today, for your prayers that you give, for this amazing introduction
[00:29:04] to VBS that we get to offer over a hundred children this week who will come in from the community and fellowship and worship God together. And that is all made possible through your gifts and your offerings that you give. And I ask you to not only give with your gifts of money, but also
[00:29:23] give with your gifts of prayer. Pray for this VBS this week. For those of you that are going to be present and volunteering. Thank you for that as well. I want to remind you that we have these
[00:29:35] cards in the pews. So if you do give online or by mail, you can place this. Oh, I guess we don't do this in the service, do we? We do. Okay. Yeah. You can place this in the offering when it comes by
[00:29:48] and it's an invitation to be grateful for something and also to be in prayer for someone or something. Let us worship God with our gifts.
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:31:01] Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 3, 4 through 6. Such confidence we have through Christ
[00:35:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:35:10] before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
[00:35:34] The word of God for all people. Thanks be to God.
[00:35:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:45] Good morning. For those of you who may not know me, oh, hold on. There we go. I'm Monica Humpel.
[00:35:52] I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and I'm one of the pastors who will be sharing out my call story along with, you heard Whitney last week, and then you heard Pastor Wes. You'll get to hear Pastors TR and Pastor Carrie coming soon, but today you get to hear from me. For those of
[00:36:14] you, I'm sorry, I was about to start over my sermon again. So when I chose this date, I was absolutely thrilled to realize that was the Vacation Bible School Sunday. And this is why.
[00:36:26] I mean, how many of us get to preach with such a fabulous background before us? Before I started working here at Williamson's Chapel, I was a director of children's ministries. So this is super, super close to my heart to be standing here today. Because tomorrow, this room is going to be
[00:36:45] transformed into a rainforest for kiddos around our community as they explore the nature of God.
[00:36:54] And the more I thought about that phrase as I wrote my sermon, the nature of God, the more I realized something. God's calling on our lives may be one of the clearest parts of God's nature.
[00:37:10] Not just God's calling on our lives, but God's calling on our often unequipped and unsure lives. Because throughout scripture and throughout history, and honestly throughout my own life, God has always been in the business of growing things. God grows courage. God grows gifts. God
[00:37:32] grows people. And God grows people into kingdom people. And that's important because one of the biggest lies we sometimes tell ourselves is this, God only calls people who feel fully equipped.
[00:37:47] But scripture says something very different. Listen again to these words from Paul in 2nd Corinthians. Such confidence we have through Christ before God, not that we're competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Our competence
[00:38:06] comes from God. Not from ourselves, not from our resumes, not from our confidence, not from our perfection, good gracious, but from God. And honestly, I'm really grateful for that because if God only called people who already had everything figured out, I most certainly would not
[00:38:26] be standing here in front of you today. I mean, not even close. When I was in college, I was absolutely sure I was convinced what my future was going to look like. And here's, let me paint
[00:38:36] a picture. I was going to be a CPA. Anyone who knows me, seriously. Yes. I was going to sit behind a desk and crunch numbers. Me. That's what I wanted to do. I was going to go to business school and
[00:38:49] get that CPA. I was going to work for my father's business. I was going to manage the finances of my father's business. I was going to make a, okay, this is the good part. I was going to make a lot
[00:38:59] of money and I was going to be a millionaire before I was 30. Anybody who's a CPA in this room, you didn't know you made that much money, did you? Well, that was the plan anyway. Somewhere
[00:39:10] along the way, God interrupted my plan. My junior year of college, I was, I found myself very drawn to these extra classes I was taking in religious studies. I absolutely loved them. I could have
[00:39:30] like spent all day in these classes. I really couldn't explain it at the time. All I knew is I I needed to be able to talk theology and be a part of these classes and so I changed my major
[00:39:45] my junior year from business administration to religious studies you know I actually had no idea at that point what I was going to do with this degree and to be completely transparent with you I grew up in small United Methodist churches we there were there was no staff there was a pastor
[00:40:05] there was maybe a part-time secretary and maybe a part-time choir director organist or whatnot I didn't know what I was going to do with this degree at all matter of fact I had never met
[00:40:16] nor seen nor heard preach a female pastor I didn't even know that was a thing and I know that sounds crazy but I grew up in a small town so you need to give me a little little bit of grace I had no
[00:40:27] idea what I was going to do with this but all I knew was this I could feel God pulling me somewhere I didn't understand it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew I needed to follow it. And looking back
[00:40:40] now, I realized something. God was planting seeds in me long before I understood what was growing.
[00:40:49] And that is part of the nature of God too. You see, a rainforest does not appear overnight.
[00:40:56] Growth happens slowly, quietly underneath the surface before anyone can see the full beauty of it. And that's how calling often works. God starts growing something in us before we're able to actually name it. Well, eventually I went to seminary because, I mean, honestly, what in the
[00:41:14] world am I going to do with an undergraduate degree in religious studies? And no, I did not think that through, but I went to seminary. And before I even graduated seminary, believe it or not, I had two job offers. Now I want to, again, be very transparent. Did I know what I was doing?
