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 passionately encourages Christians to live out their faith by serving others, using personal stories to highlight how practical acts of kindness can impact people's lives. It challenges listeners to move from being passive attendees to active participants in the mission of the church.
Big Idea: My church, which is really his church, is about serving others. [00:04:00 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon correctly identifies service as a central aspect of the Christian life but grounds it in moral example and personal effort rather than the finished work of Christ. This results in a moralistic message that lacks the empowering dynamic of the gospel. This weakness is compounded by a functionally synergistic altar call and an 'open' communion that fails to properly administer the sacrament.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis — The sermon presents the form of Christian activity (serving) but lacks the power of the Gospel, motivating through duty and moral imperatives rather than grace.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Theologically Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | The salvation call at 26:59 is functionally synergistic, framing salvation as a human-initiated decision ('I ask you...', 'I'm going to live for you...') rather than a sovereign work of God. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is frequently cited and held as the authoritative source for the teaching. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | Christ is primarily presented as a moral example to be imitated, rather than the Redeemer whose substitutionary work empowers service. This approach detaches the imperatives of Scripture from the indicatives of the Gospel. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The sermon affirms a biblical view of God's character without introducing error. |
| Sacramentology | ❌ FAIL | Communion is administered without any restriction to believers or a warning against partaking in an unworthy manner (1 Cor 11:27-29). This constitutes a failure to 'fence the table,' which is a primary pastoral duty. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: Matthew 20:26-28 (Topical (Safe))
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 9 | Referenced: 1 | Alluded: 0
Passages Read Aloud:
Key References: Matthew 16:18
Christological Connection: Typology: Christ's act of service (washing feet, giving life as a ransom) is primarily presented as a moral example (07:33, 04:45) that the believer must imitate. The connection is heavily focused on Christ as the pattern for human action, rather than the source of justification or empowerment for that action.
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Every Christian is called to be a servant minister [00:06:20 ▶️ 📄] : Jesus set the example by washing feet (John 13) and commanded followers to do likewise.
- We serve Him by serving others [00:08:09 ▶️ 📄] : Based on Matthew 25:40, serving the 'least of these' is serving Jesus directly, including serving family and bosses.
- Every area of ministry is important [00:18:44 ▶️ 📄] : There is no big or small ministry in God's eyes. All acts of service are seen and valued.
💧 Sacraments & Ordinances
"without the shedding of His blood there could be no forgiveness of our sins."
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ❌ No (Open Table Risk)
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Service : The primary theme, defined as the purpose of the church and the calling of every Christian.
- Spiritual Gifts : Using one's unique gifts (baking, carpentry, helps, etc.) to serve others is ministry and an extension of God's grace.
- Humility : The attitude of a servant is making oneself nothing so that others can become more, following Christ's example.
✅ Commendations
Homiletics | Clear and Actionable Proposition
The sermon is built around a clear, memorable, and biblically-based proposition: that the church is called to serve. The applications are practical and easy for the congregation to understand.
Pastoral Tone | Relatable and Warm Delivery
The use of personal stories, particularly about the speaker's father, creates a warm and accessible tone. This helps the congregation connect with the message on a personal level.
Ecclesiology | Emphasis on Active Church Membership
The sermon rightly challenges a consumer mindset in the church, calling people to move from being 'sitters' to 'servers.' This is a necessary exhortation for a healthy church body.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Moralistic Drift
Root Cause: Moralistic Drift (Sardis): This detaches the commands of Scripture from the power of the Gospel. It preaches the Law (serve more, try harder) without the Grace that enables obedience, leading to a form of godliness that denies its power (2 Tim 3:5).
"And if that doesn't motivate you, then maybe you don't love Jesus as much as you should." [00:11:11 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: Service is the result of salvation, not its proof or cause. Ephesians 2:10 states, 'For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.' The works are prepared for us because we are already 'his workmanship,' not so that we might become it.
🟠 Synergistic Salvation Model
Root Cause: Semi-Pelagianism / Synergism: This view violates the doctrine of Total Depravity (Rom. 3:10-11), which teaches that man is spiritually dead and unable to initiate his own salvation. It assumes man is merely 'sick' and capable of making the decisive move toward God.
"Today I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to be my Savior, my Lord. And from today on, I'm going to live for you." [00:27:12 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: Saving faith is a gift from God, not a product of unaided human will. John 6:44 states, 'No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.' Ephesians 2:8-9 clarifies that salvation, including the faith to receive it, is 'the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.'
📝 Other Corrections & Notes
- Christians, meaning little Christs. → Correction: While a common and memorable saying, this is not a direct translation. The Greek term 'Christianos' (Acts 11:26) means a follower or adherent belonging to Christ's party, similar to how 'Herodians' were partisans of Herod. The concept is correct, but the etymology is imprecise. (00:03:56 ▶️ 📄)
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Jesus said, I will build my church.
[00:00:05] Not just a building, not just a Sunday routine, but a people, alive, united, and on a mission.
[00:00:16] We worship together, lifting our voices and our hearts to God.
[00:00:22] We share life, celebrating, supporting, and encouraging one another.
[00:00:28] We grow.
[00:00:30] Learning to follow Jesus and letting his word transform us.
[00:00:35] We serve, using our gifts to make a difference in the lives around us.
[00:00:41] We go, taking the good news of Jesus beyond these walls.
[00:00:48] We pray, because everything begins with God.
[00:00:56] This is more than a place.
[00:01:00] This is more than a Sunday.
[00:01:05] This is my church.
[00:01:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You guys pumped and excited to be together to be able to worship the Lord wow what a beautiful day it has been today in the presence of the Lord I'm so glad you're here for those of you watching online thank you so much for joining us those in the overflow areas
[00:01:32] We see you, as Jordan would say.
[00:01:35] We know you're there.
[00:01:36] Thank you so much for being a part.
[00:01:38] And I've got to kind of go back to something that we saw on the video a few moments ago.
[00:01:43] That chili cook-off, boy, that sounds like a lot of fun.
[00:01:47] How many of you eat chili?
[00:01:48] Let me see your hand.
[00:01:50] You know, when it gets chilly, that's when you want chili.
[00:01:53] That's getting chilly, so you want chilly.
[00:01:56] So in a couple of weeks we're having the chilly coming.
[00:01:58] How many of you actually make chilly?
[00:02:01] Well, how many of you think you have the best chilly?
[00:02:05] Oh, have you registered yet?
[00:02:10] Okay, all right.
[00:02:12] For all of you great chili makers out there, go online and register because we have, it's a cook-off, and we're going to find out who really has, we're going to find out if he has the best chili.
[00:02:22] So you can prove it.
[00:02:25] Put it where your mouth is or something.