[00:41:30] Oh, absolutely not. I mean, not even a little bit. I accepted a position at a United Methodist church in Camden, South Carolina as their director of Christian education. I was so green. I cannot tell you how I was more green than what you see behind me right now. I had no roadmap. I had no
[00:41:49] mentor. I had no experience and I had no clue. I fumbled my way through that job. And thank goodness for very patient church members who loved me through it and gave me room to grow, quite honestly.
[00:42:04] But I remember being terrified because that's the thing about calling.
[00:42:08] Sometimes you say yes with your knees shaking.
[00:42:12] And over time, God continued nudging me through other people.
[00:42:18] When I served at Huntersville United Methodist, I had a pastor named Duke Eisen, who absolutely would not leave me alone about ordination.
[00:42:26] I mean, every day it was, well, have you thought about ordination?
[00:42:30] Monica, have you heard about the deacon program?
[00:42:32] I want you to do this.
[00:42:33] And I would say, Duke, I'm doing the job.
[00:42:37] Why do I need to be ordained to do what I do?
[00:42:39] I feel like I'm doing okay.
[00:42:40] He's like, well, you're doing a great job, but have you thought about it?
[00:42:43] I just see something in you.
[00:42:45] Finally, he just said, listen, I just want you to read a book.
[00:42:48] And believe it or not, I dug this book up.
[00:42:50] I still have it.
[00:42:52] Here's the book.
[00:42:53] It's called The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love. And Carrie, did you have to read this?
[00:43:00] Not that one? Okay. So I think I'm showing my age here. So he had me read this and I read it and went, oh my gosh, this is me. This is me. So I followed that nudge after reading this book and
[00:43:19] hearing Duke into ordained ministry. Years later, a colleague, Andrea Smith, and some of you may remember Andrea because she served right here at Williamson's Chapel. She called me about a position here and she emailed me the job description and I read it and I called her back
[00:43:39] and I went, um, I'm not qualified for this. I mean, supervising staff, leadership responsibilities, administrative oversight. I thought, why bother? Andrea, there's no way they're even going to want to interview me. And she said, you know what? Just submit your resume. It doesn't hurt to be
[00:43:58] interviewed. You never know what God has in store for you. And I'll never forget that phone conversation with her. So they did invite me for an interview to my surprise. And I came and I remember sitting in the car. I actually remember exactly the parking spot I was in.
[00:44:12] And I texted my husband and I said, uh, Steve, they, they're not going to hire me. Why am I even hear. And he just texted me back and said, just go in, just go in. And so I did. Somewhere
[00:44:26] during that interview, I just knew. I walked out and I got back in my car and I texted Steve and I said, oh my gosh, this is where I'm supposed to be. Later, after working here for a little while,
[00:44:40] I found out that as I left that interview room, the people on that interview team looked at each other, grabbed each other's hands, and prayed because they felt it too. That was the Holy Spirit
[00:44:55] at work. Now, was I fully equipped for this role? Oh, not even remotely. I had to supervise six people. I had to learn boundaries, leadership, administration, even delegation, and I had to grow.
[00:45:12] I had to allow myself to be stretched and challenged, but because God called me here, God equipped me here. And that's exactly what Paul is talking about. Our competence comes from God. Now, here's the thing. Calling doesn't come after competence. Competence grows through
[00:45:33] our calling. If you don't believe me, let's take a look at some of the most influential leaders of our faith. Now, Moses, was he equipped when he saw that burning bush and God was telling him to go
[00:45:48] free his people from being slaves in Egypt? Well, he certainly didn't think he was because he spent a good amount of time arguing with said bush, okay? But along the way, God equipped Moses by putting
[00:46:01] the right people with him to help him accomplish what he was called to do. Gave him this really cool staff that could demonstrate the mighty power of God and even gave him the Ten Commandments.
[00:46:14] And then there are the disciples. Now, if you consider the background of the twelve, none of them were necessarily scholars. They were regular people just like you and me.
[00:46:22] They were fishermen. They were tax collectors, physicians. Jesus equipped them every step of the way. All they had to do was say, yes. Then there was the author of today's scripture, Paul.
[00:46:36] Now he was indeed actually a Jewish scholar, but he had spent his life persecuting the very people God was calling him to lead. You want to talk about ill-equipped, but God uses even the enemy
[00:46:50] of the Christian people to build the very church we worship in today. Paul was equipped along the way and through today's passage is telling the people of Corinth that God will equip them as well. That is the nature of God. God provides competence that we need to fulfill his call
[00:47:09] on our lives. And honestly, I have seen this happen over and over again, even in the laity of the church. I think about a woman named Christy at one of my previous churches, and she was
[00:47:21] extraordinarily introverted, but very artistic. And one day I watched children just gravitate to her as she was painting something in the church. And I walked over because I was a children's director at the time. And I said, hey, have you considered children's ministry? The panic on her
[00:47:37] face was palpable. And she went, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't know the Bible well enough to teach anybody about anything. You could just tell she was very anxious. But eventually I wore
[00:47:47] her down because I'm good at that. And she agreed. She agreed to teach one Sunday. Okay, fine. I'll do it one Sunday. Afterwards, she came to me and she went, oh my gosh, this was the best day of my
[00:48:00] life, sign me up. She actually became the third grade Sunday school teacher. She taught all year and the kids, including at the time my son Gavin, could not wait to be in Miss Christie's class and
[00:48:14] I want to show you why. She was so incredibly creative, especially with my son's class who happened to be mostly boys and very rambunctious boys at that she wanted to find a really interesting way to engage them in scripture so she brought in a bunch of legos and she had the kids create
[00:48:31] the holy week story with legos and i have pictures do you guys have this picture oh okay so i want you stay on this picture so on the right is the garden of gethsemane with lions and tigers and
[00:48:46] some snakes and we got so the kids were very creative in creating that okay go to the next slide oh wait that's a close-up you didn't know there were elephants but there were um according
[00:48:57] to the children there were okay you can go to the next slide okay so you did not know they did parkour on the top of the temple did you okay my son so if you can just imagine my eight-year-old
[00:49:09] son and he's explaining all of this to me and of course you know I had to ask well what's up with well mom that's parkour do you not know what parkour it's a parkour on the temple okay what's
[00:49:19] the next picture okay so this is the last supper and I said sweetie what what are the yellow what are the yellow dots on the table for he goes of course looking at me like I have mom goes that's
[00:49:31] lemonade they got they gotta have something to drink with their bread I mean ew and so So, Christy's creativity and her ability to connect with these kids on their level helped them understand a story that, quite frankly, for an eight-year-old is not super easy to understand.
[00:49:52] The kids loved Miss Christy, and my son talked about Miss Christy for a very long time.
[00:50:00] Now, was she perfect at it immediately? No, I imagine she was not.
[00:50:04] My guess is that she kind of figured all this out over time as to how to engage these children.
[00:50:10] She had to grow into it.
[00:50:12] And friends, that's a perfect example of how God equips us through our calling.
[00:50:17] God plants and nourishes seeds along the way, which brings me to Dewey.
[00:50:25] And friends, that's a, I'm sorry, and some of you already know where I'm going with this because you may have known and loved Dewey as well.
[00:50:33] Dewey Ward was one of the quietest people on this campus.
[00:50:37] You'd see him walking around, fixing things here and there, and on Wednesday evenings, he would be here emptying the trash, cleaning off tables, basically doing anything that needed to be done.
[00:50:48] Always humble and always behind the scenes.
[00:50:52] When I first started working here, Holly told me that he was teaching a preschool class and he led a group in Vacation Bible School.
[00:51:00] And I want to show you some pictures.
[00:51:02] so this is Dewey if you didn't meet him one of the nicest people you you'll ever meet go to the next slide look at look at that little look at go to the next one I mean the children adored Mr. Dewey
[00:51:18] go to the next one he would even dance with the kids I love that you can go to the next one oh that's my favorite look at that look at now I had the most fun digging these pictures up
[00:51:32] but I absolutely love these I was really fascinated because honestly he had barely said two words to me the whole time I had worked here but I watched him with those children and his entire personality changed you can go to the next one now I want you I want to stop here
[00:51:50] because there's another person that you may not know can cut a rug and have a lot of fun with kids and that's Mr. George Irvin if you look like right there and and I think everybody today needs
[00:52:00] George sits behind the usher desk you need to go and say George you got moves look there he is but that's Dewey on the left and that's Mr. George on the right two beloved Vacation Bible School leaders
[00:52:12] one year Dewey offered to help build sets for VBS and I want to show you these beautiful now ignore the people in front but behind that's one set he built can you go to the next slide
[00:52:25] and look at that beautiful set suddenly we discover gifts that no one knew Dewey even had the sets he built were just spectacular what an incredibly gifted man sadly we lost Dewey back in 2018 but his willingness to answer God's call is still producing fruit today and every one
[00:52:47] of those children that absolutely adored him see a rainforest is fascinating because so much life is hidden at first things are growing underneath the surface that you may not even notice yet that was Dewey. God had planted gifts in him that slowly unfolded over time because he was willing
[00:53:09] to say yes. One yes led to another yes. Teaching led to building. Building led to deeper connection.