[00:02:28] But it's going to be a great time.
[00:02:30] I love it that as God's people, we don't have to celebrate the way the world celebrates.
[00:02:36] We celebrate around koinonia and fellowship.
[00:02:40] One with another and this time of year is such a blessed time when we see the colors change and we see and we receive the bountiful harvest that God has blessed us with and today I'm very excited to be able to share God's Word so would you pray with me and let's ask God to speak to us Lord in the next few moments we just turn our attention to what you have to say what I have to say isn't very important but what you have to say is all important
[00:03:09] so God I ask that you would speak to us and and that you would put your word deep in our hearts and Lord everything that you reveal to us we will be obedient to it and Lord we just thank you for all this we pray it in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus and everybody said amen hallelujah
[00:03:28] Thank you for those yo's.
[00:03:30] I love the yo's.
[00:03:31] Keep them coming.
[00:03:32] This is week number four in our series called My Church.
[00:03:37] And I call it that because Jesus said in Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church.
[00:03:42] And he goes on to say, not even the power of death will destroy my church.
[00:03:48] Last week we talked about the fact that my church, which is really his church, is about discipleship and it's about becoming like Christ.
[00:03:56] Christians, meaning little Christs.
[00:04:00] Today we're going to see that my church, which is really his church, is about serving others.
[00:04:05] And I want to give you a warning.
[00:04:06] You may need to buckle up just a little bit this morning because this...
[00:04:10] This message, this teaching is totally counter-cultural.
[00:04:15] But this is what Jesus said in Matthew 20, verse number 26.
[00:04:20] He said, Whoever wants to be great among you must be your...
[00:04:26] Let me try that one more time.
[00:04:27] Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servants.
[00:04:31] Oh, that's so much better.
[00:04:32] In that day, the people on the lowest rungs of the totem pole of society were servants.
[00:04:40] So in essence, Jesus was saying that if you want to go high, you've got to go low.
[00:04:45] I like that and then he says this in verse 28 speaking of himself he says the son of man did not come to be served but to serve thank you and to give his life as a ransom for many
[00:05:01] To be honest, this is one of the teachings of Jesus that is a struggle for some Christians, but Jesus makes it abundantly clear that one of the purposes of the church is to serve others or to minister to others as the King James Version puts it.
[00:05:21] Unfortunately, the mindset of a whole lot of people is that the church is a meeting
[00:05:28] And it's a meeting where I come to be encouraged.
[00:05:32] It's a meeting where I come to get inspired.
[00:05:34] It's a meeting where I come to get blessed.
[00:05:37] And I hope you do, but that's not all there is to it.
[00:05:41] That's not all at all.
[00:05:43] There's at least one more thing we should add, and that is I come to serve others.
[00:05:49] Think about it like this.
[00:05:50] Jesus hasn't called us to sit.
[00:05:54] He's called us to serve.
[00:05:56] And there's a big difference between those who sit and those who serve.
[00:06:03] A sitter always asks the question, what can they do for me?
[00:06:06] A server always asks, what can I do for them?
[00:06:11] So ask yourself, am I a sitter or a server?
[00:06:20] One of the first things that Jesus wants us to know is that every Christian is called to be a servant minister.
[00:06:27] Now you might say, oh, I'm not called to be a servant, and I'm sure not called to be a minister, but God's response is, oh yes, you are, if in fact you're a Christ follower.
[00:06:39] In Luke chapter 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.
[00:06:44] You remember that incident.
[00:06:46] You remember him washing their feet.
[00:06:49] You remember reading about it.
[00:06:51] And the disciples were absolutely shocked that Jesus, a rabbi, a teacher, would humble himself, become a servant, and wash their feet.
[00:07:02] Only the lowliest of servants did that.
[00:07:06] but Jesus washed their feet and when he finished he said this in Luke 13 verse 14 he said now that I your Lord and teacher have washed your feet in other words now that I've performed the job of a servant you also should wash one another's feet do the job of a servant verse 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you
[00:07:33] I tell you the truth no servant is greater than his master so there it is if you are a Christ follower you are called to be a servant minister to others following the example of Jesus in John 12 verse number 26 Jesus says whoever serves me must follow me and where I am my servant
[00:07:59] Also will be.
[00:08:00] Now watch this next part.
[00:08:01] My Father will honor the one who serves me.
[00:08:05] And that raises the question, how do we serve Him?
[00:08:09] And the answer is we serve Him by serving others.
[00:08:15] One day Jesus told a unique parable about a bunch of people who came before His throne and they were being rewarded.
[00:08:26] He was rewarding them for the good things that they had done.
[00:08:30] And you can read this, by the way, in Matthew's Gospel.
[00:08:34] Jesus says to these people, he said, I was hungry and you fed me.
[00:08:38] You remember that?
[00:08:39] I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
[00:08:41] I was a stranger and you invited me in.
[00:08:44] I needed clothes and you clothed me.
[00:08:46] I was sick and you looked after me.
[00:08:48] I was in prison and you visited me.
[00:08:51] And they asked him, Lord, when did we see you hungry?
[00:08:56] When did we see you thirsty?
[00:08:58] When did we see you in all these situations?
[00:09:01] And this is what he said in Matthew 25, 40.
[00:09:04] He said, Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.
[00:09:11] So the next time you take a meal to a sick neighbor, the next time you take a meal to a sick church member, the next time you give a few dollars to the beggar at the traffic light, the next time you take someone into your home for a night or two, the next time you give clothes for a needy family, the next time you visit someone in the hospital or in prison, remember
[00:09:34] You're doing it for Jesus.
[00:09:37] And He will never, never, never forget that act of service.
[00:09:44] And listen to this.
[00:09:46] This really gets close to where we live.
[00:09:48] When you serve your husband, ladies, buckle up, are you buckled up?
[00:09:55] Yeah, you're serving Jesus.
[00:09:58] Men, when you serve your wife, you're serving Jesus.
[00:10:03] You see, if you want a great marriage, serve your husband, serve your wife, become servants.
[00:10:13] Well, I don't have time to...
[00:10:16] Boy, that rabbit is really calling me.
[00:10:19] I could chase that rabbit.
[00:10:22] Here's one, when you serve your boss, you're serving Jesus.
[00:10:29] And here's just a parenthetical thought without chasing rabbits.
[00:10:33] When your boss asks you to do something, the attitude with which you respond reveals whether you are indeed a servant or not.
[00:10:44] In fact, most of the time when someone asks us to do, the way we respond, the attitude with which we respond reveals if we have the attitude, the heart of a servant,
[00:10:57] But when we serve others, we are literally serving Jesus.
[00:11:03] And what an incredible realization that every time we serve others, we are actually serving Jesus.