[00:53:19] Service led to purpose. And the entire church was blessed because one quiet man was willing to let God grow something in him that is the nature of God fear often tells us if you're not
[00:53:34] fully developed yet don't begin but creation itself teaches us otherwise why do we expect ourselves to already be fully grown before saying yes to God seeds don't become rainforests overnight growth takes time and some of you right now are standing at the edge of something
[00:53:54] You feel that nudge. Maybe somebody has invited you to serve, to lead, to teach, to mentor, to step into something new, and immediately your mind starts listing reasons why you're just not the right person. I'm not equipped. I don't know enough. I'm not spiritual enough. Somebody else
[00:54:15] would do a much better job than me. But dear friends, that voice is not from God. It's not a voice that we need to listen to. Our competence comes from God. That is what we need to listen to.
[00:54:33] And maybe today the invitation is simply this. Stop waiting to feel fully ready before saying yes to God, because if you do, you probably never will. God is not waiting for you to become perfect
[00:54:47] before using you. God is waiting for your willingness. And this week, our children are going to walk into a rainforest and learn about the nature of God. And maybe one of the things we adults need to remember too is this. Our God is a God who grows things. God grows courage. God grows
[00:55:07] servants. God grows leaders. And God grows our faith. And maybe that nudge that we keep kind of brushing aside, maybe that's not just some random thought. Maybe that is the Holy Spirit. Maybe God has already been planting seeds in us for years. Maybe we are the ones being called in the name of
[00:55:30] the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I have. Thank you so much for being part of our worship experience today and joining us as I shared a message with us about how God doesn't
[00:55:47] call the equipped, God equips the called. I hope this message resonated with you and I have to be honest, as I was putting this message together for today, remembering Mr. Dewey just warmed my heart. As I was looking through picture after picture, I was thinking to myself,
[00:56:06] wow, what an incredible example of what it means when God taps you on the shoulder and you say yes to something maybe you've never done before. We all miss him around here. He's an amazing human
[00:56:19] being, but his legacy exists in the young people today who had Mr. Dewey as a teacher, who knew Mr. Dewey and loved him dearly. So how is God tapping you on the shoulder today?
[00:56:33] What have you been going, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't want me. I don't know how to do that. I'm not good at that. What is it that you have been hedging around because you just
[00:56:44] don't feel equipped, that maybe God is saying, yeah, but I can equip you for it. Because I promise you this, in my journey, in my call, I was green so many times, I can't even begin to
[00:56:58] tell you, God equipped me along the way. And I'm so grateful he did. God is continuing to equip me to do brand new things that are so scary, but that I'm leaning into in such a way that God is
[00:57:10] blessing and blessings are coming to me and to others through it. I invite you to be open. I invite you to be open to what the Holy Spirit is doing with your life and around you. Be listening
[00:57:25] for that nudge and don't be scared to take the jump. All right. So Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow. And as I encouraged us last week, I encourage us still now, especially now, each night this week, tonight, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
[00:09:40] Let's have a fun Sunday. This is the kickoff to our Vacation Bible School week, so if you're a first-time visitor, this is not what our sanctuary usually looks like. If you are a first-time visitor, we're so happy to have you here, and we invite you, as you leave the sanctuary today, to go say hi to Nancy and Harry here, who will be manning our welcome booth outside.
[00:10:10] you for being here and any information you might want to know, you can find out more about our church. For those of you that are online, we're so happy that you're with us this morning celebrating
[00:10:23] this exciting jungle day. We also have a barcode here that you can scan on your phone
[00:10:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:10:30] if you want to know more. For just a moment, my name is Carrie Wright. I am the worship leader
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:59] here and so glad that you are in this space ready to worship in our jungle of worship time this morning. I want to share with you a little bit about our series that we have been, we started
[00:18:12] last week and we're moving through. If I say, did you get the call? You're going to think, what call is she talking about? In our house, if I said that to Clay, it would mean, did the school
[00:18:24] call you? Are you supposed to go pick up somebody? Oh, wait, did I forget to get somebody from somewhere? Or is school canceled? That happens a lot for us. So the call, we're talking about a
[00:18:36] call from God. And now you're thinking, I don't know about that. How does the call from God come to you? So all throughout scripture, we see the different people in the stories who hear from God
[00:18:50] in many different ways. Sometimes in a still, small voice. Sometimes in a big occurrence.
[00:18:57] Sometimes they run into Jesus in just the most unusual places. Jesus himself sees and hears the call when he is baptized. That is the beginning for us, too, as Christians. When Jesus is baptized by John, the Spirit descends upon him and says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then
[00:19:21] he has the chance to tell his entire community what he is called to do. He says, as he reads from an Old Testament scroll, the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim
[00:19:35] good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. So what is your
[00:19:50] calling? What is God calling you to do? You may be wondering, maybe I'm supposed to change jobs, or maybe I need to do this. Maybe I need to marry this person, or maybe I need to go to this school.
[00:20:04] But I'm suggesting that as God continues to call us, you'll see through our pastors and preaching that God often calls in ways that are not particular to vocation. Sometimes it is.
[00:20:18] And you'll see, we share our calling each week, each of your pastors will, but all Christians, all of us are called by God to lead and to guide and to move in different ways. So what is your
[00:20:35] calling. All throughout scripture, we'll find different characters, different people in the Bible who discover their calling in ways they never imagined. And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it fits right into the way God has gifted you. Sometimes it's so far from what you imagine,
[00:20:55] but God gives you the ability to do it. So today, be reflecting on what your calling is as we continue to worship. We sang the joy. We're singing bless God. One of our callings collectively is to
[00:21:11] give praise and honor to the God who has redeemed us. And today is National Six-Seven Day and the girls back here would like you to know that. Everybody in here that is over 20 years old
[00:21:24] or not a teacher has no idea what you're talking about. Ask a young person. That'll come around at the end of the service when I tell you about something you can do with young people. Let's
[00:21:32] Stand and participate together.
[00:21:34] Bless God.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:35] To him who plays their hope and confidence in Jesus.
[00:22:04] He won't forsake.
[00:22:08] Bless those who seek his face.
[00:22:11] Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus.
[00:22:17] They won't be shaken.
[00:22:21] Come on and pray.
[00:23:00] They'll see.
[00:23:01] With ourselves and with God, we are all seeking something.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:39] Some of us long for a place to belong.
[00:26:42] Others seek to know who we are made to be.
[00:26:46] Some of us are hungry for connection, hungry for justice, or hungry for a glimpse of the divine.
[00:26:53] No matter what it is your soul longs for, there is good news to be found here.
[00:27:00] Friends, this is Christ's table.
[00:27:02] We are the guests.
[00:27:04] He is the host.
[00:27:05] there is a seat here with your name on it thanks be to god for a love like that the act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs but also an opportunity to receive
[00:27:21] god's mercy and share in that abundant grace confident of god's love for us let us offer our prayers first in silence gracious and loving God open our hearts so that we are able to admit to
[00:27:57] you the fullness of our lives that which is beautiful and good and that which is hurtful and hateful we confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do we love with condition
[00:28:11] we judge and condemn we cast the first stone and keep the logs in our own eyes we do not turn to you as the source of our healing forgive us we pray forgive our sin and empower us
[00:28:28] to be imitators of Christ in love and service amen friends in Christ know this the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting and I remind you of this surpassing grace. In Jesus Christ we
[00:28:47] are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen. As we move to our moment for our call for the offering I just want to thank you for your presence today, for your prayers that you give, for this amazing introduction
[00:29:04] to VBS that we get to offer over a hundred children this week who will come in from the community and fellowship and worship God together. And that is all made possible through your gifts and your offerings that you give. And I ask you to not only give with your gifts of money, but also
[00:29:23] give with your gifts of prayer. Pray for this VBS this week. For those of you that are going to be present and volunteering. Thank you for that as well. I want to remind you that we have these
[00:29:35] cards in the pews. So if you do give online or by mail, you can place this. Oh, I guess we don't do this in the service, do we? We do. Okay. Yeah. You can place this in the offering when it comes by
[00:29:48] and it's an invitation to be grateful for something and also to be in prayer for someone or something. Let us worship God with our gifts.
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:31:01] Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 3, 4 through 6. Such confidence we have through Christ
[00:35:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:35:10] before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
[00:35:34] The word of God for all people. Thanks be to God.
[00:35:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:45] Good morning. For those of you who may not know me, oh, hold on. There we go. I'm Monica Humpel.
[00:35:52] I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and I'm one of the pastors who will be sharing out my call story along with, you heard Whitney last week, and then you heard Pastor Wes. You'll get to hear Pastors TR and Pastor Carrie coming soon, but today you get to hear from me. For those of
[00:36:14] you, I'm sorry, I was about to start over my sermon again. So when I chose this date, I was absolutely thrilled to realize that was the Vacation Bible School Sunday. And this is why.
[00:36:26] I mean, how many of us get to preach with such a fabulous background before us? Before I started working here at Williamson's Chapel, I was a director of children's ministries. So this is super, super close to my heart to be standing here today. Because tomorrow, this room is going to be
[00:36:45] transformed into a rainforest for kiddos around our community as they explore the nature of God.
[00:36:54] And the more I thought about that phrase as I wrote my sermon, the nature of God, the more I realized something. God's calling on our lives may be one of the clearest parts of God's nature.
[00:37:10] Not just God's calling on our lives, but God's calling on our often unequipped and unsure lives. Because throughout scripture and throughout history, and honestly throughout my own life, God has always been in the business of growing things. God grows courage. God grows gifts. God
[00:37:32] grows people. And God grows people into kingdom people. And that's important because one of the biggest lies we sometimes tell ourselves is this, God only calls people who feel fully equipped.