[00:11:11] And if that doesn't motivate you, then maybe you don't love Jesus as much as you should.
[00:11:20] Just let that percolate a minute.
[00:11:23] Now, I'm blown away by the fact that there are so many ways that we can serve others.
[00:11:28] Really.
[00:11:29] And not just in the four walls of the church, and that's great, but we can serve others wherever we go because we have this heart of a servant inside of us.
[00:11:38] And so, whoever we meet up with, whatever the situation, there are so many opportunities every single day to serve other people.
[00:11:49] 1 Peter chapter 4 verse number 1 to me is like a mini seminar on serving others it says each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms
[00:12:08] This is absolutely amazing to me the fact that God has given you and me and every one of us a special gift to serve others.
[00:12:17] And by using that gift to serve others, you become an extension of God's grace to that person.
[00:12:26] Amazing!
[00:12:27] Let me put it another way.
[00:12:28] God uses your service to others as a channel to reveal His love and His grace to those people.
[00:12:34] So serving other people is a powerful way to impact people for God.
[00:12:39] And often it's done in a very non-religious kind of way.
[00:12:45] Let me explain.
[00:12:46] My father was not a preacher.
[00:12:50] My father was not a pastor.
[00:12:53] My father wasn't even what I would call a rock star saint.
[00:12:57] But he had multiple gifts, and two of his gifts, just like all of us, we have gifts, plural.
[00:13:04] My father had at least two gifts.
[00:13:05] The first gift was that he loved people.
[00:13:08] He just loved people.
[00:13:09] Wherever he went, he met people and he never met a stranger.
[00:13:15] Any of you guys like that?
[00:13:16] Do you know somebody like that?
[00:13:18] I know some of you are like that.
[00:13:21] You just have that gift and you love people.
[00:13:24] The second gift my father had was that he was, I don't know what you call it, kind of a fix-it-all kind of guy.
[00:13:30] He could just fix anything.
[00:13:34] And I wish I had that gift.
[00:13:37] I don't have that gift.
[00:13:39] Diana wishes I had that gift.
[00:13:41] I don't have that gift.
[00:13:42] But my childhood memories of my dad were if someone had a need, he was always willing to go to try to help them fix whatever was broken.
[00:13:53] If we were driving down the road and a motorist was stranded on the side of the road with a disabled vehicle, my dad always stopped.
[00:14:03] Now remember, this was a long time ago.
[00:14:06] It's not safe.
[00:14:07] You probably shouldn't stop for every motorist today.
[00:14:10] I don't know.
[00:14:11] That's between you and God.
[00:14:13] But honestly, I cannot remember one time growing up
[00:14:19] When my dad passed a motorist stranded on the side of the road that he didn't stop.
[00:14:24] He always stopped.
[00:14:26] He always served.
[00:14:28] And here's the point.
[00:14:31] I never heard my dad preach a sermon.
[00:14:33] I never...
[00:14:34] I saw him lead a Sunday school class.
[00:14:37] In fact, I never observed him deliver what I would consider a proper salvation challenge.
[00:14:43] But untold numbers of people came to church.
[00:14:46] Untold numbers of people decided to follow Christ because they experienced God's grace through His gifts of service.
[00:14:57] And so what I'm telling you is that serving others is one of the most powerful Christ-like things you'll ever do.
[00:15:03] If you say, yeah, I want to be like Christ, then serve somebody.
[00:15:09] Serve somebody.
[00:15:12] Find someone and serve them.
[00:15:15] What is your gift?
[00:15:17] And are you using it?
[00:15:19] Maybe your gift is baking.
[00:15:21] I'm married to a baker.
[00:15:23] Diana is an amazing baker, and she bakes all kinds of things.
[00:15:28] And to be honest with you, if I ate all of her baked goods, I'd be 378 pounds.
[00:15:34] I just love her baking.
[00:15:36] She's got that kind of gift.
[00:15:38] And often she'll bake pies and things and take them to the neighbors and she just, people just love her baking.
[00:15:44] Maybe your gift is cooking.
[00:15:46] I hear Sheila in the crowd.
[00:15:48] There you are, Sheila.
[00:15:49] Last Tuesday, Sheila made lunch.
[00:15:52] She cooked lunch for the lead team here at Lake City and it was amazing.
[00:15:57] We ate her delicious, what was it, country steak with gravy and green beans and all this good stuff.
[00:16:04] And I was standing there thinking, oh, I sure am thankful for Sheila's gift of cooking.
[00:16:10] Praise God.
[00:16:11] How many of you like to eat?
[00:16:15] I don't have the gift of cooking, but I sure have the gift of eating.
[00:16:19] If you have something that needs to be taste tested, I'm your guy.
[00:16:22] Maybe your gift is carpentry.
[00:16:25] Maybe it's electronic repair, computer technology, or childcare.
[00:16:29] Maybe it's music.
[00:16:30] Maybe it's giving.
[00:16:31] Maybe it's helps.
[00:16:32] By the way, that is a gift.
[00:16:35] Look in there.
[00:16:35] It's there.
[00:16:37] Maybe it's another gift, one of a million other ones.
[00:16:41] Sometimes we think of ministry only as preaching and teaching and praying.
[00:16:47] But according to Jesus, ministry is using whatever has been given to you to serve the needs of others.
[00:16:56] That's ministry.
[00:16:57] And by the way, this is really important.
[00:16:59] Listen to this.
[00:17:00] Having a gift doesn't make you a minister.
[00:17:03] Using a gift is what makes you a minister.
[00:17:07] I don't know how you feel about it, but I just love the fact that you don't have to be a preacher to be a servant minister.
[00:17:15] Just for the record, I never wanted to be a preacher, because all the preachers I knew were fat preachers.
[00:17:20] And I was like, oh God, and the older I get, I have a harder time not to get fat.
[00:17:25] Y'all pray for me, will ya?
[00:17:28] I never wanted to be a preacher, I just wanted to help people know God.
[00:17:33] Right now, as we sit here, we have over 100 people that are serving and have been serving.
[00:17:39] I don't know, there may be hundreds of people now between all of the services that are serving.
[00:17:46] And when you drove in the parking lot, there were guys out on the parking lot helping you to park in the right spot.
[00:17:52] We have sound people and light people and camera people and musicians.
[00:18:03] And right now we have an amazing team of people serving many of y'all's children.
[00:18:08] And I hear...
[00:18:11] That's not thunder.
[00:18:12] I think that's the children's ministry next door, actually.
[00:18:15] And they are ministering to your children right now.
[00:18:20] And some of them are teaching Bible stories.
[00:18:22] Somebody's running the thunder over there.
[00:18:25] Some are singing, some are dancing, and some are cleaning up poop.