[00:37:47] But scripture says something very different. Listen again to these words from Paul in 2nd Corinthians. Such confidence we have through Christ before God, not that we're competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Our competence
[00:38:06] comes from God. Not from ourselves, not from our resumes, not from our confidence, not from our perfection, good gracious, but from God. And honestly, I'm really grateful for that because if God only called people who already had everything figured out, I most certainly would not
[00:38:26] be standing here in front of you today. I mean, not even close. When I was in college, I was absolutely sure I was convinced what my future was going to look like. And here's, let me paint
[00:38:36] a picture. I was going to be a CPA. Anyone who knows me, seriously. Yes. I was going to sit behind a desk and crunch numbers. Me. That's what I wanted to do. I was going to go to business school and
[00:38:49] get that CPA. I was going to work for my father's business. I was going to manage the finances of my father's business. I was going to make a, okay, this is the good part. I was going to make a lot
[00:38:59] of money and I was going to be a millionaire before I was 30. Anybody who's a CPA in this room, you didn't know you made that much money, did you? Well, that was the plan anyway. Somewhere
[00:39:10] along the way, God interrupted my plan. My junior year of college, I was, I found myself very drawn to these extra classes I was taking in religious studies. I absolutely loved them. I could have
[00:39:30] like spent all day in these classes. I really couldn't explain it at the time. All I knew is I I needed to be able to talk theology and be a part of these classes and so I changed my major
[00:39:45] my junior year from business administration to religious studies you know I actually had no idea at that point what I was going to do with this degree and to be completely transparent with you I grew up in small United Methodist churches we there were there was no staff there was a pastor
[00:40:05] there was maybe a part-time secretary and maybe a part-time choir director organist or whatnot I didn't know what I was going to do with this degree at all matter of fact I had never met
[00:40:16] nor seen nor heard preach a female pastor I didn't even know that was a thing and I know that sounds crazy but I grew up in a small town so you need to give me a little little bit of grace I had no
[00:40:27] idea what I was going to do with this but all I knew was this I could feel God pulling me somewhere I didn't understand it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew I needed to follow it. And looking back
[00:40:40] now, I realized something. God was planting seeds in me long before I understood what was growing.
[00:40:49] And that is part of the nature of God too. You see, a rainforest does not appear overnight.
[00:40:56] Growth happens slowly, quietly underneath the surface before anyone can see the full beauty of it. And that's how calling often works. God starts growing something in us before we're able to actually name it. Well, eventually I went to seminary because, I mean, honestly, what in the
[00:41:14] world am I going to do with an undergraduate degree in religious studies? And no, I did not think that through, but I went to seminary. And before I even graduated seminary, believe it or not, I had two job offers. Now I want to, again, be very transparent. Did I know what I was doing?
[00:41:30] Oh, absolutely not. I mean, not even a little bit. I accepted a position at a United Methodist church in Camden, South Carolina as their director of Christian education. I was so green. I cannot tell you how I was more green than what you see behind me right now. I had no roadmap. I had no
[00:41:49] mentor. I had no experience and I had no clue. I fumbled my way through that job. And thank goodness for very patient church members who loved me through it and gave me room to grow, quite honestly.
[00:42:04] But I remember being terrified because that's the thing about calling.
[00:42:08] Sometimes you say yes with your knees shaking.
[00:42:12] And over time, God continued nudging me through other people.
[00:42:18] When I served at Huntersville United Methodist, I had a pastor named Duke Eisen, who absolutely would not leave me alone about ordination.
[00:42:26] I mean, every day it was, well, have you thought about ordination?
[00:42:30] Monica, have you heard about the deacon program?
[00:42:32] I want you to do this.
[00:42:33] And I would say, Duke, I'm doing the job.
[00:42:37] Why do I need to be ordained to do what I do?
[00:42:39] I feel like I'm doing okay.
[00:42:40] He's like, well, you're doing a great job, but have you thought about it?
[00:42:43] I just see something in you.
[00:42:45] Finally, he just said, listen, I just want you to read a book.
[00:42:48] And believe it or not, I dug this book up.
[00:42:50] I still have it.
[00:42:52] Here's the book.
[00:42:53] It's called The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love. And Carrie, did you have to read this?
[00:43:00] Not that one? Okay. So I think I'm showing my age here. So he had me read this and I read it and went, oh my gosh, this is me. This is me. So I followed that nudge after reading this book and
[00:43:19] hearing Duke into ordained ministry. Years later, a colleague, Andrea Smith, and some of you may remember Andrea because she served right here at Williamson's Chapel. She called me about a position here and she emailed me the job description and I read it and I called her back
[00:43:39] and I went, um, I'm not qualified for this. I mean, supervising staff, leadership responsibilities, administrative oversight. I thought, why bother? Andrea, there's no way they're even going to want to interview me. And she said, you know what? Just submit your resume. It doesn't hurt to be
[00:43:58] interviewed. You never know what God has in store for you. And I'll never forget that phone conversation with her. So they did invite me for an interview to my surprise. And I came and I remember sitting in the car. I actually remember exactly the parking spot I was in.
[00:44:12] And I texted my husband and I said, uh, Steve, they, they're not going to hire me. Why am I even hear. And he just texted me back and said, just go in, just go in. And so I did. Somewhere
[00:44:26] during that interview, I just knew. I walked out and I got back in my car and I texted Steve and I said, oh my gosh, this is where I'm supposed to be. Later, after working here for a little while,
[00:44:40] I found out that as I left that interview room, the people on that interview team looked at each other, grabbed each other's hands, and prayed because they felt it too. That was the Holy Spirit
[00:44:55] at work. Now, was I fully equipped for this role? Oh, not even remotely. I had to supervise six people. I had to learn boundaries, leadership, administration, even delegation, and I had to grow.
[00:45:12] I had to allow myself to be stretched and challenged, but because God called me here, God equipped me here. And that's exactly what Paul is talking about. Our competence comes from God. Now, here's the thing. Calling doesn't come after competence. Competence grows through
[00:45:33] our calling. If you don't believe me, let's take a look at some of the most influential leaders of our faith. Now, Moses, was he equipped when he saw that burning bush and God was telling him to go
[00:45:48] free his people from being slaves in Egypt? Well, he certainly didn't think he was because he spent a good amount of time arguing with said bush, okay? But along the way, God equipped Moses by putting
[00:46:01] the right people with him to help him accomplish what he was called to do. Gave him this really cool staff that could demonstrate the mighty power of God and even gave him the Ten Commandments.
[00:46:14] And then there are the disciples. Now, if you consider the background of the twelve, none of them were necessarily scholars. They were regular people just like you and me.
[00:46:22] They were fishermen. They were tax collectors, physicians. Jesus equipped them every step of the way. All they had to do was say, yes. Then there was the author of today's scripture, Paul.
[00:46:36] Now he was indeed actually a Jewish scholar, but he had spent his life persecuting the very people God was calling him to lead. You want to talk about ill-equipped, but God uses even the enemy
[00:46:50] of the Christian people to build the very church we worship in today. Paul was equipped along the way and through today's passage is telling the people of Corinth that God will equip them as well. That is the nature of God. God provides competence that we need to fulfill his call
[00:47:09] on our lives. And honestly, I have seen this happen over and over again, even in the laity of the church. I think about a woman named Christy at one of my previous churches, and she was
[00:47:21] extraordinarily introverted, but very artistic. And one day I watched children just gravitate to her as she was painting something in the church. And I walked over because I was a children's director at the time. And I said, hey, have you considered children's ministry? The panic on her
[00:47:37] face was palpable. And she went, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't know the Bible well enough to teach anybody about anything. You could just tell she was very anxious. But eventually I wore
[00:47:47] her down because I'm good at that. And she agreed. She agreed to teach one Sunday. Okay, fine. I'll do it one Sunday. Afterwards, she came to me and she went, oh my gosh, this was the best day of my
[00:48:00] life, sign me up. She actually became the third grade Sunday school teacher. She taught all year and the kids, including at the time my son Gavin, could not wait to be in Miss Christie's class and
[00:48:14] I want to show you why. She was so incredibly creative, especially with my son's class who happened to be mostly boys and very rambunctious boys at that she wanted to find a really interesting way to engage them in scripture so she brought in a bunch of legos and she had the kids create
[00:48:31] the holy week story with legos and i have pictures do you guys have this picture oh okay so i want you stay on this picture so on the right is the garden of gethsemane with lions and tigers and
[00:48:46] some snakes and we got so the kids were very creative in creating that okay go to the next slide oh wait that's a close-up you didn't know there were elephants but there were um according
[00:48:57] to the children there were okay you can go to the next slide okay so you did not know they did parkour on the top of the temple did you okay my son so if you can just imagine my eight-year-old
[00:49:09] son and he's explaining all of this to me and of course you know I had to ask well what's up with well mom that's parkour do you not know what parkour it's a parkour on the temple okay what's
[00:49:19] the next picture okay so this is the last supper and I said sweetie what what are the yellow what are the yellow dots on the table for he goes of course looking at me like I have mom goes that's
[00:49:31] lemonade they got they gotta have something to drink with their bread I mean ew and so So, Christy's creativity and her ability to connect with these kids on their level helped them understand a story that, quite frankly, for an eight-year-old is not super easy to understand.
[00:49:52] The kids loved Miss Christy, and my son talked about Miss Christy for a very long time.
[00:50:00] Now, was she perfect at it immediately? No, I imagine she was not.
[00:50:04] My guess is that she kind of figured all this out over time as to how to engage these children.
[00:50:10] She had to grow into it.
[00:50:12] And friends, that's a perfect example of how God equips us through our calling.
[00:50:17] God plants and nourishes seeds along the way, which brings me to Dewey.
[00:50:25] And friends, that's a, I'm sorry, and some of you already know where I'm going with this because you may have known and loved Dewey as well.
[00:50:33] Dewey Ward was one of the quietest people on this campus.