[00:18:30] But here's the thing, they're all serving Jesus.
[00:18:35] And I love the fact that He'll never forget those acts of service.
[00:18:40] Here's something else that God wants us to know about serving.
[00:18:44] Every area of ministry is important.
[00:18:49] Every area.
[00:18:50] In God's eyes, there is no big ministry.
[00:18:54] In God's eyes, there's no small ministry.
[00:18:58] Every act of serving is important and He sees it all.
[00:19:02] I heard someone put it in perspective by asking this question.
[00:19:06] They asked, what is the most important light bulb in your home?
[00:19:12] Then they answered it.
[00:19:14] It's the four-watt nightlight that keeps you from killing yourself when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
[00:19:22] And I thought, yeah, they're right.
[00:19:25] The point is that every area of serving is important.
[00:19:31] including the little things and sometimes especially the little areas of ministry Jesus said this he said I will build my church and in doing that he made himself an example of a servant and he told us you go and you do likewise be a servant serve the people around you
[00:19:57] I love the fact that we have so many areas of service in the church.
[00:20:01] And by the way, if you're looking for a place to serve, go on lakecitychurch.org and there's somewhere in there you can find a listing of where to serve.
[00:20:11] And you can click on that and sign up and get involved serving.
[00:20:15] But Jesus said, I've given you the example, now you go and be a servant.
[00:20:22] The Apostle Paul gives us this instruction in Philippians 2.5.
[00:20:25] He says, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, the very nature of a servant.
[00:20:34] So I ask myself, Rob, do you have the attitude of a servant?
[00:20:40] And to be real honest, sometimes I have to say, Lord, help me, because I love to serve in this area, not so much over here.
[00:20:52] God, I really enjoy serving this person, but that person, not so much.
[00:21:01] Do I have the attitude, the heart of a servant?
[00:21:03] Do you have the attitude, the heart of a servant?
[00:21:08] And as I read a little further in this passage, it says of Jesus, He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
[00:21:18] See, the attitude of a servant is the attitude that makes him or her nothing and makes the other person something.
[00:21:28] Godly servants become less so that others can become more.
[00:21:34] I think we can all agree that when we see someone with the attitude of a servant, the heart of a servant, it's a beautiful expression of Christ.
[00:21:42] And one of the things that I absolutely love, love, love about Lake City is that it is a church filled with people who are a beautiful expression of Christ, serving God by serving others.
[00:21:58] And I remember what Jesus said in Matthew 23, 11.
[00:22:02] He said this,
[00:22:04] He said, the greatest among you will be your hotshot leaders.
[00:22:12] Come on, y'all talk to me.
[00:22:13] No!
[00:22:15] Well, let's try it again.
[00:22:17] The greatest among you will be your celebrity pastors.
[00:22:24] Now, the greatest among you will be your servants.
[00:22:29] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
[00:22:36] So my church, which is really his church, is all about humbling ourselves and serving others.
[00:22:45] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.
[00:22:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray together.
[00:22:47] Father, thank you.
[00:22:49] Thank you, Lord, that you set the example
[00:22:53] Now, Lord, help us follow your example as servants for you.
[00:23:05] In Jesus' name.
[00:23:06] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:23:11] And as we stand in the presence of the Lord with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, I want to pray a couple of quick prayers.
[00:23:19] The first prayer I want to pray is for everybody in the room who would say, I want to have the heart of a servant.
[00:23:33] I just pray that today God would just stir us up, stir up our heart to desire to serve Jesus by serving others.
[00:23:48] And if you desire to have the heart of a servant, would you just raise your hand with mine because I just want to pray that God would stir our hearts to be servants.
[00:23:56] Father, you see the hands all over.
[00:23:58] God, I pray that in this moment you do something really deep inside of us.
[00:24:03] May you stir our hearts.
[00:24:05] Lord, in the times when we're busy and we kind of forget that it's all about serving others, Lord, remind us.
[00:24:12] And there's times when there's someone we really don't
[00:24:16] Lord, we want to serve.
[00:24:17] Lord, stir up our heart, the heart of a servant.
[00:24:21] Lord, for those things that we don't like to do, Lord, stir up our heart of a servant to serve you by serving others and the needs that are represented.
[00:24:33] Lord, would you help us to grow in this.
[00:24:38] And your example as a servant.
[00:24:41] Lord, may others see you in us because they see the heart and the life, the love of a servant.
[00:24:49] God, I say thank you for doing that in Jesus' name.
[00:24:53] You can go ahead and take your hand down.
[00:24:54] All our heads are still bowed, eyes are closed.
[00:24:57] Christians are praying really hard.
[00:24:58] I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:25:00] I want to pray for those who may be here this morning and you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:25:08] You came in here today and you enjoyed the music and hopefully you enjoyed the message, but you're not really sure.
[00:25:16] The question I always ask is this, if you were to die today, right now, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:25:25] If you're not sure, in just a moment I'm going to pray a simple prayer and I'd love to pray for you and I'm going to include others as well that would like to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord.
[00:25:40] Maybe you prayed a prayer years ago but you've kind of wandered away.
[00:25:43] Maybe you've never prayed a prayer inviting Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord.
[00:25:48] If so, in just a second I want to pray for you.
[00:25:52] So if you say, that's me, I just want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is my Savior, my Lord.
[00:25:59] Would you just lift up your hand right now?
[00:26:01] Just lift it up.
[00:26:01] God bless you.
[00:26:02] God bless you.
[00:26:03] Others, God bless you.
[00:26:04] God bless you.
[00:26:06] Just lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:26:07] God bless you in the back.
[00:26:08] Yeah.
[00:26:09] Yeah.
[00:26:10] Yeah.
[00:26:10] Yeah.
[00:26:13] Others?
[00:26:14] Thank you.
[00:26:15] Yes.
[00:26:16] Yeah.
[00:26:20] Anybody else?
[00:26:21] Last call?
[00:26:23] Father, thank you for these that have responded.
[00:26:26] And now, Lord, I pray that you would give them the assurance of their salvation.
[00:26:31] In just a second, I'm going to pray a simple prayer, and I'm going to ask everyone in the room to repeat this prayer after me.
[00:26:38] But if you raised your hand, I'm asking you to just pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:26:45] Pray it from your heart because God will hear.
[00:26:48] Your prayer.
[00:26:49] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but inside you felt there was a tugging.
[00:26:54] Let me just invite you to pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:26:58] Let's say it together.
[00:26:59] Say, God, I know that you love me.
[00:27:04] Because you sent your son Jesus.
[00:27:07] And he died on the cross for my sins.
[00:27:12] Today I ask you to forgive me of my sins.
[00:27:18] I ask you to be my Savior, my Lord.