[00:50:37] You'd see him walking around, fixing things here and there, and on Wednesday evenings, he would be here emptying the trash, cleaning off tables, basically doing anything that needed to be done.
[00:50:48] Always humble and always behind the scenes.
[00:50:52] When I first started working here, Holly told me that he was teaching a preschool class and he led a group in Vacation Bible School.
[00:51:00] And I want to show you some pictures.
[00:51:02] so this is Dewey if you didn't meet him one of the nicest people you you'll ever meet go to the next slide look at look at that little look at go to the next one I mean the children adored Mr. Dewey
[00:51:18] go to the next one he would even dance with the kids I love that you can go to the next one oh that's my favorite look at that look at now I had the most fun digging these pictures up
[00:51:32] but I absolutely love these I was really fascinated because honestly he had barely said two words to me the whole time I had worked here but I watched him with those children and his entire personality changed you can go to the next one now I want you I want to stop here
[00:51:50] because there's another person that you may not know can cut a rug and have a lot of fun with kids and that's Mr. George Irvin if you look like right there and and I think everybody today needs
[00:52:00] George sits behind the usher desk you need to go and say George you got moves look there he is but that's Dewey on the left and that's Mr. George on the right two beloved Vacation Bible School leaders
[00:52:12] one year Dewey offered to help build sets for VBS and I want to show you these beautiful now ignore the people in front but behind that's one set he built can you go to the next slide
[00:52:25] and look at that beautiful set suddenly we discover gifts that no one knew Dewey even had the sets he built were just spectacular what an incredibly gifted man sadly we lost Dewey back in 2018 but his willingness to answer God's call is still producing fruit today and every one
[00:52:47] of those children that absolutely adored him see a rainforest is fascinating because so much life is hidden at first things are growing underneath the surface that you may not even notice yet that was Dewey. God had planted gifts in him that slowly unfolded over time because he was willing
[00:53:09] to say yes. One yes led to another yes. Teaching led to building. Building led to deeper connection.
[00:53:19] Service led to purpose. And the entire church was blessed because one quiet man was willing to let God grow something in him that is the nature of God fear often tells us if you're not
[00:53:34] fully developed yet don't begin but creation itself teaches us otherwise why do we expect ourselves to already be fully grown before saying yes to God seeds don't become rainforests overnight growth takes time and some of you right now are standing at the edge of something
[00:53:54] You feel that nudge. Maybe somebody has invited you to serve, to lead, to teach, to mentor, to step into something new, and immediately your mind starts listing reasons why you're just not the right person. I'm not equipped. I don't know enough. I'm not spiritual enough. Somebody else
[00:54:15] would do a much better job than me. But dear friends, that voice is not from God. It's not a voice that we need to listen to. Our competence comes from God. That is what we need to listen to.
[00:54:33] And maybe today the invitation is simply this. Stop waiting to feel fully ready before saying yes to God, because if you do, you probably never will. God is not waiting for you to become perfect
[00:54:47] before using you. God is waiting for your willingness. And this week, our children are going to walk into a rainforest and learn about the nature of God. And maybe one of the things we adults need to remember too is this. Our God is a God who grows things. God grows courage. God grows
[00:55:07] servants. God grows leaders. And God grows our faith. And maybe that nudge that we keep kind of brushing aside, maybe that's not just some random thought. Maybe that is the Holy Spirit. Maybe God has already been planting seeds in us for years. Maybe we are the ones being called in the name of
[00:55:30] the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I have. Thank you so much for being part of our worship experience today and joining us as I shared a message with us about how God doesn't
[00:55:47] call the equipped, God equips the called. I hope this message resonated with you and I have to be honest, as I was putting this message together for today, remembering Mr. Dewey just warmed my heart. As I was looking through picture after picture, I was thinking to myself,
[00:56:06] wow, what an incredible example of what it means when God taps you on the shoulder and you say yes to something maybe you've never done before. We all miss him around here. He's an amazing human
[00:56:19] being, but his legacy exists in the young people today who had Mr. Dewey as a teacher, who knew Mr. Dewey and loved him dearly. So how is God tapping you on the shoulder today?
[00:56:33] What have you been going, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't want me. I don't know how to do that. I'm not good at that. What is it that you have been hedging around because you just
[00:56:44] don't feel equipped, that maybe God is saying, yeah, but I can equip you for it. Because I promise you this, in my journey, in my call, I was green so many times, I can't even begin to
[00:56:58] tell you, God equipped me along the way. And I'm so grateful he did. God is continuing to equip me to do brand new things that are so scary, but that I'm leaning into in such a way that God is
[00:57:10] blessing and blessings are coming to me and to others through it. I invite you to be open. I invite you to be open to what the Holy Spirit is doing with your life and around you. Be listening
[00:57:25] for that nudge and don't be scared to take the jump. All right. So Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow. And as I encouraged us last week, I encourage us still now, especially now, each night this week, tonight, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