[00:27:20] And from today on, I'm going to live for you.
[00:27:27] In Jesus' name.
[00:27:29] Amen.
[00:27:30] Amen.
[00:27:31] Come on, y'all.
[00:27:32] Let's give God praise.
[00:27:34] Lord, we glorify you.
[00:27:36] We praise your name, Lord Jesus.
[00:27:39] Hey, if you prayed that prayer, I am so proud of you.
[00:27:44] And I want to ask you to do one more thing.
[00:27:48] On your way out in a few minutes when the service is over, out in the lobby, we have a big sign that stands up here, and it says, I said yes to Jesus.
[00:27:56] Some of our leaders will be back there, and I have some literature that I want you to have.
[00:28:02] I also have a Bible, a special Bible that I want to give to you because it will help you understand what God is saying to you.
[00:28:09] So make sure after the service, go out there and make sure you lay hold of that material because it'll help you in your journey of faith.
[00:28:18] And maybe some of you are here for the first time this morning, and if so, I want you to know how glad we are that you came, and I hope you will come back.
[00:28:30] One of the things we do every Sunday morning here at Lake City is we share together in Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper.
[00:28:36] And when you came in, you probably received the little packet.
[00:28:40] We have them in the back.
[00:28:41] They're on the sides.
[00:28:42] We have gluten-free up here in the front, and you're welcome to come pick one up.
[00:28:47] But every time when we share together in the Lord's Supper,
[00:28:51] We're celebrating the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus.
[00:28:57] And Jesus loved us so much that He gave His body and His blood for us as the supreme sacrifice because the Bible says that without the shedding of His blood there could be no forgiveness of our sins.
[00:29:10] And so this is definitely a celebration of what God has done for us.
[00:29:16] It's also a time that we realize that as we receive the communion elements that there's healing.
[00:29:23] And if you need a physical healing as you receive these emblems today, just receive healing by faith.
[00:29:30] If you feel like there's something in your life and you need to repent of it, repent of it because His blood cleanses us from all of those things.
[00:29:38] And so, Father, in the next couple of moments as we prepare our hearts to receive those emblems that remind us of the broken body and the cup that reminds us of the shed blood of Jesus, Lord, I pray that as we receive these, we will receive these with a great sense of appreciation for all you've done for us.
[00:30:02] And we celebrate.
[00:30:04] all you've done and we thank you for how beautiful and how powerful your name is and we pray all of this in that name the name of Jesus
Jesus said, I will build my church.
[00:00:05] Not just a building, not just a Sunday routine, but a people, alive, united, and on a mission.
[00:00:16] We worship together, lifting our voices and our hearts to God.
[00:00:22] We share life, celebrating, supporting, and encouraging one another.
[00:00:28] We grow.
[00:00:30] Learning to follow Jesus and letting his word transform us.
[00:00:35] We serve, using our gifts to make a difference in the lives around us.
[00:00:41] We go, taking the good news of Jesus beyond these walls.
[00:00:48] We pray, because everything begins with God.
[00:00:56] This is more than a place.
[00:01:00] This is more than a Sunday.
[00:01:05] This is my church.
[00:01:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You guys pumped and excited to be together to be able to worship the Lord wow what a beautiful day it has been today in the presence of the Lord I'm so glad you're here for those of you watching online thank you so much for joining us those in the overflow areas
[00:01:32] We see you, as Jordan would say.
[00:01:35] We know you're there.
[00:01:36] Thank you so much for being a part.
[00:01:38] And I've got to kind of go back to something that we saw on the video a few moments ago.
[00:01:43] That chili cook-off, boy, that sounds like a lot of fun.
[00:01:47] How many of you eat chili?
[00:01:48] Let me see your hand.
[00:01:50] You know, when it gets chilly, that's when you want chili.
[00:01:53] That's getting chilly, so you want chilly.
[00:01:56] So in a couple of weeks we're having the chilly coming.
[00:01:58] How many of you actually make chilly?
[00:02:01] Well, how many of you think you have the best chilly?
[00:02:05] Oh, have you registered yet?
[00:02:10] Okay, all right.
[00:02:12] For all of you great chili makers out there, go online and register because we have, it's a cook-off, and we're going to find out who really has, we're going to find out if he has the best chili.
[00:02:22] So you can prove it.
[00:02:25] Put it where your mouth is or something.
[00:02:28] But it's going to be a great time.
[00:02:30] I love it that as God's people, we don't have to celebrate the way the world celebrates.
[00:02:36] We celebrate around koinonia and fellowship.
[00:02:40] One with another and this time of year is such a blessed time when we see the colors change and we see and we receive the bountiful harvest that God has blessed us with and today I'm very excited to be able to share God's Word so would you pray with me and let's ask God to speak to us Lord in the next few moments we just turn our attention to what you have to say what I have to say isn't very important but what you have to say is all important
[00:03:09] so God I ask that you would speak to us and and that you would put your word deep in our hearts and Lord everything that you reveal to us we will be obedient to it and Lord we just thank you for all this we pray it in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus and everybody said amen hallelujah
[00:03:28] Thank you for those yo's.
[00:03:30] I love the yo's.
[00:03:31] Keep them coming.
[00:03:32] This is week number four in our series called My Church.
[00:03:37] And I call it that because Jesus said in Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church.
[00:03:42] And he goes on to say, not even the power of death will destroy my church.
[00:03:48] Last week we talked about the fact that my church, which is really his church, is about discipleship and it's about becoming like Christ.
[00:03:56] Christians, meaning little Christs.
[00:04:00] Today we're going to see that my church, which is really his church, is about serving others.
[00:04:05] And I want to give you a warning.
[00:04:06] You may need to buckle up just a little bit this morning because this...
[00:04:10] This message, this teaching is totally counter-cultural.
[00:04:15] But this is what Jesus said in Matthew 20, verse number 26.
[00:04:20] He said, Whoever wants to be great among you must be your...
[00:04:26] Let me try that one more time.
[00:04:27] Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servants.
[00:04:31] Oh, that's so much better.
[00:04:32] In that day, the people on the lowest rungs of the totem pole of society were servants.
[00:04:40] So in essence, Jesus was saying that if you want to go high, you've got to go low.
[00:04:45] I like that and then he says this in verse 28 speaking of himself he says the son of man did not come to be served but to serve thank you and to give his life as a ransom for many
[00:05:01] To be honest, this is one of the teachings of Jesus that is a struggle for some Christians, but Jesus makes it abundantly clear that one of the purposes of the church is to serve others or to minister to others as the King James Version puts it.
[00:05:21] Unfortunately, the mindset of a whole lot of people is that the church is a meeting
[00:05:28] And it's a meeting where I come to be encouraged.
[00:05:32] It's a meeting where I come to get inspired.
[00:05:34] It's a meeting where I come to get blessed.
[00:05:37] And I hope you do, but that's not all there is to it.
[00:05:41] That's not all at all.
[00:05:43] There's at least one more thing we should add, and that is I come to serve others.
[00:05:49] Think about it like this.
[00:05:50] Jesus hasn't called us to sit.
[00:05:54] He's called us to serve.
[00:05:56] And there's a big difference between those who sit and those who serve.
[00:06:03] A sitter always asks the question, what can they do for me?
[00:06:06] A server always asks, what can I do for them?
[00:06:11] So ask yourself, am I a sitter or a server?
[00:06:20] One of the first things that Jesus wants us to know is that every Christian is called to be a servant minister.
[00:06:27] Now you might say, oh, I'm not called to be a servant, and I'm sure not called to be a minister, but God's response is, oh yes, you are, if in fact you're a Christ follower.
[00:06:39] In Luke chapter 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.
[00:06:44] You remember that incident.
[00:06:46] You remember him washing their feet.
[00:06:49] You remember reading about it.
[00:06:51] And the disciples were absolutely shocked that Jesus, a rabbi, a teacher, would humble himself, become a servant, and wash their feet.
[00:07:02] Only the lowliest of servants did that.
[00:07:06] but Jesus washed their feet and when he finished he said this in Luke 13 verse 14 he said now that I your Lord and teacher have washed your feet in other words now that I've performed the job of a servant you also should wash one another's feet do the job of a servant verse 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you
[00:07:33] I tell you the truth no servant is greater than his master so there it is if you are a Christ follower you are called to be a servant minister to others following the example of Jesus in John 12 verse number 26 Jesus says whoever serves me must follow me and where I am my servant
[00:07:59] Also will be.
[00:08:00] Now watch this next part.
[00:08:01] My Father will honor the one who serves me.
[00:08:05] And that raises the question, how do we serve Him?
[00:08:09] And the answer is we serve Him by serving others.
[00:08:15] One day Jesus told a unique parable about a bunch of people who came before His throne and they were being rewarded.
[00:08:26] He was rewarding them for the good things that they had done.
[00:08:30] And you can read this, by the way, in Matthew's Gospel.
[00:08:34] Jesus says to these people, he said, I was hungry and you fed me.
[00:08:38] You remember that?
[00:08:39] I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
[00:08:41] I was a stranger and you invited me in.
[00:08:44] I needed clothes and you clothed me.
[00:08:46] I was sick and you looked after me.
[00:08:48] I was in prison and you visited me.
[00:08:51] And they asked him, Lord, when did we see you hungry?
[00:08:56] When did we see you thirsty?
[00:08:58] When did we see you in all these situations?
[00:09:01] And this is what he said in Matthew 25, 40.
[00:09:04] He said, Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.
[00:09:11] So the next time you take a meal to a sick neighbor, the next time you take a meal to a sick church member, the next time you give a few dollars to the beggar at the traffic light, the next time you take someone into your home for a night or two, the next time you give clothes for a needy family, the next time you visit someone in the hospital or in prison, remember
[00:09:34] You're doing it for Jesus.
[00:09:37] And He will never, never, never forget that act of service.
[00:09:44] And listen to this.
[00:09:46] This really gets close to where we live.
[00:09:48] When you serve your husband, ladies, buckle up, are you buckled up?
[00:09:55] Yeah, you're serving Jesus.
[00:09:58] Men, when you serve your wife, you're serving Jesus.
[00:10:03] You see, if you want a great marriage, serve your husband, serve your wife, become servants.
[00:10:13] Well, I don't have time to...
[00:10:16] Boy, that rabbit is really calling me.
[00:10:19] I could chase that rabbit.
[00:10:22] Here's one, when you serve your boss, you're serving Jesus.
[00:10:29] And here's just a parenthetical thought without chasing rabbits.
[00:10:33] When your boss asks you to do something, the attitude with which you respond reveals whether you are indeed a servant or not.
[00:10:44] In fact, most of the time when someone asks us to do, the way we respond, the attitude with which we respond reveals if we have the attitude, the heart of a servant,
[00:10:57] But when we serve others, we are literally serving Jesus.
[00:11:03] And what an incredible realization that every time we serve others, we are actually serving Jesus.
[00:11:11] And if that doesn't motivate you, then maybe you don't love Jesus as much as you should.
[00:11:20] Just let that percolate a minute.
[00:11:23] Now, I'm blown away by the fact that there are so many ways that we can serve others.
[00:11:28] Really.
[00:11:29] And not just in the four walls of the church, and that's great, but we can serve others wherever we go because we have this heart of a servant inside of us.
[00:11:38] And so, whoever we meet up with, whatever the situation, there are so many opportunities every single day to serve other people.
[00:11:49] 1 Peter chapter 4 verse number 1 to me is like a mini seminar on serving others it says each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms
[00:12:08] This is absolutely amazing to me the fact that God has given you and me and every one of us a special gift to serve others.
[00:12:17] And by using that gift to serve others, you become an extension of God's grace to that person.
[00:12:26] Amazing!
[00:12:27] Let me put it another way.
[00:12:28] God uses your service to others as a channel to reveal His love and His grace to those people.
[00:12:34] So serving other people is a powerful way to impact people for God.
[00:12:39] And often it's done in a very non-religious kind of way.
[00:12:45] Let me explain.
[00:12:46] My father was not a preacher.
[00:12:50] My father was not a pastor.
[00:12:53] My father wasn't even what I would call a rock star saint.
[00:12:57] But he had multiple gifts, and two of his gifts, just like all of us, we have gifts, plural.
[00:13:04] My father had at least two gifts.
[00:13:05] The first gift was that he loved people.
[00:13:08] He just loved people.
[00:13:09] Wherever he went, he met people and he never met a stranger.
[00:13:15] Any of you guys like that?
[00:13:16] Do you know somebody like that?
[00:13:18] I know some of you are like that.
[00:13:21] You just have that gift and you love people.
[00:13:24] The second gift my father had was that he was, I don't know what you call it, kind of a fix-it-all kind of guy.
[00:13:30] He could just fix anything.
[00:13:34] And I wish I had that gift.
[00:13:37] I don't have that gift.
[00:13:39] Diana wishes I had that gift.
[00:13:41] I don't have that gift.
[00:13:42] But my childhood memories of my dad were if someone had a need, he was always willing to go to try to help them fix whatever was broken.
[00:13:53] If we were driving down the road and a motorist was stranded on the side of the road with a disabled vehicle, my dad always stopped.
[00:14:03] Now remember, this was a long time ago.
[00:14:06] It's not safe.
[00:14:07] You probably shouldn't stop for every motorist today.
[00:14:10] I don't know.
[00:14:11] That's between you and God.
[00:14:13] But honestly, I cannot remember one time growing up
[00:14:19] When my dad passed a motorist stranded on the side of the road that he didn't stop.
[00:14:24] He always stopped.
[00:14:26] He always served.
[00:14:28] And here's the point.
[00:14:31] I never heard my dad preach a sermon.
[00:14:33] I never...
[00:14:34] I saw him lead a Sunday school class.
[00:14:37] In fact, I never observed him deliver what I would consider a proper salvation challenge.
[00:14:43] But untold numbers of people came to church.
[00:14:46] Untold numbers of people decided to follow Christ because they experienced God's grace through His gifts of service.
[00:14:57] And so what I'm telling you is that serving others is one of the most powerful Christ-like things you'll ever do.
[00:15:03] If you say, yeah, I want to be like Christ, then serve somebody.
[00:15:09] Serve somebody.
[00:15:12] Find someone and serve them.
[00:15:15] What is your gift?
[00:15:17] And are you using it?
[00:15:19] Maybe your gift is baking.
[00:15:21] I'm married to a baker.
[00:15:23] Diana is an amazing baker, and she bakes all kinds of things.
[00:15:28] And to be honest with you, if I ate all of her baked goods, I'd be 378 pounds.
[00:15:34] I just love her baking.
[00:15:36] She's got that kind of gift.
[00:15:38] And often she'll bake pies and things and take them to the neighbors and she just, people just love her baking.
[00:15:44] Maybe your gift is cooking.
[00:15:46] I hear Sheila in the crowd.
[00:15:48] There you are, Sheila.
[00:15:49] Last Tuesday, Sheila made lunch.
[00:15:52] She cooked lunch for the lead team here at Lake City and it was amazing.
[00:15:57] We ate her delicious, what was it, country steak with gravy and green beans and all this good stuff.
[00:16:04] And I was standing there thinking, oh, I sure am thankful for Sheila's gift of cooking.
[00:16:10] Praise God.
[00:16:11] How many of you like to eat?
[00:16:15] I don't have the gift of cooking, but I sure have the gift of eating.
[00:16:19] If you have something that needs to be taste tested, I'm your guy.
[00:16:22] Maybe your gift is carpentry.
[00:16:25] Maybe it's electronic repair, computer technology, or childcare.
[00:16:29] Maybe it's music.
[00:16:30] Maybe it's giving.
[00:16:31] Maybe it's helps.
[00:16:32] By the way, that is a gift.
[00:16:35] Look in there.
[00:16:35] It's there.
[00:16:37] Maybe it's another gift, one of a million other ones.
[00:16:41] Sometimes we think of ministry only as preaching and teaching and praying.
[00:16:47] But according to Jesus, ministry is using whatever has been given to you to serve the needs of others.
[00:16:56] That's ministry.
[00:16:57] And by the way, this is really important.
[00:16:59] Listen to this.
[00:17:00] Having a gift doesn't make you a minister.
[00:17:03] Using a gift is what makes you a minister.
[00:17:07] I don't know how you feel about it, but I just love the fact that you don't have to be a preacher to be a servant minister.
[00:17:15] Just for the record, I never wanted to be a preacher, because all the preachers I knew were fat preachers.
[00:17:20] And I was like, oh God, and the older I get, I have a harder time not to get fat.
[00:17:25] Y'all pray for me, will ya?
[00:17:28] I never wanted to be a preacher, I just wanted to help people know God.
[00:17:33] Right now, as we sit here, we have over 100 people that are serving and have been serving.
[00:17:39] I don't know, there may be hundreds of people now between all of the services that are serving.
[00:17:46] And when you drove in the parking lot, there were guys out on the parking lot helping you to park in the right spot.
[00:17:52] We have sound people and light people and camera people and musicians.
[00:18:03] And right now we have an amazing team of people serving many of y'all's children.
[00:18:08] And I hear...
[00:18:11] That's not thunder.
[00:18:12] I think that's the children's ministry next door, actually.
[00:18:15] And they are ministering to your children right now.
[00:18:20] And some of them are teaching Bible stories.
[00:18:22] Somebody's running the thunder over there.
[00:18:25] Some are singing, some are dancing, and some are cleaning up poop.
[00:18:30] But here's the thing, they're all serving Jesus.
[00:18:35] And I love the fact that He'll never forget those acts of service.
[00:18:40] Here's something else that God wants us to know about serving.
[00:18:44] Every area of ministry is important.
[00:18:49] Every area.
[00:18:50] In God's eyes, there is no big ministry.
[00:18:54] In God's eyes, there's no small ministry.
[00:18:58] Every act of serving is important and He sees it all.
[00:19:02] I heard someone put it in perspective by asking this question.
[00:19:06] They asked, what is the most important light bulb in your home?
[00:19:12] Then they answered it.
[00:19:14] It's the four-watt nightlight that keeps you from killing yourself when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
[00:19:22] And I thought, yeah, they're right.
[00:19:25] The point is that every area of serving is important.
[00:19:31] including the little things and sometimes especially the little areas of ministry Jesus said this he said I will build my church and in doing that he made himself an example of a servant and he told us you go and you do likewise be a servant serve the people around you
[00:19:57] I love the fact that we have so many areas of service in the church.
[00:20:01] And by the way, if you're looking for a place to serve, go on lakecitychurch.org and there's somewhere in there you can find a listing of where to serve.
[00:20:11] And you can click on that and sign up and get involved serving.
[00:20:15] But Jesus said, I've given you the example, now you go and be a servant.
[00:20:22] The Apostle Paul gives us this instruction in Philippians 2.5.
[00:20:25] He says, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, the very nature of a servant.
[00:20:34] So I ask myself, Rob, do you have the attitude of a servant?
[00:20:40] And to be real honest, sometimes I have to say, Lord, help me, because I love to serve in this area, not so much over here.
[00:20:52] God, I really enjoy serving this person, but that person, not so much.
[00:21:01] Do I have the attitude, the heart of a servant?
[00:21:03] Do you have the attitude, the heart of a servant?
[00:21:08] And as I read a little further in this passage, it says of Jesus, He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
[00:21:18] See, the attitude of a servant is the attitude that makes him or her nothing and makes the other person something.
[00:21:28] Godly servants become less so that others can become more.
[00:21:34] I think we can all agree that when we see someone with the attitude of a servant, the heart of a servant, it's a beautiful expression of Christ.
[00:21:42] And one of the things that I absolutely love, love, love about Lake City is that it is a church filled with people who are a beautiful expression of Christ, serving God by serving others.
[00:21:58] And I remember what Jesus said in Matthew 23, 11.
[00:22:02] He said this,
[00:22:04] He said, the greatest among you will be your hotshot leaders.
[00:22:12] Come on, y'all talk to me.
[00:22:13] No!
[00:22:15] Well, let's try it again.
[00:22:17] The greatest among you will be your celebrity pastors.
[00:22:24] Now, the greatest among you will be your servants.
[00:22:29] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
[00:22:36] So my church, which is really his church, is all about humbling ourselves and serving others.
[00:22:45] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.
[00:22:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray together.
[00:22:47] Father, thank you.
[00:22:49] Thank you, Lord, that you set the example
[00:22:53] Now, Lord, help us follow your example as servants for you.
[00:23:05] In Jesus' name.
[00:23:06] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:23:11] And as we stand in the presence of the Lord with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, I want to pray a couple of quick prayers.
[00:23:19] The first prayer I want to pray is for everybody in the room who would say, I want to have the heart of a servant.
[00:23:33] I just pray that today God would just stir us up, stir up our heart to desire to serve Jesus by serving others.
[00:23:48] And if you desire to have the heart of a servant, would you just raise your hand with mine because I just want to pray that God would stir our hearts to be servants.
[00:23:56] Father, you see the hands all over.
[00:23:58] God, I pray that in this moment you do something really deep inside of us.
[00:24:03] May you stir our hearts.
[00:24:05] Lord, in the times when we're busy and we kind of forget that it's all about serving others, Lord, remind us.
[00:24:12] And there's times when there's someone we really don't
[00:24:16] Lord, we want to serve.
[00:24:17] Lord, stir up our heart, the heart of a servant.
[00:24:21] Lord, for those things that we don't like to do, Lord, stir up our heart of a servant to serve you by serving others and the needs that are represented.
[00:24:33] Lord, would you help us to grow in this.
[00:24:38] And your example as a servant.
[00:24:41] Lord, may others see you in us because they see the heart and the life, the love of a servant.
[00:24:49] God, I say thank you for doing that in Jesus' name.
[00:24:53] You can go ahead and take your hand down.
[00:24:54] All our heads are still bowed, eyes are closed.
[00:24:57] Christians are praying really hard.
[00:24:58] I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:25:00] I want to pray for those who may be here this morning and you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:25:08] You came in here today and you enjoyed the music and hopefully you enjoyed the message, but you're not really sure.
[00:25:16] The question I always ask is this, if you were to die today, right now, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:25:25] If you're not sure, in just a moment I'm going to pray a simple prayer and I'd love to pray for you and I'm going to include others as well that would like to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord.
[00:25:40] Maybe you prayed a prayer years ago but you've kind of wandered away.
[00:25:43] Maybe you've never prayed a prayer inviting Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord.
[00:25:48] If so, in just a second I want to pray for you.
[00:25:52] So if you say, that's me, I just want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is my Savior, my Lord.
[00:25:59] Would you just lift up your hand right now?
[00:26:01] Just lift it up.
[00:26:01] God bless you.
[00:26:02] God bless you.
[00:26:03] Others, God bless you.
[00:26:04] God bless you.
[00:26:06] Just lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:26:07] God bless you in the back.
[00:26:08] Yeah.
[00:26:09] Yeah.
[00:26:10] Yeah.
[00:26:10] Yeah.
[00:26:13] Others?
[00:26:14] Thank you.
[00:26:15] Yes.
[00:26:16] Yeah.
[00:26:20] Anybody else?
[00:26:21] Last call?
[00:26:23] Father, thank you for these that have responded.
[00:26:26] And now, Lord, I pray that you would give them the assurance of their salvation.
[00:26:31] In just a second, I'm going to pray a simple prayer, and I'm going to ask everyone in the room to repeat this prayer after me.
[00:26:38] But if you raised your hand, I'm asking you to just pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:26:45] Pray it from your heart because God will hear.
[00:26:48] Your prayer.
[00:26:49] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but inside you felt there was a tugging.
[00:26:54] Let me just invite you to pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:26:58] Let's say it together.
[00:26:59] Say, God, I know that you love me.
[00:27:04] Because you sent your son Jesus.
[00:27:07] And he died on the cross for my sins.
[00:27:12] Today I ask you to forgive me of my sins.
[00:27:18] I ask you to be my Savior, my Lord.
[00:27:20] And from today on, I'm going to live for you.
[00:27:27] In Jesus' name.
[00:27:29] Amen.
[00:27:30] Amen.
[00:27:31] Come on, y'all.
[00:27:32] Let's give God praise.
[00:27:34] Lord, we glorify you.
[00:27:36] We praise your name, Lord Jesus.
[00:27:39] Hey, if you prayed that prayer, I am so proud of you.
[00:27:44] And I want to ask you to do one more thing.
[00:27:48] On your way out in a few minutes when the service is over, out in the lobby, we have a big sign that stands up here, and it says, I said yes to Jesus.
[00:27:56] Some of our leaders will be back there, and I have some literature that I want you to have.
[00:28:02] I also have a Bible, a special Bible that I want to give to you because it will help you understand what God is saying to you.
[00:28:09] So make sure after the service, go out there and make sure you lay hold of that material because it'll help you in your journey of faith.
[00:28:18] And maybe some of you are here for the first time this morning, and if so, I want you to know how glad we are that you came, and I hope you will come back.
[00:28:30] One of the things we do every Sunday morning here at Lake City is we share together in Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper.
[00:28:36] And when you came in, you probably received the little packet.
[00:28:40] We have them in the back.
[00:28:41] They're on the sides.
[00:28:42] We have gluten-free up here in the front, and you're welcome to come pick one up.
[00:28:47] But every time when we share together in the Lord's Supper,
[00:28:51] We're celebrating the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus.
[00:28:57] And Jesus loved us so much that He gave His body and His blood for us as the supreme sacrifice because the Bible says that without the shedding of His blood there could be no forgiveness of our sins.
[00:29:10] And so this is definitely a celebration of what God has done for us.
[00:29:16] It's also a time that we realize that as we receive the communion elements that there's healing.
[00:29:23] And if you need a physical healing as you receive these emblems today, just receive healing by faith.
[00:29:30] If you feel like there's something in your life and you need to repent of it, repent of it because His blood cleanses us from all of those things.
[00:29:38] And so, Father, in the next couple of moments as we prepare our hearts to receive those emblems that remind us of the broken body and the cup that reminds us of the shed blood of Jesus, Lord, I pray that as we receive these, we will receive these with a great sense of appreciation for all you've done for us.
[00:30:02] And we celebrate.
[00:30:04] all you've done and we thank you for how beautiful and how powerful your name is and we pray all of this in that name the name of Jesus
